The war on Iraq affected millions of Americans both here and abroad. Many of us watched in earnest as American troops bombed Baghdad and pursued Saddam, but few considered what it must have been like for ordinary Iraqi citizens like Mustafa Hussein.

Mustafa was a seven year old boy at that time and was forced to flee to a village outside of the capitol because of the bombings. Once Saddam was captured, Mustafa and his family returned to their home to find that it had been destroyed, so they set out to rebuild their life. However, things had changed for the worse because the area lacked bare essentials. Mustafa remembers, "Finding even basic requirements such as clean water was challenging. Since there was no regular electricity, we relied on a portable gas generator, but getting gas required waiting in line for two days and even then they ran out of gas before we could get any." After a few years of hardship and threats, Mustafa's family moved to Egypt.

 

Once in Egypt, things improved for Mustafa and his family, but the education system was poor and as non-citizens, Mustafa and his family did not have many rights. Therefore, at the age of fourteen, Mustafa and his family moved from Egypt to Houston and Mustafa found himself in a new culture where people were speaking a language he barely knew. Mustafa's first year in America was a challenge and he was not happy at school. One of his teachers suggested that he transfer to Westside, and he did just that.

 

When talking about Westside, Mustafa says, "I arrived at Westside for my sophomore year and I found it so much better that I finally felt like I was in America." Since becoming a Westside Wolf, Mustafa has not just survived, but flourished. He is a member of the Rugby Club and earned a spot in the National Honor Society. Mustafa is also in the Genesys Works program, which he really enjoys, stating, "Genesys Works has played a very important role in my journey to achieving my goals. I have learned how to communicate in a business setting."

 

Mustafa's goal is to complete his degree in Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M and he is well along that path as he is a finalist for A&M's POSSE Foundation Scholarship. Mustafa is a true example of the American Dream in action.

Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, November 13th, buses will depart at an earlier time. Currently buses leave Westside at 3:30 PM, but starting tomorrow, they will leave at 3:25 PM. It is very important that students make their way to the buses right after school so they don't get stuck without a ride. 

There is a new bell that is ringing at 3:20 PM. This bell is the signal for all students to exit the building unless they are in the presence of a club sponsor or coach. Students may not be in the building unattended. This bell is also a good reminder to bus riders to hurry out to your bus before it leaves.

Westside High School is offering a Focus on Freshmen monthly workshop series designed for our freshmen parents called Focus on Freshmen. The topics were selected based on the feedback we received at the Freshmen Parent Meeting in September (though new ideas are always welcome). Last month's topic was the Four Year Plan. Parents and students learned about graduation requirements and actually created a four year plan with their child and the help of administrators. Those are being typed up and will be emailed to the participating parents. 

 

The October meeting topic will be STAAR. This is a new assessment that will impact a student's yearly average (pending approval from Houston ISD) and graduation status. 

 

Which tests will my child take? What's Level 2 mean? What does the midpoint score mean? Do all students have to pass all fifteen exams or just reach a certain overall score to graduate? Will it hurt my child's GPA if the proposal passes and the score is part of the yearly average? These questions and more will be answered at this meeting. No RSVP is necessary. We hope to see you there! 

   

Congratulations to the following students for their successes at the 2012 Region Choir Auditions: Alex Addison, Elliott Sam, Alejandro Leal, Nicholas Easley, Chanse Powell, Megan McCombs, Paul Komazin, Joseph Opoku, Sarah Wong, and Amelia Khoei.

The following students qualified for the Region Mixed Choir: Amelia Khoei (Advanced to Pre-Area Auditions), Sarah Wong (Advanced to Pre-Area Auditions), Chanse Powell (Advanced to Pre-Area Auditions), Alex Addison (Advanced to Pre-Area Auditions), and Nicholas Easley. Paula Komazin qualified for the Region Treble Choir.

Mr. Carson would like to thank all choir students for their hard work and commitment to the Westside Choir Department. Keep calm and sing on!

The Westside Wolves enter play-off action this Thursday, November 15th against Memorial High School (SBISD) at Delmar Stadium. You can purchase tickets on Wednesday in the Field House for a discount. Student pre-sale tickets are $4, adult pre-sale tickets are $6, and all tickets are $8 at the gate. Play-off long sleeve t-shirts will also be on sale at lunch in the Commons for $10.  

 

We are the Home team and are thankful for all the support we have had this year from our Westside School Community. Let's get a huge crowd out there to cheer on the Wolves! Don't forget to wear your play-off t-shirt! 

