Transcendence (State of Excelling, Surpassing or Going Beyond Usual Limits) of the Classroom
Raul Yzaguirre School For Success (RYSS) - Houston Coalition for the Homeless (HCH) "Three Decades of Achievement" Event [April 5, 2013]
Go to RYSS - Houston Coalition for the Homeless "Three Decades of Achievement" Event, (April 5, 2013) (tomrchambers.com) to view video (scroll to bottom of page).
A core group of eighth grade students attended the Houston Coalition for the Homeless (HCH) "Three Decades of Achievement" event downtown Houston, April 5, 2013. They displayed a selection of the eighth grade class Digital Art about the homeless to not only call attention to this social issue, but also celebrate their humanity. They explained their (and classmates') multifaceted project that involved Word, PowerPoint and GIMP (graphic arts software):
Advocacy Essays - PowerPoint Presentations - Digital Art
Photos and video stills are seen below of the Digital Art and students talking with the attendees at the event. They also met, and talked with the Mayor of Houston, Annise Parker. The Digital Art display was donated to the HCH for showcasing within their office area.
We ... the 2012-2013 Seventh Grade Class and Mr. Tom R. Chambers (Teacher, Technology Applications), Raul Yzaguirre School for Success (Houston, Texas) ... want to dedicate this web page to you, and offer our condolences via web page letters.
Go to Dear Newtown, Connecticut (tomrchambers.com) to view/read the letters.
Example thumbnails follow:
The Newtown Bee, Special Edition, December 17, 2012
Comments:
"Tom, this is truly beautiful. We will be posting it on our web site for all to see." (E. Patricia Llodra, First Selectman, Newtown, Connecticut)
"Mr. Chambers and Students, I read about your tribute/condolence to the people in Newtown, Connecticut in my local newspaper. I live in Roxbury, just one town over from Newtown. My nephews went to Sandy Hook Elementary School when they were younger. Like everyone in our great country, we are still in shock at what happened on December 14th. I decided to take a look at your condolence web site. You all wrote very beautiful and touching letters. I am sure many, many people are comforted knowing how much you care." (Lucia Alworth, Roxbury, Connecticut)
"Mr. Chambers and 7th grade class, your website is a beautiful dedication to the Sandy Hook Elementary School! I live just two towns over in a town called Middlebury, and it has been very difficult for all of us. I have read each letter that was written from your class, and have shared this website with others including my two sons, ages 9 and 13. We appreciate you heartfelt messages, and hope we can heal together as a country. Your letters have helped, just knowing you care all the way in Texas from Raul Yzaguirre School! You made our local newspaper (article). Thank you, and warm wishes." (Lori Ciocca, Middlebury, Connecticut)
"Thanks Mr. Chambers for being a great leader and being proactive as always. Your kids should be proud of you, and they should be very proud of themselves in doing the letters." (Joe Mata, Board of Directors, TCCC-RYSS, Houston, Texas)
"Tom, the letters were very touching. We recently launched a Facebook page, and have posted a link to the letters. You can see the site at facebook.com/TownOfNewtownCT (screen capture)." (Scott Sharlow, IT/GIS Director, Newtown, Connecticut)
GIMP for Fundraising RYSS Gala - Seventh Grade Digital Art, 2012-2013
Mr. Chambers' seventh grade classes used GIMP (graphic arts software - Photoshop equivalent) to make Digital Art for the Tejano Center for Community Concerns (TCCC)-Raul Yzaguirre School for Success (RYSS) Gala (October 19, 2012). They utilized existing photographs made by RYSS students on various field trips with the Houston Audubon Society.
Twenty-six pieces were put up for silent auction at the gala to raise money for their school.
A few of the selected artworks for the auction follow:
The students trained with the GIMP software to be able to teach it. A core group (22) traveled with Mr. Chambers to Harmony Hills Elementary School, San Antonio, Texas, [October 9] to teach second graders (taught by Ms. Yolanda Vaness) how to use the software for future projects [workshop]. Also, their (RYSS students) Digital Art will be shown at the 8th Annual Carnival of e-Creativity (CeC 2013), Sattal Estate, India, February 22-24, 2013. Mr. Chambers is an Advisory Board Member for CeC.
Go to RYSS Students' Digital Art to view other works.
| Resumes for RYSS - 8th Grade [2011 - 2012] |
The eighth grade students were asked to explore their past up to now via a resume outline to begin to prepare for entry into high school as Freshmen. During the process, there was a realization that their participation in and contributions to the educational process along with various achievements and accomplishments over the past eight or nine years had merit and meaning for the future as they prepared to enter high school.
