Author Archive | coconutcrew

At Travis Heights Elementary we do something called W.O.W. (Working Out for Wellness). W.O.W. is time for students to get their energy out before sitting down and learning. All students in AISD get 30 minutes of recess and P.E. every two days. 

For most students, recess is still not enough. W.O.W. is instructed exercise where the students do something of the teacher’s choice. Most teachers use Just Dance, GoNoodle, or run at the track. Our teachers are responsible for giving us W.O.W. We aren’t required to do it if we have P.E. that day. 

Students really like W.O.W. It gives them a break from education and lets them enjoy each other. As I said, W.O.W. is INSTRUCTED exercise. You can’t just walk around outside or talk the whole time. It’s not only exercise physically, you also exercise your mind. Sometimes we  do meditation. It helps us calm down and get ready to learn. W.O.W. is fun for students and teachers. I think it’s a great addition to our school day! 

There is a dog park near downtown. It’s a place where your dog can have a friend to play with. I know that many people (including myself) only have one dog. Dogs can get depressed because they don’t have enough socialization. They become nervous around other dogs. But don’t lose hope, there are solutions like maybe a…dog park!

Dogs are very energetic creatures, but sometimes they don’t always have the room they need to run around in. The dog park has an area for dogs that aren’t very used to the dog park. They can get used to the small area until they are ready for the big area. So many dogs go there, so your dog has lots of other dogs to choose from. Also, if you are afraid your dog won’t be very friendly towards other dogs, you can always put them on a leash and just let them get used to being around other dogs. It also doesn’t matter if you forget your poop bags because they have loads. They use eco-friendly poop bags so you can clean up the mess and help the earth. The park allows anyone, so you can always visit. It is also open all year long. Even in the cold winter months, your dogs can have fun. It’s also in a very convenient spot, it’s right before downtown and right off Travis Boulevard. I have been there  personally, and give it 5 stars. My dog had so much fun and got plenty of socialization. I encourage you to take your dog to a dog park soon.

The wonderful Ms.Friedman has created a team of students that publishes the news about Travis Heights Elementary. She wants to get the kids’ perspective on what’s going on at school or in the community. She uses 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. She makes sure we’re doing the best we can do. She gives all of us cameras so we can take pictures for our articles. The pictures make the news a lot more interesting to read. During photojournalism we get out our computers and start writing. We get to eat our lunch while working. She doesn’t take us there to play, we work very hard during our lunch time. We get to choose what we write about and for me that’s really fun. Sometimes we work with partners, but usually we work alone. Ms.Friedman taught us how to take a good photo and make the person look nice.

We have a new vice principal at Travis Heights Elementary and her name is Ms. De La Torre. She graduated from U.T. She worked in her hometown at Giddings Intermediate School, but she missed Austin. So switched to Riley Elementary School where she taught 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. She then decided to go to Walnut Creek, where she worked as a supervisor and helped teachers be the best they can be.

When she was looking for a step-up in her career, the schools she saw didn’t look like what she wanted. Then she looked at the website for Travis Heights. She really liked it. It stood out.

One of her favorite things to do is say “Hi” to all the students and see their beautiful faces. The biggest thing she’s done is getting to be familiar to everyone.

It’s her 1st year as an assistant principal, and she says everyone has been very supportive. Ms.Navarro used to be a vice principal, and Ms. De La Torre says she has been a great role model and very supportive. She thinks that this year has been going great and she loves it here.

Ms.De La Torre really likes the one and only Mr. Hawes. She thinks he does cool things like the Thunder News, which is where students tell everyone what’s been happening at Travis Heights. She also enjoys our Friday assemblies because she sees us all happy. She thinks the ThunderBand is really cool and loves how we have our own band and they play music. She looks forward to this year so she can show everyone she can be a great leader.

Hello, we go to math with Ms. Mefford, and we study perimeter. We measure the sides and add all of the sides to find the  perimeter. To find the area, we get square centimeter cubes and line all of them up inside of the shape and then count them. How many cubes you have is the area. We also do arrays, where you can multiply rows times columns, to find the area.

We have been practicing for the STAAR and actually did the 2011 STAAR test. It has some pretty weird questions. That’s basically  what we have been doing, but it’s very fun.