Tuesday

Cohort 5 Exhibit Night @ 6 pm
JUNIORS: IPAA Externship Application Open
Cohort 3 Field Experience
Class of 2018 Pizza Sales during A&B Lunches
Wednesday

PTO Chick-fil-A Lunch Sales
JUNIORS: IPAA Externship Application Open
Ladies of Energy Meeting during the second half of A lunch in Room 128
PTO Meeting at 7 pm in the cafeteria
Thursday

Magnet Tours 1-3 pm
JUNIORS: IPAA Externship Application Open
College Application Drive in Room 206 during A&B Lunches
Ladies of Energy Meeting during the first half of B lunch in Room 122

Friday

Underclassmen Yearbook Photos during PBL Study Skills
JUNIORS: IPAA Externship Application Open
The Woods Project Camping Trip leaves at 3pm

Saturday

HUDL Debate Event
911 Heroes Run
FRC Tournament at College Park High School
Saturday Tutorials for STAAR English 1&2 and Algebra 1
College and Career Fair at Austin HS 9am - 1pm
November 15th
Magnet Open House @ 6 pm
Cohort 2 Exhibition @ 6 pm
FAFSA Drive #2 in Room 206 during A&B Lunches
November 11-18th
November 29th
Ninth Grade Parent Meeting @ 6:30 pm in the cafeteria
LAST DAY: IPAA Externship Application
December 4th
English 1 STAAR Exam
Hermann Park &   Texas Wildlife Association   Field Trip
December 4th-8th
International Hour of Code Week
December 5th
Algebra 1, Biology, US History STAAR Exams
Cohort 1 Exhibition @ 6 pm
December 7th
Senior Engineering Design Night @ 6 pm
December 8th
Senior Photos & Underclassmen  Retakes
December 15th


Last week, the Freshmen Lightning Volts cohort launched their new PBL for this term. The driving question for their project is: How can we, as world leaders, convey a political agenda? In the entry event, they played the Alliance game, created by Energy's own Mr. McMillan, in which students act as different countries and engage in negotiations with the goal of achieving world peace. Mr. McMillan's Graphic and Video Game Design students helped set up and operate the game in the Student Media Lounge. This game requires students to understand the differing perspectives of nations and how countries interact with each other while handling opposing political agendas. Additionally, in English and World Geography, the freshmen will use social media to choose a world leader to connect and communicate with, learn about their leader's point of view, and create a podcast covering their leader's political agendas.


This past Monday, Sophomores of the Nexus Novas cohort completed their kinetic prototype builds, which is a part of their current "Evolution of Energy" PBL. The driving question for their project is: How can we, as Energy Institute students, create a comprehensive kinetic timeline that covers the history of energy usage for display in a public space? Students spent a week building in Mrs. Baird's Principles of Engineering class. With the completion of their prototype builds, the Nexus Novas are now starting to CAD (Computer-Aided Design) their pieces individually for the large kinetic timeline, which will thoroughly explain the history of energy. Currently, it is expected that the timeline will be completed by January 2018. We look forward to seeing what the Nexus Novas create!


Last week, Juniors from the Atomic 5 cohort began to apply the information and skills they have learned about current methods of cleaning oil spills by prototyping a device. Their driving question is: How can oil companies respond effectively to environmental disasters? Students are collaborating with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), an agency that regulates and monitors oil companies, to design a product and to develop a press statement about oil spills. In addition to their demonstration of the model design, the Atomic 5 must also develop an experiment to test it. Afterwards, students will create a poster that discusses their prototype and experiment. The best groups will then attend the Clean Gulf Conference in December to present their posters.


This year, the Seniors at Energy started their veteran interview project. Their driving question is "How can we, as writers, craft a new narrative for a member of the armed services, and then use those skills to tell our own story?" In the case of the Veterans History Project, students hope to capture recollections of life experiences and memorable moments in wartime. Students also hope these interviews will shed light on how the veteran's service influenced his or her postwar life. The final deliverable of the project is to write an engaging story with a well-developed conflict and resolution based on the information they gathered from the veterans who served in the United States armed forces during World War I, World War II, the Korean, Vietnam, or Persian Gulf wars. Cress Clippard of the Travis Manion Foundation has been working closely with Ms. De La Rosa on this project by providing veterans from the Combined Arms to be interviewed by the Energy seniors. In addition, several students and teachers have volunteered to bring friends and family members to be interviewed. Currently, all students have finished preparing their questions and have begun communicating with their assigned veteran through email and other outlets.  
New to the Energy Institute High School, this week's teacher spotlight is Ms. Brown - who primarily teaches Intro to Engineering and Design to ninth-graders. She earned her associate's degree at Lone Star College, and a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Phoenix. Prior to teaching at Energy HS, she was an MEP engineer, a Montessori teacher, and worked in the legal department for Chase Bank. After her son enrolled at Energy HS, on a whim, she applied for a teaching position and is now a member of the Lightning Volts cohort. 

