Mark Your Calendars:

• PTO Meeting Tuesday, April 14 8:00 a.m. MPR

• Science/Math Night Tuesday, April 14 5:30-7:30 p.m. Cafeteria/MPR

• Vanguard Applications Due for current 1st-4th graders Friday, April 17

• WUES Invitational Track Meet Friday, April 24, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Butler Stadium

• Iowa Testing 1st-5th Grade Students May 4 - 8

Our next PTO meeting is Tuesday, April 14 at 8:00am. We have Math & Science Night that evening from 5:30-7:30 p.m. I look forward to seeing you then! Magnetized to WUES, Elizabeth Karkowsky, WUES PTO President

The Pony Express Spring Edition, Volume 13 April 6, 2015 West University Elementary School

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

PTO Corner 1-4

President’s Column 1

PTO Budget Requests 1

Birthday Book Club 2

Math & Science Night 2

PTO Executive Board 3

Art Night Thanks 3

Corporate Donor: Texas Citizens Bank 4

iKids After-School 5

Vaccination Controversy 5

Pershing Parent Coffee 5

I hope everyone had a restful weekend. We are hitting our stride now with only eight weeks of school remaining. There will be many forms sent home over the next few weeks. Please check the Monday Folder and return the completed forms in a timely manner. Have a splendid week! John T. Threet, Principal

PTO President’s Notes

Reminder that the deadline for budget request submission is April 13, 2015. The spring General PTO meeting where the budget for next school year is discussed is May 12. We will take a vote on the 2015/2016 proposed PTO budget and any PTO budget requests for the school year.

If you are planning to submit a request for funding from the PTO for improvement projects or purchases, please visit the PTO website and fill out the budget form no later than April 13, 2015. It can be found at http://westupto.org/submit-budget-request/. Alternatively, a hard copy can be submitted to the VP of Budget and Finance box at the front office. Please note if a request is over $1,000 two bids are required. Should you have questions, please contact Amy Sahely at amywayengland@yahoo.com.

PTO Budget Request Deadline Approaching

Principal’s Place

Join us in guiding our kids on a journey of discovery and fun on April 14th from 5:30-7:30! Volunteer as a "tour guide" to an area of The World of Math and Science" while your kids explore the booths of the HMNS, NASA, The Health Museum, and more---or enlist your child's help in his/her area of passion! Click on the link to help and still have plenty of time to do your own exploring! www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F0849ADAF2FA3FF2-theworld/11541182 Please contact Keryth Hauch or Chantel Preston with any questions.

PTO Corner

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י ו ם ה ו ל ד ת חמש , Happy Birthday, Maligayang Bati! The following students are celebrating their birthdays this week by donating a book to our school library:

Drew Beauchamp April 6th Neel Arun Padmanabhan April 18th Presley Reilly April 6th Sofia Rowsey April 18th Alexis Shor April 7th Lawson Behan April 19th Charlie Deutser April 8th Erin Bray April 19th Owen Epperson April 9th Mary Elizabeth Pennington April 22nd Sofia Skaria April 9th Weston Benner April 23rd Grace Ritchie April 10th Mark Wheeler April 24th Mina Sato April 10th James Belanger April 24th Grant Berger April 11th Maya Baird April 25th Thomas Frederiksen April 11th Sloan Rippstein April 25th Olivia McCarty April 11th Yutia Li April 25th Alexandra Cintron April 12th John Fitzgerald April 26th Marshal Edgecomb April 13th Vedika Tandon April 28th Anna Senseman April 13th Carly Krothe April 28th Eloise Tackett April 13th Meredith Lium April 28th Tegh Thind April 13th Luke Michael April 28th Emma Kate Michael April 14th Kieran Smith April 29th Ella Fullick April 14th Liam Smith April 29th Alex Frew April 15th Alexis Sanchez April 29th Ashley Morgan April 15th Kate Lahoti April 29th Mateo Sanz April 16th Diane Sun April 29th Emma Stoett April 17th Toby Jukes April 30th

