What kid doesn’t like a pet in their classroom? Well no one that I know! At Travis Heights we have many class pets, and I’m here to show you most of them.This is our guinea pig.
This is our hissing cockroaches. (Yes we have hissing cockroaches!)
This is our gecco.
This is our dove.
This is our Parakeet.
This is our tarantula.
This is our snake.
This is our mouse, Oreo.
I hope you enjoyed seeing our classroom pets!
Every year for the Fall Carnival, Ms.Isoline and the 5th graders put together a haunted hallway in the 3rd grade hall. This year there was a clown at the entrance and people squirting water at you. It was so fun! (Even though I did not go in, many people said it was fun). Some of my fourth grade friends were in it and scared some boys in my class. Next year I get to be in the haunted hallway and scare a bunch of people!
There is amazing 5-story mansion in the Travis Heights neighborhood. The bottom half of the house is actually left-over granite from the building of the Texas Capital. On the top of the house there is a cupola with a amazing view of the city. The house is five stories, with the basement, ground floor, second floor, attic, and dome. It even has an upstairs “sleeping porch”.
The house is filled with peacocks. For example, there is a room called the “Peacock Room”. It is actually a bathroom with an amazing mural of two male peacocks. The woman who lives there had pet peacocks when she lived in a different part of the neighborhood.
This house was one of the first houses to have electric power in our neighborhood. The house went through a renovation 12 years ago, but the building of the house started in 1882.. The house is filled with amazing stained glass.
I am a student at Travis Heights Elementary School as a fourth grader. Our school has a amazing program called Square One Art. This program is something we do in art class. We create a piece of art and it gets turned into amazing coasters, mugs, aprons, t-shirts, phone cases, and many more items. The owners of the house have friends whose kids go to school at THES. They have received coasters which are placed on tables all over the house on tables. The Mather House is amazing wonder! This is all thanks to Claudette and Hugh for restoring it and keeping it that way.
Guess what? Travis Heights got new chicks the beginning of this school year. The school got six new chickens. They live in the chicken coop next to Wild Man Woods. The chickens’ names are Jayne, Orchid, Amber, Phoebe, Estella, and Daisy. If you want to help out with taking care of the chickens on weekends and holidays you can talk to Ms.Penny or Ms.Armentor.
Friday, the 8th of September, was the first assembly of the 2018-2019 school year. I think we were all excited about it. Ms. Navarro is our new principal, and we didn’t know how it would go. I didn’t know if it would be the same or how it might be different. I interviewed two 4th graders, Vi Hart and Lilah O’dair
Me: So how did your first assembly go?
Vi: I was actually kind of nervous because I had never met Ms. Navarro or Ms. De La Torre. They are very encouraging, and I’m very happy that they gave us that seminar that motivated us.
Me: Was it mostly the same with the Thunder band and everything?
Vi: It was basically the the exact same. The first assembly really great. We did the usual super citizen awards but it felt different.
Me: So, Lilah, how did you like your first assembly?
Lilah: It was fun! 4th grade won the spirit stick.
Me: Yeah, I’m pretty excited that we won it, too. Anything else?
Lilah: It felt different because of the new principal.
Me: Yeah, for me to.
Joseph Kopser came to our 4th grade classrooms to talk to us about campaigning. He came because we are doing a P.B.L. on fundraising. We are writing a letter to learn about how someone can make a impact in their community. He talked about what makes up a campaign team.
If you don’t know who Kopser, is he is running for Congress. In our P.B.L., when we finished our letter, we worked on a campaign in groups. My group is doing ability. Two other members of my group are in photojournalism. We make videos, buttons, and signs. In my group, I’m the a reporter. This is my favorite P.B.L. and I love it. Thank you, Mr. Kopser, for coming to talk at our school.
P.S. Kopser did not win.
Back to school night is when your parents and you go to school. The children go to the art or music room to watch a movie. While the children are at the movie, parents go to classrooms and learn about the progress their children are making in their classes.
