Southwest ISD Points of Pride
August 22nd, 2023
January 12, 2024
Welcome to Points of Pride, our weekly 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.
Rising Stars: McNair Middle School Student Council Takes the Lead!
The McNair student council is positively impacting their school and the community! These young leaders are doing everything from creating Thanksgiving boxes to raising money for families in need, and leading canned food drives to benefit the community.
Sophia, a seventh grader in the McNair Student Council said the student council has helped her communication skills, and she loves that she can connect with people while benefiting and supporting those around her. She said, "I like to help out a lot, that's why I joined the Student Council because it is all about helping people in need".
Leonard Villasenor said his group is special and always tries their best to bring about positive change. He said "We create ideas, we are the school spirit, and we are the connection between campus administration, the kids, and the community. These kids are amazing. They come up with an idea and it grows from there. That's what I love about them because they take charge. I just sit back and guide them to do it well."
Natalie, an eighth grader at McNair said that student council has made her a leader, "I was able to have that leader role and put my skills into action. Even though I'm just going to high school, I'll still have that experience in me and be more prepared to lead". Ian, another 8th grader in the student council said that he appreciates how open he can be with the group and how easily they all work together. Ian said, "This is a very safe space, we help a lot of people and everyone can fit in here".
Mr. Villasenor said "We want to educate the mind without the expense of the heart and I believe that we are doing that here. We focus on building leaders first and then helping out our community because these kids are our future".
Bringing the Fire: Dragon Cheer Compete at State Competition
The SWHS Dragon Cheerleaders attended the UIL Spirit State Championship. Coach Liza Chapa is so proud of her amazing team, they worked very hard to show their Dragon Spirit on the prestigious UIL Spirit Arena for the first time in Fort Worth, Texas. The team was placed in an extremely competitive category, 5A-D1, and competed against 71 teams in their division.
After all the hard work, the girls hit all 3 components of their routine without any violation point deductions which makes the execution of their performance great. The girls left everything on the mat and represented Southwest High School and the District with Dragon Pride!
SWISD Student Spotlight: Danna De La Garza
In this edition of the Southwest ISD Student Spotlight, we shine a light on Danna De La Garza, the SWISD Spanish Spelling Bee superstar from Scobee Middle School! This eighth-grader's journey to victory began with a love for words and a determination to conquer the toughest spelling challenges.
Danna triumphed over competitors from McAuliffe, McNair, and Resnik Middle Schools, earning the title of Southwest ISD Middle School Spanish Spelling Bee Champion. Danna expresses her pride, saying, “I feel very proud of myself. I didn’t believe that I won until they gave me my trophy. It’s my first trophy ever.” Danna’s family shares in her joy, celebrating with a special victory family dinner.
What sets Danna apart goes beyond her spelling skills – her dedication and hard work shine through. Danna’s teachers describe her as driven and inquisitive. Originally from Monclova, Mexico, Danna enjoys gardening with her mom and cooking spaghetti. To improve her English, she and her dad watch movies with Spanish subtitles. They love watching Adam Sandler movies. Danna one day hopes to follow her dad’s footsteps and join the military.
Next up for Danna, as the SWISD champion, she will represent SWISD in the Annual Region 20 Spanish Spelling Bee on Tuesday, February 6.
Danna exemplifies the true spirit of a champion and embodies the values and goals that set Southwest ISD apart from other districts. Congratulations, Danna, on your well-deserved success! ¡Felicidades, Danna, por tu éxito bien merecido!
CAST STEM HS Moves into New Campus at Palo Alto College for 2024
This week marked the official "First Day of School" for CAST STEM High School as they began the new year on the Palo Alto College (PAC) campus. PAC will now be the new home of the Cobras. Good Luck this semester. GO COBRAS!
From Fields to Futures: Southwest High School's FFA Program Grows Leaders!
We spoke with the Future Farmers of America (FFA) team this week to highlight all their successes as we approach rodeo season in San Antonio! Amanda Throckmorton, who helps organize and run Southwest FFA said her group of students this year have gone above and beyond with their commitment to the team. She said "You have to truly have passion and like the animal side of things, the ag mechanics, the barbecue team, and more to do all that they do. Not only do they do school, but then they're either feeding animals or taking care of their academic projects. On the weekends, they're either stock showing, they're barbecuing, they're always doing something. So we have to have lots of dedication from our kiddo for them to be successful." Throckmorton said that the team had 28 students make the 'sale of champions' at the Bexar County Stock Show in December and the team looks forward to rodeo season in San Antonio, Houston, Austin, and Angelo for their stock shows. Additionally, they have judging contests coming up and their new barbecue team has an opportunity to go to the National competition.
