Updates & Events
Alerts
Online Learning for all HISD students will continue for the remainder of the Spring semester. Make sure that your child checks his/her email and our new website (below)  for information about upcoming assignments!
* Some browsers will shorten this newsletter - if so, be sure to click "view entire message" at the bottom so that you can see all of our news!
Important Upcoming Dates & Deadlines
Weekly - Make sure all class assignments are submitted on time. For more information, click "View Our Website" to the right and look up your teachers for details.
Scholarship Winner: Esmailyn Aybar
Energy would like to congratulate Esmailyn Aybar for her recent scholarship! Congratulations!

The scholarship is The National Scholarship, and it is for DREAMERs who demonstrate potential to finish college and hopefully help politicians see that immigrants can do great things for the country as well as serve the Latino Community.

I feel excited and surprised. Excited because now I'm sure I have the money to go to college and continue my education. Surprised because I could not believe the committee chose me for the honor of representing DREAMERs and truly believes that I have a bright future.
A Crash Course in Human Evolution
Ms. Lim and Ms. Myers had their biology students attend a CrowdCast called “A Crash Course on Human Evolution” on Tuesday night! The CrowdCast was presented by Molly Selba, a PhD candidate in Anthropology at the University of Florida. Students asked great questions and enjoyed a discussion on Microsoft Teams with us afterwards.

Special shout out to Alex Maze, Zion Duplechain, and Hoyt Jackson, who all asked questions to the presenter!
Teacher Shout Out: Mr. Ludlow
This week freshman Aurora Page had questions about Economics. After asking her senior brother, Kai, he decided to simply take her to his Economics class this morning!

The Pages wanted to thank Mr. Ludlow for his flexibility and willingness to work with other students at Energy!

Way to go, Mr. Ludlow!
Teacher Shout Out: Cohort 2
Ms. Lim wants to give a huge shout out to the teachers in her cohort! "I wanted to shout out my team for going out of their way this week to host several social live events with our students. Students really enjoyed the time to socialize and learn together."

Ms. Weller - hosted an awesome Lorax streaming party and post-discussion on Earth day

Ms. Brown - hosted Vocabulary Jam vocab competitions, pitting students and teachers against each other in a live vocabulary race

Mr. Lalani - hosted an origami making and Onshape modeling session (see pictures!)
Student Shout Out: Yahir Favela
Ms. Myers wanted to give a shout out to one of her students, Yahir, for her success in distance education.

Although it can be challenging to stay motivated, focused, and keep track of assignments, Yahir has found herself excelling from home!

"GREAT JOB, Yahir! Keep up the amazing work!"
Energy English Fun Book Club
Ms. De La Rosa is hosting a from-home book club due to student interest! The commitment includes reading the selected book and participating in 3 - 5 Microsoft Teams Meetings in May to discuss.

The final selected book has not yet been revealed - stay tuned!

If you would like to join, sign up HERE by April 27th!
Important Senior Update!
Greeting EIHS Seniors and Parents!
Thank you for your patience, we have found a method to work within social distancing guidelines to make senior portrait products available for pickup! Please read all the information below before scheduling a pickup time. PLEASE NOTE: Orders with payment plans must be paid in fullto be eligible for pickup. Please contact us to complete your payment plan before pick up.

EIHS Senior 2020 Physical Product Pickup

STEP ONE: Make an appointment
Pick up times are the following
MORNING--Tuesday, May 5th from 9am-12pm
AFTERNOON--Wednesday, May 6th from 12pm-3pm
EARLY EVENING--Thursday, May 7th from 3pm-6pm

Please click this link to make an appointment and pick up within the hour. We will only be on site for a few hours, so if you cannot adhere to the hour within your appointment time, please contact us immediately.

BOOKING HERE:   https://bit.ly/3bQoTrH

STEP TWO: CURBSIDE PICK UP
HERE'S WHERE WE ARE: 
PICKUP LOCATION 
Winter Street Studios
2101 Winter Street,
Houston, TX 77007
*Entrance B, across from railroad tracks.

GOOGLE MAP DIRECTIONS

MANDATORY CURBSIDE DRIVE UP DIRECTIONS
1. GET IN LINE--Please enter from Henderson St. and turn right after you cross the railroad tracks to access the front side of the Winter Street Studios building. Vehicles entering the opposite direction will not be served. Please see map link above.

