Points of Pride
Southwest ISD Newsletter
March 10, 2023
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.
SWISD Soccer Cup Winners
SWHS Cosmetology Students Host Spa Day for District Social Workers
Hidden Cove S.T.E.A.M. Academy Compete in Bike Rodeo
SWISD Robotics teams Compete in the Central Texas First Lego League (FFL) Regional Championship
2023 Academics and Arts Competition
English Triple A Events
1st Place - Big Country ES
2nd Place - Southwest ES
3rd Place - Sun Valley ES
Spanish Triple A Events
1st Place - Southwest ES
2nd Place - Sky Harbour ES
3rd Place - Medio Creek ES
3rd Place - Indian Creek ES
Hidden Cove STEAM Awarded 2023 Texas STEM Coalition STEM School Recognition
Congratulations to the Hidden Cove STEAM Academy for being nominated and receiving the prestigious 2023 Texas STEM Coalition STEM School Recognition. This recognition is only awarded to schools prioritizing STEM education as a pathway to academic and career success. They have demonstrated their commitment to providing quality STEM education to their students.
The Texas STEM Coalition recognizes the importance of providing students with a strong foundation in STEM education to prepare them for their future academic and career pursuits. Hidden Cove STEAM Academy has shown dedication to this by prioritizing STEM learning as a core component of its curriculum for all students within the school.
The rigorous recognition process includes a review of accountability data and school artifacts that provide evidence of high-quality STEM education. Only four schools, including Hidden Cove STEAM Academy, have been recognized since the program's inception in 2021.
SWISD Participates in STEM Girl's Day at UT Austin
Artistic Skills Showcased at the Southwest ISD Elementary Art Show
On Tuesday, March 7, creativity was the star of the Southwest ISD Elementary Art Show held at Southwest High School. The event was a resounding success, attracting a sizable crowd of parents, students, and staff eager to witness the artistic prowess of the young artists on display.
The showcase featured diverse artwork from students representing every elementary school. With so many talented artists contributing their unique and imaginative pieces, attendees were treated to a feast for the eyes, with many colors, textures, and styles on display. Parents were beaming with pride as they marveled at the talent of their little ones, while teachers and staff members enjoyed the impressive display of artistic skill and creativity.
SWISD Police Department & Communications Team Up for Social Media Awareness and Safety Presentation
Visual Art Scholastic Event (VASE) Student Headed to State Competition
On Saturday, March 4th, the Southwest HS Art department students took part in the Texas Arts Educators Association Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE). This event required the students to create art pieces beforehand, which were then evaluated by judges during the event's interviews. The students had to describe their work's medium and inspiration during the interviews. Their performance was assessed based on a rubric using a scale score of I (Emerging), II, III, or IV (Excellent).
All students who participated in the event were awarded a rating of IV, which signifies excellence. Catalina Cantu's self-portrait was also selected for the State VASE competition, which is a significant achievement. Congratulations to all of the participants!
Home Grown: Roger Campos
We are proud of our SWISD graduates and want to share their great accomplishments. ‘Homegrown,' is our weekly segment where we highlight successful SW alumni who grew up in the SWISD community. We also look at how SWISD ignited their success, goals, and career. In this week's spotlight, we spoke with Director of Multimedia Operations Roger Campos.
If you know of alumni that work in the SWISD district that you would like to recommend to participate in this segment, please email Dr. Sam Ruiz at sruiz9098@swisd.net.
Beyond the Arches: SW Legacy Culinary
On this week's Beyond the Arches, we're in the kitchen, prepping to see what's cooking with the SW Legacy Culinary Team.
SWHS Mariachis Dominates at Mariachi Festival
Over the previous weekend, the Southwest High School Mariachi program participated in the first-ever Southside HS Mariachi Festival by entering three groups. The festival featured a total of 14 mariachi groups from eight different school districts. The SWHS Freshmen, Junior Varsity, and Varsity groups put on performances and achieved success by winning the individual instrument group awards as well as securing 1st place in their class. Moreover, several student performers were highlighted during a KENS 5 segment. To watch the video, please click on the link below. Congratulations are in order for Mr. Perales and all of his students!
SWISD Celebrates Registered Dietitian Day
National Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day was created in 2008 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The Academy chose the day to increase awareness of these professionals who work in nutrition and food services and their commitment to helping people to lead happy and healthy lives.
National School Breakfast Week Highlights Healthy Meals
On Monday, students were offered a potato, egg, and chorizo breakfast burrito. Some students liked it, but as a whole it wasn't the most popular item that week. Tuesday was French Toast Casserole, which provided a sweet and savory flavor since the casserole had ground turkey sausage in it! It gave the casserole good flavor and texture and a lot of the students enjoyed it! Wednesday was Homemade Hash Brown Breakfast Pizza day where our staff breakfast pizza from scratch using hash browns as the crust. This one was pretty popular! Thursday was homemade Strawberry Scones and Friday was Bacon & Egg Waffle Sandwiches. Friday's menu was definitely the favorite amongst the students. High school students also had the additional option of sampling smoothies throughout the week. Just as with the breakfast entrees, some were more popular than others. Brandon Crisp, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance, visited Southwest Elementary and Southwest High School on Friday to help our staff with breakfast service!
SWHS Theatre Advancing to Bi-District
Southwest HS Theatre participated in the Zone B performance of "Picnic" in Eagle Pass on Friday, March 3rd, and advanced to the District round of the One Act Play Contest. On Tuesday, March 7th, at 11 AM, they competed at the Medina Valley HS Performing Arts Center in the District One Act Play Contest, where they were selected as an Advancing Play. They will now perform at Bi-District on March 23.
Congratulations to the directors, Kary Driesse and Graciela Reyna, as well as their talented students! The following individuals received individual awards: Leiah Bodden received the Honor Crew award, while Shiya Siboc, Ethan Collins, and Gadiel De Hoyos received the Honorable Mention All-Star Cast award. Alyssa Mandujano and Heaven Coronado received the All-Star Cast award.
On today's episode of ScoreBoard, Brandon Medina & Peter Wagner cover and recap the week in sports here at SWISD! On today's show they talk District Championships in soccer, upcoming talent at the elementary and middle school level, as well as big games in softball and baseball. They also begin looking into next week's matchups and playoff games!
Listen to the podcast via Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, and more here:
SWISD Teacher Feature: Kerry Lovett
In this week's Teacher Feature, we visit with the Tigers at Scobee Middle School to get to know Basketball Coach and 8th Grade Reading Language Arts Teacher Kerry Lovetti. This is Mr. Lovett’s ninth year as an educator and his fourth year teaching in SWISD.
What inspires you as a teacher and coach at school?
Knowing that I play a part in motivating students to be the best version of themselves in and out of the classroom inspires me daily.
What was the best advice any of your teachers have given you?
One of my mentors once taught me to spend time showing students that you care and are there for them, and teaching becomes the easy part.
How do you keep things fresh and engaging for your students?
I always try to involve technology in my lessons and bring in the hot topics and issues that students feel are important to them. I also try to minimize the amount of talking from me and allow the students to interact.
What traditions or superstitions do you have for the First Day of School?
As a student and a teacher, I can never sleep the night before the first day of school. I usually get my outfit together and think of how I want my first day to go.
What is your morning routine to get yourself prepared for teaching a class?
Before I start teaching, I always want to ensure all materials that will help students succeed in my class are ready to go. My goal is to ensure pencils and handouts for the lesson that day are available for students as they enter the class.
What has been your or your students' best accomplishment so far this year?
My best accomplishments this year have been coaching my boys basketball team to their second undefeated season and winning their second conference championship.
How do you spend your summer breaks?
My summer breaks consist of a lot of relaxing around the house with my family, a few trips to the beach, and at least one road trip to Mississippi.
What can you cook to perfection?
One of my things that I can cook to perfection is a breakfast item, cheese grits. This is something I picked up from helping my grandmother in the kitchen.
What is not a big deal to most people but is torture to you?
Something that is not a big deal to most but is complete torture to me ,is to be around someone chewing on ice.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
The superpower that I wish to have is the ability to read-minds, so that I can see what is going on in the minds of students before they make certain choices.
We have a new addition to the Teacher Feature called The Lightning Round, a fast and furious one word answer to a random get-to-know-you series of questions. Teachers were presented with two options and had to choose one option without thinking about their selection or providing an explanation.
Work or play?
Play
Cats or dogs?
Cats
Winter or Summer?
Summer
Morning or evening?
Evening
Sweet or savory?
Sweet
Binge whole seasons or watch episodes one at a time?
Binge whole seasons
Win the lottery or find a dream job?
Find dream job
Travel to the past or travel to the future?
Travel to the past
Learn by doing or learn by watching?
Learn by doing
Cannonball into the pool or dip a toe in first to test the waters?
Dip a toe in first to test the waters
SWISD Student Snippets: Jason Soto
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