Wisdom high school receives $35,000 donation to help economically disadvantaged students

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Wisdom high school receives ,000 donation to help economically disadvantaged students
The official newspaper and website of M.L. Wisdom High School, Houston, Texas
        WWW.WISDOMHSNEWS.COM                         Winter 2022 Volume 1                         @wisdomhsnews

                   Wisdom high school receives $35,000 donation
                   to help economically disadvantaged students
Wisdom High School received a donation of $35,237.74 from Office Depot/Office Max, and their customers to provide in-
structional resources to students and teachers. Office Depot/Office Max selected Wisdom High School because the campus
serves a total population of 2064 students, 98% of which are economically disadvantaged, and more than 1300 are emergent
bilinguals. Wisdom High School students originate from more than 40 coun-
tries and speak more than 60 languages.

Administrators accepted the generous donation and the school’s first shipment
of donated resources in October. The donation goes beyond traditional school
supplies. Office Depot/Office Max will also provide food, technology, hygiene
supplies, and other products needed by Wisdom High School’s students and
their families, many of whom are first-generation Americans.

“Frequently, a child’s challenges go well beyond the classroom. Some need
food, clothing, and other essentials. HISD’s wraparound services specialists help to solve those problems. This donation from
Office Depot/Office Max will help provide for the needs of students and their families. We are incredibly grateful for this
generous donation,” HISD Superintendent Millard House II said.

By Sherlyn Yanes
                         Waxler Gets Band program Up & Running
Our new band and music instructor is Mr. Waxler, who is in his second year here at Wisdom. He has grown the band program
to about 50 students, all basically from nothing when he arrived. Some of these students either practiced band in middle school
or decided to try something new and fun.
                                                                               “Right now, my students only spend time prac-
                                                                               ticing during the class periods,” said Waxler.
                                                                               “But some students ask for personal practice
                                                                               time, so we are planning to have more after
                                                                               school to get ready to for a big performance in
                                                                               August.”
                                                                                 The Generals Band will be working all summer
                                                                               in Waxler’s inaugural summer band camp, to
                                                                               begin learning the marching show for the fall
                                                                               and begin performing like other schools do, such
                                                                               as at halftime of football games, and in competi-
                                                                               tions.
                                                                               Waxler teachers about wind instruments such as
                                                                               the flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trom-
                                                                               bone, baritone and tuba and he also has a percus-
sion class to teach about playing drums and keyboard instruments like xylophone and marimba.
“I truly believe that band is a very important way to help students become more successful and more well-rounded throughout
high school,” said Waxler. “It is not only beneficial for reading and performing skills, but also for learning how to work to-
gether in a diverse group of people and understand your role in an outcome of a performance. Music students are great at get-
ting along with people who are different than them, as well as setting goals and completing them.”
  Mr. Waxler’s favorite part about band is the camaraderie and community that is created and the friendships and memories
with other students that can last a lifetime. He says bands create a sense of belonging and family that can help students navi-
gate the crazy world of being in high school. He encourages a positive and healthy classroom environment that is relaxed,
where students can continue to mature into adults.
Wisdom high school receives ,000 donation to help economically disadvantaged students
Page 2                                                                                                     Wisdom Chronicle
                              Meet Some of our New Wisdom Teachers
                      Katherine Flores - ESL                                                            Mr. Miller - Aquatic Science,
                      Katherine Flores graduated from Trinity University                                Environmental Systems
                      in San Antonio. Before acquiring a job at Wisdom,                                 Mr. Miller graduated from Texas A&M
                      Ms. Flores worked in industrial equipment sales and                               University-Galveston after attending
                      Crossing Borders Language Institute. The most ex-                                 Friendswood HS. He is most excited
                      citing thing for her as an ESL teacher is getting to                              about having the opportunity to teach a
                      know her students and learning strategies that can                                diverse body of students about a high
                      help make learning easier for them. Her hobbies                                   level of science. His favorite part about
                      include volleyball, crafting and reading.                                         teaching is sharing interesting stories
                                                                                                        and facts, along with experiencing
                      Hayley Hendrix - Principles of Education                                          moments of comprehension.
                      Ms. Hendrix graduated from Sam Houston State Uni-
                      versity. Prior to teaching, she was an operation and                              David Perrin– English
                      design manager at a retail corporation. She is most                               Mr. Perrin has taught at Rice Univer-
                      excited to experience the different cultures and lan-                             sity, Houston Community College and
                      guages here at Wisdom. Her favorite thing about                                   the University of St. Thomas. He
                      teaching is being able to meet and interact with stu-
                                                                                                        graduated from St. Thomas and before
                      dents from many unique backgrounds. Outside of
                      school, she is a competitive weightlifter.                                        becoming a teacher, he worked in the
                                                                                                        oil & gas industry. Mr. Perrin is most
                      Kristin Tillotson- Business                                                       excited to work with the exceptional
                      Ms. Tillotson graduated from East Tennessee State                                 students here at Wisdom. He enjoys
                      University, where she received her bachelors and                                  spending time with his dog, Shark,
                      masters degrees in accounting. She later worked in                                along with cycling and swimming.
                      that area for four years, but she is excited to use her
                      background in business to help students fulfill their                             Cameron Shih - English
                      passions and dreams. “I love helping with a chal-                                 Mr. Shih is thrilled to be a first year
                      lenging problem and seeing that ah-ha moment,”                                    teacher. Previously, Shih studied at
                      Tillotson said.                                                                   Texas A&M University and has a lot
                                                                                                        of knowledge that he is ready to share
                      Joseph Green - ESL US History                                                     with students, to see how he impacts
                      Mr. Green attended Augsburg College in Minneap-                                   their life. He enjoys watching sports
                                                                                                        and likes to engage in them. Although
                      olis, Minnesota and later graduated from Southern
                                                                                                        he is new to teaching, Shih is not
                      Methodist University in Dallas. The most exciting                                 scared but rather excited and cannot
                      part about being a new teacher for him is having the                              wait to watch his students’ knowledge
                      opportunity to live in a new part of town, talking                                expand and hopes that what they have
                      about history with all of his students.                                           gained will help them in the future.

