Westwood Junior High

As we begin March, it's hard to believe that in just three short months, half of our students will be heading off to high school. We are confident that the experiences and growth they've had here at Westwood Junior High will serve them well in their next academic journey.

As we close out the third quarter this week, I want to highlight a few important updates:

• Important Dates: Grades will be posted on March 7th, and report cards will be available on FOCUS by March 20th.
• Celebrations: We have so much to celebrate! Be sure to check out all the amazing happenings at Westwood.
• Pep Rally: We are celebrating our winter sports achievements in Friday's pep rally, click here for the bell schedule.
• Interim Testing: Students completed STAAR simulation tests (Math, Reading/Language Arts, Science, Social Studies), which will inform STAAR preparation and academic growth.
• 4th Quarter Reset: As we enter the final quarter of the year, we’ll be focusing on attendance, punctuality, hallway and cafeteria behavior, and cell phone policies. Students will also see changes regarding YouTube access starting after Spring Break.

We appreciate your continued support and collaboration in ensuring your child’s success. Enjoy a restful and safe Spring Break, and we look forward to a strong finish to the school year!

Sincerely,

Katie Mottram

Principal

kathryn.mottram@risd.org

• March 07: Spring Pep Rally
• March 10-14: Spring Break
• April 03: Multicultural Night at 6:00 PM
• April 04: Spring Dance at 6:00 PM

Westwood Theatre braved the cold, loaded their set up, and took their One-Act show of “All I Really Need to Know I learned from Being in a Bad Murder Mystery” to RISD’s first ever middle school UIL One-Act Competition at Berkner High School. They won 4 distinctions for stand out cast members! They worked hard to prepare and compete with every other middle school in RISD putting up some great performances!

Kate Baker – Honorable Mention All-Star Cast Member and Technician

Emmy O’Neill – Honorable All-Star Cast Member

Jocelyn Carroll and Emerson Williams – All-Star Cast Members!

HUGE congratulations to our amazing 8th grade boys basketball team! They won 1st place in the RISD 8A Tournament to finish the season undefeated! 🏆 Way to go, team!

We are thrilled to share that our chess team participated for the first time in the UIL competition this past weekend! We are so proud of their accomplishments and the way they represented our school!

Shoutout to our incredible AVID student's for making a real difference this past weekend! They packed 109 boxes at Feed My Starving Children Organization, providing for 64 kids for an entire year.

Hello 8th grade Westwood Wolves,

The London 2025 trip is set for Spring Break March 8th -March 14th. For the fourth time, we are excited to experience this opportunity with the 30 travelers who will enjoy London's sights and unique experiences. Reminder: the pre-travel meeting for parents and travelers is scheduled for Tuesday, February 25, at 6:00 PM in the WWJH library. An informational meeting for students will occur during DEN Time on Friday, February 28.

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).

The district’s student access to YouTube will be updated in March 2025. Beginning March 17, 2025, when students return from Spring Break, middle school, and junior high students will no longer have access to YouTube. This is an update in student access, previously only elementary students did not have access to YouTube.

Instructional Technology worked with Teaching & Learning to evaluate the need for access to make this decision. Blocking YouTube for elementary, middle school and junior high students is a part of a continued effort to keep students focused and engaged in learning, as well as minimize off-task behavior with non-educational content. In addition, RISD is cognizant of appropriate screen time recommendations. Blocking YouTube supports students in appropriate productive use of screen time.

How to monitor attendance:

1. You can ask your child’s campus for an attendance report to review routinely.
2. Students and parents can monitor attendance records in Focus. Please click here to sign into RISD Focus. In addition, parents can sign up to receive notifications from Focus.

How to submit excuse notes:

RISD policy mandates parents submit an excuse note to the school attendance office within three days of returning to school.

Excuse notes, which can be an email, must include:

• Student name
• Student ID number
• A written statement giving the date and reason for the absence
• Parent or guardian signature for handwritten notes only
• Parent phone number

Please send emails to westwoodattendance@g.risd.org

Learn how to upload your attendance excuse for Focus.

