News from Mrs Graves

Upcoming This Week

MONDAY, 12/18  FINALS BLUE - DAY 1

7th/8th gr Boys' Basketball vs Lanier @ POMS 5:30 p.m.
7th/8th gr Girls' Basketball @ Lanier, 5:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, 12/19  FINALS GREEN - DAY 2

Band Holiday Concert and Spaghetti Dinner, 6:00 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, 12/20  FINALS BLUE - DAY 3

THURSDAY, 12/21  FINALS GREEN - DAY 4

PTO Sponsored Teacher Appreciation Luncheon
NO AFTER SCHOOL CARE - 3:30 Dismissal for Everyone

Winter Break - December 22 - January 7
Students Return - January 8, 2018



Finals Schedule

Dress Code
During the Fall semester we relaxed the dress code to allow students and families time to recover from the impacts of Harvey.  We mobilized our PTO and were able to provide all impacted families with access to five uniform shirts, a spirit shirt and a hoodie. Some families also received dress code appropriate bottoms.  We have been monitoring dress code and making sure students were able to meet the expectations by providing additional uniform shirts and hoodies as needed.  

The campus plan is to begin enforcing the dress code in January, and please know we still have resources to assist any student or family that may still need assistance.  Violation of the dress code will result in disciplinary consequences.

Some things that may help your child avoid issues with dress code:

• Review the dress code in the planner
• Students should be wearing a collared white, gray or royal blue shirt on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week.
• Spirit shirts are reserved for Fridays.
• Students wishing to wear some sort of sweatshirt or sweater should wear the official Pin Oak hoodie or sweatshirt, or may wear a solid colored white, gray or royal blue sweater or sweatshirt with a logo smaller than the student ID.  There should be no variation in color and no design on the sweater or sweatshirt.
• Students should have a current school ID on a lanyard, visible on top of the shirt, sweater or sweatshirt. IDs may be purchased from the school store for $5.
• Students may wear denim jeans, khaki, navy blue or the official school tartan bottoms. Pants should be free of design and should not have tears.  Skirts should be no shorter than 2 inches about the knee, or the length of the short side of the student ID. 

Please use this week to help your child comply with dress code expectations.  Please let us know if we can help in any way to make this possible. Beginning in January, House offices will begin tracking dress code violations and assigning consequences for dress code violations.

PSAT Scores for 8th Graders

On Friday, all 8th graders took home a letter with information for accessing PSAT scores online.  If you did not receive it, please ask your child.  It was distributed through English classes.  We have not received paper score reports, but will distribute those as soon as they are available.  

End of Grading Cycle

Thursday is the final day of this grading cycle.  Please encourage your child to check GradeSpeed and turn in any missing assignments.  An INC for this grading cycle will result in the student losing eligibility for any UIL activities or competitions.  

Yearbook Photo Request
Yearbook needs photos of Pin Oak students during the eclipse; at this season's Astros games; in the Houston snow; and at Pin Oak sports, performances and events.  Please email photos with students' names to our yearbook advisors, Autumn Beckman, at abeckman@houstonisd.org

Yearbook Order Reminder
December 31 is the last day to order your yearbook for $45.  Prices go up on January 1.  Books can be ordered from www.balfour.com and will be distributed at school in May.

POMS Boys' Lacrosse

Pin Oak Boys Lacrosse registration will be open soon!  Boys lacrosse is a wonderful club sport which starts in January.  It is open to all boys.  Go to www.pobl.org for all of the information!! 

News from Mrs. Graves

Upcoming This Week

MONDAY, 12/11  BLUE

7th/8th gr Boys' Basketball @ Rice 5:30 p.m.
7th/8th gr Girls' Basketball vs Rice @ POMS, 5:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, 12/12  GREEN

ADVO
Final Chance for Make-up Pictures - All Lunches
Tennis Practice
Holiday Choir Concert, 6:00 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, 12/13  BLUE

Boys' Soccer Team Parent Meeting, 7:15 a.m. OR 4:00 p.m.

THURSDAY, 12/14  GREEN

PTO General Meeting, 8:30 a.m.
Tennis Practice
SDMC Meeting, 3:50 p.m.
Swim Meet vs Lanier @ Lamar HS, 5:15 p.m.
Winter Orchestra Concert, 6:00 p.m.

FRIDAY, 12/15  CHARGER
School Spelling Bee, MPR. 8:15 a.m.

