DeBakey PTO Newsletter

February 05, 2023

• Important Upcoming Dates
• Winter Ball - Feb 10 *UPDATE*
• DeBakey Theatre - Donations Needed
• Interested in Joining the PTO Board?
• Teacher Appreciation Event - Feb 10
• February/March Scholarship Opportunities
• Free Webinar: How to Succeed as a STEM Student in College Admissions
• Student Spotlight: Robotics Club
• Odds and Ends
  • School News
  • Freshman Field Day Shirts - For Sale
  • REMINDER: FREE SAT Practice Exam
  • Prairieview A&M: In-Person Pre-Health Sciences Conference
    Feb 25

• Feb 10 - Winter Ball
• Feb 20 - No School - Teacher Service Day
• Feb 21 - Monthly PTO Meeting
• Feb 24 - Cycle 4 Ends
• Feb 27 - Cycle 5 Begins
• Mar 03 - Cycle 4 Report Cards
• Mar 13 - 17 - Spring Break

Theme: The Great Gatsby of the Roaring 20s

Cost: $20, 1 ticket per student (via Schoolpay)

Dress: Semi-formal: No jeans, shorts, hoodies, t-shirts)

Ticket sales end Feb7 or when tickets sell out (max 400)

No refunds, exchanges. Students must present their student ID at the door. Please have copy of paid receipt. *sponsored by the Class of 2023.

Outside guests

Outside guests attendance has been approved and those ticket sales will begin the following Monday of February 6th. Just like last dance a guest approval form will need to be filed out and submitted to the school. The forms will be held in the front office at the start of ticket sales. ID’s are mandatory for ALL guest, Debakey students and outside guest.

Parent Volunteers and other donations

PARENTS: Please consider donating your time to set up or clean up for the dance. If you are unable, please consider donating food, drinks or decorations for the event.

A SignUp Genius has been created for the event.

DeBakey Theatre is in the process of preparing our 2023 UIL One Act Play competition show, The Library. We are looking for donations of school supplies (notebooks, binders, etc.), books (chapter books/novels/textbooks- anything that would be available in a high school library), and backpacks (similar to those high schoolers would carry) to use as props and as set decoration for the show. These items may be new or used. If used, tears, stains, notebooks with writing in them, etc. are completely fine. If you have items you would like to donate, please send them to school with your student or drop them off at the main office by February 22.

Thank you for your continued support of our program and of the arts as a part of your child’s education. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me: mccoy.rasco@houstonisd.org.

Warm regards, 

McCoy Rasco

Hello everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and even better New Year so far.  Our next Teacher Appreciation event will be February 10, 2023.  This one is normally on Valentine's day, but due to scheduling conflicts we will have the event the Friday before. Please sign up using the Sign up Genius link below if you are available to help:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B48AEAF22A2FB6-valentines

********IMPORTANT******We are looking for someone to Chair the Fundraising and Teacher Appreciation committees next year. If you are interested or know of someone who may be interested please let me know.  You can let me know by sending an email to fundraising@debakeypto.org or call me at (713) 553-8346.  In addition to attending the Executive Board meetings and the regular PTO meetings, here are some of the duties for the committee chairs:

Fundraising:

• Help promote the Benefactor Wall and get more plaques purchased
• Find local business to make donations for events (i.e.teacher appreciation, field day, etc.) and/or the PTO general fund
• Get sponsors for the PTO website 

Teacher Appreciation

• Host 5 Teacher Appreciation Events per year (Back to School, Thanksgiving, Winter Break, Valentines, And Teacher Appreciation Week). 

Feel free to call or text me if you want more detailed information.

Kind Regards,

Andrea Simon

(713) 553-8344

Scholarships open to HISD students only:

The Exotic Pop Scholarships, founded by Charleston Wilson, and his mother, Donnie Franklin, will provide scholarships to graduating seniors in HISD who are interested in pursuing business and entrepreneurship. Two $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to one male and one female student. The funds can be used for education tuition, fees, equipment, program materials, books, etc. The application will open Feb. 1, 2023, and close on March 30, 2023 at 11:59 P.M. Website: https://bit.ly/3wuxWul

The Waldman Legal Scholarship encourages bilingual (English and Spanish) high school seniors to attend a two- or four- year college/university. The scholarship will award one HISD senior with a $2,000 scholarship, a second HISD senior with a $500 scholarship, and a third HISD senior with a $250 scholarship. The application will open Feb. 1, 2023, and close on March 30, 2023 at 11:59 P.M. Website: https://bit.ly/3R5eIVA

Monday, February 6th, 2023
5pm Pacific, 7pm Central, 8pm Eastern

Prospective STEM majors face some of the toughest admissions odds. They have to have impressive GPAs and test scores + tangible experience in their areas of interest. To help applicants truly stand out, we're hosting a free webinar to cover:

• STEM Admissions Data and How Applications Are Processed
• Strategizing Your Application and Building Your Profile 
• Dos and Don’ts of Approaching Application Components as a STEM Student

The DeBakey Iron Vipers Robotics Club triumphed at the Alvin ISD VEX VRC Robotics Competition Showcase on Saturday, January 28, at JB Hensler College & Career Academy. The team took top position among 22 competing teams and was also awarded the Judge's Award. Congratulations!

Dress Code - Students should arrive to school in dress code every day. A copy of the dress code has been sent to your email. Students should wear closed-toe shoes. Crocs are not allowed. They should also wear the DeBakey polo, khaki shorts, skirts or pants, and the DeBakey logo sweatshirt or jacket. In lieu of the DeBakey logo sweatshirt or jacket, students may wear solid navy blue sweatshirts or jackets. Skirts and shorts should be knee length. Following the dress code demonstrates professionalism. Your support is appreciated.

Covid Testing - DeBakey High School Covid-19 Testing on campus is schedule for February 7, 2023, starting at 9:00 am. If you would like to be tested and have not completed the consent form, please use the link below. Register before February 6, 2023.  Also, please email Ms. Whiting to confirm your appointment. Her email address is mwhiting@houstonisd.org 

Click the link below to complete the consent form.

https://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/2022/11/01/hisd-to-offer-free-covid-19-testing-ahead-of-the-holiday-season/#:~:text=HIS

DeBakey High School For Health Professions PTO

2545 Pressler St

Houston TX 77030