Grizzly Gazette- 04/22/2024
Last week was an excellent first week of STAAR testing! We had very few students absent and were able to test the majority of all 6-8 students in RLA and most of our 8th grade students on Science. Make-up testing for RLA was Friday and make-up testing for Science will be this Friday. You can reach out to our testing coordinator, Ms. Walker with any questions about your student's STAAR test. Please note that students will continue reporting to their testing room (Guidance class) as they have been for each STAAR test we take.
❗ Coming up this week:
- Wed, Apr 24th: STAAR Social Studies- 8th gr only
Please make sure students get plenty of rest before STAAR testing days and come ready to show what they know! Reminder that our campus is closed to visitors and no lunch deliveries on STAAR testing days to ensure a secure testing environment.
- Wed, May 1st- STAAR Math - all grades
- Please note that it is very likely that we'll be breaking up the STAAR Math testing into two days due to lack of laptops for every student. This schedule for testing will be sent out in a parent email by the end of this week. Most likely it will be two grade levels on day and then one grade level the next.
Special 👏 Congratulations this week to our ⚾Varsity Boys Baseball Team (pictured) who demonstrated grit and integrity in winning their first district playoff game Wednesday though coming up short against Hogg MS Thursday to end their playoff run. JV Boys Baseball will compete in a tournament this week at Pershing MS.
Finally- make sure you get your WBMS Yearbook preordered using the purchasing link in this newsletter. Capture your student's 2023-2024 SY memories! Once preordered, yearbooks are delivered to students during the school day the last week of school.
💙 #GrizzlyValues 💛
Calendar Notes
- Mon, Apr 22- Fri, Apr 26- HISD Earth Week- (see flyer)
- Wed, Apr 24- STAAR Testing- Social Studies (8th only)
- Thu, Apr 25- WHS Inertia Concert ft. WBMS Dance (see flyer)
- Sat, Apr 27- When I Grow Up- Career Expo- Hattie Mae Bldg (see flyer)
- Sat, Apr 27- HISD Track & Field Meet- Barnett Stadium
- Mon, Apr 29- 6th Gr STAAR Math Tutorial Night- (see flyer)
- Wed, May 1- STAAR Testing- Math
- Mon, May 6- Fri, May 10- Teacher Appreciation Week
- Thu, May 9- WBMS Dance Choreography Night- WBMS
- Thu, May 16- Sports Physicals Night- @ WB (see flyer)
- Thu, May 16- WBMS Orchestra Concert- WB Auditorium
- Fri, May 24- WBMS Band Concert- 6pm- WB Auditorium
- Mon, Apr 29- 6th Gr Math Tutorial Day- 4:00pm-6:00pm (see flyer)
- Fri, May 31- 8th gr Formal Dance- 6:30pm-9:00pm
- Sat, June 1/ Sun, June 2- Theater Arts Musical Shows - WB Auditorium
AM Announcements Bulletin Board
(Morning announcements are shared on this board. Students are able to view in the Grizzly Den 23-24 Canvas Course.)
Get your West Briar Yearbook Now!
There's nothing else like your school yearbook. Get your hands on a limited edition collection of stories from our Grizzly school year. Share it, get signatures, and keep it for years to come!
Order now and will be delivered to school at the end of this year.
Go To: WEST BRIAR MIDDLE SCHOOL HOUSTON, TX - 2024 Yearbook | Jostens
Student Attendance
Some parents and students received Student Attendance- Principals Plan - packets that went home recently. We would like to share with your state school attendance policy so that you may best understand what is required for your student. As always, should you have questions regarding your student's specific attendance- you may contact Ms. Young- our Attendance Clerk.
Breakdown of Attendance Law/Policy
- A child is considered chronically absent if they miss two or more days a month. This includes excused & unexused absences. There are two main attendance laws that students must follow:
- Compulsary Attendance Law- students must provide necessary documentation for each period or day absent from school.
- 90% Rule- students must be present for each course 90% of the school year. Therefore, they cannot be absent more than 10% of any core class period. This equates to roughly 17 days/periods in one school year.
- The Principal's Plan for Attendance seeks to help students earn the credit missed back by allowing a student to make up missed class time through tutorials or other academic interventions outside of the regular school day.
- If the last day of school passes and any student is still in need of making up credit for attendance, an Attendance Committee will meet to determine promotion or need for make-up credit (summer school). Having the Principals Packet with Parent Appeal paperwork filled out early, will help avoid it getting this far.
- Principals Plan paperwork was sent out to any student who had missed over 10% of one course in each grading cycle to try to tackle attendance issues early. Again, your student may have received a letter but not be in jeaopardy of violating either the compulsary attendance or the 90% rule for attendance. You can make sure your student is following law by:
- Turning in any absence notes for any missed period or full day.
- Ensuring your student does not miss more than 10 days or periods in any course this school year. (At 15 days/periods, we will review the attendance plan and the committee will meet for your student's attendance. Best practice is that an appeal should be filled out in this situation. If the student has excessive unexecused absences, the atendance committee will meet to review compulsary attendance.)
District Resources for More Information
- HISD Attendance Attendance Department Page
- HISD Attendance Policy Page
- Compulsary Attendance vs. 90% Attendance Rule
#AttendanceMatters
