2019-20 STEAM Lab week 13

Well, 13 was a bit unlucky for me, as I didn't spend even a single minute in the STEAM Lab! It is time for our annual G/T screening, and I have been testing children all week. Great things still happened!

DaCamera was on campus to work with 2nd and 4th grades, we celebrated our Honor Roll and Elite Scholars, family and friends were welcomed for a special Thanksgiving luncheon, and Brighter Bites had 2 big distribution events.

Testing will continue next week, but there will brief breaks for Da Camera in 5th grade, our first GT Expo of the year, Spelling Bee, and our very first Junior Spelling Bee!

While I am not all that excited about a week of test administration, I am deeply grateful to be part of such a generous, richly diverse, energetic, and eclectic learning community! It is a sincere joy to be connected to so many amazing organizations that bring extraordinary opportunities to our campus.

This year I am especially thankful for:

Arts Connect and our amazing arts partners: the Houston Ballet, Da Camera, Houston Grand Opera, the Alley Theatre, Main Street Theater, Mercury the Orchestra, and the Hobby Center Discovery Series
Our Green School programs: Eco-Schools USA for the inspiration for our Litter Less Ambassadors, Monarch Heroes, Recycling Team, Water Wardens, and Panther Power Patrol, Keep Houston Beautiful's recognition of our student programs via the Mayor's Proud Partner awards, and Trees for Houston.
Healthy Living Partners: Common Threads, Marathon Kids, Fuel Up to Play 60, Backpack Buddies, and Brighter Bites.
Community partners: our good angels from Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church and our amazing PTO and parent volunteers who support us in myriad ways and are always willing to lend a hand wherever needed.
My digital PLN: The remarkable generosity and unbridled creativity of the online #EduMaker / #ElemMaker communities has been such a gift! I am so grateful for the Scratch, Makey Makey, Raspberry Pi, NatGeo, Fund For Teachers, Wonderopolis, and BrainPOP communities!
My Piney Point colleagues: I am so very, very thankful to all the teachers who support and participate in all the projects and programming! Without my ancillary cohort, UIL volunteers, Name That Book classes, Spelling Bee judges and classroom sponsors, Green Teacher Leaders, No Place For Hate coalition, G/T teaching team, and every single classroom teacher, teaching aide, administrative assistant, and administrator none of the extraordinary work our children do would have a showcase. Their remarkable gifts and burgeoning talents would be unremarked and unsupported. I appreciate all that you do every day to reach every child. I am very appreciative of the unstinting support of our principal, Ms. Swaby. She always finds a way to provide material and personnel support for the new programs and opportunities we bring to her attention - whether it is drones, Ballet Folklorico, or a 4th grade golf team, she is eager to make sure our children have a chance to participate.

Thank you all!

I hope everyone has a restful Thanksgiving break!