Thursday, December 17, 2015

IB Diploma Ceremony


Recent alumni return to WAIS to receive their IB Diplomas and reconnect with campus, faculty, and current students. In addition to the presentation, current IB Diploma and Career-related Candidates were acknowledged, and multiple speakers shared their viewpoints. Speakers included our director Jennifer Collier, our new superintendent Scott Muri, and recent WAIS graduates.

Following the ceremony, students were able to briefly socialize and reconnect with current students, sharing their successes and advice based on their experiences at university.



Neither Dr. Muri nor Mrs. Collier make light of the difficulty of the work required by students at WAIS. Instead, the value and importance of the work is emphasized, as the students of today will be the workers, the professionals, the policy makers, the ones who hold together the world of the future. Mrs. Collier spoke not only on the importance of our students' choosing a greater level of challenge, but also on how many are choosing to accept it.

WAIS continues to see the number of IB Diploma Candidates increase year after year, as well as adds IB Career-related Candidates to the mix this year. Several year ago, the district began its T24 initiative- to double the number of students entering and completing programs offering a technical, 2-year, 4-year degree, or serving in the military. At the time, WAIS had over 70% of students applying to and receiving acceptances to college and/or university. The WAIS class of 2015 has more than 90% of the students actively attending college or university (or enrolled in the military). The graduation rate is harder to track, but multiple 2013 students have already shared announcements on receiving their Associates degrees as they continue toward their Bachelor's.

Alumni and IB Diploma recipient Danielle Couch, attending Trinity University, spoke about her experiences in the IB Diploma Programme at WAIS. She acknowledged her difficulty with it, her uncertainty, her fear of not scoring high enough to earn the internationally recognized IB Diploma, and her perseverance to keep trying and not give up. When notification of her scores came from the IB, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to open them, despite expecting only disappointment, she chose to open them. She described her surreal experience of reading the notification that she not only did she score higher than she expected, but that she would receive the International Baccalaureate Diploma in addition to the Texas High School Diploma awarded to her in June.

Other IB Diploma Candidates and Recipients of 2015 are attending schools including University of Texas in Austin, University of Houston, Texas A&M in College Station, Notre Dame, Cornell University, and others. 2015 Diploma students included several Bilingual Diploma recipients. By Texas state law, students earning the IB Diploma are awarded a minimum of 24 credit hours at public universities and colleges in Texas. However, many of our students are awarded more than the minimum- some as high as 40 credit hours.


A story on this event was also published on the SBISD School Zone:
WAIS IB Graduates Implored to Change the World



Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Advanced Choir at Carrabbas


Advanced Choir Students are singing for the next few nights at Carrabbas Italian Grill, as part of their Carrabba's Cares initiatives. Part of Carrabba's proceeds for customers choosing to help support our students will go to the WAIS Choir.


Saturday, December 12, 2015

The Hour of Code 2015


WAIS participated in this year's Hour of Code. This is our third year to participate in the Hour of Code. The Hour of Code event has a massive number of participants logging in from across the whole world. Its aim is to increase student awareness of coding and computer science.

The event and its publicity is spearheaded by Code.org and related site HourofCode.com. Each year, the Hour of Code event has reached more and more students from across the world. During the first event three years ago, they had hoped that they'd see a million participants across the US. Instead, it caught on across the globe. What was expected to be a hopeful estimate of 1 million in the US became over 20 million across the world. For 2015, the estimate is nearly 200 million participants.

Hour of Code receives a wide variety of support, both from educators and parents, but also from industry. If you ask parents, 9 of 10 say they want their student to have exposure to coding. Despite how technologically involved our world is becoming, when Hour of Code started 3 years ago, less than 1 of 10 schools offered coding classes. These numbers have greatly improved in the past 3 years, however, there are still a lot of students who don't have access to courses that teach programming.

