Redskins/Chiefs Get New $2 Million Field House

Donna Independent School District Newsletter
Spring 2012
Published for our students, parents, and community
The Drumbeat
Redskins/Chiefs Get New $2 Million Field House
Demand for better athletic facilities in the
Donna Redskins Stadium area has prompt the
School Board to proceed with the construction
of a new field house. The new facility will be
built and named in honor of the most revered
high school coach in the history of valley football, retired Coach Earl Scott, who directed the
1961 State Champion team.
August 15, 2012 is the estimate time of
completion for the $2 million dollar training facility. The facility will provide dressing rooms,
trainer rooms, coach’s office, AD office and
Secretary, conference room, and accommodations for the referees. The facility will also accommodate students from various athletic programs for both boys and girls such as, soccer,
tennis, track and field as well as football team.
The new dressing room and field house will
also provide halftime facility for the home team
and visiting football teams.
When asked about naming this new facility
in honor of Coach Scott, Alfredo Lugo, DISD
Board President said. “Coach Scott is a great
man because he did a lot for Donna kids in all
sports.”
“Besides football, Coach Scott was a great
teacher in his PE classes. Students learned
discipline and positive behavior while in his
classes.”
“Besides naming this facility in his honor
only gives credit where credit is due. It is long
overdue that we do this for a well-deserved
man, Coach Earl Scott,” Lugo concluded.
Building a good foundation = student success!
Engineers, board members, and invited guests break ground at the new athletic complex area (see architects drawing above). Board members included (r-l) Dr. Michael
Flores, Efren Ceniceros, Ernesto Lugo, Angel Magallanes, Coach Earl Scott, Alfredo Lugo, Supt. Roberto F. Loredo, Nick Castillo and Rey Alegria.
From the office of the Superintendent “Thank You All for the Hard Work”
As with any good organization, a superintendent is
only as effective as the support he gets from his
school board. In our school district, we have an excellent group of people doing
the tough job as a unified
school board and are doing it
well as reflected in our positive results. I am fortunate to
work with such a diverse
group of leaders who are truly
dedicated to our school and all
our educational efforts.
So, at this time, I would like to take this opportunity
to thank these fine school board members who are
constantly giving up their time to conduct school
business that directly affects education of our students and the welfare of all of our employees.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank those
parents who make it a point to stay in communication
with our school teachers and administrators to ensure that
their children continue to make progress and to stay on
course toward graduation. This is why I feel that it is very
important that we maintain that open door policy for all
our parents in our central offices and in our campuses.
We also encourage all our community business leaders to
become our partners in the education of our children who
are the future business leaders in the making.
And as we get closer to May 2012 and the end of another
school year, we want to encourage our students not to
give up and to keep on pressing to make the best grades
and scores. In addition, I thank the teachers who are in
the trenches working hard to making our students succeed
and to move up ultimately to succeed and graduate to
higher education. Thank you, principals and teachers.
Donna ISD School Board
Alfredo Lugo
Ernesto Lugo
Nick Castillo
Rey Alegria
Efren Ceniceros
Dr. Michael Flores
Angel Magallanes
President
Vice President
Secretary
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Trustee
Administration
Roberto F. Loredo
Jesus Rene Reyna
Fernando Castillo
Velma Rangel
Debbie Rodriguez
Superintendent
Deputy Superintendent
Asst. Supt. Support Services
Asst. Supt. C & I
Asst. Supt. H R
<<<In the photo on the left, front row, left to right:
Board Trustee Rey Alegria, Supt. Roberto F. Loredo,
and Board President Alfredo Lugo. On the top row,
standing left to right : Secretary Nick Castillo, Board
Trustee Angel Magallanes, Vice President Ernesto Lugo, Board Trustee Efren Ceniceros, and Board Trustee
Dr. Michael Flores.
Success Starts at the Top
A superintendent shines when his cabinet
does the job. Donna ISD is no exception.
Meet the assistant superintendents that
make executive decisions and an excellent
job in the district: (l-r) Deputy Supt. Jesus
Rene Reyna, Asst. Supt. For Curriculum
and Instruction Velma Rangel; Asst. Supt
for Support Services Fernando Castillo, and
Asst. Supt. For Human Resources Debbie
Rodriguez.
