Alice ISD - ISC Gazette
Instructional Support Center - December 2017
Happy Holidays
The Alice ISD Instructional Support Center Gazette is a newsletter written by district administrators that includes articles with information of upcoming events, recognitions of faculty and staff, updates on staff development or training sessions and much more! It is published monthly. We hope that you will find this newsletter to be informative and helpful!
Remember that the semester will end on December 20th with a teacher workday on the 21st. Students and teachers return Thursday, January 5th, to begin the second semester.
Also be sure to scroll through the whole Gazette as there are articles and dates sprinkled throughout.
Thanks for all you do for the students of Alice ISD. Enjoy your break!
Congratulations to Science Fair Winners
We are so proud of students, parents and teachers involved in these projects. Winners are shown in the tables pictured below.
Congratulations!
Science Fair Winners
7th Grade Science Projects
Earth and Space Project and Biology DNA Projects
Biology Lab Day!
Saenz Elementary Christmas Trees
Too Many Tamales Tree
Snowman Tree
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tree
Performance Assessments
Headless and Tailless problems
Alice Rotary Club Donates to Garcia Elementary
Caller Times Distinguished Scholars
5th Annual Family Engagement Conference
Our 5th Annual Family Engagement Conference was a great success as we welcomed nearly 400 parents and children to the event this year. Thank you to our Alice ISD parent liaisons, volunteers, campus administrators, maintenance staff, presenters, community organizations and parents for being a part of a great learning experience. We also appreciate the parent attendees that visited from the San Diego and Orange Grove School Districts.
Attendees were busy all morning as they listened to presentations or visited vendor tables to gather information, buy baked goodies or to simply talk to community organizations about services in the Jim Wells County area. Depending on their interests, parents and guests attended various presentations on topics such as: Helping Teens with Developing Good Self Image, A Brief Look Inside the Brain of a Teenager, Developing Healthy Male Identities, Swipe Right with Cyber Safety, Valor de la Educacion, ADHD Strategies for the Home and School Setting, Raising Readers and much more!
Our own Alice ISD administrators, directors, and staff along with professors from Texas A & M University Kingsville, and consultants from various organizations conducted many of the sessions. Approximately seventy-seven Alice ISD students (ages 5-10) were registered at the child care area. Students participated in various games and activities and were supervised by Alice ISD coaches and volunteer staff. Students were given a colorful Lakeshore Learning bag along with L. Frank Baum’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and a few other books donated by Alice ISD Federal Programs and The Alice ISD Texas Literacy Initiative.
Attendees, volunteers, and presenters were treated to a delicious enchilada luncheon by our Gold Sponsor, Aramark Food Services. Mayor Ike Ornelas was present at the event and spoke to parents and students during the luncheon. He complimented parents for sacrificing their Saturday morning to take part in a great learning experience.
The administration and staff at Alice ISD are extremely thankful to all who helped make this event a great success. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
Aramark Chef Robert Johnson / Food Demonstration
Family Literacy Session
Junior Police Academy Cadets
The Alice Natatorium and Water Park
Registration
Coastal Bend Universities on Hand to Answer Questions
A Parent Favorite: Family Literacy
Assistant Superintendent Velma Soliz-Garcia: Using Questioning to Increase I.Q.
Superintendent Dr. Grace Everett: Funding Your Child's College Education
Finding the Right Books for Your Kids
Junior Police Academy Providing Fingerprinting Services
AISD Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches Promoting Reading
Coastal Plains Community Center & GNC Promoting Health and Wellness
Senior Abby Cabrera Assisting with GEAR IV Program Booth
Attendees Visiting Booths
It's Face Painting Time
Child Care - Fun & Games
A Lunchtime Movie and Fun
Alice ISD Family Engagement Team
Sandra and Brenda Keeping Things Organized
Mayor Ike Ornelas Addressing the Families During Luncheon
Thank You Conference Sponsors for Helping to Make this Another Great Conference!
The Reading and Writing Connection
Many professional resources detail the specific connections between reading and writing. Writing has sometimes been described as learning to read from the inside out.
In the book Pen in Hand: Children Become Writers, Cullinan states that “reading and writing are two sides of the same coin. Both processes involve creating meaning through print.” (Cullinan, 1993)
In another professional resource, Acts of Teaching: How to Teach Writing, Carroll and Wilson write that “composing and comprehending are so entangled that they emerge as two sides of the same process. First, they [students] write what they mean, then they return—sometimes over and over again—to understand what they have written, to develop it, to extend it, to reconsider it as a reader in an act of recreation.” Carroll and Wilson go on to say that as readers read, they are also composing and comprehending. “First they read what someone has written, they compose meaning for themselves, then they comprehend that meaning (what it means to them and what it means to the writer).” (Carroll & Wilson, 1993).
