West University Elementary School
The West U
Pony Express
Principal’s Place
As you know, the flu season is upon
us. We have not seen a huge number
of children yet although we have had
some cases. The flu is something that
must be reported to the City Health
Department. If your child does get
the flu and it is documented by a
physician, please inform your child’s
teacher or School Nurse Paula
Bottecelli, R.N.
As a school
community we are doing all that we
can to minimize the spread of the
illness. Many of our faculty and staff
have received flu shots and we
encourage you to still get yours. It is
not too late! Nurse Paula has been
giving hand washing and disease
prevention classes and will continue
to provide this info to the children.
We ask you to do your part, too. If
your child has fever, and has body
aches, DO NOT SEND THEM TO
SCHOOL. They should also be fever
free for 24 hours, without medicine
for a fever over 101°. If you have any
questions don’t hesitate to call Nurse
Paula.
This time of year we have our
custodians work overtime on the
weekends at least once a month to
Spring Edition, 2015-2016
Volume 4, January 25, 2016
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
WUES Golf Tournament
1
Birthday Book Club
2
PTO Nominating Commiittee
2
International Festival Thanks
3
Presidents’ Day Photo
2
Upcoming Events
sanitize all hard surfaces in the school
including student desks. We’ve done
this once early this month and will
schedule another work day in
February.
Have a fine week!
John T. Threet, Principal
The West U PTO Golf Tournament is
less than 1 month away! We are
hosting a great tournament that
benefits the PTO. Join us on Monday,
February 15, 12:00 p.m., at Wildcat
Golf Club, 12000 Almeda Road.
Mark Your Calendars:
• Souper Bowl of Caring
February 1-5
• Kindergarten Roundup
Thursday, February 4
9:30-10:30 a.m.
for zoned families only
• PTO Meeting
Tuesday, February 9
8:00 a.m., MPR
• Early Dismissal Day
Friday, February 11,
12:15 p.m.
• WUES Golf Tournament
There is a very strong roster of
sponsors, but we absolutely need
more golfers. Please sign up to come
have fun, eat and drink free, get golf
and athletic gear, and enjoy a nostress scramble tournament with
friends.
Thanks for your support!
https://cwsclients.wufoo.com/forms/
2015-west-u-pto-golf-tournament/
Adam Maurer
Monday, February 15
Wildcat Golf Club
• Schoolwide Photo honoring
Presidents’ Day
Tuesday, February 16
The West U Pony Express
January 25, 2015
Happy Birthday, 生日快乐, Feliz
Cumpleaños, С Днем Рождения!
The following students are celebrating their birthdays this
week by donating a book to our school library:
Ryan Wexler
Gaia Giuliani
Sofia Giuliani
Milla Emden
Kacey Chapman
Amira Regaila
Mira Pemmanda
Sophia Sharp
Julia Ziff
Isabella Alves
Maxime Elefteriou
Ethan Xu
January 21st
January 24th
January 24th
January 25th
January 26th
January 26th
January 28th
January 28th
January 30th
January 31st
January 31st
January 31st
The nominating committee members will be elected by the
general membership at the February 9th, 2016 PTO General
Meeting. The committee will then present the slate of
officers for the 2016-2017 PTO Executive Board for election
at a special meeting in April.
Interested PTO members should contact Kristen Flores at
whywouldhe@yahoo.com by Friday, January 29th, 2016 if
they would like to serve on the nominating committee.
If you signed up your child for the Birthday
Book Club and their birthday already passed,
but they have not chosen their book yet,
please be sure to let them know to stop by
the library as soon as possible!
Also, remember……..
If you would like to order a Birthday Book Club
membership for your child, all orders are due NO
LATER THAN Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m. to be included
in the following week’s Pony Express.
Submit your Birthday Book Club forms as soon as
possible, to make sure we include your child in the
Pony Express during their birthday month.
Order
forms
can
be
found
online
www.westupto.org, or in the blue PTO box at the
front office.
Happy Birthday and thank you for supporting the West U
Elementary library!
Any
question?
Please
contact
Tracy
or
Guadalupe
(tracymbenner@yahoo.com)
(guadacarlesso@hotmail.com).
The PTO is forming a nominating committee to nominate
the officers who will serve on the PTO Executive Board for
the 2016-2017 school year. Pursuant to the PTO Bylaws,
the nominating committee will consist of five voting
members and a Chairman (the current PTO
Parliamentarian) plus one alternate.
Benner
Harper
The International Festival week would not be possible
without the army of volunteers in various capacities. And
we would like to thank you all for helping to make this a fun
and entertaining week for our children.
As a reminder of what the children got to experience this
week:
rd
- The 3 graders were treated to a first glimpse of some of
the performances after the
Heritage Feast on Tuesday.
