District in Pictures
February 23, 2024
TEA Commissioner Mike Morath Visits Southern Hills Elementary
WFISD was honored to have Texas Education Commissioner, Mike Morath, visit our district on Tuesday. Mr. Morath, members of his team, and representatives from Region 9 ESC toured Southern Hills Elementary to see learning in action. Southern Hills is one of three WFISD campuses that is implementing the TEA-approved reading curriculum, Amplify Texas. During his visit, Mr. Morath commended the school for their dedication and the incredible efforts of our teachers and leadership.
Students Shine During Kindness Week at Franklin Elementary
Students from Franklin Unified kicked off kindness week with a school wide rally on Monday, February 12! Teams 'Kindness Rules' and 'Caring Rocks' battled it out on Franklin Family Feud! Several weeks earlier, Franklin students were polled with questions such as "What are some kind things you can do in the cafeteria?" and "What is a synonym for kind?". The top answers were used in the game show. At the end of the rally, the students led the entire school in an original kindness cheer. Each day of the week also had a themed dress up day related to kindness. Franklin Unified is a group of students that promote kindness and inclusivity. It is led by Mrs. Gladys Pando, Mrs. Suzanne Farr, and Mrs. Laura Garcia.
CTE Students Win Big at SkillsUSA
Congratulations on a successful weekend to all students and sponsors at SkillsUSA. Nine sponsors took over 70 students who competed in career tech events. These students brought home 11 individual medals, 5 team medals and 6 blue ribbons. Two students were elected to district office! Thank you to the students for all your hard work, and thank you to parents for sharing your students and supporting the CEC! The winners are below:
- Additive Manufacturing (Gold Medal): John Byers and Talan Parker
- Additive Manufacturing (Silver Medal): Vincent Doan and Ronan Shaw
- E-Sports Team (Bronze Medal): Jay Fernandez, John Byers, and Ronan Shaw
- Principals of Engineering (Silver Medal): Jay Fernandez
- Culinary Arts Quiz Bowl (Silver Medal): Tamiyah Gates, Jayleen Rodriguez, Ben Brown, and Que Ballard
- Diesel Equipment Technology (Bronze Medal): Carter Spurgers
- Automotive Refinishing (Silver Medal): Isaac Dickey
- Automotive Tool Identification (Bronze Medal): Alex Howard
- Plumbing (Gold Medal): Gideon Perez
- Plumbing (Silver Medal): Malachi Perez
- Plumbing (Bronze Medal): Carson Correll
- Welding (Gold Medal): Carlos Munoz
- Welding Fabrication (Gold Medal): Cedrick Marks, Darrell Jones, and Preson Parker
- Welding 1 (Gold Medal): Gabe Sanchez
- Welding 1 (Silver Medal): Federico Arzola
- Welding Applications (Bronze Medal): Kendall Willburn
- Drafting CAD Architecture (Blue Ribbon Projects): Alex Aleman, Jordan Ngo, Isabella Paniagua, Ava Radillo, Thahn Tran, and Caleb Willson
District Officers Elected: Treshawn Gee-King and Tucker Woolington
Southern Hills Celebrates First Annual "Smarty Gras"
This week, students and staff at Southern Hills celebrated at their first annual "Smarty Gras" parade and celebration. The event was an annual tradition at Lamar Elementary that Mrs. Garcia successfully transitioned to Southern Hills! The floats were incredible and a great time was had by all! Some of the youngest "Principal Shadows" even helped monitor the parade (pictured below with Dr. Griffiths).
Rider Students Advance in the Red River Regional Science and Engineering Fair
Last weekend, Rider High School students Zara Farooq, Jun Park, and Evan Liang presented their biological study covering research that can be used to efficiently diagnose early stages of pancreatic cancer at the Red River Regional Science and Engineering Fair that was held at MSU. The students took home several award at the event:
- 1st Place, Biological Sciences
- The US Agency for International Development Award
- The US Air Force Award
- Texas State Science and Engineering Fair Qualification
- Automatic Qualification to attend the International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles, CA in May 2024
Congratulations to these students!
