|
TIBS provides numerous scholarships and innovative teaching/training grants to deserving students and teachers each year.
|
|
|
TIBS 2017 eNewsletter,
Spring Edition
|
|
|
Dear TIBS community,
Welcome to the 2017 Spring eNewsletter.
The end of the 2016-2017 school year is in sight! We hope you've had a fantastic year and wish you a summer full of relaxation, travel and/or challenging adventures. We hope to see some of you at our various trainings across Texas in El Paso, Dallas, Austin, and Houston during the summer.
This edition brings a wide array of information to your inbox. Thanks to all of you who shared your celebrations and the wonderful projects going on in your schools. Please let us know what other kinds of items you would like to see in this eNewsletter.
We are grateful for your continued support and truly appreciate your inspiring community and classroom work. Don't forget to keep us updated with your stories, photos, and videos! We can't wait to see them this Fall.
Best regards,
Karen Phillips, TIBS Executive Director
Courtney Smith, TIBS Associate Executive Director
|
|
|
- Scholarship and Grant Winners
- What We've Been Up To / What's Coming Up
- Recently Authorized Schools
- 2017/2018 Board Members
- 2017 College Fair Report
- How to Make IB Stand Out in the College Admission Process
- Spotlight on IB World Schools and Students
- Projects! Projects! Projects!
- Announcements
- Contact Us
|
|
|
TIBS DP Scholarship Winners
- Tara Adhikari (Coppell High School)
- Apurva Gunturu (Coppell High School)
- Cameron Kostopoulos (LD Bell High School—Hurst)
- Stacy Manrique (Lamar Academy—McAllen)
- Bhavana Penmetsa (Imagine International Academy of North Texas)
- Harshini Rallapalli (Uplift North Hills Preparatory—Irving)
- Krishn Tahiliani (Coronado High School—El Paso)
- Christian Tiscareno (El Dorado High School—El Paso)
Innovative Grant Winners
- Advancing DP Design and CP Engineering; Tammy Koelling, Tod Baker, Chelsea Schauer (Sci-Tech Preparatory—Austin)
- Exploring the Applications of Gel Electrophoresis; Ricki Gunter & Lindsay Broom (LD Bell High School—Hurst)
- Integrating Design and Art—Screen printing for students; Kaylene Rudd, Matthew Rudd, Cynthia Castillo (Meridian World School—Round Rock)
- Cooperative Teaching and Learning; Jessica Vance (Spicewood Elementary—Austin)
- IB Interactive Notebook—Approaches to Learning; Barbara Clemons (Hoffman Middle School—Houston)
- We all need a Second Chance; Daisha Wilson-Ramirez (Uplift Williams Preparatory—Dallas)
Roundtable Grant Winners
- Central Texas PYP Roundtable—Jessica Vance, Ashley Swindle, Leah Delafield
- Support for Approaches to Teaching and Learning in the MYP—Penny Tschirhart
- DP & CP Extension Training—Penny Tschirhart
- Concept-based Curriculum and Instruction—Penny Tschirhart
- 9th Annual North Texas IB Teacher’s Roundtable (DP)—Kim Kamin
- DFW MYP Roundtable—Tina Flatt & Leslie Yager
IB WSC Scholarship Winners
- Meg Asbury (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Victoria Ayala (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Dinesh Krishnan Balakrishnan (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Sara Carrizales (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Vidya Choutagunta (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Aaron Gonzalez (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Anna Jackson (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Alexis Konovodoff (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Anna Lewis (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Lauren Lopez (El Dorado High School—El Paso)
- Mohit Nadkarni (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Taran Nudurumati (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Camila Odom (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Carson Raleigh (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Carlos Ramos (IDEA College Preparatory—Donna)
- Ryan Trefny (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Madeline Work (Meridian School—Round Rock)
|
|
|
What We’ve Been Up To:
- TIBS Spring Meeting & Seminar—Houston (February 10-11)
- SXSWedu—Austin (March 6-9)
- TAGT Leadership Conference—Houston (April 9-11)
- TIBS College Fair—Hurst (April 5)
What’s Coming Up:
- El Paso District Workshops—Morehead Middle School (June 8 & 9)
- DFW District Workshops—Ranchview High School (July 17 & 18)
- IB Conference of the Americas—Orlando, FL (July 20-23)
- Austin Workshops—Round Rock High School (July 23-26 & 26-29)
- Houston District Workshops—Tanglewood Middle School (August 10-11)
- IB Workshop Providers Meeting—Bethesda, MD (September 28-29)
- TIBS Fall Meeting & Seminar—Austin (October 27-28)
|
|
|
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.
