TRUE NORTH
MAGNET NEWS
Hope everyone is ready for spring break. The kids have all been working so hard. When we come back there will be a whirlwind of testing. March 27th and March 28th, and April 23-29 are STAAR tests. EOC tests for Algebra and Geometry are May 7-13. Please keep those dates in mind when you are making doctor and dentist appointments.
Here are some tidbits I thought you would be interested in. Please email me and give me feedback!
Happy Spring Break,
Ms. Price
Social Studies
A longstanding relationship between the AISD Social Studies Curriculum Department and the State Bar of Texas, Texas Young Lawyer’s Association, and Austin Bar Association has produced valuable collaborations over the years and continues in the Spring 2012 semester with multiple
Law-Related Education opportunities being offered to AISD students.
Law Day Student Competition
Background: President Dwight Eisenhower established the first Law Day in 1958 to mark the nation's commitment to the rule of law. Every president since then has issued a Law Day proclamation on May 1 to celebrate the nation's commitment to the rule of law and, addressing each year’s Law Day theme, quality Law Day curriculum resources for teachers are provided each year by the American Bar Association.
Contest: In addition to significant prizes being offered in the General Education category in the Austin Bar Association’s 2012 Law Day Student Competitions, please note the inclusion this year of prizes being awarded in the Elementary Poster Contest to Special Education students. Applications for the poster contest as well as the High School Essay contest are now posted on the home page of the Social Studies Curriculum web site and have been forwarded to campuses by both the Social Studies and Special Education Departments. All entries should reflect the students’ interpretation of the 2012 Law Day Theme – “No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom.” The deadline for submissions is March 26, 2012. The State Bar Association will accept only ONE entry per category from each local bar association prior to the Law Day Awards Luncheon on May 1.
Additional Law-Related Education Activities:
• Government teachers are currently signing up their classes for the popular “Pick Me! A Jury of My Peers” program - a three-day curriculum the Austin Bar Association developed with Austin ISD. The program takes high school Government students through the history of juries, a mock voir dire, and a video trial. Travis County attorneys and judges volunteer their time to come into district classrooms for this popular program in the third Six Weeks of each semester when the Judicial Branch is being addressed in the Government curriculum.
• The National History Bowl is an interscholastic team history competition with a quiz bowl format. However, a competition for individual students, the National History Bee, is also conducted on the same day in each state so students can participate in both. This year the Texas History Bowl & Bee State Championships will be held on Saturday, March 24 at the Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy.
• The Texas Citizen Bee is a statewide civic education program and competition which offers teachers and high school students an exciting way to teach and study America's heritage. To prepare, students use an on-line "Study Guide" program created by the Bill of Rights Institute. The guide covers the U.S. Constitution, important documents, people, issues, civic values and skills and a Bill of Rights Institute article/current events category. The Regional Competition will be Saturday, March 31, at Garza Independence High School.
World Languages
The district’s World Language teachers are working together to provide an authentic and rigorous language learning experience in all of our classrooms. Teachers can access department web pages for department announcements, activity and article of the week, professional development and local community events calendars, links to national and state standards, lists of teachers and languages per campus, and myriad instructional resources such as professional organizations, scholarships for teachers and students, study abroad agencies, and web tools. Through new Google sites that have been created for each language that the district offers, teachers share ideas, effective strategies, and lesson plans. Videos of best practices will be available so that others may view, learn, and reflect on their teaching.
Other efforts to strengthen collaboration include:
- Observation/Reflection/Debrief Day: Teachers conduct peer observations followed by reflection questions and a debrief session.
- Singleton Workshop: Teachers who are the only world languages teachers on their campus meet every other month to talk about topics that relate to their specific instructional needs.
- Spanish for Spanish-Speakers Work Group: Teachers meet to discuss challenges and brainstorm about how to better address the needs of native Spanish-speaking students.
- Advisory Group: Teachers advise central office staff on issues relating to foreign language education in the district.
On Saturday, May 12, from 2PM–6PM, the AISD Library Community will host a Storytelling Festival at Reagan High School for students of all ages–tots to teens–as well as parents and staff. Its purpose is to celebrate literature and support the district's literacy initiatives in a fun and motivational way. The program will feature local authors, puppeteers, and bilingual storytellers in numerous breakout sessions for various age and interest groups.
In addition to entertainment, the event will provide an opportunity to share information about summer reading programs within AISD, connect families with the Austin Public Library and available AISD resources, and motivate students to continue reading over the summer. This can help to lessen the "summer slide"–a decline in reading scores over the summer, which studies have shown is most harmful to economically disadvantaged students. This year's Festival will also celebrate the 100th anniversary of AISD's first professional school librarian!
