Welcome to Points of Pride, our weekly district e-newsletter featuring highlights from around Southwest Independent School District. If you have a story or highlight that you would like to submit, email communications@swisd.net.

Inaugural Circle of Excellence Dinner was a huge success. Last night, we celebrated the top 10 students from SWHS, SWL, and the top five students from CAST STEM High school during one banquet and ceremony. These honorees were surrounded by those who have influenced their educational success. Each student was presented with special awards and recognition to commemorate their accomplishments. We are thrilled to begin a new tradition at SWISD. We wish the very best to our students in as they begin their new journeys! Click here for more photos.

On Wednesday, a celebratory luncheon held to honor Administrative Assistants Day. It was a delightful occasion filled with gratitude and appreciation. Attendees were treated to a catered lunch and gifts of appreciation. The event was filled with gratitude for these hard working individuals. It was a memorable event, highlighting the indispensable role these individuals play in keeping our office running smoothly. Thank you to our administrative assistants for their continuous contributions to our district!

Hidden Cove STEAM Academy had a special fiesta visit from this year's Rey Feo, John McFadden, and his royal court. The students and staff were greeted with Fiesta fun and excitement. Traditionally, Rey Feo and is court help raise money to contribute to many educational, and youth programs. The Rey Feo Scholarship Foundation was founded by Rey Feo XXXII Logan Stewart in 1982. It was through Logan Stewart’s efforts that the Rey Feo was formally invited to be a part of Fiesta in 1980. Today, many of their members aspire to be nominated as a candidate for Rey Feo to fulfill the League of United Latin American Citizen (LULAC) Council #2 promise made in 1947 to promote the transformative power of education for our youth.

There were many fiesta celebrations throughout the district. Among the oldest traditions is the annual Southwest Elementary Fiesta Parade, which was hosted this year at the Southwest Spring Complex. Students and staff dressed in Fiesta attire, showcased homemade floats, and shared smiles all around. Take a look at some photos from the event!

Viva Fiesta SWISD! If you are attending the battle of flowers or watching from home be on the lookout for the SWHS Student Council as they will appear on a float featuring a “Quinceneras” theme. The dragon student council was assigned their parade float theme back in January. Everyone in the student council is excited for the opportunity to represent their school and a cultural tradition. The girls will be wearing beautiful dresses provided by the float’s sponsor, which is also the dresses’ seasonal debut. The boys will be sporting traditional tuxedos with cowboy boots. We asked the girls if they would be wearing any specialized shoes to show off to the fiesta parade crowd, but said they too will be wearing cowboy boots too. Unfortunately, due to top secret fiesta stuff, we don’t have photos of the float to show, but we will feature those next week. We can’t wait to see our SWHS Student Council on the float tomorrow. Viva Fiesta! And VIVA SWISD!

CAST STEM High School Salutatorian for the Class of 2024 is Esther Alele. Esther has participated in the Student Council, National Honor Society, ACE Mentoring, and Technology Student Association throughout her time at CAST STEM. She has been a historian for the Academic Decathlon and Class of 2024. She will graduate with an Associate of Liberal Arts Degree from Palo Alto College in May. This fall, Esther plans to attend The University of Incarnate Word to major in Interior Design and minor in Marketing so she can design and market her own bakery and create a Christian apparel brand. Congratulations Esther and we can't wait to see your new fashion designs!

Liliana Antu and Isabelle Pina, artists at Southwest High School, were able to create incredible artwork that was donated to our Southwest Cares Center that focuses on Mental Health, as well as the counseling department. Both ladies worked very hard to create these murals during Big Art Day, which is promoted to raise awareness of art education and art as a creative force in our communities on a statewide scale. Betty Arredondo, lead art teacher at Southwest High School said she hopes by creating these murals all of the Southwest ISD students will recognize that their fellow peers created them & feel welcomed.

Welcome to the SWISD Teacher Feature, where we look at some of the amazing teachers in our district.

In this week's Teacher Feature, we travel to the Crossroads Center to visit their Teacher of the Year, Alejandro Contreras to see how he connects with his students.

If you would like to suggest a teacher for us to feature, you can email your nominations to communications@swisd.net with the subject line: Teacher Feature.

We are proud of our SWISD graduates and want to share their accomplishments. ‘Homegrown' is our weekly segment highlighting successful Southwest ISD alumni who grew up in the SWISD community. We also look at how SWISD ignited their success, goals, and careers. This week, we hear from SWHS School Psychologist, Jacque Robles.

Along with making SWISD her home growing up, she has also made it her professional home, "I have made it my professional home." Robles enjoys working with her peers. "I love that I can work alongside my peers, but then I get to work with them in the community as well."

If you know of alumni who work in the SWISD district that you would like to nominate to participate in this segment, please email Dr. Sam Ruiz at sruiz9098@swisd.net.

On this week's show, the Scoreboard duo talk all things athletics including playoff information for Softball & Baseball, regional tournaments for Tennis, and a state opportunity for one of SWISD's most accomplished track athletes!