The mission of TIBS is to advocate for access to an IB education for all and provide support to IB World Schools through professional development, curriculum planning, program implementation, and scholarship programs.

Dear TIBS Community,

Welcome to the 2024 Spring eNewsletter.

We are hoping that the 2023-2024 school year has been a good one for you. While we see in the news that lack of state funding is causing shortages in many school districts at this time, at TIBS we always know that administrators and teachers in our IB schools press on and go beyond reasonable expectations on behalf of the students. We will highlight some of those great achievements in this newsletter.

Thanks so much to those of you who responded to our request for articles. We were impressed with the things you had to share. We will also share some reflection and information on our college fair, including the date of our 2025 fair.



This edition brings an interesting array of information to your inbox. It is always our hope that sharing accomplishments and good things that have happened will either inspire you or confirm that you, too, are doing good things. Please let us know what other kinds of items you would like to see in this eNewsletter in the future.

We are grateful for your continued support and truly appreciate your inspiring community and classroom work. Don't forget to keep us updated with your stories, photos, and videos! We can't wait to see them this fall.



Best regards, 

Karen Phillips, TIBS Executive Director

Courtney Smith, TIBS Associate Executive Director

• Scholarship Winners
• Grant Winners
• What We've Been Up To/ What's Coming Up
• Recently Authorized Schools
• Global Conference
• 2024 College Fair Report
• We Help Two Project
• Summer Training
• Highlights from our Schools
• Announcements
• Contact Us

TIBS DP Scholarship Winners:

• Joy Fayrweather (Magnolia High School)
• Garima Gupta (Plano East Senior High School)
• Michael Hamad (MB Lamar High School—Houston)
• Zaara Mohammed (Imagine International Academy of North Texas)
• Anh Ton (Chavez High School)
• Xuan An Vo (Garland High School)

TIBS Innovative Grant Winners



• Rachel Beavers (Windsor Park Elementary): Global Problem Solving MakerSpace
• Jessica Contreras (Imagine International Academy of North Texas): Fantasy Podcasts
• Nicole McCray, Ashley Turner, & Markesha Stennis (Shotwell Middle School): Exploring American History: A Field Trip to Washington, D.C.
• Sharon Sheguit, Scott Nowack, & Sarah Sherrill (Meridian School): Wood Shop for a Cause
• Sally Woolweaver (Lamar High School—Houston): Pi-Based Automated Waffle: System (PAWS)
• Wendy O'Hearn (Denton High School): Summer Language Immersion
• Dusty Vincer (Plano East Senior High School): Trinity Audubon Center

TIBS Roundtable Grant Winners



• Leah Lieurance, Kimberly Ogo, & Charles Ryder (Meridian School): Central Texas Continuum Roundtable
• Veronika Mendoza & Cari Richter (Harris Middle School & Briscoe Elementary): South Central Texas PYP & MYP Roundtable
• Karen Stanton (Plano East Senior High School): North Texas DP Roundtable

What We’ve Been Up To:

TIBS Spring Meeting—Virtual (March 1)

TAGT Leadership Conference—Houston (March 24-26)

TIBS College Fair—Hurst (April 2)

What’s Coming Up:

Leadership Training, Longview ISD--June 3 & 4

Administrator Training, Dallas ISD--June 4

ATL Student Bootcamp, Harry Stone Academy, Dallas ISD--June 5 & 6

TAGT Gifted + Equity Conference, Baylor University--June 9-11

DFW Area Workshop--June 12 & 13

Longview Area Workshop--June 24 & 25

MYP Workshop, Crockett MS, Ector County ISD, Odessa--July 15 & 16

IB Regional Associations Meeting, Washington, D. C.--July 23 & 24

IB Global Conference, Washington, D.C. (Booth & Presentations)--July 25-28

Austin Workshops--July 22-24 & 25-27 (Register here )

Houston Area Workshops--July 30 & 31

PYP Workshop, Cullen Elementary, Hays CISD, Kyle--August 5 & 6

IB Workshop Provider Meeting, Atlanta--September 29-October 1

TCIS/TIBS Conference, San Antonio ISD (Open to all IB Schools)--October 11

TIBS Fall Coordinator/Administrator Meeting, Austin--Oct./Nov. TBA

TEDx Talks, Cisneros Leadership School for Boys, Edgewood ISD, San

Antonio, (Open to all Texas IB Schools)--November 2

SUMMER TRAINING 2024

The Texas IB Schools staff will be busy this summer, as we are offering several trainings.