Through the Hour of Code, hundreds of our students try out different programming activities from various providers participating in the event. This includes activities like Code.org's Programming with Minecraft and StarWars, Lightbot, Codester, and many more. All of our 9th grade students will participate in a programming unit in their Digital Communications class, and programming activities are also included in our 6th grade Tech Apps/Design course. Students who enjoy programming and the Hour of Code can continue learning about the topic in Intro to Robotics, Intro to Computer Science, Computer Science I & II, Robotics Programming & Design, and/or in Web Design.


Friday, December 11, 2015

Mayoral Candidate Sylvester Turner speaks with Students


Candidate Sylvester Turner, for the 2015 Houston Mayoral Election, spoke with WAIS government students today. Turner shared with students about how local politics work. Turner also spoke on his position and his perspectives regarding Houston's issues and potential solutions.

The general election for Houston's next mayor was held in November, but no candidate took majority of the votes. The run-off election will be held tomorrow between the two leading candidates, Bill King and Sylvester Turner. Early voting dates for the run-off occurred Dec. 2nd - 8th.

Turner holds a degree in political science from the University of Houston, and a degree from Harvard Law. Turner has already served 25 years on the Texas Legislature. Turner also ran for Houston Mayor in 1991 and 2003, beat by Bob Lanier and Bill White respectively. During the General Election in November, Turner was leading the votes, with Bill King in the runner up position.

If elected, Turner will be Houston's second African-American mayor, following Annise Parker, Houston's second female mayor. Houston's first African-American mayor was Lee Brown (1998-2003), and Houston's first female mayor was Kathy Whitmire (1982-1991).

Candidate Bill King spoke with WAIS students in November.



Photography by WAIS student Brenda Robles. 
Robles is on Miacis staff.

Friday, December 4, 2015

Annual Winter Concert


The Westchester Academy Choir performed their annual Winter Concert this evening. With over 10 years now, this event has become a long standing tradition and the number of participating choir students has never been greater. Despite our theater featuring a wider stage than most, participants still overflow what it can accommodate.

The performance included a variety of festive holiday songs. Friends and families of WAIS were invited to the performance free of charge and toward the end were invited to sing along.

Dr. Shamoo of Rice U speaks on Superbugs


Dr. Yousif Shamoo, Professor of BioSciences at Rice University, visits the Westchester Campus today and speaks with students about his research in the medical field. Dr. Shamoo obtained his bachelor's from Carnegie Mellon, his doctorate from Yale, and has coauthored numerous academic articles in his areas of study. Dr. Shamoo speaks specifically on his research in molecular evolution, increase in drug resistant pathogens, and how this is affecting the medical field. Upper School students were invited to attend during our extended lunch period today.

Antimicrobial drugs, including antibiotics have greatly prevent the spread of infectious diseases over the last 70 years. They've saved countless lives, and are one of the most important advances in the medical field. However, they've also spurred evolution within pathogens- resulting in more antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pathogens. This results in diseases being harder to treat and medicines that once worked becoming ineffective. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), at least 2 million Americans are infected with resistant bacteria each year. At least 23,000 of them die as a direct result from these infections.

Dr. Shamoo also provides a Q&A session with students, engages in a recorded interview with a WAIS IB Diploma student, and shares with students more general information about the sort of classes he teaches and the experiences students in this field at Rice can engage in.



See also:

Monday, November 30, 2015

Personal Project Work sessions Dec 1st & 8th

December 1 and/or December 8 from 4:10 to 6pm- link to register 
Both sessions start after tutorials end so there will not be conflict as the semester winds down. 
Register below to attend the Personal Project Work Session on Tuesday, December 1st or 8th, from 4:10 to 6 pm. You can work on your bibliography, process journal, begin the report, or finish part of the product. WAIS staff will be there to facilitate the work session. Session size is limited.

