Cardinal E-News January 13

Martin Luther King - School Holiday, January 16

Monday is a school holiday. Students will return to campus on Tuesday, January, 17th.

Bellaire Clubs - Get Connected!

Bellaire has over 100 student-led clubs, and we've had almost 300 meetings scheduled already this year.

Come find one for you at our Spring Club Jamboree Tuesday, January 17 during Cardinal Hour! Students can also look at the list of clubs and gather more information on our Clubs webpage here.

Club Meetings Next Week

Check-out the club meetings that are being held next week! A link to all of the meetings for Cycle 4 can be accessed here.

Report Cards

Cycle 3 Report Cards will be sent to students HISD email address this weekend. Paper copies will also be distributed to students through their 2nd period class on Tuesday, January 17th.

If you have questions about a grade in a class, reach out directly to the teacher. If you have larger questions or concerns about your progress report or academic progress, please connect with your Assistant Principal or Counselor. Students are encouraged to attend tutorial sessions during Cardinal Hour if they need extra time and support in any of their courses.

PTO Meeting Next Week

Please join us at 6 pm on Thursday, January 19. Stay up to date with current school events and volunteer opportunities. Parking is available in the visitor lot on S. Rice.

Canvas Parent Accounts

New semester - new courses! Observer roles are now available to parents in CANVAS our Learning Management System. With an observer account parents and guardians can monitor students’ Canvas courses, calendars, and announcements. Observers can view the course content but cannot participate in the course. Observers can access their account on a browser, or the Canvas Parent app using iOS or Android devices. More info here.

Fun Food Next Wednesday

Head down to Main Street for Fun Food on Wednesday, 1/18. Donuts before school, Chick-fil-A Sandwiches for lunch, and snacks after school. Cash is preferred. The proceeds from the food sales will benefit the Class of 2023's After Prom.

Mr. Bellaire

The Class of 2023 is bringing Mr. Bellaire live! You wan't want to miss it!

Yearbooks Orders - Deadline Approaching

Buy a yearbook for $85 at bellaireyearbook.com ! Prices increase to $100 on January 13th. Make sure you take advantage of the lower price!

PSAT Scores are Available

The scores for the October PSAT administration have been released online.

How to Access Your Scores

If you provided your email address on your answer sheet on test day, you should have received an email notifying you that your scores are available.

The email will have a unique access code that will connect you to your scores online. If you haven't already done so, you'll be asked to set up a free College Board account before you can view your scores.

If you didn’t provide an email address on your answer sheet on test day, y ou can still access your scores online. If you haven't already done so, you'll be asked to set up a free College Board account before you can view your scores.

If you need help understanding your PSAT scores click here. If you have additional questions, please reach out to Ms. Perez.

Study Abroad Opportunities

Two big study abroad opportunities for the summer are offering scholarships for students to travel and learn across the globe, but the deadlines are coming up soon!

AMIGOS hosts service-learning and Spanish language-immersion experiences in Latin America. This year, programs will take place in Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador. Check out this slide deck for specific program information, watch this video, or apply here ! The deadline for scholarship funding is Tuesday, January 17.

CIEE -- the Council for International Educational Exchange -- is offering scholarships for students to study across the world, with language courses in Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish. Check out the website and apply here (https://www.ciee.org/go-abroad/high-school-study-abroad/summer). That deadline is Wednesday, January 18.

Email Ms. Chapman at echapman@houstonisd.org with any questions.

Donor's Choose Project

Since 2021 the Italian National Honor Society is sponsoring the Freedom From Period Poverty Project to allow female students to find free hygiene product in the baskets placed in the girls' restrooms in the whole school. We are running low with products and may not be able to refill the baskets for the whole Spring Semester. We need your help! Our project is funded through Donors Choose and this is the link to it if you can donate or just share the link on your social media:

https://www.tinyurl.com/BHSFreedom2022.

By entering the code ABBOTT all donations will be matched

I also invite you to visit our school's page on Donors Choose to verify the incredible impact teacher created projects have had on the school's budget: https://www.tinyurl.com/BellaireDC.

It is amazing to see our village come together to help our students grow!

Thank you!

Food Drive - Big Success

A traditional food drive since 2015, this year, once again, Bellaire High School came together for the annual drive organized by the Italian National Honor Society for the Houston Food Bank.

In late December, they delivered over 60 boxes full of cans donated by our school's community. Next week we'll be able to share how much food in total was donated.

