Middle School News

January 7, 2016

• The School Nurse will be conducting spinal screenings for 6th grade students this month.  If, for religious reasons you do not wish to have your child screened, please request an affidavit as soon as possible from the School Nurse.  (903) 291-2059 or [email protected].

• White Oak ISD has scheduled 4 early release days this year for staff development. Our next early release day is Wednesday, January 27. On that day, middle school students will be dismissed at 12:00 pm. Bus transportation will be provided. (Our final early release for staff development will be February 24)

• White Oak Middle School will be participating in our District UIL Academic competition on Saturday, January 23 at White Oak Middle School. Within the next couple of weeks, our students will received information as to the various contests offered and those interested are encouraged to sign up for this competition. If your child is selected to participate, he/she will bring home additional information.

• To help better communicate with you, please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WhiteOakMiddle , check your child’s teachers’ blog posts, the Media Center blog post, as well as the principal and counselor’s blog posts.

• Please monitor your child’s progress through Family Access by Skyward, Inc. Family Access is a secure Internet based website that will allow you to easily keep track of nearly everything your student(s) does while at school. Among other things, this service allows you to view your student’s attendance, grades, schedule, progress, assignments, and emergency information. Family Access is a free service and is available to all parents/guardians with children enrolled in the district. Beginning with this marking period, we will no longer send home a hard copy of your child’s progress report or report card unless you request a hard copy. (This is consistent with the policy at the high school.) You will be able to access this form by going to WOISD.net and then under “Campuses” click Middle. The link to the form will be under the calendar. For additional information related to Skyward, if you are having difficulties signing in to Skyward, or if you do not have Internet access and are requesting a hard copy of your child’s progress report/report card for each marking period, please call Ms. Cowart at 903-291-2085 or email her at [email protected].

• Anytime you need to pick up your child early from school, please call or send a note with them. They are to bring the note to the office as soon as they get to school. We will then issue an “Early Dismissal Notice” so they can be in the office at the designated time. For safety reasons, only individuals on your sign out list can pick up your child and you must come in and sign your child out.

• In emergency situations when a student must ride a different bus or be let off at another stop, parents/guardians must call the Transportation Department, (903-291-2149) as early in the day as possible. When calling, please inform the Transportation Supervisor, Mr. Stagner, of the child’s name, caller’s name (parent/guardian only), phone number, reason for change in ridership for that day, and drop off location. All changes must originate from the child’s parent or legal guardian and include the above information. A callback may be initiated. To ensure the safety of our students, notes will not be accepted for this special arrangement.

• Nominations for our Gifted and Talented Program will be accepted from March 14-25. At that time, forms will be available from Mrs. Van Camp, Middle School Counselor. Testing will be completed before the end of the spring semester. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact her at 903-291-2032 or [email protected]

• Texas Education Agency state assessment, STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) is more rigorous than previous state tests. It contains more test questions at most grade levels. The majority of the STAAR assessments will test material students studied this year. Also, as it was last year, tests will have a time limit. Unless a student is eligible for an accommodation, each student will have four hours to complete each assessment. We have repeatedly spoken with our students about the changes in the state testing and how the test is more rigorous than the previous TAKS test.   Coupled with this test and the increased passing standards, your child must also meet the passing standard in the class in order to be promoted.   8^th grade students who are not successful on the tests will have one additional opportunity before the end of the spring semester (in May) and one last opportunity at the end of June to retest and pass STAAR. 8^th grade students who do not pass STAAR on the second administration, will be required to enroll in summer school to prepare for the 3^rd and final administration of STAAR. If a decision is made not to enroll and successfully complete this requirement, then they will be retained.  If you would like additional information concerning the STAAR test, visit the Texas Education Agency website at www.tea.state.tx.us and click on Testing and Accountability on the left hand side.  Also, you may contact your child’s teacher for more information.  Thank you in advance for your support.

• STAAR Test calendar: March 29: 7^th grade Writing and 8^th grade Math; March 30: 8^th grade Reading; May 9: 6^th and 7^th grade Mathematics; May 10: 6^th and 7^th grade Reading, May 11: 8^th Science; May 12: 8^th grade Social Studies. TEA has scheduled the Algebra EOC (End of Course) test for the week of May 2-6. Test security measures will be in place on test days to limit student access to cell phones during testing. It is suggested that students leave cell phones at home on the days of testing. If you choose to allow your child to bring a phone, students must submit their cell phones that are turned off to their test administrators on the day of testing. Cell phones will be placed in an individual zip lock bag and returned to each student as soon as all testing has been completed for the day. You may also go online at www.tea.state.tx.us Student Assessment Division for additional information.

