Winter 2008 - Aldine Independent School District

Inside AldineWinter 2008Page 2Schools & CommunityAldine HSopened theirnew remodeledcafeteria.Dear Parents:The 2008-2009 school year has beena good year so far, but it has also beenunique due to Hurricane Ike. Our studentsmissed nine days of school. Ourboard voted to have our students makeupfour of those missed days and the lasttwo make up days will be Jan. 16 andFeb. 16. Making up this time will helpour staff ensure that our students get every opportunity to be successful inmastering the learning objectives for this year.We are always working to improve academics in the district, and this year isnot an exception. In addition to the focus on reading, writing, mathematics,and social studies, we are also continuing to work on strategies to help highschool students “catch-up” in earning credits in order to graduate on time.Last year, HEB awarded the district $100,000, and the money has been spentto increase opportunities for high school students to take virtual classes toearn credit. Students can register for additional classes through their highschool to work at home, at a library or a neighbor’s house through webbasedcurriculum. Students are assigned a teacher who will provide supportand assist them with any questions along the way. This program is not newto Aldine, but the additional money from HEB has allowed us to expand toserve more students.Last April, Aldine was named a Broad Prize finalist, and this October welearned that the Broad Prize scholarship money had been doubled, whichmeans our graduating seniors have the opportunity to apply for $250,000in scholarship money.One of our many challenges is to serve all of our students as the districtgrows. This year we opened three new campuses, Jones EC/PK, Jones ElementarySchool, and Kujawa EC/PK and next year, we will open anotherEC/PK center. To meet the needs of our growing community, a new highschool and 9th grade center have also been planned to open in 2012 and2013. These new campuses will be located across from Plummer MiddleSchool on Gears Road. The new high schools will relieve the crowded conditionsat the high schools, but at Nimitz High School particularly. One ofour major projects this year is to evaluate our current school boundaries, toanticipate the new schools and to relieve overcrowding as much as possiblebefore 2012. Recommendations about boundary changes will be made tothe board in January and February, and all parents who are impacted by anychange will be notified as early as possible.Recommendations will be discussed at board meetings and at our regularpublic meetings in January. On January 14th, our Aldine CoordinatingCommittee will meet at 9 a.m. in MOC, and recommendations will beshared. Also, recommendations will be discussed at the next Superintendent’sParent Advisory Meeting on February 3rd at 7 p.m. at MOC. Parentare welcome to attend these meetings, but I do recommend that you contactLori Losoya at 281.985.6202, so that we may prepare for you.In January, we will witness a historic day as President-Elect Barack Obamawill be inaugurated on January 20th. Our teachers are preparing specialstudies and activities to commemorate the day and its significance.Thank you for your support. I appreciate your work to help us “Producethe Nation’s Best.” Have a safe and happy holiday season.Sincerely,Wanda Bamberg, Ed.D., Superintendent of SchoolsViola Garcia elected TASB secretary-treasurerAISD Board President Dr. Viola M. Garcia was electedsecretary-treasurer of the Texas Association of SchoolBoards (TASB) during the Association’s annual DelegateAssembly and Convention in Dallas, September 26-28.She was elected to the TASB boardin September 2004, and has beena member of the Lone Star InvestmentPool Board since 2003. Shehas chaired the Resolutions Committeeand was vice-chair of the LegislativeCommittee.Dr. Garcia, an associate professorat the University of Houston-Downtown,has served on the AldineQuestions and AnswersWe hope you enjoy this editionof Inside Aldine. If you havequestions or comments aboutinformation included in this issue,our schools or operations,please call 713-756-7855 or visitwww.aldine.k12.tx.us/feedback/.ISD Board for 15 years. A graduateof Leadership TASB and mastertrustee, Dr. Garcia is a member ofthe American Leadership Forum-Houston Education Class 2, is participatingin the Reform Governancein Action program with the AldineISD board and administrative team,and is actively involved in the NationalAssociation of Latino Electedand Appointed Officials LeadershipInitiatives. Dr. Garcia earned herundergraduate degree from TexasWoman’s University and her master’sand doctorate’s degrees fromthe University of Houston.TASB is a nonprofit associationestablished in 1949 to serve localTexas public school districts.Stephens Elementary gets new $100,000 playgroundthanks to Home Depot, KaBOOM! and Andre JohnsonAldine ISD’s Stephens Elementary School received a very special gift on Tuesday, Dec.2, as volunteers from the community, Home Depot, KaBOOM!, and Houston Texans’wide receiver Andre Johnson teamed up to build a new playground at the school.The playground, valued at $100,000,was built in a day by the hundredsof volunteers who gathered for theevent.KaBOOM! is a national non-profitorganization whose vision is tocreate a great place to play withinwalking distance of every child inAmerica.Stephens Elementary principal RaymondStubblefield, said the newplayground will provide a criticalservice to Stephens students andthe Stephens community.