February 2017

Issue 5

HISD Advanced Academics Newsletter G/T TESTING FOR IDENTIFICATION

The identification process for Gifted and Talented students has begun.

All HISD kindergarten and 5th grade students are taking part in universal screening and all

applicants to Vanguard programs who need testing have been scheduled and directed to their

testing sites.

The G/T testing window opened December 10, 2016, and closed January 14, 2017 in order for

students to be eligible to receive services for the 2017-2018 school year.

Kindergarten students universally tested who are identified are eligible to receive G/T services

in the Spring of this school year, 2016-2017.

All Vanguard Magnet applicants will be notified by Thursday, March 23, 2017.

HISD students who are identified G/T maintain their G/T status throughout their tenure as

long as they are consecutively enrolled in HISD schools.

G/T CURRICULUM ROLL OUT

HISD Vanguard programs are designed to meet the needs of G/T students in grades K-12. Both

Vanguard Magnet and Vanguard Neighborhood programs provide a differentiated curriculum

by modifying the depth, complexity, and pacing of the general school program. To better meet

the needs of gifted students, and to offer more support to G/T trained teachers to meet those

needs, beginning 2017-2018 Advanced Academics will begin rolling out the Texas Performance

Standards Project (TPSP) as the new curriculum for G/T students. TPSP is a resource for

providing differentiated instruction to G/T students and can be used for providing enhanced

academic opportunities for all students. The TPSP provides a coherent package of standards,

curriculum, and assessments for use in G/T programs from kindergarten through high school.

At each grade level, the TPSP provides guidelines for independent learning experiences and

research projects that teachers can adapt and use with their G/T students. The projects, or

“tasks,” are based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and focus on the foun-

dation content areas of English language arts and reading, mathematics, science, and social

studies with interdisciplinary connections.

Advanced Academics will roll out the TPSP curriculum strategically and in phases until it is

district wide for all grade levels in all HISD schools.

Special training at select campuses will begin this month for kindergarten through second grade

teachers and administrators responsible for the education of gifted students.

Students will be exposed to project based learning (PBL) at high levels of cognition that will

help them to become better thinkers, problem solvers, leaders, and team players.

For more information on TPSP, please visit the website by clicking here.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

G/T Testing............................................ 1

G/T Curriculum Roll Out ...................... 1

District Wide G/T Expos ....................... 2

Games Robots Play ................................ 2

Crack the Code....................................... 2

Bellaire & Lamar IB Diploma Honors ... 3

Scholarship Opportunities .................... 4

Odyssey of the Mind .............................. 4

Summer Opportunities ......................... 5

IMPORTANT DATES

01/04/17, students return from

holiday break

12/10-01/14, G/T Testing Window

01/16/17, Martin Luther King, Holi-

day

01/25/17, Early Dismissal Day

02/25/17, Odyssey of the Mind Re-

gional Tournament, 8am, Paul Revere

MS and Walnut Bend ES.

02/25/17 from – Games Robots Play,

9a to 2p at Waltrip High School

03/13-17/17, Spring Break

03/23/17, Magnet/School Choice

Parent Notification Day

Advanced Academics and the STEM Teacher Development team hosted Crack

the Code: A Coding Challenge Day as a kickoff for Computer Science Education

Week, December 5 – 11th. The event was held simultaneously at two locations,

Southmayd Elementary and McGowen Elementary, on Saturday, December 3rd.

Students and teachers from twenty-seven elementary and middle schools

around the district participated in the challenge day.

Participants moved through a varie-

ty of stations, facilitated by STEM

Teacher Development Specialists

and teachers from the TIF4 STEM

Cadre schools. Stations included

Scratch programming, Makey Ma-

key physical computing, a variety of

iPad programming apps, and un-

plugged activities that required pro-

grammers to write code to move

people through mazes and obstacle

courses. School teams received

recognitions such as “Best Collabo-

ration”, “Focus on Task”, “Deep

Thinkers”, and “Unique Design”,

and teachers received professional

development credit for engaging in

the learning with their students.

