Valley View Independent School District

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SUCCESS, NOTHING LESS

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

welcome 2017-2018 BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Jose A. Rosillo, Board President Frank Jimenez, Member Noe Pruneda, Vice President Juan A. Pimentel, Member Susana Arredondo, Secretary Efrain Perez, Member Ricardo Cortez Jr., Asst. Secretary Rolando Ramirez, Superintendent

SUPERINDENTENT’S OFFICE

Rolando Ramirez

Success,

NOTHING LESS

SUPERINTENDENT

AR Challenge

Reading is extremely important in the lives of our students and in the success of our district.

It is the one subject that extends into all the other subject areas. In an effort to promote reading, the district has undertaken the Accelerated Reader (AR) STAR Challenge. Through student and teacher incentives and staff competition, we improved performance in our AR program. The word is out to read, read, read!!

Top AR students for the district are taken to Main Event for lunch and to play laser tag, gravity ropes, and bowling along with a $20 shopping spree at our local Walmart.

2016/2017 1st-3rd Six Weeks AR Points By Campus

Academics & Attendance

Campus 2016 2017 Improvement Elementary 33,203 46,009 + 12,806 High School 8,801 33,520 + 24,719 Lucas 21,944 30,630 + 8,686 Early College 10,562 26,652 + 16,090 5th Gd. Campus 19,123 26,134 + 7,011 South 17,589 25,032 + 7,443 North 19,136 23,202 + 4062 Junior High 14,784 20,245 + 5461

Beautification of the District

5th Grade Campus Student Area: The 5th Grade Campus is our oldest building. Preserving our Valley View history and promoting Tiger pride is critical in instilling pride, an ethic of hard work, and character in our students.

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Electronic Marquee Initiative: Each campus and department, with the assistance of our Board of Trustees and PTOs, is fundraising to buy electronic marquees. The marquees at each campus and central office will enhance district and community communication by keeping students and parents informed of upcoming events, deadlines, and the latest district news.

SUCCESS, NOTHING LESS

5th Grade Campus/Junior High Roads: Our Maintenance Department has been working hard to construct the 5th Grade Campus and Junior High roads behind each campus. This assists in the student drop-offs at each of these campuses and provides an easy access to the entrances and exits of the campuses for our parents.

SUPERINTENDENT

Our students and staff are performing better on our district benchmark assessments at this time compared to last year. Our student & staff attendance has improved compared to last year, as well. As we find better and more interesting ways to engage our students, our efforts are paying off. Everyone is working as a team with a positive attitude ensuring that we dedicate ourselves for a brighter future for our students. Without a doubt our students and staff are living up to this year’s district theme of Success, and Nothing Less!

HIGH SCHOOL

Community OUTREACH

VVHS TSTEM Collaborates with RGV Food Bank On November 15, 2017 VVHS TSTEM students dropped off 685 cans of food and 400 boxes of cereal.

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SUCCESS, NOTHING LESS

HIGH SCHOOL

During the 2 hours spent there, students made 650 Thanksgiving bags for the elderly.

Feast of Sharing Valley View ISD held its annual Thanksgiving Feast of Shar-

ing at Valley View High School on Tuesday, November 14, 2017. The community came together to enjoy a well-deserved meal with friends and family.

UTRGV Mobile Lab The UTRGV Mobile lab visited Valley View High School on

November 1, 2017. Students had the opportunity to research inside the mobile DNA extraction lab.

Academic Success at National Level in AP Students who are successful in the AP Spanish Litera-

ture and Culture exam with a score of 3 or more will always be remembered in Valley View High School when their names are placed in the Hall of Fame to appreciate their success.

EARLY COLLEGE

Thank you

FOR YOUR SERVICE

Veterans Day Breakfast

Thank you for your service.

Reading with the Author

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ECC Librarian, Jaime Perez reads chapter one of his award-winning novel for Mr. Herrera’s World Geography classes during a “Reading with the Author” session. Students continue reading the novel as a class and, upon finishing it, will take part in a post-reading, question-answer session with Mr. Perez before eventually AR testing on the novel. This proved to be a very engaging and interactive experience for both Mr. Perez and, most importantly, the students.

