Westwood Wire
March 28, 2022
Dear Westwood Families,
It is officially spring and we are so proud of our Wolf pups! 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.
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. Additionally, state testing begins on May 4th and runs through May 11th, please expect increased communication regarding the specifics in mid to late April.
This week we are closing out the first 3 weeks of the fourth quarter and progress reports will be emailed on Friday April 1st. Your student's Wolf DEN (advisory) teacher will email your student's progress report directly and will include all class periods. 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
Principal
EOY Parent Survey
Dear Parents,
We want every parent to have a voice in Richardson ISD’s mission of serving and preparing all students for their global future. This survey is specifically designed for parents to provide their feedback and impressions about the school their child attends.
The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete and covers critical school issues such as academic preparation, student support, parent engagement, safety and behavior, special programs, school and district operations, and school leadership.
All answers are strictly confidential, so please feel comfortable responding honestly. Survey responses are never used to identify individuals. After the survey closes, we will report the information to our board of trustees and the RISD community.
If you have students at multiple schools and would like to complete the survey for each school, you may use the same survey link to select a different campus and complete the survey again.
Your time and thoughtful participation are appreciated and help us make decisions to best serve all students.
Warm regards,
Mrs. Tabitha Branum
Interim Superintendent
Richardson ISD
Mark your calendar:
- April: School Library Month
- April 4 - 8: Assistant Principal Appreciation Week
- April 14 : Full school day (no longer early release)
- April 15 : No school
- April 18 : No school
- May 4 : Algebra 1 EOC
- May 5 : 8th grade Science STAAR Test
- May 6 : 8th grade Social Studies STAAR Test
- May 10 : 7th & 8th Grade Math STAAR Test
- May 11 : 7th & 8th Grade Reading STAAR Test
Tropical Nights School Dance
Students can purchase tickets at lunch and after school on April 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th!
To attend student MUST have a valid Westwood JH student ID. ID replacements can be purchased in the Library for $5.
Black History Month
J's for A's
Then we celebrated all students with a dance party after school and Dylan Johnson won a dance off!
Congratulations to all the winners!
Online Enrollment
Will you be returning to RISD for the 22-23 school year?
Snapcodes for online enrollment were delivered through email and US postal mail. Please use your snapcode to enroll your student for the following school year. Signing up for classes with counselors does NOT enroll your student for the school year. Valid proof of residency must be provided to complete the enrollment process.
If you do not plan on returning to RISD please notify Mrs. Rodriguez (brenda.rodriguez@risd.org) so you can complete the withdrawal process.
Enrollment began on Feb. 28. Please click here for more information about the enrollment process, including what documents are needed.
Support our school!
Use your school’s promo code and Papa John’s will donate 10% of purchase price to your individual school and 10% of purchase price will be donated to Richardson ISD Foundation.
Use code: RISD049
Spring Exam Schedule
Teacher Howl Out Award
This award will be given monthly to teachers for showing WOLF characteristics. These include being welcoming, offering opportunities, demonstrating leadership and being future focused. Your recognition and celebration of our teachers and staff is an amazing gift and if you would like to shout out a teacher or staff member who has shown WOLF characteristics towards your student please complete the form below.
Click below to nominate a teacher for the Howl Out Award!
A message from the Counselors:
Attention Parents,
Course Verification Letters (for current 6th and 7th graders) will be sent home with students on Thursday, March 31st and are due back April 6th. Current 8th grade Course Verification Letters for high school will go home next week. Please read the letter with your student and make any changes to their course requests for the following school year on the letter. If you want to make a change to a class for the next year, you will cross out the class you do not want and then write in the replacement course. Please sign the letter and return to the Westwood counseling office by the due date listed on the letter. Information from the letter, course cards and additional information regarding the course verification process can be found HERE. If your student misplaces this letter or it doesn’t make it home, please click on the informational link provided in this message. This is your student’s final opportunity to make changes to their courses for next school year. It is important to turn in the signed course verification letter regardless if changes are needed.
2022 - 2023 Athletic Physicals
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 participating in athletics next year. These are basic physical exams that meet the requirements set forth by 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 “pre-participation physical evaluation form”.
The following schedule for physical examinations has been set up through local doctors and will be given at the Christa McAuliffe Learning Center.
Due to the large fluctuation in numbers of athletes each year, a short wait may be necessary. Examinations are available for both boys and girls. Students should wear shorts, T-shirt and tennis shoes. If parents are unable to attend with their child, students must bring permission letter with parent signatures. The Head Coach (or his/her designee) will be present at the time the physicals are given to assist the clinic staff. Please have the front page of the physical form (Medical History) filled out prior to arriving for your physical.
If you have any questions regarding physicals, please email Jessica Nelson, (Athletic Trainer at LHHS) at jessica.nelson@risd.org. If necessary, she may be reached at 469-593-1088. Jessica will be at CMLC on the exam date, therefore if you have questions please contact her before May 13th. There will be nobody available to answer questions in her office on the exam date.
