DeBakey PTO Newsletter

October 09, 2022

• Important Upcoming Dates
• PTO Meeting - Oct 11 - 6:30PM - 8PM
• October Spirit Night - Oct 12 - 6PM- 8PM
• Used Sunglasses Needed!
• DeBakey College Night - Oct 13 (Updated list)
• Dental Convention - Chaperones Needed - Oct 13 &14
• Student Spotlight
• Running Club - Superhero Run - Oct 15 - Donations needed
• Fall Fest - Donations Needed
• Scientific Symposium - Oct 28 - Donations needed
• 50th Anniversary Celebration - Silent Auction Donations Needed
• Haunted House - Donations Needed
• HISD Community Town Halls
• Odds and Ends - In case you missed it
• Teacher K-Cup Drive

• Oct 08 - Black College Expo - NRG CenterOct 11 - PTO Meeting
• Oct 12 - PSAT/SAT School Day (in school)
• Oct 12 - Spirit Night at Evelyn's Park - 6-8PM
• Oct 13 - College Night
• Oct 15 - UH/SMU volleyball social
• Oct 15 - Running Club - Superhero Run
• Oct 22 - Volleyball Intramurals
• Oct 24-28 - Red Ribbon/Spirit Week
• Oct 28 - Scientific Symposium
• Oct 29 - 50th Anniversary Celebration
• Oct 31 - Fall Festival

BINGO fun at Evelyn's Park - Wednesday October 12th from 6-8 pm. Please see details below and thank you for participating!

DeBakey's Interact Service Club is collecting used eyeglasses for donation to Houston’s Lions club. Eyeglasses can be placed in the donation box near the front desk.

The school will be hosting College Night on Thursday, Oct 13. Students must register if they wish to attend. We are expecting over 100 universities to participate, with more being added.

To register: 

1. Use link: TACRAO Registration (swoogo.com)
2. Click on New User
3. Create an account
4. Select College Fair- Houston II DeBakey High School for Health Professions October 13
5. Don’t Forget to Print your Barcode

Confirmed Schools:

Health Science is in need of chaperones for the Dental Convention on October 13th & 14th at the George R. Brown Convention Center. They are looking for 8-10 VIPS approved parents for each day. Email Mrs. Ramirez-Mcbride for more information and to sign up at tatiana.ramirezmcbride@houstonisd.org or sign up via the SignUp Genius form.

Any volunteers should be VIPS-approved. The process is easy:

• https://www.houstonisdpsd.org/dmol/VIPS/index.html#/ (English)
• https://apps.raptortech.com/Apply/NjcyOmVzLVVT (Español)

Do you know of a DeBakey student, teacher or administrator who should should be recognized for their recent achievement/s? Let the PTO know! We'd love to recognize their accomplishments in our weekly newsletter.

We are excited to announce DeBakey Running Club’s first race of the year! The 2022 Child Advocates 5K chip-timed Superhero Run will take place on the streets of CITYCENTRE on October 15. The run will begin 8 AM.

Please help support our DeBakey runners by donating drinks and snacks with lots of cheers. We are coordinating donations via our Signup Genius form. If you are able to donate, please send them to the school's front office by October 13 labeled with 'Running Club'. 

DeBakey running club will be active in the community to participate in other charity runs. The selected races are the following: 

• November 19 - The Great Houston Pie Run (benefits our stomachs) 
• December 10 - Jingle Bell Run (benefits Arthritis Foundation) 
• January 28 - Hot Chocolate Run (benefits St. Jude’s)
• February 25 - Rodeo Run (benefits Houston Rodeo)

Thank you for parent support to keep the DeBakey runners strong – RUN!

If your student is interested in joining the Running Club, please have them contact Mr. Cotton for more information: Joan.Cotton@houstonisd.org

The annual Scientific Symposium is special this year as it is part of the 50^th Anniversary celebration on Friday, October 28, 2022! We invited 50 alumni to present various healthcare, technology, and science topics. These opportunities are unique for our students and allows them to gain an understanding of possible career pathways. We are grateful for these alumni to return and spend their precious time with our students.

We are also honored to have many special guests. Mr. Herrera will greet and introduce:

• Mr. Millard House, HISD Superintendent
• Dr. Paul Klotman, Baylor College of Medicine, President and CEO
• Dr. Dennis DeBakey, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey’s son

Please consider volunteering and donating to plan for a successful educational event! The Signup Genius link is available below to sign up by Friday, October 21. Please drop off and mark “For Scientific Symposium” on the donated items at the front office by Tuesday, October 25.

Thank you very much for your generosity!

Please contact Ivy Luong, PTO Scientific Symposium Chair, at ivylluong@gmail.com for any questions.

50th Anniversary Celebration Silent Auction

We are still seeking more donations for the 50th anniversary celebration silent auction!

Do you have a product, service, in-kind donation to help benefit the PTO's funding for school programming?

For ideas and questions, please email
debakeyhshp50th@debakeypto.org

Max Moll, Superintendent House, HISD trustees, and district leaders will be hosting upcoming community town halls to provide an overview of progress being made on the district’s five-year strategic plan.

We hope to speak with and hear feedback from parents, students, educators, and members of the community.

This week’s times and locations:

• Monday, Oct. 10 – 6-7:30 p.m., Milby High School (1601 Broadway)
• Tuesday, Oct. 11 – 6-7:30 p.m., Energy High School (3501 Southmore)
• Wednesday, Oct. 12 – 6-7:30 p.m., Las Americas Newcomer School (6501 Bellaire)

You can view the most up-to-date schedule here.

PLEASE NOTE: the community town hall at Lamar High School (3325 Westheimer Rd., 77098) has been rescheduled to Monday, October 17th from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

• Updated Debakey Attendance Policy [pdf]
• October Counselor's Corner [pdf]
• Class Dues for C/O 2023, 2024 and 2025 are due - SchoolPay
  • Breakdown of costs for class dues: 
    • Prom site including student ticket only, meal, photographer, DJ, decorations, souvenir
    • Senior week trip including site tickets, busing, possibly meal
    • Graduation practice breakfast
    • Graduation including cap/gown, stoles, diploma cover, decorations for graduation
    • Optional gift to school on behalf of graduating class, if funds are remaining after the above listed requirements are paid
    • Costs will vary based on returning to pre-pandemic norms with present inflation costs projected
• Yearbooks now on sale - Order Here

For October/November- the PTO will accept all kinds of KCup pods for our teachers and administrators. We realize not everyone drinks coffee so tea, cider, coffee, and hot cocoa will be accepted. A drop-off box will be in the main office. 

Your student can drop them off or you may use AmazonSmile (benefitting DeBakey High School) to have something delivered directly to the school.

DeBakey High School For Health Professions PTO

2545 Pressler St

Houston TX 77030