Gladiator News

Hello Gladiator Families!

I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful weekend with the family! We had another wonderful week in Gladiator Nation and we are SUPER excited for the week ahead. I enjoyed walking into our Healthy Habits classes and watching our students learn about nutrition and good hygiene habits. We had a number of reasons to celebrate being a Gladiator this week too! One just happened a few hours ago! Our 7th Grade Football team is going to the Division 1 Football Championship!!! Go Gladiators! We will play Briscoe MS at Farris Stadium on Monday, November 2nd (Time is still TBD). Let's pack the stands Gladiators!

Orchestra Haunt-cert and Social

Our amazing Orchestra students and their directors, Mrs. Thornton and Mr. Cox, performed multiple spooky tunes on Tuesday night. I am always impressed with how well our students play at such an early stage in the school year. It is a testament to the leadership of Mrs. Thornton and Mr. Cox. At the end of the week they were able to rest and relax in our coliseum with a fun movie and tasty treats.

Thrill a Mill

On Wednesday night our Gladiators were performing at Gustafson Stadium. They showed off their acting and dancing skills in a quick performance of Dr. Seuss' Lorax followed by the Thriller dance... twice! Great job!

PTA Campus-wide Fundraiser

Thank you to all of the students, parents, grandparents, family members, and family friends that have donated to our PTA's Campus-wide Fundraiser. I want everyone to know where the funds go. These funds allow our PTA to provide snacks for students every first Friday of the month, provide Gladiator Grants to teachers (Additional Teacher Resources), provide 8th grade students with an end-of-year field day, provide 8th grade students with a cost-free end-of-year dance, and the ability to assist the campus with major initiatives. EVERY donation helps us reach our goal of $25,000. I LOVE our students and want to make the fundraiser FUN for them. The grade level that donates the largest dollar amount will enjoy an event known as the Gladiator Games on the afternoon of November 6th. We are also providing small prizes to the leading grade level as we go through the fundraiser. For those of you who have registered your student, please do not forget to add contacts to reach out to for a donation. Remember any amount helps! If you would like to have business donate to a grade level, you can send them one of these links:

6th Grade

7th Grade

8th Grade

Yes, Students May Dress Up October 30th

I know many of our Gladiators were asking me about this throughout the week. We are happy to let students dress up on the 30th, but please make sure they follow these general guidelines:

• Follow regular dress code rules
• No offensive or inappropriate content: Costumes cannot feature lewd, vulgar, or obscene language or imagery. They also cannot promote illegal substances, violence, or discrimination based on race, religion, gender, etc..
  
• No weapons: All costumes, and the items they might include, are prohibited from having weapons, including replicas or toys that could be mistaken for real weapons.
  
• No masks, fake blood, or excessive face paint.
  
• Safety and visibility: Costumes must not be unsafe, pose a tripping hazard, or inhibit vision.
  
• No Inflatable costumes.
• Respectful depictions: Costumes should not mock, demean, or culturally appropriate any group of people.
• Teacher/Administrative discretion: Administrators and teachers have the right to ask a student to change if a costume becomes a disruption

Reminders on Prohibited Items

We have noticed an spike in the number of students carrying Needoh-type fidget/stress toys. We ask that students keep all gel-filled spheres, powder-filled balls, or any mess-creating fidget/stress toys at home. Foam, plastic links, and quiet textured items that do NOT disrupt the learning environment or leave messes are acceptable when allowed by the teacher.

Another nuisance item we've noticed more of is Tech Decks. These are small handheld skateboards. Students are NOT allowed to have these toys out during the school day. Please make sure they keep them at home.

Immunization Information

Immunization letters will be sent home from our school nurse this week for all students with missing or overdue vaccines. Immunization exemption letters are only good for two calendar years. The bulk of overdue immunizations are for 7th grade students. Most of those students have probably completed their immunizations over the summer and the updated record was not turned in. Please turn in a hard copy of your child's updated immunization record or email Nurse Meg with proof of vaccines as soon as possible if you receive a letter.

Let's make it a great week! Be the change you seek!

“Education is our freedom and freedom should be everybody's business."

--Dr. Hector P. Garcia

NISD

Twitter: @NISD

Garcia Middle School

Instagram: @nisdgarcia

Facebook: Dr. Hector P. Garcia Middle School and Hector Garcia Middle School PTA

Administrators

Principal - Mateo Macias

Academic Dean- Lori Persyn

Associate Principal: Lynda DeSutter

Assistant Principal- Olivia Chamberlain

Counseling

Twitter- @HGMSCounseling

Instagram- @garcia_counseling_dept

Oct. 24- Muertofest @ Hemisfair

Oct. 26- Red Ribbon Week Begins

Oct. 27- Theater Hollywood Nights

Oct. 28- Girls Basketball Parent Meeting @ 5:15 pm

Oct. 29- 6th Grade Red Ribbon Rally

Oct. 30- Creepy Cafe in Library

Oct. 30- 6th Grade Fall Dance

Save the Date!

Registration will open on October 19th at 9:00 AM. Please note that spots fill up quickly—often within one to two hours—and space is limited. We encourage families to register promptly to secure a spot, as SA Cotillion unfortunately cannot accommodate late registrations once capacity is reached.

Thank you,

Katie Dever and Meghan Willshire

(Garcia-SA Cotillion representatives)

Email: mateo.macias@nisd.net
Website: https://www.nisd.net/garcia
Location: 14900 Kyle Seale Parkway, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: 210-397-8400