Zundy Student Celebrate With Dance Party
Last Friday, Zundy Elementary students celebrated their positive test scores with pizza and a dance party. The students who met their personal MOY MAP goals and their 'plus 10' score were celebrated with pizza, soda, and dance! They all had a blast.
Cross Curricular Connection in Action at Booker T.
Third graders at Booker T. Washington have been studying the solar system as part of their Amplify unit. Collaborating with Booker T.'s art teacher, Mrs. Truxal, students made a cross curricular connection by making planet prints.
Franklin 5th Graders Learn Coordinate Planes: Battleship Edition
Mrs. Michalski's fifth graders at Franklin Elementary used a game called "Sink the Ships!" to review patterns on coordinate planes. The game was similar to the popular board game Battleship. Students had to choose where on the coordinate plane to place their ships and then try to 'sink' their opponent's ships. The game was a 'hit' with the students!
Burgess Students Create Pizza Shapes
Burgess students in Mrs. Newberry's 1st grade class finished up their unit on 2D shapes this week. The students transitioned into "shape chef" and made shape pizza. They even decorated their aprons with 2D shapes.
Teacher Tuesday
This week's Teacher Tuesday is on Annette Green, math teacher at Rider High School.
If you're a teacher, click here to share your information so we can feature you!
The STEAM Machine Visits Zundy Elementary for the Second Time
On Thursday, Zundy Elementary was visited by the WFISD STEAM Machine. Mr. Glenn brought excellent activities with the STEAM Machine for the science third grade classrooms. The activities were broken into two parts. First, students reviewed Unit 5 Solar System, where students were able to learn about the planets while using 3D computer models. Then, students got a peek into Unit 7 Ecosystems. In that unit, students understood how the habitat and organisms interact. "It is great to see how our students grow with the help from Mr. Glenn and the STEAM Machine," said Zundy teacher Rafael Martinez.
WFHS Swimmer Places at State Meet
Congratulations to WFHS swimmer and state qualifier Kai Yang. He competed at the UIL 4A State Swim Meet in San Antonio on February 15 and 16. There, he placed 6th in the 200 yard individual medley and 7th in the 100 yard butterfly. Great job, Kai!
Legacy High School Meet the Coaches
On Wednesday, future Leopards attended the Legacy High School Meet the Coaches event at the Career Education Center. Basketball, tennis, soccer, volleyball, swim, golf and cross country coaches were in attendance to share more about their respective programs and answer questions from parents and students.
Martin Named Rider Teacher of the Year
This week, Stacie Martin, a science teacher at Rider High School, was delighted to learn that she had been selected as the Rider High School Teacher of the Year. Congratulations to Mrs. Martin for earning this prestigious recognition, which is determined through a vote by her peers.
Franklin Students Celebrate Growth
Franklin teachers and students in kindergarten and 3rd grade celebrated student growth with some fun rewards this week! Third graders got to make their teachers into snowmen because 70% of them met or exceeded their goals in math and reading. They also celebrated with an ice cream party! Kindergarten students celebrated their great growth in math and reading with extra Maker Space time in the library. In kindergarten, 67% met their growth goal in reading and 72% made their growth goal in math. Great job, Franklin students!
Samus Recognized as WFHS Teacher of the Year
Special Ed Paras Take Part in Staff Development
During this week's district staff development, 144 special education paraprofessionals underwent training at McNiel Middle School. The training sessions, conducted by staff from Region 9 Education Service Center, covered topics such as the roles and responsibilities of being a para, academic and social supports, and the brain and behavior. Additionally, some fortunate staff members received door prizes from district PIE partner, Sharp Iron Industries.
Future Mavericks and Leopards Choir Members Meet the Directors
Zundy Staff Celebrated with Pop Up Event
This week, the staff at Zundy Elementary was treated to their pop-up breakfast courtesy of Grand Canyon University. the staff received breakfast pizzas from Market Street United and warm scones and coffee from Chartwells!
#TellYourWFISDStory
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 feature, please let us know by completing the form at the following link: www.wfisd.net/dip. We would love to include you in our weekly district news.