TIBS provides numerous scholarships and innovative teaching/training grants to deserving students and teachers each year.
|
|
TIBS 2020 eNewsletter,
Spring Edition
|
|
Dear TIBS community,
Welcome to the 2020 Spring eNewsletter.
What a year 2020 has been! School buildings are closed! IB DP exams were canceled!
The Global Conference scheduled for Toronto in July has also been canceled. And the world seems like a really strange place night now. But even in a global pandemic, educators are doing what they always do--their best on behalf of the students. Nowhere is that more true than in our IB schools across Texas. We are so proud of the ways that you have stepped up to do the best job possible for the IB students all over the state. We hope for all of us that better times will be here soon.
This edition brings an interesting array of information to your inbox. Some of the stories are celebrations and service projects that are pre-pandemic. Others have shared the unique ways your schools and your students have responded to Covid-19. Thanks to all of you who shared. Please let us know what other kinds of items you would like to see in this eNewsletter.
We are grateful for your continued support and truly appreciate your inspiring community, classroom, and distance-learning work. Don't forget to keep us updated with your stories, photos, and videos! We can't wait to see them this fall.
Best regards,
Karen Phillips, TIBS Executive Director
Courtney Smith, TIBS Associate Executive Director
|
|
- Scholarship and Grant Winners
- What We've Been Up To / What's Coming Up
- Recently Authorized Schools
- 2020-21 Board Members
- 2020 College Fair Report
- Spotlight on IB World Schools
- Pre-Spring Break Projects
- Response to Covid-19
- Announcements
- Contact Us
|
|
TIBS DP Scholarship Winners
- Omar Camacho (Uplift Grand Preparatory)
- Aamilah Chowdhury (Uplift Summit International Preparatory)
- Marina Flores (Stony Point High School)
- Tho Lam (LD Bell High School)
- Janet Suarez (Uplift Summit International Preparatory)
- Twila Ternida (Imagine International Academy of North Texas)
Innovative Grant Winners
- Day at the Kimbell Art Museum and the Museum of Modern Art; Mary Hayes Harms (Sam Houston High School—Arlington)
- IB Biology SL/HL Topic 3.5 Genetic modification and biotechnology lab; Heather Lentz (Denton High School—Denton)
- Planning for Success: Summer Planning for MYP; Kristen Machczynski (Meridian World School—Round Rock)
- Expanding student inquiry across an IB continuum using foldable microscopes; Christina Bowers (Meridian World School—Round Rock)
- Creating a Nuturing Environment That Promotes Creativity and Imagination; Maggie Abrego (Kujawa EC PK K Primary IB World School—Houston)
- “Little Helper Pens”—C-Pen Readers; Noreen Kennedy (Meridian World School—Round Rock)
Roundtable Grant Winners
- 12th Annual North Texas IB Teacher’s Roundtable (DP)—Bill Wells & Nancy Shane
- Central Texas PYP Roundtable—Elizabeth Petty, Ashley Swindle, & Leah Lieurance
- Conceptual vs Conceptual Teaching and Authentic Assessment (MYP)—Chris Slocum & Crystal Sullivan
- Uplift Education Programme Continuum Academy (All)—Elizabeth Sutton, Sophia Myers, Brian Hills, & Remy Washington
|
|
What We’ve Been Up To:
- TIBS Spring Meeting & Seminar—Dallas (February 28 & 29)
- TIBS Virtual College Fair
- Longview Virtual Consultant Visits (May & June)
What’s Coming Up:
- Curriculum Writing -- Longview, June 24-25
- Austin Workshops—July 12-15 & 15-18
- IB Global Conference—Toronto, ON (CANCELED)
- DFW District Workshops—TBA
- Houston District Workshops—TBA
- Longview District Workshops—July 27-28, September 24-25
- TIBS Fall Meeting & Seminar—Austin (TBA)
|
|
Congratulations to our newly authorized schools in Texas!
We are very proud of all of your hard work. If you are not on this list and have been authorized, please
let us know
.