Thank you very much for supporting West U Elementary Library! All April birthdays are listed in today’s Pony Express. All May birthdays will be included in next week’s Pony Express. Deadline: If you have not yet ordered a Birthday Book Club membership for your child, please note that Tuesday, April 14 is the last day to turn in your student's form for inclusion in this year’s Pony Express. After that date, we will be unable to process your request for this school year. Order forms can be found at www.westupto.org or by contacting Tracy Benner (tracymbenner@yahoo.com) or Guadalupe Harper (guadacarlesso@hotmail.com).

Birthday Book Club

The World of Math and Science Needs You!

Because of your support, 240 K-2nd graders got magnetized to creativity! And, many siblings also joined the fun. Thank you to our incredible school organizations, generous community partners and parent volunteers. We couldn’t have done it without all of YOU!

• WUES Administration, PTO Board, Custodial Staff, and Coach Jones

• iKids, Joy Kids Studio, Main Street Theater, Pin Oak Middle School Dance, Snap Photo Booth, Houston Symphony, and Mrs. Sherry Loxterkamp

• Over 50 volunteers! Special thanks goes to the leads: Delphine Daube, Guadalupe Harper, Gail Jackson, Elizabeth Love, Robin Wexler, Judy Chang, Annie Marshall, Isabel Garcia, Mary Majumder, Kara Berry, Sara Bloom, Whitney Loxterkamp

Congratulations to Ms. Marshall’s class for having the most participation – you win a donut party! Thank you! Heather Curran Kelly and Nancy Attra, Art Night Co-chairs

WUES Art Night was a success and YOU made it happen!

The Nominating Committee will present the following slate of officers for the 2015-2016 PTO Executive Board to be voted on at the PTO general meeting on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at 8:00 AM:

President Kristine Martinez President Elect Karen Yeager Treasurer Felecia Fitzgerald Secretary Sarah McKenney VP Budget & Finance Amy Sahely VP Fundraising & Membership Julia Williams VP Service Courtney Tsao VP Curriculum Enrichment Rachna Shroff VP Room Reps Michele Carlin VP Communications Suzanne Boue VP Volunteers Leslie Wade

Thank you to all who expressed interest in serving on the Executive Board and in appointed positions. PTO Nominating Committee Kristen Flores, Jill Hord, Jennifer Gatto, Suzanne Faulk, Brittney Selldin, Pallavi Dinesh and Kristen Leach

2015-2016 PTO EXECUTIVE BOARD SLATE

PTO Corner

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PTO Corner

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This week, we want to tell you about Texas Citizens Bank. They are a top donor and a neighbor!

Community Support Texas Citizens Bank, who opened a branch in the JMH Building, proudly supports the WUES PTO at its highest level. As a community bank, Texas Citizens is committed to supporting civic organizations. In West U, Texas Citizens provides significant support to West U Little League, West U Softball, Episcopal High School, Pershing Middle School and Mark Twain Elementary School.