SATURDAY, 12/16
GT Testing for Previously Registered Students, 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Boys' Basketball Tournament @ Westbury Christian


Student Attendance at Events After School
We love to have students cheer on our athletic teams or performing arts groups.  Most of these types of events start between 4:30 and 6:00.  That leaves one to two hours of unsupervised time.  We can help with that!  Our after school program can provide supervision on a drop in basis for just $5 per day.  Please contact Mr. D'Angelo in the Main Office to register your child for drop in visits.

We have noticed more students leaving campus and returning for events. You know your children and what they can handle, but we have seen a number of problems over the years with this. We strongly discourage you from allowing your child to leave campus and visit businesses in the area.   


2018-19 Academic Calendar
The HISD Board of Trustees recently approved the 2018-19 Academic Calendar.  You may view the calendar on the HISD website.  

Shout Out!

This weekend our Girls' Basketball team hosted a tournament.  The tournament was a great success and a fine example of our community at work.  Big thanks go out to our Boys' basketball teams for helping to make this event a huge success!  The team would also like to thank Mrs. Tackett and her team of parent volunteers for helping with planning and execution of this huge event.  They also thank the faculty and staff, along with our facilities team (especially Sra. Luna). Without such teamwork this tournament would not have been such a huge success.  

This past week several of our community business partners joined in supporting Pin Oak with our Holiday Shopping Days!  We thank our PTO for organizing this event, and to the following community partners:

• Barnes and Noble
• Nothing Bundt Cakes
• Chick-fil-A
• Presmer

And a big shout out for the beautiful performances by our Choir, Orchestra and Dance Officers, as well as our NJHS for gift wrapping!

News from Mrs. Graves

Upcoming This Week
Holiday Shopping Days This Week!

MONDAY, 12/4  BLUE

Spring Musical Rehearsals Begin
Baseball Try Outs Begin- Pitchers and Catchers, 3:45-6:00 (Must have complete packet)
7th/8th gr Boys' Basketball vs Westbriar @POMS, 5:30 p.m.
7th/8th gr Girls' Basketball @ Westbriar, 5:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, 12/5  GREEN

CLUBS
Tennis Practice

WEDNESDAY, 12/6  BLUE

Winter Dance Show (Blue Day Classes, Company & Crew, Cheer), 6:00 p.m.

THURSDAY, 12/7  GREEN

Magnet Tours, 1:00 p.m.
Tennis Practice
Winter Dance Show (Green Day Classes, Company & Crew, Cheer), 6:00 p.m.

FRIDAY, 12/8  CHARGER
Choir and Orchestra Performance - Premium Outlet Mall

SATURDAY, 12/2
Swim Team at Lamar Open House
Choir Performance at Barnes and Noble

Magnet Application Deadline Friday

This week is the final deadline for Phase I applications for Magnet programs for the 2018-19 school year.  If you are interested in an HISD Magnet Program, your application must be submitted online no later than Friday, December 8th.

The last day for regular Magnet Tours is Thursday, December 7th at 1:00 p.m.  If you plan to take your child out of school to tour another HISD Magnet program, please email Ms. Sarratt at Jessika.Sarratt@houstonisd.org no later than Wednesday at noon.

Calling all Film Makers!

Students K-12 are invited to work as teams to produce a 60-90 second digital animation and/or video, highlighting important tips about how to be safe online. The Ed Tech team has supplied information about possible topics, examples of previous submissions to inspire student's creativity at the Digital Literacy Moments 2018 website at http://sites.google.com/houstonisd.org/diglit2018 .  The Education Technology team can also provide technical support and can work with teachers and students to learn how to use various creation tools. "Digital Safety Moments" can be produced in any format, including live video, animation or a sequence of narrated images.  Submissions will be accepted through March 29, 2018 at 5:00 pm.  Submissions should be sent to http://tinyurl.com/DigLitMoment.  Please be sure all participating students have a signed media release on file at the campus. Featured videos from prior challenges have been featured nationally at the Future of Privacy Forum (https://fpf.org/) and Common Sense Media (www.commonsensemedia.org).

Toy Drive
Ms. Rittmueller's community service club is hosting a toy drive.  Boxes are in each House Office for donations for the fire department stocking stuffer drive and Toys for Tots.  

Dress Code: Jackets
Students may wear a solid colored sweater, jacket or sweatshirt in gray, white or royal blue, without variations or patterns. There should be no stripes and no designs. Logos should be no larger than the student ID. Heavy overcoats must be stored in the student locker once the student enters the building. Students who are wearing a sweater, jacket or sweatshirt that does not comply with the dress code will be asked to put the item in their locker or pick it up from the main office after school.  A loaner sweatshirt will be offered.