Grizzly Gazette- 11/28/2022
December is here!
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving week enjoying time off and what you hold special. Grizzlies will return rejuvenated and ready to take on the four weeks leading up to Winter Break! Girls and Boys Basketball begins this week and there are quite a few Holiday performances from our Fine Arts department happening this month. All students will also be taking the TEA-Interim Assessment in both RLA (Reading/Language Arts) and Math (this week). Students will take this assessment again in the Spring as the benefit of this assessment is the STAAR-Predictive reports it offers. Tailoring test questions according to how students respond to the first fifteen questions, teachers will have student-specific data about how to continue to help their students. (If you'd like more information about the assessment, see the link above.)
Let's have a great week before we celebrate Thanks the following week!
- Mon, Nov 28- Optional COVID Testing @WBMS (info below)
- Mon, Nov 28- HISD Redistricting Mtg @Westside HS (flyer below)
- Nov 29 - Dec 2- RLA & Math STAAR-Interim Assessments
- Thur, Dec 1- Girls Basketball Game @WBMS
- Fri, Dec 2- PTO General Mtg- 9am (flyer below)
- Fri, Dec 2- PTO Friday Fun Foods (at dismissal, snacks available for purchase in Cafe)
- Wed, Dec 7- Fall Picture Retake Day
👨💻 #HourofCode! 🖥️
Parents- Get your student involved in the Hour of Code!!! December 5th - December 9th is Computer Science Education Week. The West Briar Tech Team is hosting an Hour of Code in the library during lunch that week. Students should sign up the in Grizzly Den (Canvas) for a time slot. After completing the coding challenge, your student will enter a screenshot of completed coding activity for a chance to win a Chick Fil A gift card. Let's put West Briar MS on the map for the nationwide Hour of Code challenge!
*For questions- reach out to Ansley Merriweather- Academic Instructional Technologist
**More Activities: Middle School- Houston ISD 12 Days of Code
Student Feedback Surveys- Fall Admin
HISD has partnered with Panorama Education to gather student perception of their classroom experiences. Student Feedback Surveys will be administered twice this school year- once in the Fall (Nov 7-11) and once in the Spring (May). (West Briar students took their Fall surveys before the Thanksgiving Break.) Students in grades 6-12 will respond to a 25 question survey about two different teachers (automatically selected). The survey will take about 16-20 minutes and will be taken in their Social Studies class this week.
Surveys includes questions about classroom climate, classroom rigorous expectations, classroom teacher student relationships, and pedagogical effectiveness. This valuable data will help our campus take action by incorporating into strategic priorities, campus improvement plans. In the future, this data will be used in conjunction with the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS).
For more information, see the one-pager below.
Free COVID-PCR Testing @ West Briar
HISD will be offering free COVID-19 PCR Testing at West Briar again this school year. This testing will be every other week and is completely voluntary. Testing will be offered to everyone (students & staff) who consents, even if they don't have symptoms of COVID-19. Testing is free, quick, and easy and done by Fulgent Genetics trained medical professionals with a short, shallow nasal swab.
Test results will be available within 24-48 hours.
- Learn more about testing here: https://www.houstonisd.org/COVIDTestingFAQ.
- Complete the consent process by visiting this website: http://www.houstonisd.org/COVIDtesting.
- Contact Fulgent if you need help completing the consent process at mailto:cshou@fulgentgenetics.com or by calling 346-803-5828, Option 2.
Testing Schedule at West Briar - 10AM, Mondays
- November 28
- December 12
- (past December- TBA)
Canvas: Parent as Observer App
Canvas gives parents access to student learning. Parents/Guardians interested in monitoring student's Canvas courses, calendars, and announcements can use the Canvas Parent App. More information can be found here: Canvas for Parents
*Please note that West Briar is transitioning to this new learning management system and therefore, some teachers utilize it more regularly than others. Expect that teachers will have a Canvas course home page set up.
West Briar