What\’s Happening at Odyssey?
On Tuesday March 31st Galveston Police Department’s outreach program visited Odyssey Academy. They visited all students and discussed their jobs as police officers, safety, drugs and answered a number of questions.
Special Thanks to:
Odyssey Academy had a group of teachers visit the school in February from the United Kingdom. The group travelled to Texas and the Houston/Galveston area to visit premier Texas public schools and selected Odyssey Academy for their visit to find out more about Texas charters.
They spent the day visitng classrooms, observing teachers, support staff and administrators to compare views on education and to build relationships and networks.
“I just wanted to say how impressed we all were with your wonderful school, especially as you are dealing with such a difficult situation at the moment. Everyone we met could not have been more welcoming and it is clear to see that the children are settled and happy. The positivity displayed in your school is an example to us all of what can be done when you set your mind to it,” said Kathy Keeley, Deputy Headteacher of The Hollies School in Wales.
Odyssey Academy students Adam Thompson and Edward Sienko won first place and second place, respectively, in the Computer Science category of the recently concluded 2009 Galveston County Science and Engineering Fair. Edward Sienko’s entry, Robotest, is a multilevel video game that he designed with colorful and artistic graphics and backgrounds created from Microsoft paint. Adam Thompson’s “The Art of Video Gaming Design” demonstrated a different level of complex programming skills.
Their teacher, Mr. Canon said, “I am very proud of what our students have accomplished. Last year, we also won first and second place in the same category. I hope we will be sending entries in other categories next year.”
Clear Creek ISD’s Gilmore Elementary Student Council donated Library Books and Die Cuts to help Odyssey Academy recover from Hurricane Ike. Special Thanks to Trent Martin from Gilmore’s PTO for coordinating the relief efforts.
Both Gilmore and Odyssey Academy’s Student Council Groups are pictured.
It was an exciting day for two preparatory schools on Galveston Island thanks to a large donation by the Galveston District.
After losing all their computer equipment Sept. 13, 2008, to Hurricane Ike, O’Connell College Preparatory and Odyssey Academy collectively received more than 200 computers, monitors, keyboards and mice for use by the students and teachers at each school.
“It’s a big plus to these schools to receive these computers with wiped hard drives,” said Marianne Fullen, computer donation coordinator with the Galveston District Logistics Activity. “Instead of computers being destroyed, they’re sent to schools.”
Romano Caturegli of the USACE Logistics Activity traveled from the Los Angeles District to assist Galveston with preparation and delivery of the computers. For two weeks, Caturegli worked and coordinated with Army Corps of Engineers-Information Technology to have the computer hard drives wiped for delivery.
In addition to the schools, the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas National Guard also received nearly 40 computers from the Galveston District. The 36th ID provided support to the district during the hurricane’s aftermath by providing water, supplies and food.
“We’re extremely pleased to assist schools and non-profit organizations in our community with educational equipment to help them succeed,” said District Commander Col. David C. Weston. “Our neighbors and community partners have withstood so much since Hurricane Ike and together we can continue to build strong partnerships for the future.”
Galveston District has transferred excess computer equipment to local schools since 1996 under Executive Order 12999, Educational Technology: Ensuring Opportunity for All Children in the Next Century. The Executive Order streamlines the transfer of excess and surplus federal computer equipment to classrooms across America.
Schools receiving computer donations from the Galveston District have included O’Connell College Preparatory, Odyssey Academy, Galveston Catholic School and Westbury Christian in Katy, Texas.
Schools interested in receiving excess computer equipment from the federal government register online with the General Services Administration’s Computers for Learning Web site, www.computersforlearning.gov.
Reprinted with Permission from the Pacesetter, February 2009 Issue
