Staff and Student Learning

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the new organic garden now planted behind our school.  Thanks to
Julie Danehy, The Green Corn Project, and the UT and HP student volunteers who helped plant the new space last Saturday.  Looking forward to seeing it grow and definitely ask Julie for all the details!


We began our work week with staff professional development.  Teachers and admin traveled to Travis High School for a morning workshop around all things creative learning.  Kicked off by guest speaker and education arts leader Eric Booth, teachers then participated in a variety of workshops in either drama based instruction or visual arts.  It was cool to hear Eric Booth speak and describe how the work we do directly supports the yearning students have to be engaged, motivated, and inspired. 

The afternoon saw all staff back at HP, participating in a workshop called Courageous Conversations About Race.  It was a birds eye view of data related to race in Texas, and we all took away our own perspectives and questions regarding the data. It was interesting to process this information organically in conversations with each other over the next couple of days and I even hear some staff took the conversation to their family dinner tables later that evening.  Having those conversations is, well, courageous.  We will formally debrief in December and thanks to Cari Land and Melonee Carter for spearheading this afternoon for staff as part of the district and school SEL and No Place for Hate initiatives.  Additionally, thanks to Texas Health and Human Services Center for the Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparities Sheila Craig, Virginia Flores, Becky Kerst, as well as AISD's Angela Ward, for leading the presentation.


A really first rate Math Parent Presentation Night happened this week as well.  It was a long night, but very well delivered by our K-5 math committee reps.  Big kudos to Susan Olson, Katie Ferguson, Ilene Pappert, David Robenhorst, Beth Finkle, Tiffany Perkins, and Melissa O'Donnell for showing and presenting all things math alignment at our school.  Loved the hands-on activities around problem solving models, invented (alternative) strategies to solve algorithms, as well as the common vocabulary we should all be using, home and school.  Many good parent questions and really, the idea of giving tools to our kids to solve problems in different ways, is so powerful.  I had two big take-aways.  First, I thought immediately of our Monday creative learning presenter Eric Booth and his points about giving students the opportunities to develop ideational fluency (capacity to generate many ideas about concepts, problems, etcetera) vs satisficing (reaching for the first plausible or workable answer without going further).  When we talk about needing those 21st century citizens to think, create, solve increasingly complex problems...generating different ways and strategies to find the correct answer becomes important.  And second?  Our math teachers know and are passionate about math learning and as a school, we need to build in the opportunities to show these important processes to parents earlier in the year, as well as at different points (and different formats) throughout the school year.  Ideas to do so are percolating already!

Mrs. K pre-show

Friday saw a very well done Social Studies event in 5th grade.  Developed by SS teacher Pam Kolodziej, with support from the other 5th grade teachers and parent volunteers, students researched and wrote papers about important individuals in American history, created some really cool art (based on Picasso techniques and developed in art classes - thanks Robin and Andrea!), and strutted the runway Friday for parents and guest "judges" as their historical character - all were winners as noted by MC Noah at the end.  I truly appreciated that students were given the task to use re-purposed or recyclable materials to create their costumes and that we were celebrating accomplishments, rather than physical beauty.  These students had fun, it was an engaging way to hook them into a love of history - hopefully lifelong love! - and I appreciate the enormous efforts of those involved to pull this first time event together.  Thanks Mrs. K and team for "History Project" Runway.

"Judges" Katie Dawson, Beth Hudson, Brent Hasty