- Every morning, they were greeted
by fellow students in a different
language.
- This all culminated in the
International Festival evening
event – once again this year starting an hour earlier to
give more time to enjoy the tri-boards and tidbits as well
as enjoy the great performances.
Here are the people who made it all possible:
Performances Chairs: Natesha Madison
Chaiyavet
and
Pinky
Performers: Eden & Ellie Ingraham accompanied by Guille
Hernandez; Sophie Melancon; Emily Jackson; Xinru Lai; Zoe
and DeAnna Villalobos; Sofya & Darya Domakhina and
Vanessa and Alexandra Reed; Elaine See Toh; Zach,
Marquesa and Azkar Madison with Nicholas Harjadi and
The West U Pony Express
January 25, 2015
accompanied by Natesha Madison; Lila Mathuria, Daria
Agarwal, Anya Parekh and Kalyani Pandya; the TYAGI group
(Anika Krishnan and friends); Emerson and Auden Chen and
Friends accompanied by Coach Shi Yan Jian from the
Houston Shaolin Temple; Yongzhao Yu accompanied by Ana
Maria Otamendi.
Master of Ceremonies: Coach Jones with his comperes :Abigail Manuel, Marquesa Madison and Piper Egan
Catering Chair: Selin Salerian and her helpers
Passport Chair: Urvashi McIntosh
Continent Leaders: Maria Rowsey, Natesha Madison, Erinn
Mayral-Boyle, Marie-Chantal Labrie, Michelle Cook, and
Joanne Patterson.
Country representatives: too many to mention – you know
who you are and so do we! THANK YOU!
Morning Greetings coordinator: Martina Luke-Dorn
Posters & Publicity team: Carla Sharp and Christian Emden.
Front Desk: Chelsey Shor, Ame Wolffe, Michele Deutsch
Sound Operators: Heather Curran and Tim White.
Video team: Kah Cheong See Toh.
PTO team for helping with the communications and
greasing the wheels: Kristine Martinez, Rachna Shroff,
Susan Dison and Lori Yi
International Festival.
We also want to thank the School
Administration: John Threet and
Tracey Wyatt, Daphne Rawlinson,
Mrs. Chapa, Mr. Connolly and
Alfredo Aranda (and his team) for
their
assistance
with
communications and set-up, and
easing our way to a great
We also have to thank our Corporate & parent sponsors for
underwriting some of the costs and/or the prizes that we
raffled on the night:
Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Phoenicia, Bombay Pizza Co.,
Kiran’s Indian cuisine, Fellini Caffe, La Taste, Pizza L’Vino,
British Isles, Rocket Fizz, Croissant Brioche, The Teahouse,
Snowblock Shavery………………
And thanks to our Prizes team: Elaine Petrulis, and Selin
Salerian for their efforts in networking with local businesses
to get these.
The list of winners can be found on the PTO website, and
will be published in the next Pony Express.
Delphine Trogneux (Daube) & Enrica Vagliani (Gray)
2016 WUES International Festival Chairs
In honor of President’s Day, West
University is organizing a day of celebration
and learning about America and our
presidents on Tuesday, February 16th.
Each classroom will wear a designated
patriotic color as we form a West University American flag
with our students, teachers, and staff outside.
Please be sure your child wears their class’ designated color
th
on Tuesday, February 16 :
Kinder:
st
1 Grade:
nd
2 Grade:
rd
3 Grade:
th
4 Grade:
th
5 Grade:
All classes wear WHITE
Perkins & Smith WHITE
Breen, Fore, Hines, Holland, McKenzie,
McMillan, Reid, Webb RED
Vohlers RED
Anderson, Finnegan, Marshall, O’Dell, Romero,
Stone, Unger, Vistein, Wick, Wood WHITE
All classes RED
All classes RED
All classes BLUE
West University Elementary School
3756 University Blvd., Houston, TX 77005
Phone: 713-295-5215
Fax: 713-667-8514
We’re on the Web!
visit us on the web at: www.westues.org
John T. Threet, Principal
Tracey L. Wyatt, Instructional Coordinator
Amber Pinchback, Assistant Principal
Daphne Rawlinson, Teacher Specialist
Texas Education Agency Exemplary School
Texas Education Agency Met Standard
with Academic Distinction in All Areas
Children At Risk, Ranked #2
Among All Texas Public Elementary Schools
TBEC Honor Roll School
NCEA Higher Performing School
No Place For Hate School
It is the policy of the Houston Independent School District not to discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex, handicap or
disability, marital status, religion, veteran status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression, or any other basis
prohibited by law in its educational or employment programs and activities.