When: Saturday, May 14, 2022
Where: Christa McAuliffe Learning Center
900 S. Greenville Ave.
Richardson, Texas 75081
Cost: $20.00 per physical - NO Checks! Cash or Money Order only.
Lake Highlands Attendance Area 7:30-8:15 AM
Berkner Attendance Area 8:15-9:00 AM
Pearce Attendance Area 9:00-9:45 AM
Richardson Attendance Area 9:45-10:30 AM
TRACK
Thank you to all of the track and field members who represented Westwood JH during the 2022 season.
Congratulations to the students-athletes who qualified last week and will compete in the RISD JH Track & Field Meet at Eagle Mustang Stadium on Thursday, March 31st.
Events will begin at 4pm for 8th grade and 5pm for 7th grade. Please come out to support and cheer on the WOLVES!
See the attached list of qualifiers.
2022 Track & Field Meet Schedule:
March 23rd District Qualifier @ LHJH vs AJH, FMJH, LHJH
March 31st District JH Meet @ RHS Eagle/Mustang Stadium
SOCCER
Attention all Westwood students who are interested in becoming a member of the 21-22 Girls and Boys Soccer teams!
The TIME IS NOW!
Try-outs for Soccer will start Monday, April 4th. 7th & 8th Grade Girls practice will be before school and 7th & 8th Grade Boys will practice after school . The tryout period will continue through Friday, April 8th. Tryout packets with important information will be posted on Google Classroom by Monday, March 28th. If you are not enrolled in Athletics, you can pick up a packet from the front office.
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.
If you have any questions, please contact one of the coaches.
Future Eagle Night
Richardson High School Softball is having Future Eagles Night on Friday, April 8th, 2022 against Berkner High School.
Admission is free and future eagles will have an opportunity to meet the players and run the bases after the completion of the varsity game.
Game Tickets
RISD Athletic Events:
- Only clear or approved bags may be brought into Richardson ISD junior high and high school gymnasiums, fields and stadiums, per RISD clear bag guidelines.
- Backpacks are not allowed at RISD events (this includes basketball games and track meets).
- Masks are highly encouraged for indoor events
- RISD student conduct at school and district events is governed by the RISD Student Code of Conduct.
- RISD students must have school ID when attending athletic events.
BAND
CHOIR
BOTH WWJH CHOIRS EARN SWEEPSTAKES AT UIL ASSESSMENT-TRADITION CONTINUES!
On Friday, March 25, the Westwood Choirs performed at the Region 20 Junior High Choir UIL Concert and Sightreading Assessment at Lake Highlands HS. At this yearly assessment, all participating choirs perform 3 prepared songs for a panel of 3 judges and sightread an entire song they have never seen before, also for a panel of 3 different judges. Both Westwood choirs (Treble Choir and Bella Voce) received “Superior” ratings from ALL judges in both concert and sightreading, earning a Sweepstakes trophy for both choirs! Way to go, Westwood Wolves! This year's UIL assessment marked the FIRST Sweepstakes trophy under the direction of Caroline Hartman and the 60th Sweepstakes trophy earned by the Westwood Choirs under the direction of Joel Price in the last 22 years. Congratulations to all!
Upon returning to WWJH, the amazing WWJH Music Department team (Mrs. I, Mr. Hinojosa, Ms. Cooper, & Mr. Boom) surprised Mrs. Hartman and Mr. Price with 1 and 60 balloons to honor the occasion of these milestones at UIL Assessment. It was a thoughtful gesture and so appreciated! The WWJH Music Team is the best!
Note: please disregard "2021" on one of the trophies. We will receive a "2022" to put in its place!
ORCHESTRA
- The WWJH Tournament of Books is going on now! Students are voting to pick WWJH’s favorite book! (attach pic)
- The WWJH Book Club met March 11th. Over 15 students joined together to discuss books! We will meet again in April!
Graduate Profile - Community Summit Invitation
RISD community members are invited to attend an upcoming summit to discuss the future of the school district, specifically what a graduate profile should look like and include.
At its March meeting, the RISD board of trustees voted to partner with engage2learn to facilitate the development of the RISD graduate profile, which will become a foundation of the district's upcoming strategic planning process. RISD plans to have defined competencies of the graduate profile by the end of the school year.
RISD Academic Calendar
RISD Secondary Grade Reporting Calendar
RISD COVID-19 Pandemic Site
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Westwood Junior High Math, Science & Leadership Magnet
Email: kathryn.mottram@risd.org
Website: https://schools.risd.org/WestwoodJH
Location: 7630 Arapaho Road, Dallas, TX, USA
Phone: 469-593-3600
Facebook: facebook.com/WestWoodJH/
Twitter: @WestwoodJH_RISD