Category Archives: Special events

Bastian ES to host free community health fair

Students, employees, and the community are invited to attend the free Smart Scholars Foundation Community health fair on Saturday, Feb. 29 at HISD’s Bastian Elementary School.  

The event, which is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., is sponsored by the Houston Food Bank and will feature free dental, health, vision and hearing screenings for the community, as well as enough food to feed more than 300 families.  

Hope Farms, a Recipe for Success Foundation dedicated to combating childhood obesity, will also be on hand doing culinary demonstrations to teach the community how to incorporate healthy vegetables and fruits into their diet.  

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact 832-367-9688. 

ROSES to hold spring women’s forum on networking

The Houston Independent School District’s Resilient Outstanding Sisters Exemplifying Success (ROSES) project on will host its spring professional women’s forum to discuss the strong communication and effective networking can shape a young woman’s life.   

The forum’s discussion panel will be moderated by ABC 13 News Weekend Anchor and Reporter Erica Simon, who also serves as a ROSES mentor. The event, which will be held on Thursday, Feb. 20 from 6 – 8 p.m. at Kashmere High School (6900 Wileyvale Road, 77028), will feature panelists who are leaders from various fields, including an immigration attorney, a community relations expert, a law enforcement officer, as well as a ROSES student from Navarro Middle School.  

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Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles brings healthy message to elementary girls

Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles sat down with a group of students on Thursday at HISD’s Nat. Q. Henderson Elementary School for a surprise chat about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.  

In partnership with nonprofit Girls Inc. and Mattress Firm, Biles, met with a dozen girls, who are all enrolled in Girls Inc.’s afterschool program, to discuss how exercise, diet and sleep have contributed to her success. This includes her focus on the holistic health triangle: physical, nutritional and emotional.  

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HISD students take part in sensory-friendly movie night

Going to the movies can be a magical experience and one that should be enjoyed by all. Last Friday, thanks to the autism advocacy group The Perfect Connection, six HISD students attended a free, sensory-friendly private screening of the newly released Disney-Pixar short film “Loop,” which follows the story of a non-verbal, autistic girl.

“We’ve partnered with some amazing vendors to premiere the Disney+ premiere of Loop,” Liza Bailey, founder of The Perfect Connection, said. “Through this movie, Disney has empowered the autism community by providing a wonderful example of autism representation in the media.”

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Students to compete in semifinal round of annual MLK Oratory Competition

Each year, students across the district show off their oratory skills in the annual Martin Luther King Oratory Competition.  

This year’s theme, “What would Dr. King’s vision be for America in 2020?” will be tackled by fourth- and fifth-graders from several HISD schools during the competition semifinals at 9 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 10 at Thompson Elementary School. 

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Achieve 180 hosts first-ever teacher appreciation tailgate event

Achieve 180 teachers didn’t let Wednesday’s cold front stop the festivities as they prepared for their biggest challenge outside of the classroom — determining which campus had the best chili.  

The district invited nearly 1,400 teachers from the turnaround program to a first-ever, pep-rally-style Achieve 180 Tailgate as a celebration of the teachers’ efforts to transform some of the district’s most undeserved campuses and critical student populations.   

“This is our way of saying thank you for always making our students a priority,” Achieve 180 Area Superintendent Felicia Adams said. “Whether it’s arriving early, staying late, (or) constantly attending professional development opportunities, none of our achievements would have been possible with you.”  

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Fifth annual Dream Summit draws record crowd as students take steps toward college

Nineteen years to the day that Dr. Jose Luis Zelaya was reunified with his family at the border, hundreds of students and their families watched in awe on Saturday as he achieved what was once thought to be an impossible dream.

A profound silence filled the Hattie Mae White boardroom as the HISD graduate and DREAMer, who migrated to the U.S. from Honduras at the age of 13 after an arduous 45-day journey, was hooded by his mother and father to solidify his doctorate in Urban Education from Texas A&M University.  

“My graduation is happening in this moment because of my support systems, because of the people that believed in me,” said Zelaya, who served as the keynote speaker for HISD’s fifth annual Dream Summit. “There will be times when you won’t have money to buy your next meal, but there will be people that believe in you so much, that out of nowhere they will help you.” 

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Students weigh career options at HISD’s Ready to Work Career Fair

Students interested in learning about career training programs and other career opportunities packed the HISD Educational Learning Center on Tuesday for the district’s second annual Ready to Work Career Fair hosted by HISD’s College and Career Readiness Department.  

The Ready to Work Career Fair gave more than 700 HISD seniors from 30 high schools the opportunity to explore different career options through hands-on experiences and information sessions.  

“What is so cool about today’s event is that it gives our students a chance to learn about career training programs,” Assistant Superintendent for College Readiness David Johnston said. “This is a special opportunity for those students who want to go and obtain a certificate or enter a workforce program.” 

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Westbury HS celebrates grand opening for district’s first-ever Wraparound Transformation Center

HISD’s Westbury High School celebrated the grand opening of its new Wraparound Transformation Center on Monday, a first-of-its-kind, in-house community resource hub.  

As the only WTC in the country, Westbury will offer high-risk students and their families comprehensive support services that may not have been accessible in their neighborhoods. These services address critical, non-academic issues that may impact students’ ability to learn by bringing together community partners and resources in one location and embedding them inside the school.   

“We like to make sure we are doing everything and all that we can for our kids,” Westbury Principal Susan Monaghan said during the ceremony. “That’s what the Wraparound Transformation Center is all about – providing anything and everything our students need. No task, no problem is too large.” 

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