TSA Wings Up Weekly

Dear Amazing Owls and Families,

I hope you are enjoying your long weekend with family! When we return, we will be extremely busy with a variety of different tests and events. This Wings Up is a little longer than most with some new information regarding Final Exams, an upcoming social event from our Junior Class, and the Solar Eclipse and SAT's for Juniors!. Don't panic, we are here to help you navigate it all!

Your children are ready and will do AMAZING on all the things!! Thank you for sharing them with us every day!

SAT

The junior class will be taking the SAT on Friday, April 5th! More specific information will come from Mrs. Ballard.

The Games (An event created by the Juniors for the whole school!)

What are The Games?

• The Games are a winner-takes-all, last one standing tournament meant to weed out the weaklings from the strong. Tributes make use of water guns, foam swords, allies, and sponsorships in order to decimate their enemies. For more information, click here.

When & Where are The Games?

• The Games take place on April 12, 2024 (4/12) at Spring Creek Park. Tributes will fight to the (pretend) death on a giant field while being watched by their action-thirsty peers.

Here is a donation link for items needed for the Games. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094AA8AC23A7FEC52-48681909-tomball.

Panorama Survey

Tomball ISD and Tomball Star Academy values your feedback. On Monday, March 4th, you received an email from TISD Communications with a brief survey to tell us about your experience at Tomball Star Academy. To ensure we continue to provide high quality, rigorous learning experiences that meet the needs of our learners and prepare them for their best futures, we need your feedback. We want to know what you think.

*The survey will begin on March 4 and close on March 29. You will be able to take the survey online at home or on the go on your mobile device. More information to come!

We thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses. If you have any questions about the survey administration, please don’t hesitate to email me if you have any questions.

Superintendent Fun Run

This year the Superintendent Fun run will be on Saturday, April 13th. TSA will have a team and their name is TSA Mischief Muggles. There are 3 options for registration:

• Register for the full 5K Fun Run!
• Register for the Walking 1K!
• Support TSA and sign up to Sleep in! (Supporting us from a distance!)

https://runsignup.com/Race/TX/Tomball/TomballISDFunRun

Solar Eclipse

We are excited that we will have the opportunity to take our students out to see the Solar Eclipse on April 8th. All TSA students will receive Eclipse Glasses thanks to our amazing PCA.

• For students who are on campus during 7th period, students must return a permission form to OPT IN to going outside and seeing the eclipse. Permission forms were sent home on Wednesday from their 7th period teacher.
• For students who are Lone Star, we will give them glasses and make sure they are aware of the times they should not look at the without glasses.

TSA Campus Improvement Team

The Tomball Star Academy Campus Improvement Team is looking for a few new members to represent for the 2024-2026 school years. The Campus Improvement Team is a wonderful opportunity to provide feedback on campus goals, help consult on campus events, and be a part of continuing to shape and grow the culture of Tomball Star Academy.

The Campus Improvement Team meets after school at TSA 4 times a year (quarterly). This would be a two year commitment.

We are looking for:

1 Parent Representative

1 Business Representative

1 Community Representative

If you would be interested in taking on one of these roles or know someone who would, please have them fill out the form below by April 12th.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4TK7asP62yqLjnKCtsSaAFNh3TzPt9ZeU63RDTBlVP-xxDQ/viewform

We value culture here at TSA, and our vision this year is to provide high quality instruction and a learning environment that embraces personalized learning. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions/concerns.

Wings Up!

Jennifer Collier

Principal

Exam Exemption Information (Directly from TISD Student Handbook, pg. 64)

Exam Exemptions Exemptions are a privilege to be earned by high school students (junior high school students are not eligible). All high school students will take all semester exams during the 1st semester.

Please note: all exam exemption requirements and parameters may be changed at any point in the school year due to unforeseen circumstances which may occur during the course of the school year. Any changes to the stipulations outlined in this handbook will be promptly and clearly communicated to all students and parents affected by such changes.

A high school student who achieves “Masters” level on State Assessment Exams for all related courses taken during the current year may be exempt from all spring semester exams, provided the student is passing the course for the semester and meets all other requirements.

Students enrolled in dual credit courses may not exempt the final exam for the college. They may be exempt from the high school final exam in the spring semester if exemption requirements are met.

A high school student may exempt second semester exams on a course-by-course basis by meeting the specific requirement of the course:

• For courses with STAAR assessments:
• Achieve “Approaches” or “Met Standard” on the STAAR End of Course Test and
• Be passing the course for the semester
• For courses WITHOUT a STAAR assessment
• Have a minimum of an
• 85 average for the semester

Additionally, all exam exemptions are contingent upon the student meeting the following criteria:

• The student must have no more than four (4) absences (excused or unexcused) the 1st semester in a full year course, and no more than three (3) absences (excused or unexcused) the 2nd semester prior to the day of the exam.
• The student must not have more than (10) unexcused tardies or late arrivals for the year.
• All students must be in attendance on the day of the semester exam review or they forfeit their exemption.
• All textbooks must be clear.
• All outstanding fees must be paid.
• Students must not have incurred more than two (2) days of ISS assigned for the year. Students who were assigned OSS or AEP during either semester may not be exempt.
• Attendance hardship cases may be appealed to the Exam Exemption Committee. The hardship appeal forms for exam exemptions may be picked up in the principal’s office beginning April 22, 2024, and returned no later than May 03, 2024.

Students who transfer into Tomball ISD in the spring semester and wish to exempt exams are responsible for showing proof of attendance, textbook and state assessment records from their previous school.

Parents have the right to waive their child’s exemption and may do so by providing written notice to the teacher of each relevant course.

Note: If state assessment scores are not returned by the State of Texas in a timely manner that allows the District to evaluate the success of the individual student, then the 85 average for the semester will apply.

As part of our ongoing commitment to ensure effective communication and collaboration between Tomball Star Academy and Lone Star College, we are pleased to share with you an important resource designed to keep everyone on the same page.

Attached you will find a comprehensive calendar that includes significant dates from both TSA and LSC. This calendar aims to help you plan ahead, stay informed, and manage your schedules effectively. You'll notice that there are several dates in which TSA will have a student holiday, but LSC will not. On those days, it is your responsibility and obligation to get to your LSC classes independently.

If you are interested in volunteering at TSA or any TISD facility or event, you must complete a volunteer application. Please visit the TISD website volunteer page linked HERE to complete the process.

Below is the TSA Bell Schedule for 23-24 school year. Please note that on Friday's ALL Juniors and Seniors will be dismissed at 11:15am.

Additionally, there will be 5 Fridays where we will run an Odd day schedule to accommodate district holidays. Juniors and Seniors who have TSA classes on those days will be expected to attend. The dates are 9/8, 10/13, 1/19, 2/23 and 3/22.

Please be aware… the school buses will use the same entrance/exit as everyone else. There is an officer scheduled to be on duty in the afternoon to assist with traffic flow at the 2920 junction.