WOISD News Releases

WOISD Nature Center to Expand with Funding from Education Foundation

Scott S. Floyd, M.Ed. — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:18:39 +0000

The White Oak Education Foundation voted in a Special Meeting held Thursday, May 20, 2010, to donate $20,000.00 to White Oak ISD to go toward construction of a new 30′ X 50″ steel Pavilion for use by White Oak students in conjunction with the District’s Nature Center. There will be Check Presentation Ceremony at the site of the Nature Center on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 3:45 PM. The Public is invited to attend.

Members of the Nature Center Steering Committee, chaired by Kevin McGuire, will accept the over-sized check facsimile from Billy Sallee, President of the White Oak Education Foundation.

For the past several weeks, White Oak Intermediate School children (grades 3-5) and White Oak Primary School children (K-2) have held a competition between grade levels to see which grade could collect the most “Nickels For Nature”. The Intermediate Third Grade class and Primary grade level winners celebrated Friday, May 21, with ice cream on the location behind the school where the new Pavilion will be constructed. The all steel constructed building is expected to be ready for use by students at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year.

Linked below are photos of the students, led by Intermediate Principal, Karen Dickson, forming the shape of the rectangular Pavilion on the very site where it will be built. If you have any questions, you may contact Michael E. Gilbert, Superintendent of Schools for White Oak ISD at 903-291-2201. Click on the link below to view photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikegras/sets/72157623984069439/

C. V. Dickson
White Oak Education Foundation
Publicity Committee
Cell: 903-720-7690

AMS/TEA Press Release on WOISD Filming

Scott S. Floyd, M.Ed. — Mon, 24 May 2010 12:28:27 +0000

“The Texas
Education Agency is developing a video and
website that features best practices in the use of technology to enhance
teaching and learning in the classroom. The video will highlight
activities in
selected school districts, focusing on classrooms where teachers have
successfully integrated technology into the curriculum. White Oak ISD is
one of
the districts that will be featured in the video and website.

TEA’s goal is to increase awareness of
the benefits of
technology integration, provide tips on how to plan and implement
successful
programs, and inspire other educators to embrace technology integration.
The
video will feature not only classroom activities, but also the planning,
goal-setting, administrative support and professional development that
led to
the effective use of technology in each district. The role of the
Supernet
Consortium and its role in technology integration in White Oak–and
throughout
East Texas–will also be explored.

AMS Pictures, the creative media
company that is producing
the video and website for TEA, will be in White Oak, May 24-27, to cover
selected classroom activities and interview teachers and students.
Superintendent Michael Gilbert, Instructional Technology Coordinator
Scott
Floyd, and White Oak ISD Chief of Technology Michael Gras will provide
the
background information on the development, implementation and growth of
technology integration in the district and its impact on teachers,
students and
the entire White Oak community.”

WOISD Educators to be Featured in TEA Film on Technology Integration

Scott S. Floyd, M.Ed. — Thu, 20 May 2010 19:54:08 +0000

Monday through Wednesday of next week (May 24-26), AMS Pictures will be in the district to produce a film using White Oak ISD students, faculty, and staff. The purpose of the film is to promote the integration of technology in the classroom. We were selected by the Texas Education Agency to take part in this project based on the presentations of our teachers at January’s TCEA Conference. Mrs. Monica Floyd, Mrs. Shelly Huggins, and Mrs. Nina Peery are scheduled to be the featured educators in the film. This is an honor for WOISD and we are looking forward to seeing the final product.

White Oak High School Receives College Readiness Recognition

Scott S. Floyd, M.Ed. — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:15:05 +0000

November, 2009

White Oak High School has received the “2009 College Readiness Award” from the Texas ACT Council for maintaining or increasing the number of students taking the ACT Assessment over the past five years and significantly increasing their level of achievement and college readiness. The Texas ACT Council is comprised of secondary and post-secondary educators who advise ACT, Inc. on the utilization of ACT programs and services in Texas schools and colleges. ACT, Inc. is the not-for-profit organization that provides assessment, research, information, and program management services in the broad areas of education and workforce development, and the publisher of the ACT Assessment. The ACT Assessment is the college admissions test that is used and accepted by all colleges nationwide and throughout Texas. In 2009, nearly 160,000 Texas students took the ACT which was an all-time high and Texas ACT scores have increased substantially over the last five years.

According to Karen L. Pennell, Assistant Vice President and ACT Southwest Regional Manager, “The Texas ACT Council wanted to recognize those Texas high schools that have made significant strides in increasing the college readiness of their graduates as demonstrated by their ACT score increases over the past five years. This can only happen as a result of the high school’s faculty and staff efforts and the dedication of White Oak High School students and parents to focus on college readiness and raise the level of college readiness for all students. Less than 5% of all high schools in Texas were honored for this superior level of accomplishment.“

Flu Update for White Oak ISD

Scott S. Floyd, M.Ed. — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:21:21 +0000

In the past few weeks, and increasingly over the past few days, concerns about the H1N1 Flu have increased. It is my hope that the information included in this report will help many of you understand the nature of the problem and give you some piece of mind about the actions being taken by White Oak ISD.

