Grizzly Gazette- 01/23/2023
January 23, 2023
Last week we had many of our 8th grade students head to Westside High School's Showcase Event and it was a great success! Students and parents were able to learn about the many programs that Westside has to offer students. For more information about pathways and courses, head to: https://www.houstonisd.org/Domain/17165.
Students will be having an assembly soon from our Houston ISD PD C.O.R.E program. The focus of these assemblies will be drugs, vaping, violence/safety, and making good choices. We are excited to collaborate with the C.O.R.E. (Community Outreach Responsive Engagement) team as they strive to build positive relationships with students through community outreach and a positive message. You can follow this program @HISDPDCORE on twitter or read a bit more about them here. We are hoping to stem the student conflict that has begun to pop up amongst some of our students. Following these presentations, the C.O.R.E. group will also engage with small groups of students selected by administrators as needing further intervention.
Finally, there are two mid-year assessments happening right now. All students took their MOY (Middle-of-Year) Renaissance 360 assessment last week in Math and will be taking the Reading MOY this week. This assessment provides valuable data for teachers to plan individualized interventions for students. Scores for both assessments will go home with students soon. Students who qualify to take TELPAS are also taking their Summit K-12 Interim assessment. This test gives teachers valuable data to help prepare them to pass the TELPAS test in the Spring. Students identified as LEP are required to take TELPAS in addition to STAAR. (More info on TELPAS- Parent Guide (ENG) & (SPAN).
Let's make it a great week-
- Sat, Jan 21 - School Choice Fair- Heights HS (flyer below)
- Fri, Jan 27 - 8th Grade Winter Social (flyer below)
- Sat, Jan 28- School Choice Fair- Westside HS- 9AM- 12PM (flyer below)
- Fri, Feb 3 - Boys Baseball Tryouts- 4:00PM-5:30PM
- Fri, Feb 3 - Girls Soccer Tryouts- 4:00PM
- Sat, Feb 4 - HISD Parent Organization Expo (flyer below)
- Fri, Feb 10 - 7th Grade Winter Social (flyer below)
- Fri, Feb 17 - 6th Grade Winter Social (flyer below)
- Mon, Feb 20 - Teacher Professional Dev Day- Student Holiday
🖥️ School Culture Parent Survey
West Briar Parents- Please complete the below (short) survey to help us continue to improve West Briar. We are conducting a student, staff, and parent mid-year survey to get a pulse on West Briar's school culture. Results will be evaluated and acted upon so your honest feedback and input is greatly appreciated. (QR Code or Link will work)
WBMS Mid-Year Parent Survey 2023
**Students can access their survey through the Grizzly Den- West Briar's student canvas course. Here is the link to the student survey in case they need easier access: WBMS Mid-Year Student Survey 2023. (Students must use their HISD email address to access their survey.)
Community Safety Meeting 1/13/23
Jan 13th Community Safety Meeting Video
We discussed many great ideas that we will begin implementing and we were able to share our safety efforts with parents. It was a productive collaboration.
♟️ Chess Club
Chess Club is returning to West Briar! The Dark Knights Chess club is offering an after-school chess program at West Briar. Chess develops reading and math ability, strengthens critical and analytical thinking, and builds character and self-esteem. But don't tell the children that...they think it's a board game!
- Learn from Nationally ranked Tournament Chess Players
- Student/Teacher ratio 16 to 1 or better
- Enrollment open to all students (only the first 32 entries will be accepted)
- Over an hour of detailed chess instruction in each class
- Each student receives:
- Chess handouts
- Homework assignments due following week
- Custom made Dark Knights Chess T-Shirt
- Students must maintain E or S in conduct, be picked up punctually when class is finished, and be appropriate and respectful during Chess Club.
Chess Club will meet Every Wednesday from 4:00pm-5:30pm
Will begin by February 8th...February 1st if it can get started in time. 12 total classes.
Cost is: $225 and made payable to Dark Knights Chess and can be turned into the Front Office.
Contact Coach Bo Githoro for more information at houdkchess@gmail.com or head to https://chesshouston.com/.
Attached Below:
- Chess Team Flyer
- Chess Team Information Sheet
- Chess Team Contract Form
🏀 Updated Boys & Girls Basketball Schedules
Looking for Translation Assistance
We are looking for a group of parents that would be able to help us translate with parents of different languages. Unfortunately, the district does not provide translators which makes it difficult for us to communicate with some of our parents.
If you are able to offer your time and translating abilities for any of the languages below, please reach out to our Social Worker- Ms. Madison Taylor at madison.taylor@houstonisd.org. We would truly appreciate it!
Languages Needed
- Arabic
- Pashto
- Persian/Farsi/Dari
- Swahili
- Ukrainian
- Russian
- Vietnamese
👋 Welcome Dr. McCurdy- new 7th Grade Dean!
💛 Grizzly Giving Event 💙
Families can show their support of West Briar MS by donating to this year's Grizzly Giving campaign. All funds raised will go directly to support WBMS students, teachers, projects, and programs! Please see the flyer below for more details. You can also download the form here: Grizzly Giving Form
More information can be found on our PTO website here.
Who do I contact?📥
Attendance: Mr. Anderson- compassion.anderson@houstonisd.org
Registration/Enrollment- Ms. Rodriguez- laura.rodriguez@houstonisd.org
Nurse: Nurse Papillion- rebecca.papillions@houstonisd.org
Special Education Secretary: Ms. Aguilera- joana.aguilera@houstonisd.org
6th Grade House Secretary: Mr. Rachal- tony.rachal@houstonisd.org
7th Grade House Secretary: Ms. Bass- vbass2@houstonisd.org
8th Grade House Secretary: Ms. Young- syoung1@houstonisd.org
Social Worker: Ms. Taylor- madison.taylor@houstonisd.org
Campus Administrators Webpage (includes new School Counselors)