December

As we enter the final month of 2025, we have three full weeks at WOMS to celebrate the season while staying focused on strong academic habits before Christmas Break (December 19–January 5). From community festivities to classroom learning, this month is filled with opportunities for our Warriors to RISE UP, try new things, and embrace our Live to Give mindset. We encourage families to stay connected, support consistent attendance, and enjoy the special moments this season brings!

🖤💛Your Proud Principal,

Crystal Mayes

December Dates to Know — in Chronological Order

• 🎉 Monday, December 1 Science Night from 5:00-7:00 PM! 🎉Bring the whole family for an evening of hands-on fun—both indoors and outdoors! We are thrilled to partner with the Lonestar College Astronomy Club, who will be bringing telescopes and leading sky-viewing activities (weather permitting!).🧪 What to Expect: ✨ Fun science labs 🔭 Telescopes & astronomy activities 📸 Photo booth 🎨 Face painting 🎟 Raffles🌭 Free hotdogs 🏐 Gaga Ball 📚 Parent TELPAS update session

• 🎅 Tuesday, December 9 – Annual NCISD Christmas Parade (7 PM)
  Join us at Valley Ranch Town Center as WOMS proudly showcases our festive theme: Shrekmas!
  Bring the whole family and help kick off the holiday season with community spirit.🎄

• 🎨 Throughout December – WOMS Fine Arts Holiday Performances
  Many evenings this month feature concerts and performances from our Warrior musicians and artists as they celebrate the season with creativity and joy. See information below in the Fine Arts section.

• 🦌 Friday, December 12 – Reindeer Rumble Fun Day
  Students who met the qualifying factors will enjoy this special event designed to reward their hard work and positive choices.

• 📚 December 15–18 – Final Exams Week (10% of Semester Grade)
  Classrooms will be focused on academics with turning in projects, reviews, and final exams.
  ⭐ Students must be in attendance to take exams. Exams cannot be taken early, so please avoid scheduling appointments or absences during this critical week.
  Encourage your student to arrive each day ready to learn with their Warriors RISE UP mindset!

• 🎄 December 19–January 5 – Christmas Break
  Enjoy time with friends and family! We hope all our Warriors return rested and ready for a strong start to the 2026 new year.

Middle Schools, 7am-2:25pm

Inspire and serve others while maximizing your potential Live to Give teaches us that abundance in one’s life is a cycle, and to get love, respect, and financial security, we must learn to give those things. This mindset also teaches that the greatest gift we can ever give is to find and leverage our unique genius to maximize our positive impact on the world, knowing that good things will be returned to us in kind.

Defying gravity must be in your counseling toolkit… because you just soared to new heights!
Congratulations Sharon Garcia and Kelly Wolff, our WOMS counselors, on receiving a CREST Award for Counseling Excellence!

Your wonderful leadership and fierce advocacy for serving your students, campus, district, and community is nothing short of spell-binding. The TSCA board was delighted to discover just how impactfully your comprehensive counseling program makes a difference—some might even say you’ve been changing lives for good.

Students will pick up their Semester 2 schedules when they get to school on January 6!

✨ Did you know? ✨

Tutoring is available! 📚✏️

👉 If you’re struggling, schedule a session with your teacher for extra support.

👉 Take a look at the campus-wide tutoring schedule for details.

Don’t wait—get the help you need to succeed! 💡💪

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the WOMS Veterans Assembly! Your presence helped us honor and celebrate the brave men and women who have served our country. We appreciate our veterans and the amazing support from our warrior community!

Congratulations to the Warriors of the Week from September!

These outstanding students have gone above and beyond by showing RISE Expectations every day:

💛Respect🖤Integrity💛Safety🖤Empathy

We are so proud of the way you represent what it means to be a true Warrior!

Thank you to our Cafeteria Staff for making a delicious meal for our Warrior, staff, students, and families to enjoy!

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We’re excited to announce that White Oak Middle School will host Science Night on December 1st from 5-7 PM, presented by our Multilingual Department! This special evening will bring our students and families together to explore the wonders of science through fun, hands-on activities.

To make this event a success, we’d love your support!

Ways to Volunteer:

• Before the event: Help us prepare and set up the science stations.

• During the event: Be in charge of a station or assist wherever needed.

• After the event: Lend a hand with cleanup and packing up materials.

Ways to Donate: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4CA4A72BA6FFC34-59989104-science
You can donate items from our provided list or suggest other helpful contributions. Every little bit makes a big difference!

If you have any questions or would like to sign up to help, please contact me at agarcia2@newcaneyisd.org.

Thank you for your support and for helping make Science Night an engaging and memorable experience for our students and families!

Texas Thespians Jr. Festival Public Performance Showcase 12/4/25: Join White Oak Theatre Jr. Thespian Participants as they perform scenes and present design projects they will be bringing to the festival and competing with! Showcase is December 4, 2025 on the cafeteria stage, and admission is $2 a person.

Intermediate Theatre Holiday Showcase 12/17/25: Join all four Intermediate Theatre Sections as they present short plays, skits, and monologues about the holiday season. Showcase is on December 17, 6:00-7:30pm on the cafeteria stage and admission is free!

Guest speakers visited with CTE classes and spoke to them about different types of careers, giving them inspiration and ideas for their futures!

