Inventing for the Future

Brownsville ISD hosted the annual Brainsville Inventions Competition on Saturday, November 16 at Oliveira Middle School. Over 200 students participated in the event. View the article that ran in The Brownsville Herald on Sunday, November 17. View the lists of winners and judges.

STAMP Taking Applications for Next Year

The Science Technology, Architecture, and Medical Professions (STAMP) College Preparatory Program at Veterans Memorial High School is currently taking applications for the 2014-2015 school year. The first round application deadline is Thursday, December 19. The second round deadline is Friday, February 21. Click here to view the program’s website.

Young Scientists at Work

The annual BISD Elementary Science Fair was held on Saturday, November 9 at four different middle schools, Faulk, Manzano, Stillman and Vela. Over 480 science fair projects were entered into this year’s competition. Special thanks to the hosting schools and the over 100 judges who assisted. View the list of 1st place winners and the science fair judges.

BISD Mobile Website

Brownsville ISD has a mobile-sized version of the district’s website designed especially for access with today’s smart phones. It features the most popular content on the district’s website. Students, parents, employees, and community members can stay up to date with the latest district news and information anywhere, anytime. To access the mobile site, simply navigate your phone to the district’s website address, www.bisd.us, and you will be automatically redirected to the mobile website. You may also go to google.com or another internet search engine and search for Brownsville ISD. Give it a try and don’t forget to save the district’s new mobile site to your list of favorites.

On a Roll

BISD choir students won more than 50% of the available chairs in the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Region and Pre-Area competition held on Saturday, November 9 at Porter High School. In addition, BISD students won more than 50% of the highly competitive and coveted first chairs. The Pre-Area students will now advance to Area Audition in Rockport-Fulton on January 11. All the students who auditioned this past weekend will participate in the TMEA District and Region Choir Concert on Saturday, November 16 at 6 pm in the new Harlingen CISD Performing Arts Center located at 3217 W. Wilson Road. The concert is free and open to the public.

Making Music

The 8th Annual BISD Estudiantina Contest was held on Wednesday, November 6 in the CAB auditorium. All six BISD high school estudiantinas gave strong performances with Hanna, Lopez, Rivera and Veterans Memorial earning Superior ratings. The Pace and Porter Estudiantinas earned Excellent ratings. The judges selected the Veterans Memorial High School group as the overall Grand Champion and awarded the school the Maria Aurora Arrese Memorial Trophy for 2013. This trophy is presented each year in tribute to Arrese who pioneered the Estudiantina Program in BISD. She began the program after school at Pace High School while she worked as a piano accompanist for the choral program. Today, over 1,000 BISD high school students participate in district estudiantinas. Congratulations to the students, teachers, and parents on their outstanding performances at the annual district competition.

BISD Administrator Featured on Local Program

Gracie Luna, the assistant principal at Paredes Elementary School, was the subject of a Con Mi Gente story which aired this week on KRGV TV. View the program.

Foundation Gifts Faulk Middle School

The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation has selected Faulk Middle School to receive a donation of 27 musical instruments valued at $25,685.00 for the 2013-2014 school year. The donation is made possible through generous funding from the NAMM Foundation, an organization dedicated to advocacy efforts that work to keep music education strong. The Faulk Band will receive 3 new trombones, 1 new bari saxophone, 1 new tenor saxophone, 5 new trumpets, 1 new bass clarinet, 7 new clarinets, 6 refurbished clarinets, 2 refurbished flutes, and 1 refurbished alto saxophone. In addition, the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation entered into a Commitment to Music Education Partnership with Brownsville ISD. The essence of this partnership is to work together to support, sustain and enhance music education in Brownsville public schools.

BISD Goes Paperless on Check Stubs in January

The start date has been delayed by a couple of months. Beginning on January 6, 2014, Brownsville ISD will no longer issue check stubs to employees in conjunction with direct deposit on payday. All employees will have access to a computer and printer at their campus or department work locations to view or print their own payroll or benefit information including a check stub from the Employee Online feature located on the BISD homepage. For assistance logging into Employee Online, call the Business Software Help Desk at 698-1254.

Board Approves Amended Calendar

The BISD Board of Trustees approved an amended 2013-2014 instructional calendar at the meeting held on November 5. The district had submitted a request for a waiver day to the Texas Education Agency for the September 16 district closure due to inclement weather. The request was denied. A DEIC calendar committee recommended extending the school year by one more day at the end of the year. The new Board approved calendar reflects the following: •Last day for students will be June 6, 2014 (1/2 day, AM only) instead of June 5, 2014. •Teacher Preparation Day will be June 6, 2014 (1/2 day, PM) and June 7, 2014 (1/2 day, AM) •Graduation ceremonies will begin June 8, 2014 and continue through June 14, 2014. View the amended BISD calendar.

