WALLER ISD – During the regular meeting of the Waller ISD Board of Trustees which was held on August 9, the Board meeting began with a prayer from Trustee Michael W. Prince and Pledge of Allegiance from Trustee Kim Parmer.

Consent Agenda items included consideration of resignations, employment, leaves of absence, staff transfers, disbursements, budget change request(s), tax refunds, intra-district transfers, policy DPB and DEC Local, and Waller ISD’s PDAS Appraisal Calendar. Consideration to appoint Mike Marcus, Waller ISD Tax Assessor/Collector, to calculate and publish the school district’s 2010 tax rate and to certify a 100% Total Collection Rate was also considered. Board members unanimously approved the Consent Agenda.

In the regular agenda, the Board considered to adopt an order to consider bond refunding as presented by David Smalley and Tom Sage from RBC Dain Rauscher. In addition, the Board approved the Hearing Examiner’s recommendation regarding employment of a contract employee.

The Waller Lady Bulldog varsity volleyball team ended the second week of the season with a 15-3 record. On Tuesday, August 17, Giddings (25-19, 15-25, 18-25, 25-13, and 5-15) defeated the Lady Bulldogs in a tough five game match. At the home opener in the Bulldog gym on Friday, August 20, the Lady Bulldogs defeated Kingwood Park (25-18, 26-24, 17-25, 21-25, and 16-14). The varsity team also competed in the Montgomery Bears Varsity tournament on Thursday, August 19, and Saturday, August 21. The Lady Bulldogs defeated Bryan (25-19, 25-17), Aldine (25-14, 25-10), Spring (25-18, 25-22), Texas City (25-17, 26-24), and New Caney (26-24, 25-21) and lost two matches to Montgomery (19-25, 6-25) and Westside (14-25, 25-19, 21-25). The Lady Bulldogs ended up 6th in the tournament. Junior McKenzie Bryant was the kill leader of the week with 49. Junior Kamryn Dimas was assist leader with 163. Sophomore Morgan Heise and Junior Kamryn Dimas led the team with 14 service aces. The varsity player of the week was Lindsey Yanchak.

The Lady Bulldog Junior Varsity team was defeated by Giddings (18-25, 20-25) and Kingwood Park (25-22, 21-25, 13-25). The player of the week for the JV team was Taylor Thomas. The Lady Bulldog Freshman B team defeated Giddings (25-21, 25-21), and the Freshman A team defeated Kingwood Park (25-13, 21-25, 25-23).

Waller ISD will provide free and reduced-price meals for students served under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program for the 2010-2011 school year. Applications will be distributed to students on the first day of school with a letter informing all households of the availability of free and reduced-priced meals for students. Applications are also available in the Food Service Office located at 2214 Waller Street, Waller, Texas.

To apply for free or reduced-priced meals, please complete the application according to the written instructions and return it to the school as soon as possible. Students will be allowed to eat at their prior year’s status for 30 operating days until October 4, 2010.

Applications may be submitted at any time during the school year. The information households provide will only be used for the purpose of determining eligibility. Applications may be selected for verification at any time during the year.

There has been a confirmed case of rabies in Waller County. Waller County Sheriff’s deputies confirm that the Texas Department of State Health Services has confirmed a positive test for rabies in the past week.

WISD to Hold Softball Camps for All Ages. The Waller ISD will hold a Lil Bulldog softball camp for school age children up to 8th grade on August 2nd-3rd from 8AM-12PM; Advanced Camp for grades 9-12 on July 28 & 29th 8AM-12PM; and Freshman Camp on July 26th from 8AM-12PM & 1PM-4PM. All camps are $40 each. Questions? Contact Candi Weige at cweige@wallerisd.net, visit www.wallerisd.net or call 979.203-1205. 

Waller ISD Hosting the Mexican Consulate. The Mexican Consulate will be at Waller ISD Tuesday. June 22, through Friday. June 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 26, by appointment. Students and families with Mexican roots can get their Mexican ID’s “Matricula Consular” to use it as identification and/or passports to travel to Mexico during this summer season. Spread the word throughout Waller County and share this benefit to every member of our community. For more information you can contact Jorge Alvarado, Bilingual Director @ (936) 372-4043.

