Westside's Wrestling Team finished 4th at Regionals with three State qualifiers and two alternates.

Regional Champions and State Qualifiers

106- TyRae Carter (Right)

138- Myles Hampton (Right)

4th place and State Qualifier

182- Elijah Dixon

5th place Winners and State Alternates:

195- Daniel Kilzer

285- Mustafa Farrag

Westside is celebrating Black History Month, as well as all of the cultural diversity here at Westside and across our nation.  During February, many activities have been planned thanks to Ms. Andrea Barras.  Already the front office has been decorated with a beautiful art display. For the next two Wednesdays, there will be performances in the Mini Theater during lunches.  

This Wednesday, the choir will be having choir soloists perform as well as Bo Sun's students from her Chinese class.  The following week is considered the "Grand Finale Week".  Each of our 5 houses will be decorated celebrating the accomplishments of many historical and current Americans. For the Wednesday performance that week students, will be treated to a Poetry Set, a performance by Westside's Jazz Band,  Steppers, and JROTC.  What a great month it will be here at Westside celebrating the contributions of so many!

In our society, we are often bombarded with the dangers of social media.  While it is very important for us to be aware of what is going on in the mysterious online world, it is also important to highlight the benefits of social media.  Teens use social media to stay connected with their friends and family, share photos, play games, blog, do homework and promote causes they are passionate about.  Teens can use social media to enhance their creativity by sharing musical and artistic projects, expand their ideas by creating blogs, videos, and podcasts, can raise money for charity, and teens can even collaborate with other students on class projects outside of school through social media. 

What is the lesson here? Social media isn't all bad.  But as parents, it is your right and duty to become as informed as you can on what is going on in social media, how your kids are using it, how to set limits and boundaries concerning their use and make sure you are always openly communicating with your teen.  By building an atmosphere of trust and understanding about what your teen is experiencing in the social media world, it is more likely that he or she will come to you if something disturbing happens to them.  For a good article on the topic, click here.

Also, this Thursday, February 19, we have a special edition Choices Chat with guest speaker Dr. Jeff Temple.  Dr. Temple is an Associate Professor, Licensed Psychologist, and Director of Behavioral Health and Research in the department of Ob/Gyn at the University of Texas Medical Branch.  His research focuses on interpersonal relationships, with a particular focus on teen dating violence.  Dr. Temple will be giving two presentations, one for parents and one for students.  The parent session is from 7:45 a.m.-8:30 a.m. and will focus on what you should know about social media and how to protect your teen.  The student session is from 8:40 a.m.-9:20 a.m. and will focus on what the law says and how to be smart and savvy with texting and social media.  Both sessions will be in S100 and students can receive credit appeal and community service hours for attending.   Looking forward to seeing you there!  

If you have any questions, please contact me: mparsley@council-houston.org.