Furthermore, the importance of having students take notice of what good writers do and how they manipulate grammar and conventions to create meaningful texts can be extremely helpful in helping students learn how to use language. Students can see the "rules" of grammar in the context of real literature. Worksheets alone should not be the primary resource for teaching writing instruction. Teachers should integrate the conventions within the context of genres/content writing. There will be more transfer and application of the skills because of student relevance.
The Writing Process: Ensuring Students Experience All Aspects
During recent writing staff development training days, we discussed that teaching students the WRITING PROCESS during a Writers' Workshop environment is best for growing confident, fluent, and motivated writers. Research has confirmed the importance of the process approach to writing: what writers do as they write is at least as important as the products they produce. Furthermore, we discussed that good writing instruction does not come in perfect ready-made kits, it is not found in worksheets or activity books, and it is not test preparation. Writing instruction should ignite a student's passion to express themselves. Teachers need to facilitate student writing behaviors so that their [students'] thoughts, fears, truths, experiences and arguments can be shared with the world (Jeff Anderson - "Ten Things Every Writer Needs to Know").
There are several key elements to effective writing instruction for all students.
- First, successful classroom writing programs are based on accepted writing standards. In Texas, this means TEKS-based writing instruction. The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Language Arts and Reading provide our writing standards. It is also important to recognize the purposeful correlation of all strands in the Language Arts and Reading TEKS—the strands of listening/speaking, reading, writing, and viewing/representing.
- Secondly, successful writing programs teach students how to write using the writing process. Students are taught that writing is not just completing an assignment and then having the errors pointed out as it is evaluated. Instead, students are encouraged to become writers who think and reflect about their writing while moving through several stages. Classroom writing instruction focuses on the writing process stages of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. As students move through the writing process, they receive instruction and support from the time they begin to think about what they are going to write until the time the assignment is finished. An emphasis on the stages of writing changes classroom writing instruction from a product-driven approach to a process-driven approach. Good writing teachers know that writers need direct and systematic instruction in the writing process.
- Lastly, teachers must be constantly aware of each student’s writing development and must provide ongoing progress monitoring for all students. It is important that the monitoring of student writing progress is ongoing, because this information provides the basis for delivering a targeted plan of instruction that supports each student as he/she moves toward independence in writing. Based on what teachers notice during conferencing or while monitoring student progress, they can then either pull in a group of students having the same problems and address their immediate needs or create a targeted mini-lesson to address with the whole class the next time.
Addressing STAAR Writing
- Are students given a choice about what to write about?
- Are students spending sufficient time experiencing each stage of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing)?
- Do students know how their essays are rated for STAAR Writing?
- Can they recognize the characteristics of high vs. low scoring papers?
- Do you as a teacher understand how to move your students from left to right on the scoring continuum below?
Why picking up a child's pencil is not the best idea?
Read the article here: https://beyondtraditionalmath.wordpress.com/author/beyondtmath/
Holding Difficult Students Accountable
Noonan Elementary Recognized!
HEB traveled from San Antonio to recognize Noonan. All the schools in the state of Texas were collecting books for needy children. Noonan ended up being the top school in this region. The school collected over 3,000 books which averaged out to 6.5 books per child at Noonan Elementary which put Noonan as the top school in the region.
This is the first time a school in Alice has ever won and Alice's HEB brought in the most books due to this and Alice HEB placed 2nd in the state of Texas to bring in the most books.
Noonan was awarded a $1,000 check and received a banner to hang on their school
Math Rollouts
Mon., Jan. 9th .... 6th grade - Dubose Library
Tues., Jan. 10th .... 5th grade - Dubose Library
Wed., Jan. 11 ....... 4th grade - Central Office
Thurs., Jan. 12 .... 2nd grade - Central Office
Fri., Jan. 13 ............ 1st grade - Central Office
Federal and Special Programs
Bilingual Project
Tips for Teaching English Language Learners
Alice ISD has seen a growth in English Language Learner enrollment especially from other countries and many of these students know very little English. Sometimes it can be frustrating to have to stop and explain to one or two students when you are on a roll teaching the rest of your class. If you really think about it, our job as a teacher is to ensure that ALL students have the opportunity to learn. Here are a few tips for working with your English Language Learners in your classroom.
- Know your students. Find out something about their background and educational experiences.
- Be aware of their social and emotional needs. As you are getting to know your students find out about their family and friends. Do they have a job? Do they have to take care of younger siblings after school. Try to be empathetic to your ELL students
- Increase your understanding of first and second language acquisition. Read over your ELPS, read articles about language acquisition and try to understand strategies that could truly help ELL students acquire English.
