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• UIL ONE ACT STEALS THE SHOW!
• HISTORY MADE IN UIL ACADEMICS 
• POSSE SCHOLARSHIPS APPLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE
• CHOICES CORNER: BULLY WRAP-UP

Receiving honors at the district contest were:

All Star Cast: Emma Center
Ensemble All Star Cast: Kurt Hummel, Juan Echavarria, Natalie Rial, Margaret Obot and Juliette Mudd
All Star Tech: Tyesha Webb 

The cast, crew, and director thought it was awesome to see all the Westside students and faculty at Madison supporting them. Our students just lit up when they heard all of that supporting applause.  Mr. Wallin would like to thank Mr. Davis and Mrs. Stewart for putting together the fan bus for this event. It was a very special day for Westside.

The Following are Regional Qualifiers who will participate at the Regional Meet at Cy Woods High School May 1-3:
Joidan Felix - Accounting (3rd at district)
Akash Ghosal - Current Issues and Events (2nd at district)
Josselyne Gonzalez - Computer Applications (1st at district)
Rustin Nejad - Computer Applications (2nd at district)
Senett Jove - Computer Applications (3rd at district)
Kate Grobowsky - News Writing (2nd at district), Feature Writing (3rd at district) and Editorial Writing (2nd at district)
Martha Navarro - Editorial Writing (3rd at district)
Emiliana Rico-Toro - Headline Writing (3rd at district)
Emma Wu - Informative Speaking (2nd at district) and Poetry Interpretation (1st at district)
Isiah Pryce - Poetry Interpretation (3rd at district)
Molly Wu - Prose Interpretation (2nd at district)
Stephanie Forsberg - Ready Writing (2nd at district)
Erica Draud - Ready Writing (3rd at district)
Hiep Vu - Science (1st at district) Top Biology Score and Top Physics Score
Lilian Qi - Science (2nd at district)
Grant Kueser - Science (3rd at district)
Minh Nguyen - Science (4th at district)
Javier Melindez - Social Studies (2nd at district)
Stephanie Stallings - Spelling and Vocabulary (2nd at district)

The student success would not have been possible without the help of their coaches and sponsors.  Tony Wallin is the director of the Performing Arts Program, Richard Whitrock and Heather Davis coach the Speech and Debate Teams and Academics contests are coached by Maria Wadih (Math), Laurie Schlaudt (Science), Lauren Garcia (Computer Applications), Donna Patch (Social Studies), Andre King (Computer Science), Marilyn Hagans (Ready Writing and Literary Criticism), Jane Hall (Spelling and Vocabulary) and Ryan Culver (Journalism).

The Audition Process for Inertia 2014-15 is around the corner.  Plan to attend one of the two parent/guardian meetings to get your try-out package and to get an orientation of the new process that Inertia candidates will be required to participate it. The first Candidate Parent meeting is Tuesday, April 1, at 6:30 p.m., in X121 located inside the Practice Gym..

 

If you think you have what it takes to be a member of this internationally recognized dance group, we invite you to join us, and earn your spot!

 

For information please contact Sharon Roberts, srobert2@houstonisd.org.

Westside is looking for another group of qualified candidates to represent our school as a Posse Scholar. We have three Posse scholars about to complete their first year of college: Alex Jones - University of Texas, Tony Nguyen - Texas A&M University, and Mustafa Hussein - Texas A&M University. We have four more students about to complete their senior year and start their first year of college with their posse: Lawrence Garvin - University of Texas, Ana Llamas - Bryn Mawr College, Emma Wu - Bryn Mawr College, Molly Wu - Colby College.

 

The Posse Foundation selects students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by the traditional college selection process. Students who are nominated by their school will participate in three rounds of interviews during the fall of their senior year. If a student is selected as a Posse Scholar, they will receive a four year full tuition leadership scholarship to attend college.  The students will also meet with their "posse" during the spring of their senior year to participate in pre-collegiate leadership training. Throughout their first two years of college, they will continue to meet with their posse and a mentor on their college campus.

 

There are seven schools that will be selecting a posse from Houston next year: Bryn Mawr College, Carleton College, Colby College, Georgetown University (STEM only), Texas A&M University (STEM only), University of Texas and the University of Virginia. For more information about the Posse Foundation please go to www.possefoundation.org.

 

Current Westside juniors can log into their Naviance account to access the link to the application. Applications will be available starting on April 2, and will close on April 15, at 3:30 p.m. Any questions about the Posse Scholars application at Westside can be directed to Ms. Alaina Turner, College Access Coordinator.

As March is coming to a close, so is our Choices topic of the month which is bullying. However, I wanted to take the chance to end this month on a positive note and talk about how we can encourage more members of our community to go from being a bystander to an Upstander. 

 
The bystander role in a bullying situation is a very dangerous one. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." It is that silence that we need to eliminate. Whether it is your child, another student, a fellow parent, a teacher, or a friend, it is up to us to empower those around us to stand up to the bully and make sure the behavior will not continue. It is important to remember: the bully will only do what the bystander allows. So ask yourself: "What can I do today to become an Upstander?"