The V.I.P
Vanguard Information Page
From Dean Elsasser
Hello, Vanguards! I hope you have plans to enjoy our long weekend and visit the fair! As a reminder, October 10th and 11th are MISD's Fall Break and also Fair Day. Vanguard students were given fair tickets through their English teachers this week.
We have so many things to celebrate this week. Ms. Pita, Mr Fuentes, and our students helped a Hispanic Heritage Dance Showcase during lunch this Wednesday that was entertaining and informative. I hope you'll watch the video in this newsletter to see how talented our Vanguards are. Ms. Pita and our students also held a Quince fashion show on Friday to showcase the dresses and attire worn at quinceaneras. We have had a wonderful Hispanic Heritage Month and I'm so grateful for the teachers and students who have made it possible
We will be starting our Middle School Tours next week which means all of the MISD 8th graders will be on our campus at some point this semester to tour and see what we have to offer here at Vanguard. We can't wait to meet our future students.
We are looking forward to Manufacturing Day at Vanguard this week on October 14th. Manufacturing day is a national holiday that draws attention to the industry and the need for jobs in manufacturing. Our students will get an opportunity to interact with our manufacturing partners on Friday as the visit Vanguard and then as our students take field trips to our various manufacturing partners to see the work in action. Watch for the highlights of the day on our social media and next week's VIP!
Our auto collision classes will get to visit the Texas Motor Speedway this week to watch dragsters. They'll get to see how cars are built and watch them race. We love giving our students the opportunity to see real-world applications of the skills they're learning at Vanguard.
Make sure you stop by our online spirit store and grab some Vanguard merch! Tonight, October 9th is the last day to shop the bundle sales! We love seeing our students in Vanguard spirit wear! Also, don't forget about our yearbook sale! This is our first yearbook ever, so you won't want to miss out on a piece of history!
Don't forget about our first Fall Festival! on Wednesday, October 19th! PTA is asking for donations of cases of water bottles, individually wrapped chips, and candy! The whole community is invited so spread the word! We hope to see you there!
Thank you for another great week, Vanguards! We will see you back on campus on Wednesday, October 12th!
Vanguard Online Spirit Store Open Now!
Our spirit store closes TONIGHT, October 9th! Please place your order if you would like Vanguard spirit wear!
Vanguard Yearbooks are on Sale!
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!
Hispanic Dance Showcase
We need to give a HUGE thank you to Ms. Pita and Mr. Fuentes for putting together the Hispanic Heritage dance showcase this week. They helped students learn, practice, and perform several dances and taught us about different styles of dance!
We wanted to recognize our amazing dancers:
Mario Olivo
Magdalena Delgado
Jessica Compean
Clay Corona
Anthony Hernandez
Yuslady Anastacio
Isaac Chavez
Heide Avalos
Kadlyn Juarez
Nahomi Liz Avila
Chris Lujano
Janely Marquez
Leslie Prado
Mia Luna Rodriguez
Jada Daniels
Alejandro Jimenez
Elexis Soto
Victor Medina
Stephanie Oduah
Ezequiel Gutierrez
Dominique Alvarenga
Oscar Moreno
JROTC at the State Fair of Texas!
Vanguard High School JROTC was granted the distinct privilege to provide an Honor Guard to the Texas State Fair on Oct 1st. Twenty-five hand-selected cadets, led by MAJ Wolverton and SFC Kell, divided into two teams supported the nightly retirement ceremony of both the Nation and Texas State Colors. Cadets rendered honors before lowering and providing the folded flags to fair officials.
JROTC and Mesquite Addressing Day!
On the morning of Oct 1st, thirty-four Cadets from Vanguard JRTOC stepped forward as servant-leaders for the Mesquite Community. These Cadets, teamed together with volunteers from Home Depot spent the morning providing landscaping support to their elderly and disabled neighbors in Mesquite. Despite the early morning and hard-work, the cadets were motivated and worked together to make their community better.
Freshman TSA Interest Meeting
EMT Classes Participate in City Active Shooter Drills
Mr. Campbell and our EMT students were asked to be “victims” during three different active shooter scenarios in cooperation with the Mesquite Police Department and Mesquite Fire Department as well as with Dallas Regional Medical Center.