“Play is critical to the social, cognitive,and emotional development ofchildren,” Stubblefield said. “Thenew KaBOOM! playground will providea safe place to play for morethan 1,000 students at Stephens Elementary.We are very appreciativeto The Home Depot, the NFL andKaBOOM! for selecting our campusfor this honor. We also appreciatethe leadership of Denise Meister(former assistant principal at Stephens,now principal at WorshamElementary) and Susan HwangPo(former teacher) who were instrumentalin developing our grant.The Build Day on Dec. 2 was a truepartnership between school, communityand local businesses.”The playground build was part ofHome Depot’s NFL NeighborhoodMVP program that recognizes NFLplayers for their commitment togiving back to their local communities.Johnson was one of 17 playersselected league-wide for his helpAldine ISDBoard reorganizesThe AISD Board of Education reorganizedduring its November 18 meeting.The board’s nominating committee,chaired by Trustee Merlin Griggs,and fellow committee members RickOgden and Marine Jones, named Dr.Viola M. Garcia as school board president,Dr. Alton Smith as vice-president,Rose Avalos as secretary andRick Ogden as assistant secretary.Trustee Steve Mead, who served asboard president during the 2007-08school year and for part of the 2008-09 school year, handed over the gavelto Dr. Garcia. Mr. Griggs, MarineJones and Mr. Mead will serve asmembers. Dr. Garcia will announcecommittee assignments at the Januaryboard meeting.Steve Mead hands over thegavel to Dr. Viola M. Garcia.Pictured above is Johnson taking part in the “board cutting”ceremony to officially open the new playground. WatchingJohnson were, (l-r): Stephens student Kyndal Hutto, StephensElementary principal Raymond Stubblefield, KaBOOM! projectmanager Cassie Haslett, Home Depot District Manager BrianLiczwik, and Aldine ISD Superintendent Dr. Wanda Bamberg.in founding the Andre JohnsonFoundation, which is committed toempowering and developing youthfrom single-parent homes into responsibleand educated citizens.FFA Show to Celebrate 50th anniversaryContinued from page 1AISD’s career and technical educationdepartment has been planningfor the 50th anniversary for twoyears, according to Franklin Higgins,director of the department.“We’ve been working on this for twoyears,” Higgins said. “It has been excitingjust looking back and seeingthe progress and how this event hasevolved over the years.”Since 1996, the Livestock Show andCountry Fair has been held in theM.O. Campbell Educational Center.From 1959-81, the event was held atAldine High School before moving tothe grounds where the Campbell Centerwould eventually be built in 1982.Higgins said two weeks of eventshave been planned for the 50th anniversary.Things will kick off on Friday,Jan. 16, with the Alumni Gala, set forFireman’s Hall. The event will beginat 7:30 p.m. and is sponsored by RandyReeves State Farm Insurance.On Saturday, Jan. 24, the first annualFFA Livestock Show and Street Festivalwill be held in the parking lot of theCampbell Center. The event, sponsoredby the Greenspoint Chamberof Commerce, will run from 10 a.m.until 2 p.m. and is open to the public.Home Depot developed the NFLNeighborhood MVP program to giveback to the communities its associateslive and work in. North HoustonBank also donated to the cause.The two-week event will wrap up onFriday, Jan. 30 with a breakfast andart auction at 8 a.m. in the foyer ofthe MOC. The Greenspoint Chamberand the Greenspoint RotaryClub are sponsoring that event. Analumni reception will be held from5-6:30 p.m. and events will concludethat evening with the Sale ofChampions at 7 p.m.Higgins, who has participated in27 of the 50 Fairs, said Aldine’s isone of the oldest in Harris County.He added, the event has receivedstrong support over the years fromthe community.Last year, Aldine ag students’ projectsnetted $174,479.50 in pledges,which eclipsed the 2007 Sale ofChampions by more than $25,000.“Over the years, I have been soimpressed with the generosity ourcommunity has shown to our students.The amount of support hasjust been tremendous,” he said.“And our community has changed.We were more rural in the 70’s and80’s and are now an urban area, butwe still have a lot of kids interestedin agriculture.”For more information on any events,contact Higgins at (281) 985-6650.