Robotics

Yesterday, our Robotics Club had their robots moving for the first time. So far, they have programmed the robots to produce sound and have learned to program the lights in the scribbler. Some groups have even coordinated the lights with sounds and movement. WOW! Way to go Jags!

Our Katy ISD Education Foundation Inspiring Imagination Teacher Grants in action.

Hour of Code hosted by Mrs. Limmer

This past week, students had the opportunity to participate in an international event called the Hour of Code^TM.  Our students had a blast!  This is our third year to host an event, and every year the number of students who participate grows larger.  

Detailed information may be found at https://hourofcode.com/files/hoc-one-pager.pdf.

8th Grade Science

Today in 8th grade science students were experimenting with air pressure in a big way!  From making a barometer out of jars and balloons to the favorite bashful balloon experiment, students learned about what happens when low pressure moves to high pressure and how it can crush a can or even pull a giant water balloon into a pickle jar.

8th Grade Science

In 8th grade, Ms. Psencik is creating an Interactive Word Wall to enhance the learning in her classroom. The students are recording this information in their Interactive Student Notebook and using it to demonstrate what they have learned about Newton's Three Laws of Motion. 

Student Art Exhibit

Our Art students continue to amaze us.  Luis Cabezas' piece has been selected to represent Katy ISD in the “2015 Annual Texas Art Education Association’s Conference”: Student Art Exhibit.  WOW!  

Digital Citizenship

Using resources from Common Sense Media and Nearpod, sixth grade students learned about how their “digital footprint” includes not only what they post but what others post about them as well.  They also discovered that their digital footprint is searchable, shareable, and permanent.  Through both a fictitious scenario and a real-life example, we discussed how what they post can affect their future college and career opportunities.  #thinkB4Upost

Eclipse Experiment

Our life skills class participated in an experiment to learn about the lunar eclipse.  We used a basketball, tennis ball and a lamp to create shadows, learn about the moon, Earth and the sun.  The students really enjoyed this experiment have a great understanding.

 

7th Grade Social Studies

This week in 7th grade Texas History, students spent time experiencing life as if they were Native Americans living in a mission in Texas in the 1700's.  They were introduced to their mission by their teacher outside the room and then they walked in listening to the sounds of Gregorian Chants.  After taking a vow of silence, they participated in different stations representing different aspects of the mission life - sleeping in the dormitory, working in the kitchen, separating seeds, translating words from English to Spanish, listing to the chants(Chapel) and cleaning the mission.  At the end of the lesson, students had a different perspective about mission life.   

Thank You First Responders

Our WMJH Cheerleaders took time on Friday, September 11th to deliver baked goods to the fire fighters and police officers who serve our Katy Community. They had an opportunity to shake their hands, deliver baked goods from the goodness of their hearts, and meet a new friend or two.  If these ladies could manage to thank every public servant personally, they would!  Thank you for all you do.  

   

What it Means to be a WMJH Jaguar (from a student)

This is a post from Kylie, one of our 6th graders.  We are so proud of the work she has done on "What it Means to be a Jaguar".  Thank you Kylie for sharing your work with all of us.

Jags run as fast as the wind.

Jags strong, proud, and intelligent.

Jags beautiful and courageous.

Jags smart, awesome, and obedient.

Jaguars, is what we are, we stand for ourselves, 

and others, and we help others and we treat 

people the way we want to treated.  

That is who we are, we each have our own 

personality.

We shouldn't let people try to change who we are

and who you are is good.  So don't stop believing in 

yourself EVER!

If someone says you look weird or says anything

mean and rude to you don't believe them don't try

to hide who you are just be yourself.  Remember

who you are is beautiful and that is who you are

that is what makes you, you.

Also if you are rude and inconsiderate to people

you should try to do better so you can really be 

good and get more friends or be nicer to them, 

and become an amazing Jag!

This all what it means to 

be a WMJH Jaguar!!

Art (7th and 8th grade)

Check out our Scratch Art!  Here are just a few of our Artist Trading Cards we are making.  They are turning out awesome!  It's hard to believe this is only this first week of school.  Great job Jaguars.

Cub Camp Recap (from a student)

Here's is our first student blog entry!  Trevor is one of our 6th graders this year and would like to share with us his experience at Cub Camp. I am sure you will enjoy reading it as much as we did. 

