December Bulldog Broadcast

BULLDOG BROADCAST

Merry Bright and

CONTENTS • GRILLED

CONTENTS • GRILLED

2

Superintendent's Corner

5

Literacy

7

Homecoming Information

11

School Happenings

Table of Contents

Publishers/Editors: Dr. Nikita Russell Derrick Thompson Chelsea Davis

Contact Us: Everman Communications at communications@eisd.org or 817-568-3500

Contributors: Academy Staff Maria Alanis Susan Alvey Dr. Curtis Amos Tamika Dees Stacy Guerrero Logan Jones Donna Kistner Leticia Lariz Pam McCoy Mary Preston Uriel Uranga

SUPERINTENDENT'S CORNER Dr. Curtis Amos Dear Everman Community, Parents, and Staff,

The month of December is here! As we come to a close of the first semester, I am so proud of the students and staff for their dedication and hard work. The outstanding work of each does not go unseen. It is

“Thanks” does not appear to be an adequate word to describe my appreciation for so many who have assisted and supported us the past year as we prepared for the Bond Election.

certainly not a surprise to see teachers in the trenches doing whatever it takes to elevate the learning for all students. Many of the teachers are the first to arrive each morning and the last to depart. Our teachers continue to do this because they care for every student.

Well, as you know the bond proposal passed. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, Community Bond Committee and the Everman Independent School District, I would like to personally say thank you for the passage of the Bond Proposal. This election brought out many

I appreciate the hard work from the Board of Trustees, Central Office Staff, Community Bond Committee, City of Everman residents, parents, teachers, para-professionals, and students for their help with the bond passage.

Thank you to the members of the Community Bond Committee. The overall success of the bond election was due to your direction and support. I appreciate you all for giving your time and expertise to assist us in kicking off the Bond Election Campaign.

individuals to cast votes, which was a record-setting event. The bond proposal pass with almost 64% in support of the bond. The commitment and trust that you have for EISD certainly speaks for itself. Now, it is time to begin the work for our students so that as our

I am grateful to our community volunteers, PTO, Everman Lion’s Club, parent volunteers, teacher volunteers, and student volunteers who assisted us with various campaign activities throughout this process.

mission statement says, prepare them to compete in a global society.

Thanks to the City of Everman, Taco Oasis, East Saint Paul Baptist Church, and locations sponsored by PTO,

Thank you, Everman ISD! On November 5th, you said “Yes” to our students and our school district. Parents, community members, and school staff said “Yes” to a continued partnership as we “prepare all students for success”.

and the Everman Lion’s Club for allowing me to speak regarding the Bond Election and the need for repairs and renovations in our district. Many of you went above and beyond and volunteered after hours with the bond campaign. I appreciate each of you for what you do in the classroom and in our school district each day.

The School Board and I pledge to work diligently in the coming months to be good stewards of the funds that you, the voters, have entrusted to us. Your continued commitment to our school district is appreciated and valued as we all work together to prepare all of our students for success.

SUPERINTENDENT'S CORNER Cont.

According to the demographic study conducted by Templeton Demographics, student enrollment in Everman ISD has increased from 5,542 in 2015 to 6,174 in 2018. Templeton’s projections also show that by year 2028 Everman ISD will have enrolled over 7,600 students.

In addition to the bond package, the district will also plan to restructure schools such as: · Opening an Early Childhood Center (Currently Dan Powell Intermediate) · Relocating 5th grade to the elementary campuses · Restructuring Baxter and Johnson into two Jr. High Schools to House 6th – 8th Grade Students.

Major components of the district’s 2019 bond program

Johnson will house the 6th – 8th STEAM Academy

includes the following: · Everman Joe C. Bean High School – (2 Story addition) 24 classrooms, 8 science lecture lab, 4 prep rooms, 1 library annex,

Again, thank you, parents, community members, teachers, and para-professionals for saying “Yes” to our students and our schools.

4 student restrooms, 1 teacher workroom, 2 teacher restrooms, 1 assistant principal’s office, 1 secretary/ waiting area, and 1 conference room. · Baxter Junior High School – (2 Story addition) 11 classrooms, 1 flex lab, and 4 student restrooms. · Townley Elementary School – (2 Story addition) 10 classrooms, 2 student restrooms, 1 teacher workroom, 2 and teacher restrooms.

As I always say, it is imperative that we prepare our students to compete globally. In order to compete students must have 21st-century skills, including communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking that will prepare them for college and careers of the future. My hope is that through the district initiatives, students will be prepared to compete globally and equipped with the tools needed for the 21st-century.

· Dan Powell (Possible Additions) 8 classrooms, 1 library annex, 2 student restrooms, 1 teacher workroom, 2 teacher restrooms. · Comprehensive Roofing Replacements for schools throughout the district.

