TIBS provides numerous scholarships and innovative teaching/training grants to deserving students and teachers each year.
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TIBS 2017 eNewsletter,
Fall Edition
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Dear TIBS community,
Welcome to the 2017 Fall eNewsletter.
We hope your 2017-2018 school year is off to a good start, though we know some of you in South Texas had a delayed beginning of school because of Hurricane Harvey. Part of this newsletter is devoted to relief efforts executed by IB schools in Texas on behalf of schools in the affected area. Long before the rain had stopped, our inboxes were flooded by inquiries from IB schools in Texas and beyond, asking how to help. Please keep reading to see some of the amazing relief efforts organized by our Texas IB schools.
We know you are looking forward to the upcoming winter holiday break, as you are all deserving of some rest and recreation.
In addition to Hurricane Harvey relief, this edition of the newsletter includes information about roundtables, TIBS student conferences, celebrations of Hispanic Heritage month, and other worthwhile activities in our Spotlight on Schools section. We are always impressed by all the good things that are happening on our IB World School campuses.
We are grateful for your continued support, and we truly appreciate your efforts to provide the students in your schools with the best possible educational opportunities. Don't forget to keep us updated with your stories, photos, and videos! Send them any time, as it will be time for the Spring eNewsletter before we know it.
Best regards,
Karen Phillips, TIBS Executive Director
Courtney Smith, TIBS Associate Executive Director
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- What We've Been Up To / What's Coming Up
- Recently Authorized Schools
- 2017/2018 Board Members
- Fall Events
- Spotlight on IB World Schools and Students
- IB Schools Respond to Hurricane Harvey
- Announcements
- Contact Us
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What We’ve Been Up To:
-Summer 2017 Workshops
- El Paso (June 8-9): 123 trained (MYP/DP)
- Dallas (July 17-18): 509 trained (PYP/MYP/DP)
- Austin (July 23-29): 1,187 trained (PYP/MYP/DP/Cont)
- Houston (August 10-11): 421 trained (PYP/MYP/DP/Cont)
-IB Conference of the Americas—Orlando, FL (July 20-23)
-MYP Roundtable—Carrollton (September 19)
-Workshop Providers Meetings—Bethesda, MD (September 28-29)
-Gifted/Talented Fall Conference—Baylor University (October 14)
-Fall Seminar—Austin (October 28): 130 attendees
- Diploma: How the core fits together: TOK, CAS, & EE
- MYP Best Practices: How it all fits together
- Inquiry in the PYP Classroom
-TAGT Annual Conference—Houston (November 29-December 1)
-Central TX PYP Roundtable—Austin (December 2)
What’s Coming Up:
- TIBS Spring Meeting & Seminar—Dallas (March 2-3)
- Rice Winter & Spring IB Workshops—Houston (February 8-10 & March 15-17)
- SXSWedu—Austin (March 5-8)
- TAGT Leadership Conference—Dallas (April 15-17)
- TIBS College Fair—Hurst (April 24)
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Congratulations to our newly authorized schools in Texas!
We are very proud of all of your hard work. If you are not on this list and have been authorized, please
let us know
.
- Arthur Kramer Elementary (PYP)—Dallas
- Woodlawn Academy (MYP)—San Antonio
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Linda Buie
Margaret Davis
Rick Fernandez
Courtney Gober
Philip Grossweiler
Angela Hall-Hector
Lynn Hobson
Kelly McBride
Rebeckah Tisdale
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North Texas MYP Roundtable
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A great day of collaboration was held on Sept.19 as 40 teachers gathered to collaborate at the North Texas MYP Roundtable. Held at the Technology Learning Center in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, participants enjoyed meeting new MYP teachers in their subject. Even though years of experience ranged from 7+ years to 2 years, everyone appreciated the time to work on curriculum. Because there were smaller groups, everyone felt comfortable in expressing concerns as well as celebrations. Participants shared ideas about planners, assessment tasks, and the IB rubrics, while also utilizing digital shared spaces to build banks of ideas for ongoing support and collaboration. As one participant said, “It was so nice to speak with people who understood the IB vocabulary and could really help with finding great solutions to problems!” Teachers were grouped by subject area, so there were conversations about vertical alignment and integrating ATLs in a variety of ways. Thanks to TIBS for awarding the grant to the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD and thanks to Ranchview High School and Barbara Bush Middle School for hosting and doing all the legwork!
