A bit of everything

Senora Muir and our Kinders kicked off the week with a fabulous performance at our PTA general meeting Tuesday evening.  This special Noche de Canciones serves as a highlight of a great year of Spanish enrichment on campus for all students.  Parents were out in full force to hear selections such as the song De colores and the Peruvian poem Pajarita.  A fun start before our meeting began and as always, very well done. 

Wednesday could not have been any busier.  We had several special events taking place at the start of school...all fun, engaging, and meaningful for our kids.  Tech teacher Mr. Etie was in the computer lab working with Mrs. Collins' second graders on some cool new apps.  I saw Mr. Etie navigating remotely the apps Skitch and Imagetricks, showing a few previous student models, with students then taking control and creating their own self portraits, working with various fonts, colors, frames, arrows, and more - or special effects, as Mr. Etie noted.  In addition to their portrait creations, students were also to add adjectives to their portraits (minimum of 5, one word or describing phrases), all of which are now featured on our school website - be sure to check out those finished products.  Best of all I loved seeing the positive self descriptions our students included on their pictures, such things as "good in math" and "smart".  Yes, you are and pretty cool kids as well.

Same time, same day fourth grade was rockin' down their hallway and in the cafetorium.  Mrs. Leibick hosted another Parent Visiting Day as the culmination of her Survival and Interdependence Unit.  Students were sharing with their parents projects connected to the novel Island of the Blue Dolphins and the non-fiction text, Trial By Ice, A Photobiography of Sir Ernest Shackleton.  I saw Venn Diagram booklets comparing/contrasting the 2 text's main characters, board games, models of the novel's island with a booklet overview, a newspaper complete with some very creative ads, animal adaptations flip books and the Maya Angelou poem Alone used as a base for student created poetry focused on things students do when alone because "being alone is not the same thing as being lonely".  I even heard there was a film clip done by one budding director and much more.  Phew! Love the choice in activities and love that they were embedded throughout the unit of study.  Thanks as always.

Mrs. Lundy and Mrs. Snell/Mrs. Burns' fourth graders were performing for parents as a component to their Fairy Tale Unit.  Loved the  Live! It's Fairy Tale News format, complete with promotional spots for sleeping supplements and an Italian cooking segment with the Three Little Pigs.  Not only engaging, but the dialgoue was completely memorized and delivered very well.   I hear these students also are completing pop-up Fairy Tale books and fractured fairy tales, along with other activities. 

We've been doing a lot of activities connected to the creative classroom as you know.  It's amazing how this initiative has energized our campus this year.  Even our student teachers are attempting new strategies during their total teach time.  Check out Ms. Farmer in Mrs. Guenther's second grade math class below.  She connected a mosaic replica of Van Gogh's Starry Night to geometric terms (rectangles, spheres, triangles, and more), ably using this highly engaging visual to " integrate mosaic art reproductions and images to show students how individual shapes can be placed together to make up a larger picture".  Thanks Ms. Farmer for jumping in with both feet - you supported varied learning styles and gave kids a way to make connections in different disciplines. 

The week could not wrap up without a word about Kinder Rodeo.  Y'all know the specifics as you've been there once with your child, but what fun for our littlest ones.  The halls were alive early in the morning with the Rodeo Parade, complete with student created horses.  Yeehaw!  Not to mention the varied activities that took place outside for students and parents to enjoy.  Live animals, engaging games, songs, and more.

Finally, parent Julie Danehy is facilitating a special showing of the movie "Forks Over Knives" for HP parents on Thursday, April 26, 6:30 pm, in our library.  Per Julie, the movie "is part of my mission to educate" our community about our food choices.  Julie is a Natural Foods Chef and heads up the Food-4-Starters program in second grade at our school.  She will be available after the movie to answer any questions if interested, so hope you can make it.

Short, busy week (and GO CATS!)

Short, but busy week at HP.  The Fine Arts Leadership Design Teams from each of the pilot elementary schools participated in a very engaging training at Ballet Austin on Monday.  Facilitated once again by mindPOP and UT's Drama for Schools staff, the training was one of the best we've had this year.  Teachers and administrators learned a variety of creative teaching strategies, building on the basic ones (such as Tableaux) that we already knew.  Each principal was given a video camera to take back to school, with the goal of teacher participants filming one of the strategies implemented in their classrooms; cameras and videos then will be sent back to the DBI crew for feedback on the lesson.  A very meaningful opportunity to grow as creative teacher leaders.

As you can see below, Janet Matetich got into the groove the very next day, implementing the "donkey" game strategy with her Science classes.  She used incomplete and complete metamorphosis as the lesson center, with follow-up small groups acting and making models, mobiles, and posters (choice given) on different insects and the complete metamorphosis process.  A great visual to help our diverse learners know and better understand concepts across disciplines.  Ask a fifth grader to show and explain the four stages...I bet they can.

PTA board meeting came and went Monday night as well, with many special guests.  Long, but productive meeting with some exciting things on the horizon for next school year.  Keep your ears open for all things landscaping in the coming months as this group, along with PTA at large, oversees the master landscape plan.  Sean Compton and Therese Baer presented, it's been years in the making, but I think we can see some type of light at the end of the tunnel.  We're getting there!  We also are looking to "pump" up all things students service learning on campus and have several ideas floating around on how to ensure all Scotties know, demonstrate, and support philanthropy.  Giving back now sets the foundation for giving back in the future. 