Waller Junior High, Schultz Junior High, and the Waller HS volleyball program are hosting a golf tournament at Houston Oaks on June 21st. Tee time is 8:30am. The cost is $100 per person. For more information contact Kim Seiley at 936-372-3654 or kseiley@walliersd.net.

Waller ISD Launches New Website. Waller ISD has partnered with School Fusion to launch the new Waller ISD website at www.wallerisd.net. The new premier website is now “live” and offers technologies, such as interactive school calendars, teacher class pages, news and announcements functions, and is designed to keep parents and the community connected to what is happening in Waller ISD schools.
Visit the new site and stay connected to watch the new technology features roll-out as the site grows.

Exit Level Retest. During each exit level retest administration, individuals who are not longer enrolled in school and who have not previously met minimum expectations on all sections of the TAKS test (including TAAS), but have met all other graduation requirements, may register to retake the necessary section(s). Out–of–school examinees can register for the TAKS of TAAS retest by accessing the Texas Assessment website at http://www.TexasAssessment.com/taksoos or by completing and submitting a paper registration form which are located in Mrs. Stewart’s office at Waller High School. The appropriate registration form must be submitted online or returned in the preaddressed envelope and received in Austin, Texas no later than 5:00 pm June 11, 2010

Youth Volleyball & Basketball Summer Camps. Waller High School will be having a basketball camp for boys and girls in the 1st through 8th grades and a volleyball camp for all girls in the 4th – 7th grades June 7 – 10 at WHS. The cost is $40 per camp. For more information about volleyball contact Kim Seiley at 936-372-3654 or kseiley@wallerisd.net . For information about basketball contact Schila Clough at 936-372-3654 or sclough@wallerisd.net.

American hero, Marine Cpl. Jeffrey Johnson, was an outstanding and courageous young man. His great service to his family, his friends, our community, and to our great country will never be
forgotten.

Jeffrey achieved an important milestone in his  life by graduating from Waller High School. The Waller Independent School District community is very proud of Jeffrey and will carry out his legacy by honoring him at a memorial tribute at the first football game of the 2010-2011 season. Jeffrey’s name will be added to the granite Waller ISD Fallen Heroes Monument displayed at the
Waller ISD Stadium.

Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to Jeffrey’s family.

Richard T. McReavy
Superintendent Waller Independent School District

A huge congratulations goes out to the UIL Academic Regional qualifiers who competed at Sam Houston State University on April 16th & 17th.

22 Waller Bulldogs faced off against the top scoring individuals and teams from the 8 districts in Region 3. The team earned 51 sweepstakes points, making them the 7th place school in the region.

Additionally, five students qualified for the prestigious UIL Academic State Meet. Gabe Martinez will compete in Number Sense. The CompSci Team of Shawn Ellisor, Markus Jablonka, Jared Croy, and TJ Mock is the 2010 4-A Wild Card Team—the highest scoring 2nd Place Team in the Texas, and therefore, they will also advance to the State competition. Amy Frey and Scotty Johnson coached the UIL academic teams. The last time the Waller High School CompSci Team headed to State was in 2005. Waller High School won the UIL 4A CompSci Team State Championship in both 2004 and 2005, also coached by Scotty Johnson.

The Waller Independent School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved administrator position changes presented by Danny Twardowski, current Asst. Superintendent for Administration and Waller ISD’s imminent Superintendent, during the meeting on May 10. All position changes will be effective July 1, 2010.

Troy Mooney was named Assistant Superintendent for Administration of Waller ISD. Mooney is serving as Fort Bend ISD’s Kempner High School Principal since 2008. Prior to Kempner, Mooney was Principal of Waller Junior High for six years after serving as an Assistant Principal at Waller High School for three years. Troy came to Waller ISD in 1993 serving as a teacher and coach. Troy has a B.A. degree in Political Science and a Master’s degree in Educational Administration.

As part of the district’s restructure, Kelly Baehren was named Waller ISD’s Director of Curriculum and Instruction. Baehren is currently serving as principal of Waller High School since 2004. She came to Waller ISD in July, 2001 as the Waller High Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Instruction. Kelly has a B.A. degree in Political Science and a Master’s of Education and Mid-management Certification.