Week of December 4

De Zavala 3rd grade Diamonds had the opportunity to get an exclusive tour of the Austin FC Q2 Stadium on Thursday, Dec. 7. The day included walking on an MLS pitch, seeing the locker room, VIP suites and even included giveaways along the tour. Huge shoutout to the 4 ATX Foundation for gifting each student with a brand new pair of adidas cleats!

The San Marcos High School Dance Program hosted their annual Winter Show, presented by the Dazzlers, on Tuesday, December 5. Students from dance elective classes, Dazzlers and Diamond Line members helped get the entire crowd into the holiday spirit with performances featuring the most iconic holiday hits!

Goodnight Middle School rang in the festivities with a fun-filled evening at their Holiday in the Courtyard event on Tuesday, December 5. SMCISD students and families were able to participate in cookie decorating, face painting and our friend, Santa Claus, even made an appearance!

To spark holiday cheer and teach Rattler elementary students about the different fine art elective courses, the San Marcos High School fine arts programs displayed their talents through a production of, A Christmas Carol on Wednesday, December 6. Orchestra, Technical Theatre students and SMHS Thespians shared a little bit about their roles within a show to showcase the team effort that is needed to bring a show to life. Standing O for the SMHS fine arts students!

The Bonham PreK Paw Squad joined forces with SMHS Cheerleaders on Wednesday, December 6 during the Boys Basketball Varsity game vs. Lockhart. The Paw Squad is an on campus club opportunity offered to our youngest Rattler students that allows them to learn the fundamentals of teamwork and spirit. Thank you to the dedicated Bonham teachers, Dr. Martinez and SMHS Head Cheer Coach Jade Rodriguez for organizing this collaborative halftime performance!

Bowie Elementary saw Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and Frosty the Snowman fly in from the North Pole for their Winter Wonderland Family Math Night on Thursday, December 7. The evening featured fun games, math activities, letters to Santa, and pictures with their North Pole guests.

Our TAFE members competed at the Area 3 Conference, hosted by Texas State University on Saturday, December 2. Out of the 17 students that competed, 9 students advanced to the TAFE Teach Tomorrow Summit State Conference set to take place in February!

Congratulations to the following students:

• Celeste Montanez & Jaclyn Ramirez in Project Visualize
• Abril Flores & Kaylie Cruz in Children's Literature K-3
• Jose Luna in Impromptu Lesson

• Lila Lingner in Impromptu Speaking
• Aiden Banegas & Miya Marmolejo in Teacher Created Materials Elementary

State Qualifiers:

• Camila Palmillas Garcia in Children's Literature K-3 Spanish
• Colten Hill in Educator's Rising Moment
• Lila Lingner & Georgia Recio in Ethical Dilemma
• Juliette Recio, Maebry Kraatz, Sam Salmi, and Xzavian Herrera in Ethical Dilemma
• Eleanor Hiner in Lesson Planning & Delivery - STEM & Teacher Created Materials Middle/High School

Lila Lingner was also re-elected as an Area 3 officer for TAFE and will serve as the 2nd Vice President. Best of luck to all the competitors at State and congratulations to everyone who represented San Marcos CISD at Area!

Our De Zavala Diamonds learned the gift of giving at DZ PTO's Penguin Patch Kids' Holiday Shop. Students were able to browse items at the shop to purchase as holiday gifts for their family and friends throughout the week of December 4-8.

Mrs. McGillicuddy's first grade students traversed around Hernandez Elementary on Tuesday, December 5 learning a lesson on relative location. Our Heroes learned how to identify where certain landmarks on campus where located, like the library and the playground, and what direction they were from their classroom.

To highlight the vast amount of professional opportunities available, our high school CTE students have been visiting both Goodnight and Miller Middle Schools each week during all lunch periods. This allows our 6th-8th grade students to interact with Rattlers who have been in their shoes before. Middle school students are able to ask specific questions regarding the programs of study as well as the prerequisite courses they should sign up for in January! For more information about our 21 CTE programs of study, please visit smcisd.net/cte or email your student's counselor!

Congratulations to the Lady Rattlers on their program sweep on Tuesday, December 5 against Veterans Memorial! District play begins January 5, 2024 but you can catch the Lady Rattlers on the road at one of their next seven away games. For schedule and ticket information, please visit smcisd.net.

First and second grade GT students at Rodriguez Elementary took a field trip to the Long Center in Austin to watch a performance of The Nutcracker. Thank you to Mrs. Martinez and Mrs. Hernandez for their help in providing this exciting and festive opportunity for Rodriguez Knight students!

SMCISD's Fine Arts programs continue to shine at the annual Sights & Sounds of Christmas Festival. Rattler performers from each elementary school, both middle schools and SMHS took the stage during the two-weekend event. Congratulations to our Rattlers for their outstanding performances at Sights & Sounds!

Our Travis Texans learned a lesson all about respect during a presentation by the Cenikor Foundation on Thursday, December 7. Fourth and fifth grade students learned the importance of respecting ones self and each other, as well as tips to ensure everyone is treated with respect. Thank you Cenikor for providing this informative presentation!

On behalf of SMCISD, we would like to thank Nosotros La Gente for their generous donations of shoes and coats for our Rattlers! This generous coat and shoe drive for San Marcos CISD students began back in 1996 and has continued to present day. Additionally, we would like to extend a shout out to our district parent liaisons who constantly go above and beyond for our Rattlers and spent the morning of Monday, December 4, picking out these gifts!