TIBS provides numerous scholarships and innovative teaching/training grants to deserving students and teachers each year.
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TIBS 2018 eNewsletter,
Spring Edition
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Dear TIBS community,
Welcome to the 2018 Spring eNewsletter.
The end of the 2017-2018 school year is in sight! We hope you've had a fantastic year and wish you a summer full of relaxation, travel, and/or challenging adventures. We hope to see some of you at our various trainings across Texas in Dallas, Austin, and Houston during the summer.
This edition brings a wide array of information to your inbox. Thanks to all of you who shared your celebrations and the wonderful examples of action and service going on in your schools. 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 and classroom 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
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- Scholarship and Grant Winners
- What We've Been Up To / What's Coming Up
- Recently Authorized Schools
- 2018/2019 Board Members
- 2018 College Fair Report
- Action and Service
- Spotlight on IB World Schools, Students, and Teachers
- Grant Reflections
- Announcements
- Contact Us
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TIBS DP Scholarship Winners
A special thanks to ManageBac for generously funding a 7
th
DP Scholarship!!
- Andrea Domiter (IDEA Donna College Preparatory)
- Catherine Domiter (IDEA Donna College Preparatory)
- Natalie Parks (Denton High School)
- Swastika Sah (Denton High School)
- Kathy Tran (Garland High School)
- Alexandra Trevino (Humble High School)
- Yewon Yang (Ranchview High School)
Innovative Grant Winners
- An Apple A Day Keeps IB At Play; Jennifer Phillips (Denton High School—Denton)
- IB Advisory Workbooks (Years 1-3); James Bryan (Benjamin Franklin Middle School—Dallas)
- Training for Spanish Lengua A: Lengua y Literatura; Jose Heriberto Castro (Lamar Academy—McAllen)
- Following the Footsteps of the Naturalists: a Language and Literature/Sciences Interdisciplinary Unit; Diane Hance (Grisham Middle School—Austin)
- Cellular Thinking: 7th Grade Science + Graphic Design Interdisciplinary Unit; Connie Sulewski (James S. Hogg Middle School—Houston)
- Arthur Kramer Learning Garden; Catherine Southwick (Kramer IB PYP World School—Dallas)
- Expanding student inquiry in the high school classroom through real-world molecular biology applications; Christina Bowers (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- "Shaping the Future"--IB Global Conference 2018; Anna Bode (International School of Texas—Austin)
- IB Biology HL Zoological Cooperative; Amber Berestein (El Dorado High School—El Paso)
- Helping Students to Develop Media Literacy Skills for the 21st Century; Martha MacFarland (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Category 3: Chemistry: A focus on the Internal Assessment Workshop; Joy Higgins (Meridian School—Round Rock)
- Breakout Boxes; Jill Dinges (Imagine International Academy of North Texas—McKinney)
Roundtable Grant Winners
- Central Texas PYP Roundtable—Leah Delafield, Jessica Vance, Ashley Swindle
- 10th Annual North Texas IB Teacher’s Roundtable (DP/MYP)—Kim Kamin & Bill Wells
- Uplift Education Diploma Programme Academy (DP)—Sophia Kwong, Rich Harrison, Mya Baker, Elizabeth Sutton
- Central Texas MYP Educators Collaborate—Kaylene Rudd
- Concept-based curriculum and instruction (PYP/MYP)—Penny Tschirhart
IB WSC Scholarship Winners
- Adam Alvarado (IDEA College Preparatory—Donna)
- Eric Bowers (Meridan School—Round Rock)
- Peyton Cole (Meridan School—Round Rock)
- Isabelle Hanna (Meridan School—Round Rock)
- Helen Hor (James Bowie High School—Arlington)
- Katherine Jackson (Meridan School—Round Rock)
- Isabella Juarez (Meridan School—Round Rock)
- Mohit Nadkarni (Meridan School—Round Rock)
- Carson Raleigh (Meridan School—Round Rock)
- Kayla Trevino (IDEA College Preparatory—Donna)
- Edith Vigusin (Meridan School—Round Rock)
- Amie Walling (Meridan School—Round Rock)
- Kiernan Work (Meridan School—Round Rock)
- Jocelyn Xu (Meridan School—Round Rock
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What We’ve Been Up To:
- TIBS Spring Meeting & Seminar--Dallas (March 1-3)
- SXSWedu—Austin (March 6-9)
- TAGT Leadership Conference—Houston (April 9-11)
- TIBS College Fair—Hurst (April 24)
What’s Coming Up:
- DFW District Workshops—Ranchview High School (June 12-13)
- Austin Workshops—Westwood High School (July 15-18 & 18-21)
- IB Global Conference—San Diego, CA (July 26-29)
- Houston District Workshops—Tanglewood Middle School (August 9-10)
- TIBS Fall Meeting & Seminar—Austin (November 2-3)
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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
.