Tuesday, December 1st (Session) http://goo.gl/forms/lUEwKj5PLU
Tuesday, December 8th (Session) http://goo.gl/forms/M4pGmQrkse

The location will be either A346 or the library depending on the number of students that register. 
PLEASE contact Mrs. Agrawal or Mrs. Wegscheid if you must cancel your attendance so another student may take your place.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Houston Texans visit WAIS




The Houston Texans visited us earlier this week. An article and photos from the event are posted on HoustonTexans.com. The visit was prompted by our success in the NFL's Play60 Challenge. Check out the article and related photos here.



Friday, November 13, 2015

Mayoral Candidate Bill King speaks with Students


Candidate Bill King, for the 2015 Houston Mayoral Election, spoke with WAIS government students today. Bill King shared with students about how local politics work, and the current issues Houston is facing. He explained the positions he supports, and spoke on his perspectives regarding Houston's issues and potential solutions.

The general election for Houston's next mayor was already held, but no candidate took majority of the votes. As such, a run-off election will be held on December 12th between the two leading candidates, Bill King and Sylvester Turner.

Bill King also urged students to get more involved with their city and local politics. Regardless of who they vote for, King urged students to educate themselves on local politics, candidates, and participate in voting. King spoke on the lack of participation in the city's youth in politics. In the General Election less than 5% of the populace voted, and King stated that the average voter is older than he is.

King holds degrees in both political science and law from the University of Houston. King was the first person in his family to earn a college degree. If King wins, this will not be his first time serving as Mayor- King served as the mayor for two terms in nearby city, Kemah, from 1992-2004. If elected, Bill King will be the first republican mayor of Houston since Jim McConn who served from 1978 - 1982.

This is the first run-off election since 2009. Current mayor Annise Parker was re-elected by over 50% in both 2011 and 2013. Parker grew up in Spring Branch and attended Spring Branch public schools until the age of 15 when her family moved to a US Army Post in Germany. Parker attended Rice University on a National Merit Scholarship.

Candidate Sylvester Turner is scheduled to speak with WAIS students later this year.


Thursday, November 5, 2015

WAIS Theatre presents Cinderella


Westchester Theatre invites you to join us for this fall's production, Rodger & Hammerstein's Cinderella. This production is a combined effort between the theatre, choir, and dance students. Support for this production includes multiple faculty and friends of WAIS, including artistic direction by Andrew Maddocks, musical direction by Lindsey Faleiro, production choreography by Olivia Henry, with lights and tech consulting by alumnus Ronis Alvarenga, and photography and playbill consulting by Shaun Wegscheid.

Come experience the magic of a story thats been passed on for centuries, through multiple languages and different cultures. The story where a young girl goes from servant to royalty with a little magical help from her fairy godmother. Cinderella will be performed for two weekends only.


Cinderella in Houston Chronicle



An article about our production of Cinderella, written by Don Maines was published in the Chronicle this week. See the snippet below, and check the link that follows to read the full article.

"Kendall Brunner plays the title character in "Cinderella," Nov. 13-14 at Westchester Academy for International Studies.

She is managing the show's technical feat of transforming her character's cinder girl rags into a sparkling ball gown before the audience's very eyes.

Westchester choir director Lindsey Faleiro said they made all the costumes from scratch or borrowed them, "but we didn't have any idea what to do about the transformation dress" (which was a centerpiece of the show's recent Broadway revival, which won best costume design at the 2013 Tony Awards).

"A former student helping us with lights said his sister is a seamstress and she can make a transformation dress," said Faleiro." 
>> Read the rest of the article on Chron.com

Photograph by WAIS student Lorena del Toro. 
Del Toro is on Miacis staff.

Friday, October 16, 2015

'In The Heights' an all-district musical

Chron.com recently reported on the SBISD District Musical "In the Heights"

This production includes the efforts of students and educators from all four traditional high schools, as well as from WAIS. Student Jasmine Sigworth and faculty-member Andrew Maddocks are specifically mentioned in the article, as well as many other individuals from the other schools.

