SBEF awards 89 scholarships

Eighty-nine Spring Branch Independent School District seniors received $118,000 in scholarships at the Spring Branch Education Foundation 2015 Bright Stars of SBISD, Celebrating Academic Excellence awards program on May 15 at The Westin Houston, Memorial City.

This includes WAIS seniors Alex, Alexus, Alyssa, Elizabeth, Felipe, Konnie, and Nancy.

See the full article on Chron.com

Imaginative west Houston students compete in world contest

Chron.com recently published an article about Odyssey of the Mind teams that are advancing to the World Finals. WAIS, among multiple other schools, are mentioned in the article.

excerpt:
Several other teams from west Houston schools are headed to East Lansing. Spring Branch ISD's Westchester Academy for International Studies is fielding two teams, while Ridgecrest elementary, Memorial middle and Spring Woods high are each fielding a team. A third team from Westchester advanced but is not going.

See Annette Baird's article on Chron.com

Counselor recognized with Walter Kase Award

At Westchester Academy for International Studies, middle school counselor Steven Schlabach works hard to remind students they are in a No Place for Hate school. Schlabach was recognized with a Walter Kase Teacher Excellence Award during the Anti-Defamation League’s annual luncheon on May 6.

Schlabach was introduced by WAIS eighth-grader Cindy Vargas, the school’s Character Without Question winner.


Excerpts from the SBISD Snapshots Blog.
Read the full article at SbisdSnapshots.blogspot.com.

Valedictorians and Salutatorians Announced

Spring Branch ISD’s five high schools announced valedictorians and salutatorians for the graduating Class of 2015 recently.

The Class of 2015’s co-valedictorians are Caroline Marie Bik and Konnie Le. Salutatorian is Cristhopher Edgardo Nunez.

excerpts from SbisdSnapshots.blogspot.com

Help WAIS Raise Funds from Target's Thanks a Billion

If you have a Facebook account, you can help WAIS raise money with Target's Thanks a Billion campaign. Target intends to give up to $6 million to education. For each user that thanks a teacher through their site, Target will give $25 to their school.

Update: The campaign was promoted by Ellen and other well-know tv personalities, as such Target has already met the $6 million for education.

Visit Target's Thanks a Billion

WAIS German Program featured on Just Add German.

Just Add German aims to increase understanding of the benefits of learning German as a second language, supported by the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany. Just Add German includes a Success Stories section that highlights German educational programs in the US.

Wais has been added to their Success Stories.

Westchester Academy for International Studies (WAIS) has found that the chances for motivating children for German language study is increased when early language study is required. All incoming 6^th graders at WAIS who choose German as their foreign language study must take at least five years of it.

Read the full story

WAIS Students Attend OTC Houston

"More than 94,700 attendees from 130 countries gathered at the annual conference, demonstrating OTC’s position as the leading forum to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for the safe, environmentally friendly and sustainable development of offshore oil and gas resources. It is the sixth largest attendance in the 47-year history of OTC.

The sold-out exhibition was the largest in show history at 695,005 ft², including outdoor exhibits, up from 680,025 ft² in 2014. This year’s conference also had 2,682 companies exhibiting, up from 2,568 in 2014, representing 37 countries. International companies made up 42 percent of exhibitors."

That ~94,700 attendees includes more than 20 students from WAIS. A group of WAIS upper school students interested in pursuing a STEM career spent most of today at the Houston Off Shore Technology Conference. These students were able to participate in activities simulating science principles important in energy production and research, as well as speak to more than 20 different professionals from companies including NOV, Weatherford, Oceaneering, and Mobile. 

We're even pictured on OTC's official Instagram page (above) and twitter feed (below right).

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