District in Pictures
January 18, 2019
Southern Hills Elementary Art Teacher Wows School with Butterfly Project
When an art teacher like Stacey Barton starts a collaborative art project for her school, she’s never quite sure how it will turn out. This year’s K-5 collaborative project, titled “What Lifts You,” was inspired by street artist Kelsey Montague. It turned out more beautifully then she ever could have imagined. “Pictures seriously don’t do these 14’x10’ wings justice,” she said. Each student in her 24 classes made one feather using one of the 12 colors of the Color Wheel. They painted, tinted and shaded their feathers, then cut them out and added designs with colored pencils and paint pens. Then Ms. Barton and a team of helpers spent four hours hanging each feather on black paper, then mounting it to the wall. “I just built the wings as I went,” she said. “I’m just so glad it came together as beautifully as it did.” The project won’t be complete until each child is photographed standing in front of it. Pictured here: Karlie Boone, grade 3. Ms. Barton's 24 classes complete 6,000 art projects a year, she said.
Students Put Creativity into Martin Luther King Centerpieces
Fowler Elementary Takes Funny Approach to Breakfast-in-the-Classroom Launch
When Fowler Elementary began its first day of serving breakfast in classrooms this week, Principal Alex Martin (left) and Assistant Principal Amy Simmons (right) dressed up as breakfast foods – Ms. Martin as eggs and Ms. Simmons as bacon. “We thought it would be a fun way to welcome kids and help create buy-in,” said Ms. Simmons. “The kids thought it was fun, and we got lots of compliments and laughs from our hungry kiddos.” At Fowler, Chartwells is now serving breakfast to more than 390 students compared to the 150 daily breakfasts served prior to the change, said Chartwells Marketing Specialist Marci Spruiell. Other elementary schools that also serve breakfast in classrooms: Fain, Zundy and Milam.
'Exploring Torque' Lab Challenges Rider High School Physics Students
Rider High School physics students Sean Hernandez and Brendon Miller are pictured here finalizing their calculations for a lab that explores the basic principles of torque, the rotational effect of a force. The lab mimics the real-world experience of playing on a teeter-totter or seesaw with a friend and learning that the heavier person will weigh down one side of the teeter-totter, leaving the less-heavy person lifted up in the air. Of course, the heavier friend could sit closer to the center of the seesaw and balance it. Sean and Brendon and their classmates were given several scenarios and challenged to reach static equilibrium by balancing the meter-stick like a seesaw using hanging masses. Here, the team has its set-up almost perfectly balanced.
Retired School Personnel Give a Book to Every Kindergartner
Kindergartners across the District wrote thank-you notes to the Wichita Falls Area Association of Retired School Personnel. The organization gave a book to every kindergarten student in the District as a Christmas present. Up until this year, the organization had given gifts of books to several classes. But this year was different. Lola Pepper and Renee Collier took over the project and launched several fund-raisers that brought in $1,300, enough money to meet their goal of donating a paperback book to every kindergartner. They even bought Spanish books for the District’s bilingual classes, said Stephanie Parsons, K-2 curriculum coordinator. The thank you notes and banner are displayed here with Partners in Education Coordinator January Cadotte (left) and Ms. Parsons (right).
Kirby Middle School Librarian Visits School in India
Kirby Middle School librarian Kathleen Roseboom (pictured below, right) spent Christmas break in India, where she visited a small private school and presented the kindergarten/first year teacher with several beginning readers and pencils. Students sat in classrooms without desks or outside on the ground, she said. “Rooms were wall-to-wall students. The littlest ones could recite the English alphabet and the older students could count to 50.” Students came from extremely poor families, but each contributed as much of their income as they could. Her guide pointed out several times that India’s public schools are poorly run and do “a very minimum education,” prompting many families to send their children to higher-priced private schools. While in India, Ms. Roseboom also saw the Taj Mahal, The Amber Fort, and many temples, pagodas and palaces. She took a boat ride on the Ganges, a rickshaw ride through a bazaar, a special flight to see Mount Everest, and she saw the cremation site of Mahatma Gandhi. She plans to share details of her trip with Kirby students.
Wichita Falls High School Students Study Sensation of Taste
Wichita Falls High School Teacher Dr. Anita Lang, who teaches Anatomy and Physiology, conducted a lab this week that demonstrated to students how removing the sight and smell of food affects the sensation of taste. Students tasted a variety of foods but were prevented from seeing or smelling them; then they tasted the same foods using their sight and smell and compared the two experiences. “They are all always amazed that they cannot taste very well at all with no sense of smell and how different foods seem when you can’t see or smell them,” said Dr. Lang. The class follows up that lab by trying to identify 50 different scents. The student who correctly identifies the most wins free candy. “The kids have lots of fun with these labs,” said Dr. Lang.
'New Teacher Academy' Group Tours Barwise Middle School
This year, WFISD is reaching out in a new way to its new teachers by involving them in The New Teacher Academy. “The goal is to provide curriculum/instructional and emotional support to our new teachers,” said Shera Rasmussen, secondary English curriculum specialist. Last semester, new teachers participated in socials and half-day training sessions. This semester, the new teachers are making instructional rounds to watch seasoned teachers in the classroom. Ms. Rasmussen took her group to Barwise, where they observed amazing teachers in action: Kerri Mathis, Amy Yeary, Jenifer Rice, Bethany Heinze, Laura Bristo and Pete Flynn. “Students were so well behaved, and it was extremely beneficial for the new teachers to experience,” she said. The tours were followed up with discussions about everything they observed. Pictured here, left to right: Katharina Black, Cherese Prince, Michaelene Dohmen, Marques Bowden, Christian Honkomp, Emma Beshear, Chad Marqui.
