HHS...Behind the Stripes

REMINDERS:

• The Scholastic Book Fair will be in the library next week, October 19th-22nd. It will also be open during parent/teacher conferences.
• FCCLA members will be having a FALL SOCIAL next week on October 27 from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM in Mrs Woolsey's room at the PRTC. Costume Competition, Games, Prizes, Food, and Fun!! Come join us!
• Crochet Club will not meet this week.
• Library Pumpkin Contest Winner: Thomas Hudnall

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20

• Prom Committee // After Prom Sponsor Solicitation
• Game Club // Meeting Davis' Rm : After School
• Cross Country //at Mansfield 4pm DISMISS 1:15pm
• Volleyball // Districts at Cabool vs Willow 6pm

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21

• Grade Checks based on 1st quarter grades
• FFA // National Convention : Indianapolis

• Early Dismissal // 12:34
• FFA // National Convention : Indianapolis
• ASVAB Testing Hiett Gym : 8am
• Parent Teacher Conference // 1-6:45pm
• Football // vs Liberty 7pm
• SENIOR NIGHT
• Class of 2030 50/50 Raffle
• PEP CLUB THEME : Senior Night & Pink Out

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23

• NO SCHOOL
• FFA // National Convention : Indianapolis

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24

• FFA // National Convention : Indianapolis
• Band // MSMA State Marching Championships : Wardsville

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25

MONDAY, OCTOBER 26

• NO SCHOOL

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27

• FCCLA // Fall Social : PRTC 3:30pm

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28

• FBLA // Regional Meeting : Tiger Fieldhouse
• HS Assembly // Cooper Roy: Tiger Fieldhouse 1:15pm
• FCA // Fields of Faith 6pm

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30

• HOSA // Rootbeer Float Fundraiser
• Art Club // St. Louis Art Museum

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1

Congratulations to EMBER GREEN, Houston High School's October Student of the Month!

This month, the spotlight is on the "R" in the PROBLEM Solver Vision — Responsible and Respectful!

Being responsible and respectful means keeping promises, honoring commitments, and treating others with kindness and consideration. It means respecting others' feelings, time, possessions, and challenges while taking ownership of actions rather than making excuses or placing blame.

Ember has been recognized for demonstrating these important qualities and setting a positive example for fellow students.

Congratulations, Ember, on this well-deserved recognition!

The Houston Tigers had an outstanding showing at the SCA Cross Country Championship on Monday, October 12!

Our runners represented Houston with determination, hard work, and Tiger pride, bringing home impressive team finishes and individual honors!

VARSITY GIRLS – SCA CHAMPIONS! (1st Place)

VARSITY BOYS – 2nd Place

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS

Varsity Girls

Lyla Huffman – 1st Place | First Team All-Conference

Myles Copley – 2nd Place | First Team All-Conference

Jessyn Allen – 6th Place | Second Team All-Conference

Isabella Cook – 10th Place | Second Team All-Conference

Varsity Boys

Oliver Choate – 2nd Place | First Team All-Conference

Charlie Benoist – 3rd Place | First Team All-Conference

Marcus Posant – 9th Place | Second Team All-Conference

Congratulations to ALL of our Tiger runners and coaches! Every finish represents countless miles of training, perseverance, and dedication. We're proud of the way these student-athletes continue to represent Houston, both individually and as a team!

Our Houston Middle School and High School Library held its annual Bookmark Design Contest in September, giving students the opportunity to showcase their creativity and artistic talents!

We are excited to recognize this year's talented winners!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Brenna Browers

HIGH SCHOOL WINNERS
1st Place – Breona Shriver
2nd Place – Evelyn Demery
3rd Place – Austin Jones

MIDDLE SCHOOL WINNERS
1st Place – Kymberlin Cierley
2nd Place – Serenity Koch
3rd Place – Mary Hummel

Congratulations to all of our winners and a big thank you to every student who participated! We love seeing our Tigers express their creativity and bring their ideas to life!

Keep creating, Tigers!

Learning took a different kind of turn for Mrs. Woolsey's Foods Class and several Houston MO FCCLA and FACS members as they attended the NHRA Youth & Education Career Day at the St. Louis Speedway!

Students had the opportunity to tour several national food service transport vehicles, hear from guest speakers about the many career opportunities within the NHRA, and experience the excitement of drag racing firsthand!

From food service and transportation to the fast-paced world of motorsports, this experience gave our students a unique look at how classroom skills connect to real-world careers.

A big thank you to Mrs. Woolsey for providing our Tigers with opportunities to explore, learn, and discover future career possibilities beyond the classroom!

