WHS CALENDAR 

Tuesday, December 17

Final Exam - Period 1

7:55 a.m. - 9:55 a.m.

 

Final Exam - Period 2

10:05 a.m. - 12:05 p.m.

 

Wednesday, December 18

Final Exam - Period 3

7:55 a.m. - 9:55 a.m.

 

Final Exam - Period 4

10:05 a.m. - 12:05 p.m.

 

Thursday, December 19

Final Exam - Period 5

7:55 a.m. - 9:55 a.m.

 

Final Exam - Period 6

10:05 a.m. - 12:05 p.m.

 

Friday, December 20

Final Exam - Period 7

7:55 a.m. - 9:55 a.m.

 

Swimming - Duchesne, Awty, John Paul II & St. Thomas

@WHS 3 p.m.

 

Wrestling - Lamar Consolidated

@WHS 5 p.m.

  

Click here to access the WHS Calendar for more events.   

ALUMNI SOCIAL

Calling all WHS Alumni-mark your calendars now for the first ever WHS Alumni Ice Cream Social!  All alumni are invited to come and mix and mingle with all your friends and favorite Westside teachers and staff.  
 
The Alumni Ice Cream Social will be held on Monday, January 6 from 2-3:30 p.m. in the Commons.  This event will take the place this year of the Alumni Breakfast.  The social is the day before students return from winter break, but teachers are working that day and are excited to eat ice cream and see you!  
 
This event is free of charge. RSVP to kaclayton1@gmail.com or via Facebook on the Friends and Alumni of Westside High School web page so we know how many to plan for.  Hope to see you there and pass the word! 
YEARBOOK DEADLINE

Boxes will be placed in each of the house offices to collect canned goods and new or used toys for the Houston Food Bank's Annual Drive.  Boxes will also be placed in the main office. Help HISD Athletics help others!
ALL-AMERICAN BOWL

Don't forget to catch senior Frank Iheanacho play in the US Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 1 p.m.

Click here for more details.
YEARBOOK DEADLINE

The deadline for ordering a yearbook is January 17, 2014. Click here to order today!
FACEBOOK

The Westside facebook page is better than ever!  Drop by and catch up on events through pictures and posts.

Don't forget to like us.  Click here to go right now! 

 E-NEWS ARCHIVES 

The Wolf E-News archives are now posted on the Westside website. If you ever need access to an older edition for information or entertainment, you can now have it with the click of a mouse!  

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QUICK LINKS
DECEMBER 16, 2013
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
  • STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
  • CALCULUS CAROLING
  • CHOICES CORNER: EXERCISE 
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: HASTI BARZKAR
Hasti Barzkar is the latest member of her family to walk Westside's halls. She is following in the footsteps of her sisters with academic and athletic excellence.
 
When Hasti is focused on academics, her interests take her toward the medical field, as she is a member of HOSA and is in our Health Science Technology program.

"Every Tuesday and Friday we go to Methodist or West Houston Hospital for some hands on learning in the medical field and to shadow different doctors," Hasti said.

She's also in the National Honor Society, where you must maintain above a 3.5 GPA, and cannot fail any classes to stay in. 
 
When Hasti isn't hitting the books she's helping out around her community by participating in the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program. This is a group of students from ages 11 to 15, being mentored and led by people from the ages of 15 to 20, who want to enhance community building.

"There are about fifteen kids in my group that are mentored by four other people and me, once a week on Friday," Hasti said. "We hang out with them, get to know them, give advice, play sports, and have arts and crafts sometimes."  

She's giving back to the community before she begins her long journey into college. Her choices are between Baylor University, Texas A&M University, or the University of Texas. She plans on majoring in nutrition and going on to medical school to be an orthopedic surgeon. In the meantime however, she'll be spending her free time with her parents before going on this path to success. Hasti said she wouldn't have been able to get this far without the love and support of her family.

"My role model is my sister, Gami, who is studying neuroscience at Baylor University," Hasti said. "We became close when I was a freshman and she was a senior at Westside. I looked up to her because she was well-rounded and had her head on her shoulders."

Well it must run in the family because Bazkar is headed down the right road and has a bright future ahead of her. 
CALCULUS CAROLING

As the semester ends and the holiday season begins, the hallways of Westside are filled with mathemattic cheer. With special caroling books in hand, calculus students were led by Mr. French and Mr. Andruch through the halls, visiting classrooms singing their hymns.  In the picture below, students sing 'Oh Caculus'  to the tune of 'Oh Christmas Tree'.  

 

CHOICES CORNER: EXERCISE

Exercise is a very powerful way to relieve stress. Exercise can also be an outlet for frustration, it can be a distraction, it improves your health, and it can help you build a positive social support system. It is also considered vital for maintaining your mental health. 

This means you should encourage your Westside students who are about to take their finals to get some exercise this week and next week because it is effective at improving alertness, concentration, and at enhancing overall cognitive functioning (source).

Furthermore, exercise decreases cortisol, a stress hormone, and increases endorphins, which are chemicals in your body that give your mood a natural boost. Research shows that physical activity may be linked to lowering physiological reactivity to stress (source). What does that mean? Simply put, those who get more exercise may be less affected by the stress that they face. Therefore, in addition to all of the other benefits, exercise may supply some type of immunity toward future stress as well as a way to cope with any current stress you are experiencing. Do you want to relieve some of your holiday stress? Get out there and get active!  

For more information, click here to visit my staff page.  
 
To learn more, contact the Choices Counselor, Ms. Parsley at mparsley@council-houston.org. 
We value your feedback!

Please direct comments or questions to Craig Malinsky
at cmalinsk@houstonisd.org.

Visit us on the web at www.westsidewolves.org.

It is the policy of the Houston Independent School District not to discriminate on the basis of age, color, handicap or disability, ancestry, national origin, marital status, race, religion, sex, veteran status, or political affiliation in its educational or employment programs and activities.