Coppell ISD fourth grade teachers at Wilson Elementary School took their classrooms on the road to Austin with Education in Action’s Proud to be Texan Travel, Explore, and Learn Field Trip May 8. Students visited Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and Texas State Capitol to experience what they are learning in Texas History classes.

On the way to Austin, students discussed why Texans are so proud of their heritage and participated in activities and games in preparation for their visit. In Austin, students visited the State Capitol where their legislators, The Honorable John Carona, State Senator, District 16, and The Honorable Bennett Ratliff, State Representative, District 115, are in office. 

Students saw first-hand where Texas laws are made as they toured the State Capitol including the Senate and House of Representatives chambers. At Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum students explored exhibits about Texas’s earliest inhabitants, Texas Revolution, and events that created Lone Star identity. Students’ visit to the museum concluded at the multi-sensory Texas Spirit Theater with the Star of Destiny where they experienced Texashistory including a gusher exploding from an East Texas oil derrick and the takeoff of Saturn V as seen from Mission Control at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“Education in Action field trips are based on the understanding that the most effective way for students to learn is through experience,” said Lori Duncan, Education in Action’s School Programs Director. “Student activities during Education in Action’s Proud to be Texan field trip reinforce and supplement fourth grade Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills learning objectives with a focus on why Texans are so proud of their unique heritage.”

Education in Action’s Travel offers site-based learning experiences through field trips for third through fifth grade students in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.The organization handles all details, including round-trip charter bus transportation to Waco/Georgetown, Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth, reservations, and TEKS-based program curriculum, allowing teachers to focus on their students and to make connections between the experience and what students are learning in the classroom.

The group also offers spring break and summer Lone Star Leadership Academy camps for outstanding fourth through eighth graders. During the weeklong, overnight camps, students experience important Texas sites in Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin/San Antonio, or Houston/Galveston guided by Texas educators and a focus on leadership.

Source: Wilson Elementary School

Girl Scout Troop 2871 has enjoyed working with Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) for several years, especially at cleanup events like the “Trinity Trash Bash” and the “Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off,” and in maintaining their Adopt-a-Spot on O’Connor Boulevard. 

On May 5, they partnered with KIB for a different type of event, a paint project at Running Bear Park. The eleven girls, along with three adult sponsors, painted the metal safety handrails along the trails on the south side of the park. They first prepped the area by wiping down all the rails and taping off the areas near the sidewalk. The group was so efficient that they completed the job earlier than expected, so they finished the day by doing a sweep of the park to pick up any litter they could find.

The highly motivated, energetic troop, led by Nancy Medina and assisted by Cheryl Lidberg and Kathleen Ludlum, completed a total of 35 volunteer hours in making the park safer and more inviting. In fact, several visitors to the park that day noticed and commented on the quality of the work. The Girl Scouts and KIB also partnered with the City of Irving Parks Department’s Troy Crawford who helped with the planning and logistics of the project. 

“Teaching children about the value of volunteering at an early age is so important,” KIB Board Member Margie Stipes said. “We have seen many of these girls in Troop 2871 grow up before our eyes, and now they are mentoring the younger ones to be responsible members of the community.”

Source: Keep Irving Beautiful 

Keep Irving Beautiful is asking for nominations to be submitted for the 2013 “Mayor and KIB Proud Partners Awards.” These awards honor local individuals, organizations and businesses that have gone above and beyond in making significant contributions towards making Irving a better place to live, work or visit. Categories include: Youth Leadership, Educator, Faith Group, Civic Organization, Business and Industry, Media, Lifetime Achievement, Civil Servant, Green Government and KIB Hometown. 

Detailed descriptions of each award, a list of previous year’s winners, and the current nomination form can be found by going to www.rockthegreen.org and clicking the links on the right side of the page. Nominations can be submitted online, or can be downloaded, printed and mailed to the KIB office at: 

Keep Irving Beautiful, 3000 Rock Island Road, Irving, TX 75060.

For more information, please contact the KIB at 972-721-2175, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . 

Nominations must be received by June 19.

Source: City of Irving

 Brandenburg Elementary School held a "Dress for West" day as students and staff donated money to benefit West ISD. 426 people participated and Brandenburg Elementary School raised $1,276.70 for the West Independent School District.

Source: Irving ISD