A HUGE congratulations to Houston High School Junior Claire Benoist on reaching an incredible milestone tonight — 1,000 career assists!

Claire reached this impressive achievement during an exciting five-set battle against Liberty!

This milestone is a testament to her hard work, dedication, and commitment to her teammates.

Congratulations, Claire! Tiger Nation is proud of you!

Houston Schools was proud to host the 2nd Annual Rook & Roll Chess Tournament, welcoming 50 students from 12 teams to compete in elementary, middle school, and high school divisions!

It was a great day of strategy, concentration, and friendly competition as students put their chess skills to the test!

TEAM RESULTS

Middle School Division

1st – Mountain View

2nd – Otis

3rd – Gainesville

High School Division

1st – Mountain View

2nd – Houston

3rd – Rolla

HOUSTON TIGER RESULTS

Middle School

Isaac Narancich – 13th Place

High School

Kane Crawford – 9th Place

Gabe Day – 11th Place

Kyell Robertson – 12th Place

Robby Eastman – 13th Place

Damien Garritson – 15th Place

Orrin Leighty – 24th Place

ADULT DIVISION

Five players also competed in the adult division!

1st – Jerry Smith

2nd – Sven Woodard

3rd – Mike Overton

Congratulations to all of our competitors, especially our Houston High School team for earning 2nd place!

A special thank you to everyone who helped organize and make this year's tournament possible. We love seeing students come together, challenge themselves, and represent their schools with pride!

Varsity Tutors is an innovative online learning platform that empowers students to achieve academic success by connecting them with knowledgeable tutors in a wide array of subjects. All Houston R-1 School District students, and parents, have access to this platform via their student's Clever account. This platform offers 24/7 on demand tutoring, live small group classes, ACT Prep classes, College & Career Readiness to assist with applications and scholarships, writing review and coaching, and self study and practice problems.

Students can search and sign up for any of these programs, free of charge, by logging into their Clever account and clicking on the Varsity Tutors app.

Class of 2027 and parent(s)/guardian(s):

The 2027-2028 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) officially opened October 1! If your senior plans to attend college or a technical school after graduation, now is a great time to start exploring financial aid opportunities.

I've attached a PDF titled "Planning and Paying for College for Missouri Students." This step-by-step guide is a great resource to help your family navigate college affordability, financial aid, scholarships, and more!

What will you need to complete the FAFSA?

• StudentAid.gov accounts (FSA IDs) for the student and any parent(s) required to provide information. Each person needs their own account.

• 2025 federal tax information, including W-2s and tax returns, if applicable. Much of this information may transfer automatically from the IRS.

• Social Security numbers for those who have them.

• Current balances of checking and savings accounts, along with investment and business/farm asset information, if required.

• A list of colleges or technical schools your student is considering attending.

Need help completing the FAFSA?

Mr. York and I will be available during Parent/Teacher Conferences on October 22, 2026 to help families complete the FAFSA or answer questions about the process. We encourage you to create your StudentAid.gov accounts ahead of time so you're ready to go!

Remember, FAFSA is FREE to complete, and submitting it is the first step toward determining eligibility for federal grants, work-study, student loans, and many other financial aid opportunities.

You can get started at https://studentaid.gov/ .

We look forward to helping our seniors take the next step toward their future!

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s) and Students:

This is a reminder in case you have not signed up yet. We have now set the date for testing.

Houston Schools would like to extend free District ACT testing to any Junior on March 10, 2027 . Sophomores and Seniors can take advantage of District testing as well but it will cost him/her up to $54.75 to test. You will not be billed for the test until after the test date. We are only charged for students who take the test.

Some of the advantages of district testing are:

1. It is testing during the school day. You do not need to find transportation to an ACT location on Saturday.
2. The location is guaranteed. They won't close the site due to low numbers, like they can for National testing.
3. It is cheaper than a National Test ($54.75 compared to $75 for the exact same test).
4. You can improve your score the more times you take the ACT. Most colleges accept superscores. Your superscore is the average of your best scores from each subject from multiple test attempts.

If this is something you are interested in, please sign up using the Google form below. You must sign up by December 18, 2026 .

Here's a copy of the Google form we use: https://forms.gle/yreDKwa3vv6cTnkr5

If you have any questions, please email Ms. Volk at tvolk@houston.k12.mo.us

Dear HHS Parents and Guardians,

As we head into November, I want to take a moment to say THANK YOU! I'm thankful for our students, our dedicated staff, and the families who support us every day. We have so much to celebrate at Houston High School!

Please check out the attached November calendar for upcoming events and opportunities.

Celebrating Attendance!

Over 100 HHS students had PERFECT ATTENDANCE in September! That's approximately one-third of our student body! We are excited to recognize these students for their commitment.