E A R LY C O L L E G E

On November 10, 2017 Early College Campus hosted a Veterans Day Breakfast at the library to honor all VVISD Staff who have served our country. In total, the district has 11 staff members who have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep the rest of us safe and out of harm’s way. Crystal Franz, Rogelio Ortegon, Juan Sanchez, Isaias Vidal, Guadalupe Trejo, Marcos Lozano, Ralph Herrera, Ed Lee, Juan Rivas, Eva Miller and Luis Santana

JUNIOR HIGH

Cultural

TRADITIONS

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JUNIOR HIGH

Mr. Homero Gracia’s Language and Culture I classes learned about the Mexican tradition of “Dia de los Muertos” and what it encompasses weeks prior to the celebration date of November 2nd. In class, students learned that such celebration is a mixture of mystical devotion where the religious and the pagan are combined, just as fear and mockery. Death inspires songs, and it is ridiculed in cartoons and in “calaveras”. It’s even devoured in the form of candy or bread. In addition an altar of the dead is made to remember our deceased. The altar consists of three levels: the first represents the earth, the second is purgatory, and the third represents heaven which is where the that is where the photos of the deceased are placed. Putting theory into practice, his classes set up an “altar de los muertos” in our school library to honor their loved ones who have passed on.

Athletic Success Valley View Junior High, students and coaches did an excellent in participation in the student athletic participation. It was an enormous undertaking trying to get a volunteer coach and players for the 6th grade football team. Baseball tryouts for 7th grade baseball team was done efficiently and Cross Country practice was strenuous.

Thanks to the leadership and dedication combined from Mr. Ronald Martinez and Antonio Rosillo, we are now enjoying a 5-1 record. Our 6th grade Football team played with all their might and overcame obstacles unafraid. Our student population and take great pride in this accomplishment.

Thanks to our baseball coaches; Mr. Gonzalez and Mr. Aquino who lead their team to a Co-Championship in the first year of baseball in our district. The team ended the season with a 5-1 record. This group of athletes bring promising news for Valley View Athletics as they prepare for High School competition.

We would also like to congratulate Coach Esparza who led Felipe Zarate to a second place in District competition.

FIFTH GRADE CAMPUS

Back Off

DRUGS & BULLIES

Valley View 5th Grade Campus celebrated Red Ribbon Week from October 23-31st. This year’s theme was “YOUR FUTURE IS KEY, SO STAY DRUG FREE”. This much-anticipated event was a huge success and the message for our student body was invaluable. Students not only got the opportunity to experience guest speakers from US Border Patrol and the Pharr Police Department, but also participate in thematic dress up days. From short skits that students and staff members participated in, to real hands on life stories from our guest speakers, our students were taught the importance of staying drug free throughout their lives. Our students enjoyed various thematic days, such as our popular “Smarty Pants, Don’t Use Drugs (Nerd Day)” to our Team Up Against Drugs (Sport Jersey) day.”

We would like to remind our parents to always remain vigilant and proactive with their children as they grow through the critical age of the teenage years. The commitment to stay drug free starts from inculcation of our own values at home, and here at Valley View 5th Grade Campus we believe that students choices can be molded by teaching and expressing the importance to receive an education. We would like to express our most sincere thanks to all the parents for the support that made the Red Ribbon Celebration at the 5th Grade Campus great success.

Anti-Bullying Pep-Rally

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Through this school wide assembly our students were taught what bullying means, and to commit themselves to respect each other and to stand against bullying. Our 5th Grade Student Council opened up the rally, by explaining the definition of bullying and guided all students to say our school anti-bullying pledge. Our counselor Mrs. Cantu introduced the Superhero Anti-Bullying Training Academy. The training academy presented popular superheroes such as, Iron Man, Captain America, Batman and the Joker. The super heroes spoke to our students on standing against bullying and uniting the campus. Students had a fantastic time being involved through games, and mini-sketches while building on the importance of speaking up and reporting when they or their friends are being bullied.