- Benjamin Franklin Middle School (MYP)—Dallas
- IDEA South Flores College Preparatory (DP)—San Antonio
- Robert E. Lee Elementary (PYP)—Dallas
- Thomas Jefferson High School (DP)—San Antonio
- Uplift Heights Preparatory (PYP)—Dallas
- Uplift Luna Preparatory (DP)—Dallas
- Uplift Mighty Preparatory (MYP)—Ft. Worth
- Uplift Peak Preparatory (DP)--Dallas
- Uplift Summit Preparatory (DP)—Arlington
- Vandegrift High School (DP)--Austin
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- Stephanie Childress
- Margaret Davis
- Rick Fernandez
- Angela Hall-Hector
- Lynn Hobson
- Kelly McBride
- Katie Keenan Rhymes
- Rebeckah Tisdale
- Penny Tschirhart
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1,500 Students in attendance!
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On April 24th, 1,500 high school students visited with representatives from about 70 colleges from Texas, the United States, and the world.
This year's fair was characterized by its superior presentations, including presenters from Swarthmore, SMU, UT, Johns-Hopkins, University of Chicago, and our own Kim Kamin, who gave a presentation for DP Coordinators.
Thanks to those of you who brought your students to the College Fair. Please let us know how we can make our fair better for your students.
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Massey Ranch Elementary School's
Action Against Child Abuse
This is my first year as an IB Coordinator at Massey Ranch Elementary. It can be so overwhelming, but I didn’t expect the payoff to be so BIG! I was a bundle of nerves, not knowing what to expect for my first exhibition with my 4
th-
grade here at Massey Ranch. The love and support from the faculty, staff, and community were overwhelming! Little did I realize how fast ACTION would grow from this experience.
Two student-led groups picked a touchy topic: Child Abuse! Two groups, with four 9-year- olds in each, wanted to research a subject that isn’t the easiest for adults to understand and discuss openly among themselves. I was nervous, as were the parents and mentors involved. Would this be too mature for these students to research, too emotional for them to handle, and what kind of issues would come up for further discussion? A lot of concerns and worries were floating in my head, but these children were fearless. They wanted to try to understand what kind of abuse is out there, who does this, how can it be prevented, and how could they help?
As their units of inquiry began to emerge, the research and answers evoked more and more questions. Is there help locally, and do people know the sad statistics of child abuse being repeated? This led the group to start thinking about ways they could help and what their action would include. One group made pin wheels and did a Prezi to help inform the public, while the other group contacted Brazoria County Alliance for Children (BCAC) to donate money they made doing a lemonade stand, and they even invited the BCAC to attend the 4
th-
grade exhibition to discover what their groups had learned.
The CEO of BCAC was so touched by their invitation and their $180 donation that she and board members attended. They were blown away by the research these children had done on child abuse and the fearlessness with which they presented. They were impressed by the caring hearts of the students who wanted to make sure that the cycle could be broken and help others understand the many different forms of abuse. This led the CEO to contact me and say let’s not stop there! They invited the students to share at their next board meeting and even asked if they would be willing to donate the pinwheels to be auctioned off at their “Blue Jean Ball” fundraiser in February.
I was asked to speak at their fundraiser to explain about the IB program and exhibition. I attended the fundraiser with a student and spoke about how hard a topic this is to discuss and about the way this research led these extraordinary students to take action as well as ask tough questions. I shared with hundreds of people that children can build their knowledge to help their community and give back to others.
