Surprise Visit from Alexis Jones at our WRMS I AmThat Girl Club Meeting

This past Thursday, Alexis Jones dropped in and met with our I Am That Girl Club sponsored by Counselor Amy Goodwin and Wildcat Lab aide Lauren Miller last Thursday afternoon in our library.  45 girls were treated to Alexis' advice and wisdom on how to discover their inner-beauty and spawn self-confidence and grow up happy and comfortable in their own skin.  The I Am That Girl Club meets each Thursday during Wildcat Period to discuss various girl related issues among themselves and with our two staff sponsors.  Next year they will be developing a meaningful community service project to help other girls in the Austin area.  Thanks Alexis for being you and for inspiring our West Ridge girls!  T'll next year!

40 strong WRMS Tenor-Bass Boy's Choir takes top honors @ UIL

Our West Ridge Tenor-Bass Boy's Choir made perfect 1's during their three song concert portion of the competition and made all perfect 1's again during the sight reading portion at the Hays CISD PAC last Thursday.  Our talented director of Choirs, Mrs. Andrea Snouffer, successfully directed her 40 7th and 8th grade boys to another Sweepstakes award for our school.  The feedback from all six judges was highly complimentary of our boys, our song selection level of difficulty, and their behavior prior, during and after the performances. It's truly "cool" to be in the Tenor-Bass West Ridge Choir and the sound that these boys make during their performances has been exceptional all year long.  We can be so proud of ALL our Fine Arts programs at West Ridge Middle School.  Bravo boys!

Nick Foles NFL QB prospect talks to WRMS boys 4/5/12

Nick Foles attended Hill Country MS, was the last player picked for the West Lake HS Varsity football team his Jr. year. He played in the state championship game his senior year in 2006 and has played QB for the University of Arizona the past two years.  He is ranked as high as the 4th top college Quarterback prospect in this year's NFL draft at the end of this month. However, as great a football player as he is, he is an even better person.  He talked about the importance of finding passion in whatever you do whether it be sports, music, or whatever. He talked about the importance of growing up a young man of character and said that true character is not necessarily how one acts when a lot of people are around but how one behaves when nobody is watching.  SO VERY TRUE!  He talked about how to treat girls and that it's cool to be a gentleman.  He talked about always treating others with dignity and with respect and to be a person that includes people not excludes people.  The boys were all tuned in to him and sitting on every word.  They asked great questions and were a very good audience.  I was very proud of all our boys and I know that many of them will never forget this important life message and also their special hour with Nick Foles. 

West Ridge Full Orchestra Performs at Anderson High School 4/3/12

Our West Ridge Full Orchestra performed at Anderson High School this afternoon at the annual UIL competition.  The WRMS Full Orchestra is made up of our top Orchestra students as well as several top band students.  They performed three incredible pieces for a panel of three judges then went to another area to perform sight reading.  Sight reading is basically when the conductor, Elizabeth Compton teaches a preset piece by UIL to her full orchestra in the span of 7 precious minutes.  She can only describe to the students how to play the piece, cannot demonstrate the melody or play it for them.  After the seven minutes of detailed instruction has concluded, the students then "bow up" and play the piece together in harmony as a full Orchestra for another panel of three judges.  It's just an incredible experience to see our 7th and 8th graders perform difficult pieces at such a high level of proficiency.  A true testament to their musical talents and to Ms. Compton's teaching gift.  Attached here is a quick video of one of the songs they played at their concert.