PJH West April Newsletter 2014

r e t t a h C r e t t a Wildc 4th Nine Weeks

April 2014

Upcoming Events STAAR Math 7 Social Studies 8 April 22 STAAR Reading 7 Science 8 April 23 STAAR Algebra I EOC May 6-8 STAAR Math 8 Retest May 13 Band Concert May 13 STAAR Reading 8 Retest May 14 Progress Reports May 14 Choir Concert May 21 Dance Showcase May 23 Holiday May 26

A Word from Mrs. Wenke‌.

Dear Wildcatter Parents, It is a busy and exciting time at Junior High West! It is hard to believe we have only seven weeks of school remaining! Progress reports went out on April 16 and the final progress report will be posted on May 14. Semester exams will be held on June 2-4. Please encourage your child to stay focused on his/her studies and school rules as we close out the year.

We are preparing for the STAAR tests on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 22 and 23.

Results are due back this week for 8th grade Reading and Math.

were not successful during the first administration for reading or math tests will be notified on April 24 so tutoring can begin on April 28. Retesting for 8th grade math and reading will be May 13 and 14. Further information will be forthcoming from the counseling department.

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 5-9. I think you would agree with me that Junior High West has some of the greatest teachers on earth! It is a pleasure to work with them in educating your child to reach his/her fullest potential. Teaching is one of the hardest jobs in the world, but I believe our staff shows compassion and patience while encouraging each student to believe in him/herself.

Thank you for all your support these past nine months—it truly takes everyone being positive and working together to help all of our students. I look forward to our awards programs at the end of the year and spotlighting all of our student successes!

BOGO Book Fair May 27-29 Semester Exams June 2-4 WestFest June 5 Last Day of School Early Dismissal June 6

Eighth graders who

Please let me know if I can of any assistance.

Sincerely, Andrea Wenke

4th Nine Weeks

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A Few Notes from Choir On March 6, three choirs from West participated in Region 17’s UIL Concert and Sight Reading Contest. The Tenor/Bass Choir earned an Excellent rating on their Concert and their Sight Reading Performance. The NonVarsity Treble Choir earned (for the second consecutive year) a Superior Rating and plaque for their Sight Reading and Excellent Ratings for their Concert Performance. For the fourth consecutive year, the Varsity Treble Choir earned Superior Sweepstakes Ratings and trophy, bringing home straight one (superior) ratings

from all judges for both their Concert and Sight Reading Performance. Congratulations to all students who participated and worked so hard to achieve these results!

Solo and Ensemble Contest will be held at West on Saturday, April 26. All forms and money are due Thursday, April 17.

The annual Schlitterbahn Galveston trip will be on Saturday, May 10. All forms and money are due Thursday, April 17.

The Spring Concert will be Tuesday, May 20 at 7:00 p.m.

Track Team Wins Championship

Rehearsal will be on Monday, May 19 after school until 5:30 p.m.

Check our webpage for the latest information about choir events.

You can find it by going to http://www.pearlandisd.org/ west.cfm, and selecting Activities and then selecting Choir.

Another Win for Dasari

The 7th grade boys’ track team won the South Zone Championship earlier this month. They edged out East in a hard fought battle, which literally came down to the last race. They are the first West track team since 1997 to win a championship.

They also became the first group in West history to win a championship in cross country and track. Coach Dines and Coach Lloyd are very proud of this team. It was a great season!

The Band Beat...

Congratulations to the Pearland Junior High West Honors, Symphonic, and Concert bands for their successful performances at UIL this month! Honors band received a Superior rating for their stage performance and a Superior rating in Sightreading, earning them a sweepstakes trophy for their second year in a row! The Symphonic Band earned a Superior rating on stage and a Superior rating in SightReading and received a sweepstakes trophy for their performances.

The Concert Band earned an Excellent rating on stage and a Superior rating in Sight-Reading and received a first division trophy for their sight-reading performance.

Band directors Meredith Bates, Jessica Steiner, and Karen Young are very proud of all of the students and what they were able to accomplish as a team this year.

Shobha Dasari is the co-champion for the Houston area Scripps Spelling Bee competition and will be going to the National Championship in Washington D.C., May 25–May 31, 2014.

Good Luck, Shobha!

