News and notes from and about our family of Humble ISD Employees

Vol. 5 No. 5 May 2007

Thanks to the hard work and generous donations ofstaff, PTA parents, community members and businesses,and students from Atascocita Middle, Oaks Elementarynow has a playground.

Students and staff from Atascocita Middle SchoolStudent Council raised over $700 in the Penny War benefit-ting the Oaks Elementary. Student Council sponsors areKelsey Falzon and Sarah Locklear, 8th grade languagearts, and Ashley Knippers, 7th grade science.

Student council kids set up a table at every lunch witha bucket each for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Thestudents from each grade level donated pennies to add

points for their grade. They then put in silver coins anddollars into the other grade level buckets to take pointsaway from them. Each penny represented 1 point, and eachsilver coin represented either 5, 10, 25, or 100 pointsdeducted.

It was a close race all week, but the sixth graders wonand earned a pie throwing rally. Kids got to pie the teacheror administrator of their choice including Assistant Princi-pals Thyrun Hurst and Stacie Lott, 6th grade counselorJana Ward, administrative intern and coach David Opp,and many others.

The Oaks Elementary paid about $3,000 on the equip-ment, which PTA and staff will work to repay next year.

Playtime at Oaks Elementary is now so much more fun!

Amy VanDyke, HHS assistantLibrarian, has recently completedher Masters of Library Science fromTWU. She has also been inductedinto the Beta Phi Mu InternationalLibrary Science Honor Society.

Scott Ford of the CATE Centerwas inducted into Texas A&M’s chap-

ter of Kappa Delta Pi, the International Honors Society.

James Debo, son of Eileen Debo at Humble Elemen-tary, was recognized as an Eagle Scout by Troop 505 inMarch. James’ Eagle Service project was leading a group ofvolunteers to build five table/bench units and birdhouses toaid student observations for Project Feeder Watch at theNational Wildlife Federation Schoolyard Habitat at HumbleElementary. He was supervised by Ana Mascolo, servicelearning instructional coach at Humble Elementary. Hereceived a congratulatory letter and Texas flag from StateRepresentative Joe Crabb.

Karen Livingston, ESL coordinator for QHS/CLC,announces the graduation of her son, Michael Livingston,from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree inPyschology/Business. Michael is an HHS ’02 graduate andearned a full scholarship to UT for his honors grades. He isworking as a Project Manager at Anthony Sylvan Pools inAustin.

KMS principal Bob Atteberry is proud to announcethat all Fine Arts programs at Kingwood Middle won inUIL competition this year. This is a rare occurrance in UILhistory, so congratulations to:• KMS Drama/Theatre-One Act Play UIL Champion

directed by Audra Langston• KMS Orchestra UIL Sweepstakes Champion directed by

Cindy McMurrey• KMS Choir UIL Sweepstakes Champion directed by

Janice Lemm• KMS Concert Band UIL Sweepstakes Champion di-

rected by Rebecca May• KMS Symphonic Band UIL Sweepstakes Champion

directed by Wade Fennel

Jeff Bellnap, the head golf coach at Kingwood HighSchool has been inducted into the Sam Houston StateUniversity Hall of Fame. Jeff coaches both the boys andgirls teams at KHS. Both of his girls teams and his boys A

HumbleMiddle StudentCouncil receivedthe Texas Asso-ciation ofStudent Councils(TASC) Districts7 & 13 Sweep-stakes award,OutstandingStudent Council,

Outstanding D.A.S.H (Drugs, Alcohol, Safety and Health),Outstanding ENERGY, and Outstanding Pride & PatriotismAwards. HMS Student Council sponsor Deanna Caplettalso received the Sponsor of the Year award.

team competed at the regional tournament.

Thanks to all the hard work of Assistant Superinten-dent Dr. Cecilia Hawkins and IB director ElizabethBaron, Humble High School is now officially an Interna-tional Baccalaureate World School.

Creekwood Concert Treble Choir earned the UILSweepstakes trophy. Creekwood Concert and SymphonicBands both earned UIL Sweepstakes trophies.