Semester exams are scheduled for December 16-18. Secondary campuses will dismiss early at 11:30 on Thursday and Friday, December 17 and 18. Bus transportation will be provided. Christmas break is scheduled for December 21-January 1 and the Spring Semester will begin Monday, January 4. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Regular school attendance is essential for a student to make the most of his or her education—to benefit from teacher-led and school activities, to build each day’s learning on the previous day’s, and to grow as an individual.  Absences from class may result in serious disruption of a student’s mastery of the instructional materials; therefore, the student and parent should make every effort to avoid unnecessary absences.  A recent study from E3 Alliance stated Texas high school students who miss 10 school days a year are three times more likely to drop out than those who miss 5 days. (Texas Monthly, December 2015, page 208).  As per the State’s mandatory attendance laws, pursuant to Section 25.095 of the Texas Education Code, if a student is absent from school for 10 or more days or parts of days within a 6 month period in the same school year or for 3 or more days or parts of days within a 4 week period, there is cause for concern and those absences must be addressed.  

   Under Texas law, it is the parent’s duty to monitor the student’s attendance and require the student to attend school. Children cannot learn if they are not present in school, so attendance is a must. Please visit with your child about the importance of showing up to school everyday, and make that the expectation.  Do not let your child stay home unless they are truly sick.   Showing up for school has a huge impact on a student’s academic success starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school. Even as children grow older and more independent, families play a key role in making sure students get to school safely every day and understand why attendance is so important for success in school and on the job.   Thank you for your help with this concern.

Thanksgiving holiday will be from November 25-27. Secondary campuses will dismiss at 11:30 on Tuesday, November 24.

On a regular basis, our staff reviews with our students the various campus safety procedures to ensure our students are familiar with those procedures in case of an emergency. All WOISD campuses practice various types of safety drills with our students throughout the year. Those include the following: Shelter in Place (The purpose is to keep our students and staff safe by not moving around. This is in effect any time it is safer to be inside than outside), Building Evacuation (The purpose is to keep our students and staff safe by leaving the building. This is in effect any time it is safer to be outside than inside) and Site Evacuation (The purpose is to keep our students and staff safe by relocating to a predetermined safe location. This is in effect anytime it is safer to evacuate our campus and transport our students to a predetermined safe location rather than to stay at White Oak. This semester, we have practiced both the Shelter in Place and Building Evacuation drills. On Monday, November 16, 2015, White Oak ISD will conduct a district wide evacuation drill. This drill is designed to simulate the need to remove all students and personnel and relocate to a predetermined safe location. We want to give you advanced notice of this drill. Since this is only a drill, all students will practice this drill by moving to the designate pick up area on our campus and will load buses.   No one will actually leave the district and/or be transported. We will complete the building evacuations and ensure that everyone is loaded and accounted for to transport. We expect the entire drill to be complete in 30-40 minutes and then everyone will return to a regularly scheduled instructional day. Again, this is only a drill and students will not leave the district.

October 22, 2015

• Please monitor your child’s progress through Family Access by Skyward, Inc. Family Access is a secure Internet based website that will allow you to easily keep track of nearly everything your student(s) does while at school. Among other things, this service allows you to view your student’s attendance, grades, schedule, progress, assignments, and emergency information. Family Access is a free service and is available to all parents/guardians with children enrolled in the district. Beginning with this marking period, we will no longer send home a hard copy of your child’s progress report or report card unless you request a hard copy. (This is consistent with the policy at the high school.) You will be able to access this form by going to WOISD.net and then under “Campuses” click Middle. The link to the form will be under the calendar. For additional information related to Skyward, if you are having difficulties signing in to Skyward, or if you do not have Internet access and are requesting a hard copy of your child’s progress report/report card for each marking period, please call Ms. Cowart at 903-291-2085 or email her at [email protected].

• To help better communicate with you, please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WhiteOakMiddle , check your child’s teachers’ blog posts, Media Center blog post, as well as the principal and counselor’s blog posts.

• White Oak ISD has scheduled 4 early release days this year for staff development. On the following days, middle school students will be dismissed at 12:00 pm. Bus transportation will be provided. (October 7, November 11, January 27, February 24)

• On behalf of the students, faculty, and staff of the White Oak Independent School District, the members of the Board of Trustees cordially invite all Veterans and Spouses who reside in the White Oak Independent School District to a Veterans Day Luncheon to be hosted in your honor on Wednesday, November 11, 2015, at 12:30 p.m. in the Judy C. Meredith Secondary Food Services Building. In order that we may plan for this special event, reservations are required no later than Wednesday, November 4, 2015. To make reservations, please contact Melanie Reed at 903-291-2201 or by email at [email protected]. Please leave your name, your street address in White Oak, and a telephone number.

