Sunday, March 25, 2018

News from Mrs. Graves

Upcoming This Week

MONDAY, 3/26  BLUE
     POMS Spirit Night at Skeeters      

TUESDAY, 3/27  GREEN
ADVO
Girls' & Boys' Soccer @Westbriar, 4:30 p.m.
Softball Vs. Westbriar @POMS, 4:30 p.m.
Dance Team (Company & Crew) Tryouts, 6:00 p.m.
Girls' Lacrosse @St. John's, 6:00 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, 3/28  BLUE
     Baseball vs. Lanier @POMS, 4:30 p.m.
p   Pin Oak Idol Auditions

THURSDAY, 3/29  GREEN
NO AFTER SCHOOL CARE
Pin Oak Idol Auditions
Baseball vs SVDP @South Campus, 4:15 p.m.
Softball @Kinkaid, 4:30 p.m.
Intermediate Theatre Showcase, MPR, 6:00 p.m.     RESCHEDULED 4/2/18

FRIDAY, 3/30  
HOLIDAY


Save the Date
Spring Dance Show, April 4 & 5



FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER 2018 at SOUTHSIDE CLUBHOUSE - DON'T DELAY!
Purchase your tickets Now! Time is running out, and space is limited! Dinner, Dancing and Socializing with fellow POMS parents, Wine Pull, and Final Bidding on Big Board Items!

Friday, April 13th; 7-11 PM
Southside Clubhouse 
Disco/Casual Attire

FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER 2018 ONLINE AUCTION - GET READY TO BID
The first ever online POMS Auction will open on April 4. We have some amazing items to bid on. All POMS friends and family can bid on items! Any family that registers to bid will be automatically entered to win a prize. More details coming soon.

This is the biggest fundraiser of the year for POMS PTO. Funds raised support instructional materials, fine arts, classroom technology, library, UIL athletics and child advocacy. There is still time to donate items to the online auction. 

Company and Crew Dance Tryouts
Applications for Company and Crew tryouts are available in the dance room, D118.  There is a mandatory parent meeting Tuesday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m. for all who are interested in trying out.  Company meeting will be held in the MPR.  Crew meeting will be held in the dance room, D118.

Incoming Lamar 9th Grade Parent Meetings
Monday, May 7:  6:00 PM, Cafeteria
Wednesday, May 9:  6:00 PM, Cafeteria

Project Prom Donation Site
Pin Oak is serving as a donation site for Houston ISD's Project Prom. Help our Teen Leadership class by donating gently used dresses, tuxedos, shoes, handbags, and other accessories.







Sunday, March 18, 2018

News from Mrs. Graves

Upcoming This Week

MONDAY, 3/19  BLUE
      UIL Band Clinic - Intermediate & Advanced, 3:40-5:30 p.m.
      Softball vs. Hamilton @POMS, 4:30 p.m.
      Baseball vs. Tanglewood @POMS, 4:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, 3/20  GREEN
CLUBS
8th gr District Track Meet, Barnett Stadium, 4:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, 3/21  BLUE
8th gr District Track Meet, Barnett Stadium, 4:30 p.m.
UIL Rehearsal, Intermediate & Advanced Band, 3:40 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
Softball vs. Pershing @POMS, 4:30 p.m.
Choir/Orchestra/Theatre New York Trip Parent Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

THURSDAY, 3/22  GREEN
General PTO Meeting, 8:30 a.m.
SDMC, 3:50 p.m.
Baseball @Pershing, 4:00 p.m.
Boys' & Girls' Soccer @Meyerland, 4:30 p.m.
Softball vs. Hogg @POMS, 4:30 p.m.
Orchestra Pre-UIL Concert, POMS, 6:30 p.m.
Band Pre-UIL Contest & Site Reading, Waltrip HS

FRIDAY, 3/23  CHARGER

SATURDAY, 3/24
Girls' Lacrosse vs Klein/Sienna @Klein, 9:00 a.m.


Message from Mrs. Graves
I hope that you and your family were able to rest and recharge over Spring Break.  We have had a challenging year as a community, and every day I am thrilled to hear from families who are finally returning home or are finally seeing progress toward rebuilding.  Our community has shown incredible grit and persistence, and has pulled together to help each other. I am grateful and proud of how we supported one another.

These final weeks of school must be focused, and must serve the individual needs of children as they prepare to move to the next level. Our benchmark scores were strong, and helped us identify what each child needs academically to move forward.  Please encourage your child to ask for assistance if they need it.  If your child's teacher reaches out to recommend tutoring, please let us know if we can help you make that possible. We are here to work alongside you to support your child.  Please do not hesitate to reach out if I can assist in any way.


Interested in Learning More About Proposed Changes to Magnet Programs?

This week the District will be presenting the proposed changes to Magnet Programs and is interested in hearing your feedback.  

