This year NISD was selected to be part of the 2009 Texas Capitol School House project in Austin! Blattman Elementary and Michael Elementary represented NISD students by presenting legislators and TEA representatives projects using state-funded online databases for their research. They visited the senate floor and offices of Leticia Van de Putte and Mike Villarreal.
Shown are NISD students and district representatives receiving their certificates
From Left: Jana Knezek, Lisa Moran, David Peterson, Jiaira Camacho, Caren Valenciano, Laura Dessens, Stephen Kofos, John-Thomas DoPorto Daniel Oliva, Anna Cajiga-Pena, Kathleen Brown, John William Moran, Mary Burns Michael, and Graciela Villareal
NISD students with State Representative Menedez
From Left: Stephen Kofos, Daniel Oliva, Caren Valenciano, Anna Cajiga-Pena, John-Thomas DoPorto, David Peterson, Laura Dessens, and Jiaira Camacho with Representative Mendendez
Northside’s online databases offer varied activities and games to keep students engaged and learning while they are away from school. We hope you and your children will choose often from the following suggestions.
Suggestion 1: Curriculum Resource Center Jr. Edition, from Facts
on File has a section of science experiments which use typical household items and requires a minimum of preparation time. Try: Dusting for Fingerprints under the category of Life Science or Calculating the Speed of Chewing Gum under the category of Physical Science.
Suggestion 2: The home page of Encyclopedia Britannica Elementary includes samplings of many current events, such as Animal of the Day, Activity of the Day, News by Student News Net, Discover America, and much more!
Suggestion 3: TeachingBooks.net has a multitude of Author Programs wher
e students can see and hear the author’s original words about the writing of many favorite children’s books. Examples: View a slide show of Sharon Creech on her writing of Love That Dog or watch a movie with footage of Spiderwick art and a reading from one of the Spiderwick books.
Suggestion 4: Visit World Book Online Encyclopedia’s Cyber Camp.
Here’s the Camp Schedule:
- Take a Nature Walk through a forest or wetland and learn cool things about the animals.
- Visit the Craft Cabin and make things with your own hands.
- Go to the Dining Hall and make easy recipes for summertime treats.
- Go to the Mindbender Cave to see the puzzle the monster has for you.
Visit other databases to keep the learning going during the hot months of summer!
Martha Mead Elementary School librarian, Kimberly Lucero, found a unique way to get 5th grade ESL (English as a Second Language) students involved in introducing the new Online Public Access Catalog called iBistro. Kimberly says that she loves to make up songs and chants and that the students respond to them quite well. So, it was no problem at all to get student volunteers to come in the library early in the morning and during recess to video-tape a segment to be broadcast over the morning announcements.Mrs. Lucero has been the librarian since Mead Elementary opened its doors two years ago. The campus supports Bilingual and Title I programs, as well as an ESL program for students from 31 different cultures! One of the actors in the video moved back to his home in Nigeria a week after the taping was finished, but he, like the other student actors, received a CD copy of the video as a special remembrance.
You can view the video hosted at TeacherTube by clicking on the link below.
Filed under: District
If you haven’t recently looked up a book on the Northside Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC), formerly known as “WebCat,” you’re in for a pleasant surprise. WebCat has been replaced by “iBistro.” iBistro also displays book jackets, has summaries, and provides reviews of library books.
Disappointed that the book you wanted isn’t available right now? iBistro can direct you to books like the one you wanted or to books by the same author. You never have to leave a library empty handed!
Younger readers will love the “Find It Fast” feature, which displays pictures of topics. Just a few clicks on pictures (i.e. animals, then dogs) and those younger readers will find the perfect book.