BISD Students Cast Their Votes

On Monday, October 28, children across Brownsville began casting their votes in the 2013 Kids Voting Brownsville (KVB) election. Each year, KVB holds a mock election based on the local, state and/or national elections for that year. By Thursday, October 31, approximately 30,000 Brownsville children, many of them BISD students, had cast their electronic vote at their respective campuses. Students in grades kindergararten-3 voted on items such as their favorite fruit or food. Students in grades 4-12 voted on select propositions that appear on the November 2013 Constitutional Amendment ballot. Voting ended on Friday, November 1 at 4 pm at all campuses. The KVB elections provide a way for young people to become educated in the voting process while learning that local and state elections are just as important as the national ones. View the results by campuses. Elementary | Middle School | High School

Family Assistance

The Buckner Children & Family Services STAR Program provides group skills-based training to children and youth 0-17 years of age and their families that is designed to reduce/prevent runaway problems, truancy and delinquent youth behaviors. The services include screening/intake, crisis prevention, counseling services, skilled-based training presentation, case management, case follow-up, and outreach. Services are free of charge and are provided through home visits, office visits, and school and community visits by professional staff. For more information, call (956) 423-7909, extension 222.

BISD Earns Highest Fiscal Rating

Brownsville ISD officials announced that the school district received the top rating of “Superior Achievement” under the Texas Schools FIRST financial accountability rating system. The Superior Achievement rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of Brownsville ISD’s financial management and reporting system . This is the district’s 11th top rating in the Schools FIRST (Financial Accountability Rating System of Texas), a financial accountability system for Texas school districts developed by the Texas Education Agency in response to Senate Bill 875 of the 76th Texas Legislature in 1999. The primary goal of Schools FIRST is to achieve quality performance in the management of school districts’ financial resources, a goal made more significant due to the complexity of accounting associated with Texas’ school finance system. View the entire release.

Santa is Coming!

Tickets for the nightly performances of Santa & Friends went on sale Friday, November 1 at the Department of Fine Arts located at 708 Palm Boulevard behind the BISD Wellness Center. Evening performances are scheduled on December 3, 4 & 6 at the Central Administrative Building (CAB) auditorium. Tickets are $5 per person and must be paid for in cash. Children 2 years of age and under are free. Everyone is encouraged to purchase their tickets early as seating is limited. Tickets may not be available at the door. This year’s show is “The Magic of Christmas.” Toy donations to the Annual Superintendent’s Holiday Toy Drive are welcome. Call 982-3730 for more information.

Band Students Earn Most Chairs

BISD high school band students earned 17 of the 27 available chairs at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Region 28 Orchestra auditions held on Tuesday, October 29 at Harlingen High School. BISD students also earned 7 of the 12 available first chairs. A total of 12 BISD students will advance to the TMEA area audition to compete for chairs in the All-State Orchestra. The All-Region Orchestra will perform in concert on Saturday, November 23 at the Harlingen CISD Performing Arts Center. Congratulations to our outstanding high school musicians and their directors. View the results by school.

BISD Tops in Vocals

BISD choir students competed in the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Middle School Choir Solo and Ensemble Contest in San Benito, Texas on Saturday, October 26. The BISD students earned more superior ratings than any other school district in the region. Congratulations to our vocal students and their directors. View the results by school.

BISD Students Cast Their Votes

On Monday, October 28, children across Brownsville began casting their votes in the 2013 Kids Voting Brownsville (KVB) election. Each year, KVB holds a mock election based on the local, state and/or national elections for that year. By Thursday, October 31, approximately 30,000 Brownsville children, many of them BISD students, had cast their electronic vote at their respective campuses. Students in grades kindergararten-3 voted on items such as their favorite fruit or food. Students in grades 4-12 voted on select propositions that appear on the November 2013 Constitutional Amendment ballot. Voting ends on Friday, November 1 at 4 pm at all campuses. The KVB elections provide a way for young people to become educated in the voting process while learning that local and state elections are just as important as the national ones.

Public Comment on Porter

The public is invited to comment on the Porter High School Targeted Improvement Plan during a public hearing to be held at the Board Meeting on Tuesday, November 5, 2013 at 5:30 pm in the Brownsville ISD Boardroom located at 1900 Price Road. TEC 39.106 requires a public hearing since Porter High School received an Improvement Required performance rating in the 2013 state accountability system. Click here to view Porter’s Improvement Plan.

Honoring Veterans

Several BISD schools will have students participate in the Annual Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, November 9 at 1 pm. The parade will begin at Porter High School, proceed down Coolidge Street to Southmost Road concluding at Cromack Elementary School which is located at the corner of Southmost Road and 30th Street. The Veterans Day Parade is sponsored by the Southmost Veterans Day Parade Committee and the City of Brownsville to honor the brave men and woman who have served or are serving in the United States armed forces. In case of inclement weather, the parade will be held on Sunday, November 10.