The Drumbeat
Tradition, Pride & Patriotism
Celebrated in the Community
As the school year begins to wind down, parents who
are thinking about enrolling children into the PK4 program next year, should know this information.
Donna ISD’ s “open enrollment “ policy for students wishing to gain admittance into the
district’s 4 year old pre-kindergarten program is as follows: The child must be four years of
age on or before September 1, 2012; They must reside within the Donna ISD school boundaries; and a child of a district employee may reside outside the Donna ISD boundaries.
A parent of a child who attends a campus outside their zoned area is responsible for the transportation to and from the school; A child of a district employee must attend the campus where
the employee works; however, if the campus is closed to “open enrollment” students, the
child will attend PK4 classes at the nearest to parent’s place of employment.
See the list of the eligible campuses: Ochoa Elementary, PS Garza Elementary, Runn Elementary, Stainke Elementary, BG Guzman Elementary; Truman Price Elementary; Rivas
Elementary; Capt. D Salinas Elementary; Alicia P. Munoz Elementary; Lenoir Elementary;
Daniel Singleterry Elementary and Eloy G. Salazar Elementary Children who qualify for
this program will be served on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information about this program, parents should contact Mrs. Betancourt-Delgado at
956-464-1600 or email at [email protected].
Como se aproxima el fin del año escolar, padres que
quieren inscribir a niños al programa de PK 4 en el
siguiente año, deben saber la siguiente informacion.
La póliza de Donna ISD 's de la "inscripción abierta" para los estudiantes que deseen ser admitidos al programa pre-kinder de los 4 de años de edad es el siguiente:
1. El niño debe tener cuatro años de edad en o antes del 01 de septiembre 2012
2. El niño debe residir dentro de los límites de la escuela del Distrito Escolar de Donna
3. El hijo de un empleado del distrito puede ser residente de afuera de los límites del Distrito
Escolar
El (Los) padre(s) de un niño que asiste a una escuela fuera de su zona de influencia se hace
responsable del transporte hacia y desde la escuela
4. El hijo de un empleado del distrito debe asistir a la escuela donde trabaja el empleado, sin
embargo, si la escuela está cerrada a la "inscripción abierta" el niño va a asistir a clases en
PK4 la escuela más cercana al lugar del empleo.
Vea la lista de escuelas elegibles para este programa: Primaria Ochoa, Primaria PS Garza ,
Primaria Runn , Primaria Stainke,Primaria B.G. Guzmán; Primaria Truman Price; La Primaria Rivas; La Primaria Capitán D. Salinas;La Primaria Alicia P. Muñoz: La Primaria Lenoir;
La Primaria Daniel Singleterry; y La Primaria Eloy G. Salazar. Los niños que califican para
este programa serán servido en un primer llegado, primer servido.
To have your school included, send your
pictures and articles to [email protected]
The Drumbeat
Free Summer Feeding Project Announced
Four district sites and two community based locations
will be used for the distribution of the summer feeding
program, according to Maria Luisa Huerta, director. Summer locations included Garza Elementary, Ochoa Elementary, Solis Middle School and Sauceda Middle School
and the two community locations – Donna City Library
and the Boys and Girls Club.
Who qualifies for the free summer feeding program?
Any person between the ages of 1-18 years old (PK-12)
can get a free breakfast and lunch under this program.
For more information about this and other food services
programs, contact DISD Child Nutrition Dept. at 4641815.
Regarding Lean Finely Textured Beef
Finely textured lean beef available for school meals
has been in the news lately. The USDA announced additional beef choices in the upcoming school year through a
news release.
USDA foods would like schools to keep the following
points in mind when faced with questions on the subject:
1. USDA makes the commodity purchasing decisions for
the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program; And, 2. the health of our school children in the
Texas Department of Agriculture’s number one priority
when administering the school lunch and breakfast programs. TDA is currently monitoring the discussion of the
recent beef issue and will pass any updates to the
schools.
In the picture above, the first managers to accurately use the new technology in reporting student meal count (L-R) Janie Bueno, Gloria Cantu, Dora Mendoza, and Elidia
Camacho. NUTRIKIDS Award Certificates were awarded in a special meeting held at
the DISD Child Nutrition Dept.
