Grizzly Gazette- 10/17/22
๐ WBMS Spirit Week! ๐
Last week we celebrated student & staff accomplishments in our grade-level end-of-cycle Celebrations. These short (15-25 mins) academic pep rallies will be held following each grading period and highlight students demonstrating respect, integrity, and perseverance. We will be holding a contest for students to come up with a great name for these events. Encourage your student to submit a create name that we could use for the remainder of this school year. (contest submissions will be made in our Grizzly Den Canvas Course)
It is West Briar Spirit Week....as we celebrate our Grizzly Homecoming Week! Check out the flyer below for each dress-up day noted. (It will actually be two dress-up week's in a row as next week is Red Ribbon Week.)
- Oct 17 - High School Magnet Fair (1:30pm- 2:30pm)- optional -8th gr only (see flyer below)
- Oct 17 - Oct 21- WBMS Homecoming Spirit Week
- Oct 18 - 8th Football Homecoming Game (Delmar Stadium- 7PM)
- Oct 18 - HISD District VI Community Town Hall- Westside HS
- Oct 19 - Advocacy Schedule - Wired Wednesday (Grizzly Tech Lesson)
- Oct 21- PTO Membership- Free Dress Day (see below how your student can qualify)
- Oct 21 - Homecoming Dance (7th/8th grades only- see flyer below)
- Oct 24 - 28 - Red Ribbon Week (see flyer below for dress-up days)
- Oct 26- Fall Student Picture Day
- Oct 28 - Student Verification & Socioeconomic Form Due Date (see both articles below)
- Oct 28- WBMS Glow Fest (see updated flyer below)
๐ท Oct 26: Fall Picture Day
Wednesday, October 26th is our Fall Picture Day. All students will take a photo- in dress code- as this will be their yearbook picture. If you want to purchase school photos:
- Go to: https://my.lifetouch.com/mylifetouch/#/
- Enter our Picture Day ID: EVTPBW8D2
*Picture Retakes will be on December 7th and there will be a Spring Picture Day in March.
Step 1: Update/Verify Student's Information
HISD Connect is the web portal to all things student information in Houston ISD. The HISD Connect Parent Portal allows parents to complete forms, update student contact information, and view/track grades and attendance. There is also a a corresponding Power School App (for students and parents). Parents/students can use either the app or the website to view grades and attendance.
Use the links below and videos that follow to maintain your HISD Connect Parent Portal and view student's grades/attendance:
Houston ISD Connect How To Page
- This page includes all the below videos plus more information.
Houston ISD Connect (Power School) Log In Page
Step 2: Socioeconomic Information Form
Each school year, all parents must complete the Socioeconomic Information Form (SIF). This form can be completed online within the HISD Connect instructions above or can be filled out on the hard-copy form sent out from campus. Copies of the form can be found here:
Hard copy forms can also be requested from the West Briar Front Desk or House Secretary.
Why do we have to sign the Socioeconomic Form each school year? Read about it HERE.
๐ฑ๏ธCanvas Learning
Teachers have been working to get their Canvas Course pages up and running. Parents will have access to Canvas by November 1st and more instructions will be sent as that date nears.
For Students:
- Classroom textbooks and other Digital Learning Resources are accessible through Canvas.
- Students should be able to log into the Grizzly Den in addition to their assigned Course pages.
- The Grizzly Den is the Canvas Course dedicated to important campus student information. This course will be updated more as the school year progresses.
Say Something: Anonymous Tip line
Students were presented with the Sandy Hook Promise School Safety Training last week. If your student missed this training, we have posted the below resources to our website and students will be able to view it in the Grizzly Den. This page explains how students or parents can report safety threats to our campus or to individual students and this video will give more information about what the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System is.
- The Say Something website listed above is also linked in the left toolbar of our WBMS homepage. (see image at right)
During this presentation, students learned how to recognize the warning signs of threats to school safety, how we are all responsible for reporting anything we see, and how to make a report using this anonymous reporting link: Say Anything School Safety Anonymous Reporting LINK
- Reports made using this link go directly to WBMS Administrators
Please encourage your student to report safety threats through this system, with a Counselor or Dean, or with any school staff member that they feel safe with.
Grizzlies Power Up- Laptop ID's
Your student should have received their laptop ID tag last week. Please remind your student that this ID tag should not be removed and is a quick way to differentiate laptops from one another.
Other Power Up Reminders:
- Charge your laptop each night & keep charger at home.
- Keep it cased- the hard case is not to be removed.
- No Food & Drink near device- do not eat around your laptop and be mindful of what's on your fingers when typing.
- Laptop Bags- these are allowable.
Need help with digital learning resources for you or your student? Check out:
- Houston ISD Academic Instructional Resources Page (Canvas, Google Workspace, Office 365, etc.)
West Briar