Moving forward, we will return to our monthly attendance incentives, recognizing the top 5 students with the best attendance and top 5 with the most improved attendance in EACH grade level.

We're also bringing back Mystery Attendance Day (M.A.D.)! On a surprise day, the grade level with the highest attendance percentage wins Battle of the Class points. Every minute counts!

Important Events This Week

Thursday, October 22 - ASVAB Testing at 8:00 AM

All juniors and seniors who did not test last year are scheduled to take the FREE ASVAB career exploration assessment. This isn't just for students considering the military! It helps identify strengths and explore future career opportunities.

Students need a fully charged Chromebook! This is our first year proctoring the online assessment ourselves. If technical issues arise, we will reschedule.

Thursday, October 22 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

1:00-6:45 PM | Hiett Gym

We encourage ALL families to attend, even if your student is doing great!

FREE FAFSA Help: Mr. York and I will be available on a walk-in basis to help seniors and families complete the FAFSA.

Please bring your StudentAid.gov login information (student and parent), 2025 tax information, Social Security numbers if applicable, and current bank/investment balances. If you haven't created your StudentAid.gov accounts yet, we can help you get started!

Looking Ahead to November

• College Visits: Juniors and seniors have opportunities to visit MSU-West Plains and Missouri S&T. Permission forms are available in the high school office.

• Counseling Lessons: I'll be visiting English classrooms to provide lessons focused on personal growth, decision-making, and preparing for the future.

• Saturday School: Another session has not been scheduled due to a lack of attendance at the last one. If your student needs attendance recovery, please contact Mr. Sloan.

Attendance Reminder: Saturday School recovers attendance for academic credit ONLY. It does NOT improve attendance percentages used for A+ Scholarship or prom eligibility.

Thankful for Our Tiger Family!

Thank you for supporting your students and partnering with us. Whether it's encouraging attendance, discussing future plans, or simply asking about their day, your involvement makes a difference!

Sincerely,

Ms. Tara Volk

High School Counselor

tvolk@houston.k12.mo.us

FIRST SEMESTER

• Wednesday, October 21 // 1st Quarter Grades

• Wednesday, November 11 // Grade Check

• Wednesday, December 9 // Grade Check

SECOND SEMESTER

• Wednesday, January 6 // 2nd Quarter Grades

• Wednesday, January 27 // Grade Check

• Wednesday, February 17 // Grade Check

• Wednesday, March 10 // 3rd Quarter Grades

• Wednesday, April 14 // Grade Check

• Wednesday, May 5 // Grade Check

• Monday, May 24 // 4th Quarter Grade Cards

Houston School District and Piney River Technical Center is excited to share that, thanks to the Taco Bell Round Up Grant, our new Automotive Technology program was able to purchase a COATS Wheel Balancer! This industry-standard equipment provides students with valuable hands-on experience as they develop real-world skills and prepare for future careers.

Here's why rounding up matters! Over the past two years, Taco Bell Round Up Grants have provided nearly $15,000 in support for Houston R-I School District! These funds have made a tremendous difference in the opportunities and resources we can provide our students.

The next time you visit Taco Bell, please say YES when asked to round up! Those few extra cents truly add up and make a lasting impact on our schools and community.

Thank you, Taco Bell, and everyone who chooses to round up and invest in our students!

A special thank you to West Plains Bank for handing out T-shirts to our Tiger fans during Friday night's Homecoming game!

What made these shirts even more special? The design was created by Houston High School sophomore Fateumn Keithley!

We love seeing our students' creativity showcased throughout our community, and we're grateful to West Plains Bank for supporting our Tigers and highlighting the talents of our students!

Congratulations, Fateumn, on having your artwork featured on this year's Homecoming T-shirts!

A HUGE thank you to West Plains Bank and Trust Company for their generous donation of $7,122.00 to Houston Schools through their Community Debit Card program!

Here's how it works! Every time someone makes a purchase using a Community Debit Card, West Plains Bank contributes $0.03 toward that organization's annual donation, at no additional cost to the cardholder!

Those three cents may seem small, but swipe by swipe, they add up to make a BIG difference!

We are incredibly grateful to West Plains Bank and Trust Company and everyone who supports Houston Schools through this program. Your continued generosity and commitment to our students and schools make a lasting impact!

Thank you for investing in our Tigers and the future of our community!

Email: amunson@houston.k12.mo.us
Website: https://www.houston.k12.mo.us/
Location: 423 West Pine Street, Houston, MO 65483
Phone: (417)967-3024
Facebook: facebook.com/HoustonMOTigers
Twitter: @HoustonMOTigers