Team leads the way to OM Finals

Leading the way at the state meet last Saturday at Spring Woods High School were Westchester Academy for International studies of Spring Branch ISD, whose high school team placed first in two problem categories. Odyssey of the Mind Finals will take place May 31-June 3 at the University of Maryland.

WAIS’ team of high school juniors placed first in Division III in both the Road Rally and Tee Structure problems. The WAIS middle school team took second in Division II for Dino Stories.

Other qualifiers in SBISD were Meadow Wood Elementary, second place for Road Rally in Division I; Spring Oaks Middle, first place for Tee Structure in Division II; and Spring Forest Middle, first place, The Eccentrics, Division II.

In addition, Cornerstone Academy won an OMER award in Division II. The award is given to teams or individuals who demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship, exemplary behavior or exceptional talent.

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving exercise for teams of children from kindergarten through college. More than 2,000 students from 141 schools across the state participated in the state finals. The top two teams in each category qualified for the world finals.

See: Related article in the Memorial Examiner

WAIS Students Visit Rice University's Fondren Library

published in Rice's NEWS from FONDREN, Spring 2010

High School Help at Fondren

      Students from the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program at Westchester Academy for International Studies, part of the Spring Branch Independent School District, have been coming to Fondren Library each semester since 2006 to conduct research for major writing projects. One of these, the extended essay, is researched and written over a period of two years on a topic of the student's choosing. The extended essay must be 4,000 - 4,500 words in length and is graded by an external committee from the IB organization.

      Kay Land, librarian at Westchester Academy, prepares the students thoroughly for their day at the library, so they can maximize the value of their time here. Before setting foot on the Rice campus, they have searched Fondren's online catalog and also other online databases available from their own campus. The students come prepared to locate and to work with the materials they have already identified from these searches.

      Land is enthusiastic about these visits. She said, "our kids really love coming to Rice to do research. They are amazed by the sheer number of books and I am thrilled that they are using books to do research instead of only the internet. I think we are really getting the kids prepared for college."

      Westchester Academy is one of a number of high schools that have brought classes to Fondren Library. The students find a wealth of information for their research papers and also get an opportunity to experience a bit of an advanced academic environment.

Sandi Edwards                

Head of Reference                 

Odyssey of the Mind Teams go to World

Multiple Odyssey of the Mind teams from Spring Branch qualified for the World Finals this year. Teams from Valley Oaks, Rummel Creek, Memorial Middle, and Westchester Academy all qualified for the World Finals. The event was held at Michigan State University.

The Memorial Middle team includes current WAIS student Will Scott. The team also includes Eric Chiang, James Park, Conner Waughtal, Jay Kim, Kevin Graham, and Mars Berwanger- who all attend  MMS. The team was awarded the Ganatra Fusca Creativity Award at this year's World Finals- the highest award for exceptional creativity.


See: related article on Chron.com

SBISD Educational Improvements

Excerpt from SBISD School Board Awards Program

District Charter Schools & Academies 
Long before charter schools headlined the news, the Spring Branch ISD Board of Trustees established district-operated charter schools to provide more choices to students and parents and to improve student learning. As with all major decisions like this, advisory committees composed of administrators, parents, teachers and community members helped shape the focus of each school.

SBISD currently operates two district charter schools: Cornerstone Academy for grades 6-8 and Westchester Academy for International Studies for grades 6-12. Both feature smaller learning environments and are so popular that they have wait lists. In fact, it was the popularity of Cornerstone that brought about the opening of Westchester.

International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme
When Westchester Academy for International Studies was under development, members of the advisory planning committee wanted to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme. The committee reasoned it could meet the needs of the many families who move to Houston from overseas, particularly with the energy companies headquartered here. What the advisory committee soon learned is that the authorization process to become an IB World School takes several years. It includes special teacher training and a site visit by the International Baccalaureate. As a result, this goal became a long-term one for the school to achieve.

Amazingly, when SBISD launched the IB program at Westchester Academy in 2005-06, it was only the second public school district in Houston to offer this program. Since then other area school districts have added IB programs. While the IB program is not a requirement for graduation from Westchester, students are encouraged to consider it. They receive course selection guidance when entering 6th grade to help them make the decision to enter the program as high school juniors.

IB’s interdisciplinary approach to learning challenges students to explore subjects with intellectual depth and rigor. Students carry a full load of college-level courses including Eu- ropean history, English, advanced biology and chemistry, calculus and fourth and fifth years of foreign language. The program is noted for long essays, even in subjects like math and science.

As expected, the IB program has been well received. It advances the SBISD goal to be Texas’ premier college-focused district. Nearly one-third of the Westchester Academy Class of 2007 received IB diplomas. Not a week goes by without the school director receiving an enrollment inquiry from an international family that plans to move to Houston. 

SBISD OM Teams Advance to World

Excerpt: Adriana Adame from Westchester Academy for International Studies won an OMER award for exceptional spirit and creativity in her performance...

Read the original posting on Chron.com

Loyalty is key to longtime school employee

Debbie Walker was pulling double duty for a time when Stratford High School moved to Westchester Academy for International Studies last August. As head custodian of Westchester she is in charge of the smooth running of the Spring Branch charter school...

See the rest of the article by Annette Baird on Chron.com