Balance

Dads were out in full force last Saturday, giving some much needed TLC to our garden beds and flagpole area in and around the entryway to school.  This hardworking group was on campus for the better part of the day, taking out old shrubbery and trees, clearing away undergrowth, mulching, and planting vibrant new offerings.  Looks great!  Thanks to all the gentlemen who worked, most especially to Brian Yarbrough and Scott Rogillio, for organizing the effort and for the humor shared along the way.  Job well done.  

I was able to make a quick visit to Sunday's AISD art show at One Congress Plaza and am really glad I did.  As you can see from the picture below, HP was well represented and the entire space was a sea of color as all schools were on display.  HP's Matisee and Kabuki representations were especially eyecatching and well done.  Seeing the elementary to middle to high school skill progression truly underscores what kids can do with consistent, high quality art instruction. 

Lia Nudelman was in the throes of her historical novel unit when I stopped by her class this week.  As you may remember, this unit came about from the grade 2-5 aligned language arts planning day she completed with three teachers in the fall.  Students were reviewing artwork and artists from mid-century New York, all of which tied to the novel they had read,  Bette Bao Lord's In The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. Parent Christy Savage was facilitating the art connection discussion, eliciting student feedback about the displayed art of Elaine de Kooning, Edward Hopper, and Jasper Johns, specifically how those artists from the novel's general time period, used brushstrokes, setting, and more to elicit different emotions.  I also saw a quite large graphic organizer detailing some of the brainwork students had completed with Mrs. Nudelman, with lists tied to cultural differences between America and China, setting details of China and Brooklyn, then/now statements, and a detailed section on the main character, Shirley Temple Wong.  Some of the ideas students had generated dealt with the practical, such as the fact that in 1947, “icebox” was something new - imagine that!  And other student ideas listed were more serious.  For example, in the 1940's, people generally used the word “negro” in everyday language, a term that now is no longer accepted or preferred.  Students also recorded in the now column “all types of people play professional sports”, in reference to Jackie Robinson and his role in breaking the color barrier in the world of major league baseball.  Mrs. Nudelman tells me there has been much meaningful conversation around these topics (would have loved to have heard it!), with kids thinking critically on how life has changed in many ways since mid-century times.   
 
Thursday and Friday Mrs. Nudelman's students did indeed begin their artwork based on one of the criteria listed on the graphic organizer and, most importantly, were given choice on the book section that was most meaningful to them; this guided self-selection is important, most especially for the advanced learner.  Students will then use the art as a next-step springboard to some writing I hear, explaining their choice in art/section/artist.   Along with this connected study of art relevant to the time period and topics relevant to the book, Mrs. Nudelman shared that students additionally made a mobile of the Chinese zodiac animals and charted the chapters as they went, identifying main idea, setting, and emotions.  She has some terrific ideas of where this unit will go next - think radio drama, research papers, and more - but what a solid start this year.  Fruits of earlier planning now being reaped.    

You see a lot in this blog about the arts as part of our year long celebration, but as you know there are many other programs happening as well - it's all about balance.  I caught Mrs. Powers doing her thing in the area of Scientific Spelling one morning and I loved what I saw. Scientific Spelling is our schoowide spelling program and I'm truly impressed by what our students know about spelling rules at this point in the school year. In SS, students learn the rules of spelling with the rationale of being able to better spell an unfamiliar word if they know the rule that applies to it.  For example, if a student knows the Floss Rule - and they do! - ("Floss" Rule= If a one syllable base word ends in the (f), (l) or (s) sound immediately after a short vowel, the final consonant is doubled) they are more capable of correctly spelling words such as tiff, full, and glass.  I heard students readily, when prompted, coding words in their journals and articulating it when prompted; codes such as accent, arc, circumflex. That's pretty cool. Balance between things kids must know, learning the "why" behind what they know (and applying it), and then connecting to things beyond the lesson are important for all children.  Thanks Mrs. Powers!

Finally, the Fine Arts Showcase took place Thursday evening and I think it's safe to say that our inaugural event went well.  We had a large crowd of parents and students, with Scottie Singer performances, Austin Film Kids student created clips, a Zach Scott K-2 skit, and even a dance by The Troupe!  This was our small way of highlighting our own special area offerings, as well as the after school arts offerings on campus.  Many parents stayed to visit the booths set up in our halls and it was fun being together in celebration of the arts.  Lots of ideas already floating around for next year's showcase, but what a fun kick-off!

Surprise vist from mindPOP's Dr. Hasty!



HEB Award Winner @ HP!