Submitted by Tina Flatt, MYP Coordinator, Barbara Bush Middle School, CFBISD
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Texas IB Schools IB Student Conference
TIBS sponsored an IB Student Conference at the Career and Technical Education Academy in HEBISD. About 70 high school students attended this event on September 30th. During the plenary session,
Dr. LaRell Bissett
(above) from Plano East High School shared her knowledge of the Native American culture. Among many differences she noted between Native American values and current US values was this comment: "Native American culture believes that success is judged not by how much wealth is accrued, but by how much is given away."
One breakout session featured
Beverly
Wheeler
of College Admissions office of Harding College speaking on the topic "Letting Your 'IBness' Shine Through on College Applications."
In the second breakout session, students worked on a
CAS
project. Students brought donations which were shared with the Euless Police Department and the North Tarrant County Food Bank. The morning finished with lunch. The 70 students in attendance had a great morning.
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Alcuin School Recognized by Dallas Regional Chamber
Alcuin School, an MYP-DP authorized World School, was recognized by the Dallas Regional Chamber as one of only two Dallas schools to be in a promotional video as a component of the bid to attract Amazon's 2nd headquarters to the DFW Region. The Chamber specifically asked to include Alcuin students, faculty, and staff to showcase an example of a great school in North Texas that inspires innovation. They filmed students in the design studio, The HIVE, and caught the Hawk Spirit at an assembly.
Amazon and DFW
including the scenes showing IB in action at Alcuin can be viewed at
https://youtu.be/BQ2qtQ4OS2k
Submitted by Margaret Davis, Head of Upper School, Alcuin School
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Allen High School Student Makes Prosthetic Arm
O
ne of Allen High School’s DP seniors, Kareena Chawla, created a 3D-printed prosthetic arm for a man in need of a prosthesis in her community. She documented this as one of her CAS experiences and posted a video at this link:
https://youtu.be/Vi8nvU6JAgA
Allen High School is very proud of Kareena Chawla!
Submitted by Shelly Holmes, Advanced Academics Coordinator, Allen High School
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Spotlight on Service Learning
Meridian School launched their first Service Learning Day in early September! Every student in MYP spent the entire day, not on typical classroom assignments, but on unpacking service learning, building relationships with one another, learning about local outlets for volunteerism and service, and finally selected one of the UN’s sustainable goals to focus his/her energy on. Teachers and students were paired up based on their common interests, which resulted in very energetic and passionate ideas being brainstormed about topics! Students and teachers were asked to submit service learning proposals. They will spend three more days this school year working towards the goals that students have created.
The goal is to authentically integrate service learning throughout the Middle Years Program across the entire five years of the program. By having special programming days, both students and teachers can get comfortable with authentic, student initiated action, and it can naturally progress to implementation within unit planners. There are big plans on the horizon! If you’d like to talk to the MYP Coordinator, or share your own service learning initiatives, Meridian School would love to connect with you! Please email the MYP Coordinator at
[email protected]
Submitted by Kaylene Rudd, MYP Coordinator, Meridian World School
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International Dot Day
On September 15, Wilson Academy participated in International Dot day.
The Dot
is a book by Peter Reynolds, and starting in 2009, a group of educators began celebrating this day for classes to explore the story’s themes of bravery, creativity and self-expression. Dot activities occurred in visual arts, design, physical and health education classes. The activities focused on the following IB Learner Profile attributes: Risk-Taker, Communicator, Open-Minded and Caring. It is amazing to see the range of innovation from one simple dot.
Submitted by Tracey Collins, MYP Coordinator, Wilson Intermediate, Aldine ISD
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Malala Trailblazers' Food Drive
At International School of Texas our students are all divided into four 'Trailblazer' houses, named after famous trailblazers (Malala, Armstrong, Mandela and Earhart), with elected students heading up the houses as Captains and Vice-Captains. Throughout the year, each house has a chance to organize and run a service project of their choosing. We also have speakers for our 'Trailblazer Speaker Series,' who talk with our students and their families about their lives and accomplishments. Past Trailblazer Speakers have included William Kamkwumba (
The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind
), and NASA astronaut, Rex Walheim.
This term, our Trailblazer Speaker was Mace Massingill, a 2nd-grade Austinite, who set up his own food drive campaign #nohunger, which strives to collect enough food to feed 250,000 people. His empathetic message really spoke to our children, and so our Malala House Captains took charge of promoting, organizing and arranging the entire project throughout the school and its wider community, and delivering the collected items to Mace themselves and the Central Texas Food Bank. We even had KVUE news station come to IST to film a piece about the collection, where Mace joined us again to help gather our donations and speak about the project alongside our students! The children's action taking was a huge success, and they were able to collect and donate over 10 large boxes full of food to Mace's campaign. We are all so very proud of their efforts and the difference that they will make in the lives of those less fortunate than themselves. Mace is in the orange shirt in the photo.