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Wildcatter Chatter

Math & Science Club Competes

West Math Club in San Antonio

Apart from team results, individual members won trophies and medals, competing against over 200 students in each category.

Jessica Williams (6th grade – Sablatura) received a 5th place trophy in science. Siddarth Krishnakumar (6th grade – Sablatura) received an 18th place medal in number sense, a 12th place medal in general math, and a 16th place medal in science. Helen Wang (7th grade – PJHW) received a 17th place medal in general math.

Angela Tran (7th grade – PJHW) received a 15th place medal in science. Brian Liu (8th grade – PJHW) received a 20th place medal in calculator and an 8th place

Aca Advanced

demics

trophy in math. Finally, Chaitanya Lavu (8th grade – PJHW) received a 5th place trophy in science.

Sponsors Jamie Williams and Susan Kovach are very proud of each of these students and all the hard work they have put in this year.

Melanie Grote, Specialist Pearland ISD Advanced Academics 1928 N. Main St. Pearland, TX 77581 281.485.3203

RED RIBBON WEEK: October 21-25

The Math ^& Science Club, with members from West and Sablatura, competed in the recent TMSCA competition in San Antonio. Our team competed against 84 5-A schools and placed 11th in number sense, 7th in general math and 7th in science.

Campus Information From the Registrar

From the Attendance Clerk

CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please notify Mrs. Salais when you are changing your address. An Official Change of Address Form can be picked up in the Counselors’ office or the front office. Residence verification requirements in name of parent consist of the following documents that will need to be attached to the Official Change of Address Form.

1. Deed of Trust (Pages 1, 2, 3 and the last two signature pages), Current Residential or Lease Agreement 2. Current Utility Bill (electricity, gas or water only) 3. Current Texas Drivers License/Texas ID with correct address.

Please contact Mrs. Salais with any questions at 281-412-1222.

When your child is ill and cannot attend school, he or she must bring a note, signed by a parent or physician, with the absence date(s) and the reason for absence. This must be sent the day the child returns to school.

On a different note, please be advised that the deadline to get messages to your child during the day is 3:20. Also, if you need to check your child out of school early, please do so by 3:30. Please allow at least fifteen minutes waiting time when you need to check your child out for doctor/ dentist appointments, as they must be notified and then go to lockers to gather their belongings.

Lost and Found…..

Lost and found is located in the cafeteria. If you have misplaced a jacket, book or notebook please look in the cafeteria. If you have misplaced glasses, jewelry or keys please

Library News Beginning May 1, these library circulation changes will take effect for the remainder of the school year: • Students may check out only one book at a time.

• Checkouts will not be renewed.

• Students owing any fine amount will not be able to check out a book.

• The last day to checkout a book will be Friday, May 16.

• Any book checked out after May 8 will be due on May 23— the last due date of the year.

Although students will not be able to check out print books after May 16, they will still have access to the library’s FollettShelf ebook collection as well as the district’s Overdrive ebook collection. Students can access both Overdrive and FollettShelf books from the library’s homepage.

Contact Ms. Herrington, West Librarian, for more information about fines/overdue books and for help with any of the library’s All fines must be paid by June 6. online resources including ebooks.

Did you know that students can access their virtual desktop from home? When they access their virtual desktop, students have access to software such as Microsoft Office. See pages 6-8 for instructions from Pearland ISD Ed Tech Department.

Students now have access to a growing collection of ebooks through Overdrive. Click the image above to go to PISD’s Overdrive login page. Students use their district ID number as their username and pearland for their password. Free Overdrive apps are available for ereaders, tablets, and smartphones of all types.

From the District...

Stay in the Loop Pearland ISD text messaging will provide parents with timely, relevant info, including school cancellations, delays and other emergency notifications. If you want to receive these messages, make sure your cell phone number is entered in the cellular field under primary parent/ guardian contact info in Skyward Family Access. (For instructions, visit www.pearlandisd.org » Departments » Communications » Avenues of Communications. Click on “Text Messaging” link.)

If your contact info changes during the school year, please update it by calling your child’s school office or logging into Skyward.

Also, subscribe to receive the district’s monthly e-newsletter and/or school board agendas by visiting www.pearlandisd.org » Departments » Communications » Avenues of Communications. Look for “Board Agendas Subscribe” and “e-News Subscribe.”