Ms. Windham Wins Classroom Makeover

Cypress Creek High School teacher Sandra Windham, second from left, accepts her CFFCU Extreme Makeover – Classroom Edition contest winnings from (L-R) Alice Wimberly, CFFCU chairman of the board; Cameron Dickey, CFFCU president and CEO; and Valarie Brittain, CFFCU vice president of human resources.

Three CFISD teachers were recently named winners in the Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union (CFFCU) ninth annual Extreme Classroom Makeover Essay Contest.

In the contest, teachers from all grade levels submitted essays explaining why they were most deserving of the $500 grand prize to help them create an ideal learning environment for their students.

The winners are Elisa Rea from Jowell Elementary School, Joan Pearson from Hamilton Middle School and Sandra Windham from Cypress Creek High School.

The teachers received their prize money at the Cy-Fair FCU’s Jones Road Branch on Aug. 14. President and CEO Cameron Dickey, Chairman of the Board Alice Wimberly and Vice President of Human Resources Valarie Brittain, who oversees the Community Advisory Committee, were on hand to congratulate the winners.

Rea, a prekindergarten teacher at Jowell, used the funds to purchase a bright and inviting carpet with colorful squares for each student to sit in. She also installed a new carpet in her block center with neighborhood scenery, city roads and highways, and installed supply cubbies to hold literacy materials and other school supplies.

“I am so grateful to Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union for providing this award,” Rea said. “Their generosity has made the classroom a brighter place for our students.”

Pearson, a sixth-grade language arts and reading teacher, transformed her classroom into a “writing press club” with high-interest books in the classroom library, reading incentives, motivational posters, reading lamps and new book shelving and baskets, as well as a plentiful and organized toolbox of writing equipment and organizers.

“I was incredibly excited to learn I had won the middle school classroom makeover contest,” Pearson said. “I feel incredibly honored and appreciative knowing my classroom environment is enhancing learning, helping our students transition smoothly to middle school and afforded me an opportunity to give to future students as well. I am extremely grateful Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union has partnered with our community and values our teachers.”

Windham, a READ 180 and dyslexia teacher at Cypress Creek, is using the money to create an environment where her readers will feel comfortable sitting down with a good book. She purchased several high-interest books and filled bookshelves with novels, magazine and nonfiction reading material.

“My students love the many book choices they have and the comfortable, homey atmosphere,” Windham said. “There is nothing better than seeing students engaged and captivated by the feeling they get from a good book, especially those who have struggled with reading their whole lives. This brings to mind a favorite quote from Margaret Fuller, ‘Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.’

See the makeover on youtube

CY CREEK EARNS ACCOUNTABILITY DISTINCTIONS

Distinction designations are awarded to campuses based on achievement in performance indicators relative to a group of 40 campuses of similar type, size and student demographics. Distinction designations earned by Cy Creek High School were:

• Academic Achievement in Reading/English Language Arts;
• Academic Achievement in Mathematics;
• Academic Achievement in Science;
• Academic Achievement in Social Studies;
• Top 25 Percent: Student Progress;
• Top 25 Percent: Closing Performance Gaps

EDUCATOR, STUDENT REFLECT ON LEARNING EXPERIENCE AS JASON ARGONAUTS

Arnold Middle School teacher Adam Schmidtendorff, left, and Cypress Creek High School freshman Elaine Pham were among a select group of JASON Argonauts who traveled to the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) on the island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas in July 2015. (Photo courtesy Patrick Shea/JASON)

Aug. 10, 2015—A CFISD student and educator recently returned from the trip of a lifetime as Student and Educator Argonauts for a scientific expedition this summer through Chevron’s JASON Learning program.

Cypress Creek High School incoming freshman Elaine Pham and Arnold Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade science teacherAdam Schmidtendorff were among a select group of Argonauts who traveled to the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) on the island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas in July 2015.

While there, they participated in an intensive hands-on research experience with resident and visiting scientists engaged in a diversity of marine science projects. The Argonauts spent their days on exciting outdoor excursions such as cliff jumping into the Atlantic, joining interactive field educational lessons, exploring the wide range of the island’s scenic bodies of water and documenting their experience on blogs and social media for other students in the community to follow.

“My favorite experience was jumping into waist-deep water with sharks to hold the boat,” Schmidtendorff said. “With them at times in arm’s reach as they swam around was a rush and educational at the same time.”

