Gator Bytes

Dickinson Independent School District

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Week of November 9, 2015

Gators move into playoffs
7 p.m. Friday against Elsik

With the regular season behind them, the Dickinson High School Gators Varsity Football Team will be entering the playoffs starting this Friday. The Gators earned the home field advantage and will welcome Elsik High School from Alief ISD for the first round of playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday, November 13 in Sam Vitanza Stadium.

Season Ticket Holders: The district is giving current season ticket holders first chance to purchase their current seats. If you are a season ticket holder, you can purchase your same seats from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday, November 9 or 8 a.m.-12 noon Tuesday, November 10 at the Field House. Starting at 12 noon Tuesday, the Field House will start selling all tickets to the public including any unpurchased seats held by season ticket holders during the regular season.

Advance tickets are $8 reserved, $6 general admission and $4 high school students. Ticket prices at the gate are $10 reserved and $8 general admission. We are expecting another high attendance and possibly sell-out crowd, so please make sure to purchase your tickets in advance.

McAdams Theatre has top performance at DHS festival

The McAdams Junior High Gator Theatre Club had an outstanding showing earlier this school year when they competed at the Dickinson High School Theatre Festival.

McAdams won the Sportsmanship Trophy, which is given to the school demonstrating the best and most positive behavior at the festival. Out of 33 students participating, 23 received individual 5-Star Trophies, meaning they earned all Superior ratings or four Superior ratings and one Excellent rating.

Students earning a 5-Star Trophy included:

Lara Hedgpeth

Taylor Windham

Schuyler Holman

Payton Hall

Jacki Jacobsen

Valorie Stout

Alonzo Rangel

Chloe Vickers

Christian Long

Thomas Smith

Alicia Segura

Nora Landriault

Skylar Barnes

Christy Mobley

Estrella Mendoza

Christopher Morgan

Brandon Cooper

Annabella Gleeson

Morgan Clark

Jared Wood

Charlotte Correia

Lyric Gonzales

Amber Fields

Schools honor Veteran's Day with
special music performances and events

Hughes Road Elementary students watch a flag folding demonstration earlier this school year
by the Dickinson High School JROTC.

From patriotic sing-alongs and programs, special guest speakers and writing cards to veterans, Dickinson ISD students will have a variety of ways on Veteran's Day to honor the sacrifices made by the men and women serving our country in the armed forces. For many of the students, these individuals are near and dear to them, including their parents, grandparents or other close family or friends who have served or are serving in the military and will join the students to be recognized at campus programs.

Dickinson High School is planning a Veteran's Day program on Tuesday, Nov. 10 in the DHS Auditorium. The event will include presentations by the DHS Choir, Band, Diamonds Dance Team and the Theatre Department. The reception begins at 6 p.m. followed by the concert at 6:30 p.m.

Dunbar Middle School has a big Veteran's Day program planned for 9 a.m. Nov. 11. All veteran family members of Dunbar students are invited to the program. The program will include patriot songs sung by the Dickinson High School Choir and a flag folding ceremony by the DHS Junior Air Force ROTC, poems read by Dunbar students, a retired veteran guest speaker and a salute to the Armed Forces.

Bay Colony Elementary students will sing songs and learn about Veteran's Day during their music class time. Hughes Road Elementary is planning their annual Veteran's Day Program for 9 a.m. Nov. 11 with the fourth grade students leading the program. K.E. Little Elementary students will celebrate Veteran's Day with a second grade music program at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10. The third grader students at Silbernagel Elementary will present a Veteran's Day program on Nov. 11 with students in kindergarten through second grade attending at 9 a.m., followed by fourth graders and special guests at 2 p.m.

Students and staff at the Dickinson Continuation Center and the Dickinson Alternative Learning Center wrote personal messages in thank you cards that will be included in Christmas bags being put together by the Dickinson VFW to give to patients at the Veterans Hospital in Houston. The school is also doing Christmas cards for the active troops through the local Red Cross.

Dickinson ISD employees will honor Veteran's Day with a "Jeans for Troops" fundraiser, where employees donate $5 to wear jeans to work. The proceeds will benefit the GI Go Fund, which assists returning veterans with their transition back to civilian life by providing employment and educational opportunities as well as providing a direct path to their benefits.