- Brighter Horizons Academy College Preparatory (PYP)—Garland
- Jack Yates Sr. High School (DP)—Houston
- Longfellow Middle School (MYP)—San Antonio
- Manara Leadership Academy (DP)—Irving
|
|
- Linda Buie (At Large) - Longview ISD
- Seby Meloni (At Large) - Houston ISD
- Penny Tschirhart (At Large) - San Antonio ISD
- Stephanie Childress (DP) - Round Rock ISD
- David Garcia (DP) - San Antonio ISD
- Daniella Andrade (MYP) - Houston ISD
- Jennifer Love (MYP) - San Antonio ISD
- Kelly McBride (PYP) - International School of Texas, Austin
- Ashley Swindle (PYP) - Leander ISD
|
|
College Fair 2020 Was/Is Virtual!
|
College Fair 2020 was scheduled for April 28th. When the Hurst Conference Center closed because of Covid-19, we wanted to find another way to connect our wonderful IB students to the colleges and universities who had planned to attend. So, Texas IB Schools, in partnership with the Texas Council for International Studies, created a virtual college fair sponsored by Johns Hopkins University Office of Admissions and the University of Texas at Austin.
On the website, students can listen to messages from universities recorded especially for IB students. Visitors can also access the university websites and mailing lists. Universities will be added to the website as they come in. The website will be active until at least September 1, 2020. Here is the link:
http://www.texasibcollegefair.com
Since this link was distributed in April, breakout sessions have been added under the "More" tab. A special thanks to Margaret Davis for making the virtual college fair a reality.
Linda Buie, TIBS Board Member and Dean of Instruction/Head of School at Longview High School shared the following assignment regarding the College Fair:
What a wonderful opportunity the Texas IB Schools Virtual College Fair is for our students in Texas! As our IB students work from home, we are going to encourage our 10
th
and 11
th
-grade English teachers to create an assignment for students based on the College Fair. Teachers will ask students to visit eight colleges from the virtual fair—five colleges they are familiar with and three new ones to explore. They should take notes from each visit and create a paper sharing which colleges that they visited and some highlights from their visits. The number of visits may vary by the teacher making the assignment.
College Fair 2021 has been scheduled for April 21, 2021. We hope to see you and your students there in person!
|
|
Dallas Seminar Participants Provide Schooling for a Student in Uganda
Thanks to the generosity of TIBS teachers at the February meetings in Dallas, a young man will be provided an education for a year through We Help Two.
Name: Samuel Tendo
Age: 9
Location: Kampala, Uganda
School: Alpha and Omega Primary
Best subjects: Mathematics
Pet: Pig
Hobbies: Running
Brief Family Background: Samuel’s father died when he was six, so the responsibility of looking after the children is left to the mother who has no job and no way to pay for his school fees. As a result, Samuel is now living with his grandmother who is able to provide for his food and shelter but cannot afford his school fees.
Thanks to the generosity of TIBS participants in February, Samuel will now be able to attend school for 1 full year! He has also received new school uniforms, two meals a day at the school, and part of his teacher's salary has been covered!
Watch the
video
to learn more about Samuel.
T
hanks, participants, for buying lots of socks! And thanks to our friends at We Help Two for their good work around the world!
|
|
IB Music Students from Sam Houston High School Participate in Documentary on JFK
I
n an article in the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
on April 1, 2020, IB music students at Arlington Sam Houston High School discuss their project performing the soundtrack to "Three Hours in Dallas," a short documentary honoring the legacy of President John F. Kennedy. The film is shown at the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas.
The film is mostly silent, except for a few highlights of speeches given by Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline. During a world premiere screening Nov. 21 at the
Sixth Floor Museum
in Dallas, the students, all part of a percussion ensemble, performed live, the first of a couple of live performances of their work.
To read or listen to the rest of the story, click
here
.
Submitted by Poppy Moore, Advanced Academics Coordinator, Sam Houston High School, Arlington ISD
|
|
Longfellow Middle School Announces IB Authorization
On February 12, 2020, San Antonio ISD issued a press release announcing the authorization of Longfellow Middle School as an MYP World School. Longfellow is in the Jefferson High School feeder pattern.
“This is an important step in the school’s journey to provide a challenging and rewarding learning experience for both students and teachers,” said Dr. Courtney Gober, assistant superintendent of SAISD International Baccalaureate Schools. “Students at IB World Schools are given a unique education. They are encouraged to think independently, drive their own learning, and become inquirers who are more culturally aware, all while developing a second language.”