Schmidtendorff said that he and Pham both gained a better understanding of who is conducting new research in the field.

 

Arnold teacher Adam Schmidtendorff and Cypress Creek student Elaine Pham examine a sea creature during their Chevron-sponsored research trip to The Bahamas. (Photo courtesy Patrick Shea/JASON)

“The biggest thing both I and Elaine noticed about the researchers was their age, with most of them in their early 20s,” Schmidtendorff said. “Students think you have to be old, have a Ph.D. and work for a university. Seeing this brought home the reality to students that what they were doing for a week they could be doing in a few years as a job they love for a lifetime.”

Pham, who called the trip the “best time of [her] life,” said she gained new perspectives about STEM education.

“STEM does not mean just doctors or computer specialists—it describes every job, because everything involves science, technology, engineering and math in one way or another,” she said. “In the short week spent with my fellow JASON Argos, I’ve learned and experienced so much compared to an ordinary classroom—including sustainability, preservation and punctuality. The Argo group I traveled with was as close to me as family. I’ll definitely make sure to continue my practices and share the wealth of knowledge I’ve learned there with many others in the future!”

Eleven teams of student and teacher Argos from the Houston area joined JASON Learning as part of a collaborative public-private partnership underwritten by Chevron looking to help the metropolitan community develop a sustainable and systematic solution to the need for high-quality effective science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

The JASON curriculum was unveiled in CFISD beginning in 2013-2014, the result of a nearly $250,000 grant from Chevron.

“Chevron's partnership with the JASON Learning is an extension of our overall commitment to supporting STEM education in public schools,” said Joni Baird, Chevron public affairs manager. “A major focus of Chevron’s education initiative is getting students, parents and teachers excited about STEM by applying real-world applications, such as JASON’s National Argonaut program. A strong STEM education is critical to U.S. global competitiveness, to our ability to create good jobs and to our overall economic growth of our community.”

The Argonaut adventure will offer continued learning activities for the CFISD student and educator in the classroom.

“This experience brings home the fact that science is in reach for all students from small-scale aquaculture labs that can be set up in the classroom to touch tanks provided by our Science Resource Center,” Schmidtendorff said. “As I talk about my adventure, lessons are developed, and additional teachers and students will have the opportunity to become Jason Argo alumni. This could dynamically change how science is approached in Cy-Fair.”

The Argonauts’ research trip to The Bahamas was both educational and fun, as evidenced by Elaine Pham’s leap into the water. (Photo courtesy Patrick Shea/JASON)

PACE Plus students particpate in LIFE program

Our Pace Plus kids were a part of a program called Ambassadors of Compassion which is a program brought to us by Nathan Allen, the leader of AOC in the Houston Area.   The program involved weekly coaches lessons from their journals given to students every Wednesday during 1st period by Mr. Fisher (AOC trained coach) and Mr. Buley (teacher).  The program taught the students about L.I.F.E.  which stands for Labor, Influence, Forgiveness, and Experiences.  Only two other campuses participated in this pilot program which were Jersey Village, and Cy Springs.  This program lasted four months with a service project at the end that resulted in the students fixing up the picnic area by the small commons.  The kids did a great job and were congratulated this last Friday by certificates of completion along with two local celebrities visiting who were Dennis Rodgers and Reggie Johnson.  Here you will find the pictures of Fridays events.  Two of the students also had their parents join in on the fun.

VOTE!! Former Cy Creek Athlete in running for Texas Field Athlete of the Year.

Former student Meia Gordon is running for Texas Female Field Athlete of the year.   Please go to the following link and vote for Meia. Last year, as a senior, Meia won first place in both the shot put and discus events at the State Meet.

http://tx.milesplit.com/articles/160063-vote-now

CY CREEK STUDENTS BOOST ALGEBRA SKILLS AT SUMMER ALGEBRA CAMP

Algebra Camp teachers of Cypress Creek High School

More than 300 students bolstered their algebra skills as the make the transition from eighth to ninth grade by participating in Algebra I Summer Camp, held July 13-30 at Cy-Fair, Cypress Springs and Jersey Village high schools.

Strongly suggested for students who did not pass the eighth-grade math STAAR test on first administration, the camp provided resources for students to strengthen their math skills in order to promote Algebra I success in ninth grade.

