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.

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

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.

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

related: SBISD's School Zone posting on the 2015 Jones Scholars

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