KHS-9th teacher Rosemary McLean has beenchosen to show a three-minute video about our servicelearning work on Africa & our documentaries at the TEDTalks in Tanzania this summer at the Jane Goodall Institute.

Pine Forest first grade teacher Carrie Keith’s son, BrianWilliam Keith, graduated cum laude from the University ofHouston Hilton School of Restaurant and Hotel Managementwith a B.S. in Hotel and Restaurant Management.

Pine Forest librarian Kaye Shirley received a Foun-dation grant for the Accelerated Reading Program–for thethird year in a row!

AMS science teacher Jill Hobbes received a grantfrom Fund for Teachers. She will explore the UK andcollect the same rock suites used to develop the GeologicTime Scale and the principles of geologic science. AMSteacher Kassie Hassett received a Foundation grant for MyPersonal Yearbook journal writing, and social studiesteacher Mary Trichel received a Foundation grant for It’s aGeo-mazing World and another for Mooving to the Top,Ignite Learning’s curriculum on wheels.

Three win ATPE grants

Three of thesix ATPE RegionIV 2007 AppleGrant 4 KidsWinners werefrom HumbleISD! The grantsacknowledgeoutstanding andcreative ATPEmembers whodevelop programs/proposals toimprove the quality of education for the children theyserve. Grants are available for members of the Region IVarea and are for projects that directly effect students.District winners include the following:

Jim Dang, math, algebra I & algebra II teacher,Atascocita High. $500 grant to continue the use of technol-ogy in the classroom. Students will use electronic class-room response systems for instantaneous feedback onquestions.

Stephanie Fisher, science coach, G/T teacher,Woodland Hills. $500 grant to undertake the developmentand maintenance of an outside learning classroom in theform of a school garden. All grade levels will conductexperiments that reinforce their life science TEKS.

Allison Tabor, instructional coach, Deerwood. $500grant to purchase math materials and manipulatives for“Math Detectives” project where students act as detectives,looking at problems and trying to solve them using clues toanswer and prove.

The 108,000-member Association of Texas Profes-sional Educators is the largest educators’ group in Texasand the largest non-union group nationwide. Its member-ship consists primarily of classroom teachers but alsoincludes para-educators, administrators, college studentsand retired educators. The local Humble ATPE chapter has1,186 members.

ATPE is committed to advocating for better benefitsfor all educators, promoting a collaborative work environ-ment, protecting the right of educators to choose theassociation they feel represents their interests, and provid-ing the best education possible for all Texas children.

Jim Dang, Stephanie Fisher, and RegionIV ATPE Scholarship Co-Chairman LissaShepard from Galena Park.

Humble High School: Valedictorian Mark Thompson(PFE, AMS); Salutatorian Rodrigo Pena (HE, HMS);Richard Witkov (WPE, HMS); Bethany Quertermous (PFE,AMS); Mahveen Sohail (TMS); Jennifer Smith (OE, TMS),Alexander Pham (AMS); Arthur Philpott (WPE, HMS),Caitlin Crawford (OE, TMS) and Hunter Holt.

Congratulations to the top 10 academically-rankedseniors in the Class of 2007. Listed below are their names.If they attended middle or elementary school in HumbleISD, we listed that information, too, since their formerteachers likely remember them:

Kingwood High School: Valedictorian Brent Bailey (HHE,CMS); Salutatorian Catherine Castillo (DWE, RMS), DavidSommer (SFE, RMS), Emily Gallup (SFE, RMS), CherylHolmes (BBE, CMS); Deborah Cunningham (BBE, CMS);Sarah Boice (SFE, RMS); Daniel Marts (GTE, CMS);Laura Philipp (WCE, RMS) and Lisa Hasenberg.

KHS English teacher and swimcoach Laura Ledlow was involved in a bicycleaccident in April. She spent a weekend at Herman Hospitaland received 20 stitches and a double fractured orbita.

Peggy Cannon, bus driver, is recovering from kneesurgery.

Retired assistant superintendent John Widmierrecently had knee surgery, and is doing very well.

