Welcome to the West Ranch Community News section. Here you will find frequently updated Southeast Houston and Friendswood news regarding the community as well as model homes, events, and projects in and around West Ranch.
Feel free to share your thoughts and comments, as we join together with the Houston area communities and citizens in building an interactive relationship!
This year's 4th of July Celebration, "Red, White and Blue Go Green, Keep Friendswood Beautiful" will be a two day event! The celebration will be jam-packed with entertainment, food and fun for the entire family.
The celebration will kick off Sunday night with the concert and fireworks extravaganza beginning at 7 p.m. at Friendswood's Centennial Park. Popular entertainer Rick Trevino will headline the evening’s entertainment. The fireworks will light up the sky beginning at approximately 9:20 p.m. “The fireworks will be choreographed to patriotic music and are guaranteed to be one of the best fireworks displays in the Houston area,” state public officials.
Public parking will not be available at Centennial Park for the Evening Program. Free shuttle service will be available from Clear Brook High School and from Friendswood Community Church, on 2821 Parkwood Ave. Shuttle services will begin running at 6:30 p.m.
On Monday, July 5th The Grand Parade will travel down Friendswood Drive. The parade will begin at 10 a.m., at the corner of FM 518 and Heritage Drive, and will feature over 100 entries from Friendswood and around the State of Texas. The parade will conclude at Stevenson Park where rides, games, food, live entertainment and fun for the entire family will take place. The Zydeco Dots will be the featured entertainment along with a variety of patriotic performances throughout the day. The activities will begin shortly after the conclusion of the parade.
The Friendswood Independent School District is again earning attention for its outstanding schools with the most recent focus on Friendswood High School, just ranked among Newsweek magazine’s list of America’s Best High Schools 2010.
Newsweek selects the best high schools in the country each year, based on the hard work of school staffs and their challenge to students with advanced placement college level course and tests. This year, just over 1,600 schools – only 6 percent of all public schools in the United States made the list.
Friendswood High School was developing its AP program less than 10 years ago, and today, according to the magazine, the percentage of students enrolled in the AP courses compared to the number of seniors, earned the school its coveted ranking.
The Friendswood Independent School District reports that what Newsweek did not measure that is equally important, is how well students perform on the exams.
An impressive 77.4 percent of the total of Friendswood High School AP test takers (831) earned a 3 or better on the AP exams, thus qualifying to place out of college level classes.
Throughout the year, the Friendswood Public Library has activities and story time for children. During the hot summer months, they offer an extensive schedule of FREE programs for children, teens and adults that include craft classes, movies, music and movement as well as reading clubs and more. Here are just a few of the activities for June:
June 15, 16 and 18
Toddlertime for babies from birth to 3 years
Time: 10:10 a.m. (every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from June 1 – July 30)
The recently completed Veterans Memorial was unveiled in a morning ceremony last Monday on Memorial Day. This newest addition to the beautiful community areas, including Stevenson Park and Friendswood City Hall, includes an eight by sixteen foot steel flag, created by local resident Jay Horecky, in honor of the sacrifices so graciously made by Friendswood veterans.
The granite base of the flag is inscribed “Honor, Gratitude, Respect and Remembrance to the Men and Women who served in the Armed Forces of the United States”. And, the flag is elegantly flanked by two stately columns, etched with the three military branch insignias, topped by an eagle statue and a large world globe.
A small meditation area is set up around the memorial including benches, lighting, serene landscaping for those seeking a moment of silence or prayer area.
Friendswood Junior High artist, Brooke Bartholomew has been named as a named a regional finalist for her entry into this year’s “Doodle 4 Google” contest. Making it to the Top 40 isn’t too shabby for a nationwide contest with more than 33,000 entries!
Doodle 4 Google is a competition open to K-12 students of US schools to create their own Google doodle inspired by the theme, ”If I could do anything, I would…” Bartholomew’s theme is “…Repair All the Worlds Breaks”.
Google simultaneously announced the regional winners across the 40 locations of their finalists. To win the contest, the artists must receive online votes. From May 18-25 the public can vote online for their favorite doodle.
Her Top 40 status was announced in an FJH assembly hosted by a Google representative who explained the importance and many uses of the internet. Google also handed out shirts to the students with their classmates winning doodle and presented Brooke with a life-size copy of her design.
Highland Homes is celebrating their grand opening in West Ranch, Friendswood Development Company’s master-planned community located just off FM 518 in the exemplary rated Friendswood Independent School District. Their newly decorated model home is now open daily.
This two-story model is one of the newest designs for Highland Homes and is one of many innovative new plans now offered in Creekside at West Ranch, where Highland’s homes are priced from the $340,000s.
Plan 615A is a two-story home with more than 3,700 square feet, four bedrooms, three full baths and two half baths, and a three-car garage. It is priced from the $420,000s and is planned to open this month.
Highland Homes’ one- and two-story home designs in West Ranch range in size from 2,690 to nearly 4,400 square feet and offer two- and three-car garages, and all are built on extra large home sites.
Highland Homes joins Trendmaker Homes and Village Builders in West Ranch, where new sections are now open. New homes are priced from the $290,000s to the $700,000s and students attend exemplary rated schools at all grade levels.
Sales offices and model homes are open daily.
This year's 4th of July Celebration, "Red, White and Blue Go Green, Keep Friendswood Beautiful" will be a two day event! The celebration will be jam-packed with entertainment, food and fun for the entire family. 
Throughout the year, the Friendswood Public Library has activities and story time for children. During the hot summer months, they offer an extensive schedule of FREE programs for children, teens and adults that include craft classes, movies, music and movement as well as reading clubs and more. Here are just a few of the activities for June:
