Below is a firsthand experience from a Westside student who hosted an exchange student and participated as one. If you would like to learn more about hosting an exchange student, contact Dean Ostergren at eostergr@houstonisd.org.

 

This past summer, I got the once in a lifetime opportunity to go to Europe. A study abroad program, called International Experience, found me a host family in Germany that invited me to stay with them for two weeks. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for my Chinese host brother, Andy. My family hosted Andy for the spring 2014 semester, and as a sign of appreciation, International Experience offered me a scholarship; they spent countless hours finding me a host family and saved my family tons of money and hassle. Andy was truly as joy for my family and had a huge influence on my family and his classmates.

I went to Germany with almost no knowledge of the language, but luckily, my host sister Elli went to a bilingual school and had near perfect English. My family welcomed me to their home with a homemade cake that had my name on it in German colors and made me really feel at home. I was also extremely fortunate to be in Germany for most of the World Cup. I went to a viewing party with my family and got to see Brazil get destroyed; I also got to see Germany claim the title of 2014 World Cup Weltmeister (Champion). The camaraderie of a winning nation filled the streets that night and EVERYONE was honking their cars and drunkenly singing in the streets.

I didn't really expect much culture shock since my parents are foreigners, but that naivete put me in a constant state of awe. My other host sister, Izzy, was my age (17) and showed me the very liberal German youth culture. I was also shocked by how carefree my host mom Martina was; she was very supportive of all her daughters' decisions and asked me to call her by her first name. I still cringe at the thought of not calling her Mrs. Perez. My host dad Mike was also full of surprises. Despite being a man in his late 40's, he still lived everyday like his last. He's in a band that actually gets gigs and not only acts like a father, but also like a friend.

After my two weeks, I had to say a terribly difficult goodbye to my lovely family. I went on to see Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Brussels, and London. I am incredibly thankful to the Perez family for making my time so enjoyable, Mr. Ostergren for telling me about how wonderful hosting a student is, the people at International Exchange, and all the kind people of Europe who made my trip so memorable.

At the beginning of every school year, a popular topic is schedule changes. Here are some things to remember about schedule changes.

 

Priority Schedule Change Requests are those in which a required class is not on their schedule, they already have credit for the class, or a period is missing. These changes will be completed within 24 hours.

Unessential Change Requests: The process is being slowed down significantly with "unessential" schedule change requests (request a certain period, teacher, or multiple change requests in a short period). Unessential schedule change requests will not be granted. 

Pre-AP or AP Level Drops are strongly discouraged and will not be made unless there appears to be a strong academic need to do so. We find in most cases students have not applied themselves, and it is our responsibility to develop more grit (perseverance) among our student body. Level drops will not be granted without documented attendance at tutorials and completing student work. Sending our students to college is one hurdle, but preparing them to complete college is the bar we want to set. Let's work together to develop greater work ethic in our students! 

 

Any girl or boy from age 4 through 8th grade is invited to sign up for the clinic followed up with a performance at a football game, later that day.

 

Click here for more details. 

The Choices topic for September is bullying awareness. According to www.stopbullying.gov, bullying is a repeated form of youth violence involving aggressive behavior that is intentional and involves an imbalance of power or strength.

 

There is a very important distinction that needs to be made between bullying and conflict. Bullying happens where there is an imbalance of power, it is purposeful, and there is a strong emotional reaction from victim and little to no emotional reaction from the individual doing the bullying. Those who bully are not usually friends with their targets. In comparison, conflict usually happens between friends, or when there is an equal balance of power. It happens occasionally and is accidental. The person causing the conflict is not seeking power or attention. After a conflict, there is an effort to solve the problem.

I am hosting an event for parents on Thursday, September 11, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the library. I will discuss the prevalence of bullying, the difference between bullying and conflict and why teens bully in relation to their developing brains and executive functioning skills. In addition, we will also have a guest speaker named Sarah Fisher. Sarah Fisher is the co-founder of +Works which is a creative, hands-on "roundtable" approach that is sparking fresh conversation around trending issues in families, schools, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Mrs. Fisher will discuss her own experiences with bullying, how she found her voice, and more information on +Works. 

 

In addition, I am providing a two-part seminar for students called the "Upstander Project". It will take place Thursday, September 18, and 25, from 8-9:15 a.m. in S100, before late start Thursday. We will view the documentary "Bully", talk about various types of bullying, and discuss ways that students can be an upstander. Students can receive credit appeal and community service hours for attending.