School Board Recognition Month
School
Board Recognition Month is being observed across Texas during January
2008 and Irving ISD students, staff and community members are honoring
the Irving residents who volunteer their time to govern our public
schools.
The
annual observance is designed to build awareness and understanding of
the vital role an elected board plays in providing effective public
schools. As citizen leaders, trustees face complex and demanding
challenges. The recognition is a way of saying “thank you” to our
trustees who contribute numerous volunteer hours each year to ensure
quality education for Irving’s children.
During 2007, Irving ISD trustees worked with staff members and
volunteers to provide information to the community about the capital
needs of the district. As a result of the bond election in November
2007, Irving ISD voters approved $249.975 million in school bonds that
will be used to build new facilities as needed, renovate existing
schools and other facilities, provide replacement technology, and
purchase equipment.
Other significant accomplishments include:
-
Five IISD schools – Hanes, Gilbert and Good
elementary schools, as well as Austin and Lamar middle schools –
have achieved the Recognized rating for this school year.
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Nineteen IISD schools earned 51 Gold Performance
acknowledgements from the Texas Education Agency.
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Graduating seniors in the Class of 2007 earned $31.9
million in scholarship offers.
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Advanced Placement test results indicate 671 IISD
students earned scores of 3, 4 or 5, and 93 students were recognized
as AP Scholars during the 2006-2007 school year.
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Approximately 33,000 IISD students are receiving a
well-planned education in a safe and secure school environment.
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More than 2,300 IISD teachers are giving students
from all cultural, economic and educational backgrounds a myriad of
opportunities to experience the thrill of achievement.
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Lee Elementary School was the first school in Texas
to receive the Gold School Award from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
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The IISD website, located at
www.irvingisd.net,
continues to receive state and national recognition for its design
and content.
-
IISD Board of
Trustees and Superintendent worked together to update the IISD
vision and mission statements and major goals of the Board of
Trustees.
Barbara Cardwell
21 Years
of Service |
Jerry Christian
4 Years
of Service |
Ronda Huffstetler
7 Years
of Service |
Randy Stipes
8 Years
of Service |
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IISD, Irving
Community Unite for Holiday Giving
Students and staff of Irving ISD partnered with the
local community on many outreach projects throughout this holiday
season.
Austin Middle School student council and Communities
in Schools organizations sponsored Austin's second annual canned
food drive from December 4 through 14. During their drive, Austin
students and faculty donated 7,405 non-perishable food items, more
than three times the donation from 2006. Austin's donation will be
divided between three north Texas area food banks.
The IISD Administration Building gathered presents of
clothes and toys during December for its Sharing & Caring Program.
Twenty-nine children in the district's HIPPY program received
presents from staff donations and the 10 families of those children
received food donations. Likewise, an additional 21 students and 10
families in the Project PASS program were assisted with donations of
gifts and food.
To kick off the Salvation Army's Kettle Campaign,
Keyes Elementary hosted Irving Mayor Herbert Gears and Salvation
Army Captain Matthew Trayler in a visit in early December. Also,
Betty Lou Knowles, teacher at Union Bower Center for Learning, led
her student leadership students in a toy drive for the patients at
Children's Medical Center, collecting toys for the children as well
as $480 to purchase additional gifts.
IISD students not only gave of their time and
resources, but those identified by school officials as being in need
also received donations from various Communities in Schools
partners. GE Capital Solutions, Lively Elementary School’s partner,
assisted 20 children and their families, arriving at Lively with
gifts of bicycles and other presents. Additionally, staff from
Baylor Medical Center at Irving provided gifts and lunch for 49
students at Bowie Middle School and students at the Secondary
Reassignment Center received gift cards donated from funds provided
by Nokia.
|
The
student council at Austin Middle School collected more
than 7,400 non-perishable food items to be distributed
between three North Texas food banks. The student
council also sponsored a pizza party to each grade-level
winning advisory classroom: Mr. Emmanuel’s class for the
sixth grade, Ms. Rihoo’s for the seventh grade, and Mrs.