See Don Maines' article on Chron.com

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Students attend the SPE Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition


In the greater Houston area, 200 students were invited to attend the Society of Petroleum Engineers' Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. Of these 200 students, 25 WAIS students, ranging from 9th through 12th grade were able to attend. The event included engineering activities designed specifically for students, a tour of the exhibition floor, and the opportunity to meet professionals within the field, as well as learn about the science and engineering within their specific roles in the industry.

The SPE's ATCE is one of the largest technology exhibitions in the industry. Sponsors and participating companies include Shell, Saudi Aramco, Schlumberger, among many others. WAIS students were also able to attend the 2015 Offshore Technology Conference.

This opportunity was made possible for WAIS Students by the organization Energy4Me.


Sunday, September 27, 2015

Students Participate in a Color Run at WAIS!


On September 25th, all WAIS students were invited to participate in the Color Run. Through donations, we were able to raise more than $40,000. Thank you students, teachers, friends, and families of WAIS. 

Funds raised will support educational opportunities to students this year at WAIS. These contributions are especially important as SBISD continues to struggle with the state funding policies, including Robin Hood, that have yet to be amended.

Links: 
- How is the district funded?
- Article on SBISD financial health (from April 2014)
- Judge rules Robin Hood unconstitutional- again (from August 2014)


SchoolZone Article: Color Run Raises Money


It wasn’t exactly the color of money, but the Westchester Academy for International Studies (WAIS) Color Run in September represented what organizers hope will be a year’s worth of fundraising.
...
“There’s a misconception that Westchester is wealthy,” said WAIS PTA President Kristen Jurek. “We need the money to help alleviate costs for our families without means.”

Read the full article on the SchoolZone




IIW Signups Begin!!


Signups for IIW begin Monday during lunch for Freshmen.

The signup forms will go live once lunch begins. At this same point in time, the descriptions for IIWs available to Freshmen also go live. Certain IIWs have certain restrictions and requirements. Its important to make sure you understand these before you choose an IIW.

9th Grade IIW Options  - Signup now closed
WAIS IIW Page





Signups for IIW begin Monday during lunch for Sophomores and 6th Graders.

The signup forms will go live once lunch begins. At this same point in time, the descriptions for IIWs available to Sophomores also go live. Certain IIWs have certain restrictions and requirements. Its important to make sure you understand these before you choose an IIW.

6th Grade Options - Signup now closed
6th Grade Parent Letter - Signup now closed
Sophomore Options  - Signup now closed







Signups for IIW began Monday, Sept. 14th during lunch for Seniors and 8th Graders.

The signup forms went live once lunch began. At this same point in time, the descriptions for IIWs available to Seniors & 8th Graders also go live. Certain IIWs have certain restrictions and requirements. Its important that students make sure they understand these before you choosing an IIW.

Students who didn't signup will have to speak to Mr. Wegscheid regarding late signups. Due to not signing up on time, options are limited as some groups are now full.


8th Grade IIW Options - Signup now closed
Senior IIW Options - Signup now closed

WAIS IIW Page


Saturday, September 12, 2015

About the Color Run

The first ever WAIS Color run is going to be September 25th, during school and we are looking forward to having a lot of fun and building a community here at WAIS.  The money raised in the color run will help support our students in their many learning adventures this year at WAIS.


Right now, we are encouraging kids and parents to go to www.funrun.com and register your child to participate for WAIS.  The school code is 658-412.   This will allow you and your child to be ready to get started on the first day of our fundraiser.   You will  need to know your child’s homeroom, or advisory teacher in order to register them.


If you are interested in helping us during the Color Run, please sign up here:  http://vols.pt/8274Hr.  We are hoping to get volunteers to help with a variety of tasks that will be needed during the pledge period (September 14-25th) and afterwards (September 28-October 2).  Thank you in advance for any time you can donate.


Additionally, if you would like to reach out to businesses for them to donate as a sponsor we have a letter ready and all you need to do is email either Lynda Fitzsimmons at lyn.fitz.22@gmail.com or Jennifer Collier at jennifer.collier@springbranchisd.com for a copy.