Mr. Campbell explains, "The event started at the Town East mall and we were all dressed up with fake injuries…blood, ripped clothing, the whole nine yards…Not to worry though…the blood was actually corn syrup with red food coloring 😁. Each victim had different types of injuries with varying severities. Some were very serious and others were more minor. After we were dressed up, they scattered us all over the mall in front of various locations (simulating an actual emergency event), and then they had live sim rounds being shot in the mall. It was very loud! The first thing that occurred was the SWAT team came in (guns drawn etc…) and cleared the mall and “eliminated” the subject/perps who were causing the problems. Then, they started the triage and removal of victims. The scenario ended when all patients/victims were successfully removed from the mall. We were carried out and some walked out if they were able. For the final scenario, four of our VHS EMT students were transported by Mesquite FD ambulances to Dallas Regional hospital. They were taken into the ER and treated as real trauma patients and then given Ice Cream. The rest of us victims were also taken to the emergency room by bus or car and all of the patients (approximately 30 patients/victims) were checked into Dallas Regional thereby allowing them to test their triage process with a large influx of patients all at once. We wrapped up the scenario with a group photo outside the emergency room."
Fishing in Outdoor Education at the Vanguard Pond!
Mentoring at Vanguard
Juniors and Sophomores were asked to mentor our incoming Freshmen over the summer and throughout this school year. Mr. Alvarez and Mrs. Jimenez led a team-building activity with the group using “Spot It” cards. The goal was to see who could match a similar object the fastest. Whoever won the match would move on to the next person while the other student had to cheer them on until there is only two groups left. The Mentors and Mentees meet every month to support each other and build connections for future success.
Pharmacy Tech Students Filling Medication Orders
Pharmacy tech students simulated prescribing medication orders in Nurse Powell's class this week!
The student's received a printed copy of a patient's medication list written in medical jargon. They then had to transcribe the orders correctly to fill the patient's medication.
For Example students received orders like:
Coumadin 5mg ii tabs PO q Mon, Wed, Fri
BID- twice daily
PO-per mouth
TID-three times daily
q HS- hour of sleep
Nurse Powell filled the practice prescriptions with different types of candy, which the students really enjoyed!
Vanguard Student Leaders
Heide Avalos and Adrienne McAlister were part of a Virtual Panel titled “A Summit to Change Young Lives”. The audience consisted of a large group of various leaders from Philadelphia and students from across the US. They were asked how Mesquite ISD is taking diversity and inclusion to the next level. The discussion was also focused on how we are making attempts to ensure that every student’s culture is honored and how it affects students' approach to learning.. Mr. Alvarez made sure they were appropriately thanked with a chick-fil-a lunch that day!
Kan Jam Competition in Outdoor Education
Men and Ladies of Honor Starting in November!
We are excited about starting The Men and Ladies of Honor program at Vanguard.
Men and Ladies of Honor is a faith-based youth program. It has been implemented on many of our MISD campuses. It's based on teaching students the principles of chivalry, honor, moral excellence, and courageous leadership. We will be starting this program at Vanguard beginning in November. In the meantime, if you have questions, reach out to Coach Fofang, Ms. Holland, Mr. Magee, Mr. Alvarez, or Ms. Jackson. In the meantime, please make time to show this video to your students that explains the purpose of the program:
VATRE
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/
PTA
Vanguard PTA meetings will be held on the 2nd Thursday in October, 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!
Vanguard Fall Family Campout
Vanguard Outdoor Education is excited to announce our first family campout of the year!
When: November 18-20, 2022
Where: Lake Ray Roberts State Park Isla DuBois
Cost: $25 per family (Payments will be made available to awarded student InTouch accounts on October 17th-21st)
Interest form filled out by October 16th at 11:59pm.
Spots will be awarded on October17th. Only 20 family spots are available.
https://tinyurl.com/yc3kpuakak
Upcoming Events!
We have a semester full of events that we are looking forward to. As the events approach we will share more information about them.
October
- October 10th and 11th Fall Break
- October 13th - PTA Meeting 6:45 pm at Vanguard
- October 14th- Manufacturing Day
- October 18th - Picture Retakes
- October 19th - Vanguard Fall Festival 5:30pm-7:00pm
- October 25th - PSAT Day!
- October 24th - October 28th - Red Ribbon Week!
- October 29th District Read, Play, Talk Festival
November
- November 18th - 2nd Annual Turkey Tourney Kickball Tournament! (Revitalized- bigger and better than last year!)
- November 18th - 21st Vanguard Fall Family Campout
December
- December 6th - 8th Grade Discovery Night at Vanguard
- December 10th - Winter Formal
Student Standardized Dress
Student ID Badges
Students are required to have Student ID badges visible at all times, this is for the safety of the students and Vanguard High School Campus.
If students do not have an ID badge they will be charged $5 for a replacement. This includes if a student scratches off picture, puts a sticker over the original pictures or in some way alters the original picture on the ID Badge.
Thank you for helping us keep your student and Vanguard High School safe
