Oak Hills Lemonade Brigade is making teachers smile on Friday afternoons

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Friday afternoons at Oak Hills JH will do more than clench your thirst. It’s refreshing to your soul. Students in Mrs. Nispel’s Life Skills and Functional Academics Science class take the halls and deliver pre-ordered lemonade to staff around campus.

“Each kid has a job,” Mrs. Nispel said. “From learning how to knock on the door correctly to accepting cash and tips and even being the one to offer the straw. They all have a role and they take real ownership of it.”

Mrs. Nispel had this science class first period last year and used MISD Education Foundation grant earnings to purchase the carts and supplies to start the Lion’s Grind, selling coffee to staff each Friday morning. Due to schedule changes this year, she had to think around the coffee plan. With t-shirt donations from an OHJH staff member and new wraps for the cart made for them as well, they were ready to teach the kids how to make and sell lemonade.

Students measure and stir the lemonade and are in charge of getting the carts setup as well. When 8th period begins, they have their uniform on and list in hand and are ready to deliver. Additional students called Lion Leaders attend this class daily to support the learning of the Life Skills’ students.

“Our Lion Leaders are a huge help on Fridays,” Mrs. Nispel said. “They carry the cash tray and help my students make it through the delivery list efficiently with their guidance and patience. These helpers are just a wonderful part of this program!”

“”Having the kids sell lemonade and the coffee last year is a great connection time for our entire campus,” Oak Hills JH Principal Tim Williams said. “The teachers get a cold drink, but more importantly the interaction is positive and encouraging for all of our lions. It’s a reminder that we are all in this together.”

And when the work is done, the students enjoy a sweet bit of lemonade themselves. Next on the list is adding a yummy treat to the beverage cart and one of Mrs. Nispel’s students, Molly Messecar, believes the addition should be lemon bars, of course!

Madeley Ranch GT students take the Rube Goldberg challenge

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Fifth grade science curriculum includes a unit covering forms of energy and how energy is transferred. Thanks to donations from residents in both Walden and Grand Harbor, 5th grade science teacher Michelle Knowlton was able to take teaching this unit to a whole new level this school year.

“It started with donations from anyone that would let me pick stuff up off their driveway,” Knowlton said. “And with all the amazing materials we were able to truly do hands on learning. Students were able to take apart doorknobs to study the mechanical energy and next we’re going to take apart old fans to see what energy components make them work.”

Once all the supplies were collected, it only made sense to take it one step further. Rube Goldberg machines are a chain reaction-type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and overly complicated way. Want to throw something in the trash? Let’s make it as complicated as possible and study energy while we do so.

“I just thought this is what we needed to do instead of a worksheet,” Mrs. Knowlton said. “The students spent weeks designing, testing and tweaking their machines and were able to show that they understood the transfers of energy taking place.”

Students were put into teacher assigned groups and the assignment required planning, problem solving, working together and sometimes being able to accept that your grand idea just might not work out. As they tested and tweaked and studied more about energy, they also learned some valuable life lessons.

Before students could host their showcase on Friday, they completed their unit assessment Thursday. Knowlton said that the scores on this year’s unit assessment were better than ever before, crediting this hands-on approach to teaching the unit and giving students the opportunity to learn beyond the textbook.

With ownership over the projects and the effort required, students were taking such pride in showing off their creations and then celebrating the success of their peers. Each Rube Goldberg machine had to have a purpose, had to have a minimum of 5 transfers of energy and students were required to fill out a reflection sheet of things tried, what worked and what didn’t and how they worked with their group to achieve success.

One group’s goal was to have a stamp put on their envelope so they could “deliver” a sweet note of thanks to Mrs. Knowlton.

“This is all for the students,” Mrs. Knowlton said. “I’m so thankful for the donations from our school communities and I’m just really proud of these kids and how hard they worked to find success!”

Lincoln ES teacher “taxes” students through New World lesson

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Teaching students about history can require some outside the box thinking, and that’s just what Mrs. Boyle did with her Social Studies classes last week when teaching about the New World colonies and the start of our government in the late 1700s. With a list of taxable items from school supplies to leaving to use the restroom, students were each given their coins (fruit loops) at the beginning of the day and were able to learn the lesson through life experience.

“Today was a chance to bring history to life,” Mrs. Doyle said. “King George III taxed the colonists (students) throughout the class period for all kinds of things, such as using a computer, getting a paper, sharpening a pencil, and even for asking the King a question.”

