West University Elementary School
The West U
Pony Express
Fall Edition, 2015-2016
Volume 5, September 21, 2015
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Junior Achievement
1-2
Swinging Soiree Auction
2
Library Book Nook
2
Hands On Art
2
Halloween Dash & Fun Run
3
th
Principal’s Place
We have an odd week this week with
both an Early Dismissal Day and a
school holiday.
Please help prevent potential
embarrassment to your child by
requiring them to
boys haircuts.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 22, is
an Early Dismissal Day. Students will
be dismissed at 12:15 p.m. All
students must be picked up no later
than 12:45 p.m.
Please make
arrangements for your child to be
picked up on time. We do not have
sufficient staff to watch your child for
the afternoon.
See our webpage for a PDF of our full
dress code:
http://www.houstonisd.org/cms/lib2
/TX01001591/Centricity/domain/126
50/201516/West%20U%20Dress%20Code%20
2015-2016.pdf
Our Fall Holiday is this Wednesday,
September 23. School is closed this
day.
John T. Threet, Principal
As a reminder, our Dress Code has
specific
dress
and
grooming
requirements for all students. It is an
important safety issue for children to
wear proper school shoes. Another
important rule deals with the length
of shorts and skirts. Another key
guideline deals with the length of
boys’ hair. Some of our boys need a
haircut and may face disciplinary
action if their hair is too long.
Have a brilliant week!
5 Grade Sno-Cone Sales
3
Boo Bash Carnival
3
Sociable Hosts Needed
3
Birthday Book Club
4
Counseling Corral
4
Mark Your Calendars:
• Early Dismissal Day
Tuesday, September 22
12:15 p.m.
• Fall Holiday
Wednesday, September 23
No School
• PTO General Meeting
Tuesday, October 13,
9:00 a.m., MPR
• WUES Halloween Dash &
Fun Run
Saturday, October 17,
8:00 a.m.
• Boo-Bash Carnival &
Bazaar
Saturday, October 24,
10:30 am – 2:30 pm
We need parent volunteers to teach
classes for Junior Achievement’s Free
Enterprise Education programs during
the regular school day. Parents can
volunteer for as little as one class
period (30-40 minutes) or as many as
one class a week for 5 weeks. You set
Continued on next page
The West U Pony Express
September 21, 2015
your own schedule with your teacher. You will be trained
and supported throughout the experience. The curriculum
is interactive and fun. The secret ingredient is YOU, AN
INVOLVED PARENT SHARING YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCE.
The next training session is Sept. 24 after announcements
in the MPR. All materials, lesson plans and activities are
provided by Jr. Achievement and are ready for pick up from
your teacher. If you would like to volunteer, please contact
Tobey Forney @ tobey@forney.com or Michael Connolly @
mconnoL1@houstonisd.org. Or come to the training
session on Sept. 24 it will last approximately 1 hour.
If you are a working parent, Junior Achievement has a
relationship with most local businesses that allow time off
for volunteering.
Confirm with your employer the
availability to volunteer during work hours. Thanks for
your enthusiastic support. YOU MAY BE THE DIFFERENCE
IN A CHILD’S FUTURE.
Name that Book K-2,Begin a passion for
reading! Are you interested in joining
Name That Book K-2, 2015-2016?
West University Name That Book Club K-2 is a parentcoached club under the direction of Ms. Russell. It is
intended to bring about an enthusiasm of reading. Come
prepared to discuss selected 30 books in 5-6 different
sessions.
Please look out in the Monday folder for more information,
upcoming schedule, and details about the competition.
Questions or interests? - Email us at Marina George
or
Monika
Ummat
(marinacgeorge@gmail.com)
(ummat79@gmail.com)
Interested parents will get a separate email regarding
details and dates.
We look forward to having a fantastic year with you at the
K-2 Name that Book Club!
nd
Reminder: NTB K-3 tomorrow Tuesday, September 22 .
Purchase Your Swinging Soiree Tickets today at:
www.westupto.com/auction.
Dinner and Reserved Seating; Dinner catered by Cordura
(Americas) Casino: Sponsored by the Holt Family
Open Bar: Sponsored by Laura Mayer Cyprow and Kristine
Martinez, John Daugherty Realtors
Big Board: Sponsored by Children’s Memorial Hermann
Hospital
Wine and Whiskey Pull: Sponsored by Molly and Phil
Scioli/Prudential Investments
Parking Space Raffle: Grand Prize donated by WUES
2nd Place Prize - TBD
Heads or Tails Dinner Game
Prize – TBD
Dinner Game: sponsored by Debbie Crow/Greenwood King
Reality
Kelly Russell, School Librarian
Last week the students had their first Hands on Art lesson.
They learned about author/illustrator Lois Ehlert and her
collage technique. Ehlert used scraps and found objects to
create her stories. Her signature style involves basic
shapes, bright colors, and patterns. The collage lesson was
based on the Blue Bonnet Book - “The Scraps Book”, the
summer reading project.
The students created their Ehlert
inspired collages of something in
nature for their Original Works
creations. An Original Works order
form was sent home with your child’s
artwork last week. Parents can order
mugs, and notecards featuring their
child’s artwork. A portion of proceeds will be used to cover
Hands on Art costs. Order forms may be returned to your
child’s teacher or placed in the “Hands on Art” box in the
nd
Front Office. Deadline to order is Friday, October 2 .
