Holiday Heights Elementary fourth graders travel to Austin on an Education in Action Discover Texas Field Trip

Fourth graders from Birdville ISD’s Holiday Heights Elementary traveled to Austin on an Education in Action Discover Texas Field Trip, Friday, February 2, 2024, to experience what they are learning in Texas History. Students visited the Texas State Capitol and the Bullock Texas State History Museum.

During the charter bus ride to Austin, students discussed why Texans are so proud of their unique heritage and participated in activities and games in preparation for their visit. In Austin the students visited the Texas State Capitol where their legislators, The Honorable Kelly Hancock, State Senator, District 9 and The Honorable Stephanie Klick, State Representative, District 91, 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 the Bullock Texas State History Museum students traveled back in time through the Texas Revolution and learned about the events that created our Lone Star identity. The students’ visit to the museum concluded at the multi-sensory Texas Spirit Theater with the Star of Destiny where they saw and experienced the history of our great state 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’s Discover Texas Field Trips 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 reinforce and supplement Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) learning objectives in fun and hands-on ways at significant Texas sites that bring the content to life.”

Education in Action’s Discover Texas Field Trips make it easy for teachers to take their 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade classrooms on organized, fun, and educational site-based learning experiences. Education in Action handles all details, including round-trip charter bus transportation, meals, and reservations, and provides the TEKS-based program curriculum so participating teachers can focus on their students and making connections between the experience and what students are learning in the classroom.

Discover Texas Field Trips are presented by Education in Action, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering educated and involved young people. In addition to one-day Discover Texas Field Trips to Austin, San Antonio, Waco/Georgetown, Dallas, and Fort Worth, Education in Action also 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. For more information about Education in Action visit www.educationinaction.org and www.facebook.com/educationinaction.

Birdville ISD Destination Imagination Teams Win Big at Regionals & Advance to State Finals!

Five Birdville ISD Destination Imagination (DI) teams won top honors at the DI Regionals and will compete in the 2024 Lone Star [State] Finals at the University of Texas at Arlington on April 12-13, 2024. Approximately 475 Texas DI regional winners from across the state advance to the Lone Star Finals. Team results from the regional competition are as follows:

Green Valley Elementary School's Gators Got Game

Green Valley Elementary School’s Gators Got Game won 1st place for the Technical Challenge, “Pinball Heroes”

Watauga Middle School's T.O.A.D.S.

Watauga Middle School’s T.O.A.D.S. won 2nd place in the Fine Arts Challenge, “In Motion”

Team NonCents, comprised of students from Birdville High and Smithfield Middle

Team NonCents, comprised of students from Birdville High and Smithfield Middle, won 1st place in the Improv Challenge, “So Extra”

Team NonCents, comprised of students from Birdville High and Smithfield Middle

Team Let me Speak to ur manager, comprised of students from all three Birdville ISD District High Schools, won 1st Place.

Smithfield Middle School's Hissing Kittens

Smithfield Middle School’s Hissing Kittens won 1st place in the Texas EXTREME Extended Instant Challenge. 

Laura Lyons, district Destination Imagination liaison, has done an outstanding job of supporting the formation of these DI teams and helping them prepare for the regional competition.