Here is where and when our trainings will be in the summer of 2023:

DFW Area: June 12-13

Longview Area: June 24-25

Austin: July 22-24 & 25-27

Houston Area: July 30-31

Registration for the two Austin workshops is on our website. Registration for the area workshops is handled through campus IB Coordinators.

Our thanks to Courtney Smith for the wonderful job she does organizing so many trainings each summer.

We hope to see many of you during the summer at one of our trainings.

Congratulations to our newly authorized schools in Texas! 

We are very proud of all of your hard work. If you are not on this list and have been authorized, please let us know.

• Hector P. Garcia Middle School (MYP)--Dallas
• John F. Peeler Elementary (PYP)--Dallas
• Longview High School (CP)--Longview
• McNeil High School (DP)--Austin
• Memorial Elementary (PYP)--Houston

Christin Key (Austin)—DP

Te T’aime Burks-Green (Ft. Worth)—DP

Jennifer Love (San Antonio)—MYP

Sharnell Nelms (Houston)—MYP

Elizabeth Hall (Round Rock)—PYP

Ashley Swindle (Austin)—PYP



Seby Meloni (Houston)—At Large

Anthony Watson (Round Rock)—At Large

TBA—At Large



Welcome to our new board members. Thanks to those of you who continue to serve and to those who have recently ended your service on the board. We are grateful to all of you.

Inspiring Learners, Realizing Potential



District of Columbia, July 25-28, 2024

This conference will offer a lineup of award-winning speakers, networking opportunities, and over 100 curated breakout sessions. It will offer the opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals and stay ahead of the curve with the latest developments in IB education.

Students are the centre of the IB mission to create a better and more peaceful world through education. Strong pedagogical leadership and a curriculum to enliven youth inquiry and action equips us as an ecosystem of educators to maximize the potential of every young person we encounter. 

Here is the link to registration and program information for the conference. We hope to see many of you in DC.

Hutchinson Middle School

Sells Lots of Socks

Hutchinson Middle School students supported by We Help Two, raised over $3,400! Students purchased socks to attend the SOCK HOP Dance. Students were excited to be able to serve their global community in partnership with We Help Two to provide a water well for Rwanda, Africa! Way to go Rangers!

Thank you, Trevor Bergman, for always reminding us that a group of people working together can change peoples' lives. If you are looking for service projects for your students, Trevor is a great resource. https://www.wehelptwo.com/

Ware East Texas Montessori Academy Black History Month Celebration

Black History Month was created to focus attention on the contributions of African Americans to the United States. It honors all Black people from all periods of U.S. history, from the enslaved people first brought over from Africa in the early 17th century to African Americans living in the United States today.

Black History Month is a time for us to reflect on the tremendous social and political change that occurred from the early Republic to the Civil War, through the rise of industry, the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance, the post-war years, the Civil Rights movement to present day questions of personal identity and racism.

Ware East Texas Montessori Academy's theme this year was Black to the Future. Our school was turned into a museum that displayed and reflected our history through art, dance and food. Our students performed the play Harriet Tubman, Take My Hand and Follow Me. The students showed their research skills to create their scripts and become people that demanded to be free from slavery in the 1700’s.

Submitted by Faith Newhouse-Green, Head of School, Ware East Texas Montessori Academy, Longview ISD

MYP Student's Personal Project Impacts Local Community that Spreads Citywide to National 

Recognition!

