Northside Independent School District, San Antonio TX 78238-1606

inside.nisd.net/weekly

June 5, 2013

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It’s heart art at Martin ESAll 793 students at Martin Elementary participated in the creation of a heart collage, appropriately named “Art of the Heart.” Art Teacher Alyssa Raymond said that this heart is a permanent piece of art that gives the campus a sense of pride and ownership and will allow the students to take pride in it for many years to come. She added that school namesake, Jim Martin, provided the framing for this large project.

Woods’ KudosColonies North gets most spirited awardColonies North ES Special Olympics Team won the 2012-13 Divine Power Trophy, one of four special trophies donated to Special Olympics by the parents of the late Divin Varghese, a Special Olympic athlete who personified a positive spirit. Colonies North competed against elementary schools across the District attempting to be the team that demonstrated the best overall spirit of Special Olympics for this school year. The group provided a “buddy” program for their athletes, held a pep rally and created a tunnel of peers as their athletes marched onto the bus heading to competition, made special shirts for Special Olympic events, and prepared a video of their athletes’ accomplishments. Nancy Smith and Shawn Settles, Special Olympics representatives, presented the award to the school at a special awards assembly.

Teachers receive classroom grantsJohn Martinez, fourth grade teacher at Elrod ES, and Rachel Esquibel, science teacher at Stevens HS, were awarded Classroom Assistance Grants from the Texas Retired Teachers Foundation. Martinez plans to use his grant to purchase a wireless headset and camera to enhance reading curriculum by creating musicals with songs based on chapter books read during the year. Esquibel will enhance her lab by purchasing a Vernier Labquest, an easy-to-use sensor interface for computer-based data collections.

Stehle receives special awardAndrea Stehle, Latin teacher at Stevens HS, was selected to receive the 2013 Dr. Elizabeth Watkins Latin Teacher Award. This is a national award given each year by the American Classical League, and also includes a $500 grant.

“Northside Connected” is the theme for the 2013-2014 school year.

See you at Convocations, Aug. 20-23 at Brennan HS!

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The NISD Human Resources Department has received 19,000 employment applications this school year!

WOW!

Galm students explain food allergiesThree students from Galm ES decided to help their fellow classmates understand food allergies. In recognition of Food Allergy Awareness Week, May 12-18, the students made a presentation during morning announcements explaining the five “Be a PAL” rules to help classmates with food allergies.

The Galm news crew also showed the video “Alexander the Elephant Who Couldn’t Eat Peanuts” to show students how those with food allergies can avoid things that they are allergic to and how to be prepared to treat an allergic reaction. On Friday, students wore hats (like Alexander the Elephant) in honor of Food Allergy Awareness Week.

Pictured are (from l-r) Asher Jacobson, third grader; Matthew Gormley, first grader; and Josh Czaja, fifth grader.

Brandeis students pledge to drive safelyMore than 600 students at Brandeis HS pledged to drive safe, eliminate the risks when driving with teens, and promote teen safe driving awareness as part of the Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) program.

Created in 2002, Teens in the Driver Seat is the first peer-to-peer safety program for teens that focuses solely on traffic safety and addresses all major risks for this age group. Students help shape the program and are responsible for implementing it with their peers.

Teen Advisory Board members Presley Price and Joseph Leal, with Brandeis student leaders Sky Tschirhart, Blake Patterson, Kiersten Ehr, and others, spoke to students about the five major risk factors resulting in car crashes among teenagers. The TDS program, as well as other teen driver safety programs at Brandeis, was made possible thanks to a $5,000 grant from State Farm Insurance.

Pictured are (from l-r) Joseph Leal, Kiersten Ehr, Presley Price, Sky Tschirhart, and Blake Patterson.

Carnahan opens center for parentsCarnahan ES celebrated the grand opening of its Parent Center with a ribbon-cutting and tour of the new space.

The Center provides parents a place where they can volunteer at the school and also bring their young children. The room has meeting/work space, a kids play area, a bathroom, kitchenette and a business area.

Parents played a key role in developing the Center along with the school’s Parental Involvement Committee.

Principal Lisa Turner says the Parent Center is an important step in making parents feel comfortable visiting the school and utilizing the resources available to support their child’s education.

The school received a Northside Education Foundation Team Grant that will fund laptops and parent workshops.

Pictured are (from l-r) Namesake Peggy Carnahan, Teacher Cici Osonma, Principal Lisa Turner, and Superintendent Dr. Brian Woods.

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Cleto finds Linton knows math wellCleto may be lost but he found Linton ES with no problem as they were featured on a segment of WOAI-TV’s “Where’s Cleto?” recently.

The segment focused on the school’s math accomplishments, including a math version of “Are You Faster Than a Fifth Grader?” and concluding with a “Math Rocks” concert.

Pictured are (from l-r) Math Specialist Jami Smith, Reading Specialist Michelle Rodriguez, Cleto Rodriguez, Principal J.J. Perez, and Academic Support Teacher Lisa Owens.

Lieck crowned “Best of the Best” in chess!The last NISD Chess Tournament of the school year was held recently at Langley ES. Participants included players from Blattman, Carson, Esparza, Langley, Leon Springs, Lieck, Locke Hill, Mary Hull, Myers, and Northwest Crossing elementary schools.

Lieck ES was this year’s winner and they were awarded the coveted wooden chess set and title of “the Best Chess Club of the Year.” The tournament was a close one and came down to the last round to determine the winner. The top three teams were only separated by a half a point. Carson ES came in second, and Langley ES took third place. All NISD elementary schools are invited to participate in the annual tournament, which is going on its 12th year.

Chess players representing Lieck ES (pictured) are Kieran Larson-McMurray, Jonathan Swisher, Ethan Webb, Orlando Lugo, Tyler Walker, and Romario Mendoza.

Westwood Terrace class crushes reading goalLacy Taylor’s fourth grade class at Westwood Terrace ES started out with a goal to read 100 chapter books. When they reached this goal, they became excited

and moved the goal up to read 150 chapter books. The goal was then set to 200 books, which was double their original goal.

To date, they have read 214 books and still counting. The class will likely reach a total of 225 chapter books by the end of the school year.

The students received a visit from Burl Toler from the San Antonio Talons congratulating them for exceeding their goal. As a reward, each student received three game tickets and a Talons school kit, and this class photo will appear on the jumbotron during one of their games.

OF THE WEEKSummer deals a click awayAs you wrap up the school year and make summer plans, be sure to check out the Partnerships Perks webpage to learn more about local partners’ specials for NISD employees. Whether it’s retail, sports and entertainment, professional advancement or health and wellness, there’s something for everyone at www.nisd.net/partners/perks. Don’t forget. Fiesta Texas and SeaWorld tickets will be sold throughout the summer. Call 397-8599 for information.

Kuentz fifth graders “pie” teachersFifth grade students at Kuentz ES organized a school supply drive for their sister school, Mead ES.

As a reward for their hard work, students had the opportunity to pie their teachers in the face. Students collected five shopping carts full of supplies and racked up countless pies. Supply lists were broken up into “chunks” and for each chunk that the students brought, a pie was earned. For example, a new backpack earned three pies. Fifth grade teacher Karen Conner had 60 pies thrown at her!

Pictured are Pat Skinner, Joe Gagliardo, Ellen Schmidt, Leticia de la Garza, Karen Conner, and Isabel Anaya.