McNiel Middle School Teacher Creates Compelling Writing Prompts
Seventh-grade writing teacher Hannah Reames at McNiel Middle School is thinking ahead. She knows her students will have to write an expository essay for the 7th grade writing STAAR test, so she wants them to practice giving their opinions. She tapped into some inspirational quotes for kids from a website called brightdrops.com and wrote prompts related to the photo/quotes. She hopes the writing exercises will do more than just give them a chance to explain their viewpoints. “I’d also like to see them grow as a person by exploring their own ideas and hearing from others,” said Ms. Reames. “I’ve made two weeks’ worth of these writing warm-ups, and I plan on making more based on the results I’ve seen.”
Brook Village Pre-K Class Immerses Itself in Winter Activities
Students in Makayla Atchley’s pre-K class at Brook Village Early Learning Center make no secret about their love for winter. When they returned from Christmas break, they found all new “centers” set up in their classroom. Their dramatic play includes ice fishing, snow writing trays and exploring their classroom cave with its hibernating bear. “Changing the centers with our themes promotes imaginative play that incorporates theme vocabulary, discussions and problem-solving,” said Ms. Atchley.
Wichita Falls High School Student Rocks Audition
An audition process that began eight months ago has landed a Wichita Falls High School student in the Texas All State Mixed Choir. Annie Scales competed in Area Choir Auditions last week in Midland. For the second consecutive year, she earned the 1st chair Alto 2 from Area A. She will represent Wichita Falls High School in the prestigious choir next month. “This is an enormous accomplishment for Annie and is the result of a process that began when the audition music was released eight months ago,” said WFHS’s Chris Jarvis. Pictured left to right: Austin Taack, Melanie Coons, Rebekah Woodward, Chris Jarvis, Annie Scales, Sarah Cook.
Three McNiel Middle School Students Compete in Gallaudet's 'Battle of the Books'
Deaf and hard-of-hearing students at McNiel Middle School participated in the Gallaudet "Battle of the Books" competition, a nationwide event held Nov. 29, with the WFISD portion conducted in Melinda Nelson’s classroom. The timed competition requires that students come into the event having read three books selected by the judges. They must be ready to collaborate with each other in questions about them. “We competed with three different schools using the video phone where students can see each other while answering questions related to the books they read,” said Ms. Nelson. The competition is divided into two events. “Our students missed the second round by four points and were very close to making it,” said Ms. Nelson. The three participants were (left to right) Hayden Blevins (grade 8), Brandon Harris (grade 8) and Jasmaine Jimenez (grade 6). The competition promotes literacy among deaf and hard-of-hearing middle school students.
Texas Business Women Donate $750 to Career Education Center's Cosmetology Program
The Texas Business Women donated $750 to the Career Education Center's Cosmetology Program. Cosmetology students had assisted the Texas Business Women when they put on the recent "Women's Night Out" event. The donation will help students who find it difficult to pay for their cosmetology kits. Pictured here, left to right: Cosmetology instructor Jessica Kenner, Lynda Cannedy, CEC Principal Synthia Kirby, Jennifer Blackwell, Sally Gray, and Cosmetology instructor Teresa Zamora.
WFISD Uses 'Thought Exchange' to Survey Viewpoints on WFISD Facilities
WFISD surveyed thousands of parents, staff members and students this month through “Thought Exchange,” an online survey system. Questions focused on what responders believe about WFISD facilities and why. The results of the survey will be shared through the district's website once all of the data has been compiled. The District began using the online portal for the first time shortly after Labor Day, asking for comments on what WFISD schools did well and where they needed improvement. In that conversation, 1,593 participants offered 1,157 responses. WFISD ended up with a 157-page file of every response. Comments were divided out by campus and sent to principals to give them feedback.
Cunningham Elementary Celebrates Favorite Time of Year
At Cunningham Elementary, the best time of the year is now, when the school launches its Kids Heart Challenge with the American Heart Association. Students learn jump rope skills, how their heart works, and participate in projects that help raise money to help children with special hearts. Cunningham is one of several schools in the district that chose to participate this year. Team leader for Cunningham's program is Antoinette Turner, “Coach T,” who likes the program’s lesson plans on jumping. “It also provides a good amount of wellness information about maintaining a healthy heart while helping others survive heart difficulties with donations,” she said. For the program launch, students and staff wore special glasses, like those pictured on staff members below, to view a 3D Kids Heart Challenge Video.
Barwise Middle School Students are Mentored by Junior League Program
A select group of young ladies at Barwise Middle School receive special attention from Junior League of Wichita Falls members who mentor them as part of the Issue Based Community Impact (IBCI) outreach. The Junior League began its original IBCI program at Zundy Junior High in 2013. This school year, the League expanded its outreach to add an IBCI program at McNiel Middle School as well. Special speakers educate the girls about relevant topics that may be affecting them. They learn about how to find positive outlets for stress, the “You’re Enough” movement, the perils of drunk driving, and more.
Crockett Elementary Students Offer 'Rocks of Encouragement'
Crockett Elementary students are making it easier for Texoma Oncology Center to encourage its patients. They decorated a bin of rocks with encouraging words and set them out for patients to take. “We started the Encouragement Rocks as a project for our after-school programs ‘Operation Beautiful’ and ‘Boys of Honor’,” said Crockett’s school counselor Amy Collins. Soon, the entire student body was making Encouragement Rocks. “The rocks were meant to bring encouragement, hope and to let patients and their families know someone was thinking of them.” Ms. Collins and students delivered rocks to Fresenius Kidney Center and Hospice of Wichita Falls, too. More rocks will be delivered in February and March, she said. Here, cancer patient and West Foundation teacher Charisse Humphreys shows the rock she picked from the bin that encouraged her.
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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.)