Mrs. Boyle dressed up as King George and the students had to pay their taxes through the day as they completed a list of assignments. Students were seated in colonies and worked together to help each other, while also completing their individual task cards that demonstrated comprehension of the geography, government timeline and the different acts that were protested. Posters were around the room reminding the students of the Acts of the American Revolution that they had already studied, including the Sugar Act, the Tea Act, the Stamp Act and the Townshend Act.

“By the end of the day, I wanted the students to understand how the colonists felt and why they desperately wanted independence from England,” Mrs. Boyle said. “Not only did they understand our American history better, but they increased their reading skills, comprehension, inferencing, and map skills.  When students practice all of those skills, understand history, and participate in something they won’t ever forget, it is a big win for this teacher!”

Oak Hills JH students honor their custodial staff for Custodian Appreciation Day

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Counselors at Oak Hills JH visited classrooms this week to discuss the very important topic of respect. The discussion covered respect for their school, each other, and themselves.

With October 2nd being National Custodian’s Day, the counselors developed an action plan for students to show their respect and appreciation for the very people that work hard every single day to keep their campus beautiful, clean, and safe. The students were asked to each write a note of thanks to their custodians, and if possible, donate $1 to give them to show how much we love and appreciate them.

The students of Oak Hills came through, and in a big way! The campus currently has 1,153 students and collectively, they donated $1,155!! The notes of thanks and monetary gifts were presented to them in the Oak Hills Library on Friday, with staff and students there to celebrate them. 

Montgomery JH expands #BearsDontHate initiative into new school year with Student Heritage studies

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Establishing and growing strong campus culture is a task at Montgomery JH that Principal Angie Chapman finds very important. During the 2020-2021 school year, the campus took ownership of the #BearsDontHate motto and this year the campus theme follows that initiative with the slogan, “Together everyone achieves more.”

Throughout the school year, Montgomery JH staff from every department will be coordinating together to teach culture lessons, highlighting the uniqueness of each heritage and how together, we really can achieve more. To start the year, students in grades 6 through 8 have performed a heritage study on their own family’s history and each Social Studies class is dotting a world map to show that representation and answer the question, “Where is MJH from?”

“This is the first application to an entire school year’s worth of Heritage study,” eighth grade Social Studies teacher and Student Council Sponsor Pegi Morgan said. “We started in August with ‘Bears come in all shapes, sizes and abilities’ and after we complete our Culture and Heritage Mapping, each month will highlight one heritage through cross-curricular activities and discussions.”

“Our students learning about their family’s heritage and culture is so important to campus unity,” 7th grade Social Studies teacher Allison Mittag said. “I really enjoy seeing how they take pride in what they learn about their family and understanding that we aren’t really all just ‘from Texas’ or ‘American’. Learning how to own their history and learning about the heritage of their classmates helps them show respect to others.”

In October Hispanic Heritage will be studied through Mrs. Ladd’s Spanish classes creating a Hispanic Wax Museum offering representation from all departments, including historical Hispanic figures from social studies, the arts, literature and more.

“It’s about developing a culture of respect on our entire campus,” 6th grade Social Studies teacher Phyliss Teasdale said. “They are learning that we are all unique and our heritage is the history that creates all of us.”

Campus “Hustle Projects” continue to be completed with support of local businesses

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Montgomery ISD continues to be so very thankful for the commitment our local business partners have to supporting the students and staff in our district!

In April 2021, the Montgomery ISD Education Foundation hosted the first Together We Grow Community Fundraiser and presented each campus with the opportunity to win a campus grant to pay for a “hustle project” of the principal’s choice. A fun competition took place between the campuses selling hustle tickets to their campus families and community members in order to have their campus’ hustle project funded.

Oak Hills JH and Lone Star ES were the two grant winners at the event, earning grants from the Montgomery ISD Education Foundation to fund an outdoor learning space (OHJH) and a book vending machine (LSE). After attending the event and seeing each campus’ wish, local Montgomery businesses began to work with the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce to help fund the wishes of other campuses. Six of the eight other hustle projects have been completed or funded by local area businesses.

A delivery of gravel to the garden at Stewart Creek ES happened over the summer, thanks to a generous donation of labor and supply from Hauser Land Services.

In August, Keenan ES and Montgomery ES both received donations for their hustle project wish. Woodmen Life Insurance donated beautiful benches for the garden at Keenan ES and Coco Phillips and Pat Prein with Coffee News gave a financial donation for a book vending machine at Montgomery ES.

