Four Things a Family Should Know About the 2021 Grades 3-8 STAAR Testing

Four Things a Family Should Know About the 2021 Grades 3-8 STAAR Testing

Four Things a Family Should Know About the 2021 STAAR Testing  

1. This year’s STAAR results are for learning and recovery only. 

2. Schools and districts will use STAAR to identify learning gaps. 

3. STAAR will be given in-person with safety protocols in place to ensure every student is safe, monitored, and supported by a teacher. 

4. Families can access their child’s scores in the school portal, along with tailored resources by mid-summer. 

Richland Elementary School teachers get creative by taking fifth graders on virtual field trips with Education in Action

Fifth graders from Richland Elementary School traveled to Georgetown and Waco, virtually, with an Education in Action Discover Texas Field Trip In a Box program to experience what they are learning in science. The students explored Inner Space Cavern, Waco Mammoth National Monument, and the Brazos River, virtually. 

In Georgetown the students experienced the Earth’s processes at work as they toured the highly decorated Inner Space Cavern. In Waco, Maggie the Mammoth led the students on a virtual tour of Waco Mammoth National Monument where the students saw the nation’s only recorded discovery of a nursery herd of Pleistocene mammoths and learned about the Ice Age, how the fossils were discovered, sedimentary rocks, and why the site is one of the most important paleontological sites in North America. Maggie also led them down the Brazos River to experience many of Texas’s diverse regions and ecosystems and the animals that inhabit them. Along the way, the students learned about watersheds, the water cycle, and the processes and rocks that created and make up the Earth’s surface. 

To add to the fun, each student and teacher received a box to keep, full of hands-on games, activities, and souvenirs, including an ‘I Discovered Texas’ T-shirt, a Maggie the Mammoth plushy, and a Virtual Travel Research Journal, to supplement their virtual visits to these notable Texas sites. 

“Education in Action’s Discover Texas Field Trips In a Box programs are based on the understanding that the most effective way for students to learn is through experience,” stated Jennifer Pasteur, Education in Action’s Executive Director. “Student activities during Discover Texas Field Trips In a Box programs reinforce and supplement Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) learning objectives in fun and interactive ways that bring the content to life.” 

Discover Texas Field Trips In a Box programs provide teachers with ready-to-go, entertaining, and educational social studies and science-based virtual field trips to the Texas State Capitol, The Alamo, Inner Space Cavern, Waco Mammoth National Monument, and more, with a box full of TEKS-based hands-on games and activities to supplement classroom learning plus trip souvenirs! With these turnkey programs, teachers are able to focus on making connections between the experience and what students are learning in the classroom. To learn more, visit www.educationinaction.org/FieldTripsInaBox

In addition to Discover Texas Field Trips In a Box programs, Education in Action offers summer Lone Star Leadership Academy camps for outstanding 4th-8th graders. During the weeklong, overnight camps, participants experience significant Texas sites in Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin/San Antonio, or Houston/Galveston with Texas educators and a focus on leadership. Educators may nominate their outstanding students for these camps at www.educationinaction.org/nominate.  

Birdville Hawks Boys Baseball Advances to Playoffs

BHS Baseball logo

Congratulations to the Birdville Hawks boys baseball team for advancing to the UIL Area Round of the playoffs. They will play the best two out of three games against Burleson Centennial High School. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students. 

Game Information 

Thursday, May 13 at 7:30 p.m. 
at Euless Trinity High School 

Friday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. 
at Everman High School 

Saturday, May 15 at Noon (if necessary) 
at Crowley High School 
Hoskins Field 

BISD Updates Mask Requirement Effective June 1, 2021

Mask Requirement Update

BISD’s board of trustees met in a special meeting on Tuesday, May 11, and voted to update the District’s current procedures regarding face masks and COVID-19 related quarantines. The board voted to make both the wearing of face masks in all BISD facilities and close contact quarantines optional effective June 1, 2021. Contact tracing, however, will continue through the summer.  

Note: Masks are still required in all BISD facilities through May 31. 

Birdville Elementary teachers get creative by taking fourth graders on virtual field trips with Education in Action

Birdville Elementary

Fourth graders from Birdville ISD’s Birdville Elementary traveled to Austin and San Antonio, virtually, with an Education in Action Discover Texas Field Trip In a Box program to experience what they are learning in Texas history. The students explored the Texas State Capitol and The Alamo, virtually. 

Education in Action’s very own Arlie the Armadillo led the students’ virtual tour of the Texas State Capitol where the students experienced the many paintings, sculptures, and terrazzo mosaics that tell the story of our state’s unique history and famous leaders. The students also learned about our state’s legislative branch of government as they viewed the Texas State Senate and House of Representatives chambers where state laws are made. Then it was off to San Antonio where Arlie led the students on a virtual tour of The Alamo, one of the most famous missions in the United States, and the students gained insight into the Battle of the Alamo’s role in the Texas Revolution.  

To add to the fun, each student and teacher received a box to keep, full of hands-on games, activities, and souvenirs, including an ‘I Discovered Texas’ T-shirt, an Arlie the Armadillo plushy, and a Virtual Travel Research Journal, to supplement their virtual visits to these famous Texas sites. 

“Education in Action’s Discover Texas Field Trips In a Box programs are based on the understanding that the most effective way for students to learn is through experience,” stated Jennifer Pasteur, Education in Action’s Executive Director. “Student activities during Discover Texas Field Trips In a Box programs reinforce and supplement Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) learning objectives in fun and interactive ways that bring the content to life.” 

Discover Texas Field Trips In a Box programs provide teachers with ready-to-go, entertaining, and educational social studies and science-based virtual field trips to the Texas State Capitol, The Alamo, Inner Space Cavern, Waco Mammoth National Monument, and more, with a box full of TEKS-based hands-on games and activities to supplement classroom learning plus trip souvenirs! With these turnkey programs, teachers are able to focus on making connections between the experience and what students are learning in the classroom. To learn more, visit www.educationinaction.org/FieldTripsInaBox