Grizzly Gazette- 05/29/23
Happy Memorial Day Weekend- and first official day of Summer! (Reminder- no school today.) What an exciting week we had last week filled with many end-of-year activities (field day, 8th picnic, band concert, theater performance) and our 8th grade formal dance- Masquerade Sneaker Ball. The dance and the upcoming 8th grade Bridging Ceremony mark the end of the truly unique middle school experience that our students have been through. Enjoy the picture memories from all activities captured throughout this newsletter.
Final Report Cards will go out Wednesday (Houston ISD Promotion Standards) along with End-of-Year (EOY) Renaissance Letters showing how your student performed on their Math & Reading screener assessment. If your student needs summer school, they may have received a preliminary notice but will receive final invitations with information this week (Wednesday). Students can be assigned summer school for promotion requirements or for attendance recovery. The Ren 360 EOY assessment is a formative data point used for instructional purposes only. For more information about what Renaissance- Star assessments* are- find more information here. Preliminary STAAR scores were released this past week to school districts, but student reports are not available yet.
- See the STAAR 2023 article below for more information.
Two days left and it is going to go fast! We will celebrate the last two days with spirit day activities that all can participate in.* Also- if your student has uniform shirts/sweatshirts that could be worn by someone again- you or your student can drop them off with our Wraparound Specialist (near Front Desk) to be used next school year by those in need (gently used uniforms can be used for all sorts of daily uniform mishaps).
Last two days Spirit Days (flyer in inset):
- Tuesday- Decades Day
- Wednesday- Pajama Day
*Please remember, students should still be school-appropriate (no midriffs showing, no tank tops, & shorts >3 inches from knees).
This has been an exciting school year, as we experienced the first full year without COVID-19 restrictions and had many new initiatives. We've learned a new learning management system (Canvas), used a new Math curriculum (Carnegie), and put Chromebooks in the hands of every student (Power Up). We'll continue with these initiatives and work to continuously improve them in the upcoming school year. We wish our 8th graders a bright future and hope they don't ever forget to think of #GrizzlyValues in all they do! We wish all of our students a fun and safe summer!
Returning parents & students: stay tuned to social media (Twitter & Instagram) for campus updates and expect at least one Summer Grizzly Gazette edition before August. Join our West Briar PTO here, see their newly updated website, and/or pre-order school uniforms. Please make sure your email address and phone number is correct in Power School as that is used for campus direct communication. If you need an update to your email- please reach out to our Front Office (Ms. Lamar or Ms. Cooper). The 2023-2024SY Calendar is located at the bottom of this newsletter but here is the Houston ISD Academic Calendar Page with differently formatted versions.
Enjoy your summer!
- Mon, May 29 - Memorial Day - Student & Staff Holiday
- Tue, May 30 - Westside HS Grad Walk- 10:30am
- (WHS 2023 Graduates will walk through our campus with pomp & circumstance as shining examples for our students.)
- Tue, May 30 - 8th Gr Bridging Ceremony - Westside HS- 6:00pm (flyer below)
- Wed, May 31- Last Day of School
- Tue, Jun 6 - First Day of Summer School (invited students only)
- Mon, Jun 19 - Juneteenth Holiday
- Mon, July 3 - Last Day of Summer School
- Wed, Aug 16 - Cub Camp (incoming 6th graders)
**Attendance Note: Please note that all Student Attendance questions should now be sent to Ms. Lamar at llamar@houstonisd.org.
STAAR 2023 Score Reporting
- 05/22/23 - Grades 3-8/EOC- Preliminary/ Raw Scores reported to school districts for instructional planning only
- 08/11/23 - Grades 3-8 - Student STAAR Report Cards Released in Family Portal
Teachers had access to STAAR raw scores with performance levels attached and some students were able to see this data in their On Track accounts. Please note that this is preliminary data and has not been finalized by TEA yet. Because it's not final, the performance levels are as follows:
- Likely did not Pass
- Zone of Uncertainty
- Likely Passed
TEA has meant for this data to only inform summer school, HB 4545 interventions, and individual student learning plans right now. Since it is not final, there are no official reports to release to parents. According to the timeline released, student final STAAR reports will be available August 11th. This is when parents will have access to this data in the Family Analytic Portals on texasassessment.gov. We will send out detailed information as that date nears and if TEA releases more information.
๐ฒ Canvas App: The Grizzly Den
**If the student has not already enrolled in the Grizzly Den (most should have by now), they must follow this LINK or use the QR code at right.
๐ญ Grizzly Theater: Spring Show
Congratulations to the cast of The Music Man- our Theater Department's Spring Show that was performed this past weekend! It was a spectacular full production of a wonderful musical filled with song, dance, acting, and outstanding stage production. This production took multiple students, parents, and staff members to make it happen- parents helped with choreography to lighting to set creation and staff helped with dance and music. What a wonderful compilation of teamwork and dedication by our entire school community.
๐ Great work everyone! ๐
West Briar