Tag Archives: Waltrip HS

High schools compete to win money for completing financial aid application

Priority deadline for FAFSA/TASFA is March 15 for first-round consideration by many colleges, as well as a few Texas scholarships and loans

Six HISD high schools could win up to $750 for having the largest percentage of students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by March 15.

Thanks to Advise TX and Texas A&M University, 13 HISD high schools have college graduates on campus year-round advising low-income students on what is required to get into a good school and how to pay for higher education.

“HISD is very happy to partner with Advise Texas to ensure that our students receive additional support in navigating the college and financial aid process,” said Assistant Superintendent of College Readiness Rick Cruz. “They are one of our strong continued partners that do great work alongside our staff to support our students.”

These college graduates are working hard right now to get seniors at their schools (see list of schools below) to complete their FAFSA by the March 15 deadline. Submitting the FAFSA or Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA) by the priority deadline is highly recommended for students seeking to qualify for any of the following: Top 10 Percent Scholarship, Texas Grant, and Texas B-On-Time Loan.

Advise TX College Advising Corps is similar to Teach for America or the Peace Corps in that it places graduates in a position for one to two years after graduation and pays them a salary. Advise TX is part of College Advising Corps, a national organization that works to increase the number of students who enter and complete higher education.

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Twenty-seven HISD students land 2015 all-state ensemble seats

More than two dozen HISD students earned a spot on a Texas Music Educators Association All-State Ensemble this year.

Trumpeter Esmeralda Sandoval (Waltrip HS) and baritone saxophonist Grace Estrada (Westside HS), as well as five students from Bellaire High School and 20 from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, will perform in various groups during the TMEA’s annual convention in February.

All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive. Approximately 1,750 students were selected through a process that began with more than 64,000 students from around the state vying for the honor to perform in one of 15 ensembles (bands, orchestras, and choirs).

Last year marked the first time a Westside student had ever been selected, and the same student (Grace Estrada, now a senior) is returning this year. You can read more about her achievement in this school-based newsletter.

On-campus licensed athletic trainers help students get back on track

Licensed Athletic Trainer Stephanie Polydore helped her Waltrip HS student Xavier Smith recover from a season-ending injury last fall. Now fully recovered, he plans to run track this spring.

Licensed Athletic Trainer Stephanie Polydore helped her Waltrip HS student Xavier Smith recover from a season-ending injury last fall. Now fully recovered, he plans to run track this spring.

For Licensed Athletic Trainer (LAT) Stephanie Polydore, one of the most gratifying aspects of her job is helping injured student athletes get back on track—both literally and figuratively.

 “I love helping athletes get back to their full ability to compete in their sport,” said Polydore, who also teaches a sports medicine class at Waltrip High School.

The former stadium-based LAT is now one of only two campus-based LATS in HISD (the other is at Chávez HS). And while Polydore wasn’t able to salvage the football season for senior Xavier Smith, who broke his leg during the very first scrimmage of the season, thanks to the rehab he completed under her supervision, “he says he feels stronger now than he did before he was injured. He’s actually going to run track this spring.”

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Reagan students excited to receive laptops for school and home use

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All 2,234 students at Reagan High School received laptops on Monday, Jan. 12, as part of the district’s one-to-one plan to give all high school students a digital device to use for learning at school and at home. The one-to-one laptop program is a key component of HISD’s PowerUp initiative, which aims to digitally transform teaching and learning throughout the district.

Reagan is one of 14 HISD high schools distributing laptops to students during the month of January and early February. Others high schools include Davis, Lamar, Milby, Scarborough, South Early College, Waltrip, Westbury, Westside, Wheatley and Yates, as well as the Futures Academies at Jones, Jane Long Academy, and the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice.  Continue reading →

Chamber of commerce gives laptop case tags for PowerUp schools

A Group

HISD principals accept tags for laptop cases for their schools from the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce purchased more than 9,000 luggage tags for five HISD high schools to add to the cases of laptops students are set to receive through the district’s PowerUp program, which will provide every high school student a laptop for use at school and home by 2016. Continue reading →

Cheer on your favorite teams at annual girls’ basketball tournament 

Spectators can catch the hoops action from Thursday, Dec. 4, through Saturday

If you’re in the mood for some exciting full-court action this weekend, check out one (or more!) of the games in HISD’s 31st annual girls’ basketball tournament.

The match-ups will take place at Chávez, North Forest, Reagan, and Westside high schools, as well as the Wilkins Pavilion located on the Forest Brook Middle School campus. Individual game tickets cost $4 each, but a $10 tournament pass will grant admission to all of them.  Continue reading →

Student teams to compete at VEX Robotics tournament at Space Center Houston

The robotics club at the newly-renamed Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men is hosting a VEX robotics tournament on Saturday, Nov. 15, at Space Center Houston (1601 NASA Parkway, 77058). Now in its third year, the Knights of Engineering Robotics Club at the all-boys academy is inviting families from throughout HISD to attend the tournament, which is expected to last most of the day.

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Don’t overlook your neighborhood campuses when shopping for a school

Crockett ES is not a magnet school for fine arts, but its program is top-notch due in part to art teachers like Geetha Thomas, pictured here with some of her students. Parents are encouraged to check out the offerings at their neighborhood schools first, before shopping for alternatives.

It’s fall in Houston, and that means many HISD parents are already thinking about which campuses to send their children to for the 2015–2016 school year.

But while the attraction of the district’s many magnet programs is undeniable, parents are encouraged to take a closer look at the “zoned” schools located in their neighborhoods, as sometimes a hidden gem can be right around the corner.
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Waltrip HS junior chosen to serve on Souper Bowl of Caring’s youth advisory board

(Houston Independent School District)Jonathan Simmons, a student at HISD’s Waltrip High School, has been chosen to serve on the Souper Bowl of Caring’s (SBOC) national youth advisory board this year.

The junior was one of only 14 students selected from across the nation to participate, and Jonathan was chosen after completing a rigorous application process that required students to submit a number of essays explaining why they wanted to serve.

As a part of his board duties, Jonathan delivered a speech in front of 500 guests—including Houston Texans CEO Bob McNair—at that organization’s Tackle Hunger Houston luncheon on Sept. 30. Continue reading →