What do we know?

There are White Oak ISD students at home sick with flu-like symptoms.
Some of the local doctors have made a clinical diagnosis that their patients have H1N1 Flu. Although these diagnoses are most likely correct, WOISD has not received any conformation of a Laboratory Test Confirmed case of H1N1.
The symptoms that should alert you to see your doctor are, fever over 100 degrees and a cough or sore throat. The treatment for H1N1 and Type A influenza are basically the same and early diagnosis along with staying at home will help the healing process and cut down on the spread of the flu.
WOISD is not experiencing an increase in absences. Attendance for the week of September 14, 2009 remains above 96%.

What are we doing?

Our custodial staff is cleaning and disinfecting all common-use areas every night. Industrial strength aerosol disinfecting “bombs” are being used throughout the district.
Antibacterial hand soap is available for all students and staff. Our faculty and staff are monitoring all students to insure proper procedures are being followed.
WOISD has been approved to provide the H1N1 Vaccine to all students, faculty, and staff as soon as it becomes available. When the plan is ready, all parties involved will be notified as to how and where the vaccine will be dispensed.

There is no doubt that this flu strain is very contagious and that we must be diligent in our efforts to keep everyone healthy. I know that if all the stakeholders in White Oak will make themselves aware of the facts concerning this problem, we will be able to stay healthy and continue the education process for our students. You can find more information about the flu and the vaccination process on the following websites:

www.cdc.org

www.texasflu.org

http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/txflu/default.shtm

Thank you for your help in keeping facts separate from rumors. Everyone at White Oak ISD is concerned about the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and community.

2009 State Robotics Winners

Scott S. Floyd, M.Ed. — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:45:09 +0000

Texas Computer Education Association

White Oak High School wins second place

in TCEA Annual Robotics Contest

The TCEA 2009 Annual Robotics Contest was held Saturday, May 16, 2009, at Fairmont Junior High School, Deer Park ISD, near Houston.

A total of 128 teams from elementary and secondary schools participated in the contest by designing, collaborating, programming, and competing with robots in a prescribed problem contest and an open-ended invention contest. The teams qualified for the state competition by placing first or second, or selected as a wildcard in area competitions.

Each year TCEA provides its members with the opportunity to explore the impact of robotics. Participating students from elementary and secondary schools design, collaborate, plan, redesign, construct, create, assemble, invent, reinvent, write, present, and compete to see who has developed the smartest robot. The contests vary based on strategies that involve speed, accuracy, sensing objects, and light. A programmable robot is limited only to the imagination of its inventor. TCEA will use a three-round schedule system to determine the winning teams in two divisions.

Students not only have the opportunity to compete in a prescribed problem contest, there is also an open-ended invention contest. Students use marketing, programming, writing, constructing, and presentation skills to find a solution for a problem of their choice.

The students used LEGO Mindstorms robots and were allowed to compete with either RCX or the newer NXT versions.

Judges for the contest come from universities, industries and K-12 education.

For a list of the winning teams and their sponsors’ and students’ names, please refer to the table below. To view photos of the winning teams, go to http://www.tcea.org/StudentContests/Robotics/Pages/slideshow.aspx.

About TCEA

The Texas Computer Education Association is the largest state organization devoted to the use of technology in education. Founded in 1980, the organization has grown to more than 8,000 members and has been a leader in supporting instructional technology throughout Texas and the nation. TCEA’s primary focus is integrating technology into the PreK-12 environment and providing its members with state-of-the-art information. For information about TCEA, visit www.tcea.org. The association’s annual convention and exposition, which is expected to attract 13,000 attendees, will be held Feb. 8-12, 2010, at the Austin Convention Center.

Contacts:

Kathy Sargent, Communications Director; ksargent@tcea.org;

Marisol Valdez, Communications Specialist; mvaldez@tcea.org

Inventions – Advanced
Place	Sponsor	Students
1	Bryan Edwards	Brett Clubb, Callie Hill, Ciara Ihle, Mark Hebert
2	Desiree Hutchins-Boyett	Katie Billingslea, Kyle Stephens, Tyler Corley
3	Julie Juneau	Karel Beetge, Matthew Bowman, Thomas Macias, Michelle Geng

UIL Schedules Altered Due to Swine Flu

Scott S. Floyd, M.Ed. — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:18:09 +0000

This is from the UIL office. For more information, please read the statement here.

UIL Schedules Altered Due to Swine Flu

Media Contact: Kim Rogers
Phone: 512) 471-5883
Fax: (512) 471-6589
Email: uilpr@mail.uil.utexas.edu
Date: 04/29/2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUSTIN, TX— On the recommendation of Dr. David Lakey, Commissioner of the Texas
Department of State Health Services, and in consultation with Texas Education Agency
Commissioner Robert Scott, the University Interscholastic League is altering its schedule of
events due to the outbreak of the swine flu in Texas. Effective immediately, all UIL
interscholastic competition is suspended until May 11.