Abigail Villareal, a current senior at Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio, organized a spirit day for Rare Disease Day for her personal project when she was a sophomore. Rare Disease Day is an international event to raise awareness for individuals affected by rare diseases and disorders. As a senior, she co-hosted the spirit day with Emerie Lerma, a DP senior completing her CAS project. They asked everyone to wear jeans for genes and stripes to represent the mascot of the rare disease community, the zebra, or to wear the colors of Rare Disease Day, pink, green, blue, or purple.

Abigail not only got the whole school involved to dress in jeans & stripes or colors but also got the surrounding neighborhood to 'light up' with colored bulbs (letter attached). Then she reached out to San Antonio landmarks and businesses asking if they would illuminate their buildings in pink, green, blue and purple to support families affected by rare diseases. Thanks to Abigail’s efforts, The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio and other major downtown buildings now illuminate in these colors annually for Rare Disease Awareness Day.

This year Abigail was then asked to interview with the NATIONAL ORGANIZATION of RARE DISEASES (NORD) to bring her efforts to "light."

She was HIGHLIGHTED in the NORD (National Organization of Rare Diseases) Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C4OaP3cO5dP/?igsh=MTk0MHU5OGN4Mndx

Submitted by Jennifer Love, MYP Coordinator, Thomas Jefferson High School,

San Antonio ISD

Community Service Projects at Hutchinson Middle School

Eighth-grade students presented their IB Community Projects on January 24th. It was a remarkable evening with over 200 students presenting 140 diverse projects. Even though students were assigned mentors for the project, these projects were self-directed and self-managed with each student investing over 15 hours of independent investigating, planning, action, and reflection. Our students truly live our mission of contributing positively to the global community through participation in community service. 

Parents, teachers, and community members who attended were thoroughly impressed, listening to presentations, engaging with our students in thoughtful questioning and offering valuable feedback. As we reflect on the success of the Community Project Night, we are filled with pride and hope. These projects are not just an academic exercise and requirement, but they are a stepping stone toward developing responsible, aware, and proactive citizens. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated and supported this event. 

Hutchinson Middle School is very proud of all its students but wanted to share the coverage LISD-TV provided of Kiran, Walter and Levi on their 2024 Community Project. Their collective effort transformed this project from an IB requirement into an impactful community resource. Their talent, work ethic, and commitment to service came together to make a difference. We are inspired to continue to serve our community and can't wait to see what Kiran, Walter and Levi do next! 

Watch video at

https://lubbockisdtx.new.swagit.com/videos/296338

Submitted by Toby Klameth, MYP Coordinator, Hutchinson Middle School, Lubbock ISD

Communicating

Core at the British International School

For students, non-contact programmes like the EE and CAS can easily get sidelined in a full-on IB schedule. One of the most pervasive pieces of feedback we get from students, and parents, is that they often lose track of how far along they should be with the EE and CAS. Combine this with an initiative to raise the profile of Core, celebrate students’ successes and opportunities, and to get everyone thinking about ToK outside the classroom, we’ve come to a natural conclusion…

Introducing the Core Newsletter, a fortnightly double side sent to all IBDP students, parents, and advisors! Through this communication, we are hoping to empower our community to better manage their Core workload, and start to make links between their ToK lessons and their everyday experiences. It’s still early days, but we are already beginning to see an impact. William, year 12, shared, “The newsletter is genuinely useful. The examples in it are helping me think outside the box about things I normally wouldn’t be interested in. I’m pretty organised, but having the countdown to the deadlines makes them feel much more real, if a little scary!”

Submitted by Jack Bryan, DP Core Coordinator,

British International School of Houston

Submitted by Faith Newhouse-Green, Head of School, Ware East Texas Montessori Academy, Longview ISD

Ware East Texas Montessori Academy Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month is an exciting and festive time at Ware East Texas Montessori Academy to celebrate “Who We Are." Ware is a diverse, multicultural campus that values our diversity. From music and traditional costumes to student podcasts and parent involvement, our community is

immersed in a Hispanic cultural experience. The community is invited to

participate in the closing activity.

