Reagan’s Dixon Named Finalist for Touchdown Club Coach of the Year

Led Bulldogs to First District Title in 54 Years

In his fifth season with Reagan HS, Coach Stephen Dixon led the Bulldogs to 10 wins and their first district title in 54 years. He’s a finalist for the Touchdown Club’s Coach of the Year award for his achievements. (Photo by Michael Sudhalter/The Leader News)

Stephen Dixon, who led the Reagan Bulldogs to their first district football title in 54 years, has been named one of 10 finalists in the Touchdown Club’s Houston-area Coach of the Year race.

Dixon has coached at Reagan for four seasons, steadily building his team into a contender that won 10 games in its historic run this season and made it to the second round of the UIL Class 4A playoffs.

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Community Input Sought on Rebuilding of High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice

Meeting will focus on schedule, site needs and next steps for project

What: Community meeting to discuss the upcoming project to relocate and rebuild the High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice. The meeting will discuss the project schedule and site considerations, as well as the next steps for creating a 21st century facility.

Who: High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice Principal Carol Mosteit, HISD administrators and Project Advisory Team members

When: Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013; 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Where: Auditorium at the High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice, 4701 Dickson

Students Welcomed to New Sherman Elementary School

Katherine Smith Elementary also unveils new administration and classroom wing

Sherman Elementary School students admired the smart boards and cubby spaces and helped sharpen pencils on Monday as teachers prepared to start class for the first time at their new building. 

“It’s awesome because it’s all new,” said fourth-grader Xavier Cegueda, who was met with hugs and smiles from school administrators and staff who helped students find their new classroom.

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Teachers Getting a Jump Start on Using Digital Tools

Teachers at the schools involved in the district’s one-to-one initiative aren’t waiting until January, when nearly 18,000 students will be assigned their own laptops, to start using digital resources in their classrooms. Instead, many teachers at the 11 pilot schools in PowerUp are already integrating web 2.0 tools they have been learning at recent training sessions.

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In 21st Century Learning Spaces, It’s OK to Write on the Walls

Imagine a school where students can write and do Google searches on the walls of their classroom.

“How wonderful would it be for kids to have access to this kind of technology on their classroom wall?” said Furr High School Principal Bertie Simmons. “You can write on it. You can search the Internet with it. It’s just a really neat and innovative way to teach a class.”

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Some classroom walls in HISD’s newest campuses may be getting an upgrade with modular magnetic glass walls created by DIRTT (Doing It Right This Time) Environmental Solutions. The company, based in Calgary, Alberta, manufactures the walls, which are attracting attention as schools embrace 21st century learning environments.

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Longfellow Elementary Students Reveal Top 10 Toys for this Holiday Season

Separate lists provided for boys’ and girls’ most desired gifts

Every year, HISD’s Longfellow Elementary students take it upon themselves to find the top gifts for children to help parents tackle their holiday shopping. Today, after more than a month of research, the fifth-grade students revealed this year’s top 10 most-wanted holiday gifts for boys and girls.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/80401731/ w=320&h=205]

“My favorite part about the toy survey was working in teams,” said fifth-grader Dasani Godfrey.  “We got together and came up with the different toys we thought students would want for the holidays.”

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Middle-School Orchestra Invited to Perform at Carnegie Hall Next Year

Johnston is the first from the Houston area to be so honored

Johnston MS

Johnston Middle School’s Sinfonia orchestra will be heading to Carnegie Hall next April, thanks to a stellar performance at a National Orchestra Honors competition this spring and the encouragement of an internationally acclaimed conductor.

The orchestra was named one of three national winners in the “middle school strings” category of the contest held in May of 2013 after submitting recordings of two of its performances for judging.

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Off-Duty HISD Officer Helps Catch Two Bank Robbery Suspects

An off-duty HISD police officer helped the Houston Police Department catch two bank robbery suspects Wednesday after following their car in his own vehicle.

“A woman ran to my vehicle, slapping on the window and was just telling me, ‘they’re robbing a bank, they’re robbing a bank,’” HISD police officer Robert Valdez told KTRK-TV.

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