2. TEXT US—After you pull up to Entrance B, please text the name of your Senior, the color and type of car you are driving to (832) 324-5685, AND a copy of your driver's license or student ID. (For example: "John Smith, red Honda SUV"). We must verify who is picking up so that we may have proof of delivery in a touch-free manner.

3. OPEN YOUR TRUNK--Once your ID has been verified, our Lot Five Studios team member will place your order in the trunk or the back of your vehicle. Orders will not be handed directly to any individual unless they are wearing a mask and gloves for the protection of our employees.

4. CHECK YOUR ORDER--Check your order form and verify your order, or feel free to contact us if you are unsure that you have items to pick up. Please make sure to include your student’s name and high school in your email to expedite our responses to your inquiry
Important Junior Announcement: Is Your Junior Student Our Next Posse Scholar?
Attend the Posse Informational Meeting - Thursday, May 7 at 2:00 PM

The  Posse Foundation  is a non-profit organization that is currently seeking juniors with extraordinary academic and leadership potential. We will host a student/parent virtual information session for interested families on Thursday, May 7th at 2:00 PM. Selected Posse Scholars receive full tuition scholarships and other support at one of the following six schools: Texas A&M, Wellesley, UVA, Colby, Carleton, and Bryn Mawr. It's a wide range of schools to appeal to a variety of students. Energy Institute currently has over 10 Posse Scholars! Posse loves our students and thinks they stand out in their dynamic interview process which includes a large group interview where students work in teams to solve problems. If your current junior is interested in becoming a Posse Scholar and landing a full tuition scholarship we highly recommend attending this meeting!
The link to join the meeting is here: https://tinyurl.com/possemeeting2020. You can post questions during the meeting and we will work to answer those.

If you have any questions before the meeting, please contact Noelle MacGregor at   Noelle.MacGregor@houstonisd.org.
Online Webcast: How COVID-19 Will Change the Future of Oil & Gas
We are pleased to share with you the recap of our program last week on  Confronting Anti-Asian Racism in the Time of Coronavirus , where  Dr. Russell Jeung,  chair and professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, encouraged an emphasis on community and compassion to counter the rise of xenophobia. The video and summary can be found  here .

This week's webcast on Thursday evening, which will examine a topic particularly relevant to our Houston community as the  energy capital of the world  — the impact of COVID-19 on the oil and gas industry, especially following prices dropping below zero for the first time last week, and what the future looks like.

Please find additional information below:

Title: [WEBCAST] How COVID-19 Will Change the Future of Oil and Gas
Date & Time:  Thursday, April 30, 2020 @ 7:30 pm CT
Description : Energy markets were in flux even before travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders were issued across the globe in response to COVID-19. The reduced travel worldwide has resulted in decreasing demands for fuel and, along with the earlier price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, has also led to significant disruptions in energy supply chains and more.

Analysts say the oil and gas industry faces unprecedented times and an uncertain future — evidenced by oil prices dropping recently into the negative for the first time in history. How will the industry need to adapt after pandemic restrictions ease? Join us for a conversation with  Michael Cohen , Chief U.S. Economist at BP, to examine the future of oil and gas in Houston and globally.

Analysts say the oil and gas industry faces unprecedented times and an uncertain future — evidenced by oil prices dropping recently into the negative for the first time in history. How will the industry need to adapt after pandemic restrictions ease? Join us for a conversation with  Michael Cohen , Chief U.S. Economist at BP, to examine the future of oil and gas in Houston and globally.


We invite you to join us this Thursday evening for a deeper look at one of Houston's vital industries and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic both near term and longer term. Please feel free to share the webcast information with your loved ones, friends, coworkers, and broader network — we are grateful for the opportunity to expand the reach of our COVID-19 conversations as we continue to host weekly online programs. 
Featured Student & Staff
Student of the Week - Antonio Ruiz
Antonio was selected for his success and dedication in distance education throughout these difficult times.

Good afternoon, my name is Antonio Ruiz. I am a sophomore at Energy Institute High School.


Some of my hobbies are playing soccer, lifting weights, playing videos games, working on cars, and dancing.


I enjoy going to Energy Institute High School because of all of the hands on opportunities and amazing and dedicated teachers. 
Staff Member of the Week - Mr. Ransdell

Hi Energy Crew!

I’m extremely honored to be selected for this weeks Faculty Member of the Week! We have an OUTSTANDING group of people at this institution, and simply being counted among them is a privilege.
My name is Dan Ransdell, but I go by Mr. R with my students. This is my first year as a teacher, and my background is as convoluted as it gets. I have worked in just about every industry: agriculture, food service, church leadership, police, military, and even construction. I chose teaching as my career because what I loved about every job I ever had was teaching and equipping. The highlight of my day is any time I can help someone have that “a-ha!” moment.