The fundraising will be open for two weeks and kids will receive prizes throughout the two weeks prior to the color run and a t-shirt to wear on the day of the run.
 


On September 25th, during school hours, student will participate in the color run on one of our fields.  This will be lively event with music, fun, and movement.
 

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT



Previously sent out by our director:
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT

WHEN:  SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
TIME:  6:00pm*

 *Please note the below times of special meetings for 6th, 7th and 10th grades.


Please join us for a night of great information.  Hear from our PTA, your child's teachers, and get information on how your child can make this the best year yet!  Schedules for the evening will be sent home with your child.  Please ask them to provide you with your schedule.  We hope to see you there!!


6th Grade
Pine Cove Meeting
5:30-6pm or 7:30-8pm
Theatre
 7th Grade
Camp Allen Meeting
5:30-6pm or 7:30-8pm
A225 and A228 
10th Grade
Personal Project Meeting
5:30-6pm or 7:30-8pm
Dining Hall

Saturday, September 5, 2015

8th Grader, Clay, published in local publication, GuideStar

Eighth grader, Clay, has an article published in this month's edition of GuideStar, the Houston Astronomical Society’s newsletter.  His article, “Finding the Cosmic Order: the Story of Kepler’s Laws of Motion,” appears on page 12 in the newsletter.

Clay also placed first in our 2015 GeoBee last spring, and competed at the state level competition.


Excerpt from the editor in the September edition of GuideStar: 

I'm pleased to have new articles in this GuideStar by Clay (...). Clay has a nice article on Johannes Kepler, Rene tells us about inspiring kids to get into astronomy, and Larry and Susie tell us about the Stellafane 2015 event. Thanks. 

Opening of Clay's Article: 
 Finding the Cosmic Order
The Story of Keplers
Laws of Motion
 
NASAs Kepler spacecraft has made lots of news recently, helping astronomers discover many exoplanets orbiting other stars, such as super-Earth Kepler 452b, which was just found recently. But who was Kepler?

Johannes Keplers laws of motion marked a major turning point in the history of astronomy and sci- ence. It threw out the old systems of epicycles and orbs and replaced it with a system based on physics and observation that holds true to this day. Keplers book on his discoveries, Astronomia Nova, or New Astronomywas well named. It was the beginning of a scientific revolution in as- tronomy that led to Newton and the rest of mod- ern science, astronomy and physics. Without them, we might not have the same understanding of the universe that we do now.


(...)  

Read the rest in the September issue of GuideStar.
      https://www.astronomyhouston.org/newsletters/guidestar


SBISD Snapshots also included an article about Clay's accomplishment.
      http://sbisdsnapshots.blogspot.com/2015/10/eighth-grader-publishes-article-on.html

Saturday, August 29, 2015

SBISD Community Education

SBISD Community Education offers over 100 courses mostly to individuals who are 16 and over.  The Dance Program offers different types of dance for 3 years old to teen-adults as well as adults in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Zumba, Yoga, Flamenco, Ballroom, Country Western, and Salsa.  You may walk in and start a class anytime during the session.  Registration starts this Saturday, Aug. 29th from 9:00 AM to noon.

Community Education also has a variety of classes, some of which are ESL, Languages (Spanish, etc.), Computer Basics, GED Prep, Sewing, Art, Cake Decorating, Guitar, Interior Decorating, Floral Arrangement, etc.  Driver’s Education and Motorcycle Safety are also offered.

Most courses offer a payment plan during each semester. 

