Grizzly Gazette- 01/31/2022
January 31, 2022
Principal's Message
Happy start to February! The weather has been beautiful and our WBMS sports teams are working hard! Both girls and boys Basketball teams look to solidify their spots in playoffs this week and baseball, softball, and soccer begin their seasons. Students take their Renaissance 360 Middle-of-Year (MOY) assessments this week (some took it last week) in both Math and Reading. This assessment offers another mid-year data point to assess student's progress on grade-level TEKS.
Calendar updates are below, but also be sure to note the PCR COVID-19 testing article below as this is now a weekly testing schedule.
Let's make it a great week to be a Grizzly!
Calendar Updates
- Feb 1- ELA Ren 360 MOY test
- Feb 2- Math Ren 360 MOY test
- Feb 21- Staff PD Day (no school for students)
- Feb 23- Westside HS Course Selection Visit (8th grade)
**If you would like to see what Announcements are made each morning at West Briar- check out this list of announcements saved for your viewing:
- Please note that there are some days we miss, but we try to make up for it the next day.
COVID-19 PCR Testing at West Briar- Every Thursday
Free PCR COVID-19 Testing for West Briar students & staff are being held on campus- every Thursday.
This testing program is completely voluntary and requires the student's parent/guardian to first provide one-time consent by completing a digital consent form available at our school website and here:
One-Time Consent: https://bit.ly/HISDC19Test
Important Notes about this testing:
- If your student is on the registration list, they will be called down to test.
- When called down, students can refuse to be tested if you do not want them to be.
- If a parent would like their student to be removed from the list they must remove their consent altogether.
- Fulgent (Testing Program) contact information to remove consent:
- Phone-346-803-5828, option 1
- Email- backtoschool@fulgentgenetics.com
Yearbooks on Sale
The 2021-2022 West Briar MS Yearbook is officially on sale! Use the digital link below to go to Jostens West Briar Yearbook page. Click on "Order my yearbooks." Cost: $30
Student Handbook Reminders
Just a few reminders regarding our Student Dress Code (that can be found in our 2021-2022 Student Handbook here.)
- Outer Garments - hoodies not allowed & hoodies also not allowed underneath dress code top
- Crocs - allowed, but must have strap around back ankle
See pics below:
HISD Ready-Set-Go Plan Updates 01/2022
Houston ISD's Plan for Return to In-Person Learning- the Ready-Set-Go COVID-19 Updates document has been updated as of 01/06/2022. Aligning with public health guidelines and to help ensure safety with new variants, HISD has implemented the following updates:
- Masks are still mandatory in all HISD facilities and transportation.
- This includes essential visitors.
- Free PCR Covid-19 Testing on HISD Campuses.
- Vaccination efforts across the district.
- Athletic & UIL Competitions and performance filed trips- Allowed.
- All other field trips- Not Allowed.
- In-person gatherings, meetings, and events- suspended.
- (Athletics games are still allowed.)
Middle Schoolers & Social Media
Middle School is a time for social exploration and this socialization was certainly effected by the pandemic whether through technology or communication. As educators, we've seen these effects first hand through student's ability to communicate with other students and adults and how they handle social situations whether through technology or in-person. This has recently translated into an abundance of social media conflicts and disagreements making their way onto the West Briar campus. The reality: 85% of teens use You Tube & 72% Instagram- (Pew, 2018).
To help our community learn to guide students through smart and safe online behavior, we've created a West Briar MS Cyber-Safety page that houses a number of PDF documents from the National Online Safety site*:
- WBMS Cyber-Safety Page
- For example, there are ways to support Mental Health- both online & offline & I'm sure you'll find something on this YouTube Parent Guide that could be helpful.
Let's work together to support #GrizzlyValues!
Grizzlies Engaging Thoughts (GET)
Keep Moving Forward
By: Syna Nijhawan
This past week thousands of runners at the 50th Anniversary of Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half marathon, and We Are Houston 5K, a two-day event, showed us that we can push our limits, find our inner strength, and keep moving forward towards the finish line.
Running is like any other sport and it takes a lot of hard work and training. The process is difficult, but the perseverance is rewarding. When you cross the finish line to the cheering crowd all around you, it gives you the sense of accomplishment and pride. The journey of practice in every weather condition, toughens your mind and body to keep pushing forward. These runners dared to dream.
On Saturday, I ran the 5K of the Chevron Marathon. I applaud Mrs. Epperson our algebra and geometry teacher, who ran the 5K on Saturday and the Chevron Marathon of 26.2 miles on Sunday. She and many others kept moving forward to the finish line. As Martin Luther King once said:
“If you can't fly then run,
If you can't run then walk,
If you can't walk then crawl,
But whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
*G.E.T. is our West Briar student writing corner featuring our very own writers.
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**Calling all WBMS Student Writers: Any students interested in contributing to the GET column of our newsletter, can email their submission directly to Dr. Mishlan (lea.mishlan@houstonisd.org). Entries submitted by Friday can be used for the following week.
- Topics include: positive messages, encouraging thoughts/stories, student interests, poems, creative writing.
West Briar MS