This week Vanguard will join with schools in the district and across the nation celebrating Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week is an alcohol, tobacco, and other drug and violence prevention awareness campaign. This photo is of my younger brother. He struggled with drugs and alcohol starting when he was about 14 years old. He was in and out of trouble from that point on. One night, when he was 17, he made a decision to drink and drive and it cost him his life. It impacted my family and me greatly. My mother became a detox counselor after that. I have made decisions for my life based on the outcome of his. Red Ribbon Week is a chance to help our students be reflective and help them realize the importance of making good decisions. There are many choices you can make in life, but no matter what friends or other people are doing, or what is going on around us, drugs and alcohol are not the answer.

All students at Vanguard will be taking PSAT on Tuesday! Even if students do not feel that they will attend a 4-year college, good scores on the PSAT will help them get into trade schools and give them opportunities for their future. PSAT can even take the place of TSI testing. Doing your best on this test will open doors for you! Please make sure you eat a good breakfast Tuesday morning and pack some snacks if you can! Layer your clothes so that you're comfortable and come ready to do your best!

We started our middle school tours this week and we were excited to welcome Wilkinson and Agnew to our campus. Thank you to Mr. Stoker, Coach Hunt, and all of our amazing student leaders who help make these tours go smoothly! Now through Friday, December 16th, 8th-grade students from across the district may express interest in attending Vanguard High School in the 23-24 school year through Skyward. There is more information about how to apply to Vanguard below in this newsletter!

Last, but not least, I wanted to give a huge thank you to everyone who came to our first Fall Festival. I can not thank our student council enough for their work in making this event successful. Our students and teachers from every department participated. We had representatives from all of our CTSOs, clubs, and organizations, and we even had our Senior completers working the trunk or treat! Our PTA sold concessions nonstop that evening thanks to donations from our amazing parents and community members. We felt that Fall Festival needed a VIP of its own, so stay tuned for pictures and more in a special edition VIP coming this week! I am constantly amazed by our students and staff and this event brought out the best in everyone. We are already looking forward to next year's Vanguard Fall Festival!

Thanks for another great week, Vanguards!

All Vanguard students will be taking the PSAT test this TUESDAY, October 25th! This is a practice college entrance exam. Students who do well may qualify for college scholarships and recognition.

Testing will begin at 9:30 am on the 25th! Please encourage students to arrive at shuttle locations early and be ready to take the first shuttle bus that arrives from home campuses!

Please check your calendar and arrange doctor appointments and early release around this date! If students have an early release or late arrival on that day it invalidates their test.

Breakfast will run normally that morning and the cafeteria will be providing a sack lunch once testing is finished. Students are encouraged to bring snacks and water bottles to eat during their testing breaks.

We have an upcoming Learning Recovery & Attendance Recoup session Saturday, October 29th from 9:00 - 12:00. Parents, we highly encourage your child to attend if these opportunities apply to them. If you have questions, contact Mrs. Jackson or Ms. Ordoñez.

Have you ordered your Vanguard yearbook yet? We are currently selling the yearbook online only! Students who are interested in owning the FIRST Vanguard yearbook must pre-purchase online!

The cost of the Vanguard yearbook is $45.00. Prices will increase as the year goes on, so get yours today!

Ordering is easy! Click this link: https://tinyurl.com/vhsorder. Make sure you are on the Vanguard High School in Mesquite, Texas page.

Payment plans are available!

We are making memories at Vanguard, make them last a lifetime with your own Vanguard yearbook!

Robotics is rocking and rolling this year! Students are prototyping for FIRST and VEX Robotics Competitions. Our upper-level students are learning how to use collaborative robots for industry. Everyone is learning how to 3D print! We even visited the Ashley Furniture Distribution Center to see robotics and manufacturing in action!

Get ready for the 2022 Amazing Santacolor 5K Run & Walk, presented by Credit Union of Texas and the Mesquite ISD Education Foundation. November 12 at Town East Mall.

Don't miss out on the official 2022 Amazing Santacolor 5K long-sleeve white t-shirt, commemorative participation medal, Whataburger santa hat and sunglasses, an individual color powder packet and more in this year's race packet.

Register now!

https://runsignup.com/Race/TX/Mesquite/Santacolor5K

All proceeds benefit Mesquite ISD teachers and students!

This week we welcomed Wilkinson and Agnew 8th graders to our campus!

Students were able to listen to information about our 4 schools of study, Construction, Technology, Health Science, and Engineering, and our 16 different pathways. They were led on a tour of our campus by Vanguard student leaders where they saw our students and teachers in action and visualized themselves as future Vanguards! It was exciting to see all the faces and interest in all of our programs.

If you know of students interested in applying to Vanguard next year, please give them the following information:

Fill out the interest form in Student Skyward to apply to Vanguard! Instructions for how to enroll can be found here.

If you have any questions, please email vanguardhs@mesquiteisd.org.

Mrs. Powell's students are the "balm!" Her Pharm Tech students made a batch of moisturizing lip balm.

Our freshmen collegiate students took a field trip to Eastfield today. They had their picture taken for their college ID, were given a tour of the campus, & received information about campus life & resources. Thank you, Mrs. Jensen, for this opportunity!

Dean Elsasser stopped by Nurse Powell's Clinical class to learn infant CPR!

Early voting begins Monday, October 24th, and runs through Nov. 4th. Election Day is November 8th.

The Mesquite ISD Board of Trustees has called a Voter Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE) this fall. The district is asking voters to approve a 3-cent increase to the maintenance and operations portion of the school district’s tax rate in order to maximize available state funding. If approved, the increase would result in $16.4 million in additional funds for MISD schools each year, while keeping the overall school tax rate lower than last year’s rate. Watch this video to learn more about the areas of need that would be addressed with the additional funding if the VATRE is approved on November 8th.

https://www.mesquiteisd.org/community/vatre

https://fb.watch/fJDwsur-nC/

Thank you to all the parents and community members that donated chips, candy and water bottles to our Fall Festival fundraiser. We appreciate all the donations that helped get our PTA started.

Vanguard PTA meetings will be held on the 2nd Thursday in January, March, and May Our Vanguard PTA Board will meet at 5:30 pm. The general PTA Meeting will begin at 6:45 pm. Thank you to all of our PTA board and members!

The PTA is looking for parents that would like to serve on our board. We have identified 2 areas of need at the moment:

We are looking for at least 1-2 parents from each program to act as a liaison between PTA and the CTE teachers so that we can plan and support events that work within our programs.

The first example of this is we are planning a spring festival cook-off and car show for the spring.

The other area that we are looking for is 1-2 parents to be Class Parents, Class of 24, Class of 25, Class of 26. This person would also act as a liaison and provide PTA/Parent support to the class sponsor for class events.

If you are interested in serving on any of the board positions please email Ms. Lane at Plane@mesquiteisd.org.

This tournament is open to all middle and high school students ages 13-19 in the Dallas Cowboys viewing area, Your school falls within this area!. Full details for the tournament are as follows:

· What: Fuel Up to Play 60 Madden NFL 23 Open Tournament

· When: Qualifiers: October 25th and 26th starting at 4 pm CST both days; Live

broadcasted finals: October 27th starting at 5 pm CST

· Who: All middle and high school students ages 13 – 19 in the Dallas Cowboys viewing area are eligible to participate

· How to Participate: Eligible students need to sign up via this website for either the Xbox or PlayStation Day 1 or 2 qualifier then join the Discord

· Prizing: Two winners (Xbox and PlayStation) will get to Live Like the Dallas Cowboys for a Day as well as receive free Whataburger for a year