“The health and safety of our student activity participants is of the utmost importance,” said
UIL Executive Director Dr. Charles Breithaupt. “Taking every possible precaution to
prevent the further spreading of this disease is an important contribution to the welfare of
our great state, and altering the schedule of our events is a way to keep our participants
safe.”

As this is a fluid situation, the UIL tentatively releases the following schedule for UIL
regional and state events affected by this situation.

Academic State Meet
The UIL Academic State Meet, originally scheduled for May 7-9, will be rescheduled at a
later date. The Conference 4A and 5A One-Act Play competition will continue as
previously scheduled on May 15-16. All other conferences competing in One-Act Play will
be rescheduled. A schedule of the Academic State Meet, including One-Act Play, will be
posted on the UIL web site once finalized.

Texas State Wind Ensemble Festival
The Texas State Wind Ensemble Festival, originally scheduled for May 9, has been
cancelled. The UIL staff will consult with the 16 participating schools to determine
whether or not to reschedule the event at a later date.

Regional Track Meets
All UIL regional track meets originally scheduled for this weekend, May 1-2, have been
cancelled. The state track and field meet will be extended to a three-day format to include
semifinal heats. The meet is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May
14-16.

Semifinal qualifiers will be based on the district track meet results. Each region will be
represented at the state meet by the top four performances in each event for all conferences.
Hand-held times will be converted to fully automatic times as defined by the National
Federation of State High School Association rules. A revised track and field state meet
schedule will be posted on the UIL web site no later than Friday, May 1. Qualifiers to the
UIL state track and field meet will be posted on the UIL web site on Wednesday, May 6.

Golf State Tournament
The UIL golf state tournament will take place at the previously scheduled times beginning
May 11.

Tennis State Tournament
The UIL tennis state tournament will take place at the previously scheduled times beginning
May 11.

Baseball and Softball
No interschool games will take place until May 11 for either softball or baseball. Below is
an altered playoff schedule for both sports.

Softball Baseball
District Certification April 28 May 19
Bi District Deadline May 16 (1 game or 2 out of 3) May 23 (1 game or 2 out of 3)
Area Deadline May 19 (1 game only) May 26 (1 game only)
Regional Quarterfinal Deadline May 23 (1 game or 2 out of 3) May 30 (1 game or 2 out of 3)
Regional Semifinal Deadline May 26 (1 game only) June 2 (1 game only)
Regional Final Deadline May 30 (1 game or 2 out of 3) June 6 (1 game or 2 out of 3)
State Tournament June 4-6 June 10-13

Phone Outage at the Elementary Campuses

Scott S. Floyd, M.Ed. — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:15:44 +0000

This message is to inform parents with children in the Primary and Intermediate Campuses and all students that ride the school bus that we are having phone problems. Until further notice you will need to use these temporary numbers to communicate with the buildings.

Transportation – 903-452-3705

Intermediate – 903-452-3715

Primary – 903-452-3717

If you have special request for your student, please include a written note to the Principal or Teacher involved. This will insure the request is handled properly. Use the phone numbers to communicate any needs that arise during the school day. We hope to have the regular phones back online by Wednesday but continue to use these temporary numbers until instructed to do otherwise.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

–
Michael E. Gilbert
Superintendent of Schools
White Oak ISD
903-291-2201

Change in Track Meet Participation Due to Playoffs

Scott S. Floyd, M.Ed. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:36:20 +0000

The WOHS track team will not be attending the track meet on Friday, February 27th, @ Spring Hill due to the number of athletes still playing basketball and also to allow students to attend the playoff game.

Thank you for supporting our White Oak teams!

WO Educator named 2009 TCEA Educator of the Year

Scott S. Floyd, M.Ed. — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:08:45 +0000

From the TCEA website:

Classroom Teacher of the Year

The winner of Classroom Teacher of the Year was Pam Cranford, an elementary teacher in White Oak ISD.

As a SUPERnet peer coach for third-grade teachers at White Oak ISD,
Pamela Cranford has published 100-plus online lessons through MicroSoft
ClassServer’s Technology Applications Readiness Grants for
Empowering Texas, or TARGET.Her high interest in promoting the use of
technology for special education students led her to write and receive
more than 20 grants, adding to the classroom word labs, hardware,
software, EWords Language system, Lintor publishing kit, iPods,
external speakers, Flip Cameras, and Geo Safari units.Her students
regularly use databases, access PDFs, create podcasts, and build their
electronic portfolios.

She has led professional development sessions for staff members from
primary to high school including summer workshops in Web Design. The
accomplishments of her challenged students have brought respect and
touched all grade levels culminating in the 2008 GLOBE Teacher of the
Year Award.