Dear Pin Oak Families,

Today marks the halfway mark of our Charger Commitment Campaign. We are excited about the donations that have come in thus far, but we still need your help. 

Donations have been rolling in S-L-O-W-L-Y, and we need to step up the pace! A small percentage of families have donated, and these funds help ALL of our students. Please consider a donation, no matter what the amount - our students will benefit from your donation.

Donations can be made here.

Questions? Please be in touch with Katie or Francyne at commitment@pinoakpto.org.

We appreciate and hope to have everyone's support.

And - watch for news soon about a friendly competition.

Sincerely,

Katie Wylie and Francyne Davis Jacobs

Pin Oak Homecoming game is just around the corner and so is the TAILGATE!

Our Homecoming game vs Lawson will take place on Wednesday, Oct 25. The game starts at 7 PM but the tailgate will start at 5:00 PM in the Butler Stadium parking lot.

What is a tailgate? Social gathering of friends, food, and fun that typically takes place in the parking lot of a stadium (Butler Stadium) before a sports event (our Homecoming game)!

Each grade will have their own community tables so please sign up to bring drinks, snacks, food, sweets or anything you would like to share. We welcome all parents and students to join the fun. GO CHARGERS!

Click here to sign up for your grade’s tailgate led by:

• 6th Grade: Matt Hunn and Thuy Promubol
• 7th Grade: Jean Lee and Kinsey Wall
• 8th Grade: Lisa Lim and Tricia Onufer

When? Tuesday, October 17, 9 - 10 AM

Where? Parents have two options to attend

• In person in the POMS library
• Via Microsoft Teams

If you plan to attend the meeting in person, please make sure to arrive at least 15-20 minutes ahead of time to get checked in at the front office with your driver's license.

Join us for our next POMS Spirit Night at Chick-fil-A, located at 5325 S. Rice Boulevard (S. Rice & Westpark), on Tuesday, October 17, 5 - 8 PM.

Chick-fil-A will donate 10% of all collected sales back to Pin Oak. Please mention Pin Oak Middle School when placing your order!

Pin Oak's annual Color Run is returning on Friday, November 3, and your student will not want to be left out! 

Color Run is a fun run style event where students can leave class to hang out, listen to music, visit the Kona Ice truck, run or walk around the track, and throw color on each other in the Post Run Color Party.

Purchase a spot for your student to be a Color Thrower ($50), Walker/Runner ($25), or Spectator ($5):

• Color Throwers throw color (included) on Runners/Walkers during the run. A t-shirt is included with registration.
• Runners/Walkers will run or walk 1 mile as Color Throwers bombard you with color. A t-shirt is included with registration.
• Spectators cheer on Runners/Walkers from the bleachers and can participate in the Post Run Color Party. A t-shirt is NOT included.
• After the run, join your friends in the middle of the field for a Post Run Color Party. Purchase color bags (sold separately) to throw on your friends. Your student must be a Color Thrower, Runner/Walker or Spectator to participate in the Post Run Color Party.

Tickets:Click here to purchase your ticket. Online sales end on Sunday, October 29. We will be selling tickets during lunch the week of October 30 on Monday - Wednesday (cash only). 

If you'd like to make a donation to cover the cost of additional Pin Oak students to attend Color Run, please do so on the order form.

Volunteers: We will need parent volunteers to sell tickets at school the week of October 30 and to help support the event on November 3rd.

If you are VIPS approved and would like to volunteer for the Color Run, please click here to sign up.

If you have any questions, please email POMS PTO Color Run Chairs, Jamie Broach Byrd, Dana George, and Dawn Johnson.

Are you interested in your child being on the Pin Oak Swim Team?

Come to the Interest meeting in the Pin Oak Cafeteria on Tuesday, October 17 at 5:30 PM. 

Email Coach Hulbirt with any questions.

Attention all 7th & 8th Grade Girls interested in trying out for the girls' basketball team, please attend the interest meeting during team time,Monday, October 16th. 

The girls will review all required documents needed in order to be eligible for tryouts as well as learn about the expectations. 

Tryouts will take place October 30, 31 & November 1st from 6:30 - 7:45 AM. Players must be present for all 3 days to be considered.

Please read through the interest letter for all details regarding tryouts. 

Contact Coach Willis, if you have any questions about tryouts.

We are extending registration for POMS Girls LAX until Friday, October 20th. If you are still interested, please come out to practice:

• Mondays @ POMS Field from 7:30-9:00 PM
• Tuesdays @ Feld Park 7:00-8:30 PM

Please have your player ready to go on the field for practice: goggles, stick, mouth guard (not clear or white), snacks and water bottle.

ALL players must email the student’s medical form to pinoakgirlslaxhouston@gmail.com.  

Please register on https://www.pinoakgirlslax.com/.

Dear Parents,

Picture Day is coming soon and Photo Texas Photography Houston is committed to capture your student’s most important moments!

Fall Picture Day is November 1. All orders are Prepay with satisfaction Guaranteed. When we return to photograph absent and new students, we are more than happy to retake any student’s photo. We do not email proofs. During the Prepay period, you can choose Ship to School for FREE or Ship to Home. Shipping charges will apply.

Order Fall Pictures NOW!

The Prepay Link remains active for 1 WEEK after Picture Day. Any order received after the Prepay period is considered a late order and is shipped to the address provided. Shipping charges will apply.