BIG DAY on Monday y’all!  Our very own Laine Leibick, fourth grade teacher and mentor to many, received a surprise visit from HEB and AISD personnel/media, including HEB’s very own Buddy.  Mrs. Leibick is one of four state teacher finalists for the annual Lifetime Achievement Award. This prestigious award is given to nominated teachers with more than 20 years of classroom experience.  She was presented with a $1,000 personal check, flowers, and cake; our school was also presented with a $1,000 check.  One of the four finalists will be selected at a special recognition banquet in Houston during the month of May.  One elementary and one secondary teacher will each receive a $25,000 cash prize plus a $25,000 grant for his/her school.  Couldn’t be prouder as it is a well-deserved honor.  Thanks HEB for supporting great teaching in our schools. 

Tuesday saw a very special lunch with none other than our district superintendent, Dr. Meria Carstarphen.  I had the pleasure of lunch and company with Dr. Carstarphen, Jeanne Goka, principal at Ann Richards School, and Vickie Bauerle, principal of Gorzycki Middle School, in honor of each school’s high student attendance averages for the last reporting period.  Highland Park’s student attendance for the designated reporting period came in at 97.7%; thanks Scotties for being in school each day and also being here on time.  It makes a difference.  No picture, but it was neat hearing our superintendent share her thoughts on educational topics both local and farther afield.  Informative and fun!

Our Any Given Child Design Team pilot elementary schools met after school on Wednesday afternoon at HP, with input given by teachers and principals on next steps for the initiative; Brent Hasty of mindPOP and Katie Dawson of UT's Theater and Dance Department facilitated this very productive meeting.  Recommendations made will next be taken to the Kennedy Center Community Steering Committee as the long-term strategic planning for the district and city is further developed.  Great ideas abound for Year 2 but there will be much focus on teacher professional development and continued community partnerships.  I’m super excited that arts rich schools planning continues for all the children of Austin.  Let's keep the momentum going!



Katie making a point

Badgerdog Literary Publishing was on campus Thursday for the first of six writing workshops in each second grade class (before working with 3rd graders later in the spring).  I only was able to pop in at the end of Ms. Marques’ and Mrs. Guenther’s sessions on Thursday, but I saw and heard student created “I Am” poetry, as well as poems connected to writing from inside someplace unusual (think Shel Silverstein).  Great things happening in second grade writing, love the fact that our kids get to work with professional writers on the process, and most especially love the enthusiasm I witnessed by the students and the teachers.

This morning saw the second meeting for the fifth grade Youth Leadership Program (Toastmasters International).  Sponsored by HP parent Matt Brown, the program meets in our library beginning at 6:50 am each Friday.  For 45 minutes, student participants are given “ maximum number of opportunities to practice leadership skills and as much speaking time as possible...leadership and the ability to speak well, go together."  This morning I heard Georgia present from her written speech about a one-eyed rescue dog named Wink.  She spoke from the heart and it showed.  And I heard Kiernan speak about his parents' experiences that took them from the United States to England to Spain, then finally back to Texas.  It was humorous and very engaging.  Great practice for a real life skill our students will need as they leave HP for next steps in their lives.  Thanks Matt.

Finally, don't forget our first ever Fine Arts Showcase coming up on Thursday, March 29 at 6:30 pm.  FREE to all Scotties, includes awesome performances, as well as cool rotations to look at all special area programming, community provider programming, and our very own June Scottie Camp happenings.  Hope to see you there.

Japanese Fair Arrives!

Konnichiwa!  Second grade’s Japanese Fair, as part of their study of communities, took place this week.  The student created Japanese Gardens were on full display in our halls, a parade of costumed second graders took place one morning down our halls, and parents were treated to a special musical/storytelling student performance in the cafeteria.  Artwork, Haiku poetry, a Taiko drummer performance, and more are all a part of this yearly unit of study. A very special arigatoh  to the teachers and students for keeping the tradition alive.

Pollyanna Theater has been on campus with 5^th grade language arts classes all week; I can honestly say I’ve loved what I’ve seen each day!  Playwright  Katherine “Pepperoni” Perrone is helping our students breathe new life into the tried and true Greek Plays that are performed each May as part of the culminating Greek Mythology Unit.  The traditional scripts were well loved, but it’s been inspiring to see kids work through the process with a real life writer. Students have studied story elements, connected those elements to playwriting terminology, worked in cooperative groups on individual scenes, brainstormed dialogue, performed dialogue for audience feedback, all with an eye toward the final scripts.  I was able to see the process over the week with The Story of Theseus and The Story of Hermes.  Impressive and we should have some top-notch scripts and performances in May.

Our last Blanton Museum field experience in fourth grade took place this week as well.  Students re-visited some tried and true favorite pieces (the Meireles installation for example), reviewed museum careers, then worked in small groups to design their own art exhibits.  Mrs. Snell’s class really seemed to get into the process, leaned mostly toward the abstract pieces, and came away with some good thoughts on how to design and display their exhibits, everything from wall colors to arrangements of paintings to naming the exhibits.

