A Welcome from Principal Susan Monaghan:
Pin Oak is in its 10th year of existence! The 2010-2011 school year was my first year as principal of POMS. I could not be prouder of our students and our entire school community! We had an OUTSTANDING year last year! We celebrated with award winning recognitions such as the TBEC Honor Roll School and a TEA Exemplary Campus. The teachers at POMS continue to have high expectations for all students. The rigor in the classrooms is evident by the incredible number of increased commended performance on TAKS. Our collaborative efforts contribute to the success of each and every student!
News Flash:
Looking for Summer Assignments?
Summer assignments for all the 2012 incoming grade levels can be found by clicking HERE.
Pin Oak Recognized as a National "Top Achieving School"
Pin Oak was recognized as one of only twenty HISD schools that were rated higher perfoming in all subject areas by the National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA). This higher performing schools list recognizes schools that are raising student achievement levels more quickly than schools that enroll similar student populations. In addition, schools must meet achievement targets established under the federal No Child Left Behind Act in order to be eligible for the list. Researchers at the NCEA used a value-added approach to analyze student performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills in math, reading, science, social studies and writing. This approach measures whether students performed at a higher-than-predicted level, based on their prior performance. See our "Brag Sheet" for a brief summary of other achievements and recognition by Pin Oak students. Congratulations to all of our students, teachers and administrators for this outstanding national recongition!
UIL Academic & Speech Sweepstakes Award
Pin Oak Middle School won 2nd place Sweepstakes honors at the UIL Academic and Speech Championship. The team, coached by Mr Bryan Bancroft and Ms Carol Whiting, took top awards in Listening, Maps, Number Sense, Dictionary, Math, Science and Social Studies. More than 200 students representing five schools across HISD competed at the tournament hosted by Pin Oak May 12.
Pictured are: Left to right, back row: Selena Hernandez, Won Ho Lee, Mr. Bryan Bancroft, Shania Baldwin, Shruti Natarajan; Holden Wagner; Anna Jorgensen; Christine Lin; Patrick Revilla.
Kneeling: Reece Lehmann, Joshua Buxbaum.
Need information about Pin Oak's Magnet Program?
If you need more information about the magnet program at Pin Oak, please contact Cindy Cook, Magnet Coordinator.
Next stop: Worlds
A team from Pin Oak Middle School is on its way to the World Finals for Odyssey of the Mind.The Pin Oak team was one of three teams in Texas to be chosen in their division for their problem, "Weird Science". The students will compete against teams from all over the United States and several countries at the finals held at the University of Iowa in late May. Odyssey of the Mind is a competition in which teams are judged on solving problems and presenting solutions based on originality, creativity and teamwork. Standing, L to R: Ilona Altman, Priya Fink, Sarah Macia, Skylar McAuliffe, coach Jennifer Macia, Meagan McAuliffe, Elizabeth Szafranski. In front: robot Edna and team member Olivia Wehrung
Pin Oak Again Receives TBEC Honors.
Pin Oak was one of twenty-four HISD schools to receive honor roll distinction from the Texas Buisness and Education Coalition. This distinction recognizes schools for their outstanding acheivements on the TAKS test over three consecutive years. Click HERE for the offical press release. Congratulations to our Pin Oak students and the faculty that prepare them academically.
History Fair Winners
Six projects from Pin Oak will advance to the State level in History Fair. Pin Oak represents a third of all the middle school projects from HISD going on to State. An interview with Mayor Annise Parker is featured in the group documentary, " The Murder of Paul Broussard: Houston fights for Gay Rights".This year's theme is "Revolution, Reaction and Reform".
Those advancing are:
Lillian Evans and Patrick Revilla: Group Exhibit
Caitlin Berg and Kerrigan Quenemoen: Group Documentary
William Kennedy: Historical Paper
Ilona Altman: Individual website
William Falloure: Individual documentary
Elliott Ross: Individual documentary
Do the "Write" Thing
Two 7th graders at Pin Oak Middle School have been selected as School Ambassadors for their essays in the "Do the Write Thing" Texas Challenge. Ragan King and Jacob Millender, seen here with their English teacher, Ms Barbara Baltazar, were selected from 11,614 students.
"Ragan and Jacob's essays are both examples of how schools and communities can put an end to bullying. It all starts with the power of one, even if it is the voice of a child," says Ms Baltazar.
"Do the Write Thing" Texas Challenge is an anti-violence and academic program targeted at middle school students. It provides youth the opportunity to think profoundly about the issues surrounding violence and enables them to express themselves through a nationally recognized program. The students and their teacher will be honored at a recognition ceremony April 28.
Upcoming Events:
A Truly Unique Experience for September of 2012.
A special invitation is extended to Pin Oak 7th and 8th Graders to participate in a unique field study experience in Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks, Sept 28- Oct. 5, 2012. Ann Linsley of Bellaire High School has taken her AP Geography and AP Environmental Science classes to the region 26 times over the last 14 years. It has been mentioned to me for some time that the middle school students would benefit from participating in the hands-on data collection and the immersion in the geo-science of this fascinating area. The Pin Oak students will be participating in everything that the high school geography students are doing. A more detailed message and the itinerary and flight information can be found by clicking HERE. Reservations and down payments are due by June 10th. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to Joan Linsley or Greg Switzer at Pin Oak M. S. I look forward to fostering a stronger vertical team with our feeder middle school in order to build an even stronger foundation for our students' high school science and social studies.
Parent Survey for Title 1.
The Houston Independent School District and your child's school are required to give parents an opportunity to share their opinion about the HISD Title I, Part A Parental Involvement Policy and the school's parent policy. Please take a moment to fill out the attached form in English (click HERE) or Spanish (click HERE). For more information click HERE and to fill out the questionaire on line click HERE.
What's College Like and Other Unique Student Summer Opportunities
Attention Pin Oak Students. If you are interested in remarkable experiences for this summer please click HERE to visit a new web page devoted to alerting you to these opportunities.
How is Your Heart?
Texas Heart Institute, in collaboration with HISD, is offering Pin Oak students the opportunity to be evaluated as part of an on-going voluntaryresearch study. For details click HERE.
Graduation activities for the Pin Oak Class of 2012 are underway!
A webpage devoted to activities and events for this Spring's graduating class activities has been created and can be found by clicking HERE. If you have a graduating eighth grader or are interested in helping this year's graduating class, please consult the page over he coming weeks/months for information.
Advocacy Information:
Consult our new page by clicking HERE for information on "Blotcky's Best Picks - Resources for Parents." Current topics on internet safety and cyberbullying are highlighted but this page will be up-dated to contain useful information for Parents.
Important Information for Volunteers.
We love our volunteers! If you are interested in volunteering this year, please make sure you are registered online and cleared through the VIPS (Volunteers in Public Schools) process. Please note that returning volunteers will not be automatically cleared to volunteer again for this school year. If you were cleared to volunteer in previous years, you do not have to register again online, but you must go to the front office to show your ID for verification of this year's background check process. For more information about the VIPS program, please contact Julie Boudreaux at jboudre2@houstonisd.org.
Click HERE to Access Old News Stories.