The best way to see the rest of the courses, schedules and to register online is to go to the website at: http://communityed.springbranchisd.com 


To register in person, registration dates are as follows:
  • September 1, 9:00-4:00
  • September 2, 9:00-6:00
  • September 3, 9:00-6:00
  • September 5, 9:00-1:00
The Community Education program is located at:

West Support Center
2100 Shadowdale Dr., Suite 2-A
Houston, TX  77043
713-251-1695


Sunday, August 16, 2015

SBISD Convocation 2015

On August 14th, SBISD held Convocation 2015, to mark the start of the school year, our new Core Values, and our first school year with the leadership of Dr. Scott Muri. Convocation included speechs and performances from many SBISD students, from elementary through high school. This also included a band performance by students from the four traditional SBISD high schools; Memorial, North Brook, Spring Woods, and Stratford.

Speakers included a WAIS class of 2016 student, Josh McCune, who shared about the difference his studies at WAIS have made on him, not only educationally, but also as a person.

Josh McCune with Dr. Scott Muri and WAIS Director Jennifer Collier.
He’s the incredibly bright high school senior who has done research on eradicating the Ebola virus and who plans to become a biomedical engineer.

See the SBISD Blurb
Read the Full Article on SBISD Snapshots
See the SBISD YouTube Video

Friday, August 7, 2015

The Best of Spring Branch

New SBISD Superintendent Dr. Scott Muri wrote an article after witnessing the immediate response by many SBISD families and staff to the Gentry House Apartment fire. An article was also published in the SBISD Snapshots blog, read it here: Heart-Filled District Response to a Big Apartment Fire.


Published in the Houston Chronicle
in response to SBISD support of the
nearly 100 Spring Branch families
affected by an apartment fire in SBISD.
"One of the things I have heard over and over again this month as the new Superintendent is that a major strength of this school district is its community. This week, I had an opportunity to experience this in action first-hand after the devastating Gentry House Apartment fire. I was privileged to see your Collective Greatness as so many SBISD Family members responded immediately and with so much heart to support the over 300 individuals displaced by this fire.

Despite the sadness of this event, I was overcome with tremendous pride and personal emotion as I toured Edgewood Elementary‘ s hallways and cafeteria Tuesday night.  I smelled smoke on the clothing of our staff members and realized many had been out near the fire scene on Kempwood. You helped calm families, and you let them know that our doors were open. Edgewood became an American Red Cross shelter after the blaze.

I saw Edgewood teachers and staff nurturing their own students, Child Nutrition Services workers preparing food and sharing water, and both campus and district leaders working closely with the Red Cross and other community organizations to make sure we did all we could to support their efforts.

Our Transportation Department sent buses to the fiery scene to offer transport to all, especially the young, elderly and disabled. Operations Department staff turned up air conditioning and set up key building systems. Custodians showed up to clean and maintain the building. The Grounds Crew members moved donations inside and later moved the mountain of donated clothes to St. Jerome Catholic Church next door. I saw our SBISD Police officers creating a safe environment for everyone.  Principals, teachers, and staff members from all areas of our district put down what they were doing Tuesday night. and rushed forward to help. In just a few hours, you transformed Edgewood Elementary School into a home for those that had lost everything in this devastating fire.  

The SBISD family was not the only part of our community to respond.  The American Red Cross, local community crisis assistance organizations, the fire department, and faith community were all on site to provide support to those in need.  One of the most inspiring examples of support was the seemingly endless line of community members coming by to donate clothing, food, money, and supplies, with many of our own high school students volunteering to help unload and organize the donations. 

The CEO of The American Red Cross was there, too, and he witnessed this district’s strengths – our great community and our Collective Greatness.  He shared with me how incredibly impressed he was with the response of our district.  As many of you have told me, values matter in SBISD. One of those core values that matters when we are all at our best – Collective Greatness – was incredibly evident this week. What you did this week was awe-inspiring to me."
-Dr. Scott Muri

See the article on Chron.com

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Website Updates

The district is currently updating our website content management system. Parts of the website may load slowly, incompletely, or not at all currently.

While things may look unchanged to site visitors, there is a large amount of changes currently being made on the backend (the servers that host the website). These changes include the user interface that the staff and faculty interact with.