Thank you to all the teachers and students involved, and congratulations to Ms. Camarillo for winning the competition with over 900 food cans donated!! A sweet reward for your classes is coming in January!

Cardinal Kickoff

Cardinal Kick-off is a night for prospective families to learn more about Bellaire High School. Please help us spread the word to current 8th grade families.

Learn about our outstanding Academic Programs, including CTE, AP, IB, and Dual Credit
Discover opportunities to participate in our award-winning Visual & Performing Arts Programs
Visit with coaches from our 13 UIL Athletic Programs as well as additional Club Sports
Explore your interests by attending Club Jamboree and meeting representatives from over 110 clubs and student organizations
Get connected and begin to receive information about the Class of 2027
Check-out our beautiful new campus

Families should park in the BHS Parking Garage (Enter on Maple St. at S. Rice)

Prospective Students - Magnet Tours

Magnet information sessions resume this week! Prospective students and families can attend to learn more about the World Languages program at Bellaire HS. Visitors should park in the visitor's parking lot located at the corner of S. Rice and Maple Street. Magnet sessions will begin in the auditorium.

Prospective families should sign up for a day to tour here!

Class of 2023 Graduation!

Important Update! Graduation for the Class of 2023 will be held at NRG Stadium on Sunday, June 4th, at 6:00 pm. Mark your calendars; it'll be here before you know it! #CardinalProud #ClassOf2023 #June4

Support the Class of 2023

The Class of 2023 has had very few opportunities to raise funds for their After Prom. Prom at Bellaire is held at the Museum of Natural Science and the Grand Hall is transformed into a fantastic party with games, prizes and foods. The After Prom is free for all seniors to attend. Please donate to help us fund this event for our seniors. Click here to make a donation! #CardinalProud #ClassOf2023

Library News

We have some brief highlights from the new semester. As of December 2022, Bellaire High School is the school with the second most check outs/circulation of all of the high schools in the district (both in December and overall). We have had 1k student sign ins this week; we have found that for every 10 students that visit 4 of them are freshman, 3 are sophomores, 2 are juniors, and 1 out of 10 are seniors. This shows the library that we need to target more junior and senior teachers, but this data is also reflective of the fact that many juniors and seniors take advantage of going off campus for lunch. Cardinal Hour is our busiest time of the day with an average of 100-150 students coming in each day to use the makerspace, check out books, or just hang out. Our Winter Break challenge was a success with 325 participations according to the Canva analytics. Lastly, We have welcomed 20 library ambassadors (student office workers) to our library staff. The library ambassador program is an opportunity for students to get real world customer service skills while in a safe school environment.

College Center Update

Upcoming Dates

Sunday, January 15^th- Deadline for FAFSA/TASFA

Sunday, January 15^th- Major deadline for various colleges and universities (Early Action/Decision & Regular Decision)

Sunday, January 15^th- Lamar University Scholarship Deadline

Angelo State University Scholarship Deadline

Tarleton State University Scholarship Deadline

Texas A&M University- San Antonio Scholarship Deadline

Financial Aid Slideshow Presentation: Please watch this along with the video presentation. All blue underlines are hyperlink.

Financial Aid Video Presentation: This video is from January 2022 (last year). Information is still the same, please double check dates. PLEASE WATCH. THEN WATCH AGAIN. Please use the slideshow to follow along. It dense and important. If you miss something, I will reference it.

FINANCIAL AID

The deadline for FAFSA and TASFA is Sunday, January 15^th. Please ensure that this is completed as these are funds to pay for college and a requirement for high school graduation. Completing financial aid is a Texas State Graduation requirement.
Apply for ADMISSIONS, before applying for FINANCIAL AID. The school cannot award you financial aid money for next year if you are not accepted as a student.
FAFSA is crashing because every student in the US is trying to submit before the deadline, please remain patient and keep trying.
Free Application Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)- This is the FREE federal application open to US citizens, permanent residents, refugee, and asylum seekers to apply for federal grants, federal work study, and federal loans. (2023-2024) Click HERE for the FAFSA Checklist
Texas Application for Student Financial Aid (TASFA)- This is the FREE state application open to students who are undocumented looking for state funding to attend a college in the state of Texas. (2023-2024) Click HERE for the TASFA Checklist
CSS Profile- The CSS Profile is a very in-depth online application that collects financial information used by nearly 400 colleges and scholarship programs to award money directly from the institution. This application is $25 for the initial college. Additional reports are $16 per university. Fee waivers are provided in the CSS Profile, based on the information that you input. (2023-2024) Click HERE for the CSS Profile Checklist
What Can I Do First? - Create your FSA ID. This is a username and password that, the student, will create. Additionally, at least one parent at home (with a social security number) will need to create an FSA ID too. If neither parent has a SS number, then that is okay, you the student will need to create yours.