Again, this exercise in self-exploration ... the RESUME ... proved to be a worthwhile endeavor as it related to empowerment of the students to want to continue their educational process to be able to "update" their resumes as they progressed. This thought alone is a very important one as we all strive to move forward and upward through society with our resumes in hand.
I mentioned to the students that over the years, I had used my own resume close to thirty times to obtain various positions in the U.S.A. and abroad, not to mention that I kept it updated on almost a monthly basis. I showed them my resume [online], and they all understood the importance of this kind of document throughout a lifetime.
In keeping with the recent consolidation and vertical alignment of grades 6 - 12 at Raul Yzaguirre School for Success, the resume files have been sent to Ms. Mills, Technology Applications Teacher, High School Academy so the students can continue to build on/add to their documents next school year. These files will act as "letters of introduction" for these youngsters. It's possible that Mr. Cano, Principal may very well call the students into his office to formalize the enrollment process by actually going over their resumes online. This will add credibility to the resume project in the sense that what the students did in the classroom in the Junior Academy will have relevance to their continuation of the educational process via their resumes at the High School Academy level. And they will realize that their resume exercise was not just for a grade, but also for the more important aspect of being interviewed for acceptance and recognition at the next level. In fact, I think the students will be surprised that their resumes were taken seriously ... a sobering effect, if you will ... in terms of what they do having a greater impact. The resumes will then be placed in their respective files/folders.
This project set a perspective for these youngsters as they remembered their past and achievements/accomplishments after eight or nine years of education. The process set the stage for an ongoing relationship with the resume.
Digital Art Exhibition
Dublin/RYSS Space Weather/NASA MMS 2014 Digital Art Exhibition (tomrchambers.com)
Eighth grade students at Raul Yzaguirre School For Success [RYSS] [Houston, Texas], and fifth grade students at Dublin Intermediate School [Dublin, Texas] exhibited their Digital Art in Dublin, Texas [June, 2012] based on research of Space weather and the NASA MMS [Magnetospheric Multiscale] 2014 Mission. Click on the following links to view the online versions of the exhibition:
RYSS student Digital Art for exhibition
Dublin student Digital Art for exhibition
The students at both schools were tasked ... as a part of the ISTE [International Society of Technology for Education] - NASA Space Curriculum Development initiative ... to research the various topics/concepts about Space weather [Sun, Sunspots, solar flares, CMEs (Coronal Mass Ejections), solar winds, Earth, Earth's magnetic fields, Earth's magnetosphere, magnetic reconnection, auroas] as well as NASA's MMS 2014 Mission, and then translate the information in photo software as Digital Art. As a result, greater understanding and retention of the information came to the forefront with acquired skills of manipulating photographs ... utilizing various tools and filters within the software. This cognitive and creative process placed the students in an environment of hands-on with photo software and the requirement of researching the information [notetaking in Word] to translate it into Digital Art through visualization.
The RYSS students traveled to Dublin ISD [Dublin, TX] earlier [April 11/12, 2012] to not only mentor these fifth grade students [exhibitors], but also sixth, seventh and eighth grade students in the use of graphics software to create Digital Art.
The mentorship process involved an intensive session of learning and project application.The RYSS eighth grade students succeeded in not only keeping the attention of the Dublin students, but also making them comfortable with the software and producing gratifying results. The groups of students were so engaged throughout the two days [middle school - day one; intermediate school - day two] that the teachers present during the process seemed secondary. The RYSS students had successfully gained a skill, and were empowered to convey what they knew to others.
Tom R. Chambers, Technology Applications teacher at RYSS, takes student engagement and empowerment seriously. Most of what is learned and produced transcends the classroom and school system to have community impact. As a result, his students are motivated to do more, and in this case, they became mentors for students at another school district [intermediate and middle].
Chambers opened the student Digital Art exhibition on June 9, and he gave the keynote speech for the opening of the Dublin ISD Summer Camp on June 11. The summer camp ... coordinated by Jennifer Miller, Instructional Technologist, Dublin ISD ... is a two-week process of intensive learning via Technology re: Space weather/NASA MMS 2014 Mission and Robotics [Engineering].
Photos of the Dublin/RYSS Space Weather/NASA MMS 2014 Digital Art Exhibition:
Photographs for the manipulations were downloaded from NASA websites strictly for educational purposes.