Kyle Ferrall, Woodland HillsElementary School first grade

teacher, and Karen Gallow,Timberwood Middle School language

arts teacher, have been selected asHumble ISD’s Teachers of the Year for 2007-2008. Theywill represent the district at the regional level.

Congratulations also to:

Finalists for Elementary Teacher of the YearDebbie Huxohl, Willow Creek Elementary SchoolPatty Lam, Greentree Elementary SchoolMelissa Wallis, Elm Grove Elementary School

Finalists for Secondary Teacher of the YearSara Burkhalter, Humble Middle SchoolDavid Duez, Atascocita High SchoolStephanie Tompkins, Atascocita Middle School

Campus Teachers of the Year - High SchoolsAtascocita High, David DuezKingwood High, Destry BalchKingwood 9th, Jeremy StammQuest, James NeradHumble High, Crystal LivingstonHumble 9th, Alicia NarcisseCATE, Shaunna SmithStructured Learning, Debbie Burch

Campus Teachers of the Year - Middle SchoolsAtascocita, Stephanie TompkinsCreekwood, Judy BrownHumble Middle, Sara BurkhalterKingwood Middle, Janice LemmRiverwood, Becky LoperTimberwood, Karen Gallow

Campus Teachers of the Year – Elementary SchoolsBear Branch, Sheryl SiwekDeerwood, Sherry FischerEagle Springs, Yvonne HarrisElm Grove, Melissa WallisFoster, Zane BarraGreentree, Patty LamHidden Hollow, Angela Mabrey

Humble El, Dan AndersonJack Fields, Melinda ButlerLakeland, Darrell RogersMaplebrook, Cynthia RuffNorthbelt, Karen RodriguezOak Forest, Stefanie ErbOaks El, Paige CormanPark Lakes, Jerry BalesPine Forest, Sandra LonghoferShadow Forest, Does not participateSummerwood, Shannon LalmansinghTimbers, Marcia PaulhusWhispering Pines, Sandra ChildressWillow Creek, Debbie HuxohlWoodland Hills, Kyle Ferrall

District Teachers of the Year for 2007-2008

Humble ISD Teachers of the Year got a special treat inMay thanks to the thoughtfulness of Susan Howard andShannon Howard, owners of Edible Arrangements on WestLake Houston Parkway. Edible Arrangements donatedgourmet dipped apple wedges and delivered the beautifulapple gift boxes to every campus in the district for theteachers of the year. Susan Howard shows off a box oftreats.

The first recipients of the Judy Mihealsick MemorialScholarship are Kingwood High School seniors LauraPalmer, who plans to study genetics at Clemson, and HilarySmith, who plans to study nursing at UT.

Friends of Creekwood Middle Schoool nurse JudyMihealsick established a memorial scholarship in her honorafter Judy passed away from cancer. Former Creekwoodstudents interested in a medical career were eligible toapply for the scholarship. Participating in the scholarshippresentation were selection committee members, scholar-ship recipients and family members of Judy Mihealsick.

Pictured are (top row, from left) Elena Massey,Maureen Allen, Kathy Johnson, Jan York, Neil Cliburn, and(middle row, from left) Carolyn Baldwin, Jamie Flores, CarlFlores, Jennifer Mihealsick Flores, Hilary Smith, LauraPalmer, Patsy Mancivalano, Risa McCann, (front row, fromleft) Dylan Mihealsik and Julianna Mihealsick.

Fine Arts Festival volunteers The Fine Arts Festival is run by volunteers and could

not happen without the dedication of Humble ISD employ-ees, parents, students, and community organizations.

The Elementary Art Team would like to say a specialthank you to the student organizations that volunteered:TMS Models, KMS National Junior Honor Society, TMSNational Junior Honor Society, AMS National JuniorHonor Society, HHS Key Club, HHS French Club, AHSHOSA, National Charity League, and Girl Scouts.

We are so proud of the personal responsibility shownby the middle school and high school student volunteers asthey shared their talents with our younger students.