- Students need to have opportunities to speak, write, read, and listen every day. Find ways to incorporate this into your lesson.
- Increase your understanding of English language proficiency. Investigate the difference between social language acquisition and academic language acquisition. Be aware of your ELL student's language proficiency.
- Know the language of your content. Review content vocabulary with your ELL students. The English language has many multi-meaning words, make sure students know the differences.
- Understand language assessments. Find out what types of language assessments are used by the Bilingual/ESL department. Check with the bilingual/ESL teacher on your campus to find out whether you will have to rate your student in TELPAS.
- Use authentic visuals and manipulatives. Use a variety of strategies to help get your point across.
- Strategies that match language proficiency. Once again, know your student's language proficiency level. Once you know what level the student is at, choose strategies that help them develop their English at their appropriate level.
- Collaborate. Ask other teachers for help when it comes to planning lessons and activities for your ELL students. There are many veteran teachers out there who have a wealth of information in their Teacher Tool Box.
You can read more about these tips at https://www.edutopia.org/blog/teaching-english-language-learners-ayanna-cooper
Every map has a story! Our students discovered amazing stories that came alive through GIS (Geographic Information Systems).
Students from Memorial Intermediate discovered the world through GIS (Geographic Information Systems). They participated in GIS Day at Del Mar College on Nov. 16, 2016. The group was headed by Ms. Monica Perez.
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is a high-demand technology field with high earning potential. GIS uses software to create maps, graphs, charts, and spatial reference data reports. Some examples are the location of fire stations in a city, hurricane evacuation routes, the best location for businesses based on demographic statistics, and maps of property boundaries. GIS technicians are highly skilled professionals responsible for acquiring, encoding, plotting, and mapping spatial data.
At the event, students participated in indoor and outdoor hands-on activities, demonstrations, interactive sessions, and presentations allowing them to experience emerging information technologies, and a variety of natural, physical and social sciences, including STEM related fields. Students interacted and worked side by side with GIS professionals and experts working in industry, education, government and other organizations all utilizing GIS technology.
This exciting event was sponsored by The National Geographic Society, along with TAMUK, TAMUCC, Del Mar, Coastal Bend College, Laredo Community College and the National Informational, Security, and The Geospactial Technology Consortium. GIS Day is observed globally and builds awareness about geographic information system technology.
Photographs submitted by Ms. Monica Perez
Acceleration For Gifted Learners
Acceleration occurs when students move through traditional curriculum at rates faster than typical. Among the many forms of acceleration are grade-skipping, early entrance to kindergarten or college, dual-credit courses such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs and subject-based acceleration (e.g., when a fifth-grade student takes a middle school math course). Many researchers consider acceleration to be “appropriate educational planning. It means matching the level and complexity of the curriculum with the readiness and motivation of the student” (p. 66). [1]
· In a study of high-ability children who had been accelerated, 71% reported satisfaction with their acceleration experience. Of the participants who reported they were unsatisfied, the majority indicated they would have preferred more acceleration. [2] In addition, in a series of interviews with students who were accelerated, an overwhelming majority of these students said that acceleration was an “excellent experience” for them. [3]
· Some argue that acceleration can be harmful to students’ self-concept, ability to fit in with older peers, or other social-emotional needs. However, research on acceleration has demonstrated multiple academic benefits to students and suggests that acceleration does not harm students. As the National Work Group on Acceleration determined, there is “no evidence that acceleration has a negative effect on a student’s social-emotional development” (p. 4). [4]
· In one study, students who were allowed early entrance to elementary school averaged 6 months ahead in achievement when compared to their age peers during the same year. Additionally, these students showed improvement in socialization and self-esteem compared to slight difficulties faced by advanced students who were not accelerated. [5]
· In another study, researchers noted that a sample of students who had participated in whole-grade acceleration were not noticeably different in their perceived interpersonal competence (including interacting with others and their ability to form friendships) when compared to a heterogeneous group of students in the norming sample. In addition, the researchers found that the academically gifted students had higher academic self-concepts and more positive overall self-concepts than their peers in the comparison group. [6]
· Accelerated students have also been shown to outperform nonaccelerated peers academically in the long term. A longitudinal study of students highly talented in mathematics showed that students who skipped a grade were more likely to obtain graduate degrees, publish work, and receive patents in the STEM areas [7], and another report noted that these students earned other advanced degrees at rates higher than their peers [8].
In addition, researchers have found that, overall, acceleration influences high-ability students’ academic achievement in positive ways, and that these students outperform peers in other areas, including scores on standardized tests, grades in college, and the status of the universities they attend and their later career paths [9].