📧White Oak Middle School will utilize Skyward and ParentSquare (replaces Remind) to communicate campus information. Each of these platforms use the email address and/or phone number on file when registration is completed. Staff will use email communication to send grade reports, information about school events, or other communication relative to a class.

Sometimes emails from Skyward end up in spam folders; please allow all emails from Skyward or newcaneyisd.org.

ParentSquare is how parents will receive reminders and other communication regarding events your child is involved in at White Oak. We kindly request that you allow these notifications on your personal device from your child's school. To download the ParentSquare app, go to either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store and search for "ParentSquare". Download and install the app on your device.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This email is to inform you of an important change affecting student health services in accordance with Texas Senate Bill 12, 89th Texas Legislature, which goes into effect on September 1, 2025. The District must provide parents with written notice of each school health related service offered at the campus their child attends, as well as obtain written parent consent before providing any school health-related services for students during the school day.

Click the link below to submit the parent consent form. Please complete this form as soon as possible to avoid any interruption in health related services provided for your child during the school day.

Our goal is to ensure the safety and well-being of all students while complying with new state regulations.

Link to submit the form: https://forms.newcaneyisd.org/Forms/ParentConsent

Thank you for your prompt attention and continued support.

New Legislation—Personal Communication Devices Prohibited During Instructional Day

The Texas Legislature passed legislation this year that requires school districts to adopt policies

prohibiting students from using personal wireless communication devices on school property
during the instructional day and that designates a secure, out-of-sight area for storage of these
devices.

A personal wireless communication device includes items such as cell phones, text messaging
devices, laptops, and tablets — any device capable of transmitting or receiving data that the
school does not provide for instructional purposes.

New Caney ISD’s policy regarding personal communication devices can be found in the 2025-26
Student Handbook and Code of Conduct.

The district’s updated policy, in accordance with law, is that:

Personal communications devices must remain off or on silent and stored in backpacks throughout the instructional day except before school or after school. Cell phones and other personal communication devices may not be stored on a student’s person. At White Oak, no cell phones will be allowed from 6:30-2:25 PM. As instruction begins at 6:30 AM with clubs, tutoring, and other special events.

Additionally, teachers may collect a personal communication device and turn them in to the
principal’s office if students are not following policy. The principal will then determine whether
to return items to students at the end of the day or to contact parents to pick up the items.

The use of cell phones or any device capable of capturing images is strictly prohibited in locker
rooms or restroom areas while at school or at a school-related or school-sponsored event.

If a student uses a personal communication device without authorization during the school day,
the device may be confiscated by a staff member. The student or parent may pick up the
confiscated cell phone from the principal’s office.

Confiscated personal communication devices that are not retrieved by the student or the student’s
parent will be disposed of after the notice required by law. [See policy FNCE for more
information.]

In limited circumstances and in accordance with law, authorized personnel may search a
student’s personal communication device. [See Searches and policy FNF for more information.]

Also, The district may authorize the use of a personal communication device for the following
reasons:

• To implement an individualized education program (IEP) or for a plan created under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C Section 794) or a similar program or plan;
• With documented need based on a directive from a qualified physician; or
• To comply with a health or safety requirement imposed by law or as part of the district’s safety protocols.

Any disciplinary action will be in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct. The district is
not responsible for damaged, lost, or stolen personal communication devices.

The SMART tag Parent App is now available!

Things you need to know:

• The new mobile Parent App has replaced the Parent Portal (web access). You can no longer access your Parent Portal account.
• SMART Alerts that you received as texts will now be sent as push notifications.
• The Parent App includes new features that let you choose a time setting for bus arrival notifications. You can also sign up to be notified each time you student loads/unloads the bus.

SMART tag ID Cards:

Students will receive their SMART tags from their home campus within 1-2 days after enrollment or the start of school. Students are expected to have their SMART tag ID to board and exit the bus. The first SMART tag ID is free, and replacement cards are $2 for one card or $5 for three cards.

Visit the NCISD Transportation page for more information about SMART tag and Parent App.

Important Transportation Update for Bus Riders

SMARTag Required to Ride Afternoon Buses – No Exceptions

Dear WOMS Families,

As we prepare for the start of the 2025–2026 school year, we want to inform you of a major change regarding student transportation. This year, for safety and security, all students must wear their official SMARTag badge to board the school bus in the afternoon.

No SMARTag = No Bus Ride
Temporary or paper IDs will not be accepted for afternoon bus transportation. This is a districtwide policy designed to ensure student safety and accurate tracking of bus riders.

What’s New This Year

• Students will now have one official SMARTag for both school and transportation use.

• There will no longer be separate school and bus IDs.

Replacement Options
If your child loses or damages their SMARTag, the following options are available:

• board

What Parents Can Do

• Make sure your child wears their SMARTag to school every day.

• Help them keep it safe and secure in their backpack or around their neck.

• Contact the front office if a replacement is needed.

We appreciate your support in keeping our Warriors safe and ensuring a smooth dismissal process!

Proud to be part of New Caney ISD

Email: cmayes@newcaneyisd.org
Website: https://woms.newcaneyisd.org/
Location: 24161 Briar Berry Ln, Porter, TX 77365
Phone: (281) 577-8800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhiteOakMS

Instagram: WhiteOakMS
X: @WhiteOak_MS