Tag Archives: Furr HS

Furr freshmen focus on science, technology, team-building

Solar powered cars, goldfish surviving below soil, wind turbines that generate enough energy to light a house — these aren’t scenes from an environmental film. These student projects were on display as part of a STEM exhibit during the last week of the summer bridge program at Furr High School.

Students and teachers culminated nearly two weeks of activities to prepare incoming ninth-graders for high school by showcasing projects centered on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

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Futures Academy session teaches reality of income, money management

Long Academy student Jheysson Menendez imagined what his life would be like if he was a mail clerk with an annual salary just over $29,000.

“I have to cut back on my phone and cable bill,” Menendez said while making a budget during a financial literacy session Wednesday at the Junior Achievement Finance Park, an interactive community with business models created to teach students about career readiness, entrepreneurship, and money management.

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Students were given real-life scenarios that consisted of a job, family, and home during the session, which was part of the Futures Academy Enrichment Week held Monday through Wednesday for rising 10th graders interested in applying for the academy. The academy offers students the opportunity to receive college credit, career training and industry credentials to provide them with options for a promising future after high school. Continue reading

Volunteer for 2014 Grads Within Reach Walk Sept. 6

Help HISD get dropouts back in school by volunteering for the 2014 Grads Within Reach walk.

This year’s event will be held at 24 high schools from 8 a.m. to noon on Sat., Sept. 6, 2014. Volunteers will be placed in teams and fan out across the city, based on the school to which they are assigned, and visit the last known address of students who dropped out or didn’t show up for the first weeks of school. Continue reading

Summer program gives rising sixth-graders a taste of middle school life

Incoming sixth-grader Taylor, 10, believes it’s important to protect the bee population, and she thinks she knows ways to do so. “Planting flowers will help attract bees so they can make more honey,” she said as she put marigold seeds into a small decorated pot.

This was only one of the many lessons she and several other soon-to-be sixth-graders learned during their two weeks in the Summer Bridge program, made possible by the federally-funded Race to the Top grant the district received, at Holland Middle School.

Students planted flowers as one way to help improve the bee population, discussing the reasons bees were threatened, and ways they could help save them. It was all part of a day’s work that integrated the mini-ecology lesson into other areas such as mathematics, reading, improving critical thinking skills, leading discussions, and other subjects. Continue reading

Teachers refine and share culminating projects at Linked Learning summer institute

Teachers at eight HISD high schools are preparing their coursework for the upcoming year a bit differently than they have in the past. Campus teams from Chavez, Eastwood Academy, Furr, Lee, Milby, Reagan, Sterling, and Westside are refining plans to teach core subjects through project-based learning — a part of the district’s commitment to the Linked Learning approach. These campus teams shared their plans at the Linked Learning Summer Institute during June.
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Linked Learning crafts new pathways for college and career

Educators from eight HISD high schools — Chavez, Eastwood Academy, Furr, Lee, Milby, Reagan, Sterling, and Westside — are spending their summer designing industry-themed programs of study intended to make learning exciting, challenging and relevant to real-world experiences. The program, known as Linked Learning, will help students build a strong foundation that leads to fulfilling and successful college and career experiences.

“It’s amazing. It’s awesome,” said Linked Learning superintendent Adam Stephens.

Linked Learning pathways differ from Texas House Bill 5’s mandated pathways. Continue reading

Students explore drug-resistant bacteria at Rice U.’s ‘Shamoo Lab’

Post-doc student Dr. Troy Hammerstrom explains the drug-resistance work the Shamoo Lab is doing to students from the Jane Long Academy.

With more infectious agents becoming immune to standard antibiotics, the study of how bacteria develop resistance to various drugs is becoming more critical than ever.

That’s one reason why more than 100 students from four HISD high schools got an up-close and personal look at almost a dozen different STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math)-related career fields last month, thanks to the Rice Empower program’s second annual STEM expo.

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11-school CASEY Club introduces HISD students to career as firefighter/EMT

Students from Chavez, Westbury, Yates and Sharpstown high schools spent a sunny day completing a 24-foot ladder extension, hoisting equipment and rescuing a dummy named Randy. The exercises were part of the CASEY Club’s physical ability test for students interested in becoming firefighters. The Houston Fire Department’s CASEY Club — which stands for cultivate, advise, support, empower and youth — creates and fosters a career path to become a firefighter/EMT for high school sophomores, juniors , and seniors.

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Futures Academy week gives students unique field experiences

During Futures Academy week, students from seven HISD high schools took an inside look at the industries they hope to enter one day. Students who have been taking courses in Logistics & Global Supply, Engineering Technology, Process Technology, and Health Science saw how those studies can be valuable in the work place this week, giving depth and relevance to their rigorous education.

Kashmere High School students from the Process Technology program visited employees at Shell Deer Park who provided an in-depth look at oil refining and chemical manufacturing. Students heard from experts in the industry with decades of experience and valuable advice.

“You have a chance to do something special with your futures in the Futures Academy,” said Shell Learning Advisor David Sparks. “As you continue to grow and enter the field, you will continue to use teamwork more and more.”

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