Woods' Weekly is written by Superintendent Brian T. Woods and is sent to Northside ISD staff every Monday to keep them updated on local and state education issues.
Good morning! I hope that for those of us who had a Spring Break last week that it was filled with relaxation and fun and that you feel energized to head back to our important work. I know the weather did not work out in the second half of the week but hope you carved out some fun regardless.
Before the break, we held our annual CLASS conference to honor and celebrate the work of our campus and department secretaries. All of us know that the place would cease to operate well without these valuable people. As always, the conference is focused on customer service as these people are on the front lines of that work. But, I am careful to tell them that customer service is the work of all and they should not feel that they are the only ones who carry this responsibility.
An important part of this event each year is the donations collected to support worthy NISD causes. This year, our school supply closet and School Age Parenting Programs were the beneficiaries of donations by the secretaries and, in many cases, the administrators they work within their honor. We had a room full of donations!
The Northside Education Foundation (NEF) is hosting its annual “Do Great Things” Fun Run, presented by Cathy Naiser, powered by The Castillo Group, on Saturday, April 1 at O’Connor High School at 9 a.m. Event and parking access both close at 8:45 a.m. You still have time to register and encourage your campus community to join. Campuses and departments that register the most participants qualify to win NEF grants to enrich student learning and more! If your campus has student groups, PTA councils or business partners interested in volunteering and earning community service hours, please share this volunteer sign-up form. If you would like to share the great work happening in your department(s), consider signing up to host an information table at the Fun Run. For more information, please contact your Fun Run Champion. Hope to see you there!
I hope that you were too busy during the break to follow our legislature but wanted you to know that the Texas Senate will hear a number of voucher bills this week that will be preceded by a rally on this topic organized by those who support these unregulated choice bills. Unfortunately, it appears that these ideas have real momentum this session, and that fighting them back will be an extremely hard battle in the coming weeks. I wish I had better news on this front and I will keep you informed as we go forward.
In better news, the first weekend of the break, we got to attend the boys basketball state tournament. The Brennan HS team qualified for state for the first time and while the semifinal game did not go the way they had hoped, they fought back to have a chance at the end. In addition, the team is very young and will be back and better next year. Congratulations to Brennan boys’ basketball!
Finally, and speaking of basketball, I mentioned before the break that the Clark HS girls’ team had won the state championship. Below is a picture of the champions with medals and the team trophy. When you have one minute, watch this quick video that shows the celebration at the end of the state championship game.
Congratulations to Clark girls’ basketball and have a great week!
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