Judy Mihealsick Memorial Scholarship

Bus Bunnies provide Easter basketsTransportation department had an Easter basket

decorating contest involving 90 participants. The basketswere then donated to children at Humble and Northbeltelementaries.

Students create portraits for orphansHumble High art students used their talent and skill to

bring joy to orphans in Southeast Asia. Directed by teacherMelanie Martin, students created original portraits forchildren in Myanmar. The effort was coordinated throughThe Memory Project, an organization focused on helpingchildren around the world.

Children in orphanages have few personal keepsakes,so the portraits provide them with a memory of their youthwhile honoring their heritage and identity. Martin chose theproject because it allowed students to practice servicelearning and gain an international perspective. She askedstudents if they would be interested in this special project.“Not one of them turned me down,” Martin said. “All ofthem loved doing it.”

Students received photos of the children, and createdportraits using their own artistic style and imagination todesign a background that they thought the child mightenjoy. The students worked in different mediums, includingoil stick, acrylic, watercolor, pen and ink, mixed media andprisma colored pencils.

Atascocita Middle School 8th gradescience teacher and coach Courtney Ferrallannounces her upcoming July 7 wedding toJason Mulcahey. Courtney’s mom is WoodlandHills first grade teacher Kyle Ferrall.

Child Nutrition technology coordinator Pat Fergusonand Maintenance supervisor Ronald Ferguson announcethe marriage of their son, Andrew, to Kimberly Nash.Andrew is pursuing his doctorate degree at Texas A&Mand Kimberly is an ‘07 graduate of A&M.

Humble ISD warehouse employee Nic Jordanannounces his May 19 marriage to Miranda Naquin.Miranda is the daughter of Lakeland attendance specialistTammy Naquin.

Atascocita Middle diagnostician Holly Nairn andAMS history teacher Chris Strzelecki announce theirupcoming June 9 wedding.

CATE Center’s Scott Ford announcesthe April 26 birth of his son, Hunter GeorgeFord. He weighed 8 lbs., 6 oz.

Park Lakes PreK teacher Vivian Grossannounces the April 17 birth of her son, Logan EdwardGross. He weighed 7 lbs., 5 oz.

Park Lakes second grade teacher Leslie Drewettannounces the April 16 birth of her first child, LaineyAllison Drewett. She weighed 8 lbs., 14 oz.

Park Lakes Elementary staff believes they have thehighest number of births for a campus in the district. Theycount nine babies for this year.

Maplebrook second grade teacher Erica Hawkinsannounces the March 31 birth of her son, Carter Wayne.

Atascocita High social studiesteacher Kathy Littlefied and Timberwoodscience teacher Dirk Littlefield announcethe March 31 birth of their son, Josiah. Heweighing 7 lbs., 10 oz.

Humble High AC teacher Elizabeth Butler an-nounces the April 9 birth of her first grandchild, TylerAndrew. He weighed 6 lbs., 3 oz, and was 19 inches long.

Timberwood math teacher Matthew Schwer an-nounces the birth of his daughter, Abigail Schwer. Sheweighed 7 lbs., 7 oz. and is 18 inches.

Maplebrook Special Services teacher Andrea Scottannounces the April 26 birth of her son, Jacob.

Kingwood High marketing teacher Scott Bryant andWillow Creek Elementary teacher Krissy Bryant an-nounce the May 4 arrival of their son, Asher Thomas.

Pine Forest kindergarten teacher Kelly Cahill an-nounces the April 2 birth of her daughter, Sarah Anne. Sheweighed 6 lbs., 10 oz.

Atascocita High Spanish teacher Josie Delgadoannounces the May 16 birth of her daughter, Daniella. Sheweighed 7 lbs., 5 oz.

Atascocita Middle math teacher Amy Beasleyannounces the May 10 birth of her daughter, Abby GraceBeasley. She weighed 7 lbs., 1 oz.

Atascocita Middle keyboarding teacher Ann Marga-ret Gomez announces the May 13 birth of her daughter,Addison Clare Gomez. She weighed 7 lbs., 6 oz.