Article from:
National Association for Gifted Learners
http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/gifted-education-practices/acceleration
[1, 3, 9] Colangelo, N., Assouline, S., & Gross, M. U. M. (2004). A nation deceived: How schools hold back America’s brightest students (Vol. 1). Iowa City: University of Iowa, Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development.
[2] Lubinski, D., Webb, R. M., Morelock, M. J., & Benbow. C. (2001). Top 1 in 10,000: A 10-Year follow-up of the profoundly gifted, Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(4), 720.??
[4] Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration, National Association for Gifted Children, and Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted. (2009). Guidelines for developing an academic acceleration policy. Iowa City, IA: Authors.
[5] Rogers, K. B. (2002). Re-forming gifted education: How parents and teachers can match the program to the child. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press.
[6] Lee, S. Y., Olszewski-Kubilius, P., & Thomson, D. T. (2012). Academically gifted students perceived interpersonal competence and peer relationships. Gifted Child Quarterly, 56, 90–104.
[7] Park, G., Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2013). When less is more: Effects of grade skipping on adult STEM productivity among mathematically precocious adolescents. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, 176–198.
[8] Steenbergen-Hu, S., & Moon, S. M. (2011). The effects of acceleration on high-ability learners: A meta-analysis. Gifted Child Quarterly, 55, 39–53.
[10] Assouline, S. G., Colangelo, N., & VanTassel-Baska, J. (2015). A nation empowered: Evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students (Vol. I).Iowa City: University of Iowa, Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development.
Alice ISD's Exam for Acceleration Testing Opportunities
Exam for Acceleration (If a student has not taken the course/no seat time in the course)
Q1 Test Date October 24-28, 2016
Registration Deadline September 26, 2016
Q2 Test Date January 23-27, 2017
Registration Deadline December 20, 2016
Q3 Test Date June 5-8, 2017
Registration Deadline May 5, 2017
Q4 Test Date July 10-13, 2017
Registration Deadline June 12, 2017
Alice ISD to Host DI Spectacular Saturday!!
Spectacular Saturday allows students an opportunity to practice their Instant Challenge Skills. Challenges help bridge the gap between what students learn in school and the skills they will need to thrive in an ever-changing economy. Through the Destination Imagination Challenge Program, students improve in creative and critical thinking, explore their curiosity, build on their unique strengths, learn how to design and manage a project, and gain the skills needed for the 21st century workforce.
The Spectacular Saturday event will be held at Alice High School on January 14, 2016. The event will be from 8:30 a.m. to Noon. All teams must register to attend the event.
What is Instant Challenge?
At your regional tournament, your team will be scheduled to do an Instant Challenge in addition to your Team Challenge. Instant Challenges are confidential until the day of the Tournament, so your team will not know anything about the specific Instant Challenge it will be asked to solve until you are escorted to your Instant Challenge competition room. The Instant Challenge portion of the competition is usually between five and ten minutes in duration, and is worth a total possible score of 100 points. Although each Instant Challenge has different requirements, all Instant Challenges reward teams for teamwork and the uniqueness and creativity of the team’s solution. Types of Instant Challenges Instant Challenges can be loosely divided into two types, Performance-Based and TaskBased. However, many Instant Challenges are a blend of these two basic types. You will not know which type of Instant Challenge your team will receive until you enter the competition room.
1. Performance-Based: The focus of a Performance-Based Instant Challenge is on your team working together to create and perform a theatrically-oriented solution for the Appraisers. In this type of Challenge you will be scored on the creativity of your performance, your presentation, and/or use of materials, along with teamwork. Your team may be asked to use words, language, conversation, and/or dramatic characterizations to solve the Challenge, or the solution may be non-verbal. Teams may be given real or imaginary materials to use for their solutions. Teams may or may not be given time to practice their solutions before presenting to the Appraisers.
2. Task-Based: The focus of a Task-Based Instant Challenge is on your team working together to move, build, change, or protect materials they are given in order to complete a task. Your team may also be asked to communicate information. Teams will be scored on how well they work together to design the solution, on the creativity of their final project, and on their success in completing the task. Team members may or may not be allowed to talk during the Challenge.
See your campus DI Team Mangers for more information, or contact Elida De Leon, Director of Advanced Academics.
Source "What is an Instant Challenge": Destination Imagination, Instant Challenge Practice Set
Alice ISD Instructional Support Center
Dr. Grace Everett
Velma Soliz-Garcia
Anna Holmgreen
Erika Vasquez
Elida De Leon
Marta Salazar
Ric Gonzalez
Gracie Garcia
Dr. Alma Garcia
Email: velma.solizgarcia@aliceisd.net
Website: www.aliceisd.net
Location: 2 Coyote Trail, Alice, TX, United States
Phone: 361-664-0981
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Alice-Independent-School-District-555189921231282/?fref=ts