Submitted by Eleanor Mitchell, IB Coordinator, International School of Texas, Lakeway.
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Community Project Sparks Community Action
Last year’s MYP 3 students, Makayla, Ashanti and Kenethia rebuilt Harry Stone’s butterfly garden. The year before that, Angel, Carlos and Sebastian organized a Blood Drive on campus through Carter Blood Care. This year, students are largely focusing on the less fortunate members of our local community including Dachshunds.
Stone is fortunate to have dedicated, motivated, and outstanding examples of student leaders promoting civic action. Without the IB program, we would not have this valuable learning experience for our students on a school-wide basis. And because we are a Pre K through MYP 3 campus, our students are role models for our younger students.
Submitted by Megan Capshaw, MYP Coordinator, Harry Stone Montessori Academy and IB World School, Dallas ISD
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Hispanic
Heritage
Month
Event
Our scholars at Uplift Mighty participated in a Hispanic Heritage Assembly. They were risk takers and performed a variety of dances for the entire middle school. The scholars who were in the audience showed a huge amount of open-mindedness by supporting their fellow scholars and encouraging them throughout the performance. Despite their different cultures and backgrounds, this event truly brought all of the scholars together as on
e.
Submitted by Heather King, Uplift Mighty, MYP Dean of Instruction.
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Spicewood Elementary Students Replenish
Food Pantry
In connection with their How We Organize Ourselves unit of inquiry, students in first grade learned about how different groups and organizations help members of a community. The teachers arranged for a local food pantry (located at one of our district campuses) representatives to share more about how food pantries help communities in need. The students were inspired by their conversation and took action on their own, starting their own canned food drive to help replenish the food pantry’s supply at Jo Lee Johnson Elementary. Students created posters and informational videos to advertise the drive. The drive has collected well over 100 food items. Because of the drive’s success, students are planning on continuing the drive throughout the year to help support a community in need.
Submitted by Jessica Vance, PYP Coordinator, Spicewood Elementary School, Round Rock ISD.
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Micro Pets at Mason IB World School
4th-graders at Mason IB World School in Leander ISD embarked on a week-long creative project using the micro:bit, a pocket sized computer developed by the BBC that allows children to spend time coding creatively. Combined with the power of Makecode, this powerful little computer makes a great introduction to physical computing. Colleen Graves, the librarian, worked with 4th- grade teacher Deidre Honea to adapt the
CS intro course
designed by Douglas Kiang. This week-long project took creativity to a different level and challenged students to interview partners about their ideal pet, and then design and create a Micro:pet for their partner. By focusing on design thinking, programming, and making, the students were guided through the making process with ease. More pictures and information can be found on Twitter by following @gravescolleen and @deidrehonea1.
Submitted by Ashley Swindle, PYP Coordinator, Mason IB World School, Leander ISD
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8th-Graders Create Wounded Warriors Video
I
t is a privilege to honor those that have served our country. Hutchinson Middle School 8
th
graders spent time learning and reflecting on our American heroes and what it means to be free. Thank you to the men and women who serve our country. We honor our Wounded Warriors in this video:
Submitted by Toby Klameth, MYP Coordinator, Hutchinson Middle School, Lubbock ISD
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International-Mindedness at Patterson Elementary
Patterson Elementary in Houston ISD will officially start their PYP Candidacy in March 2018. Since August 2017, Patterson educators have inquired into various approaches to develop international mindedness while implementing the HISD district curriculum. During the fall semester, students in various grade levels inquired into how electricity is generated in various countries; how people express themselves through music, traditions, and sports; how people’s homes change around the world; and how communities interact with one another throughout the world. Through small steps, Patterson teachers are developing internationally-minded students who will one day take action to build a peaceful world.
Submitted by Luis Saenz, PYP Coordinator-Designate, Patterson Elementary School, Houston ISD
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Astronomy Partnership with Texas A&M
Recently, The Woodlands Prep International School received a visit by Mr. Don W. Carona, Manager of the Physics Observatory from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University. The Woodlands Prep and Texas A&M have recently formed an astronomy partnership and are planning collaborative programs that will put Woodlands Prep’s astronomical observatory to good use. The partnership aims to allow students from both schools to work together, learn from each other, and gain hands-on experience in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics.
Submitted by Myrnaliz Neco, General Manager, Woodlands Prep Academy
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Grisham Middle School
Grisham
Middle School (IB MYP) collected items for the Austin Disaster Relief Network through Sept. 30. We then delivered the items to the downtown location.