I had the privilege of being on the Teachers of Tomorrow annual Principal Panel at UT on Tuesday evening.   I enjoyed hearing other principal ideas on everything from interview tips to first year teacher recommendations as much as I enjoyed meeting the teachers in training.  Good questions, lots of note-taking, and a nice chance to connect early with those thinking of entering the teaching profession. 

Dr. Pedroza and TOT president

Umlauf Sculpture Garden was the scene for The Butterfly Project reception Wednesday evening.  Our student created butterflies, headed to the Houston Holocaust Museum at a later date, were on display along with many other schools - over 10,000 collected I believe.  Beth McDaniel, who headed up the project in Austin, told me the arrangement of colorful butterflies enmeshed with chain link and barbwire, provided a "juxtaposition between the beauty and the horror".  Visually powerful installation.

Special mention was given to our fifth grade language arts student creations - remember their 6 word memoirs?  Thanks again to Ms. Guimbarda for adding this extra component to the project and a big thanks to the Scottie families who attended last night as well. 



Final schoolwide activity today for the week as you know.  Scottie Olympics happening all day on campus, each classroom sporting their own special t-shirt as the kids move from event to event throughout the day.  Beautiful day to be outside, enjoying some well deserved physical activity.  Always fun and always well done.

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!

Days, Nights, and Diavolo Too!

Schools are dynamic, breathing, living places.   Flexibility is key, hundreds of decisions are made in the moment, and no two days are ever alike.  Honestly, ask any principal or teacher and they’ll tell you that the love of kids and sheer variety of the days is why we do what we do.  Case in point this week.

Spring parent conferences happened on Monday, grades 3 & 4 took their middle of the year district assessments, our final New Parent Orientation took place Tuesday, and staff came together around a truly fabulous PTA provided luncheon on Wednesday.  But there was so much more...

Second grade enjoyed a beautiful field experience to Zilker Botanical Gardens on Tuesday; it was a great tie-in to their yearly Japan Unit as part of their SS TEKS.   I tagged along with Mrs. Guenther’s group that day and had a lovely stroll with the kids as we learned about "The Bridge to Walk Over the Moon", heard details on the garden's creator Mr. Taniguchi, as well as oohed and awed over the fact that the front area ponds in the garden spell the word AUSTIN.  Pretty neat.  The students came away with many ideas for elements in their own Japanese Garden creations, all of which will be on display during the annual Fair in March. 

Beth Finkle and Lisa Bachman's Fractured Fairy Tale Play also took place on Friday for parents and it was extremely well done.  Mrs. Finkle tells me this is one of the best productions she’s ever had and attributes it to the great actors she has in class.  The play served as a culminating activity to her Fairy Tale Unit, with students actually creating sets, props, and some costumes.  They also wrote their own fractured fairy tales and pop-up books based on the original stories for the unit and will use them to read to our Kinder and 1^st grade classes during library
time.  Per Mrs. Finkle, “ This gives us an authentic audience.  Many of my students were here in K or 1^st and had one of my students read to them way back then!”  Love that connection.

I think you can tell from the picture below, that Coach Deline enjoyed his moment in the spotlight at Monday night’s Zarrow Outstanding Teacher Lecture on UT’s campus.  It was a great evening, full of bright Teachers of Tomorrow and many representatives from UT’s College of Education honoring five AISD Outstanding teachers in various areas.  Wow, that spirit is catching – gotta’ love the vibe of a college campus!  An award, reception, and break-out session where the recipients answered questions posted by teachers in training were part of the evening, but the highlight for me were the winner speeches.  All were moving, all made me proud to be a part of this profession, none more so than Coach’s heartfelt speech.  Seriously, many of us had a few tears as Coach talked about what it means to teach and to care.  Each winner was asked the following question for print in the keepsake program - “What would you like your students to say about you long after they leave your classroom?”  Jim simply wrote, “He noticed me”.  And he does in the best way.  Thanks Coach!

George Llewellyn, Lamar Middle School principal, delivered another informative parent presentation at Tuesday evening’s PTA general meeting in our cafeteria.  Once again, he provided relevant information on the upcoming Fine Arts Academy, the re-tooled academic delivery model in math, plans for the remainder of the year, and plans going forward.  There are so many cool partnerships with community providers and McCallum HS that I can’t mention them all here, but look at the offerings in place now or happening next year:

Rockestra/Fiddle Group                      9 music offerings, including guitar instruction 
3 theatre offerings                                Plans for an outdoor performance center
A unique new scrolling marquee          DANCE! 
French, Spanish, Japanese                    Robotics, Graphic Design, and Digital Photography  Radio                                                    Creative writing incl. songwriting & screenplays             

Advanced Math track                          High School credit courses 

That evening, Mr. Llewellyn told the audience, “We are working closely with McCallum to align our programs.  We want kids to go to school in their neighborhoods…we will provide interventions for those who need them, but not for everyone.  We will customize for each student”. Thanks for reminding us Mr. Llewellyn that we have a strong vertical team, not only in the area of the arts, but in academics as well.  And we are getting stronger and more aligned each year. Great second HP visit – together, as Coach likes to say, we are Scottie Strong!

Finally, Diavolo, Diavolo!  Tonight was beyond fun.  We came, we saw, we were filmed. Not to mention we were thrilled with the cubes, the galleon, the jumps, the moves.  Trajectoire was given 2 Big Thumbs Up by Beck and Geffen!  Thanks to all Scotties for attending this second arts event as part of our Any Given Child initiative, thanks to TPA for your hospitality, and thanks everyone for continuing to build community through the arts.