With the warm weather beginning, we know that summer is near. We are so proud of our Wolf pups and cannot wait to spend the last few weeks of school with them. They continue to work hard in their classes, on the field and at performances. Thank you for your continued support of our faculty, staff and all students.

Last week we celebrated our teachers, because we have the BEST in the business. Thank you to PTA for helping us to celebrate them as well. We are also very lucky to have a Westwood Woohoo Crew who made the week so special for our teachers. Thank you ALL.

Even though planning for next year has begun and half our students are counting down to high school, there is still much to be done and experience here at Westwood. Please take a minute to closely review the school updates and messages below.

As we near final exams, please continue to work closely with your student and student’s teachers. Once a week in Wolf DEN, there is dedicated time for students to review their grades in FOCUS and communicate and email teachers. A strong collaborative relationship between families and educators is imperative to student success and we hope that you are finding teacher communication positive, supportive and welcoming to an ongoing strong and trusting relationship.

Sincerely,

Katie Mottram

Westwood Junior High Principal

Thank you to your PTA, parents & community for showing your appreciation to our staff last week.

• 5/10: AP Spanish Test
• 5/10: Band Spring Concert

• 5/10: Orchestra Spring Concert; RHS Auditorium 6pm
• 5/11: Athletic Sneaker Ball Awards (Invitation Only)
• 5/15-5/19: NWEA MAP Assessment
• 5/16: Choir Spring Concert; Small Gym 7pm
• 5/17: Student Academic Awards; Big Gym @ 6pm (Invitation Only)
• 5/18: Theater Spring Musical; Small Gym @ 7pm
• 5/19: 8th Grade Dance
• 5/22-5/26: FINALS WEEK; Early Release 5/25 & 5/26
• 5/26: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

Help us put together a special night for our 8th graders before they head out to high school. We can't do this without your help!

Tickets for the dance can be purchased the week of May 15 during all lunches.

Enrollment for 2023-24 opened Feb. 28. If your child is coming back to RISD again next year, please enroll before the end of May.

Every child enrolled after June 1 will be considered a new student, which could affect placement at a specific campus based on available spaces. RISD Family Engagement presents online enrollment assistance for RISD parents every Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. at four different campuses:

· Apollo Junior High

· Dobie Pre-K School

· Northlake Elementary

· Richardson High School

These enrollment help sessions are open to every RISD family regardless of which school the student attends. #RISDBelieves

Not returning to RISD? Please email Ms. Lara for student records and withdrawal paperwork at evelyn.lara@risd.org

Parents - if your student walks home after school please remind them that they should stay on the sidewalk, only cross at designated crosswalks and not walk through someone's property. We have received several complaints from our neighbors about our student walkers trespassing on their property. Please help us remind them of these expectations and to be mindful of our neighbors and community.

Check out our new Westwood Testing Corner Newsletter and stay informed all of our standardized tests!

With testing coming up, please help us ensure that all students are able to charge their device. As a reminder, your students' chromebook and charger will not be replaced until 10th grade. If you need to purchase a new one, please click on the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QWHDR1G?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_YSPEJ9T47K4FKTR3YFQR

In addition to quality, daily academic content delivery and a positive and challenging academic environment at Westwood we continue to offer relevant enrichment programming for our students. For the second time we are offering an opportunity for our 8th grade students to spend Spring Break 2024 in London, England.

Richardson Independent School District exists to serve and prepare all students for their global future.

As an educational and cultural experience, the students who chose to travel (there are costs associated with the trip) will experience much of what London has to offer as well as a day trip to Oxford or Stonehenge/Bath (this part has yet to be determined - both are great options)!

Please know that student safety is an important part of the planning and we will have a strong and positive framework in place to ensure the trip goes well. Our plans include a minimum of one adult chaperone for every seven students, secure and safe hotels, a managed schedule of events and other check-points that have been effective with other travel groups as well as our successful 2022 and 2023 travel.

As the lead of the trip, I have experience traveling with students across the US and Europe in addition to possessing the knowledge of living in London for two years and working at Oxford University for two summers (with students from 37 different countries.) Throughout the 6-day trip we will be able to provide some deeper insight into the trip that typical “canned” group travel does not provide.