Pup Camp, for the incoming 12-13 Kindergarten class, was a blast on Tuesday; a most excellent crop of Kinders headed our way!  I had fun reading the book The Kindergarten Cat to about 40 eager boys and girls before they headed off for treats and a play date in Perry Park.  It's always great to meet our new little ones and hear their thoughts on school; one incoming boy was able to share (as I read) that “those are rhyming words”.  Cool. This yearly camp certainly goes a long way in easing anxieties about starting school, so thanks Scottie Moms for arranging this once again for our school.

Finally, our last Any Given Child community arts event will take place on Thursday, March 29, 6:30-7:30.  We are hosting our first ever Fine Arts Open House in and around our cafeteria area, with Scottie Singers performing, a couple of after school programs showcasing their work through student performances, and booths with displays about in school and after school arts opportunities.  This FREE event is open to all Scotties, so mark your calendars and come help us continue our year long celebration of the arts and the creative classroom.

Have a joyful break everyone!

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. ~ Ovid

The week before FLING

If you've been into school this week, you know we have lots of Pre-Fling activity happening all over the place.  The PTA Spring Fling school fundraiser happens Saturday night and I hope to see all Scottie adults there; check out the artwork below slated for the Silent Auction portion of the evening.  Always popular and couldn’t happen without all the many, many parents up here all hours of the day and night working on these projects with individual students and classrooms.  I’m particularly impressed with the fourth grade class selections this year…they’re 3-D and they light up! Of course, all the artwork is terrific and creative and student-centered.  Very special pieces leading up to a very special night.

Zach Scott visited first grade classrooms over 2 days to share the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, a pre-performance activity before students saw the actual Zach production of the book on Tuesday. When I visited Mrs. Powers’ classroom on Monday, I was impressed with the enthusiasm and life the actor brought to the book.  Students were able to actively participate in the reading, with some called to the front to be actors themselves. Best of all was the emphasis on vocabulary as it related to theater terms, such words as props, improvised, dialogue, script; one of my seatmates at the play told me, “Hey, Ms. Workman, that milk carton is a prop”.  Kids could see it in action, therefore it was much more relatable and understandable.  Super way to build prior knowledge before the performance and another way to make text and vocabulary come to life.  Enjoyed it!

Gilbert Tuhabonye of the Gazelle Foundation spoke to our C.L.A.S.S.  service club students after school on Wednesday.  Peter Rauch, Scottie dad and Gazelle Foundation President, coordinated the visit with our C.L.A.S.S. sponsors and the presentation was very informative and especially eye-opening for students.  Mr. Tuhabonye spoke of the need for clean water in our world, specifically as it relates to his experiences in his home country of Burnundi Africa.  He demonstrated and talked about his personal experiences of walking miles to find clean water for his family, then carrying the full water container on his head for the journey home.  Students were able to get a feel for how difficult this would be as Mr. Tuhabonye brought examples of water containers still being used today; the ones our students tried to lift weighed 48 pounds, so it really hit home what some kids have to do in order to have something many of us take for granted - clean water.  Mr. Tuhabonye also spoke of living with joy and the pleasure of running and his spirit for life was inspiring considering the great odds he has personally overcome.  As part of our C.L.A.S.S. second semester service focus on water conservation and to support the Gazelle Foundation efforts, our HP students will gear up in the near future to help Mr. Rauch and others design a kid friendly page on the Gazelle Foundation website, something our school is most happy to support.  The Gazelle Foundation is committed to bringing clean water access to those in need.  Great cause and a great way for our students to connect with what is happening in our world at large.

We hear a lot about wellness and fitness in our schools these days and rightly so.  Building healthy lifestyles for our kids now will hopefully equate to healthier adults later; build those habits as soon as possible always seems to be the mantra.  I appreciate the new display board our PE teachers, along with HP Mom Stephanie Wilson, have put in place highlighting how and why our own Scottie Moms are staying fit.  The Fit Moms board shows various Scottie Moms engaged in activities they not only love, but the ones that keep them healthy in mind, body, and spirit.  Stop by the gym hallway to check it out when you have time, but who knew we have Moms participating in everything from horseback riding to the flying trapeze!  Moms are out there  running marathons, rolling the rinks in the Roller Derby (yep!), playing water polo, hiking mountains, tap dancing, and more.  We would love you to share your own personal fitness story as well, so check the sign-up forms next to the display board.  Thanks Moms (and Dads I’m sure) for being the best role model kids can have – you.  I'm inspired!

Latest and greatest picture of our newly installed Aquarena Springs bus shelter.  Much work to go, including painting, landscaping, but Oh, How Excited we are to see it in place!