Joseph works to build relationships with students and staff as new McAdams Junior High principal

Rachelle Joseph is building "One Team With One Dream" as the new principal of McAdams Junior High. This theme is guiding Joseph as she gets to know the 1,536 students and 150 staff members at Dickinson ISD's seventh and eighth grade campus.

Before coming to Dickinson ISD, Joseph served in Galveston ISD for the past 17 years, as a teacher, assistant principal and most recently as an elementary principal to approximately 700 students. Coming to a school twice the size could be challenging, but Joseph has enjoyed the transition and meeting new people. Joseph says Dickinson ISD is a big district with a small-town, family-like atmosphere.

"The most important part of a being a principal is building relationships with our students and teachers. That is my calling along with helping our teachers become master teachers," said Joseph. "Having more students and staff just gives me even more opportunities to build meaningful relationships."

Joseph said many things have changed over the past 17 years of her education career but one of the most exciting things is the many opportunities available to prepare students, even in younger grades, to be college and career ready. She said many programs are in place at McAdams to instill in the students the importance of planning for the future and attending college. Approximately 100 McAdams students are enrolled in AVID, which is a college readiness program designed to give students the skills they need to be successful in college, careers and life in general. In addition, the school offers college and career days, has signs and banners posted around the school and hosts a College of the Month Program, to spotlight the opportunities available at local colleges.

Joseph is known for being visible throughout the school, going classroom by classroom each morning greeting students, shaking hands and saying good morning. She loves attending extra-curricular activities to see the students enjoying things outside the regular classroom.

Like any new principal, she has made some changes but says the results have been positive. Having parents come inside to check in their student if they are late has reduced the number of late-arriving students in the morning and the school has started a new no cell phone policy during school hours, unless a teacher has a specific plan and purpose for the students using the cell phones.

Joseph keeps a favorite quote by Aristotle sitting on her desk to remind her every day that she wants McAdams students to enter her school to learn and leave her school achieving great things.

The Aristotle quote reads, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit." Joseph says excellence is a habit at McAdams Junior High.

"The most important thing to me is for our eighth graders to leave McAdams Junior High knowing that we care about them and their success. We want to see 100 percent of them walk across the stage in four years and receive their high school diploma," said Joseph.

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STAY CONNECTED TO DICKINSON ISD:

2218 FM 517 East, Dickinson, Texas 77539

281-229-6000

Visit us on the Web:
www.dickinsonisd.org

www.facebook.com/dickinsonschools

It is the policy of the DISD not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or handicap for services or activities as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. It is the policy of the DISD not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap, or age in its employment practices as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. For information about your rights or grievance procedures, contact the Title IX Coordinator, Robert Cobb, at 2218 East FM 517, Dickinson, TX 77539, (281) 229-6000, and/or the Section 504 Coordinator, Laurie Rodriguez, at 2218 East FM 517, Dickinson, TX 77539, (281) 229-6000.

Es pol�tica del Distrito Escolar Independiente de Dickinson no discriminar en base de raza, color, nacionalidad de origen, sexo o discapacidad, por servicios o actividades como es requerido en el T�tulo VI del Acto de los Derechos Civiles de 1964, seg�n enmendado; el T�tulo IX de la Enmiendas de Educaci�n de 1972, seg�n enmendado; y la Secci�n 504 del Acto de Rehabilitaci�n de 1973, seg�n enmendada. Es pol�tica del Distrito Escolar Independiente de Dickinson no discriminar en base de raza, color, nacionalidad de origen, sexo, discapacidad, o edad en las pr�cticas de empleo como es requerido por el T�tulo VI del Acto de los Derechos Civiles de 1964, seg�n enmendado; el T�tulo IX de la Enmiendas de Educaci�n de 1972; el Acto de la Discriminaci�n de Edades de 1975, seg�n enmendado; y la Secci�n 504 del Acto de Rehabilitaci�n de 1973, seg�n enmendada. Para informaci�n sobre sus derechos o procedimientos de quejas, contacte el Coordinador del T�tulo IX, Robert Cobb, en 2218 East FM 517 Dickinson, TX 77539, (281) 229-6000, y/o el Coordinador de la Secci�n 504, Laurie Rodr�guez, en 2218 East FM 517 Dickinson, TX 77539, (281) 229-6000.