 As such, content may also be a little slower to update as staff gets used to a different User Interface and the different quirks it may have. Please be patient as these updates are made, and as we adjust to the new changes.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

SBEF support to WAIS Students

The Spring Branch Education Foundation is committed to supporting our students and educators. The SBEF contributes to many schools and students within SBISD, both to entire schools, but also to individual students as well.

The SBEF helped contribute to our 6th grade field trip to Pine Cove Institute of Wilderness Studies. SBEF also contributed to the Altharetta Yeargin Art Museum, housed on the WAIS campus, providing Road Shows for 1st graders and Study Trips for 2nd graders in the district. Other contributions benefit the district as a whole, such as the 23rd annual Running for the Arts celebrated 2,243 registrations and participation from 41 SBISD's schools. The event benefits SBISD's Fine Arts and Health Fitness departments and the Altharetta Yeargin Art Museum. The Next Running for the Arts event is April 30th, 2016.

SBEF Contributions also come in the form of scholarships for graduating students, including to WAIS 2015 Graduates Alexus McNeil, Alyssa Mahabir, Alex Schmidt, and Elizabeth Ucles through the Employee Campaign Scholarship program.

Scholarships through the SBEF from Prosperity Bankwere also awarded to SBISD students, including WAIS graduates Filipe Sanchez and Nancy Tran; and the Shantamboo Charity Scholarship to WAIS graduate Konnie Le.

See other contributions SBEF made to Spring Branch and other schools.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Spring Branch ISD Campuses Named as 2015 Best High Schools

Three Spring Branch ISD secondary campuses were named recently as Best High Schools in the state and nation by U.S. News & World Report in its 2015 ranking of public high schools in America.
Memorial and Stratford high schools and the district’s public charter high school, Westchester Academy for International Studies, were all rated among the top 100 high schools in Texas in the latest annual ranking. 

In addition, the SBISD high schools ranked among the top 1,000 high schools out of 29,000 campuses reviewed. They earned Gold and Silver category medals from U.S. News & World Report analysts and editors.

SBISD’s highly ranked high schools include the following reviews:
·         Memorial High School: Rated No. 41 in Texas, Memorial High rated as No. 262 overall nationally, which also earned it a Gold category award. The high school scored above the Texas average in student college readiness and in student proficiency in mathematics and English.

·         Stratford High School: Rated No. 73 in Texas, Stratford High ranked No. 625 nationally, earning it a Silver category award. The high school was above the Texas average in student college readiness and proficiency in mathematics and English.

·         Westchester Academy for International Studies: Rated No. 81 in Texas, this district public charter high school was ranked nationally at No. 719, which earned it a Silver category award. It also ranks above the Texas average in student college readiness and student proficiency in mathematics and English.
In the national rankings, only 500 high schools received Gold medals, 2,027 earned the Silver recognition, and 3,990 more were awarded Bronze medals.

Interestingly, the School for the Talented and Gifted, a Dallas-area magnet school, ranked as the No. 1 public high school in country for the fourth consecutive year in the U.S. News report. Of the top 40 high schools ranked in Texas, 37 operated as a magnet or charter school.

If all magnet and charter schools were filtered out, Memorial High School would rank as No. 5 among traditional high schools in Texas. Using the same screening, Stratford High would rank among the state’s top 25 traditional high schools.

To create the 2015 Best High Schools rankings, U.S. News worked with a North Carolina-based research firm, RTI International, to evaluate high schools in three stages, or review levels.

First, U.S. News looked at overall student performance on state-required tests. All ranked schools had to perform better than average to move forward, but more high schools still qualified this year due to a change in methodology.

In addition, U.S. News factored in how effectively schools educate disadvantaged students, including those of African-American, Hispanic and lower-income family backgrounds.

High schools were also assessed on how well students were prepared for college or university based on participation in, or performance on, Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate exams.