Below are some highlights:

• Tours of London, Tower of London, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, Westminster Abbey, Churchill’s War Rooms and other historically relevant locations;
• Day excursion to Oxford/Windsor Castle;
• Natural History, History of Science, Victoria and Albert and the Tate Modern museums;
• The London Eye and;
• A West End Musical.

Additionally, students will have supervised “free-time” and we will design a tailored exploration based on student interest: soccer, arts, science, shopping, eating, theater etc.

A copy of the 2023 itinerary can be accessed by CLICKING HERE.

If you would like further information on the trip please complete the interest questionnaire by CLICKING HERE. We will schedule a meeting during the second week of May once STAAR Testing has been completed for our students.

If you have any questions regarding these opportunities please feel free to call me on 469-593-3517 or via email at stewart.brown@risd.org.

Stewart Brown

Assistant Principal, Westwood Junior High School

Rank One

Please remember, all students must have an updated physical and all UIL Rank One paperwork completed prior to participating in any tryouts, practices, or games. All UIL information can be found on Westwood, RHS, and RISD Athletics websites.

https://schools.risd.org/WestwoodJH/athletics/

https://richardsonisd.rankonesport.com/

Tickets:

Tickets for all RISD Athletic Events can be purchased at the door/gate or by visiting the attached link: https://richardsonisd.brushfire.com

Peach Jar

For information regarding RHS sports camps and other events, create and account and login to RHS and WWJH Peach Jar accounts.

2023-2024 Athletic Physicals Important Dates

The UIL and the RISD require that student athletes receive a physical examination prior to participation in any sport. The RISD offers low cost physical exams for junior high students each spring. This includes current 6th graders who will be participaby the UIL. If parents wish, they may take their children to their own physician. However, the doctor must complete the UIL physical form. If you did not receive a physical form, one may be picked up at any junior high, high school, or downloaded from the UIL website: http://www.uiltexas.org/athletics/forms and select “Athletic and Marching Band pre-participation physical evaluation form” under the Medical Forms. (See attachment for dates in May 2023) https://www.uiltexas.org/files/athletics/PrePhysFormRvsd2.21.pdf

Westwood Junior High Sports Awards Celebration

On May 11, 2023, all student-athletes who participated in football, volleyball, cross country, basketball, tennis, cheer, track & field, and soccer are invited to an awards celebration. The event will take place at Westwood at 6:00 PM. More information to come!

HINT: Get those special and favorite SNEAKERS ready because we will have a BALL! 😊ting in athletics next year. These are basic physical exams that meet the requirements set forth

Congratulations to our next year's cheerleaders! Go Wolves!

Click here to take Richardson ISD’s 2023 Parent Survey.

Richardson ISD values parental feedback as the district strives to fulfill its mission of serving and preparing every student, every day.

Between May 5 and May 28, parents are encouraged to take a few minutes to complete this confidential survey that is designed for RISD parents to provide feedback about the school their child attends.

The new RISD Mobile Parent App is now live for our school and available to parents of enrolled students. Created through RISD’s Blackboard system, this app allows parents of enrolled students to easily view important information related to your student’s education, like classes, assignment grades, attendance, cafeteria balance, bus stop info, an archive of messages sent from the school or district, and more. Use of this app is optional, and parents who have tested it have found it to be a useful and convenient way to keep track of their student’s information.

RISD parents were sent an emailed message that included login information and instructions to download the app and view information about enrolled student(s) within the app. The app is available for Apple and Android devices.

For more information and a QR code to download the app, please see the flyer here, or visit the RISD website here. Parents of enrolled students who did not receive a message with login information, or who need support viewing student information within the app, may contact the RISD Technology Support Center at 469-593-4357.

RISD trustees have adopted the student academic calendars for the next two school years.

View the 2023-24 Calendar (en español)

View the 2024-25 Calendar (en español)

Check out the WWJH Parent Hub!

Contains all the important information you may need from teacher contact information, bell schedules, student code of conduct and much more! It can also be translated to several languages!