Tag Archives: Bellaire High School

HISD students receive corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship

Two Houston Independent School District students are among more than 1,000 high school seniors from across the country to be selected this week to win a corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship.

Sophia Cen of Bellaire High School received a $3,000 corporate-sponsored scholarship from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and Henry Hoang of Carnegie Vanguard High School was awarded a $3,000 scholarship from the Lockheed Martin Corporation Foundation.

Both students are in the first group of 2015 winners to be announced as part of the 60th annual National Merit Scholarship Program, which rewards academically talented U.S. high school students who score well on the PSAT with free money for college. The students’ scholarship awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study.

The corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards are financed by about 200 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations. Scholarship winners must either plan to pursue a degree or career in the company’s industry, be a child of company employee, or be a resident of a community the company serves.

Additional recipients of other National Merit scholarships will be announced in May followed by the announcement of winners of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards. In September, 56 HISD students were named National Merit semifinalists.

HISD employees donate more than $309,000 to Combined Charities

Top contributors saluted for Combined Charities participation

Top contributors saluted for Combined Charities participation

HISD’s Combined Charities Campaign concluded on Oct. 31 this year, and when all of the pledges were tallied, district employees had contributed more than $309,000 to support their favorite causes.

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Bellaire Army JROTC cadet receives military honor

JROTC cadet Bianca Rubio-Casteneda poses for a photograph at Bellaire High School, October 10, 2014. Rubio-Casteneda has been awarded the Legion of Valor Bronze Cross for outstanding achievement in the reserve officers training corps program. (Houston ISD/Dave Einsel)

Bianca Rubio-Castaneda

Bellaire High School senior Bianca Rubio-Castaneda says she first joined the JROTC program in ninth grade because she thought the uniforms looked cool. She didn’t realize then how much of an impact the program would have on her life.

Last week, she learned she is one of 29 students this year out of more than 30,000 candidates in the world to receive the Legion of Valor Bronze Cross for Achievement, the second highest honor awarded to a JROTC cadet. Rubio-Castaneda, a cadet lieutenant colonel and cadet commander of the Bellaire Army JROTC Battalion, tried to hold back tears after being presented the award at the October HISD Board Meeting.

“No one told me I was getting this award, and it’s such an amazing honor,” she said. “I’m grateful to have the support of my school, my peers, and my ROTC directors. They’ve always believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself.” Continue reading →

Bellaire, Lamar envision 21st century design elements in new high schools

Project Advisory Teams for Bellaire and Lamar high schools focused on the best ways to organize spaces in new facilities while sharing input with architects designing 21st century learning environment for both campuses.

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HISD recognizes 2014’s top volunteers for ‘helping us grow’

This year’s honorees serve Bellaire, Jones, and four Montessori schools

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Each year, thousands of parents, businesses, and community partners support public education by volunteering their time on HISD campuses or engaging in other activities that contribute to the growth of the district. And every spring, HISD selects the top volunteers from among their ranks. Continue reading →

HISD Asian-American College & Career Day scheduled for Nov. 16

What: HISD Asian-American College & Career Day, hosted by the HISD Asian Advisory Committee. Asian-American middle and high school students will hear about career options from prominent, successful Asian-American business representatives and learn what they should be doing to prepare for college. They’ll also learn how to navigate the scholarship and financial aid application process. Middle school students also will get tips on making the transition to high school. Parent sessions about the college preparation process will be offered in English, Mandarin and Vietnamese. Registration is encouraged: www.houstonisd.org/asiancareer.

Who: State Rep. Gene Wu will serve as the keynote speaker. Various other prominent, successful, Asian-American business representatives — including FBI Special Agent Gigi Joyner, US Secret Service Special Agent Kim Smith and KHOU News Anchor and Reporter Lily Jang — will speak.

When: Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013, 8 a.m. to noon. Registration and Career Fair begin at 8 a.m. followed by an opening session at 9 a.m. Individual workshop sessions for students and parents begin at 9:30 a.m.

Where: Bellaire High School, 5100 Maple Road, Bellaire, Texas, 77401

Eight HISD Students Named National Achievement Scholarship Semifinalists

Eight seniors from seven high schools throughout the Houston Independent School District have qualified as semifinalists in the prestigious National Achievement Scholarship Program.

The National Achievement Scholarship Program is a privately funded academic competition created in 1964 to recognize and provide scholarships to academically promising African-American students across the country. It is conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and works in concert with the National Merit Scholarship Program.

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Sixty HISD Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

Sixty seniors from six high schools throughout the Houston Independent School District have qualified as semifinalists in the prestigious National Merit Scholarship Program. HISD had 56 semifinalists last year.

The students are among 16,000 from across the country to earn the semifinalist designation, allowing them the opportunity to continue in the academic competition and vie for more than 8,000 college scholarships worth roughly $35 million.

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PowerUp Pilot Schools Learning Best Practices

Nearly a century ago, famed educator John Dewey said, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” Dewey’s words of wisdom resonated among 150 HISD school leaders, central office staff members, and teachers as they gathered this month for a four-day retreat to officially launch and learn more about PowerUp, HISD’s groundbreaking initiative that will eventually give every high school student a laptop computer.

Principals and teachers involved in phase 1, or the pilot phase of PowerUp, along with members of curriculum, professional development, and instructional technology, met July 15-18 at Sharpstown High School to train with over a dozen educators from the Mooresville Graded School District located in Mooresville, N.C. MGSD has received national recognition for undertaking a digital technology initiative that provides every student in grades 4-12 with a computer to use at school and at home.

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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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