DISD Child Nutrition Dept—employing an innovative
foodservice management system for our students
A new software, NUTRIKIDS, has been implement at all campuses’ school cafeteria
to
keep better track and accountability of meals served. The department knows the imCalls should be referred to USDA Public Affairs at 202portance of training on the new system and technology updates. Thus, training on the
720-6959 or U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 10903
new NUTRIKIDS software and how to use it to better serve the children is on going. The
New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20993 – 888-463way the new system works, students go through serving line and a point of service the
6332.
cashier records the plate by either scanning a card or student id.
Maria Luisa Huerta, DISD Child Nutrition Dept. director, and Diana Quintanilla, supervisor, instructs cafeteria managers on the new meal
count system. (Right) Cafeteria managers listen attentively to all instruction. This is a training necessary to provide district policy updates, new state or federal food service requirements, and to instruct the managers on new menus or plan new menus and many other
new cafeteria activities.
The Drumbeat
Celebrating Progress and Growth in DISD
Leading the Redskins celebration at the ground breaking ceremony are cheerleaders (far right to left)
Lauren Barbosa, Angela Garza, Illiana Campos, Dalinda Partida, Kimberly Zuniga, and Amber Hernandez. In the far, the band, was there too.
La Prade Stadium gets a new face
PROUD DHS MJROTC
PRESENT COLORS
When there is an activity anywhere in the district, these proud
young people display the United States flag and present the colors
in a patriotic military display. In the photo, MJROTC color guard
are (r-l) Rolando Martinez, Abraham Bautista, Gabriel Rodriguez,
Edgar Mendoza,
<<<(Photo on left) Heavy machinery spread the construction materials and are used as base on the new turf currently being placed
at the Benny La Prade Stadium to be used next football season by
the Donna Redskins and later by the Donna North High School
Chiefs. If you drive by there now, you may see some of the green
turf already in place. It looks GREAT!
Donna North High School coming on schedule
The Drumbeat
STAARS Students Shine
Ochoa Elementary
cheerleaders cheer
up the campus to
be ready and to be
excited about the
new STAARS test.
Garza Elementary’s Asst. Principal Melissa Garcia encourages
students to work hard and be ready for the new STAARS test .
STC and DISD offer free internet/
computer training in English and
Spanish/ Se ofrece entrenamiento
para utilizar la computadora gratuitamente en ingles y español
South Texas College and Donna ISD Parental Involvement are offering free services to parents and individuals who want to learn to use computers and learn to surf the internet announced Tomas Tamez, parental
involvement department director.
“Persons looking for some help to learn new skills or to enhance existing skills are encouraged to participate and to take advantage of these
free services,” Tamez said.
Classes are offered twice a week, Mondays, 1:30 pm—4:30 pm at the
Parental Involvement Central office. Also, Fridays, at Veterans Middle
School, 10 am—1 pm. For times, dates, and other information, interested
persons should contact DISD Parental Involvement to register for these
classes. Call 956-461-4230.
South Texas College y el departamento de padres del distrito escolar de
Donna ISD ofrecen servicios gratuitos a los padres y las personas que
quieren aprender a usar las computadoras y aprender a navegar por
Internet anunció Tomás Tamez, director del departamento de envolvimiento de padres. "Las personas que buscan un poco de ayuda para
aprender nuevas habilidades o mejorar las habilidades ya existentes se
les anima a participar y tomar ventaja de estos servicios gratuitos", dijo
Tamez.
Las clases se ofrecen dos veces por semana, los lunes, 1:30 pm-4: 30
pm en la oficina central de la participación parental. Además, los viernes,
en el Veterans Middle School, 10 am-1 pm. Para los tiempos, fechas y
otra información, los interesados deberán ponerse en contacto con el
departamentode los Padres central para inscribirse en estas clases.
Llame al 956-461-4230. —————————————————————
—
PS Garza Elementary Plans Career
Day/ día de las profesiones
Garza Elementary will be hosting a Career Day on Thursday, April
12, 2012. Career Day is a day set aside in which administrators,
teaching staff and parents bring in speakers from our community
and surrounding area. Career Day starts at 8:30 a.m. -11:45 a.m.