Fiaccone’s for the eighth. |
|
 Irving
Mayor Herbert Gears, along with Salvation Army’s Captain
Matthew Trayler, visited Keyes Elementary School in
early December to kick off the Red Kettle campaign. The
funds raised during the holidays are used for the
Salvation Army’s Christmas programs and for those in
need throughout the rest of the year. |
|
Students from Betty Lou Knowles’ student leadership
class at Union Bower Center for Learning led a toy drive
for the children at Children’s Medical Center. In
addition to toys, more than $480 was collected for
purchasing additional gifts. The students and their
sponsors delivered the toys to the hospital and were
able to meet some of the patients, play games with them
and work together to create a holiday ornament. |
|
Volunteers from GE Capital Solutions, Lively Elementary
School’s Partner in Education, assisted 20 families for
Christmas, arriving with a truck bringing sacks full of
presents and bicycles. |
|
Volunteers from Baylor Medical Center, Bowie Middle
School’s Partner in Education, joined with school staff
to provide lunch and gifts for 49 Bowie students. They
also sang Christmas carols as part of the day’s
festivities. |
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Davis Student
Receives National Scholarship
Luis Martinez, fourth grader at Davis Elementary
School, won the Dare to Dream...Expect to Succeed scholarship
sponsored by BrainstormUSA, a provider of home-use computer programs
used by schools across the country to supplement the curriculum used
by your children in school.
|
Luis
Martinez, fourth grade student at Davis Elementary
School, celebrates with his parents as well as his
principal and teachers from Davis after receiving his
$5,000 from BranstormUSA’s Dare to Dream...Expect to
Succeed scholarship program December 19. |
BrainstormUSA awards a $5,000 scholarship to a
deserving student each quarter and Martinez said he applied for the
scholarship during his third grade school year after learning how
the software could help him learn advanced skills in reading, math,
spelling and writing.
As a requirement in applying, Martinez had to
describe a personal dream and how he hoped to attain it. According
to Rosa Avendano, vice principal at Davis, Martinez is very
passionate on the subject he chose to write about: aeronautics and
becoming an astronaut. She also said Martinez is a “stellar
student” and when he accepted his award, Martinez expressed his
appreciation for his third grade teacher, Nelson Orta, as well as
all of his past and present teachers at Davis.
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ISF Awards December
Grants
The Irving Schools Foundation has awarded $897 in
Teacher Enrichment Grants to four teachers for the month of
December. The grants provide teachers with funding for professional
development opportunities including attendance at seminars and
workshops. Applications from teachers are due by the 10th of each
month, are distributed September through May, and are awarded for as
much as $500 each.
|
Principal Hilda Rodriguez presents an Irving Schools
Foundation enrichment grant to Veronica Keller, first
grade teacher at Thomas Haley Elementary School, who
plans to use the funding to attend the Conference for
Texas First Grade Teachers in Austin. |
According to Allison Vrana, donor services
coordinator for the foundation, December 2007 recipients and the
conferences they will attend include: Gabriela Hernandez, Schulze
Elementary School, Conference for Texas Kindergarten Teachers;
Juliann Taylor, Townley Elementary School, Texas Music Educators
Association Clinic; Kristi Murrell, Farine Elementary School,
Reaching Reluctant Readers: Best practice at Work in Grades 1-6;
Veronica Keller, Thomas Haley Elementary School,
Conference for Texas First Grade Teachers.
For more information about the Irving Schools
Foundation or Teacher Enrichment Grants, please visit
www.irvingisd.net/foundation.
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Academic Decathlon Success Continues
Nimitz,
Irving and MacArthur high schools were among 39 teams and 400
students who traveled to San Antonio December 14 and 15 to compete
in the Holmes High School Academic Decathlon Practice Meet.
Nimitz won the meet for the second consecutive year with Austin
Christenberry, Emarric Zipper and Celeste Martinez dominating their
academic levels. Additionally Murtaza Jafferji, Cory McMullen,
Hyungoo Kang, Sara Enriquez, Patrick Lewis and Kevin Perkins all
placed in the top 10.
MacArthur placed 10th overall at the meet, collecting
14 individual awards. Medalists included Dylan Cowart, Linh Nguyen,
Tiffany Richards, Jonas Beyene, Rachel Smith, Daniel McCalip and
Heather Bell.
For Irving High, Kevin Itty won the speech
competition and was the only IISD participant to rate a perfect
score in the event. Also placing well at the meet were Tincy Thomas,
Devon Albert, Jonathan Patton and Sunny Lovan.
The Regional Academic Decathlon is January 18 and 19
at MacArthur.
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Expanding Artistic
Motivation
For
the past three years, Irving ISD students at Lamar, de Zavala and
Crockett middle schools have participated in the program Make a
Connection Through Art. The program is sponsored by Nokia and the
Pearson Foundation and is managed by Big Thought, a Dallas based
non-profit organization that provides programs and educational
opportunities for young students.
“With Nokia based in Las Colinas, and because of the
number of their employees living here, they decided to open the
program domestically in Irving,” said Lisa Schmidt, senior program
director at Big Thought. “Nokia is dedicated to kids learning about
life skills.”