Spring Woods and Northbrook high schools weren’t ranked by U.S. News for this year’s rankings. To learn more about the 2015 Best High Schools rankings, please visit:

Spring Branch ISD High School rankings:

2015 Best High School Rankings by State:

Press Release on U.S. News’ 2015 Best High Schools Rankings:

Saturday, June 6, 2015

2015 Graduate heads to Google Summer Institute

Excerpts from SBISD School Zone:

On Monday, June 1, Cassandra Ung graduated magna cum laude with her 2015 WAIS class at Don Coleman Coliseum. Next month, she heads to Boston for a prized appointment to the Google Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI), which will be held July 12-August 1.

Cassandra’s travel and board is fully paid to Cambridge, Mass., the location of top schools like Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Google students attend learning sessions that include several computer languages, as well as programming fundamentals. Students may even design or develop their own applications.

She credits the IB program at WAIS and the district charter high school’s small size and close student-teacher interaction with her own success as a top student.

Her interests include volunteer work in schools in Cambodia, where her parents grew up. She has traveled to the Southeast Asian nation and volunteered at Don Bosco High School in Phnom Penh, the capital city.

Read the full article, She's a Google Summer Intern, on the SBISD School Zone.

Learn more about Google's Computer Sciecne Summer Institute.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

WAIS Graduation Commencement of 2015



Westchester students and staff celebrated the commencement of the graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2015, the 13th graduating class since WAIS opened in the fall of 2000. The ~130 graduates of the class of 2015 received more than a million in scholarships. In the fall, graduates will start a new chapter in their lives, with more than 90% continuing to higher education, and the rest directly entering the workforce or serving in the military.  
This years graduates include a notable number of students attending Texas A&M, University of Texas, University of Houston, several of the branch locations each offer, and the US Marines. Other students will pursue further credentials with the Air Force, Cornell, Notre Dame, CalPoly, as well as many other schools. 
See Special Speakers at the WAIS Graduation of 2015
See Photos from the WAIS Graduation of 2015



Saturday, May 30, 2015

Graduating Class of 2015


This year marks the 13th graduating class from WAIS. As a campus, we continue traditions of honoring these students who've earned their high school diplomas and are now ready for higher education, technical training, military service, and the workforce.

Students announced their plans post-graduation Wednesday, May 20th, and were further recognized during the senior awards ceremony. This year marks the biggest group of IB Diploma Candidates we've had to date, the largest number of IB and AP Exams for a grade level, and more than a million in scholarships earned and awarded. This included several scholarships from the WAIS Alumni Association.

This year's graduates will be attending institutes of higher education including CalPoly, Carleton, Cornell, Ringling, St. Edwards, Texas A&M, Trinity, University of Texas, and serving in multiple branches of the military.

WAIS Graduates of 2015 will have the graduation commencement Monday evening, June 1st at the Don Coleman Coliseum.

Yearbook Distribution



This year's WAIS Yearbook, Miacis v.32, has arrived and is ready for distribution. Students may pick up their books Monday, June 1st during their lunch and after school. Students should have their student ID with them.

Extras are available for purchase at $75.
Supplies are limited; most years we completely sell out.

This year's book is the official 32nd volume of the Miacis, starting back from when Westchester originally opened in 1968. The year's book was planned and created with leadership from student editors Mallika Dargan and Nancy Tran of the class of 2015. Dargan & Tran worked under previous student editors Ariel Denbow in 2014, and Nicole Son on 2013- both books received recognition from our publisher. Recognition is given to ~15% of books, and is announced about a year after a book's printing.



Friday, May 29, 2015

Students named Jones Scholars

Thirteen Spring Branch Independent School District students have been named 2015 Jones Scholars by the Houston Endowment and qualify for significant annual scholarships during college and university years ahead.
As Jones Scholars Award winners, these high school seniors are eligible to receive up to $16,000 toward a bachelor's degree.
This year's Jones Scholars includes WAIS senior Nancy

See the original posting on Chron.com

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