A big thank you to Courtney Tsao and Valerie Browning for
developing the lesson, the HOA teaching team for teaching
the classes, and Class Coordinators for assisting the classes.
The West U Pony Express
September 21, 2015
Underwriting opportunities are available from $50 to $200.
As a thank you, your name will appear on the Boo Bash
Underwriters banner in front of the school.
Register now for the West U Halloween Dash and Kids Fun
Run (Presented by Bellaire Family Orthodontics). The Dash
is a certified 5K course and
is chip timed. The Kids Fun
Run is a 1 mile walk/run
and is not timed. Strollers
are permitted in the fun
run, but not the 5K. Race
date is Saturday, October
17 at 8am.
Everyone who registers prior to October 1, 2015 is
guaranteed to receive a race t-shirt featuring art drawn by
WUES students. Registrants after that day receive a shirt
on a first come, first served basis.
This event is open to non-WUES families, so invite your
friends and neighbors. All proceeds benefit the WUES PTO.
To register go to http://westupto.org/fundraising/fun-run/.
Join us for food, drinks, funand, of course, SNOW CONES!
Every Friday after school in the courtyard
(weather permitting). All proceeds go
toward the 5th grade fundraising
program. Thank you for your support!
Disclaimer: we are not responsible for
brain freeze…please consult your brain
before consuming!
A big thank you to everyone who sponsored our Boo Bash
games!
Only a few remaining
inflatables sponsorships are still
available for this year's Boo Bash.
Please consider a sponsorship - you can
even share a sponsorship with friends.
Sponsor before September 25th to be
entered into a drawing for a $100
Cyclone Anaya's gift card. See the PTO website, or check
this week's Monday folder for more information.
Did you order your Boo Bash wristbands yet? Check your
child's Monday folder or go to the Boo Bash webpage
(http://westupto.org/events/carnival/) to purchase your
wrist bands, meal tickets and confetti eggs.
If you don't have your carnival wristbands & food purchases
yet, you can still purchase via the carnival link below.
For more information go to the PTO website at:
http://westupto.org/events/carnival/ Questions: contact
Cris Farrell or Suzanne Faulk
Sociable Hosts Needed!!!
Now is the time to gather your friends and put together
your sociables for kids, parents, moms, dads, or the whole
family!
Need help with an idea? Please contact Helen Wright or
Kristen Leach and we are happy to help come up with ideas
or group you with others interested. Thank you for
supporting our school! Visit our website to sign up at:
https://cwsclients.wufoo.com/forms/sociable-controlsheet-20152016/.
The deadline to submit Sociable
requests is Friday, October 2.
Sign up to receive the Pony Express via email! Visit our
school website at :
http://www.houstonisd.org//cms/module/selectsurvey/Tak
eSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=471
As a reminder, there is no parking in faculty spaces in front
of the school extending west along University to half-way in
front of the ballfields, or in the Faculty Parking lot to the
west of our building next to Bullard Field. Addtionally,
parents may not use the faculty parking lot or Goode street
for student drop-off and pick-up. It is illegal to park in
handicapped spaces without a permit whether it is on HISD
property or city property. Parking illegally can result in a
fine of $300.
The West U Pony Express
September 21, 2015
Any
question?
Please
contact
Tracy
(tracymbenner@yahoo.com)
or
Guadalupe
(guadacarlesso@hotmail.com)
Benner
Harper
The following students are celebrating their birthdays this
week by donating a book to our school library:
William Silva
Mason Goode
Zed Samuel Choi
Gabriela Bryant
Iniya Saivani Gopal
Brock Kelly
Addisyn McKenney
Rex Petrulis
Robby Salomon
Anouk Rabelink
Grey Warren
Caden Warren
Gavin Yue
Christopher Deem
Reesie Packer
Alexis Chen
Victoria Regina Gonzalez
Colt Law
Emily Messina
Macy Mogas
Matthew Schafer
Sofya Domakhina
Ryan Frew
Shiv Khera
Annabella Woodcox
William Silva
August 18th
August 19th
August 20th
August 21st
August 24th
August 25th
August 25th
August 25th
August 25th
August 26th
August 26th
August 26th
August 27th
August 28th
August 28th
August 29th
August 29th
August 29th
August 30th
August 30th
August 30th
August 31st
August 31st
August 31st
August 31st
August 18th
Happy Birthday and thank you for supporting the West U
Elementary library!
Please remember that birthdays will be listed once a month
st
in the 1 Pony Express issue of the month. Summer &
September birthdays will be honored throughout the
month of September. Next week we will be honoring
September’s birthdays and the due date to submit your
nd
forms is Tuesday September 22 .
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.
This month my guidance lessons are
focused on Respect, our character
trait for the month. The students
are asked to commit to following
the Resolution of Respect. Many of
you signed it during the Open
House. The students promise to
treat one another with kindness and
fairness, even if others may be different from them. Our
school, our community and our country become more
diverse every year. It is important to know how to talk to
our kids about diversity. I’ve posted some resources on our
school website.
Go to westues.org and click on
Departments>Counseling>Resources
to
find
them:
(http://www.houstonisd.org/Page/52150)
Michael Connolly, School Counselor
West Un iversity Element ary School
3756 University Blvd., Houston, TX 77005
Phone: 713-295-5215
Fax: 713-667-8514
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, handica
or disability, marital status, religion, veteran status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression, or any other bas
prohibited by law in its educational or employment programs and activities.