SUCCESS, NOTHING LESS

Students at a Valley View 5th Grade Campus learned the importance of reporting bullying and standing up for others in a time need. The Anti-bullying pep rally carried over an important message for all students integrating short skits and role playing various scenarios students often find themselves in through everyday activities.

FIFTH GRADE CAMPUS

Red Ribbon Week Celebration

VALLEY VIEW ELEMENTARY

Science

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SUCCESS, NOTHING LESS

VALLEY VIEW ELEMENTARY

EXPERIMENTS

Portable Planetarium Students and teachers were able to discover the night sky and its constellations when the UTRGV’s Portable Planetarium came to Valley View Elementary. The Portable Planetarium offers video presentations on astronomy as well as videos on the body and dinosaurs. Through its video presentations, the planetarium creates and promotes a one of a kind learning and educational learning experience. Students can enjoys a variety of videos tailored to children of all ages and school curriculum. Some of the videos include Oasis in Space, Black Holes, Sky Quest, and Space Shapes.

SCI ENCE

L AB

NEWS

Fall Planting Valley View Elementary students have been learning how to prepare the soil in a vegetable garden, planting seeds, and maintaining the garden. Thanks in part to a generous grant from Texas A & M Agricultural Department, which allowed for the installation of a watering system for our garden, our students began planting vegetables. Our students are not only learning about the process of growing their own food, but also how it gets to the table. Soon we hope to be eating fresh fruit and vegetables. In addition, our students have been successful in hatching eggs at our science lab. Our school kept two of the most recent hatched chicks as pets. Soon, we hope to have Twix and Miley, our pet chickens, contributing with some freshly laid eggs!

NORTH ELEMENTARY

Commitment to

EDUCATION

3rd Grade Jessica Fernandez class and 4th Grade Erika Cantu-Flores class Students at North Elementary in Mrs. Fernandez 3rd grade and Mrs. Cantu-Flores 4th grade have the honorable distinction of Perfect Attendance this 6 weeks. We appreciate their effort and commitment to have the students come to school each day. The students and teachers were invited to go to Mr. Gattis, to enjoy an afternoon of pizza and fun.

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The School participated in the Homecoming Parade and activities at Tiger Stadium. The staff and students worked hard to prepare for this event. Mrs. Ugarte 4th grade and her husband, graciously donated the Tiger Train for the Parade. It is this level of team spirit that carries into academic work that makes North Elementary earn 1st Place.

SUCCESS, NOTHING LESS

1st Place Honors for Homecoming Festivities

NORTH ELEMENTARY

Perfect Attendance Classes

SOUTH ELEMENTARY

Honoring

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SUCCESS, NOTHING LESS

SOUTH ELEMENTARY

our

HEROES

Thank you,Veterans Valley View South honored Veterans on Tuesday, November 14, 2017. Veterans were invited to attend a parade in which the whole school saluted them and thanked them for their service. Veterans enjoyed breakfast and got to spend some quality time with their loved ones. It was a pleasure seeing Veterans and their families having a great time. We, at Valley View South Elementary, appreciate the sacrifices Veterans have made for our country. Thank you!

Read S’More!

Valley View South encourages all students to “Read S’More” by inviting them to participate in the six weeks incentives after meeting their Accelerated Reader goal. Students had so much fun creating, melting, and eating their very own smores! Valley View South Elementary students are always anxious to read and participate in many fun activities! Let’s continue to Read, Read, and Read S’More!

LUCAS ELEMENTARY

Being

THANKFUL

Each year, we are amazed at the outpouring of love and generosity. This time was no exception. Student Council reached out to students and parents for donations of non-perishable food items and collected 1500 items.

Congratulations to the Kinder students! Thank you, Everyone, for supporting our school.

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The Hidalgo Police Department and Yaqui Animal Rescue took the food donations to help people and pets in need. The class with the most food items collected won a Pizza Party. The winning class was Mrs. Orozco’s class. They collected over 299 food items.