I went to Wheaton College for my undergraduate where I played football all four years. Upon graduation, I joined the military and served as a Chaplain for nearly 5 years while I completed my Masters of Divinity at Denver Seminary. I still hold the rank of Captain in the IRR and would not trade my time in the military for anything.

Hobbies…what don’t I do?!? Ask my wife and she would say that I need an entire job to support the prolific number of things I love to tinker with. Right now, I’m focused on woodworking and video games (your kids have likely watched me play as I post videos for Friday Funday). As I say this, though, most of my time is invested into my incredible little daughter, Annabelle, who is 15 months and my wife, Kelly, who is about to have our third child, a boy, in September.

Why Do I Love Energy? I have always been motivated by unique teaching and presentation. I am driven by the hope that people can become equipped to be lifelong learners of whatever content their hearts desire. I chose Energy because their endeavor is not just to get students to score well on tests and graduate. Energy wants to uniquely engage students in rigorous learning and equip them to wrestle with difficult challenges on their own two feet. Students who truly engage with what we at Energy are doing will be well on their way to being tomorrow’s strong, motivated, curious, and relentless leaders that the world needs.

Best,
Mr. R
Nominations!
Do you know a student or faculty member that deserves recognition for being truly outstanding? Each week nominations will be reviewed and selected for. Nominations open from the time this newsletter is published (Friday!) until Tuesday at 11:59pm each week. All late submissions will roll into the nominations for the next week. Use the buttons on the right and start your nomination today!
COVID Resources
Special Fundraiser: Energy Food Fund
The Energy Institute PTO is collecting donations to create an Energy Food Fund to help support families who have been affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic. If you are interested and your family is in a position to be able to assist, please use the links below to make a monetary donation. The money will be used to purchase grocery gift cards and allocated by Energy administration to families in need.

For PTO website:  

For Venmo:    

For PayPal.Me: 
Helpful Updates, Resources, & More
Free Masks & Gloves: 12p - 2p, serving the first 100 cars (no walking up)
Saturday, 5/2: Mt. Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church - 908 E 32 1/2 St, Houston 77022

Counseling :
Please use the following link for the most current updates from TEA regarding counseling services: 

Food Donations:
The Houston Independent School District is partnering with the Houston Food Bank to organize a second mass
food distribution site on Saturday, April 25 from 4 to 7 p.m. at NRG Stadium. Next week’s distribution schedule
is also included in the link.

Food Distributions :
Below for next week’s food distribution schedule.

Tomorrow, Saturday, May 2, at the NRG Stadium Yellow Parking Lot Main Entrance, from 2 to 7 p.m. food will be distributed.              

Parenting Support:
Free online parenting class:

Other:
The links below were provided by BakerRipley: 

Rent Support :
·        https://acamweb.org/ 713-640-5192 Alliance Of Community Assistance Ministries
·        https://www.archgh.org/resources/need-help/ 713-659-5461 The Archdiocese of Galveston
·        https://catholiccharities.org/need-help/ 713-874-6776 Catholic Charities
·        https://www.homelesshouston.org/ 713-739-7514 Coalition for the Homeless
·        https://www.humanneeds.org/ 281-261-1006 Human Needs Ministry
·        http://echos-houston.org/ 713-270-0369 Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services
·        http://icmtx.org/ 281-332-3881 Interfaith Caring Ministries
·        https://www.houstonjewish.org/ 713-667-9336 Jewish Federation of Houston
·        https://ktcm.org/ 281-391-5261 Katy Christian Ministries
·        https://www.mamhouston.org/ 713-468-4516 Memorial Assistance Ministries
·        https://www.mybkoutreach.org/services-programs.php  281-498-9933 My Brothers keeper Outreach
·        https://www.stvhope.org/ 409-763-8521 St Vincent’s house
·        https://www.unitedwayhouston.org/211/ 713-957-4357 United Way Houston
·        https://eachouston.org/ 713-522-5903 Emergency Aid Coalition
·        https://haamministries.org/ 281-446-3663 Humble Area Assistance Ministries
Safety Reminders & Benefits
  • Be sure to visit our website for additional COVID resources and updates

  • View HISD health updates HERE

  • View Texas State health updates HERE

  • If you qualify for SNAP benefits, you might qualify for additional benefits. To find out more, click HERE
Opportunities
The time is right to start thinking about how you will spend your summer! Read below for more information on summer programs accepting applications now. You can also view more opportunities on the Energy Institute website. Click here.
Students Seeking Jobs
Are you a student looking for work? There are lots of CTE opportunities for students. Texas Workforce Solutions has set up a way for students to get help accessing employment to some of the essential jobs in the city by texting #GETPAID2020 to 40691.

