Kinkeade Hosts Health
Event
A first-of-its-kind
collaborative event occurred at Kinkeade Early Childhood School last
weekend as students from the
University
of Texas Southwestern Medical School and nursing staff from the Dallas
County Health Department provided immunizations and screenings for
vision, hearing, dental needs, height, weight, lead, and tuberculosis to
200 prekindergarten students and their siblings at no cost.
The
event lasted most of the day, Saturday, April 13. It was organized by
IISD Health Services and could be the first of several such cooperative
efforts Health Services Coordinator Thora Starke said.
Two bilingual pediatricians
were present to assist in evaluations and referrals. To keep students
occupied, a puppet show — Get Shots No Spots — was presented in
English and Spanish. The City of Irving assisted in publicizing the
event and providing school supplies which were given away.
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HOSA Students Advance to
Nationals
All of the District’s high
schools were represented on the winners podium at the annual state
convention of Health Occupations Students of America in Houston
recently. Thousands of students from across Texas competed in exams and
drills testing their knowledge and skills in many health-related fields.
Three clinical rotation
students at the Academy of Irving ISD placed in their events and
qualified to advance to the national competition in Anaheim, California
in June. Sara Fisher from MacArthur High School won third place in first
aid/rescue breathing. Amy Witcraft from Nimitz High School won third
place in veterinary assisting. And Rebecca Doty of Irving High School is
a finalist on the National Healthcare Issues Exam. The national meet
will be held at Disneyland, June 26-29.
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Schulze Commandos
A troupe of camo-clad
commandos invaded Schulze Elementary School
recently
to encourage students to build strong character and discipline.
Commandos! USA is a team of
body-builders who give demonstrations of strength such as tearing phone
books and crushing concrete blocks while they preach the values of
positive attitudes and hard work. The group visited Schulze April 4.
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Mike Modano Honors
Elliott Teachers
Two teachers from Elliott
Elementary School were honored by their students and by Dallas Stars
player Mike Modano at a Stars game at American Airlines Center last
week. Tanya Green and Judy McGibbonney were among 22 area teachers who
were Modano’s guests at the game. They were accompanied by students who
had written a letter to the all-star player about their favorite teacher
and why that teacher is a “hero in the classroom.”
The event was sponsored by
Score A Goal In the Classroom, a non-profit organization designed to
honor school employees and highlight the importance of their jobs.
Fourth grader Ashley
Johnson wrote her letter about McGibboney and Green was honored by fifth
grader Heather Quinn.
The 22 students and
teachers got to bring family to the game all at no charge. The letters
were chosen as the best from 307,000 entries. The contest-winning letter
was written by a student from Ponder ISD honoring Ponder teacher Jana
Puckett, who joined Modano on the ice during a game intermission.
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MacArthur DECA Member
Takes 2nd at State
MacArthur High School
Distributive
Clubs of America
(DECA) member Logan Hastings placed second in the state recently in
retail merchandising management. More than 3,000 students from across
the state participated in the competition. Hastings will compete in the
DECA International Conference in Salt Lake City this weekend.
Two other IISD students
competed at the state competition - one from MacArthur High School and
one from Irving High School.
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Destination Imagination
Teams from Townley
Elementary, Bowie Middle School, and Crockett Middle School represented
IISD at the regional creative problem solving competition Destination
Imagination at Colleyville Heritage High School. Bowie’s team of eighth
graders finished fourth in the competition and received the Renaissance
Award for outstanding skill in the areas of engineering, design and
performance.
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Bunnies, Books & Bedtime
The Irving Public Library
and the library at Lively Elementary hosted a program called Bunnies,
Books & Bedtime for more than 170 kindergarten and first grade
students and their families April 9.
Students and teachers had
milk and cookies in their pajamas in the school library while parents
attended a Read to Your Bunny workshop presented by Maria Redburn,
children’s librarian at the Irving Public Library.
Each family was given two
free books along with other materials that stress the importance of
reading aloud to children.
