District in Pictures
March 27, 2020
'Grab & Go' Free Meals Feed 1,412 on First Day
Fowler, Booker T. Washington, Zundy Elementary Teachers Honk Their Way Through Neighborhoods, Parade Style
With the closure of schools and the mandatory six-feet distancing recommendations to safeguard everyone from the Coronavirus, teachers can’t get close to students – but they can still wave, honk, hoot and holler. So teachers at several schools hopped in their cars and formed a mini parade. They drove through students’ neighborhoods to greet students with honks and waves. Pictured: Fowler's Samantha Griego holds up a message through her car’s sun roof: “Ms. Griego loves and misses you!”
Southern Hills Elementary Teacher Uses Flipgrid to Enable ‘Contact’
The social contact may just be virtual, but it still feels good to see your friends’ faces and say hi. Maria Carrillo appreciated the efforts of her son's first grade bilingual teacher, Jessica Esteves, for making the Flipgrid so they could communicate. Ms. Esteves used Flipgrid’s social learning platform to link together many of her students’ greetings from home – all while social distancing.
Sheppard Elementary Students Brighten Social Media Feeds with Virtual Spirit Week Photos
At Sheppard, students are celebrating Pajama Day Monday, St. Paddy’s Day Tuesday, What-Ya-Reading Wednesday, First-Day-of-Spring Thursday, and School Spirit Day Friday. Each day is an opportunity for students to send in photos of themselves being active and productive during Virtual Spirit Week. Pictured: One student poses with his bike after a bike ride.
McNiel Middle School Teacher Sews Face Masks for Health Care Workers
McNiel teacher Jessica Mitchell and her daughter, McNiel 6th grader Lorelei, spent spring break at home sewing face masks for health care workers who are battling the Coronavirus from the front lines. Pictured left to right: Jessica, Cindy and Dr. Michael Mitchell.
Durham Buses Serve New Purpose During COVID-19 Crisis
With requirements to stay at home to avoid contracting the Coronavirus, Durham buses aren’t needed to pick up and deliver students to school. But WFISD put them into service instead to run their routes and deliver meals to students in their neighborhoods. These bus runs provided food to children who had no transportation to pick up "Grab & Go" free meals at specified schools.
WFISD Board Members Convene for First Time Over 'Google Meet'
WFISD’s board members are taking full advantage of technology to complete their business while still isolating themselves according to instructions to the nation from President Donald Trump. On Monday, they conducted their regular March board meeting over Google Meet – a first. “It went off without a hitch!” said Technology Director Shad McGaha, who said the tool was “making these historic times so much easier.”
Kirby Middle School Administrator Takes Students on Virtual Trip to Northern Africa
Being stuck at home is the perfect time to take a virtual field trip. Kirby Assistant Principal Datra Lonon got busy and set up a virtual trip to Etosha National Park, located in the northern part of Africa. “Imagine yourself in the African safari surrounded by a wide range of wildlife roaming freely just a few feet away from you!” she said. Now, how’s that for getting out of the house?
Rider High School Students Hold First Spring Silent PEP Rally
To keep Rider students' spirits up during the quarantine, the Raider nation is uniting for its first Spring Silent PEP Rally on the school’s south lawn. Stacie Martin set up the first sign, “RIDE ON.”
WFISD Principals Share Like-Minded Goals with Technology
Is it the Brady Bunch in these photos? No, it’s just WFISD principals Angie Betts (top), Gena Ayers (left) and Jeff Hill (right) mirroring the old Brady Bunch theme song grid, with family members looking up, down and around at each other. The playful attitude is helpful as administrators expand their creativity and tech skills to meet this historic worldwide pandemic challenge. “So excited to learn new ways to educate students,” said Haynes Principal Lori Apple. “And grateful for like-minded people who help me navigate our new ‘normal.’”
Wichita Falls High School Teacher Shows Off Talent in #CoyoteVirtualSpirit
How many creative ways can you find to pass the time? At Wichita Falls High School, students and staff were challenged to show off their talent on social media. WFHS teacher Debbie Pepper was game. She joked that she’s been accused of working without a "full deck” but, in reality, one of her “few” talents, she said, is working with a full deck of cards. Here, she demonstrates her shuffle.
Kirby Middle School Teacher Helps Launch Virtual Spirit Week
Blaire Robinson began Kirby’s Virtual Spirit Week’s Literacy Day by personally reading a book called, “Nothing to Prove,” by Jennie Allen, then sharing it on social media. “In this time of uncertainty, it’s awesome to read something that reminds me I can’t control everything,” she said.
Rider High School Band Posts a Photo-a-Day
Since a picture is a worth a thousand words, Rider band members are reliving the good ol’ days by sharing a fun photo with each other every day. Pictured: Rider Region Orchestra.
Fowler Elementary Students Make Signs to Greet Teachers
When Fowler teacher Mrs. West joined the parade of Fowler teachers who drove through neighborhoods to greet their students, she wasn’t prepared for what she saw. Students held up signs and scrawled notes in sidewalk chalk on driveways saying “You are the best” and “We miss you too!” She "was crying before we ever left the drive,” she said. “Watching the kids, parents and even elderly crying and saying thank you crushed me in a good way.” Her lesson: Don’t ever take a moment for granted.
Zundy Elementary Puts Free Little Library to New Use
Chartwells K12 Director Joins Breakfast Servers at Lamar Elementary
In an all-hands-on-deck effort, Chartwells Director Farai Sithole took his turn handing out breakfasts one morning this week at Lamar Elementary.
McNiel Middle School Class Plays Rhythm Baseball Before Spring Break
Did we have a life before the Coronavirus sent us into quarantine? Yes we did, and a little nostalgia feels good. McNiel teacher Nicole Paslay remembers Friday, March 13, when spring break was still on the horizon. She divided up her class for a game of Rhythm Baseball. She let each student choose to take a single hit or double hit. Then she put a rhythm on the board for the player to count out with no mistakes. If he succeeded, he got on base. If a player made it around the bases to home plate, his team earned one point. Each inning, the rhythms got more challenging; students were able to choose a triple hit tempo or a homerun tempo. “It was a fun way for the students to demonstrate their knowledge of different rhythms,” said Ms. Paslay.
#IAMWFISD
District in Pictures is a weekly publication developed by the WFISD Community Relations department. If you have events, recognitions or classroom activities taking place on your campus that you would like us to cover, please let us know by emailing Ashley Thomas at athomas@wfisd.net or Ann Work Goodrich at awork@wfisd.net. We would love to include you in our weekly district news. (Please know that we will do our best to cover every story idea submitted but it may not be possible to include everything every week due to time constraints.)
Email: athomas@wfisd.net
Website: www.wfisd.net
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