About the Bank Texas Citizens Bank is a locally owned and operated community bank. It offers a complete range of commercial banking services from six banking centers in the greater Houston area (West University, Baytown, two Clear Lake locations, Pasadena, and Rosenberg.) In an era of mega banks where customers are too often just a number, Texas Citizens operates in select communities within the Houston metropolitan area by providing personal, responsive and dependable banking services to individuals, professionals and owner-operated businesses that desire a high level of personal attention and service. It offers a broad line of financial products and services through experienced local bankers who are committed to meeting the banking needs of its customers. When Texas Citizens’ philosophy was described to a long-time West U resident, the resident nostalgically exclaimed, “That is banking the way it used to be.” Chairman and CEO of Texas Citizens, Duncan Stewart, former long-time West U resident, agreed but noted that Texas Citizens combines old fashioned customer service with cutting edge technology. The bank offers online banking, online bill payment, mobile banking, e-statements and a complete array of consumer products. Texas Citizens Bank provides extensive cash management services including remote deposit for business clients. Lending Texas Citizens offers a broad range of lending products that are tailored to meet the needs of business owners. These products include, but are not limited to working capital lines, loans for business facilities and inventory and equipment financing. In addition, Texas Citizens offers lending products for personal needs including residential construction and personal lines of credit. Unlike many banks, Texas Citizens has local decision making on all loans. Children’s Accounts Texas Citizens offers savings accounts designed to help children learn the value of saving. It is never too early to begin this process, and the Texas Citizens staff will make it easy to get started. The Vault You may have noticed the enormous vault door at Texas Citizens through the double doors at the corner of Rice and Edloe. It is an example of Texas Citizens’ commitment to the West U community. The door shows that Texas Citizens is here to stay. A glass panel in the door allows children and adults to marvel at the workings of the gears. The vault houses safe deposit boxes which are currently available to rent. Contact Texas Citizens For your banking needs, please contact Irene Duque, Vice President and West U Banking Center Manager, at 713.948.9441 or duque@TexasCitizensBank.com. You can also just drop by the branch at 3636 Rice Blvd. in the JMH Building to have a cookie and a cup of coffee, and see how Texas Citizens can provide solutions. Thanks to this great Corporate Sponsor! We appreciate Texas Citizens Bank!

THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE DONOR TEXAS CITIZENS BANK!

It is the policy of the Houston Independent School District not to discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex, handicap or disability, marital status, religion, veteran status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression, or any other basis prohibited by law in its educational or employment programs and activities.

Wes t Un i ve rs i t y E lemen ta ry Schoo l

3756 University Blvd. Houston, TX 77005

Phone: 713-295-5215

Fax: 713-667-8514

We’re on the Web!

visit us on the web at: www.westues.org

John T. Threet

Principal

Tracey L. Wyatt Magnet Coordinator

Amber Pinchback Assistant Principal

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Open registration for the 2015 – 2016 School Year is now open! Registrations may be turned into iKids or the WUES front office. iKids U offers many after-school opportunities onsite at WUES, including Stay & Play, Enrichment, and One on One services. Please contact iKids at 713-665-5200 or info@ikidsinc.com for any questions.

iKids U After-School 2015-2016 Registration

Attention 5th Grade Parents! Please join Pershing staff and current parents for coffee at Tiny’s on Wednesday, April 8th from 8-9:30 a.m. We will answer questions and give you an opportunity to meet other incoming 6th grade parents. Learn more about the Pershing community and why it is a safe, academically challenging environment for your child. Please contact Kristen Leach (kristenleach3@gmail.com) with any questions. We look forward to seeing you there. Go Pandas!

Parent Coffee for Incoming Pershing Panda Parents

There has been much controversy over the last few years surrounding the issue of vaccinations for young children and an alleged link to autism. This past Thursday, April 2, there was an interesting Letter to the Editor in The Houston Chronicle from Dr. Mark Kline, Physician-in-Chief, Texas Children's Hospital, J.S. Abercrombie Professor and Chairman, and Dr. Ralph D. Feigin, Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine: http://www.chron.com/opinion/letters/article/Thursday-letters-Irrefutable-evidence-6173481.php#comments For more information from other respected hospitals, please visit these websites: Texas Children’s Hospital: http://www.texaschildrens.org/Locate/Departments-and-Services/Vaccine/Vaccine-Facts-and-Myths/ Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: http://vec.chop.edu/service/parents-possessing-accessing-communicating-knowledge-about-vaccines/vaccine-science/vaccine-safety.html Boston Children’s Hospital: http://childrenshospitalblog.org/measles-numbers-multiply-myths-linger/ and http://childrenshospitalblog.org/british-medical-journal-further-discredits-doctor-who-claims-autism-linked-to-mmr-vaccination/ Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/infant-and-toddler-health/in-depth/vaccines/art-20048334

Vaccination Controversy