Submitted by Jacqueline Carter, MYP Coordinator, Longfellow Middle School, San Antonio ISD
|
|
Uplift Mighty Primary Beta Club
Through our Mighty Primary Beta Club, our scholars have exhibited the IB traits of collaborator and risk taker. This year at the National Junior Beta Club Convention, our Mighty scholars competed against 500 students from high performing schools all over the state of Texas. Through student- led collaboration, our scholars placed in 5 categories: Math (3
rd
place), Book Battle (2
nd
place), Technology (2
nd
place), Language Arts (2
nd
place), and Robotics (1
st
place).
Our scholars truly embodied the ‘risk-taker’ trait by putting their ideas and talents on display, taking the initiative to raise money to compete in the state convention, and to meet weekly with their classmates to perfect their projects.
Prior to the school closures due to COVID-19, our Beta scholars qualified to compete in the national convention that would have been held in our home city of Fort Worth.
Submitted by T. Nevels, 5th-grade Teacher and Juan Jimenez, PYP Dean, Uplift Mighty Preparatory School
|
|
|
|
|
PYP Campuses in CFBISD Help Change A Life
R.E. Good Elementary and Las Colinas Elementary communities partnered together with We Help Two to support those born in poverty with clubfoot around the globe. Students designed and decorated foot braces with their art teacher’s support. Socks were sold to teachers and parents. Every pair of socks sold helped pay for a surgical procedure and helped to provide a brace for a child born with clubfoot. We Help Two then gave socks back to the school, which were donated to the district’s new initiative, The Giving House.
It was incredible to see both PYP school communities come together to support those in need locally and globally. You can still help those in need today because We Help Two is donating 60 meals for every 3-pair packs of socks sold during the pandemic! “It is estimated that during school closures kids in need will miss more than 101 million meals per week.” Find out how you can help by clicking on this link
https://www.wehelptwo.com/
Submitted by
Allison Elliott, PYP Coordinator, R. E. Good Elementary and Las Colinas Elementary Schools, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD
|
|
Kramer Students Participate in Global School Play Day
On February 5
th
, students at Arthur Kramer Elementary School participated in Global School Play Day, a national grassroots effort led by educators to encourage play in schools.
Students in the 3
rd
-grade contributed to the experience by facilitating a “Third Grade Arcade,” which represented a culmination of their unit on “Sharing the Planet.” Students took action through collaborating with one another to design a complete arcade constructed from recyclable materials and donated their gently used toys to be given away as prizes to participants. Fellow students, teachers, and community members were invited to engage in the arcade experience which required bottle caps and aluminum can tabs as entry.
All of the donations collected were later given to the “Alianza Anticancer Infantil,” an organization that uses proceeds from recycled materials to support low income children diagnosed with cancer gain access to comprehensive medical care in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
Submitted by Roshelle Andrews, District IB Coordinator, Dallas ISD
|
|
|
Grandview Hills Scholars Partner with Vandegrift High School IB Ambassadors
Grandview Hills World School partnered with Vandegrift High School IB Ambassadors. The Ambassadors created science lessons for the 5th-graders to rotate through. It was great learning for all!
PYP Exhibition by Mason 5th-Graders
Submitted by Ashley Swindle, PYP Coordinator, C. C. Mason World School and Grandview Hills Elementary School, Leander ISD.
|
|
|
|
Students at Barbara Bush Middle School Develop as Leaders
S
tudents at Barbara Bush Middle School participated in a leadership development workshop and brainstormed ways to help their community. Then, a day in March was used to clean up trash from the campus grounds, a nearby park, and a creek.
Over 20 bags of litter were collected to help beautify the area. A donation from the All State Foundation helped to purchase grabbing sticks and gloves to help the process. We enjoyed snacks at the end of the morning.
Submitted by
Tina Flatt, MYP Coordinator, Barbara Bush Middle School, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD
|
|
I
B Continuum Schools in CFBISD Come Together to Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
The International Baccalaureate schools in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD took part in a citywide parade to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Taking action on the issue of civil-rights was critical to these students, parents, and teachers. Students from the Folklorico Club at R.E. Good Elementary wore their cultural costumes, and everyone enjoyed their dance moves. Second grade art students from Las Colinas Elementary designed the decorative posters and banners that hung on the trucks. Barbara Bush Middle School students created and carried a banner to promote the IB continuum in CFBISD. The band from Ranchview High School played and marched beautifully that bright sunny morning in January. Passion for equal rights certainly motivated our IB continuum community in CFB.
Submitted by
Allison Elliott
, PYP Coordinator, Las Colinas Elementary and R. E. Good Elementary, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD
|
|
|
|
Meridian World School Hosts Service Learning Day
On March 12, 2020, Meridian World School hosted its final Service Learning (SL) Day for the school year. During this time, the 10th-graders shared their Personal Projects with the school community.