• White Oak Middle School will be participating in our District UIL Academic competition on Saturday, January 23 at White Oak Middle School. Within the next couple of weeks, our students will received information as to the various contests offered and those interested are encouraged to sign up for this competition. If your child is selected to participate, he/she will bring home additional information.

• On behalf of the students, faculty, and staff of the White Oak Independent School District, the members of the Board of Trustees cordially invite all Senior Citizens (age 55 and older) who reside in the White Oak Independent School District to a Thanksgiving Luncheon to be hosted in your honor on Friday, November 20, 2015, at 12:30 p.m. in the Judy C. Meredith Secondary Food Services Building. In order that we may plan for this special event, reservations are required no later than Wednesday, November 11, 2015. To make reservations, please contact Melanie Reed at 903-291-2201 or by email at [email protected]. Please leave your name, your street address in White Oak, and a telephone number.

• Thanksgiving holiday will be from November 25-27. Secondary campuses will dismiss early on Tuesday, November 24. Please check our campus homepage and our campus Facebook for dismissal times.

Homecoming is this Friday, October 16th, and hundreds of White Oak Exes will be coming home for this celebration. Because of the increased numbers of attendees to the Pep Rally, its location has been changed to take place at the Roughneck Stadium. The Pep Rally is scheduled to begin at 2:30pm. For the safety of our elementary students and in order to avoid bus traffic and parent pick-up traffic congestion, the elementary campuses, Primary and Intermediate ONLY, will have an early release time. Please contact the respective campuses for their release time. Also, for the safety of all students, staff, and guests leaving the pep rally at the stadium, Stadium Drive will be closed to thru traffic at 3:15pm on Friday.

This Friday, October 2nd, is the last day of the six-weeks. While we are on a 9 week marking period, the UIL mandates that grades must be checked at this point to determine eligibility.  We, as well as the coaches and directors, have made announcements and spoken with our students on numerous occassions, stressing this deadline.  If a student is not passing all classes at the end of day Friday, they will become ineligible the following Friday, October 9th, at the end of the school day.   Grades will be rechecked for those that fail the six-weeks on Friday, October 23rd. If passing, they will become re-eligible on Friday, October 30th.

White Oak ISD has scheduled 4 early release days this year for staff development. On the following days, middle school students will be dismissed at 12:00 pm. Bus transportation will be provided. Our first day is this coming Wednesday, October 7.  (The other days are November 11, January 27, February 24)

For the safety of our high school band members and in order to give the marching band the time they need to learn their competition drill, WOISD will be blocking off the band practice lot (the lot on the east side of the New Middle School Gym) at 7:45AM, beginning Monday, September 28th. Beginning Monday, there will be no through traffic in the band parking lot and/or the parking lot directly behind the Middle School. This adjustment will remain in place until further notice.  Parents that want to walk their student to the school will need to park in one of the two parking lots next to the elementary building on the west side.  Thank you for your assistance in providing a safe environment for our high school band members to practice.

September 24, 2015

• Please monitor your child’s progress through Family Access by Skyward, Inc. Family Access is a secure Internet based website that will allow you to easily keep track of nearly everything your student(s) does while at school. Among other things, this service allows you to view your student’s attendance, grades, schedule, progress, assignments, and emergency information. Family Access is a free service and is available to all parents/guardians with children enrolled in the district. Beginning with the 1^st Marking period, we will no longer send home a hard copy of your child’s progress report or report card unless you request a hard copy. (This is consistent with the policy at the high school.) You will be able to access this form by going to WOISD.net and then under “Campuses” click Middle. The link to the form will be under the calendar. For additional information related to Skyward, if you are having difficulties signing in to Skyward, or if you do not have Internet access and are requesting a hard copy of your child’s progress report/report card for each marking period, please call Ms. Cowart at 903-291-2085 or email her at [email protected].

• To help better communicate with you, please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WhiteOakMiddle , subscribe to your child’s teachers’ blog posts, Media Center blog post, as well as the principal and counselor’s blog posts.

• White Oak ISD has scheduled 4 early release days this year for staff development. On the following days, middle school students will be dismissed at 12:00 pm. Bus transportation will be provided. (October 7, November 11, January 27, February 24)

• White Oak High School Homecoming is Friday, October 16. The high school pep rally will begin at 2:30pm and will be held at the stadium. To help eliminate the traffic flow and for the safety of our students, staff, and guests attending the pep rally, Stadium Drive will be closed to thru traffic at 3:00 pm.