RD Martinez hosted Family Reading Night featuring SHS Chem Club. The students read, AR test and made slime. The students were extremely excited and motivated to read! We had a great turn out! A BIG thank you to Mrs. Garza for having her club students come and promote reading in such a fun way!

Jessie Jensen Library Celebrated many activities in the month of November. Students that met their AR Goals for the second six-weeks enjoyed a day of Technology Activities, The Scholastic Book offered new books and supplies for our students, Our Veterans were recognized and thanked for their service, and we also welcomed many presenters for Career Day at the library!

On Saturday November 12th, 16 students and 2 directors traveled to San Antonio for the Texas Thespian Festival. Ten students qualified for nationals, 1 student campaigned for a state officer position, and 4 students earned a perfect score. Librarian Nicole Cruz served as chaperone to this amazing group of students. Students are taught by Angel Leal, SHS drama director.

Students and their parents were invited to Garza Elementary for our first literacy fair of the school year. The fair consisted of English and Spanish read-alouds, crafts, as well as access to our book fair. Teacher-led stations were set up so that families could enjoy a book and a craft afterward. The purpose of this event was to encourage families to read together and to model ways that reading can be a fun family activity.

Bentsen students participated in the Hidalgo County Precinct 3 first-ever Holiday Greeting Card Contest. The winner will be used as the official 2022 Precinct 3 Holiday Greeting Card. After judgment, three pieces of student artwork will be selected and will be published on the Precinct’s social media outlets and will be mailed out to local and state leaders. Students who win also receive a $100 gift card and their own set of greeting cards to send out to friends and family. All entries had to be turned in by November 25. Students got their artistic juices flowing and turned in some amazing greeting cards. This was a great launch into our winter holiday.

Mrs. Moreno, the librarian at Pioneer High School planned a “Game Day” at the library for students. This event was held on Wednesday, November 9th during the student’s lunches. Students were able to check out and play old-fashioned board games such as Sorry, Monopoly, Headbanz, Connect Four, Jacks and Pick up Sticks. Mrs. Moreno sees this as an opportunity for students to interact, build positive relationships, reduce stress and have a little fun. Students really enjoyed the down time and voiced that they would like to have this event regularly at the library.

B. L. Gray Jr. High would like to congratulate McAllen Public Library's South Texas Book Festival Bookmark Contest winners Charlotte Lam and Sofia Enriquez Rosas!

Students at JHS were using their creativity to make something from scratch by coding. Our purpose is to create better problem solvers, logical thinkers, and inquisitive learners. These skills are crucial for a global economy driven by technology. Coding is like magic for children, and they were excited to practice skills on how computers, games, and websites work.

In keeping with tradition, Shimotsu students and staff dressed up as a favorite book character on Friday, October 28, to cap off Red Ribbon week. A parade of characters marched through the halls and outside the school where parents were cheering them on.

SNJH library hosted a Books Rocks Book Fair! Student shopped and enjoyed the fair for 5 fantastic days from Oct. 31 - Nov. 7 . Over 400 books were sold! All proceeds from the book fair go back to run library programs for our SNJH students. Our wonderful parent volunteers helped to set up and run the fair.

by Thanya Montemayor

RHE Library hosted an ofrenda for our Dia de los Muertos Reading Night. Students, parents and staff were encouraged to bring an picture or item to place on the ofrenda to remember and honor loved ones that had passed.

Students at DWE are working on a Non-Fiction November challenge. The students had the opportunity to participate by picking up a reading log and filling in the information with their non-fiction reading for the month of November. Students will be entered in a raffle once their reading logs are turned in and will have many fun prizes to choose from!

Daniel Aleman connected with more than 150 students from Sharyland High School and Sharyland Advanced Academic Academy on Tuesday, November 8th. Mr. Aleman is the author of Indivisible a 2022-2023 Region One ESC Battle of the Book title. Mr. Aleman shared words of wisdom about pursuing your dreams and that stories matter. He shared his writing process and development of character arc and setting. Students asked open-ended and thought provoking questions.

Garza Elementary held a very successful Scholastic Book Fair in November to give access to great reading material to both students and their families. Students were so excited to buy books of their choosing and keep asking when the next fair will be. We had a great sale, which will allow us to purchase more books and materials for the library.

RD Martinez students listened to The Biggest Snowmen Ever read aloud and then colored and made their own snowman puppet while listening to Christmas music. The students used their imagination when playing with their puppets. It was great to see them spread so much joy and Christmas cheer.

Mrs. Moreno, the librarian at Pioneer High School held a photo contest for any Pioneer High School student who wanted to submit a photo entry. Once the amazing entries were collected, a photo gallery was created in the library where students and teachers could view the entries and submit a ballot. The photo gallery voting was promoted in the morning announcements and the voting will continue until December 7th. Once voting concludes, the ballots will be counted and the winners will be announced. Good luck to all the amazing and talented PHS students who entered the contest!

Shimotsu hosted its first book fair fundraiser since 2019. Students were super excited and eager to buy books and other items, making the fair immensely successful by breaking past sales records. A huge shout out to everyone who contributed to the success!

Our JHS Scholastic Book Fair was a great success, providing the students with the opportunity to engage in reading. Book Fairs bring a way of uniting students with literature and promote reading for pleasure. Students were excited to be able to browse and purchase many items and entertaining books at the Book Fair.

Besides serving two high schools as the librarian, Nicole H. Cruz is also the district lead librarian. She coordinates speakers for each district librarian meeting. In October guest presenters included Alfonso Mendoza and Isaac Escamilla, SISD Instructional Software Specialists. They shared the many ways that they can assist students, teachers, and parents. Mayra Rocha, Speer Memorial Library Director, also presented to the librarians on the many online resources available to the community.

Book orders are starting to come in and we are excited at DWE! We can't wait to dive in and see all of the amazing books we will be reading soon!

More than 1,050 students from both SHS and SA3 have completed the SISD required Learning.com lessons for grades 9th-12th. The effort for all students to complete and receive continual lessons about online safety and digital citizenship is coordinated by librarian Nicole H. Cruz. She works collaboratively with teachers, district technology staff, Learning.com Representative Rachel Minton, and SISD Chief Technology Officer David M. Culberson.

by Thanya Montemayor

RHE library is hosting it’s very first book fair of the year. We are mid-week with our festivities and doing very well. Parent Night will be Thursday, December 1st and we are looking forward to seeing our families enjoy a book fair together again!