Some of the community members involved are the district communication specialist, KLTV, LISD Media, Young Audiences arts for Learning North East Texas, Que Chevere Food Truck, Bombongo Candy Store, and Matamoros Restaurant. The last mentioned are some of our family-owned businesses, and it is an opportunity to support their food businesses. Most importantly, students actively participate in creating podcasts about Hispanic culture, language, and world news. The school music teacher prepares a musical with Spanish songs, and all students proudly participate.

.

The annual Ware East Texas Montessori Exhibition of handcrafts from Hispanic countries gives students of different backgrounds the opportunity to learn more about this culture. Throughout the exhibition of the artifacts and a video, students are exposed to the manufacturing process and the economic importance of the handcrafts for some communities. They also understand the heritage and the history behind these activities.

This exposition is presented every year thanks to the enthusiastic participation of the Hispanic students' parents who let us exhibit objects that are part or their treasures. This exhibition is visited by all students, their parents, and some members of our community mainly during the closure of the Hispanic Heritage Month.

Lamar High School Hosts IB Showcase

Lamar freshmen and sophomores attended our second annual IB Showcase on April 17th. Students from our MYP, CP, and DP presented outstanding projects that were created through their program. This gave our freshmen and sophomores the opportunity to learn more about the IB Programme they will choose to participate in during 11th and 12th grades. Pictured are Visual Arts students displaying recent art work. Also, pictured are Lamar students playing games created by DP Computer Science students. Our Writing Lab peer mentors shared how students can use the Writing Lab as a resource for Internal Assessments, Extended Essays, Reflective Projects, and Personal Projects. Science students shared a recent class project, and IB ambassadors were available to unpack the Core for interested students.

Submitted by Suzanne Acord,

DP Coordinator/Instructional Dean, Lamar High School, Houston ISD

Windsor Park Students Learn About Activism

During their Who We Are Unit of Inquiry, fifth-grade students at Corpus Christi ISD’s Windsor Park Elementary conducted an inquiry into how human actions are shaped by beliefs and values with a focus on the impact of activists on local and world events. They learned that activism comes in various forms, but that activism is always motivated by what people believe in and what they value most as individuals. The fifth graders inquired into international youth activists such as climate activist Greta Thunberg, Marley Dias who began a campaign to collect 1,000 books with black girl main characters, environmental activist Licypriya Devi Kangujam, and many more.

During this unit of inquiry, the students also created posters depicting themselves as activists for a cause of interest to them, with issues ranging from gender equality to water scarcity. Local youth climate activist, TEDx speaker, and co-founder of the Gulf of Mexico Youth Climate Summit, Maggie Peacock, spoke with the fifth graders about her own experiences as a youth activist beginning at age 10. Students learned that her love of animals and concern over oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico as a child led to her work as a community organizer today.

Her message inspired the students to take action by creating posters and t-shirts with Earth Day slogans and images to share with our school and neighborhood community during an Earth Day Celebration Parade on April 22, 2024. As the students held up their Earth Day posters in front of our campus, passersby honked their horns in support of our students’ messages calling for the protection of our most-valuable asset, Planet Earth.

A Windsor Park fifth grader summed up the experience perfectly by saying, “I believe that the parade inspired change in the younger generation and the people in the neighborhood by them seeing our efforts to make our world a better place.”

Submitted by Rachel Beavers, PYP Coordinator, Windsor Park Elementary School, Corpus Christi ISD

Ware East Texas Montessori PE Club

As an IB World School, this club is a service organization with the main goals of helping those in need and helping our community strive for excellence. The projects that we have accomplished this year are feeding the homeless, separating toys for needy families, collecting spices to help Highway 80 Rescue Mission cook Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, adopting 3 students at Ware ETMA for Christmas and giving them their Christmas wish list, uploading a monthly newsletter with all the activities that are going on at school, writing condolence cards for staff that are grieving, making several videos for Longview community members that are celebrating an award or accomplishments, adopting 2 local streets to keep clean, participating in Keep Longview Beautiful Project, making our school board members baskets for school board appreciation week, participating in the Longview Christmas parade, giving treats to the best character costumes for Halloween, giving breast cancer pins to all staff members here at school for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, playIng bingo and doing activities with one of our local retirement homes (Arabella), and recycling once a week at our school, collecting recyclable papers from teachers. Students and staff embody the Learner Profile attributes to promote engagement within our learning community.

