October 2016
PROUD STUDENTS OF THE MONTH
Clayton Brietzke (12th Grade)
Dylan Snow (11th Grade)
Elizabeth Britt (10th Grade)
Summer Knight (9th Grade)
TASSP Principal of the Year
Marion High School Principal Elizardo Hernandez was selected as the Texas Association of
Secondary School Principals Region 13 Outstanding Principal of the Year.
Opening Presentation and a Salute to U.S. Veterans’
Marion ISD Veterans’ Stadium
September 9, 2016
Marion High School’s most dedicated theatre arts students earned induction into the
International Thespian Society (ITS), the honor society for secondary school theatre
students. Congratulations:
Alysyn Andrews
Christopher Arnold
Jacob Barnes
Brianna French
Clarissa Herrera
Kylee Pape
Kelsey Castaneda
Rachel Finch
Nico Jung
Class of 2018
Class of 2018
Class of 2018
Class of 2017
Class of 2017
Class of 2017
Class of 2017
Class of 2017
Class of 2017
Yes we are!!! Marion High School has 24 newly registered, 18 year olds, ready to vote in
the 2016 Presidential Election.
A huge thanks to History Department Lead, Mr. Jon Allen, for spearheading the voter
registration drive. The history department will present a unit on voting and voting rights
to all classes. A mock presidential election will take place on Tuesday, November 8, 2016.
Marion High School
Making Connections: School – Students – Parents - Community
Marion High School was blessed with a wonderful start to the 2016-2017 school year. The
school welcomed an amazing group of new teachers and aides this school year: Laura Short
(DC English), Kelsey Ayala (Biology and AP Biology), Jose Jaso (Algebra 1), Justin Dunnam
(Geography/Coaching), Joe Lehmberg (Ag.) and Nick Milanovich (Special Education Aide).
We also want to add Ms. Lauren Woerndel to this list of amazing new teachers with her
move from an aide position to a teaching position. Each of these amazing individuals have
already proven their dedication to our students here at Marion High School. They are
working hard each day to build rapport and deliver quality lessons, so our students can
continue to be successful in all their endeavors.
MHS just wrapped up our first nine weeks grading period. This change has been an
adjustment, but our teachers and students have met it with great enthusiasm. Teachers are
working with students to monitor their grades, and our students are excepting the
responsibility. We are hoping this grading period change will help our students build
stronger habits for regulating their learning with the use of grade portal and tutoring.
MHS is looking at more wonderful things happening as we move through our year with
professional development opportunities for our teachers, student events, and campus
events. In the coming weeks, our sophomores and a small group of juniors will take the
PSAT. Our science teachers will be attending the CAST conference in early November.
Science Department. MHS has been accepted to receive “Science News in High
Schools” for the 2016-2017 academic year with the generous support of Regeneron and the
Society for Science & Public Health. Regeneron is a leading science-based
biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops medicines for the treatment of
serious medical conditions. Regeneron has generously committed to supporting 4000 high
schools to receive this program annually.
Math Department.
The Math Departments is on the move! Algebra 1 students have
been working on expressions, equations, and functions. Students have also already begun
preparing for the STAAR EOC. Geometry students have been laying the groundwork and
have been studying lines, points, planes, and angles. They will soon begin working with
proofs. Algebra 2 students have been working with equations, inequalities, and linear
functions. FCM students have been working with linear relations and functions. The PreCalculus students have been challenged by solving polynomial functions while our calculus
students have been working with rates of change, limits, and derivatives.
English Department.
English I classes have been looking at different pieces of
fiction to see various elements. Classes will be moving onto poetry by first reviewing
figurative language in popular culture.
English I Pre-DC classes have been working with fiction and nonfiction. They have been
working on writing descriptive essays. Students have been working on the writing process
and writing essays that appeal to all five of the senses. Pre-DC students have also been
participating in an in-class book club. Students have chosen books to read independently.
Each week they meet with 2-3 other students that are reading the same book to discuss the
novel and set a reading goal.
English II classes are studying poetry and writing in class. Students are constructing a story
from the poem "Annabelle Lee". English III is reading short stories and poems and English
IV just finished Canterbury Tales. Students are starting “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”
and then will be reading Shakespeare.
The Dual Credit Juniors are writing and debating about issues of human rights and human
dignity including the ban against Burqas in France, and the issue of stem cell research.
The Dual Credit Seniors have just completed a study of British history and literature
between the years 400 and 1400. They have just submitted their first 1,000 word essay
dealing with themes in the Canterbury Tales. They will now be moving on to the
Renaissance period and will begin reading Shakespeare.
History Department.
The History Department will be participating in the 2016
Mock Presidential election this year. Student mock elections have proven to be useful
educational tools in teaching students the election process. The knowledge gained from
these elections prepares all of our students for when they are all of voting age. It educates
them on this most important right, the right to vote. So we are very excited to share this
with our students again this year.
