Newsletter 1 - Harlandale ISD

Week of May 4, 2015
Thousands turn out for parade, fair
The biggest little parade in San Antonio returned May 2 with thousands of spectators lining Roosevelt Avenue to
watch students walk, march, cheer, and ride in floats as part of Harlandale ISD’s 39th Annual Cultural Arts Parade.
Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson, President of Texas A&M University-San Antonio, served as the Grand Marshal and
got the parade started. Following her were more than a hundred entries celebrating Harlandale’s 120 years of
education. Some of the crowd favorites included a birthday themed float by Gilbert Elementary, the Morrill Tiger
Cheerleaders, the Harlandale and McCollum high school marching bands, Ingenium students dressed up as their
future careers, the Native American Inter-Tribal group, and a restored 1917 pick-up truck which drove along with
the Amigos de Harlandale. HISD’s Information Services Department also put a smile on spectators’ faces as they
dressed up like different technology, from a floppy disk to the Apple iCloud; Rosas de Castillas wore their beautiful,
traditional Mexican gowns and rode horses down the route; and Guardians of the Children revved their engines.
Aside from putting on a great show, school-based parade participants also took part in a little competition. The
parade winners were:
•
Best Spirit Group
o ES: Gilbert Mustang Cheerleaders & Morrill Tiger Cheer Squad
o HS: McCollum HS Spirit Groups
•
Best Music Group
o ES: Morrill ES Tiger Drum line
o MS: Kingsborough Band
o HS: McCollum Band
•
Best Walking Group
o ES: Carroll Bell Flappers, Gilbert Safety Patrols & Adams Elementary “Transforming the Future”
o MS: Terrell Wells Girls Athletics
o HS: McCollum JROTC
•
Best Vehicle
o ES: Morrill African Drums/Student of the Year
o MS: Terrell Wells Administration
•
Best Float
o ES: Fenley Center AVANCE & Gillette Choir
o HS: Frank Tejeda Academy
The parade ended at Harlandale Memorial Stadium just as the fair got started. Participants enjoyed food and drinks,
free arts & crafts by Jerry’s Artarama, an art exhibit, a chess tournament, choir performances, a talent show, games,
and carnival rides. All five rides were provided free of charge thanks to sponsorships from University Health System,
Senator Carlos Uresti, Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union, Jasmine Engineering, RVK Architects, the Koontz
Corporation, Frost Investments, and Southwest Sound & Electronics.
The action-packed day actually started off with a solemn ceremony in honor of the families who founded Mission
San Jose, where HISD originated. Dozens of guests, the McCollum HS Choir, Harlandale JROTC, along with Native
American Inter-Tribal Group helped recognize four Honored Descendants in front of the Rose Window. The honorees
were: Roy Guerrero, Mary Herrera, Richard Pacheco and Alan Huizar.
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CTE students graduate college before high school
Graduation season is here and 12 Harlandale ISD Career and Technical Education (CTE) students were
some of the first to cross the stage as part of the Alamo Academies Commencement Ceremony on May 6.
Thanks to the partnership between HISD and Alamo Colleges, the students earned up to 30 college credit
hours, participated in paid internships within local industry leaders, and received multiple job offers with paid
tuition incentives to further their post-secondary education, all at no cost to their families.
The 2015 Alamo Academy graduates were:
Aerospace Academy
Sean Hupel – McCollum High School
Jacqueline Ibarra – McCollum High School - $5,000 CPS Energy Scholarship
Matthew Koch– McCollum High School - $2,500 Scholarship
Alexis Lopez – McCollum High School
Emmanuel Lopez – Harlandale High School
Christian Padilla – Harlandale High School
Health Professions Academy
Amy Beristain – McCollum High School
Magdalena Gomez – McCollum High School
Laura Perez – McCollum High School
Antonio Rosas – McCollum High School
Leslie Salinas – Harlandale High School
Information Technology and Security Academy
Andrew Torres – McCollum High School
Harlandale seniors choose their paths
Over 150 Harlandale High School seniors announced the college or military branch of their choice during a
Decision Day assembly held at the school’s gymnasium on April 28.
“Harlandale High School is very proud of the hard work and accomplishments of this year’s graduating class
and we know they have a bright future ahead of them,” said Gabriella Caglieris, college advisor.
Along with counseling staff and teachers, admissions representatives from over a dozen Texas Universities
as well as military officers from the Army National Guard and the United States Marine Corps were on hand
to congratulate the class of 2015.