Each child’s passion and bravery were recognized at this event. Our school was awarded the CEO award for Children Helping Children. I am both humbled and impressed with how exhibition led these groups to take action, and I believe the difference starts with just one person being courageous!
Submitted by Sarah Wilson, PYP Coordinator, Massey Ranch Elementary School.
Pearland ISD.
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Uplift Summit Raises Funds for Ugandan Water Project
For the second year in a row, our first- grade scholars have partnered with the Ugandan Water Project to help bring clean drinking water to schools in Uganda.
After learning about the water crisis in our IB Unit of Study, our scholars felt compelled to help.
Last year we beat our $4,000 goal by $1,000! We were able to build a rain water collection tank and bring water filters to a school in Uganda. We brought clean water to 162 people and saved 7.60 hours of water collection time. We are well on our way to reaching our goal again this year!
The picture above is from Standard Hill Nursery and Primary School, the beneficiaries of our 2017 Water Walk Fundraiser
.
Below are pictures from our kick-off of the project.
Submitted by Mandi Carney, 1st-grade Teacher, Uplift Summit Academy in Arlington
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Ready, Set, Green!
Kramer IB PYP World School
Competes in 10
th
Annual TREX Plastic Film Recycling Challenge
The challenge for K-12 schools includes collecting and recycling plastic bags, wraps and film packaging. The challenge started November 15 and lasted until April 15.
“The challenge had our students collecting as much plastic film as possible, providing a hands-on learning experience learning about how plastic bags are correctly recycled,” said Cathy Southwick, Green Team teacher. “This year students brought in 1,588 pounds of plastic, fortifying their role as global stewards, knowing they can make a difference."
On April 22nd. Kramer was notified that they had won this challenge by over
1,000 pounds
of recycled plastic bags. Participating schools will receive an award, in the form of a composite bench, made from Trex decking boards.
Submitted by Kimberly West, PYP Coordinator, Kramer IB World School, Dallas ISD
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Grishman Middle School Collects 600 Books For Library in Uganda
In October of 2017, Trudy Marshall spoke to the entire Grisham Middle School about the daily life of students in Kenya and Uganda. She showed our students pictures of houses, transportation, schools, and the love for learning when given access to quality books. Trudy is the Executive Director of Libraries of Love, an organization that has been working in East Africa for over 10 years with a singular mission - to close the education gap.
After hearing about this project and opportunities to participate in service as action, the entire school engaged in a book drive through their advisory classes.The students learned first about the four different types of IB service (direct, indirect, research and advocacy). Many students chose to make posters to promote the project, while others shared information on social media and at local bookstores. Students collected, sorted, and carried hundreds of pounds of books.
In December, teachers led students through a school-wide inquiry cycle into East Africa’s education system. Students began by generating questions that they wanted to know more about. This was followed up by research time and culminated with discussions sharing their new information, leading to service as action.
In the end, Grisham students were able to collect over 600 hardback new or like-new books. Students will also have an opportunity to Skype with students in East Africa and will be able to ask their questions directly to students in East Africa. If you are interested in this project, please contact former RRISD Librarian Trudy Marshall through
www.librariesoflove.org
.
“The Libraries of Love team very much appreciates the large donation of books from Grisham Middle School for our 2018 library project in Uganda, Africa. This year, twelve of our 36 libraries will be restocked with thousands of books, plus one new high school library will be provided. Thank you for partnering with us as we change lives one book at a time,” an excited Trudy Marshall wrote to Grisham Middle School.
Submitted by Dana Browning, MYP Coordinator, Grisham Middle School, Round Rock ISD.
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Active Stone Students Reflective and Caring
While community projects were presented in February, some compassionate students have continued their commitment to action.
