WHS CALENDAR 
Tuesday, December 15

Regular Class: Periods 1-2
Per. 7 Exam:10:25 a.m. - 12:25 p.m.
Optional Lunch: 12:25-12:55 
Early Dismissal

Wednesday, December 16

Per. 1 Exam: 7:55 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
Per. 2 Exam: 10:05 a.m.-12:05 p.m.
Optional Lunch: 12:05-12:30
Early Dismissal

Thursday, December 17

Per. 3 Exam: 7:55 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
Per. 4 Exam: 10:05 a.m.-12:05 p.m.
Optional Lunch: 12:05-12:30
Early Dismissal

Friday, December 18

Per. 5 Exam: 7:55 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
Per. 6 Exam: 10:05 a.m.-12:05 p.m.
Optional Lunch: 12:05-12:30
Early Dismissal

Swimming
Winter Invitational @WHS 4 p.m.

Monday, January 4

Girls Soccer - Varsity
vs. Bush @WHS 4 p.m.

Click here to access the WHS Calendar for more events.   
WEST COAST ELITE DANCE COMPETITION
 
Westside Pride's Coach Brooke Demartino is hosting a dance competition in January. Click here for the details and the registration link.
CHECK OUT THE ON-LINE STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Click here to go to the Howler, Westside's online, student newspaper. 
TRANSCRIPT REQUESTS

If you request a transcript from Naviance, you must come to A205 and pay for it, or it will not be sent.
IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN THE PTO

As a reminder for parents of senior students, if you join the PTO, your student is eligible to apply for one of the PTO scholarship grants given at the end of the year!

You must join the PTO by January 15, 2016 in order for your senior student to be eligible for a PTO scholarship.
 
We have several events coming up in the near future where we need you.  Being a member of the PTO is a great way to be involved and stay connected to all Westside happenings.  

We look forward to having you be a part of our team.  Click here to go to the PTO website and click here for the membership form.
FINAL EXAM WEEK
Tuesday, December 15
Regular Class: Periods 1-2
Period 7:10:25 a.m. - 12:25 p.m.
Optional Lunch: 12:25-12:55 
Early Dismissal

Wednesday, December 16
Period 1: 7:55 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
Period 2: 10:05 a.m.-12:05 p.m.
Optional Lunch: 12:05-12:30
Early Dismissal

Thursday, December 17
Period 3: 7:55 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
Period 4: 10:05 a.m.-12:05 p.m.
Optional Lunch: 12:05-12:30
Early Dismissal

Friday, December 18
Period 5: 7:55 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
Period 6: 10:05 a.m.-12:05 p.m.
Optional Lunch: 12:05-12:30
Early Dismissal
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY VISITS TO WESTSIDE
Throughout the school year, several colleges and universities have scheduled visits to Westside. In order to speak with a representative from each college, you must sign up on Naviance. Sign up for the colleges you are interested in. Don't forget to pick up a pass in A205 prior to the visit.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Westside High School will be participating in the HISD dates for Early Dismissals.   
 
January 27
February 24 

On
the Thursdays immediately following the Early Dismissal Days, there will not be a Late Start. 
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 

JOIN OUR LIST

QUICK LINKS

DECEMBER 14, 2015
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
  • GOLF SEASON TEES OFF
  • VESTIVAL
  • WESTSIDE WELLNESS: NEW YEAR, SAME YOU
  • CHOICES CORNER: SELF COMPASSION
GOLF SEASON TEES OFF
The girls golf team started its season out at Guy Wortham Golf Course. Niccia Pollard, Tiffany Marx, and Brianna Rowland waited for the dense fog to lighten up before teeing off.  Niccia started off the round with a par on the first hole.  Niccia never looked back as she finished her first tournament in 2nd Place.


The boys team also started its season the following day at Guy Wortham Golf Course, minus the fog. 

After 6 holes, Tim O'Connor was only 1 over par. Tim finished the day in 1st Place, overall, with the Wolf Team finishing in 3rd.  

What a start to the season for both the boys and girls teams! 
VESTIVAL
Westside's teachers and staff had fun getting into the holiday spirit by wearing fun and interesting vests during the week before finals. Who would've know so many staff members owned such a variety of vests?



WESTSIDE WELLNESS: 
NEW YEAR, SAME YOU, BETTER CHOICES
When the year is wrapping up and a fresh start is around the corner, many of us want to improve our personal habits and routines. 

"New Year, New You" is a phrase often used for fitness programs, diet plans, and for relationship and financial improvement systems. While setting a resolution and hitting the "refresh" button can make us feel energized, our intentions rarely last throughout the year, leading to disappointment and frustration with ourselves. 

This year, instead of analyzing our faults and seeking outside ways to improve them, let's try to accept who we are and where we are right now. By finding peace in the present, we will have more respect for ourselves and will naturally make better choices that will ultimately lead to improvements in our physical and mental health, finances, and relationships.

Celebrate the New Year, accept the Same You, and enjoy the Better Choices that result! 
CHOICES CORNER: SELF COMPASSION
Stress is the best way to stray away from taking care of ourselves; it causes our decision-making to be altered and make irrational or unhealthy choices. During stressful times we must exhibit self-compassion.  Self-compassion is taking a kind and accepting stance toward oneself during difficult times for enhancing healthy outcomes (Sirois, 2015). Self-compassion even promotes resilience, which helps us overcome challenges with a positive attitude while looking for the learned lessons and other alternatives for next time. 

When was the last time you experienced self-compassion or resilience? What needs to happen to increase self-compassion or resilience? Practicing in self-compassion helps us make goals that we can reach without settling for mediocrity.
 
How do we embrace self-compassion? There are three essential components when practicing self-compassion that includes: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness.
 
Self-Kindness
Not being self-critical, overflowing with feelings of guilt or not good enoughs are all ways to express self-kindness. Instead of thinking or saying to yourself "I'll never be able to do that", "I'm so stupid", "Why did I do that", "I'm not as pretty", or "I'm not that good." Self-kindness would say: "I'm learning how to do things right", "I'm learning how to do that", "I am pretty", "I'm getting better at this, so I just have to keep going and practicing".
 
Common Humanity
We have all experienced an array of ups and downs; common humanity is being able to share the hurts of other by joining together in understanding how the other person feels. It is very close to empathy, which is the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes. Displaying common humanity involves relationship building with others. For example we have all experienced this either with full awareness or no awareness. Have you ever heard of someone's loved one passing away and you instantly kind of get sad? Engaging in those temporary moments of feeling others pain means common humanity happened.
 
Mindfulness
When we are happy, nervous, and sad or any other emotion, it may be hard to be aware of what what's going on in our bodies or minds. Not being mindful may be displaying a lack of awareness of our body language and tone of voice. 

Think about it, have you ever tried to have a better day, but someone asks what's wrong because we may be slumped over or our eyes aren't engaged as normal? Or, do you have any habits you do daily or often enough that you don't realize your doing it? Things such as being on our cell phones (or any other technology gadget), nail biting, clinching your teeth, playing in your hair, crossing your legs, smiling, sitting without sitting straight up, smacking your gum, talking about someone or any other behaviors we do out of habit. Being able to be mindful enough and stop what we are doing by releasing our fists or bouncing leg and breath. Shifting your focus from negative emotions to concentrating on your breathing and what and how your body is doing helps to be mindful. 
 
For more information, please come by the CHOICES room in N144 or email me at [email protected].
We value your feedback!

Please direct comments or questions to Craig Malinsky
at [email protected].

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.