Bridget Williams named District Teacher of the

Week of February 8, 2016
Bridget Williams named
District Teacher of the Year
IN THIS ISSUE...
Cosmetology students qualify for
state competition
page 2
HEF Employee
Fund Drive kicks-off
page 3
On any given day, Ms. Bridget Williams’
vehicle is the first to pull up to the Terrell
Wells Middle School parking lot and the last
one to leave. Her long work hours aren’t the
only reason she was selected as the HISD
District Teacher of the Year, though.
life more than he ever imagined possible.
The eight grade math teacher keeps her
classroom door open before and after
school hours in case a student needs extra
guidance. Some students come in asking for
help finding the hypotenuse of a triangle
while others come in looking for motivation.
He only intended to pass his classes so he
could play sports.
“Ms. Williams isn’t the kind of teacher who
only teaches the subject, she teaches us life
lessons to help mold us into great citizens,”
said Victor Perales, Terrell Wells MS eight
grade student. “When Ms. Williams isn’t
busy tutoring or planning lessons she is at
our sporting events. I can’t say she has ever
missed any of my games this year.”
Perales has only known Ms. Williams for one
school year, but already she has impacted his
“Before this school year I was labeled as a
student who was retained. A student who
was never in great academic standing,”
Perales said.
“After having Ms. Williams as a teacher,
mentor and role model, I went from an
average student to a student on the A Honor
Roll,” Perales said. “That alone, was never in
my cards, but Ms. Williams has pushed me
and guided me to excel not only in her class,
but in every class.”
Before her guidance, Perales felt his only
chance to get in to a good university was
through sports.
“Now I feel like I can go anywhere I set my
mind to all because of her inspiration,”
Perales said. “Ms. Williams has shown me
Kingsborough MS students
prepare for school garden
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HISD students qualify for
National Spanish Spelling Bee
page 4
Bellaire students take
PAWtrol pledge
page 5
that I have so much more to offer to the world than just sports. She will never be forgotten because I owe her for my
success and change of mind-frame.”
Perales is just one of the many students and colleagues she has had a positive influence on.
Back in November 2015, employees at each HISD school were asked to nominate a Teacher of the Year. A month later
staff voted and 24 of HISD’s best teachers were named as their Campus Teacher of the Year. These teachers then filled
out an application and were scored based on classroom performance, leadership at their school, leadership in the
district, leadership in their profession and community service.
After much deliberation, District Teacher of the Year judges came to a unanimous decision and selected Williams as
the winner.
“It’s truly an honor to be selected as the district teacher of the year because I know there are a lot of great teachers in
Harlandale,” Williams said. “So to be selected is phenomenal, it is just great.”
Williams is now up for the Trinity Prize for Excellence in Teaching.
Congratulations to the Campus Teacher of the Year winners and thank you all for going above and beyond for your
students!
Adams ES
Bellaire ES
Carroll Bell ES
Collier ES
Columbia Heights ES
Gilbert ES
Gillette ES
Morrill ES
Rayburn ES
Schulze ES
Stonewall Flanders ES
Vestal ES
Adriana Tovar
Mayra Alvanez
Enrique Huerta
Michelle Morales
Christina Bolch
Norma DeTovar
Celia Correa
Miguel Alvarez
Tarah Araiza
Sarah Harred
Bernardino Rocha
Maria Clark
Wright ES
Harlandale MS
Kingsborough MS
Leal MS
Terrell Wells MS
Harlandale HS
McCollum HS
S.T.E.M. Early College HS
Frank Tejeda Academy
Scheh Center
Wietzel Center
Belinda Contreras-Ochoa
Jessie Mendez
Meredith Weaver
Rivette Pena
Bridget Williams
Justin Pozos
Axel Tapia
Romeo Valdez
Sandra Perez
Charles Parker
Vivian Smith
Cosmetology students qualify for state competition
A total of six Harlandale High School cosmetology students
participated in the District 11 SkillsUSA Competition and
all six students qualified for the state competition in
Corpus Christi, Texas.
Congratulations to Anthony Marquez, Deliyah Fernandez,
Lexus Garcia, Brianna Olvera, Sarina Tesson and Ariel
Avina for advancing to the next level.
The District 11 competition was held at Palo Alto College
on Feb. 5 and the awards were presented Feb. 6.The
competition included schools from San Anotnio, Somerset
and Uvalde.
“Considering they only worked on their projects for a
month, my students did amazing,” said Cecilia Reyna,
Harlandale HS cosmetology instructor. “I am extremely
proud of them.”
The state competition will be held in March and will
include cosmetology CTE programs from across the state.
page 2
HEF Employee Fund Drive kicks-off
away and she didn’t know how to
cope with the grief.
“I didn’t know how much that
decision would change my life,”
Gomez said. “The moment that I
had given up on school all the bad
decisions followed.”
After working a handful of minimum
wage jobs, she decided to take the
necessary steps to get her life back
on track.
The sixteenth annual Harlandale
Education Foundation Employee
Fund Drive began Feb. 10 and will
conclude Feb. 24.
To kick-off this year’s fund drive,
three Harlandale ISD students shared
how Harlandale ISD has helped shape
their lives.
Harlandale High School senior
Naomi De la Cruz is the daughter
of a deported immigrant. She was
separated from her mother at twelve
years old and from a young age on
knew that funding a college education
would not be easy.
But instead of letting that set her
back, she used it as a motivation to
get further in life.
Throughout her high school journey
De la Cruz was involved in every
club on campus, held multiple
leadership positions and excelled at
several AP classes. This spring, she’ll
be graduating number six in her
class and has been accepted to the
McCombs School of Business at the
University of Texas at Austin.
