HISD’s Office of Talent and HISD’s Health and Medical Services named its School Nurse of the Month, and a Secondary School Nurse of the Month, and Associate Teacher, and Dedicated Associate Teacher awards. Here are the winners:
Continue readingTag Archives: Grissom ES
Kimberly Kiser named new principal of Grissom Elementary School
Kimberly Kiser has been selected as the new principal at Grissom Elementary School. Kiser most recently served as assistant principal at Kate Smith Elementary School. She began her career in 2006 as a 1st grade teacher at Martinez Elementary. In 2008, she moved to Smith and has held had various roles including teacher, writing specialist, interventionist, instructional specialist, and teacher specialist.
Continue readingHISD announces 2020-2021 Teacher of the Year finalists, Beginning Teacher of the Year winners
Twelve educators have been named as HISD’s 2020-2021 Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year finalists, and two teachers have been named the Beginning Teachers of the Year.
The two Teacher of the Year winners will go on to represent the district in Region IV. The 12 finalists were selected from all 280 schools based on performance data and other criteria.
At the elementary level, the six Teacher of the Year finalists are:
Continue readingMeagan Edwards named new principal of Grissom Elementary School
Meagan Edwards has been selected as the new principal of Grissom Elementary School. Edwards began her career in education in 2002 as a third-grade teacher at HISD’s Cornelius Elementary School. Edwards also served as a third- and fifth-grade teacher at Young Elementary School and Davila Elementary School before entering into leadership as a teacher specialist. She continued to develop her leadership skills through service as a teacher specialist at Hobby Elementary School before becoming the assistant principal at Woodson PK-8, one of the Superintendent’s Schools under the Achieve 180 program. She earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Educational Administration from University of Houston.
Diana Fernandez-Chavez named new principal of Grissom Elementary
Diana Fernandez-Chavez has been appointed principal of Grissom Elementary School. Fernandez-Chavez has been an educator for 15 years, serving in various roles from teacher to assistant principal. She began her career as a first-grade teacher at Faulk Early Childhood School in Aransas Pass ISD. Fernandez-Chavez comes to HISD from Corpus Christi ISD, where she served as a pre-K teacher, instructional technology specialist, coach for Advanced Academics and AVID, and assistant principal. She holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degrees from Texas A&M University Corpus Christi.
HISD observes National School Breakfast Week March 7–11
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The Houston Independent School District encourages students to start their day with a healthy breakfast. That’s why HISD’s Nutrition Services Department is observing National School Breakfast Week March 7–11, with the theme of “Blasting off with Breakfast.” The districtwide effort highlights the many benefits of HISD’s free breakfast program.
This year, Nutrition Services invited two local heroes to show students the importance of breakfast at school. On March 8, the Houston Texan’s mascot Toro pumped up students for a day of learning in the breakfast line at Montgomery ES, courtesy of Dairy MAX. And on March 10, NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke will be on a mission at Grissom ES to talk about the importance of healthy eating for space travel.
Grandparents’ Day celebrated at HISD
Hundreds of HISD elementary schools celebrated Grandparents’ Day on Wednesday, Sept. 16, with a special lunch. Grandparents were invited to attend and enjoy HISD and Nutrition Services hospitality during their special day of recognition.
Grandparents’ Day has been celebrated every September since President Jimmy Carter created it in 1978. HISD recognizes grandparents for the love, strength, and guidance they provide to their grandchildren. This special lunch has become an HISD tradition that both young and old look forward to every year.
Grissom Elementary School Principal Jane Ocanas is happy to host Grandparents’ Day and made special gifts to celebrate them, as they remind her of her own upbringing. “I was raised by my grandparents,” Ocanas said. “They taught me values and beliefs I apply to my daily life.”
More than 150 grandparents made their way into the cafeteria to share lunch with their children’s children, where HISD team members thanked them for serving as role models for young people.
After a brief prayer, grandparent Lashunda Williams said it was special for her to come and share lunch time with her granddaughter. “It’s lovely to see the healthy meals the food department has in schools these days,” Williams said. “We are eating healthier at home and she loves the food she gets at school.”
Williams’ granddaughter, first-grader Markayla Conelly, comes from a family of chefs, and she gives the food high marks, too.
“I like everything, especially the nachos, and the fresh fruit and vegetables,” she said. Markayla added that HISD Nutrition Services meals are better than at her previous school district.
Summer STEM Institute helps teachers infuse learning with fun
More than five dozen HISD science, technology, engineering, and math teachers took part in a summer institute recently that was designed to help boost students’ math and science scores by incorporating more fun into their lessons.
The educators came from 23 HISD elementary and middle schools that received part of a TIF4 STEM grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant also provides resources such as equipment and technology, and participating teachers will receive additional training opportunities throughout the school year and share what they have learned with other faculty members at their campuses.
Mobile literacy outreach program helps foster love of reading
Bess the Book Bus, a national mobile literacy outreach program, stopped in Houston recently to promote literacy and share a little story time with HISD students.
A student at Barrick ES shows off her selection. Photos courtesy Anthony Amirante.
The bus, which makes its way across the U.S. every year, visited Barrick and Grissom Elementary schools on April 22. Jennifer Frances, the bus’ founder, read aloud to students at Grissom, and afterwards the children got to explore the bus and pick out a book to keep. More than 430 Pre-K and kindergarten students received a free book that day to start their at-home libraries.
“Many of our students come from low-income homes where books—particularly children’s books—are considered a luxury,” said HISD Literacy Director Cindy Puryear. “So it’s really exciting when children get to have a book of their very own to keep, especially when it’s one that they picked out themselves. We are very grateful to organizations like Bess the Book Bus for giving our students this experience.”
Bess the Book Bus is dedicated to sharing the joy of reading with underprivileged children. It was founded in Tampa, Fla., in 2002, and named in honor of Frances’ grandmother, Bess. The bus has traveled to all 48 contiguous states in the U.S. and is funded solely by generous donors, including CITGO Petroleum, which offsets the cost of gasoline.
In 2015, Bess the Book Bus served more than 25,000 kids in 25 states.
Grissom Elementary’s STEM night draws crowds
More than 150 parents and students attended Grissom Elementary’s STEM night on March 5. Students created a “robo hand” using data and robotic technology, as well as a Styrofoam plate, straws, tape, and string. Students also designed a freestanding structure with building constraints of height and angles.
Dr. John E. Codwell III was in attendance and showed students a foot model and explained how math and science connect in medicine. There was also a floor robot, which students programmed to travel through an obstacle course. Students were able to use iPads and the STEM lab to learn programming using Scratch and Hour of Code software, and parents enjoyed watching a Mad Science demonstration.