This month two more campus hustle projects were completed at both Lake Creek HS and Lincoln ES. Dan and Debby Dykes of Network in Action donated a sonic-style ice machine to the faculty and staff of Lake Creek HS and Dr. Mariana Coconu of Lakeside Dental Practice donated money for the purchase of water bottle refilling stations around campus at Lincoln ES.

Montgomery JH has received a donation from Pam Westlake Realty to provide new computers for the students use and that photo will be shared when the computers arrive on campus.

Montgomery ISD wants to thank the Montgomery ISD Education Foundation for the start of the hustle project idea, as well as the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce for connecting our business partners with our schools and helping to get these gifts for our students and staff. Montgomery ISD is on #onepathtogether with our community partners!

Lincoln ES kicks off Bear-ista delivery service for 2021-22 school year

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Ms. Cole and Ms. Kraus’ life skills and functional academics students are making Fridays fabulous at Lincoln ES. Students collect orders for beverages and homemade cookies and deliver to the teachers one Friday per month. For the first Bear-ista delivery this school year, one generous teacher purchased a cookie for every staff member, giving the students even more opportunities to make deliveries and bring a smile to all.

“The Bear-ista program offers many learning opportunities and different ways for kids who may learn differently to shine,” teacher Julia Cole said. “This program allows every student to participate and practice essential social skills while giving more opportunities for growth within the school community, which encourages self-motivation and involvement with peers.”

Wearing their aprons made by Ms. Cole herself, the students were very proud to walk with their peers and make these deliveries. Each item was $1 and students worked to tell the teacher their total, accept their money and make change when needed.

“At Lincoln, we are excited to provide this opportunity for our students to practice financial literacy through real-world experiences,” Lincoln ES Principal Kerri Ashlock said. “Bringing activities like our Bear-ista cart into the school setting motivates our students and provides practical, cognitive, and self-management skills that will extend beyond our students’ time at Lincoln ES.”

As the students are able to make a profit with this program, they hope to use the income to purchase more cooking equipment to help their students learn many valuable life skills, while incorporating academic skills at the same time. The equipment purchased would not just serve the Bear-ista, but would become an integral part of their daily educational program.

Montgomery ES Bodacious Bearcat Awards

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Each month, Montgomery ES recognizes students that show amazing Bearcat P.R.I.D.E. on a daily basis. Teachers look to recognize kids that show Purpose, Respect, Integrity, Determination and Excellence. One Bearcat is chosen from each class to represent their peers as the Bodacious Bearcat! Here are some of the September award winners.

Way to go Bearcats!

Montgomery Madrigals Selected as National Winners in Annual Competition

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Montgomery HS named a National Winner in the Mark of Excellence National Choral Honors Project

Montgomery High School Madrigals Choir Program students and Director Heather Orr have once again been recognized on a national level. The Foundation for Music Education announced the results of its Mark of Excellence National Choral Honors Project last week and the Montgomery Madrigals were selected as a National Winner.

Montgomery ISD Superintendent Dr. Heath Morrison visited the Madrigals during their practice on Friday, Sept. 17 to inform them of their award, congratulating them on this remarkable achievement.

 “I am humbled and honored that our Montgomery HS Madrigal choir students have earned this National honor,” MHS Choir Director Heather Orr said. “I am beyond proud of their grit and passion. They gave a stunning performance and one that they will remember for a lifetime.”

The Mark of Excellence is a competition, entered by recordings, in which the top quarter are selected as National Winners and the second quarter receive Commended Honors. This year 236 of the finest musical ensembles in the nation entered the competition, with entries coming from 38 different states.

“Despite the many COVID-19 restrictions, so many musical ensembles still made amazing musical performances,” Managing Director of the Foundation for Music Education Rick Yancey said. “These directors and their communities should be very proud of their outstanding accomplishment!”

This is Heather Orr’s 21st year as choir director at Montgomery HS. Choirs under Orr’s direction consistently earn Sweepstakes at UIL Competitions and have been recognized with First Divisions and Best in Class awards at several festivals. MHS choirs have been selected for seven Convention performances and the Texas Music Educators Association Convention has featured the Chorale Women in 2018, 2010, and 2005. In addition, they have performed at the National ACDA Conferences in 2021 and in 2011, as well as the SWACDA Divisional Conference in 2018. In 2022, the Madrigals will present their first Convention invited choir performance in Little Rock, AR.

“We share this recognition with our amazing elementary music teachers, first class junior high choir directors, and our incredible administrative support,” Orr said. “Our kids can reach amazing heights due to their musical foundation and the encouragement and support of the arts from our district.”