Remember the vision statement of “One Goal…One Purpose…Student Success” pushes us as educators to provide students with the great educational opportunities so that they can perform at a very high level in today’s society. Looking forward to a successful year and always remember, Everman ISD Is The Place To Be!

Sincerely, Dr. Curtis Amos

POLAR EXPRESS FACEBOOK LIVE EVENT SPECIAL GUEST ARRIVING FROM THE NORTH POLE

SPOTLIGHTS

Character Trait: Respect Hommel Elementary Tran Trang

Character Trait: Respect Hommel Elementary Martin Rodriguez

Character Trait: Respect Souder Elementary Jayden Hudspeth

TAEA Spotlight Artist Everman High School Kelan Johnson

New School Board Member Woodman Dawson

BISHOP ELEMENTARY

BY: MARIA ALANIS

Red Ribbon Week Red Ribbon Week is a whole week event that engages students by motivating them to symbolize their commitment to a healthy, drug-free lifestyle as well as to create awareness of the problems related to the use of drugs. It provides student exposure to the problems of drug abuse. Each day of the week students wore specific attire. We had the opportunity to wear orange to promote Unity to stand up for bullying. Bishop also had a Drug Dog Presentation for all 2nd – 4th grade students. The teachers, students and staff also decorated their doors with authentic posters where students pledge to be drug free. Red Ribbon Week builds awareness of the destruction and chaos caused by drugs.

Book Character Day

Book Character Day allows students and staff to participate in the fun of dressing up as their favorite book character from books they love. Book Character Day is a fun way to celebrate reading!

Clubs

The school clubs provide students to participate in activities, interact with peers in a supervised setting and continue to form relationships with their peers. Clubs provide an array of activities for students to choose from. The students get to participate in clubs once a month on Fridays. Some of the clubs that are being implemented are art, dance, cooking, garden club, yoga, theater, drumline, and board games.

BISHOP ELEMENTARY CONT. Van Cliburn Van Cliburn is a music education program, to introduce young audiences to classical music. The program presents the excitement of live piano performances to second, third, and fourth grade students to reinforce the basic elements of music. The program is presented annually at no cost.

Day of the Dead/Día de los muertos Day of the dead had a great turn out! Families showed up to enjoy a delicious piece of bread along with a dance performance by some of our students. Joyfully, students made their way into the hallways to show their parents their hard word and classroom projects.

Upcoming Events

December 3, 2019 Spelling Bee 9:00am December 16, 2019 Christmas Socks December 17, 2019 Christmas Sweater/Sing-a-long December 18, 2019 Class Parties/Christmas Colors December 19,2019 Polar Express/Pajamas & Half Day Dismissal at 1:00pm *** December 20th – January 7th, 2019 Winter Break *** January 8th, 2020 Return to Schooli

E. RAY ELEMENTARY

BY: STACY GUERRERO

NOVEMBER HAPPENINGS November was certainly a busy month at E. Ray! We kicked off November with an All Pro Dad’s day where several dads, grandfathers, and uncles showed up to support our students. Students and staff also brought awareness to Breast Cancer with our Pink Out day. We also had a wonderful time celebrating our veterans who have made sacrifices for us with their service to our country. Our students gave a heartfelt rendition of “God Bless the USA” as well as various activities throughout the day to show appreciation. Third grade did a wonderful job with their service project by collecting canned foods and pet items for the food pantry and pet shelter. Great job to all of the third graders for helping with this project! Finally, our month ended with Feasting with Families and the Scholastic Book Fair. We had so many family members who all stopped in to have lunch with our students and it was definitely a time to be thankful and spend time with our families. The Scholastic Book Fair is always a fun event where students can get books of their own and help raise money for our school library. After the jam-packed November we had, here are some of the events happening at E. Ray in December.

CHRISTMAS MUSIC PROGRAM We will be having first and fourth grade students perform in a Christmas music program on Tuesday, December 10, 2019 at 5:30 pm. It is sure to be a time of enjoyment and celebration as we have fun kicking off the Christmas season. Come and join us for the festivities and to support our students singing Christmas songs.

DISTRICT

HOLIDAY

CHORAL

PERFORMANCE

AND CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING

On Thursday, December 5, 2019, our first graders will participate in the “Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony” at the Everman City Hall located at 213 North

Race

Street.

The

event

starts

at

6:00

pm.

Additionally, many of our fourth grade students will be

participating

in

the

district

holiday

choral

performance at Joe C Bean High School on Friday, December 13, 2019 at 6:00 pm. It would be great to watch

students

these events.

from

across

the

district

perform

at

E. RAY ELEMENTARY

BY: STACY GUERRERO

DISTRICT UIL COMPETITION On

Saturday,

December

14,

2019,

there

will

be

a

district UIL competition at Baxter Jr. High. Several of our

students

from

across

grade

levels

will

be

participating in various academic events to compete with students from other schools in Everman. We are proud of all of our competitors for working hard to prepare for this event.