Agriculture.
The FFA has been off to a quick start with over 150 members this year.
Ag’s annual fundraiser kicked off on September 23 and will end on October 10. Twelve
members entered the state fair in Dallas with swine, lamb and steer projects. Allie Burns
had a Reserve Division Champion steer and Kaylee Musgrove had a 4th place market swine.
Both made the auction sale. FFA members are now getting ready for swine, goat and lamb
validations as well as preparing for Leadership Development Events which will be held in
November.
The FFA Range Team competed at the Area 7 judging contest and placed 5th, qualifying for
the state competition. Team members included: Chris Abrameit, Cody Abrameit, Cole
Avalos and Caleb Kunde.
Art. AP-Art students are busy working on their breadth portion of their course portfolio.
Students have been working on essays and polishing up on their Art vocabulary. Using the
appropriate vocabulary will be important when the students write their final essays for
their portfolio. The students are also being encouraged to submit applications and work on
scholarships.
Art students recently competed at the Guadalupe County Fair. MHS had 54 Art entries and
28 craft entries. MHS earned Best of Show placings: Summer Knight with her recycled
camera and Katy Loeffler with her Giraffe visual translation.
Athletics.
The Girls Volleyball Team record is 20-9/7-1. The team is in 1st place. The
team is also ranked 13th in the state! Stacey Radtke and Brianna Randle were recently
named Honorable Mention Players of the Week and Kalli Caddell was Player of the Week.
The coaching staff is very proud of the work put in from summer S&C to get them to this
point. Way to go Volleyball!!
The Varsity football team is currently 2-3 entering into the district portion of the schedule.
The team opens up district with a road trip to Ingram followed by the homecoming game
against Randolph.
The Cross Country Teams have been working hard since the beginning of August. The team
consists of 30 high school and middle school runners who work out before and after school.
Most days they have finished their workout before the average student has even gotten out
of bed!
Cross Country has competed in several meets and have had a number of top finishes. Corey
Rudacille and Joey Garcia have both earned medals on more than one occasion. On the girls
side, Sierra Knight and Emma Perez have both won medals. Cross Country is preparing for
the District Meet on October 19th in Seguin with one last meet this Saturday at Starcke
Park. The team is hoping to qualify several runners for the Regional Meet on October 29th
in Corpus Christi.
Band. The Marion High School Mighty Marching Band placed 3rd place at the Rough
Riders Marching Contest on Sat. Oct. 1. The band will compete at the UIL Marching Contest
on Saturday, October 22, 2016 at Heroes Stadium, San Antonio, Texas. Performance time:
12:30 p.m.
Bowling. The Marion High School Bowling Team is getting ready for a new season.
Students are currently bowling their trials to set their average. A parent-student
orientation will be held at 4:30 p.m. on October 17 at Fiesta Lanes in New Braunfels. The
Bowling Club will begin practicing on Thursday, Oct. 20.
Counseling.
Congratulations to the following members of the Classes of 2016 and
2017 for earning Palo Alto College Honors for Part Time Students for the Spring 2016
Semester. Those earning President's Honors for a 4.0 GPA are Sidney Knight, Abigale
Osborne, Jordan Proctor, Allie Burns, Kalli Caddell, Josie Carroll, Natalie Deml, Makenzie
Gregg, Caitlyn Krueger, Morgan Kunde,Ashley Laubach, Kaylee Musgrove, Kylee Pape,
Stacey Radtke, John Raggio, Faith Schultze and Keiko Stanberry.
Students earning Honors for 3.5 GPA are Cameron Boedeker, Raven Chambers, Jordan
Estrada, Morgan Friesenhahn. Candy Jauregui, Jordan Mendez, Mayson Schulze, Rylan
Schwab, Clarissa Troncoso, Jasmine Aguilar, Matthew Dutton, Justin Lindley, Emily Reiley
and Isaac Salcido.
Several students have already been accepted to colleges, most are taking SAT and ACT one
more time, just trying to get their scores a little better for scholarship applications.
MHS will be giving the ASVAB to Juniors and Seniors on November 16, 2016. MHS will have
Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force recruiters on campus that day assisting with the testing,
and then following up with student post-tests
Several colleges have been and will be visiting campus over the next few months. Parents
and students can meet with admissions recruiters’ right here on campus.
PSAT-- October 19, 2016. We will be testing 180 students, which is the largest testing
number to date.
Communities in Schools. At the beginning of the school year, Communities in
Schools (CIS) participated in Fish camp to aid the freshman and new students to the district
in transitioning to the high school. CIS has also assisted a large number of students from all
grade levels with their back to school needs by providing school supplies, clothing, and
shoes. These items will continue to be provided as needed throughout the school year.