                             Generals Athlete spotlight: Basketball
Wisdom High School Senior Basketball                                                                      On the Boys Varsity Basketball team
player Lesly Zelaya Gomez was born in                                                                    we have senior Yunus Ali, who was
Houston and has shown a great amount                                                                     also born in Houston, According to
of passion for the sport all four years that                                                             Coach Dunn, he is on the path to
she has been a General. Her journey with                                                                 basketball success. Ali’s journey began
basketball began when she was just 11                                                                    when he was 14 during his freshman
years old, and with the inspiration and                                                                  year. But he continues to grow his skills
motivation of her parents, coaches, and                                                                  in the sport with the inspiration of his
teammates, she continues on her path to                                                                  parents.
success.                                                                                                 “My parents encourage me to be and to
“My love for the game motivates me to                                                                    do better, both as a person and in
become a better athlete,” Gomez said. “The spirit and the energy from       athletics.”
my teammates and coaches encourages me to be the best that I can be.”       Being on the Generals Basketball team has made impactful changes
Her choice to play basketball comes from the many things that make it       in his life and he says it has become a coping mechanism for him
stand out and the many differences it has compared to other sports.         during various occasions.
“Basketball is unique in that it has elements that other sports don’t       “Basketball means a lot to me, it has helped me build new
have,” she said. “It is a growth of mentality; a chance to learn from       relationships, it’s helped me get through some hard times,” Ali said.
mistakes and helps you become the best version of yourself.”                “But more than that, it has helped me become a much better person.”
Lesly is still coming to terms whether or not to continue with the sport    Yunus plans to continue with the game after high school as he hopes
after high school, but if an opportunity is presented, she would not        to reach his ultimate goals.
hesitate. “I’m undecided about whether to play basketball after high        “I am hoping to take it as far as I can, either earning an opportunity
school” she said. “But if the opportunity presents itself, I would          to play in college or possibly overseas.”
definitely take it in order to accept the challenge.”
Wisdom high school receives ,000 donation to help economically disadvantaged students
Page 3
          Go Camping This Summer                                                 The art of dance
                         By Julian Cabrera                                               By Mohammed Tamimie
                         The Woods Project is committed to                               “Dance enables you to find yourself
                         building and supporting a community of                          and lose yourself at the same time” -
                         active inclusion. They encourage                                Debbie Allen
                         students to recognize and embrace their                         Wisdom’s dance teacher Ms. Janae
                         full potential thereby enabling them to                         Witter has her way of helping kids
                         change their life trajectories for the                          that are lagging with their dancing
                         better. They promote a culture free from                        skills to catch up to speed. If her
                         bias for all students and volunteers, of                        student does not catch up from
                         every race, ethnicity, gender, gender                           previous lessons or the reteach time,
                         expression, ability, and religious                              Witter will assign an advanced
                         identity.                                                       student to help the lagging student
The Woods Project not only gives students a chance to                                    catch up with the class progress.
demonstrate their leadership skills, but it gets kids out of their                       “I like to motivate and inspire my
comfort zone and allows them to take charge while also making                            students by letting them know at the
new friends. Students go on an exciting trip in the country seeing    beginning of the year that the dance room is a judgement
beautiful scenery and creating memories with camp leaders.            free zone,” said Witter.
“Students deserve a chance to be themselves and express their         To become a great dancer, it takes confidence, being in
passion and I believe the Woods Project is the best way to do         tune with your emotions, agility, dedication, and an open
that,” said Ms. Forssman, who runs the project for Wisdom high        mind. A good way to start dancing is to turn on some
school. “This year, we plan on taking students to Washington          music. Dance is literally a universal language from the
state on a two-week hiking trip, exploring new and beautiful sight    bobbing of your head as a baby to the rhythm of your
seeing      landmarks     you      can’t    possibly    imagine.”     walk down the hallway.
“Being in the Woods Project allowed me to grow over the               Witter’s dance class recently performed the Winter
summer, both as a person and as a leader,” said Wisdom senior         Dance Showcase that consisted of the entire dance
Feraidon Abdul Rahimzai. “I experienced a real transformation.        department performing different styles of dance,
Since the summer trip, I am a lot more open and willing to take       including Salsa, Hip Hop, Modern, Lyrical, and much
command of a situation.”                                              more. Student evaluations are done by movement quizzes
To find out how to become a part of The Woods Project, contact        and a combination of dance steps for each style unit.
Ms. Forssman in the main office.                                      They are evaluated over memory, proper technique,
                                                                      rhythm, and performance.