The camp began at 9 a.m. and concluded at 3 p.m. each day. A typical day included three math sessions and one of the following:

• a real-world experience provided by career and technology teachers;
• a study and social skills activity through Quantum Learning; and
• an activity period facilitated by Club Rewind staff.

“The Algebra camp helped to excite students about math before they enter ninth grade,” said Yolonda Sneed, Jersey Village camp director. “Students are exposed to a rigorous high school curriculum while having fun without any grade penalties. Students participated in team building activities through Club Rewind, Quantum Learning helps students learn brain based activities to improve student’s study habits and learning and the Career and Technology education classes introduce a variety of career choices students can take once they enter high school.”

The camp added more resources from community business partners, which assisted each of the camps in conducting daily drawings and small giveaways.

“The 2015 Cy-Fair Summer Algebra Camp was turned up a notch this year. It was full of school spirit, fun and surprises,” said Michelle Provo, Cy-Fair camp director. “In addition to all the restaurant coupon giveaways, students were also placed in drawings for perfect attendance to win items such as campus specific paraphernalia, Skull Candy headphones, a Chromecast and an iPod shuffle. The donated items helped keep students and staff engaged and wanting to come to camp every day for three weeks!”

The Cy-Fair camp welcomed incoming students from Cy-Fair, Cypress Creek, Cypress Ranch and Cypress Woods high schools. Students from Cypress Falls, Cypress Ridge and Jersey Village high schools attended the Jersey Village camp. Incoming Cypress Lakes, Cypress Springs and Langham Creek high school students attended the camp at Cypress Springs.

“Algebra Camp has made a great educational and social impact on our students. It’s been gratifying to see the transformation in students’ faces from the first day to the last day,” said Colette Vallot, Cypress Springs camp director. “As we bring Algebra Camp to an end, we’ve notices more participation, a sense of belongingness and self-confidence. Students learned to believe that they could conquer algebra; when they initially thought it was impossible. Algebra Camp has been a rewarding experience for the support staff, the teachers and most importantly the students.”

The following business partners helped make Algebra Camp possible:

• Bahama Bucks
• Catfish Station
• Chick-fil-A
• Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union
• Dairy Queen
• eT Burgers
• Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
• Gigi’s Cupcakes
• Great American Cookies
• Gulf Coast Federal Credit Union
• H-E-B
• Marble Slab
• Orange Leaf
• Peter Piper Pizza
• Raising Cane’s
• Sport Clips
• Spring Creek BBQ
• Walmart
• Whataburger

READ 180 INSTRUCTORS SPOTLIGHTED IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT VIDEOS

Cypress Creek High School READ 180 teacher Andrea Barnes was featured in nine professional development videos on the READ 180 website.

The Scholastic reading intervention program, READ 180, recently featured two CFISD educators in a series of professional development videos on its Educator Community website.

Cypress Creek High School READ 180 teacher Andrea Barnesappeared in several videos on the site, including:

• Engaging Students with Academic Vocabulary;
• Implementing an Incentive System;
• Independent Reading Check-in;
• Managing Technology;
• Classroom Minute: Onion Peel;
• Classroom Minute: Public Voices;
• Sharing Student-Friendly Objectives;
• Classroom Minute: Stand on the Tile; and
• Share Your Story: Houston, TX.

“It was amazing to have the film crew from San Francisco, corporateREAD 180 from New York City and district READ 180 in our classroom,” Barnes said. “I love any opportunity to showcase my students and this was a wonderful day for my students. On this special day my students were the talk of Cy Creek because the room looked like a movie set! The excitement in my students’ eyes was thrilling, and it was truly a memorable day for all of us.”

Arnold Middle School READ 180 teacher Jakeima Lewis was featured in the following additional videos while serving as the READ 180instructor at Smith Middle School:

• Choral Reading;
• Teaching Fact/Opinion;
• Modeled Fluent Reading;
• Managing IR;
• Pick 3; and
• Celebrating Success.

 “It was great to be selected for such an unconventional honor,” Lewis said. “I hope other READ 180 teachers find the videos to be a good resource for strategies!”

READ 180 supports educators with a comprehensive system of curriculum, instruction and professional development, while providing students with personalized rigorous instruction for college, career and beyond.

The complete set of films can be found athttp://educatorcommunity.scholastic.com/videos.