Back to school night is basically a PTA meeting. Before you go to your classroom, there is pizza and popcorn! They also sell t-shirts at back to school night. Back to school night is not just at Travis Heights, back to school night is everywhere. So don’t miss your back to school night!
The 2018-2019 ice cream social was a success. There were more than 100 families meeting our teachers. Travis Heights Elementary felt a warm welcome to the new school year. Also we had a good turn out of new thunderbirds. Some students enjoyed their ice cream while meeting their teachers.
El social dehelado fue unexito todos los que estuvieron presentes disfruturon lo helados y tambien las platicas entre ellos. Esta reunion nos ayudo a conocer a nuevos amigos y a decir hola a viejos amigos . Es may bonito ver los pasillos llenos de decoracones para este ano escolar. Nos dio un oportunidad para conocer a nuestra Directora nueva yconvivir con ella. Este ano vahacer uno delos mejores.
There is a new rule in the cafeteria. This rule makes kids sit in a boy/girl pattern. I believe this rule is bad because it separates us from our friends we’ve been waiting to talk to all day. I hate the way we sit at the table at lunch because my best friends are far away from me! Everyone does not deserve this. Only the kids who make bad choices and act crazy in the cafeteria should be separated. We need to change that rule at the cafeteria to make things more fair. Martin Luther King would say,” All kids should have equal rights!”
How long have you been teaching?
I have been teaching for thirteen years. I started in El Paso, Texas, teaching third grade. I attempted one year of teaching high school in Columbus, Ohio, but found that I prefered having younger students. When I moved to Austin, I taught third grade at Dawson. I taught third grade a total of five years there and then moved up to fifth grade, where I taught for five years before coming to THES.
What do you like most about teaching?
I love sharing my love of learning with students and watching them figure something out. It’s also a lot of fun sharing books that I love and seeing students enjoy them as well.
What is the subject you like to teach the most?
I enjoy teaching science the most, but really love sharing my love of reading with students.
What do you like most about Travis Heights?
I really like my fellow fifth grade teachers. I also really like the sense of community.
Do you have any pets?
I have a westie named Biscuit and a cat named Elphie.
What is your favorite movie?
It’s really difficult picking one favorite movie… I’m fairly easy to please with movies. As long as I’m entertained for the extent of the movie, I’m pretty happy. But if I really had to, I think I would pick The Pink Panther (the original with Peter Sellers).
Do you have any hobbies?
I love reading. I have a fairly extensive comic collection, but haven’t really been reading any lately. I love cooking and grilling.
What is your favorite book?
Another difficult decision here… I think I’d pick the trilogy (well, no longer a trilogy because the fourth is about to come out) of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books by Carlos Ruiz Zafón… or Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! by Dr. Seuss.
What is your favorite place to go?
My favorite place to go is Puebla, Mexico. It is where my family on my father’s side is from. I grew up spending lots of my time there and got married there.
What is your favorite restaurant?
Depends on my mood… but Via 313 is definitely one of my favorites!
What is your favorite place you have traveled?
Other than Puebla, I would say either Rome or Santorini might be my favorite places I have visited.
5th Grade vs. 4th Grade: How do They Compare?
In my experience at Travis Heights Elementary School, 4th grade is kind of different than 5th grade, of course they are different grades, but I would like to explain some specific examples I have witnessed.
One of the differences I have noticed is in science class,. This year in 5th grade we are focusing on energy, mostly light energy, and in 4th grade we focused on erosion of the Earth. Energy is caused by little particles moving around to get the job done, and erosion is when the Earth goes through some physical changes. In 5th grade art class we are designing the Travis Heights t-shirt logo.Designing the logo is a big deal because everyone is going to be wearing this design. In 4th grade our projects did not affect the entire school.
While in 5th grade reading we are focusing on different types of genres, especially poetry, in 4th grade we mainly read autobiographies and biographies. Both grades are very different, but they are still kind of similar. For example, in math we are still doing multiplication and fractions. Our teachers for have not changed and we are still proud Thunderbirds. 5th grade is just like 4th grade but a little more advanced. Even though both grades are different, you should still do well in both.