- Andress High School—El Paso (DP)
- Cesar E. Chavez High School—Houston (DP)
- IDEA College Prep Brownsville (DP)
- IDEA College Prep McAllen (DP)
- Meridian School—Round Rock (MYP)
- Uplift Infinity Preparatory—Irving (MYP & PYP)
- Uplift Hampton Preparatory–-Dallas (PYP)
- Uplift Heights Preparatory–--Dallas (MYP)
- Uplift Luna Preparatory –-Dallas(PYP, MYP)
- Uplift Peak Preparatory – Dallas(PYP)
- Uplift Pinnacle Preparatory – Dallas (PYP)
- Uplift Summit International Preparatory – Arlington(PYP)
|
|
|
Linda Buie
Margaret Davis
Rick Fernandez
Courtney Gober
Angela Hall-Hector
Lynn Hobson
Kelly McBride
Janice Swarts
Rebeckah Tisdale
|
|
|
Almost 1600 Students in attendance!
|
Y
es, you read that correctly. On April 5th almost 1600 high school students visited with representatives from about 80 colleges from Texas, the United States and the world.
As the picture shows, the room became just a little crowded at times, but the energy was always palpable.
Thanks to those of you who brought your students to the College Fair.
Look for information on the 2018 College Fair on our Announcements page.
|
|
|
On February 16th a group of college admission counselors and TIBS members met to discuss how to help IB students present their "IBness" in the most positive light in the college selection process. Below is a summary of the findings:
- Highlight academic rigor, not just taking hard classes. Help students be prepared to discuss how their IB experience has helped them develop the "grit" to succeed in college.
- Encourage students to register at https://registry.ibo.org/ which is a great place for students to showcase their IB coursework, browse university profiles, and view IB recognition policies.
- Help students identify the skills they have learned through IB. These skills make great additions to college essays, or they can be mentioned during college interviews.
- Assist students in identifying how their IB experience is benefitting their everyday lives. (developing perseverance, etc.)
- Use experiences in IB to share the development of their individual values.
- Help students develop a 30-second statement about who they are, which can help students clarify what is important to them. These statements can also be used to help select schools that are a good match, for example, a student who has an international focus selecting a school that also has an international focus.
- Assist students in articulating how what they are learning in IB classes is different from other advanced classes.
- Encourage students to always mention they are in IB.
- Provide students an opportunity to reflect on what IB means to them and how being an IB student has changed them.
- Remind students about finding a school that is a good fit for them, academically, socially, financially so that the students will feel a part of the community.
|
|
Plano East Students win $100,000
Shriya and Adhya Beesam, 11
th
-grade IB diploma students at Plano East Senior High School, won 1
st
place in the Siemens Science Competition on December 6th. The Siemens Foundation established the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology in 1999. The event is the nation’s premier science research competition for high school students and seeks to promote excellence by encouraging students to undertake individual or team research projects. It fosters intensive research that improves students' understanding of the value of scientific study and informs their consideration of future careers in these disciplines. Shriya and Adhya created a machine learning framework to diagnose schizophrenia in patients by utilizing both psychiatric assessment data and neuroimaging.
Submitted by Kathy Witcher, DP Coordinator at Plano East High School.
|
|
|
CSPAN Honors Imagine International School Juniors
Several grade 11 students were recognized by CSPAN (Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network) for their entries in the Student Cam 2017 competition, including 4 groups that received honorable mentions and two groups that received third place nationally. Students were to design and film a documentary in which they urge Congress and the President to address an issue they deem most important. This collaborative project was managed through Mrs. Presley's government class and Mr. Dluhy's film class. CSPAN was on the Imagine International School campus on May 2nd to recognize the winners.
|
|
|
Several DP juniors and seniors joined forces to write and direct The Phantom Unwritten, a musical parody of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera and Love Never Dies. This was a student-led CAS project and also our first musical on campus.
|
|
|
Submitted by Elisha Upton,
Diploma Programme Coordinator at
Imagine International Academy of North Texas.
|
|
Kirby World Academy Students Visit the Holocaust Museum
J.T. Cain, 6th
and 8th
grade writing teacher at Kirby World Academy in Wichita Falls, received a TIBS Innovative Classroom Grant at the end of last year which provided this year’s 8th-
grade classes with the opportunity to visit the Dallas Holocaust Museum in conjunction with their study of
Ann Frank
. The work,
Ann Frank
, served as a basis for the study of written communication and how it revealed the real-life setting and point of view of a young Jewish girl caught in the shattered world of World War II. The students were amazed by the graphic display of the numbers who died, the teeth fillings and the photographs of the events which revealed people who once lived and had lives that were snatched from them much too early.
Submitted by Janice Swarts, IBMYP Coordinator, Kirby World Academy, Wichita Falls ISD.
|
|
MYP 1 Collaborative Units, Planned around Field Trips
One of our favorite field trips is to Waco Mammoth National Monument.
The purpose of integrating this unit across the curriculum is to ensure students are able to view this single learning experience through multiple lenses.
