Westwood Junior High

Thank you for participating in the Meet the Teacher event last week and for your continued support of Westwood.

Your student's progress report will arrive in your email box from the Wolf DEN (advisory) teacher by 4pm on Friday September 20th. The progress report will include all of your student's grades, which you can access on a regular basis in FOCUS; https://web.risd.org/home/focus-for-parents/.

Gradebooks are updated weekly by your student's teachers, as grades are expected to be input within 5 instructional days. Please find more about this important progress report at Eligibility for UIL Participants For The First Six Weeks.

The 24-25 school year has gotten off to a great start and we continue to enjoy getting to know your child. Please take time to complete the parent survey below!

If you have any questions, please reach out and ask. We are here to connect with you and your student and value our partnership for your student's learning, growth and success. Please continue to view our newsletters in your email inbox, Westwood Twitter & Facebook pages, school website and PTA platforms on October 8th and every three weeks thereafter.

Sincerely,

Katie Mottram

Westwood Principal

WWJH Parent HUB

• 9/24: Picture Retakes
• 9/25: Title 1 Parent Meeting 5 - 6 PM
  
• 9/30: Choir Fall Concert
• 10/4: Fall Dance hosted by WWJH PTA
• 10/11: Student Holiday/Staff Professional Learning
• 10/14: Fair Day Student/Staff Holiday
• 10/25 – RHS Homecoming, early release @ 2 pm for parade and game
• 11/8 – Road to RHS (8th grade parents at WWJH @ 6 pm)
• 11/7 – MST Ed Talks
• 12/17-20 – Fall Exam Week

Purchase your student pictures at Shop.LegacyStudios.com with online code 7224F25.

No orders can be taken in cash at school all orders must be placed online.

Dear RISD Parent/Guardian:

Texas Department of State Health Services requires different annual screenings based on the student’s grade level. A list of required screenings by grade level is below. The types of screenings conducted annually include vision, hearing, acanthosis nigricans, and spinal. All screenings will be conducted throughout the school year instead of one mass screening day.

If a student’s screening results indicate the need for further evaluation by a physician or other health provider, then the nurse will send home a referral letter. This screening does not replace your child’s need for regular health care and check-ups.

Hearing & Vision Screening: September 27

Thank you,

RISD Health Services

Click below to see a list of Immunization Clinics

Spirit Week (Sept 30th-Oct 4th)

All attire must follow the RISD dress code guidelines.

• Monday: Rep your Flag Day-Wear the colors that represent a Spanish speaking country!
• Tuesday: Wear Red Day- Celebrate Hispanic Heritage by wearing red!
• Wednesday: Sport Jersey Day-Wear a sport jersey celebrating a sport.
• Thursday: Vaquero Dress Up Day- Wear boots, and western wear. No Hats!
• Friday: Decorate Ofrenda Day-bring something to decorate the ofrenda in the commons. A photo of a loved one, a letter, or offerings for the ofrenda!

Hispanic Heritage Month Pot Luck

Come and join us for a potluck to celebrate the end of Hispanic Heritage month. A potluck is where each participant (a student & a parent) brings a food item (with enough to share) so that people can try out many varieties of tastes! Invite your parents to help and come join in the festivities!

Whip up a dish inspired by any Hispanic culture that holds a special place in your heart. Whether it's a family recipe or something you've always wanted to try, this is your chance to showcase your culinary skills!

Hello 8th grade Westwood Wolves,

As we bring the summer to a close and homework is piling up and sports and fine arts events are starting to populate our calendars, we wanted to remind every one of the great opportunities to explore, in the safety of group school travel, one of the most dynamic, energetic and historical cities in the world - London, England.

Spring break offers us the opportunity to visit Stonehenge, Oxford, the Tower of London, travel the London Eye, enjoy a Westend Musical, perform in a workshop with trained Shakespearean actors, visit and learn at London museums, try new foods and snacks, and experience a new city, culture and country. All with friends from school.

Last year's trip was an overwhelming success, and you have an opportunity to join us this year. Do you have a friend that you want to travel with? If so, share this email, pass along the website and sign-up information and help build out the trip.

To sign-up, visit our website: CLICK HERE

To view last year’s itinerary: CLICK HERE (we have added Stonehenge this year)

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Coach Lockett (beverly.lockett@risd.org).

Travel expands the educational understanding of the world and hits directly the goal of RISD to develop global thinkers across their schools. Westwood happens to get a head start on this.

RISD values the partnership between families and our school community. Parent involvement plays a crucial role in each child’s success, and we are committed to fostering strong, positive relationships with our families.

To help us understand how we can better support and engage with parents, we kindly ask parents/guardians to participate in a short survey that will be available from today to Sept. 27.

Your feedback will provide valuable insights into what we are doing well and where we can improve.

The survey is completely confidential, and your honest opinions will directly inform our efforts to create a welcoming and engaging environment for all families. Together, we can ensure that every student has the support needed to thrive.

Take the RISD Parent Engagement survey here.