From painting clubfoot braces in 8th-grade to leaving inspirational messages in chalk
at the school’s entrances for the 9th- graders, students were engaged in all kinds of service.
During this year’s three SL Days, students planted flowers on the campus, learned about fast fashion and upcycling, and envisioned a world where the UN Global Goals are at the forefront of life. Great job, Meridian Lions, and congratulations on a job well done!
Submitted by
Kristen Machczynski, MYP Coordinator, Meridian World School
|
|
LCE Spanish IB World Language Connects to the Pulsera Project
Senora Parrish, Spanish IB World Language teacher at Las Colinas Elementary, and her students investigated what daily life was like for children living in Nicaragua. Students researched and soon discovered the grim fact that children in Nicaragua suffer greatly. They found lack of education, jobs, and poverty were among challenges families face and felt empathy. As students continued to research, they uncovered the Pulsera Project, which focuses on employment, education, and impact.
https://www.pulseraproject.org/
They were passionate about making a difference, but how? Fourth and fifth-grade students busily wrote persuasive letters to the principal and convinced her the Pulsera Project was worthwhile. After that, second and third-grade students created posters to advertise the project to the school community. 300 bracelets, with a person’s name and information about how that person is being helped, were distributed. $1,500 was raised to benefit the Pulsera Project. Senora Parrish reflected on this authentic, student-led learning experience and said, “It has been the best lesson in all my years of teaching because the students were genuinely invested in caring for others.” This was surely student service learning at its best!
Submitted by Allison Elliott, PYP Coordinator, Las Colinas Elementary, Carrollton-Farmer's Branch ISD
|
|
Longview Senior Becomes a
Mask Maker
Longview High School senior Matthew Hanson wanted to make a difference during the Coronavirus pandemic. Always an avid CAS supporter, Hanson decided to put his skills to use by making masks during the virus while he was quarantined at home. Here is what Hanson had to say about the experience:
“As I was beginning to work on my CAS project of working to serve people in my community, I began to struggle because of the virus had started to affect Longview. It got to a point where I needed to find a new CAS project to work on because I couldn’t do my original project. At that point, my mom had actually found a tutorial on how to create a mask that doctors and essential workers have been requesting out of a little bit of fabric . She knew a lot about sewing and taught me all the steps I needed to know to create the masks. Knowing that I could help protect people by making these masks, I knew it's what I had to do. I really enjoyed the process, and I found it was fairly simple for the positive effect it had on others.”
Submitted by Linda Buie, Dean of Instruction/Head of School, Longview High School, Longview ISD
|
|
|
International School of Texas
Launches Distance Learning
International School of Texas proudly launched its Distance Learning program at the end of March. All grades from Early Childhood up to Grade 6 are now participating in a variety of daily online live lessons with their teachers and classmates, as well as completing offline activities, projects and challenges. We were even featured on Austin’s KXAN TV station and our Head, Tim Reilly, was interviewed, as we launched into this new style of learning in our community! As we launched into this unknown realm, our G5 Head Girl, Emerson, filmed her own public service broadcast for the school community. We are so proud of her and the message that she communicated.
https://safeYouTube.net/w/f5PE
Submitted by Eleanor Mitchell, IBCoordinator and Deputy Head, International School of Texas
|
|
Happenings at Calhoun Middle School
During this time of COVID 19, Calhoun Middle School teacher Amy Taylor found a creative way to bring parts of the world home to her students. Mrs. Taylor found postcards from around the world and sent them with a supportive message to her Language and Literature students.
In 6th-grade Individuals and Societies, we have encouraged our students to create their own history books! Students can choose to keep a journal, create a word document, or simply use a folder to save their information. We want them not
only
to write what they're experiencing, but also to collect writings from family members and friends. They can save news articles, take pictures, or create drawings for their books. At the end of the year, our students will have their own tangible primary source of history!
