WAIS Parent Newsletter

*Italicized events are open to or targeted for parents

9/12- Middle School Glow Party/ 3:15-4:15pm in the Dining Hall

9/13- Donuts with Directors at 8:30am in B320

9/17- WAIS Open House at 5pm/ Senior Parent meeting at 5:30pm in the Library/ PTA Meeting at 6:30pm in the Library

9/25- Middle School Early Dismissal at 1pm

10/1- 8th Grade Parent Meeting via Zoom (details to come)

Our first Donuts with Directors is this coming Friday! Come hear about the wonderful things that have already happened in the first 3 weeks of school. We'll share results from our IB exams last year and what we're looking forward to this year. Plus, YOU will have an opportunity to get answers to questions you might have. It's a great time to have a less formal and smaller group setting to interact with WAIS leadership. And yes, there will be donuts and coffee!

See you then!

We are enforcing the ID badge expectations. Students must wear their ID every day during the instructional day. IDs must be worn on the outermost layer of

clothing at chest level.

If a student loses or forgets their ID badge, they must wear a temporary ID badge.

Temporary ID badges are available in the morning from the A-Wing, E-Wing,

and Main Offices and must be picked up before going to the first class.

Temporary badges cost $1 and will be billed through My School Bucks at the end of

each semester. Temporary badges must be worn on the outermost layer of

clothing at chest level. Students will receive an after school detention on the

third violation and every third offense.

If a student loses their ID, they should request a replacement in the Main

Office. A fee will be required for the replacement to be billed through My

School Bucks ($5 for the first replacement and $10 thereafter). Students who

have ordered a replacement will not be charged for temporary ID’s and will

not accumulate violations towards after school detention while waiting for

their replacement.

A student who refuses to appropriately wear an ID badge or temporary ID

badge will be referred to their Assistant Principal. Parents will be contacted.

Repeated infractions will result in disciplinary action.

Sale ends September 17!

Get your taste buds ready for The Taste of WAIS!

¡Prepare sus papilas gustativas para The Taste of WAIS 2024!

All grades, WAIS family and friends are invited to participate and attend An evening filled with international culinary delights, performances, and fun presented by YOU…the WAIS community!

Event: Taste of WAIS 2024

Day: Thursday

Date: Oct 24, 2024

Time: 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Place: WAIS Cafeteria

We hope you will join us for this wonderful evening!

Ways to get involved….Taste of WAIS will need volunteers for setup, decorating, and cleanup. Please consider signing up to host a table representing your home country or one of your favorite countries. More information will be available in the upcoming weeks for details on table presentation ideas, event setup, and cleanup plans, event timelines, and all grades service hour opportunities.

The current Taste of WAIS Chair, Holley Nguyen, and incoming Chair, Lynn Thompson are already working hard on setup for this event.

Please reach out to Holley (832-434-7451) or Lynn (214-850-2536) with any questions or to sign up as a country table host.

“¡Calienta tus papilas gustativas con The Taste of WAIS 2024!

Todos los grados, familiares y amigos de WAIS están invitados a participar y asistir a una velada llena de delicias culinarias internacionales, actuaciones y diversión presentadas por USTED... ¡la comunidad WAIS!

Evento: Sabor de WAIS 2024
Día: Jueves
Fecha: 24 de Octubre de 2024
Hora: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Lugar: Cafetería WAIS

¡Esperamos que se una a nosotros en esta maravillosa velada!
Formas de participar... Taste of WAIS necesitará voluntarios para la instalación, decoración y limpieza. Considere registrarse para organizar una mesa que represente a su país de origen o uno de sus países favoritos. Habrá más información disponible en las próximas semanas para obtener detalles sobre ideas para presentaciones de mesas, planes de preparación y limpieza de eventos, cronogramas de eventos y oportunidades de horas de servicio para todos los grados.

La actual presidenta de Taste of WAIS, Holley Nguyen, y la presidenta entrante, Lynn Thompson, ya están trabajando arduamente en la preparación de este evento.

Comuníquese con Holley (832-434-7451) o Lynn (214-850-2536) si tiene alguna pregunta o para registrarse como anfitrión de una mesa de campo.

We believe that a collaborative partnership between parents, and educators is essential in ensuring that all our students at WAIS succeed. This partnership is an important part of providing an excellent and enriching academic experience for all our Wildcats. We invite you to join the PTA as we work together to share information and ideas about programs and activities that benefit our students and help to build a strong school community.

You can join by visiting our website waispta.membershiptoolkit.com. If you are new to our school, but already have a membership toolkit account with another organization you can use the same login. Returning WAIS PTA members simply need to login and update their family information and purchase a membership for the 2023/2024 school year. Membership costs $10 per person and is open to everyone, parents, teachers, staff, students, grandparents, uncles and community members. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out at president@waispta.org

The late buses will be available Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Students may stay for after school tutorials or after school club activities with a teacher. After school activities are over at 4:15pm. 3 bus routes are available and will drop off students at their closest elementary school.

Parents wishing to check out a student at the end of the day must do so by 2:45pm. This is so that there is time to locate the student and have them exit the front office in time for the parent to leave the parking lot prior to the line up of busses.

All absences must be verified by a parent with either a written note, including email, or a telephone call to the attendance office.

Notice must be given to the office within two school days if the absence is to be excused

Claribel Gatica: Attendance Specialist
claribel.gatica@springbranchisd.com

713-251-1839 phone
713-251-9152 fax

Any questions regarding Transcripts or Registration contact Claudia Puente at (713) 251-1804 or email: claudia.puente@springbranchisd.com.

The Spring Branch ISD Digital Toolkit was created to support our students, parents and teachers with digital learning tools, information and resources.

Help Desk

713.251.TECH (8324)

Monday - Friday: 7:00am to 10:00pm
Saturday - Sunday: 9:00am to 10:00pm

10670 Hammerly Blvd
Houston, Texas 77043

To stay on top of all communication, make sure your email and phone number is up to date in Skyward. You can update your contact information when you complete the online verification forms in Family Access in Skyward.

Some of our methods of communication are:

• Parent Newsletter--link emailed every Friday
• Remind groups
• Social Media--Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Westchester Academy for International Studies, or WAIS, is a public IB Continuum School in West Houston. WAIS is part of Spring Branch ISD and serves students in grades 6-12.
WAIS is the only public authorized IB school in Spring Branch, and offers 3 of the 4 IB programmes.

WAIS Mission Statement

Strengthening learners to be designers and contributors to a dynamic, intercultural community.

SBISD's only International Baccalaureate School

Email: wais@springbranchisd.com
Website: wais.springbranchisd.com
Location: 901 Yorkchester Drive, Houston, TX, USA
Phone: (713) 251-1800
Facebook: facebook.com/WAISSBISD
Twitter: @WAISSBISD