How it works: Students register via the number above. A Texas Workforce employee will reach out to the student shortly to see the students' interest, what part of town they are looking to work in, etc.
Houston Urban Debate League Camp
The Houston Urban Debate League still plans to have Summer Camp! If an in-person camp is not an option, there have been discussion of moving it to a virtual platform.

The Institute will be held at the University of Houston with check-in on July 12th , and check-out on July 17th . The Institute is open to all HISD and CASE Debates students who will be in High School during the 2020-2021 academic school year. There will be advanced labs for Lincoln Douglas Debate, Policy Debate, Public Forum Debate, and Worlds Schools Debate as well as a general track for beginners.

Students can find out more information HERE

If you're interested in applying, click HERE
NAVIGATE 2020 Virtual Conference & College Fair
This event will host three days of live-stream expert presentations for students and families and a concurrent virtual college fair with fully interactive booths. Students can chat live with college admissions representatives, helping to find fit.  

Students and families have lost opportunities in their college search due to COVID-19.

This event is free-of-charge to attendees and is designed to help students and colleges connect safely during the COVID-19 crisis.  The event will be live for three days, packed with informative sessions about the college decision process. During those three days, students can also browse interactive college fair booths, chatting live with admissions representatives. 
After three days of live interactions, this event will remain posted at the event site until the COVID-19 crisis is over. Students need access to information and this site will remain a robust tool for exploring their options.  

We hope you can join us in this important event! Register soon, space is limited.

The Registration Link is HERE
Summer Opportunities
The Young Leaders Institute (YLI) is a week-long program to prepare high school students for leadership roles in a world more interconnected than ever before.

Students will learn the value of collaboration as they work in teams researching, debating, and presenting solutions for the challenges facing our world. They will be mentored throughout the week by Asia Society staff and experts in their respective fields.

This opportunity will take place online in three sessions offered M-F, 9-12P

July 13 - 17th: Energy and the Environment
July 27 - 31st: Food Security
August 10-14th: COVID-19 - Reflections & New Realities

Applications are now open and close May 25th. Apply HERE!
PTO & Parent News
Greetings EIHS Family, May 1, 2020

I hope this letter finds everyone safe, physically healthy, and emotionally well!   

Another heartfelt  “ THANK YOU ! ”  to all of you who have continued to donate to our EIHS Food Donation Fund to support our EIHS families in need of food assistance during this COVID-19 pandemic.  All of the donations will be used to provide food support for our EIHS families. The EIHS Food Donation Fund will remain active and continue to accept donations for the foreseeable future.

EIHS Online Home Learning
We have now completed our fifth week of online schooling at EIHS. I hope the process has been a smooth one and that you and your family have settled into a new “normal” routine. If your child is struggling or needs help with this, please contact your child’s teachers or Dean for help. Check out the Energy Home Learning Page HERE for school news and updates, as well as teacher and admin contact info. For COVID Resources from the CDC and HISD, follow this LINK .

PTO Activities To Assist Our EIHS Community During This Time
For the foreseeable future, the PTO will not be holding any in-person events or activities. However, we will continue to support our EIHS Family through our PTO Food Donation Fund to help families pay for groceries, as well as by providing information regarding HISD and community-based food assistance options each week, providing links to helpful coping resources, and reminding our community about the Amazon Smile Program (which provides a portion of sales to PTO for the EIHS community). 

EIHS Food Donation Fund
The PTO is continuing to collect donations for the EIHS Food Donation Fund to help support families who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are interested in helping and your family is in a position to be able to donate, please use the links below to make a monetary donation. The money will be used to purchase grocery gift cards and allocated by EIHS administration to families in need. 
You can donate using any of these options:
Venmo           https://venmo.com/EIHSFoodDonationFund
 