HAS Sims Photo Teaching and Documentation - Houston Audubon Society Field Trip to Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center, Houston, Texas
[May 1, 2012]
Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center Field Trip - Houston Audubon Society (tomrchambers.com)
Mr. Chambers' enrichment class [7th and 8th grades], Raul Yzaguirre School for Success [RYSS] [Houston, Texas] traveled to Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center under the sponsorship of the Houston Audubon Society to teach nature photography to students [2nd-5th, Vanguard program] from Askew Elementary School [Houston], and document those same students cleaning the grounds and planting trees at the center.
Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center (SBUNC) is a picturesque 1.1 acre sanctuary located in historic Park Place on the original channel of Sims Bayou. The center contains a log cabin, barn, gazebo, gardens, pond with native plants, boat dock and seasonal wetland trails that afford a unique opportunity to experience nature in a dense urban setting. It is located next to Charlton Park.
It was established in 1997 by the nonprofit Greater Park Place Community Development Corporation to help revitalize the area. That group created educational and environmental programs, attracted hundreds of volunteers and provided a peaceful setting for scouting, birding and other outdoor programs as well as boating and fishing opportunities. It was donated to Houston Audubon in 2005.
Raul Yzaguirre School For Success [RYSS] - NASA Saturn V Tour, Lunar Lab Tour and Opuntia Cactus Research Discussion [August 24, 2011]
RYSS - Saturn V Tour, NASA Lunar Lab Tour and Cactus Project (tomrchambers.com)
Saturn V:
The Saturn V was an American man-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center. It remains the tallest, heaviest and most powerful rocket ever brought to operational status and still holds the record for the heaviest launch vehicle payload.
The Saturn V rocket at the Johnson Space Center is made up of the first stage from SA-514, the second stage from SA-515 and the third stage from SA-513 (replaced for flight by the Skylab workshop). With stages arriving between 1977 and 1979, this was displayed in the open until its 2005 restoration when a structure was built around it for protection. This is the only display Saturn consisting entirely of stages intended to be launched. [wikipedia.org]
Building 31N at Johnson Space Center was constructed from 1977 to 1979, and opened in 1979 to provide for permanent storage of the lunar sample collection in a physically secure and non-contaminating environment. The purpose of the facility is to maintain in pristine condition the lunar samples that comprise a priceless national and scientific resource while making the samples available to approved scientists and educators. [curator.jsc.nasa.gov]
The specific application of the project is conversion of the Opuntia plant mucilage to coagulant to purify turbid water. The plant is grown under elevated carbon dioxide levels of the International Space Station (4,000 ppm), and simple processes are developed to convert the plant material to coagulant, which can be used to remove clay from turbid waters.
This project is also a unique collaboration between Mexico and the United States. The Houston researchers [Dr. Muirhead] are working with Professor Aldo Tovar Puentes, Chief of the Chemistry Lab and Professor in Academia at El Instituto Tecnologico de Linares.
Another unique part of this research is the involvement of students from Raul Yzaguirre School For Success in Houston. The students are assisting the researchers by making an impartial, independent documentary of the project which explores the important economic, social and technological issues related to the role that plants play in the exploration of space and the environmental problems facing the world. [Opuntia cactus]
[December 16, 2010]
Two core groups of students [8th Grade] from Raul Yzaguirre School for Success [RYSS] participated in the NASA STEM Educational Outreach Pilot Program by setting up three Space Science experiments, or activities in the Technology Applications classroom to explore, and learn Engineering, Science, and Mathematics concepts:
RYSS Space Science Experiments/Activities
The program is related to the International Space Station (ISS) as a National Laboratory. This new NASA program is about to go through beta testing and review, and Raul Yzaguirre School For Success, and other schools were involved in this PILOT program. The feedback from the students, and teachers will be incorporated into the final Educator Resource Guide that will undergo NASA Education Product Review. As a tribute to the schools involved, the final educational products will list them as participants in this NASA development effort. The curriculum will have an "ISS is Cool" campaign which will focus on making ISS and STEM interesting for children.
As an additional thank you for the RYSS students' participation, they were invited by the NASA STEM team to take a special tour of NASA, which included the Space Shuttle Flight Control Room, International Space Station Flight Control Room, Apollo Era Mission Operations Control Room [floor tour], Space Vehicle Mockup Facility [floor tour], Sonny Carter Training Facility/Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, and "Space Center". Mr. Brian Freedman [NASA Community and Government Relations Office] conducted the morning tour; and Ms. Antja Chambers and Ms. Alma Tapia [NASA Spacesuit Engineering and STEM Educational Outreach Team] conducted the afternoon tour.