Hi!  I am Trevor Black and an incoming 6^th grader who attended West Mo’s cub camp.  Cub camp was a lot of fun.  I was nervous but the kid counselor’s there made it fun and resolved my nervousness by making me feel welcome.  First off, everyone attended a pep rally together with cheers and music.  Next, we played ice breaker bingo to get to know each other better in small groups.  After that, we went on a scavenger hunt around the school to learn where everything is located and how to get from place to place.  We went to rooms like the library, band room, LGI, PE locker room, and lots of others.  Then everyone went to the cafeteria and we all got ice cream!  What a treat!  While we were eating, they turned on a video.  It gave us solutions to things we might worry about like if we can’t find our class and where to go if we can’t open our locker.  Then we checked out all the clubs available at West Mo like DI (Destination Imagination), Theater Club, and the Chess Club.  There is definitely something for everyone.  Sadly, after that, it was over but it was a GREAT first-impression for junior high @ West Mo! 

Looking forward to seeing everyone!  Class of 2022 rocks!  Go Jags!

Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year

Students, Parents, and Staff,   

Welcome to West Memorial Junior High and the 2015-2016 school year.  This is our official start of our blog for this year.  I am looking to go beyond classroom happenings this year for our blog posts and need your help.  I am looking for others to help showcase our Jaguar story.  If you would like to be a guest blogger, and share your WMJH experience, let me know.

The first day of school truly was one of the best.  Our students and staff were so excited to meet each other and I think it's safe to say they had fun with all the activities our staff had planned.  Please know it is an honor and privilege to serve as your principal.  Our students, parents, and staff are in for a wonderful and exciting experience as we work together to create a school that provides an outstanding education in a safe and secure environment.  The faculty and staff is committed to the goal that West memorial Junior High will be an educational institution where students maximize their individual strengths and potential through balanced academic and extracurricular programs of the highest quality.  It is the aspiration of all staff members to truly make a difference in the lives of the children and community that we serve by promoting acceptance, respect and responsibility.

   

For our school to be truly great, parental involvement is vitally important.  All of our students will benefit and be successful if we work together as partners.  Please take time to visit the parent tab on the WMJH website to see how you can be involved. Please follow us on Twitter @WMJHJaguars for the latest information and to see the great things taking place in our classrooms.  

In addition, should you have any questions or issues of concern, please do not hesitate to contact us.  It is important that the lines of communication between all members of our learning community remain open and available.  Together we will make WMJH a school of caring, achievement, and trust.  I look forward to working with you throughout the school year.  

Gina Cobb

Principal

Concepts of Engineering and Technology

Take a look at a few of our awesome woodworking projects.  Our students have done an amazing job.

7th Grade ELA

ELA Book Club board game projects.  Let's play! 

8th Grade Social Studies

What do Legos, Stop Motion, and History have in common? 

http://tinyurl.com/WMJHSS

usp=sharing_eid

7th Grade Science

Our students are involved in a project that teaches them science and engineering play a critical role in important issues, such as environmental protection. The picture shows the students trying several methods to clean up a simulated oil-spill, and then comparing the results by considering criteria such as effectiveness, cost, and waste disposal. Afterwards, they identified some of the problems they might encounter when taking their technique from a pie pan to the ocean, and suggested new technology to improve the process for the future.

Ecosystem Project

After learning about food webs and ecosystems, students worked in groups to create a Discovery board, like an interactive poster, to select and post pictures that represented producers, first level and second level consumers in an ecosystem.  Students used various features to label pictures and to create their unique presentations.

 

Art

Paper Mâché...enough said!  Check out our awesome projects.

6th Grade Science

Word Walls, Symbaloo, and Space...OH MY!

If there is one subject that I would say nearly every student loves, it is Space.  In the last unit for the year, students will utilize a Space Webmix via Symabloo to gather research on the Celestial Objects.

Up next: Comets, Meteors, and Gravity.  

8th Grade Science - Rubber Band Cars

This week students have been creating rubber band cars (Zoom Machines).  This activity challenges the students to not only be creative, but to persevere through even when the car is not working properly and needs adjustments.  Stored up potential energy in the rubber band is being changed into kinetic energy to power the car a minimum of 3.1 meters.  Final car trials begin next week!

 

Algebra

Our Algebra students are gearing up for their EOC with this puzzle.  Students rotated each piece to match a formula or equation to its description using their reference material.  Only some of the formulas and equations are listed on their chart.  This was a great activity for students to not only review, but to relax and have light conversation with their groups while listening to music.  

