Gladiator News
August 23 - August 27, 2021
Dear Gladiator Families,
Hello Gladiator Nation!!
We hope all our Gladiators are having a restful weekend. We cannot wait to have us all back on Monday! Our teachers have worked so hard to prepare this past week, and their classrooms are ready to recieve our students. Our custodians also worked hard this summer to make sure our school is ready! We will take care of each student who enters our building tomorrow. Each teacher will be in the hallways (as they always are) to help students find their classes, open lockers, and just provide a friendly face. Administration will be out and about also. We foresee an exciting and fun week back!
As we prepare for the first week, we wanted to pass on some reminders for the school year:
1. Please use the inside lane in the front of the school for drop off/pick up only. We do not want students running out to cars on the outside lane and possibly getting hurt
2. Please be patient with our traffic this first week. Traffic is a challenge on each campus during the first few weeks.
3. Face masks will be required for any student, staff and visitor on our campus beginning on Monday. We will have extra masks on hand should anyone need one upon entering the building. No vented masks, or Gators will be permitted. Masks must be worn correctly at all times over the nose and mouth.
4. Lunch on the first few days is challenging each year. It will be especially challenging as we are short staffed in the cafeteria to start the year. But don't worry, we will get everyone a lunch!
I will add a Q and A with the most frequently asked questions below:
Q: When do we get lockers?
A: 6th graders will automatically have them assigned and they will be printed on the schedules they receive during open house on Aug 20. See schedule in Principal Letter that was sent home and is attached below. 7th and 8th grade lockers are by request only. Those requests will be taken during lunch on the 1st and 2nd day of school.
Q: Are you all selling agendas this year?
A: We will not. This was a forced change due to COVID. We found students using their technology (notes, reminders, etc) as their agendas. We will see what this year brings and possibly bring back agendas in the future.
Q:I missed Market Day, where can I purchase gym cloths, spirit gear?
A: No worries, we will continue to offer sales at our open houses and in the front office. We sold a great deal this week, and currently have limited supply.
Q: Are masks required?
A: As of 8/23 masks will be required for all staff, students and visitors. No vented masks or Gators. Masks must be worn to cover the nose and mouth.
We have updated our Mission/Vision and Core beliefs as a campus. I am happy to present them to the community at the bottom of this newsletter. We will hold ourselves, our students, and our community to help us not only achieving these daily, but to also align all our behaviors in pursuit of goals!
We will be working hard to train and prepare for the upcoming year this week. Our front office staff will be starting this week and can help you with any questions you may have.
There is some updated counselor information. We are happy to announce Mrs. Ramirez as our 4th full time counselor! Because of this change, we need to reorganize our caseloads for counseling. We will move from grade level counselors to alpha. Of course they will all continue to work together for all of our students! See the information in the counseling section of the newsletter.
We have always boasted the largest and most supportive PTA in NISD and in the State!! We encourage you to continue your support of our wonderful PTA. They do so much not only for our campus, but for the students as well. See their information below.
A couple of minor changes for this upcoming year include:
- Our Vice Principal has been renamed to our Associate Principal
- We no longer will enforce clear water bottles, any water bottle is ok. We have added two additional filtered water bottle fill stations
- We will continue with lockers this year
- Athletic game admission will now be a online ticketed system, more information to come
- We will continue to NOT accept any outside food drop offs or deliveries
Technology Information:
Student Devices for the New School Year
As we prepare for students returning to school in the 21-22 school year, we have worked to ensure that we can provide every student with a Northside device to participate in classwork. Northside will make a device available to every student in the district unless the parent communicates that a device is not needed. After reading the Technology Loan Agreement, if your child does not need a device please complete the NISD Device Lending Agreement form on nisd.net/parents. If you opt out of a Northside device for your student(s) and wish to switch to a district issued device at any time, you will need to revisit the NISD Device Lending Agreement on nisd.net/parents to change your selection.
Thank you for partnering with us in your child’s education. If you have any questions about student device check out please contact your child’s campus for more information.
We expect a normal start to the year this year and can't wait!!
Our school supply list can be found on the campus website here: https://app.teacherlists.com/schools/130946-garcia-middle-school
We ask you connect with us via social media. All our information is below:
NISD
Twitter: @NISD
Garcia Middle School
Twitter: @NISDgarcia
Instagram: @nisdgarcia
Facebook: Hector Garcia Middle School PTA
Principal- Mark Lopez
Twitter: @DrMarkJLopez
Academic Dean- Lori Persyn
Twitter:@LoriPersyn
Vice Principal- Theresa Heim
Twitter: @TerryHeim4
Assistant Principal- Joel Castillo
Twitter: @Joel4Castillo
Missed Market Day? Click Below!
Welcome To Our New Gladiators!
Lori Persyn
Chris Cintron
Erica Garcia
Rick Guerrero
Manny Villarreal
Keith Piirto
Gladiator Football Information
Gladiator Volleyball Information
2021-2022 Bell Schedule (updated)
Dress Code Reminder
HGMS Clubs/Organizations Information
HGMS Counseling Connection
https://www.smore.com/m7uqz/edit?ref=show_author
Counselors are ready for our Gladiators!!
Request to see one here:
HGMS PTA
A message for the BEST PTA IN NISD!!
Please stop by our tables at Market Days to meet the HGMS PTA Board members, join PTA for only $10, buy spirit gear and to become a Gladiator Games sponsor. Some of you may not know but we were the largest PTA in NISD last year. You can be part of the best PTA by joining; no volunteering required. And anyone can join: parents, grandparents, students, even neighbors or friends. Be a Gladiator Games Sponsor before July 27th and you will get your company’s logo this year’s shirt. For all the details, go to http://www.hgmspta.com
Let’s make this year the best we can! See you soon!
Amazon Smile Information
Connect With Dr. Lopez!!
Email: mark.lopez@nisd.net
Website: https://www.nisd.net/garcia
Location: 14900 Kyle Seale Parkway, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: 210-397-8400
Twitter: @DrMarkJLopez