This Thursday marked the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month. I am blessed to have a grandmother of Mexican descent who continues to share her culture and language with me. This photo is from this summer when I was able to visit with her and play guitar as she sang. We have plans to celebrate Hispanic Heritage all month at Vanguard. We have a team of teachers and students who have worked on art displays, learning dances for the Hispanic dance showcase, and preparing educational materials to help all of our students learn and appreciate all the things Hispanic Heritage has to offer.

I am also excited about the first spirit week at Vanguard this week. I know our students who come to Vanguard don't experience all the events that traditional high schools offer, but we are making new traditions at Vanguard. I would like to thank our advanced academic coordinator for arranging visitors on campus from colleges, industry professionals, military representatives, and trade schools. I also want to thank our student council for their work in coming up with the theme of Magical Vanguard and for everyone who is helping with mum decorating!

Looking forward to another great week at Vanguard!

Vanguard will be celebrating our first Spirit Week, Magical Vanguard, this week!! It is also career and college week. We will be welcoming colleges, trade schools, industry professionals, businesses, and military recruiters during the week so that our students can start thinking about their future plans after high school. We will also be finishing our CTSO Rush! CTSOs are our Career Technology Student Organizations. We want all students to be involved in a CTSO at Vanguard!

Some things to remember about this week:

• We will be having themed dress days for the week! (See below)
• Students can purchase jeans passes for $2 a day or $10 for the week (All proceeds benefit Advanced Academics!)
• The expectation is that all students who are wearing jeans are wearing a wristband that they will receive when they pay. If students are not wearing a wristband they will be considered out of dress code.
• Jeans must not have holes in them. Students who wear jeans with holes will be considered out of dress code.
• On Friday, September 23rd students can wear mums and garters.

We will be hosting Saturday sessions for Learning Recovery tutoring and Attendance Recoup on the dates below.

Students who need recoup hours are encouraged to attend.

Students who did not score satisfactorily on STAAR reading, math, social studies, and/or science assessment administered in the 2021-2022 school year, your child is entitled to receive supplemental instruction. In accordance with state law, a total of 30 hours of supplemental instruction will be provided during the school year that’s focused on the tested area he or she did not pass. This instruction will prepare them for their upcoming STAAR tests.

In addition to your child meeting with his/her teacher one to two times per week, there are Saturday tutoring sessions from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. that we highly encourage them to attend:

Saturday, October 1

Saturday, October 29

Saturday, December 3

Saturday, January 21

Saturday, February 25

Saturday, March 25

Saturday, April 22 - English - Focused Sessions Only

Saturday, April 29 - Algebra I, Biology, & USH - Focused Sessions Only

If you have additional questions, please contact Mrs. Lonna Jackson or Ms. Thomas.

Mesquite ISD is welcoming more than 70 recruiters from colleges, universities, trade schools, and military branches to the K. David Belt Professional Development Center .- the entrance is directly across from Outback Steakhouse Wednesday, Sept. 21st from 6:00pm - 8:00 pm All MISD students and parents are welcome to attend.

While not mandatory, we encourage students to register at falltacrao.swoogo.com/Registration. It helps give universities and colleges the most up-to-date information. #MISDExcellence

Wednesday, Sept. 21, 6 - 8 p.m.

K David Belt Professional Development Center, 3819 Towne Crossing Blvd

Students who are interested in joining the National Technical Honor Society. Please remember to turn in membership forms to Mrs. Tate in H122 or Mrs. Newman in C210. If you need a copy of the membership form, students can come by H122 to pick one up as well as get a recommendation form to have a faculty member in your CTE pathway fill out and turn in on the student's behalf.

Both forms are due to Mrs. Tate or Mrs. Newman by September 23rd.

MISD students can now use, Paper, a tutoring app in the MISD portal. This allows students to access a live tutor 24/7 in all academic subjects. See the video below for a quick overview of what Paper can do for your student!

Vanguard PTA meetings will be held on the 2nd Thursday in October, January, March, and May Our Vanguard PTA Board will meet at 5:30 pm. The general PTA Meeting will begin at 6:45 pm. Thank you to all of our PTA board and members!

Please make sure you have marked your calendar for our upcoming student holidays Monday, September 26th and Tuesday, September 27th.

Vanguard invites all of our Vanguard families to a town hall-style meeting to learn about Vanguard's mission and get to know Dean Elsasser. This event will take place Tuesday, September 27th from 6:00 pm- 7:00 pm. Mark your calendars for this special event!

Our first Vanguard yearbook presale is happening now!

Pre-order your 22-23 Vanguard yearbook for $45 by September 30th! We will have several more sales dates, but prices change as the year goes along, so get your early bird special!

Ordering is easy! Click this link: https://tinyurl.com/vhsorder. Make sure you are on the Vanguard High School in Mesquite, Texas page.

Payment plans are available!

We are making memories at Vanguard, make them last a lifetime with your own Vanguard yearbook!

Vanguard Outdoor Education is excited to announce our first family campout of the year!

When: November 18-20, 2022

Where: Lake Ray Roberts State Park Isla DuBois

Cost: $25 per family (Payments will be made available to awarded student InTouch accounts on October 17th-21st)

Interest form filled out by October 16th at 11:59pm.

Spots will be awarded on October17th. Only 20 family spots are available.

https://tinyurl.com/yc3kpuakak

We have a semester full of events that we are looking forward to. As the events approach we will share more information about them.

September

• September 15th- October 15th Hispanic Heritage Month - We have many fun things planned to celebrate and learn about Hispanic Heritage!
  
• September 21st- Jostens on campus for ring orders
  
• Week of September 19th - September 23rd - VANGUARD SPIRIT WEEK and COLLEGE AND CAREER WEEK

• Meet the Dean Night 6:00 pm-7:00 pm at Vanguard High School

October

• October 14th- Manufacturing Day
  
• October 18th - Picture Retakes
• Week of October 3rd - First District Checkpoints
• Fall Festival date TBA
• October 25th - PSAT Day!
• End of October - Red Ribbon Week!

November

• Discovery Night (Details coming soon!)
• November 18th - 2nd Annual Turkey Tourney Kickball Tournament! (Revitalized- bigger and better than last year!)

December

• December 10th - Winter Formal

Parking stickers must be on vehicles starting Monday!!!

Every vehicle parked on campus must be registered with the office and have an approved 22-23 parking sticker. VHS student drivers MUST Park in the designated student parking lot located at the back of the building. Parking stickers will cost $20 each.

To get a parking sticker, follow these steps:
Step 1 - Complete and submit this form. You must have a valid driver's license and proof of insurance.

Step 2 - Pay $20 for your parking sticker via cash/check/credit card. Parents can pay with Credit Card through the MISD Online Payment and Registration Portal. Cash and Checks will be accepted by Mrs. Kathman C130.

Vanguard students are expected to follow MISD standard dress policy.

Dress Policy 2021 (finalsite.net)

Students are required to have Student ID badges visible at all times, this is for the safety of the students and Vanguard High School Campus.

If students do not have an ID badge they will be charged $5 for a replacement. This includes if a student scratches off picture, puts a sticker over the original pictures or in some way alters the original picture on the ID Badge.

Thank you for helping us keep your student and Vanguard High School safe