RYSS - NASA SPECIAL FIELD TRIP (tomrchambers.com)
Photographs follow to showcase this special field trip to NASA:
Eighth grade students participated in a classroom assignment involving Microsoft Word to write letters of appreciation to President Sebastian Pinera for his support during the rescue of the miners at the San Jose Mine in Chile. The students were tasked to write formal letters as they became more aware of the Chilean mine disaster, and rescue. Their letters were sent to President Pinera in Chile [Note: images downloaded from the Internet strictly for educational purposes.].
The 2010 Copiapo mining accident occurred on 5 August 2010, when part of the San Jose copper-gold mine near Copiapo, Chile collapsed, leaving 33 men trapped deep below ground. The miners survived underground for a record 68 to 69 days. All 33 were rescued and brought to the surface on October 13, 2010.
Go to Letters of Appreciation to President Pinera of Chile (tomrchambers.com) to read the students' letters.
A few overviews (thumbnails) follow:
Middle school students [7th and 8th grade] at Raul Yzaguirre School For Success [RYSS], Houston, Texas, U.S.A. participated in a classroom assignment involving GIMP 2 [Photoshop equivalent] photo software and vocabulary building through word identification/meaning via the Internet.
DA_7_8_RYSS (tomrchambers.com)
The students were given Grade 7 and 8 Language Arts [TEKS/TAKS] words to research the meaning of online then translate those meanings in photo software as Digital Art. As a result, vocabulary enhancement came to the forefront with acquired skills of manipulating photographs ... utilizing various tools and filters within the software.
This cognitive and creative process placed the students in an environment of hands-on with photo software and the requirement of researching the word meanings to translate them into Digital Art through visualization. Digital Artists abound in all sectors as a part of this Digital Revolution we find ourselves a part of these days, which means this classroom process was also vocational in terms of building graphics software skills. Another interesting aspect to this project/process is the fact that the students took the vocabulary building assignments in stride to be able to visualize their word meanings as art and in this case, Digital Art.
Photographs for the manipulations were downloaded from the Internet strictly for educational purposes.
Note: this classroom assignment [lesson plan] was found to be exemplary and has been included in the National Lesson Plan Library at Digital Wish:
Online exhibition:
Physical exhibitions:
1) [Prints] East End Gallery, Houston Institute for Culture, Houston, Texas, January 7 - March 15, 2009 [Opening: January 9 (Friday), 5:30-7:30PM]:
128 Digital Art prints by students from Raul Yzaguirre School For Success and short videos by students from Deady Middle School and Southmore Intermediate School [Pasadena ISD].
Installation at East End Gallery:
2) [Projected Slide Show] 4th annual Carnival of e-Creativity & Change-agents Conclave [2009 CeC & CaC], Sattal Estate, Bhimtal, near Nainital, in the Lower Kumaon of the new Himalayan Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, February 27 to March 1, 2009.
3) [Prints] Talento Bilingue de Houston, Houston, Texas, August 3 - October 29, 2009 [Opening: August 7 (Friday), 6-9PM]:
128 Digital Art prints by students from Raul Yzaguirre School For Success.
Installation at Talento Bilingue de Houston [four of nine panels shown]:
4) [Prints] Bob Lanier Public Works Building, City of Houston, Houston, Texas, November 6, 2009 - April 25, 2010:
128 Digital Art prints by students from Raul Yzaguirre School For Success.
Installation at the Bob Lanier Public Works Building:
5) [Prints] City Council Lobby Gallery, City Hall [Cultural Affairs, Mayor's Office], City of Houston, Houston, Texas, April 26 - May 17, 2010:
128 Digital Art prints by students from Raul Yzaguirre School For Success.
Installation at the City Council Lobby Gallery:
Teacher's Statement:
"I believe the most important aspect of this digital art project and its showcasing is the fact that a classroom assignment such as this ... or any other ... has transcended the confines of the room and the school system to provide impact or stimulus within the community.
This impact or stimulus is a realization for the students who participated, their families, their school system members and community members that what happens in the classroom can also be transferred to outside situations within a real world context.
The classroom assignment and its end result have moved from the student's notebook to a product on display for public consumption and evaluation. This fact indicates to the student that what he/she does can have more meaning within a wider setting. And because of this, it builds greater confidence levels to continue and in parallel with everyday activities in society."
Tom R. Chambers, Teacher, Technology Applications, Junior Academy, Raul Yzaguirre School For Success, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
News coverage:
"Estudiantes hispanos se expresan con arte digital", RUMBO, Houston, Texas [January, 2009][newsprint].
"Del salon de clases a las galerias de arte", SEMANA News, Houston, Texas [February, 2009][photo].
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