International Baccalaureate Diplomas awarded to Westchester Academy for International Studies grads

Eleven recent May graduates of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Westchester Academy for International Studies (WAIS) have earned the highly esteemed and internationally recognized IB Diploma.

WAIS, an award-winning district charter secondary school in Spring Branch ISD, offers the IB Diploma Programme (DP), Middle Years Programme (MYP) and is an IB Career Certificate Candidate School. In addition to the IB, both Pre-Advanced Placement (Pre-AP) and AP courses are offered at WAIS. The combined middle and high school campus is located at 901 Yorkchester.

To earn the IB Diploma, students devote their junior and senior years to fulfilling program requirements in English, a foreign language, math, science, history or social studies, and fine arts, as well as a Theory of Knowledge course. Students also write a lengthy research paper and fulfill other class activities, including traditional community service projects.

Two IB Diploma recipients this year earned the Spanish Bilingual Diploma. They are May graduates Yansi Arevalo and Eliza Quintana. IB Diploma recipient Helen Scott earned the highest score to date among WAIS graduates (38 out of a possible 45 points).

WAIS graduate and IB Diploma recipient Adam Kassir is now the fourth family member in a row to earn the IB Diploma while at Westchester Academy. He will be the fourth in his family to enroll at Rice University, too. His brother, Elias, graduated from Rice University in May.

Elias will soon attend Baylor Medical School. His sister, Iman, a 2011 graduate of WAIS, is studying to be a nurse practitioner. David Kassir, a 2013 graduate, is a kinesiology major at Rice. Adam is interested in pursuing a major in bioengineering.

His mother, Patricia Kassir, teaches at the Bendwood School.

IB Diploma graduates at WAIS and known college/university choices and intended majors include:
• Yansi Arevalo, Texas State University at San Marcos, finance and accounting (Spanish Bilingual Diploma)
• Emmanuelle Henriet, undecided university in France, international relations and law
• Connor June, Texas A&M University in College Station, chemical engineering
• Adam Kassir, Rice University, bioengineering interest
• Khanhtran (Anna) Levu, University of Houston
• Rachel Loving, University of Texas at Austin, biomedical interest
• Alyssa Nguyen, University of Houston, biochemistry
• David Pham, Rice University, chemical and biomolecular engineering
• Eliza Quintana, St. Edward’s University in Austin, Spanish Bilingual Diploma
• Jacob Saenz, St. Edward’s University in Austin
• Helen Scott, Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas

Valerie Harelson has served as IB Program Coordinator at WAIS for many years.
The district charter secondary campus is led by Jennifer Collier.

Read More

Bendwood teacher learns from astronauts at LiftOff Summer Institute 2014: Let’s Engineer It!

She met NASA astronauts, teamed up to design a spacecraft, and is now creating a technology lesson plan for her Gifted & Talented students using an iPad Spacecraft 3D software application.

Molly Nipper, who teaches third- through fifth-graders in the GT Spiral program at the Bendwood School, attended a nationally competitive, weeklong teacher’s study program called the LiftOff Summer Institute 2014: Let’s Engineer It.

The institute, which was held in July at the Johnson Space Center, was coordinated by NASA’s Texas Space Grant Consortium (TSGC), NASA and the University of Texas Center for Space Research. Nipper completed 40 hours of instruction in space science to support the teaching of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

During the institute, the Bendwood instructor met and was photographed with two former astronauts, Fred Haise and Clayton Anderson. She will bring back to all of her students new lessons and activities in physics and engineering that involve the engineering design process, circuits, interactive design, and planning for missions to Mars, among other topics.

Institute participants toured Space Center Houston in addition to NASA’s Mission Control and Neutral Buoyancy Lab.

Her favorite speaker was retired NASA Flight Director Gene Krantz, who helped bring back to Earth safely the Apollo 13 spacecraft on April 17, 1970. “His message was of commitment to his staff and astronauts, and his motto was ‘Failure is not an option.’ He shared the challenges and lessons learned from the Apollo 13 mission,” Nipper said.

“His motto is the same motto I hold for my students.” She was inspired to work in a small group on designing a spacecraft that will hit a target successfully by only using certain materials and chosen engineering design process. She is looking forward to using an iPad application, Spacecraft 3D, with students in her Gifted & Talented classes this school year. “This application will give students an opportunity to see spacecrafts in 3-D (three dimensions).

Students really enjoy using technology in the classroom, and I like to incorporate it as much as I can where it is relevant to my curriculum. It was an amazing workshop,” she said. For more information, please visit the Texas Space Grant Consortium website at: http://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/

Read More

Olympic Silver Medalist joins Spring Branch ISD as diving coach

Anastasia Pozdniakova, an Olympic silver medalist in diving, joins Spring Branch ISD this school year as a district diving coach and facilitator at the W.W. Emmons Natatorium.