View RISD Attendance Policies HERE

BASKETBALL:
Congratulations to the boys basketball teams. The eighth grade won 1st place in the RISD 8A Tournament to finish the season undefeated! The 7th grade boys won the district tournament consolation championship. The 8A and 7A girls competed in the tournament and finished 4th and 6th place respectively. This year was an exciting experience for the players as they improved individually and as a team.

TENNIS:Tennis teams were able to get back on the courts to practice and compete last week after cancellations during the previous two weeks due to inclement weather conditions. The district tournament has been moved to after Spring Break on March 18th, March 20th, and March 21st. Matches will begin at 4:30 PM.

Track & Field:
The track and field teams began the season strong on February 26th at Berkner High School hosted by Apollo Junior High School. The teams competed against Apollo, Liberty, and Lake Highlands Middle School and finished as follows:
8th Girls - 1st Place 7th Girls - 2nd Place
8th Boys - 2nd Place 7th Boys - 2nd Place.

CONGRATULATIONS WOLVES! The next meet, hosted by Forest Meadow Middle School at Lake Highlands High School Track, is scheduled for March 5th beginning with 8th grade events starting at 4:00 PM. Teams competing at the site will be Westwood JH, Liberty JH, Parkhill JH, and Forest Meadow Middle School.

Please note: On March 19th, WWJH will host our annual meet at RHS. The teams competing in the meet will be Westwood JH, Richardson West JH, Parkhill JH, and Apollo JH. Please come out and support the WOLVES. This will be the last regular season meet prior to district qualifiers on March 26th and the district meet on April 1st.

Soccer:
Soccer tryouts for boys and girls 7th and 8th grade teams will begin April 3rd following the track and field season. More information regarding soccer tryouts will be posted on flyers throughout the building as well as in the next issue of the Westwood Wire after Spring Break.

Quarter 3 Grade Report:
UIL eligibility grade check for all student-athletes will be received on March 17th. During this checkpoint, students may regain or lose eligibility to actively participate in the in-season sports (Tennis and Track & Field).

Eligibility Requirements for all Athletics:
All students must have a current physical and updated UIL Rank One paperwork prior to participating in any tryouts, practices, or games. All UIL information can be found on the Westwood, RHS, and RISD Athletics websites.

Tickets:
Tickets for all RISD Athletic Events can be purchased at the gate or by visiting the link below: https://richardsonisd.brushfire.com/

The Library Ambassadors have been helping with a huge project in the library this semester. We are genrefying our library, which means labeling each book with a colored sticker overlaying the spine label to signify what genre it belongs to. Then we will be moving all the books of each genre into sections of the library together, so that when a student is looking for a mystery, all they have to do is head to that section, rather than wade through all of the fiction to find those books. This should enable students to find what they want so much easier. Research shows that circulation numbers go up for libraries that are genrefied. We’re excited to finish the process!

****Reminder that STAAR tests are coming up in April. The database TexQuest, in your child’s Classlink -> Library Resources, has practice tests for reading, math, science and social studies! Practice at home or anytime, 24/7!

Thank you to our PTA who donated supplies for Valentine’s Day cookie decorating. This is our most popular event of the year! Students used their creativity to create a cookie to be judged A winner was selected from each lunch. Thanks again to our PTA for making this happen!

Want to support the library? Check out our Amazon Wishlist of items we need to pull off these library events. Thank you so much to those who have already granted some of our wishes!

Thanks so much for your support!

Thanks to all who came out to support the PTA at our Pickleball event! A special shout-out to our hosts (Bacarellas, Carrolls, Clairs, and Wallaerts), @reeseracketsports and DJ MAC for donating your time. It was a great success!

We have met 65% of our fundraising goal and need your financial support to get to the finish line. Your donations allow all the fun things for our students and staff – parties and treats for our teachers, quarterly student award gifts, teacher of the month awards, school dances (PAR-TAY!), and the end of school luncheon for teachers, we would greatly appreciate it. Donate online here.

RISD Special Students Services invites parents to register and attend this dynamic parent training opportunity with guest speaker Jenny McGlothlin on March 20, 6:30pm-7:30pm. Jenny is a certified Speech Language Pathologist and Certified Lactation Counselor specializing in feeding for newborns through adolescence. Her passion is working with caregivers to give them confidence and competence to be their child’s best feeding and communication partner. Childcare is available with advanced registration by March 7th.

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.