Meet Interim Principal Kenneth Brantley
                                         By Marisol Hernandez
                                         Wisdom High School would like to welcome our new Interim Principal Kenneth
                                         Brantley, who was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. Brantley attended
                                         Evangel Christian Academy in high school, where he was heavily involved in
                                         activities and sports such as football, track and student government.
                                         After later graduating from Bowling Green State University with a degree in
                                         education, and playing on the football team, Brantley started his journey into public
                                         education. Prior to working in Houston ISD, he served as an 8th grade US History
                                         teacher, Assistant Principal and a coach in Aldine ISD at Stovall Middle School. Then
                                         in 2015, he began serving as a Principal at Patrick Henry Middle School, where he
                                         learned the ins and outs of that leadership role for 4 years.
                                         “Knowing there are people that depend on me, setting a good example to students,
                                         teachers and staff here at Wisdom and being able to provide inspiration as a leader and
                                         role model, are the things that motivate me every day,” Brantley said. “I hope that I
                                         can inspire students to believe that they can be whatever they desire to be and achieve
                                         what they desire to achieve.”

                  How to fix your NG’s and Get Credit Recovery
 Wisdom High School Students can now recover lost class credit due to absences by attending Saturday NG tutorials.
 Tutorials will occur a couple of times per semester and will be held at school. If students get an NG for a class, it means
 that they passed the class, but did not receive credit because of attendance, students need a certain amount of credits in
 order to graduate. “Students begin to lose credit in a class after 3 unexcused absences,” Ms. Echeverz said. “That is why it
 is so important you bring excuse notes any time you have to be out because of a doctor, any legal appointment, or if you
 are not feeling well.” Students must be approved to attend; they can message Ms. Echeverz on Teams to sign up.
Wisdom high school receives ,000 donation to help economically disadvantaged students
The Wisdom High School band performing at the Fall Homecoming Pep Rally.

                                     (Left)
                                     The Starlettes get their groove
                                     on during their performance at
                                     the pep rally.

                                     (Right)
                                     Starlettes Destiny Smith &
                                     Dulce Macha sit with their
                                     teammates, observing the show.

                                           Your 2022
                                           Wisdom
                                           Cheerleaders

The Lady Generals Volleyball Team poses with
the Wisdom flag.

                       M.L. Wisdom High School
                        2017-21 UIL Journalism       Chief Editor: Marisol Hernandez
                         5A District Champions          Reporters: Julian Cabrera,
                         The Wisdom Chronicle          Tania Solano, Mohammed
                       www.wisdomhsnews.com              Tamimie, Sherlyn Yanes
                         Follow us on Twitter:           Adviser: David Fanucchi
                           @wisdomhsnews
Wisdom high school receives $35,000 donation to help economically disadvantaged students Wisdom high school receives $35,000 donation to help economically disadvantaged students Wisdom high school receives $35,000 donation to help economically disadvantaged students Wisdom high school receives $35,000 donation to help economically disadvantaged students Wisdom high school receives $35,000 donation to help economically disadvantaged students Wisdom high school receives $35,000 donation to help economically disadvantaged students
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