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Gladiator News
September 11 -September 15, 2023
Hello Garcia Families,
What a great week we had! This coming week we have some exciting events including our Annual Garcia Athletics Family Night, our first football and volleyball games vs. Bernal, and our first cross country meet on Sept. 16!! Please remember you need to purchase the CORRECT tickets for games online. There will be no ticket purchases at the games, tickets must be purchased online and will be scanned at the gates of the game. You can purchase tickets to any NISD event here:
https://www.nisd.net/district/athletics/middle-school-tickets
We need volunteers for career day! We will be sending out information on how to sign up later in the week via email.
There are NO EARLY RELEASE days during the fall semester. Early release days will occur in the spring semester.
Picture day is on Thursday!! We will send out picture order forms on Monday and Tuesday!
Information about Pizza With The Principal, student newsletter, club information and academic coaching information will be out soon! Stay tuned!
News From PTA
Visit the PTA table at Athletic Night and enter for a chance to win Gladiator Stadium Seat!
PTA will be selling raffle tickets - $5 for current PTA members or get free raffle ticket with a new membership. The drawing will be held during the meeting, you need to be present to win.
Support our PTA and enter for your chance to win a one-of-a-kind stadium seat!
We need a Watch DOG parent volunteer. We may have to delay or cancel our Watch DOG program due to lack of a parent volunteer to help with the program. That means we will have to cancel the close to 100 volunteers who have signed up to keep our campus safe. We do not want this! Please email Dr. Lopez at mark.lopez@nisd.net to volunteer so we don't loose our Watch DOG program.
Students are still receiving their IDs. We will communicate a plan to the students, teachers and community about how students can replace any lost IDs. Remember, students will need their IDs for things like checking out books, paying for lunch, entering dances/athletics events, and more. Students are required to wear their IDs, visibly, while on campus each day. Students can replace their lanyards if they choose.
Every student should not have a district issued Chromebook and charger. We are still in the process of getting them out to students who were absent, or are having tech issues. We will continue to work through all the issues. We will communicate the process for replacing lost/damaged computers and chargers to families this week. We thank you for your patience.
We are currently only able to run two of the four lunch lines in our cafeteria due to staffing issues. Our cafeteria staff has done a great job of getting students their lunches quickly. We are having some trouble with our 8th grade lunch time. Our 8th grade class is currently over 500 students. Getting our students through the line with enough time to eat has been a challenge this week. We are working for ways to allow the last students some extra time to eat to they do not feel rushed. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this small challenge.
We have set spirit days on our campus to have some fun and to help bring awareness to our kindness club and AVID! See the flyer below and put them on your calendars! Our first spirt days are next week!
Need a spirit shirt? Check out the flyer below. You can download, print and return to place your order
Please see our traffic pattern map below. Our traffic patterns are a TEAM effort each day. If everyone follows the patters as they are listed, both our drop off and pick up lines move much faster. We have our campus police out on Kyle Seale each day to help as well. We have teachers and administrators in front of the school. We will review walking patterns with students the first week of school as well. Once we get through the first week we can get our lines down in about 10 minutes from dismissal each day.
Here are some tips to help our traffic each day:
1. Please do not drop off or pick up students on Kyle Seale, this is illegal and dangerous
2. Please do not pick up or drop off at the Grandview park, the subdivision has asked local PD to issue citations for trespassing
3. If your student is not ready to be picked up in the front drive, please circle around or park in the parking lot until they are ready
4. Do not form lines in the parking lot. It blocks traffic patterns. Please use a parking spot to wait.
5. Please do not pick up in the lane closet to the parking lot, this is dangerous and slows our traffic
Please see the information from NISD regarding the law change about vaping below.
Attention all art students: art kits from our vendor are no longer available. We will be sending out information on how to purchase art kits from the art teachers this week.
We offer a calendar link to our community calendar. We put all of our campus events on the calendar so our Gladiator Nation can support all our wonderful events.
We have included some information from Nurse Kat, Please take time and read her message about NISD health screenings that will occur.
Our front doors will remain locked for safety. Please be patient as we welcome each of you into our building. When you arrive at our door, please call our front office and someone will be there to give you access to our building. Safety is our first priority at Garcia! Speaking of safety, did you know we have a Watch DOGS program at HGMS? In fact we had about 120 Watch DOGS last year who helped keep our campus safe each day! We encourage all moms, and dads to volunteer for this fantastic program! We are in search of a "Top Dog" also to help us organize this wonderful program.
Did you know last year, and all or our years, we had the largest PTA in NISD??!! That is one of the qualities that make HGMS so great! Our goal for PTA memberships this year is 1000. I know we can do it! We were so close last year. Did you also know you can sign up your student? Even grandparents can sign up! Please take some time to join our PTA this year, along with your student. We have some special gifts for those who sign up two or more individuals! Each and every penny we raise through PTA goes back to our school. We also offer business sponsorships for our community members. Have you seen those wonderful banners with businesses on them as you come into our school? Those are our PTA business partners and they receive some outstanding perks for partnering with our PTA. We have such a supportive board. We are SO grateful for all they do for our school! Please see the HGMS spirit gear order form and information from PTA below for more details!!.
