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FOUNDATION HAPPENINGS
April 2016








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State Farm Partners Up for 
STARS Program

  
This past February, State Farm awarded Plano ISD Education Foundation a $10,000 grant for our STEM Initiative "Science Teachers are Rock Stars" (STARS) mentoring program. The STARS program supports secondary STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) teachers through professional mentorship, on-going meetings that focus on curriculum planning and student engagement as well as the provision of curriculum writing opportunities. The goal of the program is to increase retention of STEM teachers as well as enhance the classroom experience for both the students and teachers. The Plano ISD Education Foundation is committed to assisting educators help students achieve their full potential, and this program not only enhances curriculum but helps retain the best teachers. 

Teachers gathered at Academy High School to participate in seminars and group activities

Thank you State Farm for your support of Plano ISD's STEM teachers!


Plano Sports Authority


Started in 1970, Plano Sports Authority (PSA) has become a second home for many Plano ISD students who love to play sports. Plano Sports Authority is a non-profit organization and has grown to four locations - three in Plano and one in McKinney. The sole purpose of PSA is for kids to enjoy all kinds of sports, which is evident by the 13 different sports opportunities it offers, such as basketball, volleyball, soccer, martial arts and many more. Many Plano ISD students are familiar with the sports complex, as about 40% of the district's students age 4-15, have played at PSA over the years. Annually, PSA has more than 100,000 registrants and 5,000 volunteers.     

Plano Sports Authority is home to many students around the area who love to play sports.

Plano Sports Authority creates a safe, active environment for students to enjoy themselves throughout the year but does more than just facilitate sporting events for students. It hosts, free of charge, tryouts for Plano Senior High School's basketball team, end of season district tournaments, as well as charity events for Plano ISD. Also, throughout the year, many club and Plano ISD teams use the facility for practice. PSA also offers tuition based camps throughout the summer months (and during spring break), and students can have the opportunity to play many different sports as well as enroll in enrichment classes like computer science and robotics that feature volunteers from local universities who are the teachers. About 18,000 students, mostly from Plano ISD and its surrounding areas, register for the summer camp every year. Summer camps are a favorite employment site for many Plano ISD teachers and coaches, so often our students get to see their teachers all year round.

First grade students practice their soccer dribbling skills after school with their coach.
 
For more information about PSA and their offerings throughout the year, please visit this website!


Sci-Tech and Bowman Middle School Partner Up

A pilot program for students at Bowman Middle School allows 7th & 8th graders to participate in the FIRST Lego League (FLL) robotics in the fall and again this spring. This program, developed by Sci-Tech Discovery Center, began in the fall through collaboration with Cisco, Capital One, Sci-Tech and Plano ISD as an innovative way to expand STEM learning in Title I schools. During the fall semester, students participated in the FLL competition phase of the program. Following the FLL educational framework, the students were given additional opportunities to engage with industry experts to assist in problem solving, critical thinking and teamwork as it relates to building a robot and presenting it at a competition. The experience culminated with a FLL competition were Bowman MS "rookie" teams came in 4th, 12th and 16th place.

 
To further build on this experience at Bowman MS, through a partnership with Alliance Data, 6th & 7th graders interested in robotics started their spring training with the formation of a robotics club. Again, Sci-Tech provides the FLL framework and students learn valuable skills related to research, design, presentation and competition. These students will be more than ready and engaged in the fall when the FLL competition season begins. Most importantly, the students are engaged in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning which is fun and authentic.  


Donor Shout Out

    

Thank you Alliance Data for being such a great partner for the Plano ISD Education Foundation! Your support of Plano's AVID program, Plano Family Literacy, Grants to Educators, Title I Campus Support and FIRST Lego League Program through Bowman Middle School is highly appreciated! 


Plano ISD Alumni Association 
Third Annual Alumni Golf Tournament


  
On Monday, March 28, Plano ISD Alumni Association held its Third Annual Alumni Golf Tournament. The participants were welcomed with perfect weather and mingled with Plano ISD Alumni and sponsors. The tournament kicked off with putting and chipping contests and golfing18 holes around Gleneagles Country Club's Queen's Course. The day was capped off with an award ceremony and raffle drawings.
  


Check out the highlights of the Golf Tournament by clicking hereThank you to all of our participants, sponsors and Gleneagles Country Club for making this a successful and enjoyable event!

   


Save the Date: 
2015-2016 Donor Appreciation at   "Pops by the Pond"!

 
On Friday, May 20, the Plano ISD Education Foundation will host its donor appreciation event at Plano Senior High School. Come enjoy "Pops by the Pond" hear the orchestra play and enjoy Ruthie's Food Truck. Call the Foundation for more information.
  
 
AVID Leadership Retreat
   
For the purposes of challenging students to become leaders in AVID at their school and in life, 76 students from 22 secondary campuses attended the AVID Leadership Retreat on March 17 & 18 at Collin County Adventure Camp. During the day, students participated in leadership sessions, team building activities and personal challenge-by-choice activities.  In the evening, the AVID seniors spoke and gave advice to the younger students. This was an unique learning experience for these students.
  
AVID students participated in activities to develop their leadership skills during the retreat at Collin County Adventure Camp.

Thank you Alliance Data for sponsoring the event and supporting our AVID students!
 
Plano ISD Education Foundation / 2700 W. 15th Street / Plano, Texas 75075 469.752.8272/foundation@pisd.edu