We drive from Dallas to Waco, approximately 1.5 hours. The National Park Service researchers at Mammoth set up a mock paleontology dig, walk students through the dig site, and teach them about other flora and fauna that existed in Texas when the Columbian Mammoths were alive.
The summative assessment is a newsletter students create using the website Smore.com. Their product includes: a “breaking news” article for ELA announcing the discovery of mammoth remains, a discussion of the effects a mass extinction would have on the ecosystem, a mock interview with a member of the religious community discussing scientific discoveries and religious beliefs, and a scale model drawing of the dig site.
Each core teacher evaluates his/her assigned portion of the newsletter using the appropriate IB rubric.
Submitted by Megan Capshaw, MYP Coordinator, Harry Stone Montessori Academy and IB World School, Dallas ISD
|
|
|
What Will IB? Day at Hernandez Middle School
700 Hernandez Middle School students went on 30 field trips to various businesses around the Austin area (Univision, Tokyo Electron, UT, IBM, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, etc...) on Wednesday April 5th, 2017.
The students loved the reverse career day that they selected based on what they wanted to be when they grow up.
Want to read more about this unique idea? Click on this link to the Austin Statesman .
Submitted by Desiree Le, IB Coordinator, Hernandez Middle School, Round Rock ISD
|
|
Dallas
Regional
Science
Fair
Winner
Imagine International School
Michael Pozmantir is a 9th grade student at Imagine International Academy of North Texas. Michael competed in the Dallas Regional Science Fair (DRSF) winning first place and grand prize in the senior division for physical science and several awards of recognition for "Improved Brushless DC Motors." Michael's project supervisor and IIAN-T Physics teacher, Mr. Jeff Smith, received the distinguished project supervisor "Senior Division Fluor First Award" In May, Michael and Mr. Smith (pictured above) will be traveling to Los Angeles, California. There, Michael will compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) sponsored by Intel.
Submitted by Meme Bruno,
Middle Years Programme Coordinator,
Imagine International Academy of North Texas
|
|
Humble High School Juniors make Meta -Four Houston Spoken-word Performance Team
Humble High School IB juniors, Alinda Mac (stage name: Adam Mac) and Ashlyn Stewart (stage name: Lyn) made the Meta-Four Houston spoken-word performance team. After competing in the Space City Grand Slam finals, on April 2, they were chosen to represent Houston at the 20th annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival in San Francisco in July.
Meta-Four Houston is the largest youth slam poetry team in Texas. Previous finalists have taken on leadership roles in the youth literary scene and have gone on to receive college scholarships and internships.
Submitted by Chris Stanley, IB DP Coordinator, Humble High School.
|
|
Denton High School Wins Miles Foundation Grant
Denton High School’s IB and Counseling Department earned a generous grant from the Miles Foundation for its “Bronco-U” college preparation program. One portion of that grant was used to take IB juniors on a two-day, one night college tour. DHS’s IB Social Club treasurer, Swastika Sah, shares a reflection on the April 2017 tour to Southwestern University, University of Texas, Baylor and TCU:
"I was very thrilled to be given the opportunity to visit some of the top-tier colleges in the state of Texas, offered by the International Baccalaureate program. As a first generation student, I didn’t have much knowledge and understanding about college including financial need, various tests requirements, etc. My lack of insight formed a fear about the thought of college. Visiting these campuses allowed me to get an opportunity to explore college life, learn more about what each college has to offer, and get some hands-on experience about the application process. Apart from that, it really helped me realize where I want to see myself in future. Thanks to the IB program for giving students like us such opportunities to be successful."
Submitted by Beth Hughes,
international Baccalaureate Coordinator
Diploma Programme, Denton High School.
|
|
|
|
|
River Oaks Elementary Raises $37,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
For the last 10 years, River Oaks Elementary school has partnered with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Student Series program. This year our school raised an unprecedented $37,000 – which is the most for any elementary school in the nation. Our funds will underwrite a research grant for blood cancers. The success this year was credited in large part to the involvement of a local hero named Corinne – who is a survivor of Leukemia. Putting a face to the issue made a big difference in motivating students to help.
Kids walked their neighborhoods and asked for donations from neighbors. We did a 50-state challenge where we tried to get an online donation from each of the 50 states. Students who set up their own online donation pages, and raised $100, earned a "Cure" t-shirt. If they raised $250, they earned a bear! The top earning classes won Olive Garden pasta parties. Many students donated money from their own piggy banks or sold lemonade to collect money.
