here to get a glimpse of the battle of Team Blue vs. Team White. Later in the afternoon,

Westside Celebrates Presidents Day Westside celebrated Presidents Day with a double-feature of special events. Two teams of Wolves rose before dawn on Presidents Day morning to commemorate the occasion on live TV. CW39 Houston broadcasted a Presidential Trivia Contest in live segments from the Learning Commons throughout their morning news show. Click Principal Stewart, left, Dr. Lathan, right, and a few of our newly-minted Wolf voters! here to get a glimpse of the battle of Team Blue vs. Team White. Later in the afternoon, Westside was honored to host Interim Superintendent, Dr. Grenita Lathan, and the kick-off of HISD s Voter Registration Week. Dr. Lathan and Principal Stewart shared words of wisdom with about 100 Westside seniors on the importance of exercising their right to vote. A representative from Harris County Tax Office fielded students questions about registering, polling places, early voting, and researching candidates. A team of deputized registrars from Katy- Richmond Area Chapter (TX) of February 18, 2019 the Links, Inc. were on hand to register our Wolves to vote. Congratulations to all of our Wolves who registerd to vote today! Shout out to our JROTC members for serving as ambassadors and welcoming our guests and visitors to Westside. See page 2 for more photos. Calendar February 19 Girls Basketball State Play-offs Round 3, 6 PM at the Merrell Center, Katy February 21 HISD s Parent University, Multiple Locations, 5:30-8 PM February 26 Shades of Blue Jazz Concert/Dinner Dance, 6:00 PM in the Commons

Page 2 Wolf enews

Page 3 Girls Basketball: Round 3 State Playoffs Congratulations to our Girls Basketball Team...Area Champs! They are now headed into the 3rd round of State Playoffs. Please plan to go out to the Merrell Center in Katy tomorrow to support the team! Tuesday February 19 th 6:00 pm Merrell Center 6301 S Stadium Ln Katy, TX 77494 Tickets at the Door $5.00 Click here to see highlights of the Kempner game and interview with Coach Gillespie from Houston Chronicle. Wrestling Sending Four to State Last weekend, Westside Wrestling placed second in the UIL Region 3-6A tournament at the Merrell Center. Congratulations to the team on an outstanding season and good luck to our four Wolves advancing to State: Christopher Cofield 195 First Place District & Region Daniel Hernandez-Mendoza 138 First Place District & Region Christian Lopez First Place District, Second Place Region Takaya Matsuky 126 First Place District, Fourth Place Region Daniel Hernandez-Mendoza Christopher Cofield

Page 4 Wolf enews Culinary Students in Westchase SOUPer Bowl! Westside Wolves: (From left) Jack Clemensen, Luna Wedeking, Kimiya Mirzakhani, culinary instructor Curtis Bell, Ti Keya Webb, Tionne Marks, Iyanuoluwa Omidiji and Fernanda Rodriguez-Fraga participated in the 2019 Westchase Rotary Club s Souper Bowl. A team of culinary students from Westside, along with their teacher Chef Curtis Bell, participated in the Houston Westchase Rotary Club s Souper Bowl competition earlier this month. The event is a lively and entertaining cook-off which raises money for Rotary scholarships for area high school students. The team prepared Potato Chicken Soup and showcased their skills and talents learned in our large, professional kitchen/classroom. In addition to serving up a delicious dish, they served as ambassadors in the community representing Westside High School and our unique culinary program. Click here to read the full story on the Westchase District s webpage.