Submitted by Faith Newhouse-Green, Head of School, Ware East Texas Montessori Academy, Longview ISD

Happenings at Magellan International School

Engaging with our community and making a positive impact lies at the heart of an IB education. At Magellan International School, our students embody this ethos by delving deep into subjects and sharing their findings with parents, peers, and the wider community. Through immersive exploration of units of inquiry, our students not only become adept at public speaking but also cultivate a passion for learning that extends far beyond the classroom. The Magellan International School is an authorized IB World School serving students from PP3 (3 year-olds) through 8th grade and expanding into high school next year, eventually ending with the Diploma Program.

IB PYP learning fosters a transdisciplinary approach, encouraging students to explore topics that resonate with them personally or hold significant societal importance. From the Early Years Unit of Inquiry presentations to the challenging 5th-grade PYP Exhibition and the culminating 8th- grade community project, our students embark on a journey of discovery that shapes their understanding of the world.

Action is our main goal at Magellan because we believe that taking action is the result of learning. Our students develop International mindedness when they understand the world and think of different ways to make our community a better place to live.

Our PYPX goal is to help students show their understanding on the issues they explored promoting one or more of the 5 categories of action: Participation, Advocacy, Social Justice, Social Entrepreneurship and Lifestyle Choices. Last year’s exhibition's transdisciplinary theme is “Sharing the planet” and the students' actions were guided towards participation and lifestyle choices. They were promoting planting local flowers and plants that help hummingbirds, monarch butterflies and bats to eat and rest while they were migrating and passing through Austin. They were giving parents and students milkweed seeds to plant in their own gardens as well. This garden was made by the 5th-graders with the participation of Kindergarteners.

Upper elementary and middle school students were recently treated to a presentation by Yemi AD, an amazing dance artist and future astronaut chosen to be part of the DearMoon mission to the moon. This initiative, funded by a wealthy Japanese businessman, selected eight people from disparate walks of life to take a six-day trip around the moon via a SpaceX rocket in hopes of encouraging space tourism. His visit to Magellan International School inspired all of the kids through a combination of movement, dance, and purpose to achieve their own #moonshots.

This year, our 8th-grade MYP students have chosen to study some interesting topics for their Community Projects. (See attachment for a list of sample community project topics.) They ultimately strive to inform the community about the problem they addressed, their actions, and the products they created through personal initiative. One example is the wildlife sanctuary that a student created by constructing birdhouses and flower boxes from scratch and placing them around the Bull Creek campus. Her work even garnered a Certified Schoolyard Habitat certificate from the National Wildlife Federation.

  

Another great project is the website created by the group studying Feline Leukemia that has excellent videos and information for animal lovers on this heartbreaking disease. Part of their project included volunteering at @AustinPetsAlive! and even fostering a Siamese cat named Missy Kissy

https://www.felv.net/our-work

Projects were presented to the community the evening of Tuesday, April 30. As a new and growing school, Magellan students have accomplished a number of notable achievements:

After successfully participating in the SICMUN Model UN at Southwestern University, Ms Claudia Enriquez will travel with them to Dallas in early May to participate in a longer version. The archery team recently traveled to Utah to compete in the National Archery Competition. Although they did not win, they had a respectable showing and look to grow the team for next year. We are very proud of our students!

Submitted by Tania Doro, PYP Coordinator, and Jennifer Barnett, MYP Coordinator, Magellan International School, Austin

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Registration for the TIBS Austin workshops (Session 1 and 2) is here. Remember: the IB organization and Kent State University have partnered to offer graduate credit for PYP, MYP, and DP training. Click here to find out more!
• College Fair 2025 is scheduled for April 3rd, 2025, Hurst Conference Center.

w.texasibschools.org

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