Nina, Mathew, and Syra are continuing their tutoring once a week with fourth and fifth-graders after school. (Top photo)
Jane and Scout are still working twice a month with rescue daschunds. (Middle photo)
Molly and Kay Dee are continuing to support literacy and promoting our school's second book fair this April. (Bottom photo)
Submitted by Megan Capshaw, MYP Coordinator, Harry Stone Montessori World School, Dallas ISD
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Borman Elementary Supports Local Animal Shelters
Borman 5
th-
grade students were concerned about the animals that did not have homes or that were being abused. They asked a representative from the local animal shelter to come out and explain about these animals and what could be done. The students asked how they could help and if they could donate items. The 5
th-
graders made posters and put them up around the school. They asked for cash and item donations. They raised $256 for the shelter. They also donated a truck full of animal supplies to the shelter. They were happy they could make a difference.
Submitted by Heather Thornburg, PYP Coordinator, Borman Elementary School, Denton ISD
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Students From International School of Texas visit China
This March, some students and their families from the International School
of Texas visited China for an international service trip. They visited the Shanghai American School, sampled the local cuisine, tried their hand at Chinese manuscript writing, and took part in some martial arts training, as well as many other exciting activities. The service element of the trip involved everyone rolling up their sleeves and getting involved in the day to day running of the Wolong China Giant Panda Garden, feeding the pandas and helping to clean and care for them and their living environment. They trip was a stunning success and helped the students to broaden their global awareness and cultural appreciation.
Submitted by Eleanor Mitchell, Deputy Head of School, International School of Texas, Austin
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Meaningful Reflection in Action at Patterson Elementary
Learners at Patterson Elementary in Houston ISD have been actively reflecting on the transdisciplinary themes of
How We Organize Ourselves
and
Sharing the Planet
. In fourth grade, a learner discovered how organizations help provide essential resources and services to communities, while a kindergartener learned that a global scholar is caring to people and animals. Third graders shared different ways people can improve global issues.
As a PYP candidate school, Patterson Elementary students are on their way to promote meaningful action in their community.
Submitted by Luis Saenz, PYP Coordinator-Designate, Patterson Dual Language Literature Magnet School, PYP candidate school, Houston ISD
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Caring and Empathy lead to Action
This year Iduma Elementary students watched as families and friends were affected by several hurricanes that occurred in the past year. They learned about all the schools that were closed due to the damage caused by hurricanes. The students displayed empathy and caring and were spurred into action and started a toiletry drive. They made personal hygiene care bags that were then sent to Puerto Rico.
Students also included handmade cards with personal messages of encouragement along with the pers
onal hygiene bags. Small action can help many.
Submitted by Eneida Saucedo, PYP Coordintor, Iduma Elementary School, Killeen ISD
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Jefferson High School Authorized
Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio ISD is proud to announce its recent authorization as an IB World School! They will begin their first year of the Diploma Programme in the upcoming 2018-19 school year. Jefferson High is also in the candidate phase for Middle Years Programme as well. The team will be headed by Associate Principal Chris Stanley, IB Implementation Specialist Sharon Franco, DP Coordinator David Garcia, and MYP Coordinator Maxwell Ituah. Jefferson High School is excited to join the ranks of IB World Schools and Texas IB Schools.
Submitted by Christopher Stanley, Associate Principal, Jefferson High School, San Antonio ISD
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Achievements of Teachers and Students at Denton High School
Teacher Selected:
Denton High School’s IB Biology HL teacher
Heather Lentz
been selected for the MD Anderson Summer Workshop for High School Educators. It's a two week program in which she will be trained in the latest in molecular, cellular, and microbiology lab techniques. She will also learn about radiation therapy and diagnostic imaging. (Pictured left)
CAS Projects:
Going Vegan for Earth Day
Bryan Navarro
, a senior at Denton High, organized an Earth Day Vegan Pot Luck lunch for his CAS project. Bryan has been trying to move toward a more vegetarian lifestyle but has found that his biggest challenge has been in finding recipes that incorporate his Hispanic heritage. To overcome this, he collaborated with a group of vegetarian and vegan students to research and plan a menu that was both environmentally and culturally friendly. The event began with a brief presentation regarding the environmental impacts of raising meat for food. Students then sampled the dishes which ranged from Vegan Mac & Cheese to Falafel Waffles to Vada (coconut chutney doughnuts). (Pictured right)
Submitted by Beth Hughes, DP Coordinator, Denton High School, Denton ISD
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Teacher Writes a Book About the
Learner Profile
Mr. Carlos Acosta, a teacher at Kujawa Education Center, just published a new book,
Just An Idea
that highlights the IB Learner Profile. Mr. Acosta is very passionate about teaching through the IB framework, and this is an excellent book for students to learn to take action in the world around them to make it better.