Submitted by Dana Browning, MYP Coordinator, Round Rock ISD
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River Oaks Elementary
The Student Leadership Team at River Oaks Elementary decided to channel our SOCKTOBER event to support Hurricane Harvey Relief as many of our neighbors and students were directly impacted by the storm. The student leaders learned about a grassroots nonprofit that sprung up during the storm that is still (6 weeks post storm) working to help those in need. Our music teacher is one the founding members, and she shared stories of need with our kids, and they wanted to help. Socks were sold all last week, and to date we have raised $504 for TxLdrs as well as collected 84 pairs of warm socks that we will donate to the Star Of Hope Mission just around the corner from our school. We were so happy that We Help Two, the organization that supports Socktober, opened up their project to ideas other than helping those in need of prosthetics. It allowed our students to continue a project we love, but respond to an urgent need right here in our own community.
Submitted by Liz Goodman, Dean of Instruction, River Oaks Elementary, Houston ISD.
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Summit International Prepatory
Summit International Preparatory scholars have created a 6-week project to donate items to those affected by Hurricane Harvey at New Faith Church in Houston. Scholars reached out to the school and community for donations. On the 11
th
of November a group of scholars, Dean of Scholars, and Academic Counselor hand delivered items collected. We have also sent care packages to families affected by Hurricane María in Puerto Rico. Below is a video of what our Summit Beta Club has done thus far.
Submitted by Yessenia Hackett-Evans, IB Coordinator, Uplift Education
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Rounding Up Help for Rockport at Lamar Academy
After the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, McAllen ISD decided to become "sister districts" with Aransas County ISD. Lamar Academy participated in a district-wide donation drive (money, gift cards, toiletries, water, and canned foods) as a school specifically collecting donations of water. Once donations were collected, IB students packed up the items and took a school bus to personally deliver the collected items to Rockport. Our students helped stock and sort the donated items at the local church which helped the affected area. Our students learned a great deal from participating in this effort to help. They had the chance to see the destruction and the resilience in the community firsthand. They also saw the immense effect of giving back to those who need help. One of the student volunteers observed, "I never knew a community as small as ours could make such a difference.” An important lesson was learned that day.
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Submitted by Marissa Sarabando, DP Coordinator, McAllen ISD
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Pinkerton Elementary
August 28th, disaster struck the gulf coast, and Hurricane Harvey caused devastating flooding. I saw a cry for help on Facebook from a friend in the Houston area where her neighborhood was completely flooded. I shared this story with my 4th- graders who immediately wanted to help. For the next two days, we asked our school for donations to make cleaning kits and baby kits of supplies to give to my friend. On September 1st, my 4th-graders put together over 175 Care Kits for families during this time of need. These were delivered that night to my friend, who drove to Houston the next day to pass out the kits to her whole neighborhood community. Pictures were sent back to me of the families we directly were able to help as a result of my students' action! Rhonda Pickrell is our PYP coordinator.
Submitted by Kori Haverstick, PYP Teacher, Pinkerton Elementary,
Coppell ISD
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Awty International School
After the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey, my classmate and I launched a school- wide initiative in where we'd give back to those affected by the storms. We led two mini-projects. The first was a school-wide donation drive that consisted of diapers, school supplies, hygiene products, and undergarments. The second project was a school-based abatement team which helped school families whose homes were affected by flooding. Our parents, teachers, and students came together willingly to offer any assistance needed. I was so proud of the support given by my school community to bring this project to fruition. --Blessing Utomi (IB Senior)
Submitted by Isabel Van Dyck, DP Coordinator, Awty International School, Houston
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Fondren Middle School
Due to impact of Hurricane Harvey, the need in our community is great. As a result, we opened The Fondren Community Pantry. The initial plan was to collect non-perishable food items, school uniforms, clear or mesh backpacks, school supplies, toiletries and cleaning products to be distributed to our community once a week. During the first three weeks that we were open, we were able to serve over 300 hundred families.
With the help of a community partner, we secured an additional donation from the Houston Food Bank. The Houston Food Bank brought their refrigerated truck fill with fresh fruits and vegetables to our campus. During our first food distribution, we had 210 people sign our register. Those signatures represented 883 individuals within the family households.
Our goal is to continue collecting donations for the remainder of this school year for weekly distribution. Additionally, we will be working with the Houston Food Bank to continue food distribution once a month for families in need of assistance.
