Houston resident Delia Thibodeaux of Houston ISD - Westside High School will be honored as the Southern District Health Education Teacher of the Year by SHAPE America - Society of Health and Physical Educators at its 130th National Convention & Expo in Seattle, March 17 - 21.

SHAPE America's Southern District represents 13 states from Virginia to Texas. The award is given in recognition of outstanding teaching performance in school health and the ability to motivate youth to make healthy choices for a lifetime.

Thibodeaux, a health education teacher at Westside High School for 11 years, will vie with three other district winners for the distinguished honor of National Health Education Teacher of the Year. At the convention, SHAPE America and SPARK & Sportime - innovators of equipment and evidence-based programs for physical educators - will celebrate the 26th anniversary of this Teacher of the Year awards collaboration.

The National Health Education Teacher of the Year award recipient will be announced on Friday, March 20 at the SHAPE America Hall of Fame Banquet, sponsored by Human Kinetics, an employee-owned company committed to serving the physical activity field. U.S. Olympian Dick Fosbury and Kenneth H. Cooper, the "father of aerobics," will also be inducted into the SHAPE America Hall of Fame that evening.

Thibodeaux has been in the education field for more than 30 years and in the health education arena for 11 years as a lead teacher, key teacher, power up lead teacher and HECAT (Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool-Center for Disease Control) lead for her school district. Some of the highlights of her career are developing a health education curriculum including and EOC (end of course - Health Education) for the district as well as assessing where improvements are needed within the curriculum.

Students know Thibodeaux as a teacher who brings lessons to life. Many of her health education students attend the district's popular Annual Teen Health Summit as a result of the enthusiasm she brings to the classroom. The award-winning educator works with community partners to bring in outside presenters to speak on health-related topics relevant to the Westside teen population.

Thibodeaux is also a Fuel Up to 60 Program Advisor.  Fuel Up to Play 60 is the in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by the National Football League (NFL) and the National Dairy Council (NDC).

And when she is not busy teaching health education or mentoring up-and-coming health education teachers, Thibodeaux is advocating for health education to become a state graduation requirement through the Texas Education Board.

"Delia is the epitome of an effective health educator," says Sydne Marshall of the Houston Independent School District. "She is known for bringing innovative health education to her students and always makes it a priority to ensure health and physical education remain top priorities in Houston schools."

Thibodeaux's professional affiliations include SHAPE America and its Texas affiliate, Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, where she frequently presents at its conferences.

The health educator received her bachelor's degree in health education from Texas Southern University and a master's degree in elementary/secondary mid-management from Prairie View A & M University.

What is SHAPE America? Society of Health and Physical Educators is committed to ensuring all children have the opportunity to lead healthy, physically active lives. As the nation's largest membership organization of health and physical education professionals, SHAPE America works with its 50 state affiliates and national partners to support initiatives such as the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, Let's Move! Active Schools and the Jump Rope For Heart/Hoops For Heart programs.

Since its founding in 1885, the organization has defined excellence in physical education, and our resources provide the leadership, professional development and advocacy that support health and physical educators at every level - from preschool to university graduate programs. For more information, visit www.shapeamerica.org.  

Westside Wishes was off to a great start when PTO received some exciting news over the weekend. A generous Westside family has pledged to match every donation from this point forward--dollar for dollar. Starting now, every new donation will be doubled! If you have not yet donated, now is the time to go to our Go Fund Me page and make your contribution. As a community, we can help push our school and our students to achieve greater success by giving teachers the resources they need to enhance their programs.

The Westside Wishes campaign will culminate in a casual adult social on Friday, April 10, from 7-9 p.m. at the home of Barbara and Peter Nassab. A suggested donation of $15/person or $25/couple will be collected at the door and 100% will be added to the fundraiser. Parents, staff and community members are all welcome and encouraged to attend. Our principal, Ms. Stewart,will be attending this fun and informal gathering as we celebrate our fundraiser and socialize with other parents and staff. 

RSVPs are required.Please save the date and contact Frosy Graf at Frosy@haus71.net to reserve your place.

On Monday, it was the 9th and 10th grade classes sponsoring a TUG -o- WAR.  This did have to be postponed due to weather, so be ready teams. Tuesday, the junior class sponsored a Pie in the Face contest.  Many of our brave staff endured the pudding, whipped cream pies that were thrown by our rather accurate students! 

Then on a cold, wet Wednesday, the students enjoyed dunking teachers and staff that they had voted on to be in the tank!  

Thank you to all of the staff who were brave enough to brave the tank!  We are excited that this fun way to welcome spring will be a reoccuring event at Westside!