When asked about her favorite part of teaching, Ms. Brown's response is, "helping students achieve their goals... that's the biggest thing." During her leisure time, the teacher spotlight enjoys swimming and working on Lego creations. So far, her greatest Lego accomplishment was constructing Batman's Bat-cave with her son. In the future, she plans on returning to school to work towards a dual master's degree in business management and education.
On Wednesday, November 1st, Energy's National Honor Society hosted a blood drive in partnership with the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. Over 80 Energy students signed up, and 36 out of 57 individual donors donated for the first time. In total, 70 units of blood donated came from Power Reds, in which a special machine is used to safely donate two blood units of red blood cells. By donating blood, Energy was able to save 210 lives! Ms. De La Rosa, teacher sponsor of the NHS, would like to give special thanks to Mrs. Julie Garcia, freshman parent and donor, and Ms. Pamela Gayle, junior parent, for coming to donate for the 4th time! Great job to the NHS leaders and volunteers for stepping up and helping out. The NHS had 100% participation of the officers, along with 6 additional NHS members, staffed Wednesday's drive. Thank you Ms. De La Rosa for leading the NHS in this success!

           The Woods Project
From November 3 to November 5, members of Energy Institute's Woods Project chapter, along with several other schools in the Houston area, attended a camping trip to Turkey Creek. Campers spent their first night engaged in team-building activities, cooking dinner, packing their backpacks, and setting up camp. On the second day, they hiked a trail with their backpacks and spent the night in the campsite they set up the previous day. The campers also participated in many fun activities and played games along the way.

The Woods Project is a non-profit organization whose mission is to curate wilderness education and exploration experiences that develop critical behaviors needed for disadvantaged students so that they may achieve academic and personal success. The organization partners with schools, offering opportunities to participate in camping and backpacking trips. A major highlight of the organization is a two-week summer trip to a national park where students participate in a five-day backpacking trip and explore some of the most beautiful sceneries in the United States. If you are interested in learning more about the Woods Project, please contact Ms. Merino (B-lunch sponsor) and Ms. Hartigan (A-lunch sponsor). All Energy students are welcome to join the Woods Project!



Through the sponsorship of IPAA, seven students attended the Women's Global Leadership Conference in Energy held at Hyatt Regency Houston on November 2, 2017. Students were given advice from seasoned professionals such as Susan Rosenbaum, the Director of Discipline Career Management and Knowledge Management at Schlumberger, and Lees Rodionov, the Senior Vice President of North America Land at Schlumberger. 

These speakers offered empowering guidance to help women obtain a successful career in the energy field, as being a woman produces some challenges that men are not necessarily faced with. Some of the key points these women discussed are to create goals for yourself, ask for help when you need it, and to learn from the strengths of others. Above all, the conference was a captivating experience that highlighted the importance of speaking out and seeking what you want in an environment that can be difficult to navigate.

Thank you to all the parents who attended our first PTO meeting of the year!

SAVE THE DATE: Our next meeting is on  Wednesday, November 8th, 7:00 pm.

Meetings take place in the Energy Institute High School cafeteria.
Please make an effort to attend; your input is greatly appreciated!



Emerge is an HISD program that leads strong, academic students, who are in need of financial support and resources, to top-tier institutions. Emerge also offers after-school workshops twice a month, preparing students for the college admissions process. These workshops include essay structure practice, interview skills, construction of resumes, and elevator pitch & networking activities. 

In addition to these workshops, they are eligible to register free SAT prep at Testmasters to improve their scores on the SAT exam. During the summer, Emerge continues to work with students through college visits. 

Every year, the program selects a region to visit multiple colleges, which allows students to participate in classes and interact with professors in a collegiate setting. This past year, students visited colleges throughout the Northeast region: Tufts, M.I.T., Harvard, Northeastern, Brown, and Brandeis. Now, many of you may be asking, "How do I get in?" Students can apply in their 10th grade year. This program seeks commitment from the applicant through dedication to academics, extracurricular activities, and community involvement. The entrance process begins with an online application including personal information, after-school activities or jobs, and a 300-word essay explaining why you would like to take part in this program. You are then chosen for an interview based on your application. Once you are given an interview, a representative for your school will arrange a date for your conference. After the interview, you will receive a letter or an email regarding your acceptance. For this year's applicants, the deadline for the online application is February 26, 2018. To apply, click here.



Deadline:
November 27, 2017
Amount: $50,000
Deadline: 
December 1, 2017
Amount: $1,000

Deadline: 
December 31, 2017
Amount: $1,000




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