CLASSROOM HOLIDAY PARTIES

Classroom Holiday parties will be December 19, 2019 at from 9:45-10:30 a.m. Families are encouraged to join the holiday parties and enjoy the time with their children. Students may be dismissed from the parties, but please be sure to sign out your child when leaving.

WINTER HOLIDAYS

The holiday break will begin on December 19, 2019, with early dismissal at 1:00. Please be sure to make arrangements to pick up your children early that day.

The break will last until January 7, 2020. Students will return on January 8, 2020.

The staff here at E Ray wish you and your family a wonderful and safe holiday season!

HOMMEL ELEMENTARY BY: LETICIA LARIZ

We had a blast for RED RIBBON week. Our teachers and students brought their A-Game. We have finished our World’s finest chocolate

We are "falling in love with

fundraiser. Shouts out

learning" here at Hommel.

to Dylon McIntire on his

Our students and teachers

amazing sales... 28

are not "leafing" anything to

BOXES! Way to go! Don't

chance. Working hard and

forget to stay in contact with

smart every day, to see our

us on social media

kids GROW, GROW,

(Facebook, twitter, Class

GROW!

Dojo) We have so many exciting things going on. You

UPCOMING EVENTS:

don't want to miss out!

December: 12/13 Field Trip to Bass Hall "Nutcracker" 12/14 UIL Competition @ Baxter 12/19 Early Release day (1:00)

HOMMEL ELEMENTARY

P

I

C

T

U

R

E

S

SOUDER ELEMENTARY BY: LOGAN JONES As we enter into the final days of the first semester, we are reminded of how fast the school year goes. It just seems a few short days ago that we were just holding Meet the Teacher here at Souder Elementary. The year goes by so fast, and it’s into January before you know it.

Each and everyday, our teachers are working with students to become better readers, writers, mathematicians, and critical thinkers.

We want to continue to encourage parents to take time every night to read with their children.

All it takes is 20 minutes a day to make a student an excellent reader. If parents have questions about how they can better assist their children at home, please schedule a conference with your child’s teacher. The Mid-Year, December and January, bring about a lot of activities for parents to take part in their child’s learning at Souder Elementary.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

December 5 - City of Everman Tree Lighting with 1st Grade Singing December 6 - All Pro Dads - Donuts with Dads December 14 - District UIL Competition December 16 - Souder Elementary Spelling Bee December 17 - Writing Craft Night and 1st Grade Holiday Program December 20 - January 7 - Holiday Break - No School January 23 - Special Education Parent Meeting January 25 - EISD Literacy Challenge January 27 - Science Fair Project Viewing January 30 - Family Science Festival

EARLY CHILDHOOD IN EISD BY: PAM MCCOY

Taking the time to read to Pre-Kindergarten children has a significant positive effect on their success. Below is a list of positive effects:

Reading skills Language skills Social/Emotional Skills Understanding of different topics and people Concentration Imagination and creativity Empathy skills Bond between parent and child

Reading to young children should be an enjoyable time together! Reading is a time to be creative and make reading fun. It can consist of talking through the book illustrations, reading only one sentence on each page, or reading the story as it is written. Keep the time fun and exciting!

Reading stories over and over is one way to keep it fun. This allows a child to deepen his/her understanding of the story, predict what will happen next, memorize parts of the story, and feel satisfaction with the familiarity of the story. Although you may get tired of the same story, your child will learn so many skills from the repeated reading!

Books don’t have to cost money. The best resource for books for young children is the Everman Library. The library is open five days a week and all you need to get a free library card is to simply bring your photo ID with proof of your current address.

Happy Reading!

SOFT CHRISTMAS COOKIES

INGREDIENTS: 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup margarine, softened 1 1/2 cups white sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS: 1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.

Gradually blend in the sifted ingredients until fully absorbed. Cover dough, and chill for 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Grease cookie sheets. On a clean floured surface, roll out small portions of chilled dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters.

3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are barely brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Prep: 10 mins Cook: 8 mins Ready In: 3 Hours

TOWNLEY ELEMENTARY FAMILY LITERACY NIGHT Townley Elementary held our annual Family Literacy Night on October 24th, promoting literacy and family engagement. The event was a huge success! The student's pumpkin book report projects were displayed in the cafeteria for all to see. Students and their families participated in read alouds and activities that focused on reading comprehension strategies. The families were also able to enjoy the book themed hallway decor with exemplary student work. Our families ended the night with relevant reading resources, a hot meal, and raffle give-aways. Thank you parents, the Everman Lions Club, and central administration for helping to make this night a great success.

TOWNLEY ELEMENTARY HONOR ROLL FIELD TRIP Students who made the A/AB honor roll were given an opportunity to attend the TCU women's basketball game on November 5th.

