Brandeis Updates

This month, we’ve had some amazing celebrations. We had a Veterans Day ceremony that included a patriotic tribute and a breakfast for the veterans in our community. It was a very special event and we are so thankful to have had the opportunity to honor those who served our great nation. Also this month, Miguel Gonzalez, a senior at Brandeis, was honored with the Northside Citizenship Award. It is an amazing honor and no one has received this award since 2017. We are so proud of Miguel and the quick action he took to save the life of his band mate, Leah Carlin. Please take time to watch this video that was created by NISD Media.

As you know, our fine arts programs are very robust. During the holiday season, there are many opportunities to see our students shine on the stage. Should you like to engage in a little holiday cheer, please join us at one of our many December events. All performances start at 6:00pm in the Brandeis Auditorium.

Fine Arts Events:

• December 5th Dance Winter Show

• December 10th Choir Winter Concert

• December 11th Orchestra Winter Concert

• December 16th Holiday Jazz Concert

• December 17th Band Holiday Concert

As we get into the busy month of December, please keep in mind that campus safety and student success are always our top priorities.

Here are a few reminders during this very busy season:

• Bronco Watch Informational Meeting: We are having our first Bronco Watch meeting on December 4th. If you have any time to support campus safety, we ask that you join us.

• Student IDs: Students are required to wear an ID when on campus. We are conducting ID checks, and are following up with consequences for students who do not wear their ID.

• Attendance: Regular attendance is crucial, even during the busy holiday season.

• Exams: Semester Exams are scheduled for December 17th - 20th.

We are so thankful for our Brandeis community. We wish you a warm, joyful, and safe holiday season!

We encourage you to follow us on Instagram, X, and FB to stay up to date with all of the amazing things happening here in Bronco Country.

https://www.instagram.com/nisdbrandeisbroncos/

https://x.com/nisdbrandeis

https://www.facebook.com/people/Louis-D-Brandeis-High-School/61550216849901/

Brandeis High School is seeking to create a Bronco Watch made up of Bronco Parents similar to the Watch Dogs that you may have been familiar with at your student’s elementary school. The purpose of the Bronco Watch is to increase campus safety by adding an extra set of watchful eyes to the campus.

An informational meeting is scheduled for December 4th at 6:00 pm in the LGI Room at Brandeis High School. At this meeting, the NISD Safety and Security Officer, Shane Allard, will present an overview of the Bronco Watch program, parent volunteers will meet with campus administration and campus officers, and will have a tour of the building and grounds.

Students are most successful when their parents are actively involved in their education and work in partnership with their school.

If you are interested in volunteering as part of the Bronco Watch please RSVP using this link and complete the volunteer background check linked here.

Students... Join us in the fun! Dress up themes for each day of December are outlined below.

Are you interested in learning more about GPA, class rank, college entrance exams, Advanced Academics programs, and NCAA? NISD now offers informational videos on all of these topics! Click on the button below to view these videos on the NISD website!

Our Brandeis ROTC and Social Studies department organized a Veterans Day ceremony and breakfast for the community. NHS students assisted in creating our "Wall of Honor" featuring stars for veterans in the Brandeis community. Choir, Band, and Lariettes assisted in decorating and welcoming our veterans. We had an amazing turnout - approximately 100 people attended!

To all those in our community who have served or are serving - we thank you for all that you have done and continue to do.

Congratulations to Sophomore Tony Jin who received a perfect score on his Microsoft Office PowerPoint Certification test last week!

Student leaders in JROTC coordinated with 10 campus clubs and organizations to conduct our annual CANstruction competition in the cafeteria. Clubs and organizations collected canned goods and designed a structure for the friendly competition. Together, Brandeis donated 5,420 pounds of food for San Antonians just in time for the holidays.

The winning CANstruction was a giant gingerbread cookie, built by our Spanish National Honor Society.

The UIL Bronc Botz Robotics Team consists of three competitive First Tech Challenge (FTC) teams. Our first event took place on November 16, here at Brandeis High School with a total of 33 teams across the Central Region.

Student Council conducted an incredibly successful Food Fest fundraiser in November. At Food Fest, campus clubs and organizations sell food items during all lunches over two days in an effort to raise funds for their operations.