Please contact Customer Service for assistance placing late orders.

We know that every student in front of our camera is the most important child in the world to someone.

It is our sincerest pleasure to photograph yours! Thank you for the opportunity!

We have many fun activities planned for our 8th graders, including a dance and other events. Please let us know if you'd like to be on the committee. The more helping hands we have, the better the year will be for our soon to be high schoolers!

Please reach out to POMS PTO 8th Grade Activities Chairs Tricia Onufer & Melissa Law at 8thgradeactivities@pinoakpto.org if you'd like to be involved!

Join the Pin Oak Middle School PTO and help the students, teachers, fine arts, athletics, and academic programs at our school.

Membership is just $10.

Membership must be renewed each year, as annual membership expires at the end of each school year on June 30.

If you have any questions, please email POMS PTO Membership Chair.

Pin Oak will be hosting tours for interested families on upcoming Thursdays. Spots are limited so click here to learn more and sign up.

We look forward to seeing you!!

Are you interested in having your student tested for Gifted and Talented identification? Applications are due December 8, 2023.

Applications are submitted through HISD Connect. Please see the linked directions to request testing. Once the application is submitted through HISD Connect, POMS will gather the teacher's recommendation.

Testing will be in Spring 2024. Stay tuned for exact dates.

Please contact Ms. Vining with any questions.

The POMS School Store is open during student lunches. Please refer below for full schedule:

• Monday, Wednesday and Friday - open for all lunches
• Tuesday - open until 1 PM (some Tuesdays we may be open for all lunches. Please contact the school store with any questions.)
• Thursday - open until 1 PM

The POMS Online School Store is open for business. ***Please note that online orders may take a few days to fulfill and you will be notified to have your student come pick up orders when they are ready.***

Please consider helping us purchase items on the Pin Oak Amazon Wish List. 

Thank you so much for your generosity!

This is your chance to volunteer and be in the middle of the action! It's a great way to meet other parents and interact with the students in the school store. 

Signups are for the 2023-2024 school year and we require at least 2 people in the store at all times. The school store is open during the students' lunch periods. Please sign up for the group (A or B)/day(s) that works best for you (shifts are every other week).

Please feel free to reach out to Jean Lee or Thuy Promubol at: schoolstore@pinoakpto.org with any questions or concerns. 

All school volunteers are required to be VIPS approved.

All volunteers in HISD must register to be VIPS approved. Please register at least two weeks before your scheduled volunteer shift, as it can take three to five business days to complete the background check. Even if you were previously VIPS approved, you will need to register again as your approval expires at the end of each school year.

VIPS Registration

VIPS Registration (Español)

Do you know a business who is looking for corporate sponsorship opportunities? 

Pin Oak offers a variety of sponsorship levels and benefits, including school-wide newsletter and website recognition, banner display in a prominent location on campus, marquee signage and much more! By partnering with businesses in our community, we raise funds for teacher, student, classroom and technology support, curriculum enrichment, staff appreciation, and facility enhancements. 

Contact POMS PTO Co-VP of Fundraising & Corporate Sponsors Chair Anu Hiremaglur for more details.

Log in to update your directory info or sign up for a new account if you're a new user. If you have used Membership Toolkit at another school, you may log in using your same account information.

The POMS PTO uses the Membership Toolkit platform across the board, so you'll need an account to receive the Charger Chatter, shop at the online School Store, join the PTO, and more! It can all be found at pinoakpto.org.

Also, be sure to download the free Membership Toolkit app on the App Store or Google Play, so you'll have the school directory and school calendar with you at all times on your mobile device! You can even sync the PTO calendar to your phone's calendar and opt to receive push notifications for important announcements!

If you have any issues signing up or logging in, please contact the POMSPTO VP of Communications Rebecca Grazier.

The Inertia Dance Company from Westside High School is excited to host our annual “Dance With Inertians” Holiday Workshop and Random Acts of Dance evening performance on December, 9th 2023. 

We have great facilities, an outstanding booster club and hardworking dancers that all help create a wonderful event. I wanted to personally invite you and your students to participate in our dance clinic which will take place at Westside from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM or to perform in our Random Acts of Dance performance at 6:30 PM or BOTH. 

This clinic will help students of all ages be exposed to what the Inertia program has to offer. Boys and Girls will learn choreography, receive a t-shirt, snacks and perform in the opening piece for the Random Acts of Dance evening. I hope your students are able to attend this festive event and register for the early bird price (due 11/13/23)! Please also see the flyer here for details. 

Random Acts of Dance is an evening of works performed by local dance studios, dance companies, and other competitive performing arts studios within the Houston area. This performance will serve as a great platform to showcase your choreography before competition season begins. There is no fee for performing in the show. 

Tickets for audience members will be $15.00 (cash only ages 5 & up will require a ticket). Please see the links below to register for the clinic and evening showcase. Registration is now open for performers and participants under the "Events" tab at www.inertiadanceco.com. 

If you have any questions about our holiday event, please do not hesitate to reach out. We can't wait to share the stage with you! 

HISD Wraparound Services is here to help. Please see the following documents and complete a Student Assistance Form (SAF) found here.

Wraparound Services Contact Sheet

Wraparound Services Info Sheet English/Spanish

For more information, visit HISD Wraparound Services.