Elementary children get jump start on STEM careers in SEEK summer camp

Students work on one of the projects at the SEEK program at Young Women's College Preparatory Academy

Students work on a project at the SEEK program at Young Women's College Preparatory Academy

About 300 elementary students from across the Houston area spent the last few weeks learning how to build renewable energy-based vehicles as part of a concerted effort to increase the number of minority engineers in the future.

The students were part of the Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) camp at the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy, which was organized by the National Society of Black Engineers, with support from Shell and the University of Houston.

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Waltrip HS Robotics Team Wins Awards in Summer Competitions

Joseph Townsend, Tyler Townsend (mentor), Jeremiah Miller, Joshua Benton, Brooke Welch, Amanda Edwards, Andrew Kain, Alyssa Murrell, NayJeah Pridgen, and Sean Russell.

Waltrip High School’s robotics team competed in two international events this summer and came home with three awards.

The team won the gROVer award at the International M.A.T.E. Underwater ROV Competition in Federal Way, Wash. That award is given to a team that demonstrates kindness, courtesy, professionalism, and assists other teams, providing technical and moral support. Team member Sean Russell received the engineering evaluation MVP award.

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Superintendent Praises First Class Breakfast for Improved Attendance

Superintendent of Schools Terry Grier recently told the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) about HISD’s First Class Breakfast Program, and how it is improving the district’s attendance rates.

“Kids that are not hungry, they behave better and there’s no question that they also learn at a higher level,” Grier said.

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Design Guidelines Ensure Quality for 2012 Bond Campuses

Atherton Elementary, seen in its early stages of construction, is scheduled to open for students in August.

All schools under HISD’s $1.89 billion 2012 bond program will be built with the same consistency and quality thanks to the district’s Construction and Design Guidelines, created to give architects and designers requirements for their work on bond campuses.

“It’s a guide for the architects to give them the minimum things we expect in the design of the buildings,” said Dan Bankhead, HISD’s General Manager of Facilities Design.

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Ten More Students Named National Merit Scholarship Winners

Recent graduates from HISD’s Bellaire, Carnegie Vanguard, and DeBakey high schools, along with the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, were named National Merit Scholarship winners in the third and final round of announcements on July 15.

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Millionaire Club Spotlight: What Are You Reading This Summer?

HISD’s Millionaire Club is a literacy initiative designed to encourage students to read for pleasure during the summer months. Each week, we’ll catch up with one HISD librarian to find out what’s on his or her reading list. This week, we spoke with Pat Johnson, a librarian at Stevenson Middle School.

So, what are you reading right now?

I’m reading all the books from the “Name That Book” contest to get clues.

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District Getting Ready to PowerUp

Boxes and boxes of green wire line the halls of Sam Houston Math, Science & Technology Center, as workers perched on ladders string together cable and carefully tuck it inside the campus’ ceiling tiles. After several weeks of back-breaking work, Sam Houston is ready to power up, literally, as one of the pilot schools in phase 1 of HISD’s PowerUp program, a districtwide initiative that will eventually provide every high school student with a laptop.

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M/WBEs share business tips with prospective HISD vendors

About 25 business owners learned about the importance of M/WBE certification at HISD’s monthly Workshop Wednesday held July 10.

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“Being certified has been really valuable for our work,” said Courtney Harper, panelist and owner of the architecture firm of Courtney Harper + Partners. “It’s opened doors and I’ve been able to get my foot in at great institutions.” Continue reading →

Bellaire HS Students Take First Place With Anti-Texting-While-Driving Video

Aman Narayan and George Chuang with Mayor Annise Parker

A group of Bellaire High School students won first place in a video contest about the dangers of texting and driving run by Houston Mayor Annise Parker’s Youth Council.

Eleven videos were submitted to Parker’s “It Can Wait, Houston,” an anti-texting-while-driving campaign. The Houston Police and Fire Departments will use the winning videos, including Bellaire’s, in safety presentations at area schools.

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Students Saddle Up During Summer Social Skills Program

A student prepares to mount a horse at the SIRE complex outside of Hockley, Texas.

A student prepares to mount a horse at the SIRE complex outside of Hockley, Texas.

As both the humidity and temperature rose on a recent Wednesday morning, 15 HISD students stepped off their yellow bus from the city and into a horse-riding arena skirting the Waller and Montgomery county lines. They had come to SIRE, Houston’s Therapeutic Equestrian Center, as part of the district’s social-skills enrichment program for those with autism.

Interaction with the horses has multiple benefits for people with mental or physical challenges, said P.J. Murray, head instructor at SIRE’s Hockley location. The non-profit group has been operating in the Houston area for 30 years, working with riders as young as three years old.

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