AVID CORNER 1ST SEMESTER
Issue #
AVID Corner
1st Semester
November
2015
AVID II FIELD TRIP TO HBU AND SAINT THOMAS
IN THIS ISSUE
AVID II Fieldtrips
By Alicia Stevenson
Saint Thomas University and HBU provided tours
to give AVID students an idea of what it is like to
attend a small, private, yet urban university. Both
schools have attractive campuses, small professor
to student ratios in class, as well as traditions and
events that help make the campuses feel like
home. University of Saint Thomas was preparing
to host “Neewollah- a time-honored UST tradition
for over 50 years, [which} includes pumpkin
carving, a costume contest with fun prizes, food
and beverages and dancing.” Kempner students
enjoyed not only the excellent cafeteria food, but
also running into one of the therapy dogs on
campus. It was fun to see what dorm life and
classrooms look like; as well as realize the cost of
college textbooks and scantrons on a trip to the
school store. One textbook cost over $150.
At HBU, students and teachers alike were excited
to see the tutorial process being used in the library.
One whole room consisted of white board walls, so
students could work together to prepare for course
tests. Students were less than thrilled to find that
dorm life often not only involve living with a
roommate, but can also sometimes involves up to
8 roommates.
Students were impressed by the Morris Cultural
Arts Center- “designed by architect Studio Red and
built by W.S. Bellows Construction, the Morris
Center comprises four major campus additions:
Belin Chapel and Recital Hall, McNair Hall, the
Linda and Archie Dunham Theater, and the
University Museums – Dunham Bible Museum,
Museum of American Architecture and Decorative
Arts, and Museum of Southern History.” HBU
students have their freshman orientation in this
building, as well as their graduation ceremony. It’s
a neat way to bring your college experience full
circle.
Though both are considered liberal arts schools,
HBS and UST offer many of the majors students
are interested In choosing, or pathways to such
majors as engineering or medicine. They both also
put a focus on community service, and students at
both schools are required to serve their
communities for a set number of hours before
receiving their diplomas. HBU and UST emphasize
that they do have a religious background, but all
are welcome. And though some might see the
private school tuition as a bit steep, they offer
numerous scholarships. Most important to the
students was the message that these campuses try
to support their students through smaller class
sizes, relationships with faculty and fellow
students, and readily available help.
The HBU
Huskies now
have numerous
NCAA teams to
root for,
including a
football team
and new
stadium.
Petting Percy the therapy dog at UST
Taking in the campus sights at UST
AVID CORNER 1ST SEMESTER | Issue # 1
Page #
Understand the
Tutorial Process:
Meet our Tutors
by Alicia Stevenson
This semester AVID II students worked on
the skills of refining their essential questions
for tutorials. In the past the majority of
questions we saw during tutorials were
focused on math and science, yet we knew
2
that many of our teachers were struggling
with English writing and Social Studies
comprehension. My first goal was to model
what an English/ WHAP essential question
might look like. I greatly appreciated Katie
Anselmo and Erin Tenczar for their help.
My next goal was to guide them in refining
their essential questions in such a way that
they could break down essay prompts in
English class. Instead of asking what, they
had to learn to phrase questions with how
or why. The AVID tutors and I are hoping
to see a change in how helpful the tutorials
are for the students.
able to help us on the math question below…
In addition, we learned that if we cannot
solve a problem together, the TRF makes a
great conversation point of showing where
a student is stuck. Amber Pearson was
KHS AVID Tutors- Familiar Faces
Meet a few of the AVID tutors this year:
Karina Luviano- Moreno
Graduated from KHS in 2013
Attending University of Houston
Major- Biology, B.S.
Aayush Shah
Graduated from KHS in 2013
Attending University of Houston
Major- Biology, B.S.
Lisa Nguyen
Graduated from KHS in 2013
Attending University of Houston
Major- Biology, B.S.
Mehreen Mehmood
Graduated from KHS in 2012
Attending University of Houston
Major- Biology, B.S.
AVID tutorials are every Monday and Wednesday. If you know of a concept your
students are having difficulty mastering, please let the AVID teachers know. We
can write a TRF together to help your students succeed, as well as make good use
of tutorial time. They often don’t know how to put into words what they don’t
know, so teacher help is appreciated.
AVID CORNER 1ST SEMESTER | Issue # 1
GUESTS SPEAKERS ED MARTINEZ AND
KELSI MARTINEZ
3
Guest Speakers
on Careers
Guest Speaker Kelsi Martinez on
working as in the medical field as
a Child Life Specialist
This rewarding career allows for one
to work in the medical field, yet does
not require medical school. Many in
the field have degrees in science, child
psychology or education. After
earning a four year degree, a Child
Life Specialist completes a half year
internship and certification program.
Many hospitals, such as the one Kelsi
is employed at, Texas Children’s
Hospital, also pay for employees to go
back for graduate school.
Careers in Engineering
A slide from the presentation on Engineering by
Mr. Martinez
Mr. Martinez stressed to students that
engineering is about problem solving, and
often times that problem solving involves
group work. Students must be able to go
beyond the basics of an issue, as well as be
open to the feedback of others. He made the
point that if a doctor makes a mistake, he or
she might kill one person. If an engineer
makes a mistake, he or she might kill
hundreds/ thousands of people.
Also emphasized was the rigor of engineering
course work. Mr. Martinez explained that in
high school “teachers who teach it to you”
and in college “professors who profess it unto
you”. Students will need to learn to be
autodidactic and far more self-sufficient to
avoid being weeded out of the discipline.
Imagine entering the ER as a child
with a shattered wrist; a trauma team
is called in, and the room quickly fills
with doctors, fellows, residents,
interns and nurses. For a child this can
be scary. The terminology is unclear
and the setting is foreign. For
example, “taking a child to the floor”
might make the child think he or she
will be literally placed on the floor as
opposed to taking an elevator to a
new floor. A Child Life Specialist is
there to alleviate some of the stress
and help a child understand what is
happening. In addition they can also
help calm a hyperventilating child
with the use of calm words, toys and
stuffed animals. It can be difficult to
start an IV on a child who is freaking
out, and often times they might also
be too afraid to communicate where it
hurts or what happened. Child Life
Specialists might also help a family
who is beginning or concluding the
grieving process of losing a child or
sibling through counseling,
explanation and even creating a final
memento- known as legacy makingwith an imprint of the loved one’s
hand or foot.
AVID SHOUTOUTS!!!
A special thank you to Victoria Martinez for bringing in her family members as guest speakers
on the engineering and medical fields.
A special thank you to Rachel Wempe for not only organizing the AVID field trips, but also
driving the bus.
A big thank you to Mr. Muniz for creating the awesome TRF booklets!
And a big thank you to Jessica Nguyen for securing more copies of the Genghis Khan
Biography for students in WHAP.