Week of April 1

STAAR Testing begins tomorrow, April 8, and we know our students are ready to show what they have learned! With your support, SMCISD students will head into the day feeling confident and prepared.

Please keep the following tips in mind to help your child start strong:

- Make sure they get a good night's sleep

- Arrive at school on time and enjoy SMCISD's free breakfast

- Avoid early checkouts or scheduling appointments

- Offer words of encouragement!

Bowie Elementary kicked off the STAAR season with an exciting pep rally full of fun and energy! Students enjoyed engaging games, an amazing performance by our talented Bowie students, and a special show of support from San Marcos High School students! The spirit was high, the smiles were contagious, and everyone is ready to shine on the STAAR tests!

April 3, 2025, was a memorable day at Goodnight Middle School as the campus underwent AVID Revalidation and hosted an incredible AVID Showcase! During the visit, students were fully engaged in their learning, teachers implemented aligned strategies across subjects, and rigorous instruction challenged students to think critically. Practical techniques were on display that can be applied in any classroom setting.

At the end of the day, Goodnight was proudly recognized as an AVID Demonstration School! Huge congratulations to everyone at Goodnight for this outstanding achievement!

The San Marcos FFA Agronomy team travelled over 1,100 miles to compete at the West Texas A&M University Agronomy Contest, as well as Clarendon College Agronomy contest.

At their first ever contest, the Agronomy team received fourth overall, with Rice Tipps earning the high Individual Award at West Texas A&M University. They then competed the next day at the Clarendon College Agronomy Contest and received 1st place, along with an additional high individual award for Rice Tipps and 5th overall individual for Kendra Jensen. The members of the team are Rice Tipps, Kendra Jensen, Nicandro Qunitanilla, Jackson Ubben, and Nevaeh Martinez led by SMHS Rattler Alumni, Mr. Joseph Niño.

The San Marcos FFA Agronomy Team will travel to compete in Lubbock, TX at Texas Tech University on May 3 for a State Title! Best of luck to our students way to cultivate success, together!

The San Marcos Chamber of Commerce and SMCISD partnered to host STEAM Fair 2025 at San Marcos High School on April 5th! The event featured local business exhibits plus performances by student groups and some exciting displays. Preparing students for the jobs of tomorrow requires our community to take action today so a big thank you to all of our community partners that made this year's STEAM Fair a success!

Students from San Marcos CISD Gifted & Talented Program presented at the Hello World CS & Google Demo Day this past Saturday, April 5, where they showcased their computer science projects and celebrated the creativity and innovation of the greater Austin area. The event highlighted the hard work and achievements of local students, offering a unique opportunity to witness the next generation of tech innovators. Six students from Travis, De Zavala, Crockett, and Hernandez Elementarys were chosen to present out of over 8,000 students in the Austin area. Family members, teachers, and members of the local tech community gathered to support the students, while engineers from Google and Hello World CS were on-site to mentor and inspire. The event was a true celebration of STEM education and the future of technology and computer science in Texas!

This week, the Rattler Bands performed beautifully at the TMEA Region 12 Concert & Sight-Reading! Both the Symphonic Band and the Wind Symphony received the Sweepstakes Award with all "1" ratings from every judge on stage and in the sight-reading room.

To give insight on their terrific performances, here are some of the judge comments:

"BRAVO SAN MARCOS! WOW! Great choice of music that showed off the skills and passion of this group. Great day to be a Rattler!!!! Congrats!" - Charles Aguillon

"Your precision is impeccable. Amazing percussion work. Great job percussion members and directors." - Don Haynes

"The beauty in making music together comes from mature musicians dedicated to their instruments. The goal is not perfection, but to create aesthetically beautiful music and you've done that today, congrats!" - Albert Lo

We are all so proud of the Rattler Band and their representation of our community! Kudos to Mr. Damon Knight, Mrs. Mago and Mr. Benjamin Pierce!

Our talented athletes from San Marcos High School competed fiercely at the District Track Meet at Canyon High School on April 2 & 3!

We are thrilled to announce that several of our athletes are advancing to the Area Competition on April 9 & 10!

Congratulations to all the competitors—your hard work and determination.

Congratulations to Our Talented Fashion Design Students! We are thrilled to announce the outstanding achievements of our students at the State Skills USA Fashion Design Competition!

• Jada Lopez received a Blue Ribbon and won Best of Show for her stunning Cinderella dress. Her creativity and craftsmanship truly shone on the runway!

• Kinsey Niemann earned a Blue Ribbon for her incredible Poison Ivy dress. The attention to detail and artistry were exceptional.

• Emma Foor also earned a Blue Ribbon for her beautiful purple dress. Her design and execution were truly impressive.

We are so proud of all of our student designers for their hard work, dedication, and talent. Each one did an amazing job, and we couldn’t be prouder of their achievements. Congratulations to Jada, Kinsey, Emma, and all the competitors for their dedication and creativity!

The Rattler Baseball program took on the Knights of Steele High School last week and improved their district record to 6-3. The Rattlers enter their district bye week but have scheduled three non-district games before returning to district play on April 15. The team will host Salado on Tuesday night, Austin High on Friday night, and will travel to San Antonio on Saturday to take on Harlan.

San Marcos CISD elementary students took to the track and field stadium at San Marcos High School for the exciting 5th Grade Track Meet! This annual event allows our 5th graders to compete in a variety of track and field events, offering them a chance to explore the sport while highlighting the importance of teamwork. A huge congratulations to all our 5th grade athletes for giving their best on the track!

The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, known as March Madness or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination event held this year in San Antonio, TX, to crown the national champion of men’s Division I college basketball. On Friday, April 4, the Boys Rattler Basketball program attended the open practice session of the Final Four, getting a firsthand look at the intricacies of a Division I basketball practice.

SHAC membership applications for the 2025-2027 school years are currently being accepted until April 30, 2024, at 5:00 PM. The SMCISD School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) is seeking 5 new members for the 2025-2027 School year! Parents, guardians and community members play a vital role in our district-wide implementation of our coordinated school health program. This a 2-year term commitment. SHAC members are critical for recommendations, proposals or action items and working group participation as well as votes conducted during our 4 annual SHAC meetings. Deadline to submit - April 30, 2025 at 5PM.

During the last week of March, the talented SMHS Theatre students participated in One Act Play and earned Excellent ratings from the judges! They also returned with some well-deserved awards:

Honorable Mention All Star - Anissa Ramirez
All Star Cast - Angel Castillo Cueva
All Star Technician - Jade Ruiz

Congratulations to the entire SMHS Theatre team for their hard work and incredible achievements!