Above the Bilingual/ESL Department surprised Ms. Fabiola Avena, Bilingual/ESL kindergarten teacher at Hopper Primary.

Ms. Avena was the winner of the district HAABE (Houston Area Association for Bilingual/ESL Education) elementary

bilingual teacher of the year competition. More information on the HAABE district and campus Bilingual/ESL teachers of

the year competition on pages 2-4.

Congratulations Bilingual and ESL

Teachers of the Year !

Message from the Director

of Bilingual/ESL Education

Issue # 3, March 2015

April 16th Bilingual/ESL PLC at Travis

Elementary 4:00- 5:00 p.m. We will

recognize all bilingual and ESL HAABE

campus teachers of the year.

April 1st-May 23rd PK-12th OLPT testing

window.

Save the Dates:

Dear Administrators and Teachers:

Welcome to the third issue of the Bilingual/ESL

department E-newsletter. March has been a short, but

eventful month.

As our bilingual/ESL team visits campuses, we continue

to notice the outstanding tasks students are engaged in.

This month’s newsletter showcases the winners of the

campus and district HAABE (Houston Area Association

for Bilingual Education) bilingual/ESL teacher of the

year competition. Congratulations to all of you!

We are excited about the cadres of bilingual/ESL

teachers who are working to create the curriculum scope

and sequence for Spanish Language Arts and English as

a Second Language.

Thank you to the principals for sharing pictures of best

practices they observe in the classrooms.

Pilar Moreno-Recio

Bilingual/ESL Department E-Newsletter

Teachers,

Thank you for all

you do for our

ELLs!!

Bilingual/ESL Department E-Newsletter

2

Secondary

Campus TEACHER

GCM Lesley Crawford-10th

Sterling Natalie Heckman,-9th-

12th

LEE Kayla Logan-10th

Highlands

Jr. Nancy Bonds-6th

Cedar

Bayou Anissa Cantin-8th

Gentry Angela Putnam-7th

Baytown

Jr.

Emilee Morales-6th,

7th, 8th

Horace

Mann Kaley Jagnanan-6th

Elementary

Campus Teacher

Bañuelos Christopher Padron-5th

Harlem Sandra Lewis-5th

Highlands

Elem. Myrna DeAvila 4th

Hopper Fabiola Avena-K

Victoria

Walker Violeta Hernandez-3rd

Bowie Tania Reinecke-K

Crockett Sonia Ojeda-3rd

DeZavala Cynthia Chavez-3rd

Angela Arabie-ESL

Alamo Mariana Bailey-4th

Austin Sobeida Rodriguez-2nd

Clark Maria De Leon-PK

San Jacinto Soledad Hardin C.-2nd

Travis Perla Reyes-K

Kristi Warren- ESL

Ashbel Smith Maria Fierro-1st

Lamar Blanca Valerio-3rd

Carver Ana Garcia-2nd

Gold Medals

to all Campus

Bilingual/ESL

Teachers of

the Year

Pilar Moreno-Recio, Director of Bilingual/ESL Education; Ginger McKay, Director of Federal

Programs; Jazhel Méndez, Bilingual Elementary Specialists; Leslie Ramírez, ESL Secondary Specialist met to review and rate campus bilingual/ESL teachers of the year portfolios.

DISTRICT HAABE

ESL SECONDARY TEACHER

OF THE YEAR

Ms. NaTALIA HECKMAN

ESL ELAR TeaCHER

Ross Sterling high school

“As a secondary ESL teacher, I am responsible for developing my students’ language skills in all domains: reading, writing, speaking, and listening… I always consider the needs of my students when I build my lessons.

Working with students of different levels and needs made it clear that planning has to be done with the end result in mind… I believe that with proper instruction and commitment to success, no goal is unreachable. I believe

perseverance and persistence are the necessary qualities for learning and teaching…When the students may feel overwhelmed and ready to give up, my job is to make them see the light at the end of the tunnel…Being mindful of the

students’ proficiency levels and backgrounds prevents stress

for both the student and the teacher and lowers “the affective filter”, another crucial concept in teaching ELLs. Having realistic expectations and adjusting the teaching style to the students’ mode of learning creates a climate of

understanding.”

Natalia Heckman Goose Creek CISD ESL Secondary Teacher of the Year

Above, the Bilingual/ESL Department Team at the surprise bash for Natalia Heckman. ESL Secondary Teacher of the Year. The Bilingual/ESL Department team presented Ms. Heckman with a certificate and a bouquet of flowers. Thank you Ms. Julie Mcreynolds, Sterling High School Dean of Instruction for your support.

Thank you to Black Orchid Flower Shop for the beautiful bouquets of

flowers donated for our district Bilingual Elementary and ESL

Secondary Teachers of the Year!

4

DISTRICT HAABE

ELEMENTARY BILINGUAL

TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Ms. FABIOLA AVENA

Bilingual kINDERGARTEN TEACHER

HOPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL

Ms. Pilar Morenor-Recio, Director of Bilingual/ESL Education, providing

Ms. Avena with a certificate and a bouquet of flowers. Congratulations Ms.

Avena! Thank you Ms. Beatrice Baca, principal at Hopper Primary School for

your support.

“As a teacher, I participate every day in the creation

and preparation of a group of individuals that will give

back to our community, and in the near future, back to

our country. As a bilingual teacher, I believe every child

has the potential to learn, the right to explore, the right

to dream and reach their goals…As an educator, I have

to constantly remind my students to keep two words out

of their vocabulary and most important out of their

minds, “I cannot”. I want them to learn to be stronger

and to keep on trying until they reach their goal.”

Fabiola Avena, GCCISD Bilingual Teacher of the Year

5

Bilingual/ESL Teachers

Curriculum Cadres

Jessica Amezcua Gallegos Lilia Vasquez Blanca Valerio

Wendy Madrid Adriana Cortez Maricruz Rodríguez

Zenteno

Esmeralda Cantu Fabiola Avena Adelaida Gonzalez Myrna DeAvila

Perla Reyes Claudia Ovalle Orlando Arellano

Maria Reyna Norma Dominguez Coral De Alba Helen Beltrán Chica

Jessica Hernandez Martha Pacheco Kimberly Velasquez

Zulay Trujillo Gabriela Llamas Araceli Garcia

Kimberly Velasquez

Araceli Garcia

Thank you curriculum writers for helping build the Spanish Language Arts and the ESL scope and sequence for the district. Your commitment and work is appreciated!

6

.

Ms. Hernandez, Prek bilingual teacher at Banuelos

Ms. Vega’s classrooM at alaMo

elementary uses hands-on learning.

STUDENTS applY adjectives to a

“winter” actiVity.

Mr. Ojeda’s bilingual class at Austin Elementary

uses hands-on learning during language arts.

Students sort simple and compound sentences and

then get to create their own sentences.

At Austin Elementary, Ms. Arellano’s

bilingual class recognizes the importance

of using anchor charts to remind students of learning.

At Bowie Elementary, Bilingual PPCD

teacher, Eva Gonzalez, along with one of

her students enjoy the promethean

board. She is utilizing the Unique

Learning Systems that our special

education department provided.

At Victoria Walker the Extraordinary Explainers Wall located in the school main entrance is a

testimony to the importance of writing. Students have to explain what they write and get to

display their work at the school main entrance. Work is changed regularly to allow different

students to show and explain what they write.