Space Cowboys split series with Aviators - Page 3
Beekeeping program at Sienna Branch Library on page 5
WEDNESDAY • AUGUST 2, 2023 JEANNE GREGORY REALTOR®, CRS, GRI, ABR
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 48 • No. 37 • $1.00
Fort Bend ISD board rejects proposed student code of conduct By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
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After a lengthy discussion, the Fort Bend ISD board last week overwhelmingly rejected a student code of conduct put forward by the administration, largely related to concerns that the proposed code did not sufficiently emphasize discipline in the classroom. The proposed code of conduct included new language on classroom culture that the staff members of admin-
istration of Superintendent Dr. Christie Whitbeck said was not very different than what the district already had in place, but which many board members expressed doubt about in the July 24 meeting. Notably, several board members had qualms over the concepts of “Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports,” or PBIS, “restorative practices” and “trauma-informed care,” all of which proponents said were evidence-based approaches to improving discipline in
schools but which critics maintain are insufficiently punitive to students who cause trouble. Board members David Hamilton and Rick Garcia, considered the most conservative members of the board, were vocal about their concerns about the proposed policy, but they were joined in their opposition by most of the other members, including Shirley Rose-Gilliam, Ph.D., herself an administrator in Houston ISD. Although in earlier remarks she expressed support
for the proposed policy, she said voted against in the end because she could see based on the discussion that it needed more work. Angie Hasan, M.Ed, cast the sole vote for
the proposed code among the board members present. During the discussion, many board members ex-
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Camp makes gardening fun for kids By Karen Zurawski
May 26 – September 4 This exhibition is proudly supported by Fort Bend Junior Service League
The sound of hammering recently filled Building D at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds as 25 elementary-age students used rubber mallets to pound flowers in an ancient Japanese technique to create patterns on paper.
Sugar Land council considers proposed $353 million budget
It was all part of the 12th annual Earth-Kind™Kids Camp presented through Texas A&M AgriLife by Fort Bend County Master Gardeners that introduces the third- through fifth-graders to herbs, water pollution, micro greens and other aspects of gardening. Ten-year-old Jayden was attending his second year of camp. “I get new friends,” he said, explaining why he likes camp. “I like meeting other people.” Only on the second day of camp and Jayden said he’s already learned about how to take care of the environment. “We learned what animals help take care of the environment,” he said. “We’ve been doing water pollution and different ways to plant plants.”
Staff Reports Sugar Land City Council will vote in September on a proposed $353 million budget for fiscal year 2024, which begins Oct. 1. The proposed budget includes $288 million for operations and $65 million for capital projects. The proposal follows guidelines in the City Council-adopted financial management policy statements and focuses on strategies and priorities identified by residents, according to a press release from the city “Our proposed budget emphasizes our pursuit on becoming trailblazers as we seek to provide city residents and businesses a life better than they can even imagine,” City Manager Mike Goodrum said the release. “There is tremendous alignment between what City Council identified as their highest priorities for
Camping is a family affair. Both of his cousins attended last year and one returned this year, with the other too old to participate again. It’s a family affair, too, for Alex, 8, in his first year of camp. He’s attending because his brother attended before him and his cousin came with him this year.
SEE PROPOSED PAGE 2
Jayden,10, shows off the design he created after pounding flowers on paper using an ancient Japanese technique. Photo by Karen Zurawski
“We’re making cool stuff - flowers and we’re playing bingo. I think I might start a garden now,” added Alex, who said he would grow flowers and fruit. At 15, Olivia Trevino is a camp veteran who attended before the COVID pandemic and returns now to help the younger campers. “I came back to help because it was something I enjoyed every year,” she said. “If they need help doing anything, I’m going to help. I don’t do it for them. I help them figure it out. I think I help them enjoy camp.” She is one of two teen volunteers this year out of a total of 21 volunteers.
Volunteer Betty Weidemeyer, a certified Master Gardener since 2002, said “I love to see the children learn. They’re so eager to learn. They learn practical things.” This is Nancy Seibel’s 11th year volunteering at YAC camp. A Master Gardener since 2004, she said, “It’s fun to work with the younger kids and to teach them things around plants and the environment and to provide them opportunities for expression that, in some cases, they don’t necessarily get in public schools or in their own homes. We offer a very broad range of activities, so that they get some art items, they get some science, they get obviously hands-on with plants and the idea is to help develop an understanding of how water, plants and the environment all work together.” While the range of knowledge varies among the 8- to 11-year-old campers, Seibel added “It’s kind of amazing sometimes how much some of these kids already know.” Donna Blackburn, FBMG Youth Activities Director, has worked on the YAC camp since 2013 when she became a certified Master Gardener. “I’m a former teacher and when I retired this allows me to continue teaching and working with kids.” The camp offers variety, she said, from an outside speaker each of the four days of camp to activities such as making paper pots, touring an herb garden and focusing on different issues such as water this year with the North Fort Bend Water Authority. A popular speaker is Cowboy Larry Callies who founded The Black Cowboy Museum in Rosenberg. “The kids always ask if Cowboy Larry is coming back,” said Blackburn. “We have a lesson and then an activity that goes along with it,” she said. “Every activity they take something home.” Zurawski, a freelance journalist, is a member of Fort Bend County Master Gardeners.