HISD DISTRICT WIDE G/T EXPOS

CRACK THE CODE

HISD Vanguard students take part

in the Texas Performance Standards

Project (TPSP), or other experiences

that result in the development of

sophisticated products and/or per-

formances that are targeted to an

audience outside of the classroom.

To share their important work, the

Advanced Academics Department

has brought back the district wide

G/T Expo. Students will take part in

a campus level expo where school’s

will select projects to display at the

district level. Five high school cam-

puses have been strategically chosen

to host these events so that the

HISD community will have a chance

to visit a district level expo within

their feeder pattern between 5:00

pm and 7:30 pm.:

Tuesday, April 4, Heights HS, 413

East 13th St. Houston, TX 77008

Thursday, April 6, Westbury HS,

11911 Chimney Rock Rd, Houston,

TX 77035

Thursday, April 13, Jones Futures

Academy HS, 7414 Saint Lo

Rd. Houston, TX 77033

Monday, April 17, Wisdom

HS, 6529 Beverly Hill St, Hou-

ston, TX 77057

Thursday, April 20, Yates HS,

3703 Sampson, Houston, TX

77004

Games Robots Play: A Robotics Challenge Day

for Students and Teachers

The Advanced Academics Department, STEM Teacher Development team, and Waltrip High School CTE Department will sponsor a robotics challenge day, Games Robots Play, for elementary, middle school, and high school students and teachers on February 25, 2017 from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM at Waltrip High School. Games Robots Play is a unique event completely designed and facilitated by students in the Waltrip High School CTE classes. These students design and build the games, serve as scorers on the day of the challenge, and mentor partici-pants as they work to play the games using the autonomous robotic platform of their choice. While game hints will be issued periodically, no teams see or have details of the four games until forty-eight hours before the challenge, when webi-nars of game rules will be available. The theme for this year’s challenge is

“Engineering is my Super Power”. There

will be four divisions – elementary,

middle school, high school and a teacher

division, in which teacher teams will

participate with robots alongside stu-

dents. Teams are challenged in robot

performance, engineering design, and a

variety of other recognitions such as “Best

Crash of the Day”, “Perseverance”, and

“Unique Design”. Over forty schools are

registered to participate in this year’s

event.

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BELLAIRE AND LAMAR HIGH SCHOOLS HONOR

IB DIPLOMA RECIPIENTS

The IB diploma programme (DP) curriculum is made up of the DP core and six subject groups. The DP core aims to broaden students’ educational experience and challenge them to apply their knowledge and skills.

The three core elements are:

Theory of knowledge, a course in which students reflect on the nature of knowledge and on how we know what we claim to know.

The extended essay, which is an independent, self-directed piece of re-

search, finishing with a 4,000-word paper.

Creativity, activity, service, in which students complete projects relat-

ed to those three concepts.

The six subject groups are:

Studies in language and literature

Language acquisition

Individuals and societies

Sciences

Mathematics

The arts

Students must take a course in each subject group, complete both internal and external assessment requirements aligned with each course, and com-plete all requirements of the core. Students can earn college credit as de-termined by the university they attend. Many students will earn a mini-mum of 24 hours credit while others receive upward of 30 college credit hours for earning the IB diploma.

2015-2016 IB DIPLOMA RECIPIENTS

Bellaire HS May 2016 IB Diploma Recipients

Tomas Arango Rice Univ.

Luke Cantrell Texas A&M

Chandana Golla Columbia

Khoa Huynh U of H

Joe Jennings U of York, U.K.