Page 5 From the Social Worker s Office: What do you need to know about edible marijuana? How Much Do You Know About Edibles? As a parent or guardian, what comes to mind when you hear the word edibles? Generally, parents think of brownies when the word edibles are mentioned. However, edibles can be infused into anything such as; candies and baked good. Consider this: THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, becomes more potent in edibles. In the 1960 s and 1970 s, THC had a potency level of 2% to 3%, and in 2016 the potency level was as high as 62%. The hospitals, in states that have legalized marijuana, have tripled due to THC intoxicity. An individual that consumes an edible ingests it like food that is not infused with THC, thus increasing side effect risks. Eating edibles infused with THC increases the chances of experiencing a mental illness AND going into psychosis. Developmentally, an adolescent s brain is designed to be impulsive and take risks without considering the consequences of engaging in high risk behaviors. Teenagers are programed to test the limits. As an adult with a fully developed prefrontal cortex, foreseeing the dangers are second nature. Limiting the chances of your child engaging in high risk behaviors, such as taking edibles, can be implemented. How? It is important to be consistent with giving rewards and consequences for your teen s behavior. Teenagers may think you are being cheesy with rewards and consequences; however, they want boundaries and positive reinforcement - CONSISTENTLY. It is never too late to discuss drug usage and experts encourage families to have collaborative conversations. A healthy family system has a family code. A family code is the family s morals, standards and beliefs. Assuming that your teen knows not to engage in drug activity is not enough. Discussing the expectation of no tolerance drug use should be a part of the family s conversation. Getting clear about your family code as it relates to high risk behavior, specifically drugs, is essential in building the family s bond. For more information concerning edibles please visit: https://www.justthinktwice.gov/article/drug-alert-marijuana-edibles http://smartcolorado.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/know-potency-two-sided.pdf National Drug Control Strategy. National Drug Control Policy, 2014. https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/ ndcs_data_supplement_2014.pdf. 2 Orens, Adam, Miles Light, Jacob Rowberry, Jeremy Matsen, and Brian Lewandowski. Marijuana Equivalency in Portion and Dosage. Colorado Department of Revenue, August 10, 2015. https://www.colorado.gov/ pacific/sites/default/files/med%20equivalency_final%2008102015.pdf. 3 Laar, Margriet van, Guus Cruts, Marianne van Ooyen-Houben, Esther Croes, Peggy van der Pol, Ronald Meijer, and Toine Ketelaars. The Netherlands Drug Situation 2014: Reitorx National Focal Point, n.d. http://specialtydiagnostix.de/wp-content/uploads/ti/en/trimbos_2014.pdf. 4 The Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado: The Impact. Youth and Adult Marijuana Use. Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, January 2016. http:// www.rmhidta.org/html/final%20nsduh%20results-%20jan% 202016%20Release.pdf. 5 Barker, Lisa, Katelyn Hall, and Mike Van Dyke. Monitoring Possible Marijuana Related Health Effects: Summary and Key Findings. Retail Marijuana Public Health Advisory Committee, January 12, 2015. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0bxqxhstk92dbv2vxzzvhwjjcd00. 6 Di Forti, Marta, Arianna Marconi, Elena Carra, Sara Fraietta, Antonella Trotta, Matteo Bonomo, Francesca Bianconi, et al. Proportion of Patients in South London with First-Episode Psychosis Attributable to Use of High Potency Cannabis: A Case-Control Study. The Lancet Psychiatry 2, no. 3 (March 2015): 233 38. doi:10.1016/ S2215-0366(14)00117-5. 7 Monte AA, Zane RD, and Heard KJ. The Implications of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado. JAMA 313, no. 3 (January 20, 2015): 241 42. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.17057. 8 FAQs: Health Effects of Marijuana. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, n.d. http://www.cde.state.co.us/dropoutprevention/ marijuana_health_effects. 9 Colorado Retail Marijuana Code. C.R.S 12-43.4-202(3)(c)(l)(B), 2015. 10 Monte AA, Zane RD, and Heard KJ. The Implications of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado. JAMA 313, no. 3 (January 20, 2015): 241 42. doi:10.1001/jama. 2014.17057.; Dukakis, Andrea. Denver Emergency Room Doctor Seeing More Patients for Marijuana Edibles. April 29, 2014. http:// www.cpr.org/news/story/denveremergency-room-doctor-seeing-more-patients-marijuana-edibles.; Ashbrook, Tom. Colorado s Six Months of Legal Pot. On Point. National Public Radio, June 30, 2014. http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/06/30/colorado-pot-marijuana-weed.; DrugFacts: Marijuana. National Institute on Drug Abuse, April 25, 2016. https://www.drugabuse.gov/ publications/drugfacts/ marijuana