Multiple students and parents have also received supportive guidance to assist in coping
with personal/family issues that could negatively impact academic success. Several
students with more comprehensive needs have also been referred to Connections for
weekly counseling. CIS also partnered with Lifetouch Photography to coordinate an event
in which 30 faculty members donated photo packages to economically disadvantaged
students.
One of the campus wide goals CIS has set for this school year is increasing college and
career awareness. Project Success, a college preparation program, will be available to
students again this year. The first meeting was held on September 29th, and CIS will
provide assistance to students and parents throughout the year all day on Thursdays in the
Tondre Room in the library. Since the first meeting, approximately 35 students have
participated in Project Success. In addition, several military recruiters have already visited
with students on several occasions, and an admissions advisor from the University of North
Texas has also came to the high school and provided students with information about the
university.
The second school wide goal CIS set forth for this school year is to increase overall
attendance. Therefore, when students have been absent, the Site Coordinator has called
parents to inquire about their absences, provided transportation when students missed the
bus, and requested homework from teachers.
Creative Writing Club.
Mrs. Short, our new Duel Credit English teacher has begun a new Creative Writing Club that
has gained a lot of excitement and involvement from the students. There were nineteen
students in attendance at the first meeting. The purpose of the club is to give kids a place
where their creative work can be fostered and shared in a constructive writing community.
The new Creative Writing Club is the talk on campus!!! Go Bulldogs!!!
History Club. The History Club met at the beginning of October to pick out which
shirts they want for the year. They have also decided to attend the Texas Renaissance
Festival in November. The History Club will be studying Texas history and decide on a local
trip for the spring.
National Honor Society.
The National Honor Society Council is finalizing the
selection of candidates for the 2016-2017 school year. The induction ceremony is
scheduled for October 24th.
Photography. The Photography Club have kicked off the year and have 54 members.
Photographers have a lot that they are already working on. For starters, students wrapped
up the Guadalupe County Fair. MHS submitted 174 entries! Our school had 8 out of 12
Best of Shows and took the Grand Champion photo! Congratulations to: Dakota
Timmermann (Grand Champion and Best of Show), Garrett Rodgers, Logan Daniels, Josie
Carroll, Morgan Kunde, Austin Sekula and Stacy Radtke.
The Photography Club will take part in the MHS Community Clean-Up on Oct. 15, 2016.
Plans for the first photography field trip is in the works. The group hopes to travel to Lost
Maples State Park to capture the many colors of foliage.
Spanish Club.
The Spanish Club has had its first meeting and has 36 members
registered. This year the Spanish Club will decorate and ride a float in the homecoming
parade, send participants to a Spanish Spelling Bee, participate in a community clean-up
project, attend a Tamalada workshop, explore cultural dances such as salsa and flamenco,
participate in our traditional Christmas party at Chuy's, plan and participate in a cultural
spring field trip. The club looks to have a very busy school year learning about the culture.
Student Council. The MHS Marion High School Student Council started the school
year by assisting the National Honor Society in running Fish Camp for the incoming
freshmen. The event was well attended and appreciated by the freshmen students.
Student council is responsible for putting up flags every morning and taking them down in
the afternoon. Before every football game, the student council exchanges a friendship
basket with the opposing team. For the dedication to the new stadium, student council
provided a group of volunteers to assist in presenting the large flag on the field.
At the councils last meeting, they began collecting donations to the small food pantry
needed by the Communities in Schools. As a step toward beautifying our campus, STUCO
planted flowers under the marqee. The council’s next step is brightening the area near the
entrance to the main office.
During the month of October, STUCO will be addressing Anti-Bullying and Anti-Drugs.
Theatre. The Marion High School Theatre Department has been hard at work on their
fall show: "Twelve Angry Jurors." This is an adaptation of the well-known 1957 teleplay,
"Twelve Angry Men" starring Henry Fonda. Since its premiere nearly 60 years ago, Twelve
Angry Men has gone through several transitions and has ended up as a mainstay of the high
school theatre repertoire. In addition, technical theatre students have begun work on the
Marion Middle School production "The Most Amazing Christmas Series in the History of the
World."
UIL. Students participating in UIL Academic contests will be attending the Super
Conference at UT Austin on Saturday, October 22nd. The UIL Super Conference provides
workshops to help students prepare for competition. UIL Academic events provide
students with an opportunity to be challenged beyond the regular classroom. Debate
students are also getting ready for upcoming practice meets in preparation for District
competition in the spring.
Yearbook.
Yearbook staff have developed a cover and spread templates for the
yearbook. Students are very enthused and have been attending games and events to take
photography for the yearbook.
Community Clean-Up
Congratulations Mrs. Leandra Washington, GVEC Calendar Contest Winner!
$1,000 will go toward the Marion Athletic Booster Club