There were 15 clubs who participated. Over 34,000 tickets were sold helping our clubs earn almost $17,000 in profits! NEW this year - students were able to purchase tickets with credit/debit cards and Apple Pay (in addition to cash). This was the most attended food fest in school history and the parent involvement was off the charts! We had close to 30 parent volunteers over the two days!

Benny the Bronco and members of our Cheerleading & Football squads joined Carnahan Elementary in November to celebrate "Literacy Under the Lights." The event allows families to have a picnic on the field at Farris Stadium while reading for 10-15 bursts, with "brain breaks" in between. The elementary students loved listening to our Broncos read aloud, but also tossed the football and practiced some cheer moves with our Broncos.

The Fall and Spring Semester Exam schedules are linked below. Our Fall Semester Exams are scheduled from December 17th - 20th.

• All students must be present for exams.
• There are no fall exam exemptions or early exams.
  
• If a student misses an exam, they will receive an 11. Absent students may make arrangements with the teacher to make-up the exam in January. However, late exams may impact GPA and rank if the exam is not completed prior to the district calculating GPA and rank.

If you have any questions regarding our semester exam schedule, reach out to our Academic Dean, Ms. Jamie Heintz (jamie.heintz@nisd.net).

If you were not able to make it to our Dual Credit Informational Night last week, you can review the presentation below for details on the Dual Credit program and application process. Reach out to our Dual Credit Liaison, Ms. Jill Higgins (jillian.higgins@nisd.net) with any questions you may have.

Attention Broncos!

Yearbooks for the 2025 school year are on sale at WalsworthYearbooks.com - Order now before prices go up!

Senior Recognition Ads can also be purchased through WalsworthYearbooks.com. Senior Ads must be purchased by January 5th to be included in the book.

Order Yearbooks and Senior Ads Here

Jostens is already accepting graduation orders. Caps and gowns will be distributed in April at Brandeis. More information coming soon.

The counselor newsletter is linked below.

Follow the Brandeis Counseling Department on social media:

X- @Bronco_Guidance 📱 Instagram- @brandeiscounseling 📱 Facebook- brandeis counseling

The Career Center is open to students during the following times or by scheduling an appointment via email.

Location: A140

Hours: Monday - Friday

• Before School 8:30 am - 9:00 am
• 4th-6th period lunches
• After School 4:20 pm - 4:45 pm

Visit our Career Center's website for more information.

Students have access to thousands of e-books and audiobooks through their NISD Portal!

Comics Plus contains e-book versions of graphic novels, comics, and manga. All titles are ALWAYS available! You never have to wait for another user to return the book!

Comics Plus is available to students through their portal or as an app on their phone or tablet.

Sora contains e-books and audiobooks for all NISD users. If titles are already checked out, students can place them on hold and get a notification when they're available.

Sora is available to students through their portal or as an app on their phone or tablet.

Students' grades and attendance can be accessed through the Home Access Center (HAC). If you do not have an account, here is the HAC link to request access.

NEW! Students and parents can now view attendance totals in HAC (Home Access Center). The attendance totals will show for secondary, high school credit only courses. The totals are static, and get refreshed overnight so current day absences / attendance recovery / changes / etc will not be reflected until the following day. Students and parents will need to click on 'Registration' at the top to see this data.

Students who owe attendance hours will receive a weekly update emailed to their NISD Gmail. If students or parents have questions about their attendance hours, please reach out to the student's Assistant Principal.

If students or parents have questions about grades or attendance for a particular class, please reach out to that teacher.

TARDY POLICY: Students who are ten or more minutes tardy to class will be marked absent for that period. Excessive tardiness will incur administrative consequences. Click on the link below to see the policy & consequences for excessive tardiness.

Thank you for your support in our district expectation that all students wear their student IDs while on campus!

We have been conducting ID checks in the mornings, and throughout the day. Student safety is our top priority.

Consequences are being issued for students who do not wear IDs.

Looking for specific Brandeis information? We have a one page resource just for you!

📢Click on the image below to access the resource as a downloadable document.

DECEMBER

• 12/7: Saturday School (8:30am - 12:30pm)
• 12/10 - 12/13: EOC Retesting
• 12/17 - 12/20: Semester Exams
• 12/20: End of the Marking Period (Semester) - Students can lose or gain eligibility on 1/14/25
• 12/23 - 1/3: Winter Break

Click on the link below to open a PDF file of important dates throughout the school year.