Scholarships

Please check Cash4Cards regularly. As this is where all of the BHS Scholarships are! There are currently scholarships open if you are African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, LGBTQ+, Interested in UT, TAMU, and UNT, Finance Majors, Engineering Majors, a non-citizen, in financial need AND MORE all due in the next two months!

Do you work and go to high school? Want to win a scholarship? The Wilbern Heritage Foundation Scholarship is for you. Open to all US citizens who work at least part time and are graduating in June. Due March 24^th.
Do you want to go to community college for FREE? Want to win a scholarship? The Marvy Finger Family Foundation Scholarship is for you. Due February 24^th.
Are you ranked in the top 50% of the senior class and going to college in Texas? Want to win a scholarship? The HLSR Scholarship is for you. For more information click HERE. Due January 31st. If you are applying for Rodeo, please add me as your counselor to complete the documents.

Still Applying? Check with Mr. Lee in the College Center for colleges that are still accepting applications!

F- Fee or Fee Waiver: It is your responsibility to make sure that your colleges receive your payment for your application to be reviewed or a fee waiver. If you think you qualify for a fee waiver, complete the socio-economic form first. Once you complete this, email it to Ms. Miriam Mulet at mmulet1@houstonisd.org. While you wait RESEARCH HOW YOUR UNIVERSITY WANT TO RECEIVE THE WAIVER.

Multilingual Programs Department - Launch Your Dream

The Multilingual Programs Department is hosting the Launch Your Dream: A World of Opportunities for Diverse Learners district-wide onsite parent leadership conference on Thursday, January 26, 2023, at Austin High School from 5 pm to 8 pm (see attached flyer). The conference offers our district’s parents, families, and communities an opportunity to learn from educational experts’ view of a variety of opportunities that the district provides for Emergent Bilingual Learners and how they could support their child utilizing the resources provided. Families will also learn about HISD choice schools and the programs the district offer: Fine Arts, Foreign Language, Montessori, S.T.E.M. & S.T.E.A.M., Single-Gender College Preparatory, and Vanguard. Additionally, district has other choice school options to learn about, including Boundary Option, Career/Technology Education (CTE), Dual Language, International Baccalaureate (IB), Prekindergarten (pre-K), and more. During the event, campus and district representatives will support parents with the school choice application process.

Support BHS When You Shop Minted and AmazonSmile

We are partnering with Minted this holiday season! Make your holiday card & gift purchases count this year by shopping at Minted using our unique code FUNDRAISEBELLAIRE at checkout. You’ll get a 20% discount and Minted will donate 15% of every purchase made using our code back to BHS PTO at the end of the year. Spread the word and happy shopping! https://www.minted.com/

Register with AmazonSmile and every time you make an eligible purchase, Amazon will donate 0.5% to BHS PTO. All donations generated through AmazonSmile support the programs at BHS directly. Choose "Bellaire High School Parent Teacher Organization" as your charity and bookmark the link. Email the link to family, friends and neighbors and have them register too! Please remember to use AmazonSmile every time you shop!

Join the Bellaire PTO

Everyone is welcome to join and participate in the Bellaire High School PTO. Joining is quick and easy online. A list of meeting dates and other information can be found on the PTO website. Click here to learn more.

It Takes A Village...

"Bellaire Share" is new this year. Please help us collect important information and get student and staff accomplishments out to our school community. Share with us Bellaire HS activities and student achievements. You can upload your pictures of any event easily. Together we can accomplish a lot. You can submit information anytime on the homepage on the right side of the page or bookmark this link.

Thank you to the Bellaire PTO Corporate Sponsors for 2022-2023

Remind Messaging App

All parents and students are encouraged to join their BHS Class Remind Group. Remind is a communication tool that will deliver important communications through text message or email. You can download Remind for IOS here and Android here. Once you download the app, simply text the class code you belong to above to the number 81010.

Remind can also be accessed by clicking on the links below to join a group.

In addition to the class codes above, students will have the opportunity to receive communication and correspond with their teachers through the Remind App.