Rampage Hockey 'Cool School Education Day' for Fort Sam Houston Elementary

By Dr. Kathy Maxwell, Fort Sam Houston Elementary SchoolFebruary 3, 2011

Rampage Hockey
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

SAN ANTONIO -- Anticipation hung in the air at the AT&T Center Jan. 26, as 350 Fort Sam Houston Elem-entary students joined more than 8,000 other students waiting to enter the AT&T Center for the Rampage hockey game against the Abbottsville, (Canada) Heat.

Each year, the AT&T Center and its sponsors host a Cool School Education Day.

This year's special day was built around the San Antonio Rampage hockey team.

The event was set to coincide with pre-TAKS learning and focused on a push to stay in school. Each child was given a Cool School Education Day booklet filled with learning activities in every subject using hockey facts.

An anonymous benefactor made this trip possible for third, fourth, and fifth grade students along with staff and chaperones. Not only did the benefactor fund the trip, the donor assured that every attendee from Fort Sam Houston Elementary received a hot dog, water and an apple for lunch.

"The game began with an opportunity to celebrate diversity through exposure to the Canadian National Anthem," said Tonya Hyde, Fort Sam Houston Elementary School principal. "The commentator moved quickly towards making the case for staying in school by sharing with students how things learned in school are applicable to everyday life, including sports and specifically hockey."

Sports commentators provided facts and made relevant connections to happenings on the court with reading, math and science concepts.

Students from Brandon Jones' fourth grade class followed the game activity closely to complete venn diagrams, respond to challenging math problems, and collect data for scientific inquiry.

Learning did not stop at the game, each student received a game day workbook full of TAKS formatted questions and extension activities to complete at home or school.

Fifth grade teacher Betsy Menck added, "The kids had an amazing time, and they loved the workbooks. The day was great and engaging! They also took great pride in being featured as a class on the jumbo-tron."