A 2009 University of Houston graduate, Anastasia concluded her diving career in 2012 and began coaching at the Cougar Diving Club as a Junior Olympic coach. High school coaching is what she has always wanted to be involved in, however.

 “When the opportunity opened with SBISD, I took it. I am really honored to have this opportunity and hope to get to know the athletes — their goals and dreams. We will work hard in the pool to be the best this year,” she said. Born in Elektrostal, Russia, Anastasia came to Houston in 2004 to pursue a degree in art history at the University of Houston with a full diving scholarship.

Recruited by UH Diving Coach Jane Figueiredo, Anastasia was the NCAA champion for two years in 1 meter diving. In 2008, she qualified for the Russian Olympic team.

During the Beijing Olympics, Anastasia competed in the 3 meter Synchronized Springboard diving competition with her diving partner, Yuliya Pakhalina. The diving pair finished the summer Olympics with a Silver Medal. “Coming into the Olympics, anyone has a great shot at medaling.

During our competition, I made a slight mistake in one of my dives but stayed focused and told myself that it wasn’t over until the last one,” Anastasia commented. Anastasia went on to compete at the 2012 London Summer Olympics where she competed in the 3 meter Springboard Individual event.

  Anastasia plans to utilize her 20 years of diving experience with Spring Branch athletes of all abilities. “I've always had the best role model – my coach Jane – next to me, helping me to always excel in what I do.

Having 20 years of diving experience under my belt and watching Jane coach has and will continue to help me to guide athletes to be the next champions in diving and in life,” she said. Anastasia begins coaching SBISD athletes this fall at the Natatorium.

Read More

Spring Branch ISD graduates are honored at Vietnamese-American luncheon

Four valedictorians from Spring Branch ISD high schools were honored recently during the Vietnamese-American Youth Excellence Recognition Luncheon held Aug. 3 at the Kim Son Bellaire Ballroom in southwest Houston.

The Vietnamese Culture and Science Association (VCSA) reports that it honored 28 regional high school valedictorians and salutatorians at the 18-year-old annual event.

SBISD student honorees included the following Class of 2014 valedictorians:

• Alyssa Nguyen and David Pham of Westchester Academy for International Studies (WAIS)
• Bao Tran Ma of Spring Woods High School
• Matthew Nguyen of Memorial High School.

VSCA is a Houston-based national organization that encourages multi-generational and cross-cultural collaborations by encouraging civic participation in the mainstream and in Vietnamese-American communities.

The recent luncheon featured an authentic Vietnamese cuisine, scholarship award presentations, cultural performances and a keynote address by Dr. Harry Dao Jr., who is an assistant professor in dermatology at the Baylor College of Medicine.

Numerous regional school district and elected civic officials were invited to the luncheon, which attracted 600 attendees, according to the organization.

Read More

Community Eligibility Provision for 2014-2015 – Schools List

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) allows for Spring Branch ISD schools with high percentages of qualifying children the option to serve breakfast and lunch meals at no cost to all students on a specific campus.

These free meals are served under the National School Lunch Program (NLSP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). Under CEP guidelines, meals are served to qualifying school children without collecting breakfast and lunch application forms. This program eliminates the need for any students at qualifying campuses to pay for a meal.

Under the Community Eligibility Provision, SBISD has elected to participate in CEP to provide free meals to all students at the schools listed below. (See campus list.) The district’s Child Nutrition Services Dept. is reimbursed by the federal government under this program.

CEP 2014-25 participating schools are: Landrum Middle School, Bendwood Campus, Edgewood Elementary, Hollibrook Elementary, Ridgecrest Elementary, Shadow Oaks Elementary, Spring Shadows Elementary, Westwood Elementary, Woodview Elementary, Spring Branch Elementary, Thornwood Elementary, Treasure Forest Elementary, Buffalo Creek Elementary, Panda Path School for Early Learning (PreK), Lion Lane School for Early Learning (PreK), Bear Blvd. School for Early Learning (PreK) and Tiger Trail School for Early Learning (PreK)

It is important to note the following under CEP rules and guidelines:

• This program operates for students only – adults at qualifying campuses will still be required to pay for meals.
• There will no longer be a need to collect free and reduced price applications for students who are in the CEP program and qualifying schools. CEP participating schools will have an “Income Survey” form to replace the no longer required free and reduced lunch applications.
• For students who have siblings or other family members who are enrolled in non-CEP participating schools, families must complete applications for those students to receive free or reduced price benefits.

SBISD believes that the Community Eligibility Provision will be good for all qualifying students and for our campuses, parents and communities. We hope to add more campuses in the future. Please visit the Child Nutrition Services website at www.springbranchisd.com/cns for related information.

For questions, please call 713-251-1150.

Read More