Submitted by Amy Taylor, Language and Literature Teacher, Rebecca Haire, Individuals and Societies Teacher, and Chris Slocum, MYP Coordinator, Calhoun Middle School, Denton ISD
|
|
Jefferson Art Teacher Creates Amazing Online Art Lessons
DP Visual Arts teacher, Amber Smith, at Jefferson High School in San Antonio, has created really amazing online classes where students create art using household kitchen supplies such as spices, balsamic vinegar, and coffee since students do not have access to the art supplies in the classroom. This week it is with items from her pantry; next week it will be with items from her refrigerator! See an amazing lesson here:
Submitted by Amber Smith, DP Visual Arts Teacher, and Christopher Stanley, Associate Principal, Jefferson High School, San Antonio ISD
|
|
Action At International School of Texas
At International School of Texas, we LOVE to take action, and being online is no exception to this. Our school leadership team, which is comprised of our Head Boys, Girls, House Captains, and Vice Captains have been meeting online to decide upon weekly action and service projects that our students can participate in from their homes, and then launching weekly action projects for all our school community via our school Zoom assemblies.
IST’s first virtual service project was ‘Hearts for Heroes,’ and we asked our students to decorate their home windows with colored hearts to honor the heroes helping our community through this difficult time. Other projects have included posting positive signs around our neighborhoods, and conserving water both in and out of our houses. Here is our G4 Head Girl, Juliana, launching our first project to the school.
Submitted by Eleanor Mitchell, IB Coordinator and Deputy Head, International School of Texas
|
|
Brighter Horizons Exhibition Goes Digital
B
righter Horizons Academy like many other schools had huge plans for a successful and memorable 5
th-
grade exhibition. Unfortunately, with the unprecedented circumstances, we all had to switch to home learning. The remote learning process in itself was a challenge for everyone. However, our students were determined to communicate what they diligently had been working on for about 8 weeks in the theme “Sharing the Planet." They expressed how they want to share the real world problems they have researched and discuss the new knowledge they gained about their topics.
We decided to move forward and have our students completely adjust and navigate their exhibition virtually. The challenges that the students endured through this exhibition process have taught them how to deal with and overcome many unforeseen issues. We are proud of our Brighter Horizons Academy students for staying strong and committed during this journey. The students investigated the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. They shared their learning process and the action they took using the following global goals with the community virtually: No Poverty, No Hunger, Good Health, Gender Equality, Clean Water and Sanitation, Reduced Inequality, Climate Change, Life Below Water . Below you can find the short videos to Global Goal #10 Reduced Inequalities and Global Goal #13 Climate Action.
Submitted by Nadia Elatrash, PYP Coordinator, Brighter Horizons Academy, Garland
|
|
Great Remote Teaching and
Learning are Happening in the DP at STHS
Scholars in the Diploma Programme at Wayside: Sci-Tech High School continue to study rigorously thanks to the G-suite applications. Our school started preparing for remote learning way before leaving for spring break, and this helped make our transition to remote learning so successful. Similarly, our teachers maintain contact with students through conferences or calls. This new way of learning has made us grow as educators, and in the future, we will be using many of the applications and websites that we learned to manage during this time. Congratulations to our class of 2020 for pulling it off despite the challenges, and a big shout out to our juniors for their continuous hard work.
Submitted by Estafania David, DP Coordinator, Sci-Tech High School, Wayside Schools
|
|
|
International School of Texas Earth Day
To commemorate the 50
th
Earth Day, on Wednesday, April 22
nd
, International School of Texas hosted a Virtual Planting Party for its community. Hosted by our Head, an avid gardener himself, Tim Reilly took the students through the process of choosing suitable seeds, knowing when to plant, reading seed packets, and planting seeds in pots. Students were asked to come to the Zoom meeting prepared with planting supplies, and then they all planted their own seeds at the same time. We even had some past students log on from other countries around the world! It was a wonderful way to unite the school community and celebrate our beautiful planet.
Submitted by Eleanor Mitchell, IB Coordinator and Deputy Head, International School of Texas
|
|
Westlake Academy Shares Digital Learning Platform
Maru Busico-Flight, Technology Director at Westlake Academy, provided the link to their Distance Learning in Action Platform. See link below:
Submitted by Maria Busico-Flight, Technology and CAS Coordinator, Westlake Academy
|
|
UPCOMING EVENTS:
- Registration for the TIBS Austin workshops (Session 1 and 2) is here. Remember: the IB organization and Kent State University have partnered to offer graduate credit for PYP, MYP, and DP training. Click here to find out more!
- Notes from the Coordinator Meetings in Dallas in February are on the website.
|
|
We'd love to hear from you with any questions or concerns.
I
f you have feedback on the newsletter
, please contact
Judy Chapman
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