Please consider attending one of the meetings listed to hear more and share your feedback.  

Complete the Magnet Survey Online
Use the link http://www.houstonisd.org/magnet to let the District know how you feel about Magnet Programs.  Click on the red bar at the top of the web page to start the survey.


Budget Update
This week I expect to receive a revised FTE Model that accounts for the anticipated reduction in the budget deficit.  As always, I will share that information with the SDMC, the faculty and the parents once I receive it.  The revision should also include money allocated for our Magnet Program, information which has not previously been released, however I do not anticipate it changing in our favor.


Welcome Officer Hernandez!
I am happy to introduce our new Campus Police Officer, Mark Hernandez.  Officer Hernandez is a native Houstonian, growing up in the East End. He graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School and graduated from the University of Houston Downtown, where he also attended the Police Academy.  Officer Cuevas volunteers at the Texans YMCA for youth basketball, and enjoys sports, adventures and spending time with loved ones.

Officer Hernandez worked alongside Officer Cuevas last week and made his campus debut during the Faculty vs Student Basketball game.  Please join me in welcoming Officer Hernandez, and feel free to stop and introduce yourself.  We wish Officer Cuevas well as he joins a school district police department closer to home.  


Interested in Being a Charger Cheerleader Next Year?
Applications for cheerleader and mascot tryouts will be available starting Tuesday, March 20 in the Main Office, House A Office and Girls Locker Room.  Completed applications are due Friday, April 6.  Mandatory parent meeting is Monday, April 9 at 6pm in the cafeteria.


Join the POMS Triathlon Team - No tryouts necessary
Houston Texans Kids Triathlon April 21 & 22, 2018 at NRG

Find all the information you need at: www.houstontexans.com/kidstriathlon 
The Junior Division (ages 6-10) will swim 100M, bike 3 miles and run 1/2 mile on Saturday the 21st and the Senior Division ages (11-15) will double those distances at their race on Sunday the 22nd.

Click this link to register for the race: 

Don’t forget to list POMS as your team! Younger siblings and friends can sign up for our team as well. POMS will receive $5/participant (as long as we have a minimum of 10) in an educational grant back to our school.

YMCA Tri Training Available - Cost is $25 if you are not a Y member and it is Free if you are a Y member.  You can do either a 5-week training program or a 1 day 3 hour clinic 


Once you sign your student up for the race, please email Coach Lagenia at lageniac@comcast.net since she will be emailing out information about team practices and tailgating at the event. Last year we had 27 students on our team and this year Pershing has a team, so we definitely want to have a bigger team than them! 


Sunday, March 4, 2018

News from Mrs. Graves

Upcoming This Week

MONDAY, 3/5  BLUE
      8th gr Panoramic Picture on Sale at Lunch, $25 or $35
      Girls' Softball @Pershing, 4:30 p.m.
Boys' Lacrosse vs. Memorial @POMS, 5:00 p.m.
Spring Musical Performance, Footloose, 6:00 p.m.

TUESDAY, 3/6  GREEN
ADVO
8th gr Panoramic Picture on Sale at Lunch, $25 or $35
     Softball vs. Burbank @POMS, 4:30 p.m.
     Baseball @Pershing, 6:00 p.m.
7th gr District Track Meet, Barnett Stadium, 4:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, 3/7  BLUE
Track pictures, 7:00 a.m.
7th gr District Track Meet, Barnett Stadium, 4:30 p.m.
Tennis and Baseball Pictures, 3:45 p.m.
Softball @ Marshall MS, 4:30 p.m.

THURSDAY, 3/8  GREEN
Baseball vs. Tanglewood @POMS, 4:00 p.m.

FRIDAY, 3/9  CHARGER
Faculty vs Student Basketball Game, 2:45 p.m. $2 Wristbands
NO AFTER SCHOOL CARE

SPRING BREAK, MARCH 10-18


And the Tickets Go To...
Congratulations to the Schipper Family for winning the Keith Urban tickets! And thank you to the Taylor family for donating the tickets to this fabulous concert.  Tickets to Friday Night Fever are still available.  Buy your tickets now and support Pin Oak Middle School.  

Friday Schedule
We will run a regular Charger Day schedule on Friday.  Students who wish to see the students vs faculty basketball game may buy a wristband during lunches this week for $2.  Students will a wristband will be released during 8th period for the game.

HCC Campus
We are finding that more students are asking their parents to pick them up from the HCC campus after school where they are hanging out.  We strongly discourage this practice.  HCC is a college campus and we worry about our students hanging out with high school students and adults on that campus.  There is no supervision and HCC no longer has officers permanently assigned to that campus. 

If you are not able to pick up your child, we can offer supervision through our after school care program, or can discuss the possibility of getting your child on an existing bus route.  Please reach out to the school office if we can assist with supervision after school.