ALA Community Update

10th Grade Trip to Puebla, Mexico

Our 10th graders are traveling to Puebla, Mexico this week to engage in a week-long learning experience. Field trips and travel experiences continue to be a core component of an ALA education, and we could not offer these enriching opportunities without the support of our teachers, families, SAISD and the CAST Network. We wish all our students and teachers a wonderful learning experience this week and look forward to their return this upcoming Friday afternoon.

TamALAda Thank You

It was wonderful to see so many families at Friday’s TamALAda & Chili Night. We would especially like to thank H-E-B for once again helping us procure more than 1,000 tamales for the event and the ALA Tech Studios Department for organizing the festivities!

Choice Application

ALA began accepting applications for the 2025-2026 school year on Nov. 6th and we already have well over 100 applicants for next year! The application window closes on January 31st, 2025. New to ALA families can find more information about our application timeline and apply for PreK4 - 10th grade here:

• ALA Euclid Campus: Application Overview

• ALA Tech Campus: Application Overview

We encourage our current families to continue spreading the word of the unique opportunities ALA has to offer. As a reminder for friends or family members who may have been on the waitlist for the 2024-2025 school year, the current waitlist will not stay active for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year. If a child is not currently enrolled at ALA, you will need to submit a new application to be considered for a seat for next school year.

Current ALA students do not need to apply to retain a seat for the 2025-2026 school year, however, if a current ALA student accepts a seat at another choice school once offers are made in February, they forfeit their ALA seat for 2025-2026.

Testing

This week, we have testing across both parts of the campus, please be sure to review the testing section below!

Library Newsletter

Take a look at the ALA December Library Newsletter!

Reminder: Child Nutrition Services Food Drive

The Child Nutrition Services Department is currently hosting a food drive in cafeterias across the district which began December 2 and ends on December 19. Donations are accepted during the regular school day when the campus is in operation. All collections will remain at the campus and will be redistributed to students and families in need of resources over Winter Break. The Child Nutrition Department will turn over the food items collected to a point of contact appointed by Campus Administration on December 19. See this flyer for more details.

Dress Up Days

Last Friday, we began our countdown to the winter break! These dress-up days are optional. The ALA Euclid Winter Holiday Dress Up Days flyer has more details.

Picture Retake on Dec. 13

This Friday we will be having picture retake day. Retakes are open to any student who missed picture day and any student who would like to take a different picture. If your student has already taken pictures and would like to participate in retakes, please notify the teacher or office by Thursday.

Snack Donations

ALA-PTSA is still collecting snacks for kinder and 1st graders who will be taking their MAP tests this week. You can read more about it and donate here.

PTSA Meet Ups This Week

ALA-PTSA monthly coffee meetup will be held in the library at the Euclid campus on Monday, Dec. 9th from 8:00am-9:00am. Coffee will be provided and we will be making encouraging notes for our MAP takers. There will be an additional meetup for making encouraging notes from 1:30-3:00pm at the Euclid Library on December 9th. As a reminder, please check in at the office upon arrival for a visitor pass.

Letters to the North Pole

Scholarship Opportunity for Juniors

Juniors!! Now is the time to complete your Legacy Scholarship Application. This scholarship is for Bexar county students with a max award of $40,000! Application Deadline is December 15th! Click here to access the application and see Mr. Maney (rmaney1@saisd.net) with any questions.

Holiday Dress Up Days at ALA Tech

All 4th-12th grade students are invited to join ALA Tech as we celebrate the days leading up to our holiday break! Our 12 Days of Holiday Dress-Up can be found HERE.

Picture Day Retakes

Picture Retake will be on Dec. 13th. This Friday, we will have our picture retake day. Retakes are open to any student who missed picture day.

The 1st Annual ALA Physical Education Walk-a-Thon will continue the week of Dec. 9, 2004. This CAST sponsored event is an opportunity for physical education students to raise funds for class field experiences tied to the Physical Education curriculum. Students will walk during their PE class on Dec. 18 or Dec. 19th. Please consider making a pledge or donation HERE.

Middle School Athletics

• Cross Country (Co-Ed.):

• Join the MS Cross Country SportsYou HERE. Contact Coach Proscelle @ bproscelle1@saisd.net

High School Athletics

• HS Golf:

• Monday, February, 10th @ 7:48 am @ Mission Del Lago (Boys).