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Harlandale films featured by HEB
On Friday, May 1, H-E-B hosted its first San Antonio Student
Film Festival, featuring work from three local high schools
including Harlandale High School’s Film School. The event
captured that old school drive-in family feeling as it took place
at San Antonio’s historic Mission Marquee Plaza, formerly
known as the Mission Drive-In. Instead of cars however,
visitors sat on blankets and in chairs to enjoy the films being
screened.
HHS was awarded $1,000 for its participation. Their film also won the Audience Choice Award, so they
received another $500 award.
Adams students enjoy ‘heaven in a bowl’
Students at Adams Elementary raised over $3,000 as part
of the Pasta for Pennies program benefitting the Leukemia
& Lymphoma Society and, in return, earned themselves a
delicious Hospitaliano meal from the Olive Garden.
“For some, this was the first time they had been to Olive
Garden,” said Gracie Gil, Counselor. “One student event
stated, ‘This is like heaven in a bowl.’”
The kids raised a total of $3,423.78, but it was Mr. Daniel Keller’s 4th grade class that raised the most,
$355.92. His students got to tour the restaurant’s kitchen during lunch.
Heigh-ho the derry-o, the farmer in the school
Pre-Kindergarten students at Columbia Heights Elementary got to experience a little bit of farm life on April
30 thanks to the district’s Bright Idea Mini-Grant program and Ms. Kristin Epstein who won one of the awards.
With the funding, Ms. Epstein contracted a farm to set up at the school so students could see, touch, smell,
and feed animals. The 4 and 5-year-olds liked the pig the most, but they also got to encounter a bull,
miniature horse, ducks, chickens and sheep.
“So this is where hats and scarves come from. Cool!” exclaimed little Albert Munoz about the sheep.
“The ducks let me touch the feathers on their back,” Alaize Prado said surprised.
Kiara Beltran was excited to see that “the chickens have eggs!”
Some of the students also got to take a pony ride around the school.
“The farm visit that we had… was an exceptional experience for all of the Pre-K students at Columbia
Heights,” said Epstein. “The next day I had requests from my students for the farm to come back.”
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McCollum develops leaders through XY-Zone program
Students and staff from McCollum High School took part in
the Second Annual XY-Zone Service Learning Project on
Friday, May 1.The participants once again planted a tree to
symbolize their own growth through XY-Zone and their roots
at McCollum High School.
“XY-Zone is a program facilitated by Communities In Schools
that works with male high school students to build leadership
skills in the areas of Respect, Responsibility, Relationships,
Role Modeling, and Reaching Out,” said CIS Coordinator Tina Diamond.
According to the Communities in Schools website, the mission of the XY-Zone is to support and guide
adolescent males as they journey into manhood, helping them succeed in school and prepare for life.
Bus drivers earn top honors at Bus Road-eo
Harlandale ISD bus drivers proved they are some of the best in
the state while taking part in the 2015 Bus Road-eo at LBJ High
School in Austin last month.
The Road-eo tested bus drivers’ driving skills along with their
knowledge on all things transportation. The participants were
first scored on two written tests, General Knowledge and Vehicle
Inspection. Then they competed in the driving portion of the
contest which required drivers to maneuver a bus through a variety of different situations such as parallel
parking, backing up, railroad crossing and loading of students.
Harlandale’s Special Needs driving team, consisting of bus drivers Oralia Garcia and Mario Leal, earned 3rd
place overall.
Once rivals, forever teammates
The Harlandale-McCollum rivalry is one of the most exciting,
unique and fun traditions of Harlandale ISD. It is also an extremely
obvious one, especially during the annual Frontier Bowl, but the
bond it forms goes far beyond the final score of any game. Three
HISD volleyball players know that firsthand.
Earlier this season, Erika Arredondo and Dominique Delgado were
on the Harlandale side of the volleyball net while they competed
against McCollum and Neyda Sanchez. Once in-district rivals,
the three are now teammates on a traveling volleyball team that led them to national qualifying tournaments
in Philadelphia and New York.
“The competition amongst each other is still the same. The only difference now is that we are on the same
side of the net and encourage one another,” said Neyda.
Dominique credits the smooth transition from rivals to teammates to the fact that they all represent the same
side of town.
“It felt like we had something to represent. We held Harlandale on our shoulders and we still do. That is
where we come from and no matter how far we go, we know we come from Harlandale and the Southside,”
said Erika.
Dominique, Erika and Neyda have each received offers to play collegiate volleyball.
“It only makes it that much more rewarding when you accomplish something because we are from the
Southside,” said Neyda. “We want the next generation of girls to believe in themselves just like we did.”