Thank you so much for all the love you showed your PTA during Market Day and the Open Houses. We've received 548 memberships! We’re halfway to our goal of 1,000. If you’ve signed up, THANK YOU!!! If you haven’t, please do so today so we can end August strong. Your PTA membership does not obligate you to volunteer. It simply says you are on our team and support what we’re doing for our Garcia community. Your $10 dues contribute to the classroom grants and faculty and staff appreciation events…just to name a few! It only takes a few minutes. Go to www.hgmspta.com, click on “Form & Payments”, and then “PTA Membership”. Paper forms are also available in the office. Remember…parents, grandparents, friends and students can be members. For every two memberships purchased, you get a free Garcia cinch bag. This year we will start recognizing our student members every month, so sign them up now so they’re not left out!
We can do this!!!
We ask you to connect with us via social media. All of our information is below:
NISD
Twitter: @NISD
Garcia Middle School
Twitter: @NISDgarcia
Instagram: @nisdgarcia
Facebook:Dr. Hector P. Garcia Middle School and Hector Garcia Middle School PTA
Principal- Mark Lopez
Twitter: @DrMarkJLopez
Academic Dean- Lori Persyn
Twitter:@LoriPersyn
Associate Principal: Mateo Macias
Twitter:@APMateoMacias
Assistant Principal- Jennifer Christensen
Twitter: @teach_jen
Dr. Hector P. Garcia Middle School
Counseling
Twitter- @HGMSCounseling
Instagram- @garcia_counseling_dept
Important Dates
Sept. 12- Garcia Athletics Family Night, 6pm
Sept. 14.- Picture Day!
Sept 13- Football Vs. Bernal
Sept. 14- Volleyball Vs. Bernal
Sept. 16- Cross Country Meet, Gus Stadium, 8 am
Sept. 20 Hector Garcia Day
Sept. 20 Pizza with the Principal
Sept. 20- Football Vs. Briscoe
Sept. 21- Volleyball Vs. Briscoe
Sept. 21- SAT Meeting (Library)
Sept. 23- Cross Country, Gus Stadium, 8 am
Sept. 27- Football Vs. Straus
Sept. 27- Volleyball Vs. Straus
Sept. 30- Cross Country, Gus Stadium, 8am
HGMS Traffic Flow Map
New Vaping Law Information
NISD Families:
The Texas Legislature recently enacted HB 114 requiring all school districts to implement mandatory disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP) placement for students found in possession of, using, selling, giving, or delivering e-cigarettes or vaping devices on school grounds or at a school-related event.
This alternative school placement, required by law, is made regardless of whether the substance being vaped is a controlled substance or not.
We ask that you discuss this new state law with your child(ren).
HGMS Counseling Department
HGMS Library
From the HGMS Nurse
Important information regarding NISD health screening in the link below. Please read
HGMS PTA
Gladiator Nation!
We are so excited to welcome you back to school! My name is Andi Schmid and I am looking forward to my second year as the HGMS PTA President. We have an amazing PTA Board and we all have big plans for Garcia this year. The purpose of the PTA is to support the faculty, staff, parents, and most especially, our students at Garcia.
In order to be successful, we need the support and involvement of our families, faculty, staff, and community business leaders. I encourage you to become a member of our PTA. Your membership is $10 and dues help support the various programs the PTA sponsors at Garcia (and there is no volunteer requirement!) Membership is encouraged not only for parents, but also for students, grandparents, and community members. You can join by completing the membership form online at www.hgmspta.com. For every two memberships purchased, you'll receive a free Gladiator cinch bag courtesy of our PTA Gold Sponsor Pierson & Saunders Orthodontics.
While you're on our site, take a look at our Spirit Store. We've added several new items this year. You can get a jump start on shopping by purchasing online and picking up your items at Market Day. Avoid the lines and purchase your items by noon on Tuesday (8/15). Your order will be bagged and waiting for you at the PTA table in the lobby by the cafeteria. You can also complete and bring the order form provided below.
Another way to support our school is through PTA Sponsorships. We offer two levels a Gold ($500) and a Silver ($250). Both levels provide significant promotion and exposure to our Garcia community. Sponsorships and donations can be completed on our website - www.hgmspta.com.
We are still in need of a Garcia parent to be our Top Dog for our Watch Dog program. Ms. Rasco has volunteered to be our faculty sponsor for Watch Dogs! So, if you were thinking about volunteering, but weren't sure about taking it on by yourself, you won't be alone. Stop by the Watch Dog table at Market Day to sign up and meet Ms. Rasco.
And finally, I want to introduce our PTA Board. These ladies do so much and are so dedicated to making sure Garcia is the best it can be. If you are interested in getting involved or helping out, you can email us at HectorGarciaPTA@gmail.com. Several of our committees are in need of additional help.
President Andi Schmid
1st VP of Membership Jaime Key
2nd VP of Fundraising Melissa Barber
Secretary Alexis Clanton
Treasurer Jennifer Couch
Parliamentarian Summer Diamond
Communications Bethany Bellizzi
Hospitality Karina Wood & Crystal Pena
Programs Natalie Balderrama
Reflections Allison Smith
Spirit Gear Michelle Chang
Spirit Nights Kristin Acosta
To stay informed about upcoming events throughout the year, be sure to sign up for emails from PTA on our website and follow us on Facebook at Hector Garcia Middle School PTA.
I look forward to seeing you at Market Day and working with you throughout the year.
Thank you!
Andi Schmid
HGMS Calendar Of Events- Click Image For More Detail
Upcoming Events/Announcements
Connect With Dr. Lopez!!
Email: mark.lopez@nisd.net
Website: https://www.nisd.net/garcia
Location: 14900 Kyle Seale Parkway, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: 210-397-8400
Twitter: @DrMarkJLopez