De la Cruz thanked Harlandale for
providing her with the necessary
resources to go to college.
“The few hundred dollars that HEF
gives us are invaluable for students
like us who don’t want to add
avocado to our burgers because it’s a
dollar more,” she said.
Harlandale High School senior Jon
Michael Garay was born with a cleft
lip and doctors said he would be slow
both academically and socially, but
every day he is proving them wrong.
Garay will be graduating seventh
in his class and will be studying
psychology at the University of Texas
at Austin.
“Thank you Harlandale for bringing
out the best in me and guiding
me down the path to pursue my
passions,” Garay said.
Frank Tejeda Academy student
Genevieve Gomez is 24 years old, a
mother of three children and about
to be a high school graduate. Six
years ago, she dropped out of high
school two months before graduation
because her father had just passed
“I wouldn’t be able to be here six
years later without Frank Tejeda who
has a program for people my age,”
Gomez said.
She added that anytime she felt
really low, Frank Tejeda teachers
and administration would constantly
remind her that she had something
to offer and that she had control of
her future.
“I am so grateful for them and for
Harlandale for allowing me to have
a second chance at life,” Gomez
said. “This opportunity to receive
these funds means that you believe
in people like me, who have bigger
dreams than doing nothing with their
lives.”
Gomez intends to pursue a nursing
career at San Antonio College.
This year’s graduates who do not
receive the Pell Grant are eligible for
$1,250. Those who do receive the
Pell Grant will be awarded $625.
Since 1999, the foundation has raised
$1.6 million in student scholarships.
Every Harlandale ISD student who
goes on to college, university or
technical/trade school is eligible for a
scholarship.
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HISD students qualify for National
Spanish Spelling Bee
College Café
engages community
Congratulations to Morrill Elementary student Dalay
Velasquez and Harlandale Middle School student
Cynthia Villanueva for earning second place in their
respective division at the Region 20 Spanish Spelling
Bee competition.
Both students will advance to the National Spanish
Spelling Bee slated for July 14-16 in San Antonio.
Kingsborough MS students
prepare for school garden
Harlandale ISD’s College Café & Family Learning Center,
located at 1502 Fitch St., is helping adults and students
improve their lives and education.
On a daily basis, the center’s schedule is jam packed with
ESL, GED, computer literacy and parenting classes offered
at no cost. According to Deborah Hernandez, HISD student
support coordinator, the classes fill up quick and there’s
usually a waiting list.
As of last week, the building now also offers the Alamo
Community Colleges District (ACCD) College & Career
Readiness Center. This is essentially a place where anyone
who is interested in pursuing a higher education can receive
guidance from an advisor on how to apply for college, enroll
in classes and how to apply for financial aid and scholarships.
The San Antonio Herb Society visited Kingsborough MS
students to teach them the basics of planting, watering and
maintaining a garden.
After a brief presentation, students planted dill, oregano,
basil, garlic, tomato and lettuce seeds in 60 little pots. The
seeds will be kept in these pots until new soil arrives for the
garden that will flourish in the breezeway.
This week in Harlandale...
Aside from the classes, the center also regularly hosts
events and meetings for the district and community.
A recent event included a College Night that featured
college advisors from Texas A&M College Station, University
of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University.
A financial aid night will be held April 2 and a College
Readiness event titled “Understanding your Award Letter”
will be held April 21 at 6 p.m.
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Bellaire students take PAWtrol pledge
Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran visited Bellaire
Elementary School students to talk about PAWtrol,
her new program focused on increasing awareness of
responsible pet ownership among school-aged children.
By taking the PAWtrol pledge, each student commits to
learn about pet ownership laws and to share information
packets on what they learned with their friends, family
and neighbors.
the pet owners of tomorrow about the importance of
using a leash and micro-chipping pets.
Students also learned about pet laws and received a
PAWtrol badge sticker, meaning they are officially on duty.
When Viagran asked the students how many of them had
recently seen stray or loose dogs in their neighborhood,
all 25 students in the room raised their hand.
“We know that there are issues when we try to walk in
our neighborhoods, when we try to ride our bikes, when
we try to get to school and there are these stray and loose
dogs,” Viagran told the class. “We need your help to make
a change and an impact in the community.”
After the students took the pledge in both English and
Spanish, Animal Care Services staff was on hand to train
Elementary students explore exotic fruits and veggies
The featured fruit of the week was Carambola, also known
as starfruit, and next week they’ll be trying Rambutan, a
common snack found throughout Asia. Rambutans have a
red hairy exterior that conceals a smooth, sweet white fruit
within.
Students usually get a quarter of a cup of the featured fruit
and vegetable, they learn the nutritional value of what they
are about to consume and they see it in its whole form so they
can see what it looks like before it is cut up and prepared.
According to Marcos Rodriguez, HISD Child Nutrition director,
the students get really excited during the tastings and are
always eager to learn about new fruits and vegetables.
Two days out of the week Stonewall Flanders and Gilbert
Elementary School students are introducing their taste buds
to fresh and exotic fruits and vegetables as part of a federally
assisted program.
The goal of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program is to
improve children’s overall diet and to encourage healthier
eating habits.
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“We are hoping this will introduce the kids to different
vegetables they haven’t seen before,” said Roxanne Rivas,
HISD Child Nutrition supervisor. “It might get them to be more
adventurous to expand what they eat already.”
Superintendent of Schools
Rey Madrigal
This week, Labatt Food Services visited Stonewall Flanders to
talk to kids about where fruits come from and how they are
grown.
Communications Department
Andrew Fernandez,
Natalie Bobadilla, Alexis Lafosse, Letty Saavedra
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