Pine ForestTeacher winsScholarship

Pine Forestsecond grade teacherBecky Norris wasone of five educatorshonored by RegionIV Association ofTexas ProfessionalEducators (ATPE) atthe Annual Spring

Luncheon at Junior League of Houston. The Scholarshipwas established to honor distinguished, dedicated educatorswho wish to continue pursuing educational excellence.Norris is seeking a Master of Education in Administrationand Principal Certification from Sam Houston State Uni-versity/New Caney Cohort. Her award is for $1,000.

Humble ATPE has 1,187 members. Gayle Sampley isHumble ATPE president

From left, Becky Norris, Pine ForestElementary, Cathy Duvall, Fort BendATPE, Cindy Woods, Spring BranchISD, and Lori L. Lynn, Alief ATPE.

New Faces and PlacesAssistant Tax Assessor/Collector Anita

Henry is leaving after 16 years with Humble ISD.She will be the new Tax Assessor/Collector for Cy-Fair ISD.

Shadow Forest Elementary School bids farewell toGerry Pope after 29 years of teaching service.

Jack Fields Elementary says goodbye to the followingretirees: Ivelisse Estrada-21 years, ThomaseneChristman -18 years, Janet Wallace -14 years, andEstella Lial - 15 years.

Atascocita Middle School bids farewell to retiringemployees Clotile Berlin, Susie Day, Joy Hummel, JudyMannix, Diann Millstid and Ron Westerfeld.

The Educational Support Services Department saysgoodbye to Pam Self, who is retiring after 29 years withHumble ISD.

Timbers Elementary bids farewell to Sherry Orr,who is retiring after 32 years of teaching.

John M. Miller, Deputy Superintendent, isretiring after 25 years of service to Humble ISD.

North Belt Elementary says goodbye to firstgrade teacher Mary Southerland after 39 years

of teaching, and third grade teacher JackieHunter after 27 years of teaching.

Deerwood bids farewell to retiring teachers SherryFischer and Barbara Coffman.

Pine Forest Elementary says goodbye to Nurse LucyRichardson after 21 years, Life Skills teacher JanePoindexter after 13 years with Humble ISD and 10 years atPFE, PE Para-educator Karen Cox after 27 years withHumble ISD and 19 years at PFE, and first grade teacherMary Anne Schmid after 22 years.

Oak Forest bids farewell to BarbEllerbrock, who is retiring.

Woodland Hills Elementary says goodbye toEllen Taylor after 26 years of teaching.

Riverwood Middle bids farewell to retiringteachers Cheryl Dunnells and Becky Loper.

Timberwood Middle says goodbye to VickyEynon after 21 years as a school nurse.

Elm Grove bids farewell to retiring artteacher Terry McEntee, teacher Tina Smith, and nurseJane Hough.

Humble High says goodbye to retirees ChuckBlackman, Jr., Clauio Segovia, James Janak, DavidSnellings and James Ellis, who have serve a combinedtotal of 144 years in education.

Sympathy to Martha Mendoza, busaide, on the loss of her sister.

Condolences to Phyllis Howell, KHSSpanish teacher, on the loss of her father April 27.

Sympathy to Sandra Gregerson, KHS SpecialServices chair, on the loss of her father-in-law April 28.

Condolences to Robin McAdams, Humble ISDmedia coordinator, on the loss of her aunt and father-in-law.

Sympathy to Jane Bowling, Maplebrook kindergartenteacher, on the death of her father-in-law.

Condolences to Shanna James, Instructional Tech-nology Specialist, on the loss of her grandmother April 21.

Sympathy to Ann Lund, Humble ISD Police Depart-ment, on the loss of her father.

Condolences to Laura Nolan, Pine Forestparaeducator, on the loss of her husband, Richard.

Sympathy to Lindsey Norton, Pine Forest fourthgrade teacher, on the loss of her father.

Condolences to Shelby McPherson, Pine Forestfourth grade teacher, on the loss of her grandfather.

