Grizzly Gazette- 11/13/2023
What a wonderful Veteran's Day Program we had last week! Our Fine Arts and Student Council students did a fantastic job in honoring our Veterans. Thank you to our West Briar PTO for putting this program together!
This is the last week before the Thanksgiving Break and Report Cards go out on Friday. We've also got the Book Fair on campus this week so see the flyer below for more information. Wednesday night the Book Fair will be open late if you'd like to pick up your student and stop by to look at books.
All 8th grade students and parents are invited Wednesday night for a Conversation with Dean Johnson and Counselor Boutte about high school planning. Westside HS staff will also be there to offer help with career pathway planning. You don't want to miss out on this opportunity to get your student prepared for high school! See the flyer below for more details.
🦃Have a great week before the break!
Calendar Notes
- Mon, Nov 13 - Fri, Nov 17 - Gen TX Week - article below
- Mon, Nov 13 - Fri, Nov 17- West Briar Book Fair
- Tue, Nov 14- School Tour- 10:00am- for prospective Grizzlies
- Tue, Nov 14- Band Fall Concert - 6:00pm
- Wed, Nov 15- 8th Gr Conversation with Dean & Counselor- (flyer below)
- Mon, Nov 20 - Fri, Nov 24 - Thanksgiving Break
- Fri, Dec 8 - Deadline for GT Testing requests (flyer below)
AM Announcements Bulletin Board
(Morning announcements will be shared on this board. Students will also be able to view in the Grizzly Den Canvas Course.)
🧥 Dress Code Reminder
As the weather begins to cool down- just a reminder about our Outer Garments portion to the student dress code.
Long sleeve shirts may be worn underneath dress code tops only. Hooded and out-of-dress code jackets are not allowed during the school day. Dress code color shirts should be seen at all times over undershirts.
**😲New: Our PTO School Store is now selling sweatshirts for $20...this is a $5 price drop! These can be purchased during lunch on Fridays or before school at the front office. When ordered ahead, they will deliver to students.
👉The entire Student Handbook (including dress code) can be found from our homepage:
💼 8th Gr Career/ Skills Assessments
Dear parents and guardians,
One of the priorities for our West division schools is to devise programs that align with high demand careers, community workforce needs and student interest. We need your help in identifying your students' needs so we provide meaningful and relevant programs as they plan their courses for high school.
To do this we need your help. All 8th grade students will access Schoolinks to take three career assessments. These assessments will help your students to build career awareness and guide them in developing their personal graduation plan. Through these assessments, they will discover their top career clusters, top skills and future careers to create a foundation for success in high school that will prepare them for postsecondary studies and high demand careers.
These assessments can be found on the Schoolinks student dashboard on the left side menu under activities tab- then choose assessments.
Here are the three Schoolinks assessments we want all your students to take:
- Find your Path- 15 min
- Top Skills- 15 min
- Would your Rather- 10 min
Your child will be taking these assessments during their advisory period during the next two weeks. Please encourage your child to take time to complete these assessments so when they begin the registration process for high school, they will be prepared to choose relevant courses.
Our goal is to have 100% of our 8th grade students complete these short assessments by Wednesday, November 8, 2023.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your Counselor- Ms. Boutte.
7th & 8th Career/ Interest Presentations
Our students will be receiving quite a bit of preparation for high school and planning for their futures. The Houston ISD CCMR (College, Career, & Military Readiness) department will be presenting a lesson to 7th & 8th grade students once a month through advocacy. These presentation will cover personality assessments, career research, and other college and career planning tools. Students will have access to Schoollinks, the program noted in the above article. CCMR staff will carefully guide them through familiarizing themselves with Schoolinks and begin their college and career searches.
Begin having conversations with your students after next Wednesday (their first lesson) to hear about what they've learned and what they still want to explore.
💙 Counselor Corner: 🙏 Thanksgiving isGratitude
With Thanksgiving almost here, let’s talk about having an Attitude of Gratitude.
The character strength of gratitude involves feeling and expressing a deep sense of thankfulness in life and taking the time to genuinely express thankfulness to others.
This thankfulness can be for specific gifts or thoughtful acts.
Here are some ways you can work on having an Attitude of Gratitude:
- Make a list of all the people you are thankful for!
- Cut out complaining. Make it a game. For every complaint made, you must think of two things you are grateful for. This is an excellent way to forge an Attitude of Gratitude!
- Write “thank you” notes. When we take the time to write out our appreciation, it challenges us to truly reflect on what was done for us or given to us.
- Share something you are grateful for every day. Maybe make a “Blessing Board” or have a jar with notepaper and a pen nearby to encourage your family to write down things they are thankful for. Share them at mealtimes, in the car, at bedtime, or whenever. Challenge your family to think of something different each day.
- Do something for someone in need. Volunteer, make a meal for a neighbor, donate coats or blankets or toys for tots.
- Keep a gratitude journal. Just like writing a note causes you to pause and reflect, cultivating a grateful heart can be as simple as writing down what you are thankful for. The best thing about a journal is that you can always read back through it and be reminded.
- Challenge yourself and your family to “say thank you as much as possible”. Find fun ways to show gratitude!
Let’s work on this together! -
Your friendly counselors Ms. Chavez and Ms. Boutte 😊
Gen TX Week- Nov 13 - 17
November is Generation Texas Month, a statewide movement to ensure students have the information and resources regarding post-secondary options such as college, career, and military.
Generation TX Week is November 13-17. Houston ISD schools will celebrate this week with college and career activities such as college fairs, college visits (virtual), college application drives, and FAFSA drives.
Gen TX Week Activities
Monday- Research potential college or careers: College for All Texans; Texas CTE; Big Future
Tuesday- Bring your career to life. Color or draw your future career (symbols or items associated with your career) and share with your class.
Wednesday- Searching for a college can be a scramble. Complete a word search or scramble word puzzle to expose your students to college terminology.
Thursday- Discover how your college and career choice impacts your community.
Friday- Wear a college or career shirt! Design your own college shirt for the college you may like to attend!
- Parents- Encourage "Resilience" by discussing roadblocks you experienced and how you overcame them. Encourage students to share any roadblocks they might anticipate and discuss ways to overcome them.
West Briar