ALA Community Update

September 30th Student Holiday

As a reminder, Monday, September 30, 2024 is a student holiday for all ALA students. The purpose of the student holiday is to provide the ALA faculty with valuable time for professional learning. The overview of all of our school holidays can always be found on our 2024-2025 Instructional Calendar for ALA Euclid and ALA Tech.

Save the Date: Noche Musical de los Muertos

We are excited to invite you to our 2nd annual Noche Musical de los Muertos, a special PK-12 event celebrating music, culture, and community! Please mark your calendars for Thursday, October 24th. More details will be shared soon, but we wanted to make sure you have this exciting event on your radar!

Professional Development for ALA Teachers Highlights

While students will have a holiday on Monday, September 30th, our ALA teachers will be engaged in a variety of professional development opportunities on campus. ALA Tech Teachers will be exploring restorative practices (our approach to student support and discipline), reviewing student data, working on upcoming travel experiences, and collaborating across 4th-12th grade to share best practices in instruction. Our ALA Euclid Teachers will review student data and collaborate with their teams regarding best practices in instruction while working on PBLs and finalizing all field trips. As teachers review student data, they will be identifying different levels of academic intervention needed for their students. Families of students in need of specific academic interventions will be receiving an email this week regarding their child’s specific plan for support.

Gators Are Back Family Feedback

Thank you to all the ALA families that attended our Gators are Back events this week! Please take a moment to tell us about your experience as we continue to enhance and refine this event across both campuses!

Free Family Workshops through Region 20

ESC 20’s Parent and Family Engagement Program is hosting free Parent Workouts. Read more about these workshops and sign up here. If you have questions about these workshops, please reach out to Crystal Valdez at cvaldez7@saisd.net.

Reminder: Family Field Trip

First Field Trip with Mrs. Chrissy will be Oct. 5 at the Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival. This will be an opportunity for ALA Families to experience the event independently or in groups. Please fill out the google form so Mrs. Chrissy can keep you up to date with information for the event.

October 2024 Family Field Trip - Pollinator Festival (google.com)

Reminder: ALA Testimonial Requests

The CAST Network is working alongside ALA to create promotional materials for the community as we continue to encourage new families to join our school. We are actively looking for current ALA families that might be interested in submitting a video or text testimonial about their child’s experience at ALA. If you would be interested in participating, please review the document linked below for additional information. Your insight is highly valued as we share our ALA experiences with the broader community!

ALA Testimonial Request

ALA Mariachi & Cruzar la Cara de la Luna

Beginning in 6th Grade, ALA offers students the opportunity to participate in our award-winning mariachi program. Our mariachi offerings have always been an integral part of the variety of fine arts programs offered throughout both of our ALA campuses. Mr. Zamarripa and Ms. Covarrubias, our Mariachi Directors, wanted to share this exciting message:

We’re excited to inform you that on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, our Jr-Varsity and Varsity mariachi groups will be attending a prestigious concert at the Tobin Center. The event, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna | Opera SA, begins at 7 PM and will feature renowned opera singers along with the nationally acclaimed Mariachi Campanas de América. In addition, we are proud to share that Mr. Eddie Rios, ALA Assistant Principal, will be performing with Mariachi Campanas de América, providing an inspiring example of balancing leadership as an administrator and passion as a mariachi musician. This concert is particularly important because it highlights the unique collaboration between opera and mariachi, blending these two rich musical traditions. While mariachi is often viewed through a traditional lens, this event emphasizes its ongoing evolution into a sophisticated and high-caliber art form. We are thrilled for our students to witness this significant cultural event, which will undoubtedly inspire and enhance their musical development.

The ALA community will be proudly cheering on Mr. Rios! Thank you to Mr. Zamarippa & Ms. Covarrubias for their ongoing leadership with our mariachi program and continual support of our student musicians.

3rd Grade PBL

This week our 3rd grade students begin their grade level PBL exploring the driving question, “ How can we as authors uncover and share stories about San Pedro Springs Park?. On Thursday, October 3rd third graders will go on a field trip to visit the park from 9:30am-11am. Please see seesaw communication from your child’s teacher for information!