According to Amy Gerald, communications manager for
Big Thought, the program pairs professional artists with middle
school students ”in order to create written works and visual art
that represents a wide-range of topics that are personal and
important to each student.”
Donna Gooding, art teacher at de Zavala, said “we are
very fortunate to have this program in our district. It motivates
the students to express themselves in varied ways…sharing ideas that
communicate a common goal.”
“Some of them don’t realize how artistic they are so
it can inspire them in that direction and sometimes it helps them in
the classroom as well,” said April Brooks, eighth grade reading
teacher at Lamar. She also said she thinks middle school is a good
age group for this program because the students are starting to be
independent and want to do some things separate from what the
parents want them to do.
The afternoon program includes a students’ tour of
the Nasher Sculpture Center in downtown Dallas and 10 days of
participation in interactive activities with professional artists
focused on what motivates an artist when creating their work.
“It is such wonderful program to be involved in as it
compliments my curriculum… bringing a new dimension to my lesson
plan,” said Jette Buckingham, gifted and talented humanities teacher
at Crockett Middle School.
Make a Connection is a nationwide program and by
Spring 2008, project coordinators hope to expand the program within
the district to include all IISD middle schools.
Art
students at de Zavala work on their projects during a
Make a Connection Through Art project days. Student work
includes painting, sculpture, photography, and spoken
and written word. |
 Mianca
Mejia speaks to classmates at Crockett about her
motivation for a photo she took. After the Make a
Connection program has concluded for the season, works
will be exhibited on the web at
makeaconnectionthruart.org as well as
displayed at various times and places in the local
community throughout the year. |
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Schools Host
Leadership Forums
Exploring leadership traits among young students,
IISD middle school gifted & talented programs hosted leadership
forums for its students during December.
On Monday, December 10, the gifted & talented
humanities classes at Lamar Middle School hosted a forum for its
seventh and eighth grade humanities students.
The
students have been studying patterns in leadership and
characteristics and traits found among leaders in the past and the
present day. Participating speakers included: Rocci Malone, Lamar
principal; Juan Carlos Martinez, Lamar vice-principal; Parth Shah,
student at the Academy; Dennis Lambrecht, Lamar student resource
officer; Silvanna Torres, student at Nimitz High School; and
Cornelius Price, Lamar physical education coach.
The Lamar forum was an interactive discussion in
which students in the audience asked questions related to leadership
after each of the speakers’ presentations. The discussion provided
the students another perspective on how each student has the
opportunity to be a leader every day.
Wednesday, December 12, Travis Middle School’s
seventh and eighth grade gifted & talented humanities classes
invited leaders from around the metroplex to discuss their
leadership experiences.
According to Dawn Bizzell, Travis humanities teacher,
students have been studying patterns in leadership and how to apply
what they are learning to situations in everyday life. Speakers
invited to present at Travis included: Kendall Castello, Dallas
County Prosecutor; Valerie Jones, IISD Trustee; Herbert Gears,
Irving Mayor; Karen Cornish, Travis vice-principal; Sara Furlich,
educational consultant; Jean Smith, founder of the Children’s
Discovery Center montessori school; Dr. Karla Austin, psychologist;
and Mike Hill, IISD Board of Trustees President and youth minister.
 |
Irving
Mayor Herbert Gears speaks with gifted and talented
humanities students at Travis Middle School as part of a
leadership forum the school hosted December 12. |
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Keyes Students
Produce Play
Lisa
Treadway’s second grade dual language class at Keyes Elementary
School wrote and performed their version of the Magic Tree House
Series book number five, Night of the Ninjas, in a play
titled Jack and Annie November 27.
The students wanted to share with their families and
friends all that they had learned during their amazing adventure in
reading about ancient Japan. Students wrote the play based on the
book they had read in class, and practiced the lines before
auditioning for parts. After completing class auditions, students
memorized their lines and built the scenery for their play. Once
preparation for the class production was complete, the students
performed their play in front of their family and friends, and
according to Treadway, the students enjoyed the experience, having
inspired many others at Keyes, and asking: “what are we going to do
next?”
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Sign Language Class
Offered
Intermediate sign language classes will be held on
Mondays from 5:30 pm-6:45 pm, January 28, 2008 through March 10,
2008, at Britain Elementary School cafeteria, located at 631
Edmondson in Irving. The class is free to families of deaf students,
$10 for IISD employees, and $20 for all others. For more information
please call 972-554-3800.
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