Submitted by Linda Johnson, PYP Coordinator, Kujawa Education Center, Aldine ISD
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Uplift High Schools earn four Gold, two Silver medals from U.S. News and World Report
Yasmin Bhatia, CEO, Uplift Education, stated that "This recognition is a testament to the hard work of our dedicated teachers, school leaders, and instructional teams' commitment to ensuring college readiness for all scholars. With our big goal of 70% college completion within six years, our high school teams are continually innovating to provide a rigorous college preparatory education."
Submitted by Yasmin Bhatia, CEO, Uplift Education
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U.S. News & World Report
ranks Meridian School #6 on list of best high schools in the nation and #1 for best high school in Texas
On May 9,
U.S. News & World Report
announced their much-anticipated
2018 Best High Schools
list; we are both pleased and proud to share that Meridian School earned a gold medal and is ranked #6 in the national rankings and #1 in the state of Texas. The
US News
rankings include data on more than 20,500 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Schools are carefully ranked based on their performance on state-required tests and how well they prepare students for college.
Meridian has, from its beginning in 2011, focused on providing a stellar International Baccalaureate (IB) college preparatory program for our students. 2016 was our first year to graduate seniors, a class of 17. Each student sat for and passed at least one IB Diploma Program exam. This, along with our outstanding STAAR and EOC results, had a positive impact on the
U.S. News
ratings. Most importantly, we are pleased that Meridian graduates leave here well-prepared to meet the next challenge they face, whatever that may be. We are committed to being inclusive of all types of students, those who embrace the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and those who aspire to it, so as the high school grows, from 17 in 2016, to 59 this year to 100+ in three years, we will proudly continue to deliver the IB program with fidelity.
“It has been our philosophy and practice that if you teach the International Baccalaureate (IB) programs with fidelity, the rest will come. We have been committed from the beginning to do so, training all of our teachers at various levels so that they can deliver their very best to their students. As an IB school that has all three programs, Primary, Middle, and Diploma, we are able to open a child’s mind early to understand and engage them in their capacity to learn."
Rick Fernández, Head of School
“Meridian World School exists because of the efforts of a handful of families that ignited a grassroots parent group looking for a deeper, more authentic kind of public school education that the IB programs can provide. That effort and excitement joined with professional leadership, passionate teachers, committed families, and engaged students proving once again, that a small group of thoughtful, committed folks really can make a difference!"
Karalei Nunn, Founder & COO
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Spicewood Elementary
Learns
Kagan Strategies
In early August of 2017, our campus participated in Kagan Cooperative Learning Day 1 professional development. This unique training provided our teachers with a variety of structures and strategies (known as the Kagan essential 5) to implement in their classrooms that give all students an opportunity to be engaged in the classroom learning and conversation.
As the teachers slowly began implementing these structures in their classrooms, they saw that their classes quickly created communities (something essential for the start of a school year!) by building teams that engaged all different types of learners. With these structures, students share thoughts, ideas, and answers with one another, requiring an amount of trust between themselves and their peers.
Teachers noted that their classes worked more cohesively as a team more quickly in the year due to the use of these structures. Teachers also shared that these structures not only provided data to help drive instruction, but also that students were more actively engaged and “owned” their learning. Teachers saw evidence of this in student questioning, answers, and overall enthusiasm and engagement on a daily basis.
Submitted by Jessica Vance, PYP Coordinator, Spicewood Elementary School, Round Rock ISD
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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!
- Fall Meetings and Saturday Seminar November 2-3, 2018, Austin, Texas
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We'd love to hear from you with any questions or concerns.
I
f you have feedback on the newsletter
, please contact
Judy Chapman
.
We have changed our "Member Schools" page on the
website
to include all the authorized IB schools in Texas. We have added a new column to indicate membership in TIBS. Please take a moment to look at the new page and notify
Judy
if something is incorrect.
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