Sympathy to Missy Ballard, Elm Grove applied skillsteacher, on the loss of her father.

Condolences to Terry Perkins, Elm Grove thirdgrade teacher, on the loss of her father-in-law.

Teachers honored at the banquet include (top row, from left)Robert Cunningham, Peggy Mensik, Tabitha Madrid, TaraBrandt, Debbie Krenek, Cheryl Rucka and (middle row, from left)Rian Keegan, April Sanders Molnar, Peggy Mangano, TheresaNevins, Debbie Shaddix, Celia Jenkins and (front row, from left)Linda Davis, Sara Brent, Stefanie Erb. Not pictured were SandraCarley, Alisa Lott, Holly Miller, Courtney Ruff and MonicaSegundo-Grosser.

Science teachers like to say that all kids are natural-born scientists. Children want to understand what makesthe world tick. A skilled teacher can take that naturalcuriosity and turn it into a passion for learning astronomy,chemistry, biology, geology or physics.

But how do teachers acquire the knowledge, skills andresources they need to ignite that fire for learning? Theycan now turn to the Lake Houston Science Collaborative.

This non-profit organization, organized by an HumbleISD science teacher, wasformed to foster enthusi-asm and knowledge ofscience while increasingstudent achievement. Injust two years, the collabo-rative has provided nearly200 hours of training tohelp teachers in nineschool systems improvescience instruction on theircampuses.

Through the collabo-rative, teachers exploredsuch topics as safety,measurement, 5-E lessondesign, earth science,physics, and chemistryusing programs like:Activities Integrating Mathand Science (AIMS),Bridging II TAKS,GLOBE, Digital Detec-tives, Great Explorationsin Math and Science (GEMS), and Wet in the City; to namea few. They have also learned by sharing ideas with eachother.

“It has been an amazing experience to be around suchmotivating and creative people,” Theresa Nevins, a fourthgrade teacher at Hidden Hollow, said.

Participating districts are: the Archdiocese ofGalveston-Houston, Barbers Hills ISD, Crosby ISD,Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Dayton ISD, Humble ISD, NewCaney ISD, Sheldon ISD and Splendora ISD.

A banquet was held at St. Martha Catholic ChurchFamily Life Center to honor teachers who completed morethan 105 hours of training with the collaborative. BritishPetroleum donated funding to sponsor the banquet.

Science Collaborative helps teachers reach kids

Kim De La Cruz, a science teacher at CreekwoodMiddle, led in establishing the collaborative for this area in2005. For years, she conducted teacher training through theUniversity of North Texas. In 2005, the Texas RegionalCollaboratives for Excellence in Science and MathematicsTeaching announced it would seek applications from newareas. De La Cruz jumped at the chance and worked withscience coordinator Donna Price and competitive grantscoordinator Jerri Monbaron to make it happen. The

application was approvedand has provided our areawith over $340,000 forscience enrichment.

In 2005-06, 69elementary teachersparticipated. This year, 72elementary teachersparticipated. Thoseteachers share theirtraining with at least fivecolleagues on theircampuses so that morethan 300 classrooms andapproximately 4,800students have beenreached.

“The people in theScience Collaborative arethe greatest resource,”April Sanders Molnar ofFields Elementary said.“I’ve learned a wealth ofideas from other teachers.

The collaborative also provides teachers with the time andresources needed to be more reflective and knowledgeableabout our teaching goals and practices.”

Among teachers honored at the banquet were SaraBrent, Foster Elementary; Sandra Carley, Elm Grove;Robert Cunningham, Whispering Pines; Linda Davis,Jack Fields Elementary; Stefanie Erb, Oak Forest Elemen-tary; and Debbie Krenek, Oak Forest Elementary.

Also honored were teachers Peggy Mangano, Lake-land Elementary; Peggy Mensik, Humble Elementary;Holly Miller, Deerwood Elementary; April Molnar, JackFields Elementary; Theresa Nevins, Hidden Hollow;Courtney Ruff, Hidden Hollow Elementary; and MonicaSegundo-Grosser, North Belt Elementary.