Character Book Dress Up Day

We are excited to announce that on October 31st, we will be celebrating Character Book Dress Up Day! This is a fun opportunity for students to dress up as their favorite book characters and bring their stories to life. If your student chooses to participate, please help your student select a costume that represents a character from a book they love. We encourage creativity while keeping costumes simple, school-appropriate and keep costumes from covering their faces. Don’t forget to have your child bring the book that features their character so they can share it with their classmates! We look forward to seeing all the wonderful characters!

4th-7th Grade Girl With Grit School Workshop

Girl with Grit is one of ALA’s Advisory Board members and industry partners. They will host a Creative Construction workshop on campus on October 1st from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. This will be an opportunity for girls to explore careers in skilled trades, which are historically underrepresented by women. Girls will also build birdhouses during the workshop, gaining hands-on skills with tools.

There are 11 spots that are still available for 4th-6th grade girls. Sign up here! Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis. In the future, we will schedule more opportunities with other grade levels, including job shadowing and site visits.

11th & 12th Grade Families: Parent Workshop Opportunity

Learn more about how to support your college-bound student by clicking on the La Familia Parent Workshops Flyer. This is a 6 week program for parents that help students through college and scholarship applications, financial aid and more! This is for families who have students in 11th and 12th grade. Review the Family FAQ and click here to sign up!

ATHLETIC UPDATES:

Middle School

Congratulations to our MS Volleyball Players on the 1st Place Division Championship WIN!

ALA MS Athletics continues to show the importance of academic excellence and teamwork for a THIRD year in a ROW!

Thank you Coach Rachel McDonald and Coaches Sanchez for your dedication to our student athletes.

• Boys Basketball: Please see all practice and parent information in SportsYou

• Parent Meeting Monday, Sep. 30th @ 6:00 Tech Learning Staircase

• SportsYou sign up HERE

• Coach Brown @ tbrown8@saisd.net

• Girls Soccer : Please see all practice and parent information in SportsYou

• SportsYou sign up HERE

• Coach Sanchez @ ssanchez5@saisd.net

High School

• HS Volleyball: Tech vs. Jefferson Tuesday, Oct. 1st @ Tech 5:30(F) 6:15(JV) 4:30(V) @ ACC

• Tech Archery SportsYou sign up HERE. Contact Coach Birmingham @ jbirmingham@saisd.net

• HS Track and Field (Spring) SportsYou sign up HERE. Contact Coach Maney @ rmaney1@saisd.net

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

SAISD Superintendent Advisory Committee

CONGRATULATIONS to ALA's representatives serving on SAISD's Superintendent Advisory Committee for the 2024-2025 school year. Jennifer Briones is the 11th grade representative and Kamara Matthews is the 12th grade representative. Representatives attend eight meetings during the school year to represent their campus. They prepare for meetings by:

1. Exploring the committee’s topic of interest with peers, seeking out and considering varying student perspectives.

2. Meeting with the campus principal in advance to fully understand the committee’s topic of interest and the staff perspective.

The purpose of this committee is to lift up student voice and provide student input on educational issues to the Superintendent.

PreK CIRCLE Assessment

Window: September 3rd - October 4th

ACT, SAT, PSAT, & PSAT NMSQT Testing

ACT, SAT, PSAT, & PSAT NMSQT testing will occur on October 2 from 8:30am -12:30pm. All 10th, 11th, and 12th graders will be testing during the school day. Students should eat a good breakfast and arrive on time. Testing starts promptly at 9:00am. Any student arriving after 9:00 am will not be allowed to test. If a student leaves for the day during the test, they will not be allowed to finish the test at a later time. We are asking families to prioritize student attendance for this important testing opportunity.

4th & 5th Gifted and Talented Testing

Testing for students referred to the Gifted and Talented program by October 18, 2024 will occur in November. Please click on the link to view the informational flyer. The gifted and talented Universal Screener CogAT Test will take place between Oct. 16-30th for all 4th and 5th grade students. If you do not want your 4th/5th grade child to be assessed, please complete the electronic form using this LINK. Contact Ms. Irasema Martinez with questions at imartinez6@saisd.net

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.