William Kennedy Texas A&M

Nkechi Lawanson UT Austin

ZiLu Li UT Austin

Nelly Ly MacAlester

Matthew Naizer Texas State

Allang Ngo UT Austin

Helena Rodriguez Texas A&M

Dana Shay U of Cal, LA

Suneal Vemuri U of Chicago

Liana Wang Harvard

Lamar HS May 2016 IB Diploma Recipients

Lisbeth Arriola UH-Downtown

Chameli Belk-Gupta Kenyon

Elizabeth Broaddus Duke

Dane Byrd UT Austin

Caroline Calabrese Vanderbilt

Madeline Carter St. Thomas

Brandon Chi UT Austin

Soren Cobb

Miranda Donaldson UT Austin

Katherine Garcia Rice

Madeline Graham UT Austin

Jack Holmes Vassar

Dean Kaitson Texas A&M

Emily Leventhal UT Austin

Melissa Lopez

Jingwei Ma MIT

Estefany Martinez Texas A&M

Juan Martinez U of H

Madeline Marvin UT Austin

James Gregory Pauloski UT Austin

Katherine Purdie Texas A&M

Natalie Ramsey TX Christian

Emma Reagan Exchange Program

Emily Rech Trinity

Philip Tan UT Austin

Jennifer Teague Gonzaga

Mary Tindall New York U

John Vick UT Austin

Jenna Wadman UT Austin

Grace Wells Art Institute Chicago

James Yokley Texas A&M

Secondary G/T education at Bellaire and Lamar High Schools is not for the faint of heart.

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Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented, TAGT

With the help of generous donors, TAGT offers students four scholarship op-

tions. The 2017 TAGT scholarship application period is open until February

24; all applicants will be notified of their status electronically on April 15. For

more information on how to apply, click here. A brief synopsis of the four

scholarships follows:

Summer Enrichment Scholarships-Identified gifted students in grades K-

12, who are currently participating in a gifted program and who want to

enrich their learning experience during the summer months may use

these scholarships to attend programs with an academic, fine arts, or per-

forming arts focus. The maximum summer scholarship award is $400.

The Adelle McClendon Young Leaders Scholarship-$2,500 is awarded to a

G/T identified graduating senior, participating in a G/T program, who has

shown outstanding leadership leading up to graduation.

The Laura Allard Future Vision Scholarship-$2,500 is awarded to a G/T

identified graduating senior, participating in a G/T program, who has

demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, purpose, and has a

plan for achieving long-term goals.

TAGT Summer Mathematics Institute Scholarship-A full scholarship to a

three week course in algebra, geometry, and pre-calculus at the University

of North Texas is awarded to 2 passionate mathematic students in grades

6 through 10.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation

The Young Scholars Program is accepting scholarship applications beginning

February 7, 2017, and ending April 5, 2017, for talented 7th grade students

who have financial barriers to achieving their full potential. Please sign up to

register here.

For other scholarships awarded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Please

click here.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS

STUDENTS NEED EXPOSURE

TO NEW EXPERIENCES!

4

The more ex-

periences a

student has,

the more they

learn about the

people and the

world around

them. Odyssey

of the Mind (OM) offers a chance to

get students in grades kindergarten

and up doing things they never

thought possible. Teams of 5 to 7

students compete in tournaments

designed to bring creativity, ingenui-

ty, team-work, and on the spot prob-

lem solving together in one all day

event. With OM, students are given

the opportunity to stretch and grow

beyond their comfort zone to be-

come more independent learners

and thinkers.

Best wishes to Briarmeadow, Brown-

ing, Carnegie, Condit, Black, Herod,

Hogg, Kolter, Longfellow, Twain,

McGowen, Oak Forest, Revere, Pin

Oak, River Oaks, St. George, Sharp-

stown International, Rogers, Travis,

and West U at this year’s OM region-

al competition which is scheduled

for Saturday, February 25, 2017, at

Paul Revere Middle School and Wal-

nut Bend Elementary, starting at

8am.

Visit the tournament, see for your-

self and learn how to bring OM to

your school or find a team for your

child if it is not already on your cam-

pus. For more information on OM,

click here.

Lone Star Leadership Academy Camps

Nominate your outstanding 4th-8th graders for summer 2017 Lone Star Leader-ship Academy camps! Participants travel to the Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin/San Antonio, or Houston/Galveston area to join delegations of other distinguished students from across Texas for a week of fun, learning, leadership development, and visits to significant Texas destinations. Each day participants explore notable Texas sites, learn about unique careers from professionals, and work in small groups to develop specific leadership skills. In addi-tion, participants gain self-confidence and independence and develop new friendships with other high-achieving students from across the state.