  

8th Grade - U.S. History

8^th grade U.S. History students are studying turn of the century America and comparing the difficulties that American’s faced during those turbulent times to difficulties we face in 2015. Students have been engaged in discussions about race and gender discrimination and how the U.S. government can strive for equality for all.  Students are continuing to evaluate the role the United States government plays in their everyday lives and discussing federal power vs. state power, and what are the true responsibilities of individuals vs. the government.

Teen Leadership - Speeches

Our Teen Leadership students are preparing their speeches and are in the process of gathering peer feedback.  Next we will be practicing and preparing for the big day!  #iloveteenleadership.

6th Grade Science

Science ROCKS...Literally!

This unit, the 6th grade class is spending time exploring and learning about minerals and rocks.  Today was the introduction day to rocks, so what better way to do that than to let the students create all 3 types of rocks with crayons?! (Hint: There is no better way!)  

Students applied pressure to their crayon shavings (sediments) to create sedimentary rocks:

They then put their sedimentary rock over boiling water to heat it up, and then applied more pressure by stepping on it to create a metamorphic rock:

Finally, students completely melted their new metamorphic rock over the boiling water and let it cool completely to form an igneous rock:

They then put their sedimentary rock over boiling water to heat it up, and then applied more pressure by stepping on it to create a metamorphic rock:

Today, students only know these rocks as Rock #1, Rock #2, and Rock #3...tomorrow, everything will be hashed out and named on a life size rock cycle!

6th grade ELA

Our 6th graders were having fun preparing for STAAR by playing a few ELA board games. The games are: Figurative Language, Author's Purpose, Drawing Conclusions, Cause & Effect, Inference, Fact or Opinion, & Context Clues. 

VASE

Congratulations to our students who had artwork compete at the Texas Visual Art Scholastic Event this past weekend. 19 student artworks received a 4-superior rating  and 13 artworks received a 3-excellent rating. Great job Jags!

#LoveMySchoolDay

What an awesome way to tell our story.  Here are just some of the reasons why we love our school.  We have great students, awesome parents and the best staff!

Art

Our talented Jaguars do amazing work.  Check out a few of their pieces.  Keep up the great work Jags!  We are so proud of you and your masterpiece.

Water for the World Experiment

Water for the World Experiment

In social studies and science, the Life skills class read a current events article about how a company is providing centers to help clean water around the world.  We learned about an invention that they use to clean the water.  To support our learning, we completed an experiment using paper towels, food color and water to learn about how water travels through capillary action.

            

         

7th Grade ELA

Test-taking can build anxiety in anyone. To reassure students that they've got what it takes to perform well on their upcoming STAAR Writing Test, they participated in a scavenger hunt. Upon figuring out the clues that led to various staff members, students were met with short quizzes. These quizzes tested their knowledge on writing personal narratives, expository essays, and their revising and editing skills.

This upcoming Monday and Tuesday our 7th graders will tackle their STAAR Writing test with confidence!

Teen Leadership

A note about leadership and one of our students from the eyes of Coach Howard, Teen Leadership Teacher.

Eliana is one of our campus’ most outstanding students. She works incredibly hard to be a top student academically and athletically.  Whether she is in a classroom or on a court she participates with more heart than most, and encourages her peers to achieve success with her. She is definitely a team player, but more so, a leader. Her most recent project was our campus’ participation in the District’s Anti-Cyberbullying campaign: #ktbethechange. She was chosen by her classmates in the Teen Leadership class to be the Project Manager for this endeavor.  Without hesitation she jumped in, and got right to work. Her dedication, persistence, and leadership abilities to this project speaks volumes towards her character.

Now that the project is complete, Eliana is looking forward to the future to achieve her own personal goal of becoming Valedictorian, and assuming she stays the course, this young leader is well on her way to the top!

7th Grade ELA

Have you ever wondered what a story would be like if multiple people contributed without knowing what the others would say until you read the finished product? Have you ever had writer’s block? In 7^th grade ELA, students had the opportunity to experience “Add-A-Line”, an engaging writing activity that helps students to combat writer’s block. Add-A-Line allowed students to plan a personal narrative and expository essay with the help of their classmates. Each student began their compositions, and then switched them with their classmates as they worked through the writing process. Reading the finished product was quite an experience for both students and teachers!

6th Grade Science

Crickets Anyone?

As an introduction to calculating speed, the 6th grade scientists measured how must distance a thoroughbred racing cricket could cover in 30 seconds.  

Some crickets had a speed as fast as 7cm/second!!