Tomorrow the Westside Music Department and the JROTC (with assistance from the Theatre Arts students) will put on the best concert Houston ISD has to offer our community! Please join us as we honor our Veterans in our annual "Westside Salutes America" concert at 7:00 PM in the Westside Auditorium. This is an event that brings everyone to their feet and offers something for everyone. It's not just a concert, but an experience. Every year, we find ourselves trying to "top" the concert from the year before, and we have a few surprises this year. You don't want to miss this special concert! Come early as it is a free concert and there is no reserved seating.

You are invited by the Westside High School Choir Department to perform with WHS Choir Alumni in the annual 2012 Winter Concert. The concert will be Tuesday, December 11th, 2012 in the WHS auditorium.

All who sign up to join in will sing with the Westside Chamber Singers. The music includes "Silent Night," "Christmas Song" (Personent Hodie), and "Fum, Fum, Fum!" This will definitely be a memorable performance and an unforgettable experience! Stop by the choir room to pick up a copy of the music and a rehearsal schedule. The Chamber Singers are very excited about their teachers and staff members stepping into their shoes, learning to sight read, and joining in on all the fun and joy of making music and bringing in the holidays! If you are interested, we are more than excited to have you! The Winter Concert is the biggest choir concert of the year and always fills all the seats in the auditorium! Please join us in this amazing event. Rehearsals will begin very soon, so act quickly! Your voice is waiting to be heard! For more information contact Mr. Carson at jcarson2@houstonisd.org or 281-920-8008.

Inertia Dance Company will be joining HIStory Dance Company and dancers from the Lanier Middle School Dance Program for a collaborative concert on Saturday, November 17th at 7:30 PM in the Westside Theatre. We are incredibly proud to tell you that this performance features the past, present, and future of Inertia. Every dancer on stage will have a direct relationship to our program. HIStory members are Joel Rivera, Josue Lopez, Mark Chaves, and Bryan Paule, all graduates of WHS and Inertia. Rivera teaches here, Paule teaches at Lanier Middle School, and Paule's students will be in the show. There are also some more recent graduates in the show including Kenny Louis, Pierry Louis, and Canarus Bisch.  

 

Along with this year's Inertia cast you will see in retrospective what has taken the unique group to New York, Chicago, Bejing, and Miami, not to mention probably hundreds of local appearances.

 

Tickets are only being sold through the website, so please visit www.historydanceco.com. 

 

Members of Inertia will be also be featured with the Houston Symphony at their Annual Children's Holiday Concert.  Performances will be December 8th at 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM at Jones Hall as well as later that evening at 7:00 PM at the Cynthia Woods Pavilion in the Woodlands.

 

For ticket information please visit www.houstonsymphony.org  and look for "Hip Hoppin Nutcracker". 

 

You don't know what you have until it's gone. Now that I'm done with Westside, I am able to see how great it is and how much I loved it!   

 

I was involved with many different organizations at Westside. I was a class officer, so I got to do the behind the scenes planning for Homecoming, Prom, etc. It was so rewarding to see that all come together! The faculty really gave StuCo the freedom to be leaders and to make our ideas come to life. I was also in the band, and I would complain about that so much. I almost quit my senior year, but now I see that being in the band was one of the most rewarding things I could have done at Westside! The transformation of the band from my freshman year to my senior year was incredible. We went from getting 3s at UIL my freshman year, to making it all the way to Area by my senior year! That accomplishment is huge. It was because of the passion of the directors and the support from the rest of the school that we were able to succeed.   

 

The most influential aspect that of Westside for me were the teachers. Some of the ones who stick out are Ms. McClendon, Ms. Patch, Mr. Ostergren, Mr. Andrusco, Mr. MacGregor, Mr. Bandera-Duplantier, and of course Ms. Heil. These teachers were driven by a passion for teaching and genuine love for the students. But there were so many more who I loved! I could go on and on. My friends outside of Westside find it hard to believe that I still keep in touch with some of my high school teachers, which speaks volumes about how much they care.    

 

Now I'm at the University of Texas and I'm madly in love with this school. I wouldn't have been prepared for it though if it weren't for the life lessons that Westside taught me. Although I am a Longhorn now, I will always be a Wolf. That's cheesy but it's true.     

 

When my college friends and I talk about our high schools, I am able to honestly say that I loved my school. Not everyone can say that.

 

Victoria Noriega, Class of 2010