Points of Pride
Southwest ISD Newsletter
February 28, 2022
Welcome to Points of Pride, our monthly district e-newsletter featuring highlights from around Southwest Independent School District. If you have a story or highlight that you would like to submit, email communications@swisd.net.
Southwest ISD Elementary Art Show Held in Person, First Time in Two Years
AAA Competition Returns
The 2022 Academics And Art Competition was held at Southwest Legacy High School on Saturday, February 26th. Students from all eleven of Southwest ISD's elementary schools represented their campuses in various "UIL style" academic and art events such as chess puzzles and storytelling in both English and Spanish. Students were awarded points and received individual recognition, but the goal for students was to accumulate enough points to help their campus become the overall AAA Competition winner. Southwest Elementary School took home the win. Click the video below to see the highlights.
SWISD Mariachis Compete in UIL State Mariachi Festival
In order to qualify for the UIL State Mariachi Festival, the Southwest HS and Legacy HS Mariachis performed for the UIL Hill Country Zone Evaluation hosted at Southwest High School on February 5th. Each Mariachi Ensemble was evaluated by three judges who also provide a written critique of the performances. The varsity Mariachis from both high schools earned overall Division 1 ratings, which qualified them to advance.
Veteran Pilot and Author Visits Southwest HS Aviation Class
Students in the aviation program at Southwest HS had the opportunity to learn from veteran pilot and author Tammi Jo Shults. Shults, who safely landed a crippled Southwest Airlines plane in Philadelphia after one of its engines failed, was also one of the first female fighter pilots in the U.S. military. The purpose of Captain Shults' visit was to learn how the AOPA curriculum has positively affected students. She also wanted to see the students' progress building a plane. Captain Shults' also had the opportunity to talk with students about her experiences as a pilot.
Students at Medio Creek ES Planting Seeds for School Garden
SWISD Celebrates School Bus Driver Appreciation Day
Sky Harbour ES Folklorico Ballet Dance Team Perform At SA Rodeo
Carpentry Students Build Little Library For Spicewood Creek ES
Southwest Legacy HS Culinary Students Place at SkillsUSA Championships
Congratulations to Southwest Legacy High School Culinary Arts students who made it to state with the following SkillsUSA Championships:
Cake Projects:
Elena Perez & Ariel Pena - Blue Ribbon
Gwyndalynn Castillo, Klarissa Abrego, & Allana Martinez - Blue Ribbon
Tri-fold:
Johnny Silva - Blue Ribbon
Karina Ayon -Blue Ribbon
Dian Roman-Ayala- Best of Show
Adysen Garcia- Blue Ribbon
Mina Gorsching - Blue Ribbon
Julyssa Sanchez -Blue Ribbon
QuizBowl 2nd Place:
Johnny Silva
Elena Perez
Karina Ayon
Faye Cerda
Jesus Cubillos
Andrew Girela
Michelle Mahamuth
Culinary Arts:
Javier Aguilar - 3rd Place
Job Demo A:
Andrew Girela - 2nd Place
Restaurant Service:
Faye Cerda - 2nd Place
Medio Creek's Mr. Roland Cornejo Named State of Texas Social Worker of the Year
"Three years ago, Roland Cornejo returned to his school social worker roots in SWISD, and without skipping a beat, he immediately stepped into service. He conducted an assessment to determine the needs of the campus and community and 'sprang into action.' He immersed himself into the life of a Medio Creek Gator and quickly became a trusted member among campus and community stake holders. Roland saw that families were hurting for food and reached out to the San Antonio Food Bank and other resources to establish food drives for his campus community. He has spent countless weekends ensuring that families in need get the food needed so that children are not hungry. Roland saw the need for the Medio Creek students to have an outdoor shed where they could store play equipment, so he reached out to Habitat for Humanity who quickly responded to his call. Shortly after, the MCE students had an outdoor shed. There are some people who would have accepted the generosity of Habitat for Humanity with a Thank You. This was not sufficient for Roland. He asked Habitat for Humanity to allow our school district to give back by partnering with the organization. Last spring, Roland and other district staff members helped Habitat for Humanity on a project."
SWISD Celebrates National School Counseling Week
Staff and students from each campus celebrated their counselors with treats and tokens of appreciation for all their hard work. National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and in planning for a career. National School Counseling Week is always celebrated the first full week in February. A BIG thank you to all of our amazing counselors!
COVID-19 District Update
Scobee MS Celebrates Black History Month with Concert
Lego League Robotics Competition
On February 12, SWISD hosted the First Lego League Alamo Qualifier at Resnik Middle School, in which 19 schools throughout San Antonio competed. Among these teams were Kriewald Rd. Elementary (KreBotics), Sun Valley Elementary (SVE Blazers), Bob Hope Elementary (BHE All Stars), Southwest Elementary (SWE Rangers), Medio Creek Elementary (MCE Gators), and Spicewood Park Elementary (SPE Panthers). While all the SWISD teams did great, the teams listed below won awards:
MCE Gators - 3rd Place in Core Values
SVE Blazers - 3rd Place in Robot Design
SWE Rangers - 2nd Place in Innovation Project
Southwest Elementary will be advancing to the Central Texas Regional Championship on April 2, 2022. On February 26, Elm Creek Robotics also competed in a First Lego League Qualifier in Judson ISD. While the competition was tough, they proudly came in 2nd place in Core Values.
Our Southwest ISD coaches have worked extremely hard to bring our students back to a more technical style of hands-on STEM learning in the mix of this ever-challenging and changing pandemic. We are very proud of all of our Robotics Teams and STEM organizations throughout the District for their creativity, innovation, and resilience!
SWHS Dragonfire Dancers Compete at Crowd Pleasers in Seguin
1st place Novelty
2nd place Jazz
3rd place Kick
6th overall in class
Southwest Legacy HS Golden Dazzlers Compete at Crowd Pleasers Hill Country Contest
Sky Harbour ES Teacher Nominated for LifeChanger Award
Ms. Ceclia Rodriguez, a fourth grade teacher at Sky Harbour ES, was chosen as a 2021-2022 LifeChanger of the Year Nominee! This is a program that recognizes and awards K-12 school employees who make a positive difference in the lives of their students. Cecilia Rodriguez was nominated by an anonymous member of the community with this message:
"Every year, Cecilia always makes a connection with her students so they know they are loved and can achieve anything," explains her nominator. "She embraces every difference her students have and turns their struggles into strengths. She connects with her kids and creates lifelong bonds that have them coming back to show how much they’ve grown since they left her classroom. Cecilia can turn the toughest kid into the most loving and generous one."
If chosen as the Grand Prize winner, Ms. Rodriguez can win $10,000 split between a $5,000 personal cash award and a $5,000 school donation.
To vote or leave a comment for Ms. Rodriguez click here.
Hidden Cove STEAM Accepting Applications for the 2022-2023 School Year
CAST STEM Accepting Applications for the 2022-2023 School Year
CAST STEM is currently accepting applications for the 2022-2023 School Year. CAST STEM allows students to explore careers in engineering, advanced manufacturing, energy & power, and global logistics. Students learn to build and program robots, drones, and electric cars and travel to competitions with teams. The chance to experience a college setting during high school and to work directly with industry mentors sets CAST STEM students apart and sets their future in motion, no matter where they decide to take it.
SWISD Communications Department
Email: news@swisd.net
Website: www.swisd.net
Location: 11914 Dragon Ln, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: 210-622-4408
Facebook: facebook.com/SWISDsatx
Twitter: @swisd