21st century dining options for 21st century schools

HISD is looking to serve up more than hot lunches on flat trays as it takes school dining into the future.

Imagine schools with cafeterias that look like food courts or airport dining kiosks with a variety of tasty and healthy menu options. That’s the goal as the district moves forward with its 2012 bond program, which will offer the opportunity to rebuild and renovate eating spaces at 40 schools across Houston.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G00004HID1d3B.7U” g_name=”20140522-Food” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]

Continue reading →

Carnegie Vanguard wins UIL State Best One-Act Play award

Carnegie Vanguard High School’s theater department’s one-act play adaption of “When the Rain Stops Falling” won the Best One-Act Play award in the 2014 UIL State 5A Championship in Austin.

Student Justin Lau was named best actor, and Jackson Burhnam and Anastasia Vayner received the all-star cast award.

The UIL One-Act Play contest is the largest high school play contest in the world. More than 14,000 Texas high school students in more than 1,000 plays participate in more than 300 contests.

HISD Transportation receives community service award for recruiting efforts

Houston Independent School District’s Transportation department recently received a community service award for its recruiting efforts from the Near Northwest Management District. HISD school bus drivers Perry Johnson and Charles Brodie were recipients of the award on behalf of the department.

The Near Northwest Management District was created by the state of Texas in 2001 to address concerns about economic development in the northwest area of Houston. The HISD Transportation department partners with the agency to recruit bus drivers living in the area that the Near Northwest Management District serves. Continue reading →

2 Yates HS students awarded $40,000 scholarships

Two Yates High School students got one of the best surprises of their lives so far — $40,000 each toward their college educations.

Janell Howard and Jamey Watts were on the volleyball, basketball, and track teams during their four years at Yates. That, along with their high grade point averages, made them eligible to apply to the Josie Haller Teal Scholarship.

Continue reading →

Astros, Bank of Texas help make over Sinclair ES library

Sinclair Elementary has big dreams for its library, and they’re getting closer to making them come true thanks to generous donations from the Houston Astros and Bank of Texas.

Sinclair’s library was originally stocked with second-hand furniture from other schools, and more than 40 years later students are using that same furniture. The school has launched a “Love Our Library” campaign to replace shelving, computer desks, tables, chairs, and more.

Continue reading →

12 schools compete in All-Earth EcoBot Challenge

A dozen Houston ISD schools took part on the All-Earth EcoBot Challenge at Reliant Center last weekend, which allowed students in grades 5-8 to show off their engineering skills.

Teams of four students designed, built, and programmed autonomous robots. The teams then used their robots to complete a series of missions that connect to the commercial and industrial future of energy exploration, transportation, technological innovation, medical research, and environmental sustainability.

Continue reading →

Safe, collaborative spaces key design elements for new Davis, Dowling

Project Advisory Teams for Davis High School and Dowling Middle School looked for ways to make their facilities better with collaborative and transparent student-centered designs that provide safe and engaging learning environments.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000Mv7XO_JrFZk” g_name=”Davis-Dowling-gallery” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]

Both groups participated in a two-day design charrette Monday and Tuesday with the schools’ architects to discuss pros and cons of the existing facilities and sites and to share design ideas for facilities that will move academic and social cultures into the 21st century.

Continue reading →

Nickelodeon actress encourages HISD kids to eat ‘Lean & Green’

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000w0kCtWXCJPk” g_name=”Meatless-Monday-gallery” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]

Students at Gregory Lincoln Educational Center were treated to a visit on Monday by actress Daniella Monet to kick off Houston ISD’s new healthy eating campaign, “Lean & Green Day.”

Best known for her role as Trina Vega on Nickelodeon’s Victorious and red carpet host of the Kids’ Choice Awards, the 25-year-old actress is supporting the district’s health initiative with a poster and video campaign encouraging students to participate in “Meatless Mondays” by eating meat-free at least one day a week.

Continue reading →

How Virtual School helped one Jones HS ‘almost-alumnus’ finally graduate

Sgt. Juan Deluna

Learning he was not a high school graduate came as something of a shock to Sgt. Juan Deluna. The 27-year-old ex-Marine had just returned from his third tour of duty overseas and was trying to apply for a job with the Houston Police Department when he found out.

“I was under the impression that I was already a 2005 graduate of Jones High School,” he said. “Sadly, I was not.”

Sgt. Deluna only learned of the discrepancy when he tried to obtain a copy of his high school transcript, which is a required part of the application. But instead of a complete transcript confirming his status as a Jones HS alumnus, Sgt. Deluna discovered that he was just shy of the district’s graduation requirements.

Continue reading →