Submitted by Melodye Montgomery, MYP Coordinator, Fondren Middle School, Houston ISD
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Roosevelt Elementary
We, the students at Roosevelt Elementary located in McAllen, Texas, felt like we had to step up and do something to help all of the victims of Hurricane Harvey. Students in grades PK-5
th
grade joined together in an effort to help all those that were affected by this tragic hurricane. The students from Roosevelt Elementary donated thousands of toiletry items to help victims with their basic needs. We were able to fill two cars with items such as: tooth brushes, tooth paste, toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, body soap, body scrubbers, wipes, and a variety of other items. We knew that the aftermath of the Hurricane would be the most difficult time because the victims were not only adjusting to the fact that some of them lost everything, but instead were having to wipe their tears to be able to work together to rebuild their communities, their schools, and their lives. Our goal in donating the toiletry items was to help make it a little bit easier for the Hurricane Harvey victims to have access to what they needed to maintain their basic needs throughout the clean-up process. All of the toiletry items were boxed up by the students of Roosevelt Elementary, and with the help of our school staff, we loaded the boxes to be delivered to the donation site.
The donations that were given by all of the students at Roosevelt were not given because we felt sad for the victims, but instead were given because we wanted to give all of the Hurricane victims items that they needed to help rebuild their communities. With the help of all of us working together, all of the cities that were affected by Hurricane Harvey WILL be able to rebuild.
--
Giselle Hinojosa
and
Quesias Martinez,
Roosevelt Elementary Student Council Presidents
Submitted by Elizabeth Hernandez, PYP Coordinator, Roosevelt Elementary School, McAllen ISD
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Westlake Academy
Grade 9
MYP G9 students at Westlake Academy in Westlake, Texas wanted to do something to help others in Houston after Hurricane Harvey hit. They designed a fundraiser called “Buy a Shirt, Give a Bag.” For each t-shirt sold, proceeds would be used to fill a drawstring bag with items that teachers and students need to make it through a school day. They are adopting a few teachers and schools in the south and are wrapping up their efforts as they stuff the 124 drawstring bags with gift cards, expo markers, snacks, and a variety of school supplies that educators need in order to teach their students.
--Teacher sponsor: Mrs. Rhoda Hahn
Submitted by Maria Busico-Flight, DP CAS Coordinator, Westlake Academy
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Westlake Academy, Grade 6
MYP Grade 6 students from Westlake Academy in Westlake, decided to help out their neighbors to the south right after Hurricane Harvey hit them. They started a campaign to collect toiletries and baby items from their school community and donated to the Trusted World organization, which coordinated shelters for Hurricane Harvey evacuees that were able to make it to Dallas. These four students, Megan Flight, Allie Gautier, Sophia Kelly and Isa Seymour, inspired the Town of Westlake to participate as well, and between the two groups, they collected 2 full truck loads of items to deliver to Dallas!
Submitted by Maria Busico-Flight, DP CAS Coordnator, Westlake Academy
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Broncos in Action
Barbara Bush Middle School
Barbara Bush Broncos in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD showed their caring side as they jumped into action to support the relief efforts for those Texans affected by Hurricane Harvey. On the second day of school, announcements were made, and collections began for the evacuees who could bring very little with them as the flooding continued in Southeast Texas. The Bronco families collected diapers, baby clothes, flip flops, and canned food. They also donated coins and dollars to help families buy cleaning products and personal toiletries. In just 10 days of collecting, the Bronco Nation collected over $400 and made two deliveries to Metrocrest Services for distribution to evacuees staying in the local area. Our thanks to all BBMS families for helping us take care of our fellow Texans.
Submitted by Tina Flatt, MYP Coordinator, Barbara Bush Middle School, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD
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Hutchinson Middle School
Students and staff at Hutchinson Middle School in Lubbock,Texas collected items to replace what Kolter Elementary lost during Hurricane Harvey. They have also sponsored a specific teacher at Kolter with a direct link on Amazon to items she chose to restock her room.
Submitted by Toby Klameth, MYP Coordinator, Hutchinson Middle School,
Lubbock ISD
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UPCOMING EVENTS:
- Spring Seminar will be March 3, 2018, Westin Dallas Park Central Hotel.
- Registration for TIBS Austin workshops (Session 1, July 15-18 and Session 2, July 18-21) will open on February 1st on the TIBS website. Remember: the IB organization and Kent State University have partnered to offer graduate credit for PYP, MYP, and DP training. Click here to find out more!
- IB College Fair 2018 will be on April 24, 2018 at the Hurst Conference Center. Student registration will open in January. More information to follow.
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We'd love to hear from you with any questions or concerns.
I
f you have feedback on the newsletter
, please contact
Judy Chapman
.
To share your schools' stories, accomplishments, and projects, please email us at
[email protected]
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