The students had an opportunity to meet players, the mascot, and to appear on the jumbo tron. The students had a blast representing their school pride and taking selfies. Congratulations Townley Scholars, YOU ARE THE BEST!

TAMIKA DEES

RED RIBBON WEEK Red Ribbon Week is a time for parents, teachers, school counselors, and administrators to encourage children to live healthy, substance-free lives and set positive goals and make good decisions. It also marks an opportunity to celebrate and thank those who work so hard to keep our communities drug and bully free. Townley participated by dressing in various ways to say no to drugs and bullying the week of October 28th- November 1st. Monday- Red Hot and Drug Free Wear Red, White, and Blue; Tuesday - Drugs have no Power Dress as your favorite superhero; WednesdayDrugs are Wack Wear mismatched clothes; Thursday- Team up against drugs Wear your favorite sports team jersey; and Friday-Our school is drug free Wear Bulldogs spirit gear. Thank you to all of the staff and students who participated, it was an amazing week!

POWELL INTERMEDIATE

BY: URIEL URANGA

The end of the semester is quickly approaching at Dan Powell and our students are striving for the best and it’s showing.

We had quite a turnout at our school spelling bee. There were a total of 90 students competing for the top spot and after 5 rounds, Ricardo Aguilar and Stephanie Garcia battled it out. Ricardo Aguilar ended up correctly spelling REQUIREMENT making him the 2019 Dan Powell Intermediate School Spelling Bee Champion. He and Stephanie will be heading to the area competition.

Upcoming Events December 3rd--Living Museum Project: Students have been researching important and influential figures in their reading class for their biography unit and will be creating a poster board about them. In addition, the students will have the opportunity to bring their character to life for parents and other guests at our 2nd annual Living Museum.

December 12--Holiday Dinner 6:00 p.m. -8:00 p.m.

Dan Powell will be hosting our 3rd annual Holiday Dinner for our families. There will be food, prizes, pictures, and music for all to enjoy.

December 16-18--Semester Exams Students will be taking semester exams where they will be able to prove how much they have learned throughout the semester.

Spelling Bee Winner and Runner-Up

I can not believe that we are approaching the Holiday Season! This year has flown by in the CTE world. We have completed our Programs of Study advisory meetings and have come up with exciting opportunities! From this point forward I will be sharing with you the new Programs of Study that will be open to all current 8th grade students. Also, please be on the lookout for the 1st edition of the CTE course catalog.

This month I would like to showcase our Education and Training program of study. Student’s that sign up for these courses learn what it takes to be a teacher in the 21st century. Ms. Turntine works with the group to ensure that they have a clear understanding of all the demands that teachers face. She provides real world experiences by working with several of our elementary schools to provide hands on learning. The Education and Training classroom at the high school is set up like an elementary classroom, this helps the students prepare lessons to present to during their internship.

I am pleased to say that we will continue to offer the Education and Training program at Joe C. Bean High School.

The following are the courses that will be offered: Principles of Education & Training, Human Growth & Development, Instructional Practices and Practicum of Education & Training.

& R E Y RE G A C LO O N N H O C I TE AT C U ED

JOHNSON 6TH GRADE

BY: MARY PRESTON

The first semester at Johnson 6th has been fast and packed with learning and educational experiences for our students. We had Donuts for Dads and Tea for Moms. We launched our girls groups for our students, and took our students on field trips to Bass Hall, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Planetarium at UTA, which was our first trip to a college campus. Our students saw older students in study groups, had the chance to observe a fiery science experiment and of course, gaze at a simulation of the universe (planetarium). Some groups even saw a peaceful protest. Speaking of firsts, Johnson 6th Grade had our first ever pep rally to celebrate being a Drug-Free Zone and to wrap up Red Ribbon Week. Our students (and teachers) danced, laughed and stepped! Yes, we had a small but mighty step team that performed for the student body. It was a great time of unity and celebration for our campus. We started tutoring November 5th and did a soft-launch of our Saturday School on November 9th.

On Saturday, November 16th, our campus was excited to receive professional development from Dr. Sean Cain and Dr. Laird, the authors of the Fundamental 5. We learned a lot of “fundamentals� and how to make sure we are increasing retention to support our students.

December promises to be just as exciting as we wrap up 2019 and the fall semester. On Friday, December 6th we will have Donuts with Dads; Saturday, December 7th is our next Saturday School for tutorials and attendance recovery, and on December 11th, we are taking our students to the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

Johnson 6th will wrap up December with Benchmarks during the week of 12/16-12/19. Finally, on Thursday, December 19th, we will have a dance before we release early for the winter break.

Parents, thank you for sharing your children with us! We are honored that you chose Johnson 6th Grade.

Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season!

B A X T E R