Submitted by Liz Goodman,
Dean of Instruction, River Oaks Elementary, Houston ISD
|
|
|
STEM-Robotics Workshop - A Wilson Intermediate School Project
Wilson Design and Technology staff are preparing for a Robotics workshop at Houston Academy on May 20. Eight students will be selected to participate, and the workshop will focus on Lego EV3 model robots.. The agenda will include Building and Behavior, Programming, Ultrasonic and Color Sensor Configuration, Switches and Loops and Line Following. This will be an introduction for students in advance of district initiatives. We are looking forward to this event. High school students will facilitate the activities while teaching staff will provide the classroom support.
Submitted by Tracey Collins, MYP Coordinator, Wilson Intermediate School, Aldine ISD
|
|
|
Show and Serenade at Woodlawn Academy
“Show and Serenade” was a natural extension of the ever-growing collaboration between our fine arts departments. All year teachers have been working together for the PYP units, coordinating music shows and art banners to fit with each grade level’s unit. MYP classes needed both a time and place to showcase their units, and the department decided to bring visual, musical, and theatrical arts together for a special night. Knowledgeable art students displayed and explained their exquisite pieces while risk-taking band students performed their beautiful solos and theater students clearly communicated their captivating skits. Audience members were surrounded by the best fine arts our school had to offer. Many people expressed that it was a very meaningful and unique event. The participating students have been reflective since the event and concluded it was a rewarding experience that only increased their desire to inquire and learn more about their individual craft.
Submitted by Catherine Crawford, International Baccalaureate Coordinator, Woodlawn Academy, San Antonio ISD (Candidate School)
|
|
|
Personal Project Presentations at Lamar Academy
Every spring Lamar Academy in McAllen hosts the Personal Project Presentations. We rent the public library's lobby, meeting rooms and auditorium where students present their projects to the public. This year we featured original art, food (recipes from cook books), music, a hypotonic garden, woodwork, and videos in the lobby; several showcase presentations in the auditorium; and many individual projects in the meeting rooms. Our students create trifolds to explain and illustrate their projects to all the visitors who come by: students, parents, teachers, administrators, and patrons of the library. It is a night when students shine as they share their artistic, musical, creative, compassionate, and intellectual passions.
|
|
|
Submitted by Nellie Kowalski, MYP Project Coordinator, Lamar Academy, McAllen ISD
|
|
|
IB Showcase Features the Continuum
On April 26 at Harvard Elementary PYP School, Hogg Middle MYP School and Heights High School MYP presented a showcase for the community where the 5th graders, 8th graders and 10th graders presented their personal projects. These three schools work together all during the school year in order to strengthen their IB Community. Good things are happening in the IB world in the Heights!
Submitted by Daniella Andrade, IB Coordinator/Magnet Coordinator, James Hogg Middle School, Houston ISD.
|
|
|
WESTLAKE ACADEMY-EDMONTON ISLAMIC SCHOOL
Grade 5 International Student-Teacher Exchange 2017
Westlake Academy's International Mindedness Educator's Symposium provided the impetus for a very special project this year. Westlake established a global partnership with the Edmonton Islamic Academy. After much planning, five 5th-grade students and a teacher from each school were selected to participate in a three-day visit at each other's school. Needless to say, this amazing project developed the students’ understanding of what constitutes cultural biases or stereotypes and broadened their perspectives of their own responsibility as global citizens. To read the full article, download the document .
Submitted by Rod Harding, PYP Principal, Mrs. Laura Fischer, Grade 5 Teacher, and Maru-Busico-Flight, Technology Integration Specialist, Westlake Academy.
|
|
Personal Project Reflections from Hutchinson Middle School
Watch the insightful video created by MYP Coordinator Toby Klameth recording student reflections regarding their individual community projects. Student reflections often remind us of why were work as hard as we do. Nice work, Toby.
Submitted by
Toby Klameth, IB Coordinator, Hutchinson Middle School, Lubbock ISD
|
|
|
UPCOMING EVENTS:
- Westlake Academy invites you and members of your staff to attend our Annual International-Mindedness Educator Symposium from August 3-5. We are so excited about the opportunity to explore global collaboration with you and your staff. We encourage you to attend or send a team to partner with us as we strengthen the international mindedness of our organizations. Download a flyer [PDF] and register via the International-Mindedness Educator Symposium website.
- Registration for TIBS' Austin workshops (Session 1 and 2) is here. 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 11, 2018 at the Hurst Conference Center. Look for more details in the fall. Student registration will open in January.
IB WORLD SCHOOL RECOGNITION:
- Austin Eco Bilingual School, Village School (Houston), and Alcuin School (Dallas) have been selected among the best International Baccalaureate Schools in the U.S. by Newsweek. The recognition is well-deserved, and we are excited for three Texas IB schools to be included among the seven best in the nation! Read the Newsweek article here.
|
|
|
We'd love to hear from you with any questions or concerns.
If you have feedback on the newsletter, please contact Judy Chapman.
To share your schools' stories, accomplishments, and projects, please email us at [email protected].
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