Page 6 Wolf enews Westside Photography Students Exhibit at MFAH Photographs by several Westside students are on display as part of a special exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH). Eye on Houston: High School Documentary Photography is a collaboration between MFAH and several area high schools. The annual exhibit features photographs celebrating the diversity of Houston s neighborhoods, inviting student photographers to offer glimpses into their personal stories. Westside sophomore Sarah Alvarado s photograph, The War of Serpents, is among those selected for the museum exhibit (see photo below). Other Westside students whose work is included in the exhibit are: Savannah Adamson, Leslie Alvarez, Muhammad Furqan, Eduardo Hernandez,, Riley Johnston, Annaliza Licona, Dharma Lopez, annie Martinez, Pedro Moctezuma, and Tooba Qureshi. Now in it s 24th year, this year s exhibit includes 93 photographs selected from over 700 submissions. The exhibit is on display at the MFAH Visitor Center through August 11th. Click here to read the article about the exhibit on the MFAH webpage. Sarah Alvarado, The War of Serpents, 2018, inkjet print, Westside High School. Sarah Alvarado

Page 7 HISD s Parent U Offered This Week HISD s Parent University is offered this Thursday, February 21st, at multiple campuses around the district. The topic for this session is: Supporting Your Child s Safety, Social, and Emotional Growth. Click here for details on locations offered and to register for the event. Watch for details soon for next month s session of Parent U; Getting Your Child Ready for College and Careers. Westside High School will be one of the campuses hosting the event, which is scheduled for March 28th from 5:30-8 PM. WEGA Winners at PetroChallenge 2019 First Place Team included Westside WEGAn, Hannah Bedoy, far right. Second Place Team included Westside s Clayton Smith, second from left. Westside Engineering and Geosciences Academy (WEGA) students recently participated in PetroChallenge, an oil and gas business simulation competition. Mixed teams of students from different schools collaborate to discover oil and gas, while minimizing costs and acting in socially- and environmentally-responsible ways.

Page 8 Wolf enews Westside Celebrates Black History Month Throughout the month of February, Westside students and staff are celebrating Black History Month. Themed bulletin boards, wall art, and displays of collectibles have popped up all around the building, commemorating historical events and celebrating the achievements of prominent figures in African-American History. On Friday, February 22, don t miss a special program planned by the Black Student Union. Black History Month Showcase will feature dance, music, art, and poetry and take place in the Mini-Theatre during lunch. All students and staff are welcome to attend.

Page 9 Westside Celebrates Black History Month

Page 10 Announcements Join the Your membership enhances the learning experience of ALL students: Staff Appreciation Grounds Beautification School Improvements Student Scholarships And Much More! Click here to print form

Page 11 Wolf enews Announcements or Click here to reserve your dinner and then payment will be taken in cash at the door on Feb. 26

Page 12 Please note: No Saturday Tutorials this Week! Class of 2019 Westside HS Graduation Ceremony It s Official! Saturday June 8, 2019 3:00 PM NRG Stadium Have you PAID your Senior Dues? $200 Cash or Money Orders accepted in A205 Or Click here to pay online! Must be paid before Spring Break

Page 13 Do you plan to VOLUNTEER this year? Athletics, Band, PTO, T-Pro, Field Trips You must be cleared through HISD Click here to get cleared! Click here for uniform policy and product list School Office Hours 8:00 AM- 4:30 PM schoolpay.com Art Fee Band Fee Baseball Fee Basketball (Girl s) Fee Choir Fee Cross Country Fee Football Fee HOSA Fee Inertia Fee Orchestra Fee Power Up Senior Dues Tennis Fee Theater Fee Quick Links Subscribe to receive enews by email: https://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/whscommunity Submit stories and photos for enews: barbara.nassab@houstonisd.org School Web Address: https://www.houstonisd.org/westsidehs School Pay: https://www.schoolpay.com/ HISD Web Address: https://www.houstonisd.org