Food Assistance Options for May 2-8, 2020
For families needing food assistance, there are several options for this coming week:
May 2, 2020 at NRG : On Saturday, May 2, 2020, HISD and Houston Food Bank will partner for a third week for a large-scale community food distribution effort at NRG. They plan to distribute twice as much food as last week and have increased their hours to accommodate more families. This Saturday’s event will be from 2-7pm and 10,000 food packages will be distributed in the NRG yellow lot. For more details click HERE.  At the first two Saturday events, almost 1.3 million pounds of food was distributed.
May 4-8, 2020 at HISD schools : Each day next week, HISD Nutrition Services will continue food distribution services at various sites throughout the district. Check HERE for site locations, dates, and times for the week of May 4, 2020. 
May 2-8, 2020 through The Houston Food Bank : The Houston Food Bank has recently partnered with the YMCA of Greater Houston and Brighter Bites to provide additional fresh fruits and vegetables in their food distributions. Distributions are taking place throughout the city and they expect to serve 2,400 families each day. Check their website ( www.HoustonFoodBank.org ) or call 832-369-9390 for more information. Click HERE and enter your location to find the nearest distribution site to you and their days and times of food distribution.
May 2-8, 2020 through The Houston Parks and Recreation Department : The Houston Parks and Recreation Department is operating a curbside meal program at 50 community centers around the city. For a community center near you, check HERE .

Helpful Coping Resources (available by phone or text)
If you need help in coping with the mental or emotional effects of developments related to the coronavirus pandemic, consider contacting the Disaster Distress Helpline (1800-985-5990 or text “ TalkWithUs ” to 66746).  The Helpline is a free, multilingual, confidential service, and is available 24/7, 365-days a year. Callers/texters will be connected with a trained crisis counselor who can assist callers who have a range of symptoms. For more information on the Helpline, click HERE . The Helpline is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is a department within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Amazon Smile Program
For those of you who are doing your shopping on Amazon.com, please remember that you can use the Amazon Smile program when you place your order and 0.5% of your total purchase price will be donated to EIHS PTO at no additional cost to you. In order for the PTO to receive this donation, you must access Amazon Smile directly ( https://smile.amazon.com/ ) and then continue with your shopping as usual. If you do not have EIHS PTO listed as your charitable organization, use the Amazon Smile link, go to “your account”, select the option to “change your charity”, and choose “Energy Institute High School PTO”, and then begin your shopping.

2020-2021 PTO Executive Board
Are you interested in serving on the PTO Executive Board for the 2020-2021 academic year? We are recruiting for the following positions: President Elect, Treasurer, Secretary, and Parliamentarian. If you’d like to learn more about the positions, job descriptions are posted on our PTO website ( https://www.energyinstitutepto.org/forms ). If you are interested in a position or want more information, please email Sarah Levit ( presidentelect@energyinstitutepto.org ).

Gentle Reminders for Physical and Mental Health
To help protect yourself and others from COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has specific guidelines on social distancing, hand-washing, face-covering, and cleaning/disinfecting your home, as well as daily life, managing stress, and coping. The CDC also has specific social distancing and other recommendations for your family pets to help protect them from COVID-19. All of these guidelines are available HERE .

With all the information on the news and social media regarding current events, a gentle reminder to take some time for yourself and your family members to pause and de-stress from all the COVID-19 news and all the pandemic-related news. Take time to exercise or engage in leisurely activities or learn a new skill. Encourage your children to get into a regular routine for their online schoolwork, and to have time to exercise, relax, and socialize with friends online. Consider creating opportunities for more family time together (family meals, family game night, family chats). Stay connected with extended family, friends, and neighbors through phone calls, video chats, text messages, and social media.

Although this is a challenging time, we can find positive ways to adapt to our current circumstances.

Together, we will get through this!

Best regards,
Sarah Carpentieri-Asbury


2019-2020 PTO Executive Board
Sarah Carpentieri-Asbury (President)
Sarah Levit (President-Elect)
Arva Dearborne (Treasurer)
Anne Geyer (Acting Secretary)
Maha Allaham (Parliamentarian)
Still Want More?
We hope that you find the information on the newsletters helpful. The best way to stay in the know about all things Energy related is to follow us on one of our social media platforms. Follow us today!
Newsletter Submissions!
Do you have information you'd like to share about an upcoming cool event, fundraiser, opportunity, or class news? Use the link button to the right to submit any related information that Energy students and families should hear about!
Additional Information
Important Links
Click on the link to be redirected for more information.

  1. Updated Dress Code
  2. Energy Communication Form
  3. Laptop Forms and Payment
  4. Transportation
Energy is a proud recipient of the 2016 National Merit Awards

Energy is a public school in the Houston Independent School District

Energy is an active participant with the district's "HUB" initiative

A special thanks to our sponsors: