Points of Pride
Southwest ISD Newsletter
February 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.
Southwest ISD Welcomes Home New Superintendent, Dr. Jeanette Ball
Board President Sylvester Vasquez, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, shared his excitement over Dr. Ball’s return to the district and said he’s thrilled to start working with her and continue moving the district forward.
“Dr. Ball has an excellent track record for advancing school districts and achieving academic success. Her proven leadership will help Southwest ISD continue on its upwards trajectory. We are fortunate that Dr. Ball is familiar with the traditions and processes that make Southwest ISD a destination district while at the same time bringing a fresh perspective and innovative ideas.”
Prior to being named the lone finalist for superintendent of Southwest ISD, Dr. Ball was the Superintendent of Judson ISD and Uvalde CISD. Dr. Ball’s experience also includes years with Southwest ISD serving first as a teacher and then as a campus principal. Dr. Ball’s previous leadership experience in Southwest includes roles as the Assistant Superintendent of Administration and Human Services, Executive Director of Employee and Student Services, and Director of Staff Development.
“I am so honored to be welcomed back into the district, my home,” Dr. Ball said. “I am grateful to the Board for providing this opportunity to lead this great district. My heart never left Southwest ISD. My goal was always to come back home, build upon the strong foundation, and continue the district’s commitment to Growth, Service, and Results.
Dr. Ball will officially start her duties as Superintendent of Southwest ISD on Monday, February 13.
SWISD Launches Bond 2023 Website
SWISD Registered Nurses Do More Than Meets The Eye
School nurses are not required in Texas school settings. SWISD makes our students' health, safety, and well-being one of its highest priorities and employs a registered nurse (RN) at every campus. SWISD has adopted this best practice and is proud to have registered nurses in our schools.
Our school nurses provide daily nursing care to students, administer first aid to students and staff, educate our students, parents, and the community on health-related information, and, most importantly, build trust and communicate health-related needs to our families. This essential nursing care is part of Southwest ISD's Commitment to Service: to build trusting relationships with our parents and families through welcoming two-way communication and providing authentic, engaging experiences for all.
Spicewood Park Elementary Registered Nurse Christina Villanueva recently demonstrated just how vital the assessment skills and quick critical thinking of a registered nurse are when it comes to student health, safety, and well-being and promotes positive outcomes for our SWISD families and community.
Back in October of 2022, a teacher notified Nurse Villanueva of assistance needed in the cafeteria with a student who hit his head on the refrigerator while trying to retrieve a milk carton. The student complained of a severe headache. Nurse Villanueva arrived to find the student holding his head and began her assessment. Nothing abnormal was noted. As she continued her assessment, she noticed he was becoming slower in his verbal responses and progressively sleepier, which was concerning, given that he had just hit his head. While assessing the student's balance, he appeared to be leaning slightly. His change in status and his leaning to one side were now even more concerning.
Following protocol, Nurse Villanueva contacted the student's parents to notify them of the
injury. At this point, the student began to show signs of neurologic trauma. Recognizing the symptoms as neurologic or relating to brain function, Nurse Villanueva immediately asked for
EMS to be called. "Not having seen an external injury on his head only worried me about the
possibility of an internal problem," Nurse Villanueva states. "I kept conversation with him to
ensure he stayed awake until EMS arrived." As the student's parents and EMS arrived on the scene, Nurse Villanueva advised the parents to take him to the nearest hospital immediately. Upon the student’s arrival at the nearest hospital, his condition worsened. He was stabilized and transferred via helicopter to University Hospital for specialty care. It was determined at the hospital that the student had suffered a brain hemorrhage, and a life-saving procedure was needed.
Our hope is that these types of emergencies never happen, but it is a relief to know that we have highly qualified professionals like Nurse Villanueva readily available and able to meet these emergencies with the utmost care and compassion at all of our campuses. Thanks to Nurse Villanueva, the student received the urgent care required promptly. The student has made a full recovery and even managed to win the school spelling bee.
Check out the link below to see more about this story.
KRSA Host NFL Night, Featuring Student Author Book Signing
Southwest ISD Fine Arts, One of the Best In the Area!
The Southwest Legacy HS Color Guard and the Southwest HS “Style” Color Guard teams both earned 3rd place in their respective classes at the Texas Educational Colorguard Association (TECA) Contest.
Southwest Legacy's Mariachi Leyenda de Oro and Southwest HS's Mariachi Los Dragones both
earned a unanimous Division 1 Rating at the UIL Hill Country Zone Evaluation. Both Mariachi groups have qualified to compete in the State Mariachi Festival. The 2023 UIL State Mariachi Festival will be held on Friday, February 24 & Saturday, February 25, at the Seguin HS Performing Arts Center in Seguin, TX.
Also, various musicians from each of SWISD Jazz Bands were awarded solo awards and Outstanding Performance Awards at the South Texas Jazz Festival.
Legacy Mariachi Student Selected for All-State Mariachi Ensemble
Senior Anthony Lopez from Legacy HS Mariachi has been selected for the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-State Mariachi Ensemble.
Anthony plays the vihuela, a specialized rhythm guitar instrument traditionally played in Mariachi. At the State level, only one vihuela is selected from the entire State to play in the ensemble. Anthony will perform at the TMEA Conference with the best High School Mariachi musicians from the State of Texas at noon on Saturday, February 11, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in the Hemisfair Ballroom 1-2. Anthony, we know you will give an outstanding performance and continue to make us proud. Go Titans!
Bon Appetit Titans, Culinary Students Test Their Skills in Statewide Competition
The Southwest Legacy HS Culinary Arts team put on an award-winning performance at the SkillsUSA Culinary Arts Competition this past weekend. The SkillsUSA Championships are career competition events showcasing the best career and technical education students in the nation. Here's the list of the awards our Southwest Legacy Titans Culinary Team won:
Commercial Baking
1st place- Serenity Casas 11th
2nd place- Hannah Maldonado 12th
Restaurant Service
1st place-Faye Cerda 12th
2nd place- Victor Davis 11th
Culinary Quizbowl - 2nd place
Karina Ayon 11th
Faye Cerda 12th
Elena Perez 11th
Victor Davis 11th
Julissa Salinas 12th
Michelle Mahamuth 12th
Job Exhibits - Blue Ribbon
Serenity Casas 10th
Jonathan Trevino 10th
De’Yanna McConnel 11th
Mina Gorsching 11th
Adysen Garcia 11th
Seth Martinez 10th
Job Exhibits -Red Ribbon
Liberty Jaimes 10th
Andrew Girela 12th ,
Julissa Salinas 12th
Estevan Garcia 12th ,
Sophia Bitela 12th ,
Priscilla Martinez 12th
Job Exhibits - White Ribbon
Allana Martinez 12th
Southwest Legacy Culinary instructors Nicole McCluskey and Moses Casas feel fortunate to see their culinary students grow from their freshman year to graduation. Both instructors are proud of their team’s recent accomplishments at last week's regional competition in Corpus Christi, TX. The Culinary Titans will now prep their skills for next month's SkillsUSA State Competitions in late March to early April. Good Luck, Titans. We are proud of you and can't wait to see what you cook up next at the state competition.
GO TITANS!
February is Career & Technical Education Month
This month we are celebrating CTE Month at SWISD. Southwest ISD offers 28 different career and technical education programs. Click here to see all the fantastic opportunities and programs of study SWISD offers.
In his downtime, Vasquez loves hanging out with his family, and he likes to go fishing. Julian says his favorite class is English which has enabled him to add another hobby of writing poetry. His Senior year ambition is to become a great student-athlete role model for the school, his team, and the community by demonstrating a positive vibe for all. Julian has set his sights on college, potentially seeking entry into engineering. Another fun fact is Julian loves to eat hot dogs and enjoy ice cream, a winning combination.
Good luck this season and the rest of the semester, Julian. Thanks for taking the time to be on SWISD Snippets. GO DRAGONS!
#weareSW #igniteyour success
SWISD Homegrown: Klarrisa Martinez
We are proud of our SWISD graduates and want to share their great accomplishments. In our new segment, ' Homegrown,' we highlight successful SW alumni who grew up in the SWISD community. We also examine how SWISD ignited their success, goals, and career. In this week's spotlight during National Counselor's week, we spoke with Klarissa Martinez, Counselor at Bob Hope Elementary.
If you know of alumni that work in SWISD that you would like to recommend to participate in this segment, please email Dr. Sam Ruiz at sruiz9098@swisd.net
Scoreboard Podcast
We are back with another episode of our weekly sports podcast highlighting our student-athletes here at SWISD!
On this episode of the Scoreboard podcast, Peter Wagner and Brandon Medina preview the upcoming softball and baseball seasons for the Southwest Dragons and Legacy Titans. They also discuss the excitement building around the playoff season in soccer and basketball for both schools. Finally, we examine how successful programs create a spark in the community and why athletics is extraordinary here at SWISD!
SWISD Communications Department
Email: news@swisd.net
Website: www.swisd.net
Location: 11914 Dragon Ln, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: 210-622-4408
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Twitter: @swisd