Nominees must:

· Be in 4th-8th grade

· Maintain an 85 or higher average

· Demonstrate leadership ability

· Be involved in school/community activities

Nominate your outstanding 4th-8th graders online at: http://educationinaction.org/nominate-leaders

Nomination Deadline: Friday, February 3, 2017.

There is no limit to the number of students you may nominate.

Education in Action works one-on-one with students that request financial assistance.

Still have questions? Please contact us!

10200 Alta Vista Road

Keller, TX 76244

www.educationinaction.org

admissions@educationinaction.org

817-562-4957

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS

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The Davidson Institute serves profoundly gifted young people 18 and under. The

Davidson Institute defines profoundly gifted students as those who score in the

99.9th percentile on IQ and achievement tests. Their mission is to recognize, nur-

ture, and support profoundly intelligent young people and to provide opportuni-

ties for them to develop their talents to make a positive difference. The Davidson

Institute offers various programs to serve this group of students.

STARS is a week-long opportunity for Young Scholars only, between the ages of 8

and 12.

THINK is a three-week college program open to qualified students between the

ages of 13 and 16.

For a comprehensive list of summer programs recommended by the Davidson In-

stitute for Gifted Students, ranging from Archeology to Writing, please click here.

HISD Advanced Academics Team Adam Stephens, Advanced Academics Officer

Rosalinda Miranda, Executive Administrative Assistant

ADVANCED ACADEMICS PROGRAMS

Angela Vicencio, Administrative Assistant II

Tommie Morrison, Administrative Assistant II

Jennifer Datray, AP ELA and Literature/NMSI District

Coordinator

Emily Smith, AP Capstone/Confucius Institute Grant

Manager

Chris Bowser, AP Science

Jawad Tahiri, AP Science

Douglas Torres-Edwards, AP Social Studies/Art Ac-

cess District Coordinator

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE

Madison Gibson, Administrative Assistant II

Penelope Tschirhart, Manager, IB Programmes

GIFTED AND TALENTED

Angela Vicencio, Administrative Assistant II

Kristen Chen, Advanced Academics Specialist

Cecily Hale, Advanced Academics Specialist

Mikelle Holmes, Professional Development Design

Specialist

Angela Isart, Advanced Academics Specialist

Laura McDuffie, Professional Development Online

Specialist

Brenda Pedersen, Advanced Academics Specialist

LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH: LOTE

Madison Gibson, Administrative Assistant II

Luis ‘Cesar’ Carrillo, HISD Global Programming

Lead/ES Spanish Language Lead

Meliza Hull-Frederick, HISD Secondary Spanish

Language Lead/French Language Lead

Fang Ji, HISD Chinese Language Lead/Confucius

Institute Specialist

GRANTS DEVELOPMENT

Melissa A. Garza, Administrative Assistant II

Robert Pabst, Grants Administrator

Jacelyn McPherson, Grants Administrator

Jene Washington, Grants Administrator

Dr. Annetra Piper, Manager Grants

STEM

Madison Gibson, Administrative Assistant II

Kiamesha Bagley, Teacher Development Specialist

(TDS)

Mary Day, TDS

Benjamin Glover, TDS

Karen Grant, TDS

Angelica Halphen, TDS

Dianne Johnson, TDS

Jennifer Martinez, TDS

Michele Herod, TDS

Michelle R. Smith, TDS

Omar Valdivia, TDS

Susan LaForet, Manager STEM Teacher Develop-

ment

Sabrina Provencher, Manager TIF 4 STEM

Follow us on Twitter.

@HISD_Advanced Advanced Academics Department Hattie Mae White

4400 W 18th St.

Houston, TX 77092

Phone: 713-556-6954

Fax: 713-556-6898

E-mail: advancedacademics@houstonisd.org