Mark Your Calendars:

• Art Night Wednesday, March 23 5:30-7:30 p.m.

• Spring Holiday Friday, March 25

• STAAR Testing Tuesday, March 29 4th Grade Writing 5th Grade Mathematics Wednesday, March 30 5th Grade Reading

• WUES 90th Anniversary Celebrations Monday-Friday, April 18-22

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Book Fair Info 1

Birthday Book Club 2

Testing Tips for Parents 2-3

Pennies For Patients 3

PTO By-Laws Change 3

Art Night 3

Spring Edition, 2015-2016 Volume 11, March 21, 2016

Principal’s Place Upcoming Events Welcome back from what I hope was a restful vacation. We hit the ground running today as we enter the last nine-weeks grading period and our spring testing season. Student attendance is critical during this last quarter of the school year. Please make sure your child arrives to school on time each day ready to learn. We have a lot of ground to cover in nine weeks. This Friday, March 25 is the Spring Holiday. School is closed this day. This is the last holiday for the school year. Next week we begin our STAAR Testing. See the schedule on our calendar on the right-hand side of this page. I’ve copied and adapted some testing tips for parents. See pages 2-3 for these helpful points. Have a matchless week and enjoy our beautiful weather! John T. Threet, Principal

Join us at the annual WUES Book Fair to purchase recommended summer reading books and participate in a variety of free entertainment. Any item purchased during the event will help fund improvements and additions to our school library. The WUES Book Fair is April 4th, 5th and 6th, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Located at Barnes & Nobel on W. Holcombe and free to all. Join us to hear amazing Teacher and Author Readers, Ted Schwank the Magician, The Houston Museum of Natural Science presenting butterflies and other fun animals, Writers in the Round, Honeydew the Clown, and much more!

West University Elementary School

The West U Pony Express

Happy Birthday, 生日快乐, Feliz Cumpleaños, С Днем Рождения!

The following students are celebrating their birthdays this week by donating a book to our school library:

Gabriella Alves March 21st Abigail MacRory March 21st Henry Silva March 21st Grace Chumpitazi March 22nd Topher Detmering March 22nd Taylor Klesel March 22nd Noah Mirza March 22nd Dhara Agrawal March 23rd Annabella Nguyen March 23rd Emily Pesikoff March 23rd Mateo Hernandez-Ortiz March 24th Aqila Khansa March 24th Emily Tang March 24th Ethan Tang March 24th Samuel Knox Dowdy March 25th Juliet Egan March 25th Lilly Jones March 26th Kate Klesel March 26th Seriah Thomas March 26th Willem Stoett March 27th

If you signed up your child for the Birthday Book Club and their birthday already passed, but they have not chosen their book yet, please be sure to let them know to stop by the library as soon as possible! Also, remember……..

- If you would like to order a Birthday Book Club membership for your child, all orders are due NO LATER THAN Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m. to be included in the following week’s Pony Express.

- 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.

Happy Birthday and thank you for supporting the West U Elementary library! If you have questions please contact Tracy Benner at:

(tracymbenner@yahoo.com) or Guadalupe Harper (guadacarlesso@hotmail.com).

Parents frequently ask, “What can I do to help my child prepare for the STAAR test?” Here’s a few tips: The Night Before a Test: Try to plan ahead and keep the

normal household routine. Curtail nighttime extra-curricular activities and

outings that may interfere with their regular bedtime routine.

Consider talking about the test to reassure and encourage your child. Remind them that it is OK to have a little test anxiety.

Let your child know that you know that tests can be hard, but that taking them provides a chance to show how well he or she can do. Help your child understand the importance of testing.

Avoid bringing up issues you may have with your child the night before the test, such as failing to clean his/her room.

Make sure your child gets a good night's sleep. Be encouraging!

The Morning of a Test:

@ Have your child get up early and eat a well-balanced breakfast, however, you should not force your child to eat. If he or she is nervous, too much food could make your child feel ill.

@ Have your child dress comfortably, maybe in their favorite outfit.

@ Remind your child to use the strategies taught by his/her teachers. Especially remind them to carefully read and take their time on the test. There are no bonus points for finishing early.

@ Be positive when you send your child to school and let him or her know you have confidence in his/her abilities. Tell them to think positive thoughts like "I can do this!" Tell your child if he or she is feeling stressed or freezes up, to take a few deep breaths or to imagine a peaceful place like the beach or park. If you are anxious about your child's test, don't let them know it. Help your child learn how to relax.

After a Test:

• Talk with your child about what he or she learned from the test.

• Praise you child for trying hard on the test.

The West U Pony Express March 21, 2016

• When you get the test results for your child, take time to discuss those results with your child.

• If you have questions about the tests and the results don’t hesitate to discuss those issues with your child’s teacher

Adapted from: How to Help Your Child Get Ready for a Test Tips to help your child http://pwcs.accountability.schoolfusion.us

Again this year we will participate in the Leukemia/Lymphoma Fundraiser, Pennies for Patients that collects money to help support patients and fund research for finding the cure for all blood cancers. This fundraiser will start today Monday March 21st and continue until April 1st. The students will receive collection boxes today to take home. They should fill them up with coins, bill or checks. We also have an online donation page for our school: http://events.lls.org/pages/txg/WestUniversityElementarySchool. Please be generous in your donations. We have all been touched by someone in our lives with cancer, be it a blood cancer or other kind of cancer. It is important to teach our children to care for others. Next week we will have other fun activities to help add to our goal of $10,000. Thank you for supporting this worthy cause. Paula Bottecelli, R.N., School Nurse

The proposed changes are written in red below: ARTICLE VI: OFFICERS AND THEIR ELECTION Section A. Officers and their election: 4. No elected officer shall serve in the same office for more

than two consecutive terms. One who has served more than one-half of a term shall be credited with having served that term. An officer appointed by the president may serve in the same office for more than two consecutive terms subject to the approval of the newly elected officers.

PLEASE JOIN US this Wednesday, March 23, 5:30 p.m.—7:30 p.m. in the Cafeteria/MPR for Art Night! There will be terrific performances, an amazing variety of arts and craft activities, and fantastic raffle prizes, including:

• Tickets to Main Street Theater • One Month of Music Lessons at Vivaldi Music

Academy • Summer Scholarship for Art Camp at Glassell Junior

School • Joy Studio Movie Passes • Backstage Tour of the Houston Center for

Contemporary Craft . . .. . . and more! Dinner will be available to purchase from Pizza L’Vino, Local Foods and Chick-Fil-A. LAST CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS: We are still looking for some dedicated volunteers to help make this night a success. Please sign up to volunteer in any of the open slots at: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4aacab28a5fb6-artnight. Older Siblings are welcome to volunteer to help with the Arts and Crafts. Volunteers (including older siblings) Will Be Able to Participate In the Raffle for Incredible Prizes. Greta Pliskin and Janet Feng, Art Night Co-Chairs

West Univers i ty Elementary Schoo l 3756 University Blvd., Houston, TX 77005

Phone: 713-295-5215 Fax: 713-667-8514

We’re on the Web!

visit us on the web at: www.westues.org

John T. Threet, Princ ipal 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

Texas Honor Roll School

The West U Pony Express March 21, 2016

It is the policy of the Houston Independent School District not to discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex, handicap or disability, marital status, religion, veteran status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression, or any other basis prohibited by law in its educational or employment programs and activities.