• Contact Coach Morgan @ kmorgan1@saisd.net

• HS Girls Basketball:

• Tuesday, Dec. 10 vs Jefferson @ Jefferson, 5:00(FR); 6:15(JV); 6:00(V) @ LAC

• Friday, Dec. 13th vs Seguin @ Tech, 5:00(FR); 6:15(JV); 7:30(V)

• Contact Coach Martinez @ rmartinez36@saisd.net

• HS Boys Basketball:

• Tuesday, Dec. 10 vs Jefferson @ Tech, 5:00(JV); 6:15(); 7:00(V) @ LAC

• Friday, Dec. 13th vs Seguin @ Seguin, 5:00(FR); 5:00(JV); 6:30(V)

• Contact Interim Coach Maldonado @ imaldonado@saisd.net

• HS Swimming:

• Thursday, Dec. 19 @ SAISD Natatorium @ 6:00 pm

• Contact Coach Willing @ lwilling1@saisd.net

• HS Boys Soccer:

• Tryouts completed, games will begin January.

• Contact Coach Gonzalez @ jgonzalez9@saisd.net

• HS Girls Soccer:

• Tryouts completed, games will begin January.

• Contact Coach Sanchez @ ssanchez5@saisd.net

• HS Track and Field

• 9th-12th Students: Track & Field practice will begin January 13th at 4:15pm!

• Be sure to join our Sports You for winter break workouts and to see our spring meet schedule.

• See Coach Maney in Room 3119 with any questions and to complete eligibility paperwork.

• All physicals must be turned and SAISD RankOne Online forms (https://saisd.rankone.com/New/NewInstructionsPage.aspxcompleted) prior to any participation.

• Contact Coach Maney @ rmaney1@saisd.net

• 4-12th grade students interested in Archery should join the Tech Archery Team SportsYou HERE.
• Contact Coach Birmingham @ jbirmingham@saisd.net

• Please see the upcoming Tech Dance events flier HERE. Contact S. Trevino @ strevino9@saisd.net




All athletic tickets for SAISD venues will be purchased through Hometown Ticketing. NO CASH will be accepted at the gate.

SAT - ACT - TSI - ASVAB Testing

This coming week Mr. Esparza our ALA Testing coordinator, will meet with all 11th grader students to discuss the following tests during their homeroom:

• SAT - 11th grade will test on March 5, 2025

• ACT - 11th grade will test on February 26, 2025

• TSI - 11th grade will test on May 20, 2025

• ASVAB - 11th and 12th graders will test on January 30, 2025

Since College readiness is an important component of SAISD, all 11th graders will have the opportunity to take these tests for free. Mr. Esparza will go over the importance of these tests, what to expect, and how to prepare for them.

The ASVAB test is only on request and not a required test by SAISD. However, students can benefit from the ASVAB test in many ways. Mr. Esparza will describe what the ASVAB test is and how it can benefit each student personally. Please keep in mind that NO STUDENT is obligated to sign with the military because of this test. Students can opt out from being contacted by a military recruiter, but they will still receive their ASVAB results and have access to the Career Exploratory Program. These are other ways it can benefit the students:

• Career exploration
  The ASVAB can help students identify their interests and strengths, and explore potential career paths. The ASVAB includes a 90-item interest inventory called the FYI, which helps students identify their work-related interests. The ASVAB also includes the OCCU-Find, which groups over 400 occupations by interest areas and provides information on skill requirements.

• Academic planning
  The ASVAB can help students plan their high school curriculum, including work-related courses.

• College readiness
  The ASVAB can help students determine their readiness for further education and training.

• Career confidence
  Research shows that students who participate in the ASVAB program experience greater confidence in making career decisions.

• Military eligibility
  The ASVAB can help students determine their eligibility and suitability for careers in the military. Students who score at least 31 on the AFQT are eligible for service. However, students are not required to enlist in the military after taking the ASVAB.

• Free assessment
  The ASVAB is a free test.

• Post-test interpretation
  The ASVAB includes a post-test interpretation that helps students understand their results and get the most out of the career planning resources.

Any questions regarding any of these tests please contact Mr. Esparza at pesparza1@saisd.net.

Here are some websites you can look at that gives you information regarding these tests:

• ACT Testing

• SAT Testing

• TSI- Accuplacer Testing

• ASVAB Testing

MAP Testing

• 4th grade - 10th grade will be Middle of Year MAP testing starting on December 11 to December 19. Check with your child's teacher on what specific day they will test. Be sure your child gets a good night's rest and a good breakfast.

• Kinder- 3rd Grade - MAP Testing is taking place this week on Tuesday, December 10th and Wednesday, December 11th. We will start promptly, please be sure your student is at school on time and has a good rest the night before.

Each link below has a drop down at the top to select the menu view (either breakfast or lunch). Dinner is offered but not pictured in either menu.

ECE = PreK menu

Academy = Kinder - 8th grade menu

Special Campus = High School menu (9th-12th grade only)

If an ALA family is not receiving the Community Update, please ensure they have not unsubscribed to School Messenger (the SAISD communication platform used to send out messages and emails) and also check their junk email. Families are also welcome to email their campus Operations Clerk for additional assistance, Brenda Cantu (bcantu2@saisd.net) at ALA Tech or Ce’nese Wooten (cwooten1@saisd.net) at ALA Euclid.