Live Wise Live Healthy provides community wide training, programming, and opportunities to empower young people through healthy and wise decision making and meaningful life changing experiences. Each month students, staff, and parents will receive information about a different topic. Below are the topics for each month:

August - Start Safe

September - Together for Mental Health

October/November - Be Kind to Your Mind

December - Managing Stress & Mental Health

January/February - Healthy Relationships

March - Up Close and Cultural

April - Safe Kids, Healthy Futures

May - Making Connections

Next week, be on the lookout for information and resources about September Live Wise Live Healthy - Together for Mental Health.

Tickets:

Tickets for all RISD Athletic Events can be purchased at the gate or by visiting the link below:

https://richardsonisd.brushfire.com/

Punch Cards:

Punch cards are available to purchase with cash at each RISD gym and stadium. An adult punch card is $50 for 20 punches and a student one is $20 for 20 punches. This is a significant discount and can be used to enter any RISD home athletic event/game with the exception of varsity football and high school playoff games. These punch cards never expire, so if you do not use all punches this year, you may use the same card next year.

Athletics Store: The athletic store has closed for processing orders through early September. All orders will be delivered to Westwood and distributed to students when the items arrive in approximately two weeks.

UIL Academic Eligibility:

Academic Eligibility is determined from the first six-week grading period and each nine-week grading period. All student-athletes will be evaluated at the end of the six-weeks on Friday, September 20, 2024. Students may lose eligibility on Friday, September 27, 2024, at the end of the school day. After the 1st six-weeks academic eligibility check, students may only lose academic eligibility at the nine weeks grading report.

High School Football Games:

All students attending Varsity football games must wear their school issued ID for admission.

sportsYou:

RISD is transitioning to using Talking Points as its method of communication for campus and sports. Therefore, please look for more information and communication from Westwood administration and coaches as we embark on this new method of communication.

VOLLEYBALL:
Volleyball season has begun. The Wolves played Lake Highlands Middle School last week. The 8th grade defeated LHMS’s A and B teams in two sets. The 7th grade teams fought hard to defeat the Wildcats; however, the matches were won by the Wildcats. The next games are Thursday, September 19th against Parkhill Junior High Raiders. The 7th grade will play at home and the 8th grade teams will travel to Parkhill Junior High.

FOOTBALL:

The 7th and 8th grade football teams scrimmaged against Richardson West last week and are really excited about the 2024 season. The season for the Wolves will begin on Tuesday, September 17th as they travel to Pearce High School to take on the Parkhill Raiders. The 8th grade team will play at 5:30 PM followed by 7th grade at 7:00pm.

Cross Country:

Cross Country practices going well, and the coaches are excited to see so many participants each morning. Practices takes place each morning at 6:45 for boys and girls cross country members. The 2024 season starts on Tuesday, October 1st for 7th and 8th grade girls and October 3th for 7th and 8th grade boys. All meets will take place at Huffhines Park at 4:30pm.

The Library is always open! This month we are spotlighting our database, Culture Grams! This database is available 24/7 and has so much information on countries all over the world as well as our 50 states. Check out this presentation to see what all it offers! Your students will be learning about it during their library visit. Each month there is a Database Challenge they can enter!

Check out the 2024-2025 Library Ambassadors! These amazing students applied and were accepted to be Library Ambassadors this school year. They meet with Ms. Moore in the library once a week during Advisory to help plan events, create book displays, write articles for the website, and provide book suggestions to other students. We love our Library Ambassadors!

Amazon Wish List - We host many activities in the library and we don’t have the budget for all of it. If you would like to donate items for our activities, please see the Amazon Wishlist link or if you have any board games that you think would be a great addition, send them our way! The list will be updated throughout the year. See Jennifer Moore if you would like to help with donations. Thank you for your generosity!

Westwood Junior High PTA needs your help to reach our fundraising goal! Donations will be used to support our students, teachers, and staff with programs like Reflections, Robotics, EdTalks, student dances, quarterly awards, staff appreciation, and more! Please click the link below to donate and share with family, friends, and community partners. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far! Let's go Wolves!

Westwood Junior High PTA's hard work paid off and has earned the Head Start Award! PTA jump-started the year with 75% or more of last year's total membership. If you have not already, please become a member of our wonderful PTA; the link is below.

PTA Reflections is a nationally acclaimed student recognition program to encourage artistic creativity in the classroom and at home. Students of all grades and abilities may participate and explore the arts. For more information, visit our website WWJH PTA Reflections 2024-25 or email artsed@westwoodpta.org.

The theme for 2024-25 is "Accepting Imperfection..." Express your artistic talents with PTA Reflections in the categories of dance choreography, musical composition, photography, visual arts, film production, and literature. Submissions are due Wednesday, October 30.

RISD recognizes the work our teachers perform to support every child, every day. And we believe there is an opportunity EVERY day to show our appreciation for all they do to ensure student success. Click here to learn more about the Thank a Teacher program and how to sign up, and we will connect you with a campus.