 |
| Plano ISD Staff Newsletter • Volume 37, number 4 • October 22, 2009 |
Achievements
T. Ann Jackson, district truancy officer, was recently honored by Collin College with a scholarship bearing her name, the "T. Ann Jackson Community Scholarship." Ann was honored for her grass roots community volunteer work, which has included serving as organizer (25 years ago) of the Plano Chapter of Links, a national women's service organization. She also assists through Plano Community Charities. "I try to help where there is a need not identified by service groups," said Ann. "I never count a child out. I've seen one year make a huge difference in a child's life." The college scholarship assists a student in need at Collin College. Ann is also being honored on October 30 at the Altrusa International Women's Club of Richardson luncheon as a nominee for its "Woman of Today" award. She is a nominee in the education category.
Kathleen's SIGS co-teachers, Donna Jenkins and Jeremy Cooper, extended the BizWorld and BizWiz programs to meet the needs of 5th-7th grade gifted students. Through BizWorld, students form companies, apply for business loans and venture capital. They design, market and sell a product. Some choose to patent their designs. They have job titles, keep financial legers and track profit. Last summer, students formed stock trading companies, followed market trends, then bought and sold stocks, bonds, real estate and collectibles during open market sessions. Kathleen said that, next summer, they hope to use BizMovie. Students will form movie production companies and make original animated movies as they learn the ins and outs of the movie-making business.
Back to District Digest |
|
|||||||||||||
Evan Ramos, choir director at Rice Middle School and Jasper High School, will have his first published composition "El Dorado!" with Alliance Music Publishing. "El Dorado!" is an accompanied piece for three men's voices with text from Edgar Allen Poe's poem by the same name. "I wanted to write a piece that was interesting yet accessible for middle school boys," said Evan. "It has many different harmonies and dissonances that are all approached step-wise. I have found that three-part literature allows me to teach tuning and blending more effectively than two-part music." The piece was performed by the Rice Middle School Men's Choir at its fall concert.
Plano ISD Chinese Teachers Xinyan Liu and Jiang Wu (l-r) were selected by The College Board to attend the 2009 Summer Institutes in China, sponsored by the Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters. Xinyan and Jiang are among Plano ISD's four teachers of Chinese I, II, III (honors level) and IV (advanced placement level) offered in the district's high school and senior high schools. While at the Shanghai International Studies University, the couple was immersed in Chinese culture, obtaining AP/Pre-AP professional development from College Board consultants, hearing guest lectures on Chinese culture, language and history, and participating in cultural activities.
Hendrick Middle School Seventh Grade Math Teacher Kathleen DeLavergne recently captured the Innovative Educator of the Year Award by the Biz World Foundation. The group's focus is on challenging and educating students across the cultural and economic spectrum through experimental learning programs that teach the basics of business, entrepreneurship and money management and promote teamwork and leadership in the classroom. Kathleen has used the BizWorld simulations in Plano ISD's SIGS (Summer Institute for Gifted Students) for two years. 
Terry Eder, Plano Senior High School Advanced Placement Music Theory instructor, recently served as "question leader" during a week long AP Music Theory exam reading for The College Board in which 113 high school and college educators participated. Terry served as advisor to the "chief reader" on scoring guidelines, approving their final form and selecting sample student responses to use for training and for College Board publications. He trained two groups of "readers" on the scoring methods, supervised quality and accuracy and wrote drafts of commentaries explaining the scoring of all samples, which will be used to train theory teachers across the country on how better to teach melodic dictation.