If you need more information, please contact Ms. E. Vasquez / Mr.
Hascall / Ms. Ibarra at (956)464-1886.
La Escuela Elemental Garza será el anfitrión de un día de las
profesiones en el Jueves, 12 de abril 2012. Día de las profesiones
es un día reservado en el que los administradores, personal docente y los padres traen a oradores de nuestra comunidad y sus
alrededores. CareTodo comienza a las 8:30 am a 11:45 am. Si
necesita más información, póngase en contacto con la Sra. E.
Vásquez / Sra. Ibarra/Sr. Hascall al (956) 464-1886.
Donna ISD School Board breaks ground again only this time at the new location for the 3D
Academy to be located next to Donna High School. This complex should serve more students who will have a second chance to succeed in graduating. Members present were (lr) Ernesto Lugo, Dr. Michael Flores, Nick Castillo, Board President Alfredo Lugo, (Coach)
Efren Ceniceros, Supt. Roberto F. Loredo, and Member Angel Magallanes.
The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the
memory with thoughts of other men. ~Bill Beattie
The Drumbeat
Redskin SportsSprings into Action
Photo on the right: DHS Varsity Baseball Team. (front row, l-r)
Agustin Cantu, Adam Gonzalez, Juan Ruvulcava, Juan
Vasquez, Rene Guerra, and Emilio Concha. Standing, (l-r) Alexis Martinez, David Garza, Josh Perez, Casey Ramirez, Dion
Padilla, and Sergio Garza. Not pictured: Coach Carlos Pimentel.
Varsity Baseball Team
Donna High School Sports
Redskins Spring Sports
Girls Track and Field
April 12-14 30-5A District Meet
April 27-28 Regional Meet
May 11-12 State Meet
La Joya
Boys Track and Field
April 12-14 30-5A District Meet
April 27-28 Region IV Championship
May 11-12 UIL State Championship
La Joya
San Antonio
Austin
Varsity Softball
30-5A District Champions—Varsity Soccer
April 3
Sharyland
April 6
Rowe
April 10
McHigh
April 13
Palmview
April 17
Memorial
April 20
Mission
NOTE: All these games are district events.
Home 7 pm
Away 7 pm
Away 7 pm
Home 7 pm
Away 7 pm
Home 7 pm
Varsity Baseball
April 3
April 5
April 10
April 13
April 17
April 19
April 27
La Joys
Sharyland
Nikki Rowe
McHigh
Palmview
Memorial
Mission
Away 7 pm
Home 7 pm
Away 7 pm
Away 7 pm
Home 7 pm
Away 7 pm
Home 7 pm
All schedules subject to change. Contact Donna High
School Athletics Dept for updated information.
The Drumbeat
Spelling Bee Champion
1st Grade
1st Place Oziel Salas—LeNoir Elem
2nd Place Jissel Garza—Salazar Elem
3rd Place Ayla Campa—Ochoa Elem
2st Grade
1st Place Rolando Rodriguez, Munoz Elem
2nd Place Americo Garza, Singleterry Elem
3rd Place Kamiya Martrinez, Adame Elem
Honing interviewing skills is Donna High School journalism student, Mando Gonzalez as he asks the questions to the new MJROTC instructor, Colonel Sara
Phoenix. The interview was conducted during a ground breaking ceremony
where media was encouraged to attend. Great job, Mando!
3rd Grade
1st Place Antonia Borjas—Adame Elem
2nd Place Kendra Guerrero—Truman Price
3rd Place Valentin Sanchez—Adame Elem
P. S. Garza Elementary “100 Point
Club”. All 5th grade students who become members of the “100 Point
Club” receive an iPod Shuffle and a
$10.00 iTunes gift card.
P.S. Garza’s Scholastic Book Fair $10.00 gift certificate winners ~ John Hernandez,
Ashley Martinez, Monica Florencio, Kenya Lara, Ezequiel Garcia, Teacher M. Izquierdo!
Photo on the left: Top row: Jennifer González, Katherine Romero, Ana Iracheta Bottom row: Daniella Cuellar, Fatima Arevalo, and Ana Galindo
To have your school included, send your pictures and articles to [email protected]