We spoke with Seth Krueger, a junior, who said that it can be tough at times but he appreciates his fellow teammates to help get the job done. He said "for livestock judging we're on it like to twice a week, sometimes three times a week, every week until March when we start going to all the contests and it's strenuous because there's more of us, but we've gotten closer as a group and we've been more and more successful the longer we've been here".
Mathew Perez, a senior, explained that he works hard to manage FFA, Varsity Football, and school, but encourages students to try FFA, before graduating. Mathew said "you got four years to have fun, try new things and see what you want to do when you graduate. You can win scholarships for showing animals, win scholarships for livestock judging and they have professional livestock judging teams in college. It gives you a big advantage to what you want to do after high school and if you're really good at it, you can go places."
Finally, we spoke to Dannika Rohmer, a senior, who explained that FFA really helped her grow as a student and person. Dannika said "it's definitely brought me out of my shell. I was very, a very shy kid growing up and being here around all these people, it really got me to open up and talk more. Not everyone knows about the FFA and just to be able to to talk about those things and bring new people in just is a really great experience. Everyone's so nice, welcoming and inviting. They really make you feel like you're in a family."
If you're interested in giving back to any of these students or participating in the Bexar County Live Auction, we have included the links below.
Seth: https://www.stockshowauctions.com/auctions/24783/lot/40979-seth-krueger-southwest-ffa
Mathew: https://www.stockshowauctions.com/auctions/24783/lot/40961-mathew-perez-southwest-ffa
Dannika: https://www.stockshowauctions.com/auctions/24783/lot/40909-dannika-rohmer-southwest-ffa
Homegrown: Gilbert Sanchez
We are proud of our SWISD graduates and want to share their great accomplishments. ‘Homegrown' is our weekly segment where we highlight successful Southwest ISD alumni who grew up in the SWISD community. We also look at how SWISD ignited their success, goals, and career. This week we interviewed Resnik Band Director, Gilbert Sanchez.
Sanchez was excited to come back to teach in the district. "As soon as I heard the opportunity that they were opening Resnik, I immediately jumped on that." He also looks forward to motivating his students to accomplish many, great things. "It is really rewarding to hopefully motivate them the same way I was motivated."
If you know of alumni who work in the SWISD district that you would like to nominate to participate in this segment, please email Dr. Sam Ruiz at sruiz9098@swisd.net.
Panther Student Safety Patrols Leading The Way Around Campus
Meet Spicewood Park Elementary 4th graders Edmund De Luna and Sean Figueroa. Edmund and Sean were selected this school year to serve as members of the Spicewood Park Safety Patrols. Edmund shares with Snippets that it’s fun to be a patrol on campus but it’s hard work too. One of the daily duties of the Safety Patrols is to raise and lower the U.S. and Texas flags. Sean tells us that he is happy he gets to represent the school along with his friends which makes it fun for him too.
Safety Patrol's number one duty is to keep students and parents safe during morning drop off and afternoon pick up by assisting with traffic control. Edmund and Sean are two out of 25 Spicewood Park Elementary students who make up the 4th and 5th-grade Panter Safety Patrol team.
Keep up the great work leading others on campus for the rest of the school year. Thanks for taking the time to visit with us on Snippets. GO PANTHERS!
On this week's Beyond The Arches we hit the gym at Southwest High School to Celebrate a 1000-Point Journey and Find out what makes the Lady Dragons Basketball Team Special.
SWISD Teacher Feature: Miguel Padro-Alvarado
"On this week's Teacher Feature, we visit Southwest Legacy High School Automotive teacher Miguel Padro-Alvarado as he shares his experience making connections with his automotive students that lead to their success."
If you would like to suggest a teacher for us to feature, you can email your nominations to communications@swisd.net with the subject line: Teacher Feature.
New Year, Big Expectations
On this episode of Scoreboard we highlight basketball and soccer for SWISD where we discuss the big expectations for 2024! The team also highlights diving, swimming, powerlifting, and the best start in district history for one program!
San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo Discounts
If you are looking to go to a Stock Show & Rodeo event, please visit the link provided. Each ticket purchased through the given link and unlock code will positively impact the show’s sales goals for scholarships for the youth of Texas. Offers are valid now - Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Southwest Education Foundation Spurs Night
We are excited to announce that this year’s SWEF Spurs Night will take place on February 2nd. Go Public will donate $5/ticket sold to Education Foundations. Ticket purchasers will select their district at checkout.*
The first 250 tickets sold get the Exclusive VIP Early Access Pre-Game Warm Up. Early access to the arena and sit courtside to watch the players warm up!
Random drawings for the Post-Game Free Throw
All tickets purchased get a San Antonio Spurs Tote
Purchase your tickets here: https://bit.ly/SpursNight24