SUCCESS, NOTHING LESS

We have so many reasons to be thankful all year long and our students love to take this time of year to reflect on some of those reasons. One of our many reasons to be thankful is because of the Lucas Elementary school community. Our Student Council’s mission is to “give back” the school community. This year, we had the opportunity to serve people and vulnerable animals in need by sponsoring a weeklong food collection.

LUCAS ELEMENTARY

Lucas Elementary Student Council Conducts Annual Food Drive

ATHLETICS

Athletic

ACHIEVEMENTS

VA L L E Y V I E W / H I D A L G O

2nd Annual Border Brawl 2017 Valley View and Hidalgo ISD hosted the 2017 Border Brawl Girls’ Basketball Tournament. This is the second year that it is hosted and it is one of the biggest girls’ basketball tournaments in the State.

There were 40 teams from all over the state. There were teams from Rio Grande City to Los Fresnos representing the Valley. San Antonio was represented by 3 teams and Corpus Christi brought 5 teams. It is one of the most competitive basketball tournaments in the state of Texas. This was a 3 day tournament held at VV Jr High, ECC and HS Gymnasiums before the Thanksgiving break.

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SUCCESS, NOTHING LESS

ATHLETICS

Ediberto Reyes Signs with Lobos It gives me great pleasure and joy to announce that Valley View’s Ediberto Reyes signed a letter of intent to play at The University of New Mexico Baseball program. Ediberto will be playing Division 1. Not only is this young man achieving excellence on the field but even in the class. He is one of our top students in both attendance and grades while not having any discipline issues in any area. Ediberto’s hard work on academics and athletics have excelled him with this opportunity. His leadership skill follow him throughout all the work he does on and off the baseball diamond. As a leader, he sets the example by always being the first and the last to leave the field. Even after practice is over he is seen assisting with the lower classman in the batting cages or on the field. He is Valley View’s first student/athlete to sign with a Division 1 university.

Elementary XC Meet On October 21, 2017, Community Angels sponsored a 1K among all the elementary schools from Valley View ISD. Over 120 students participated from grades 4th, 5th and 6th. Both boys’ and girls’ divisions were ran at every grade. The course consisted of running in dirt, grass, asphalt and going up and down on some small hills. There were some excellent times registered!! South, North, Lucas and VV Elementary were very well represented and the PE coaches were very competitive. Thank you to Community Angels for sponsoring the event and we look forward to other events that are going to be sponsored.

FINE ARTS

Santa Claus

CAME TO TOWN Santa Claus Came to Town Guess who came to Valley View ISD? Santa Claus came to Town! Can you guess who was caught being Nice and never naughty? Our very own PK3, PK4 and Kinder students! Santa came bearing gifts and in turn received lots of smiles on December 20, 2017. We would like to thank our Superintendent and Board for inviting Santa to spread treasures and tons of joy to our VVISD students.

HS Theatre Arts Program Presents “The Never Ending Story” This Fall!

Marching Band Area Round Competitors

SUCCESS, NOTHING LESS

The Valley View HS “Tiger” Marching Band marched with pride and confidence as they represented Valley View ISD at this year’s Area Round UIL Marching Band Competition. The Tiger Band earned a Division 1 Sweepstakes Award at the UIL Region Contest, more popularly known as “Pigskin”, meaning that the ensemble earned Division 1 Ratings from all adjudicators on the judging panel. The Tiger Band advanced to the UIL Area Round of Competition where they missed finals by 4 bands. The Tiger Band has a proven track record of success this season by earning Division 1 Ratings at every competition they attended.

FINE ARTS

The Valley View HS Theatre Arts Program will be presenting their Fall Production, the story of a small and strange child who is neglected by his father after the death of his mother. While escaping from some bullies, he bursts into an antique bookstore where he finds his interest held by a book called “The NeverEnding Story”. Each year our Award Winning HS Theatre Arts Department presents their Fall Production for all of the surrounding community, parents, and students to enjoy. The production show dates and times can be found on the Valley View ISD Performing Arts Calendar!!

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SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Bilingual

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SPECIAL PROGRAMS

EDUCATION

The Valley View ISD Bilingual/ESL Department would like to share with our readers some information about the bilingual education program, which is implemented at the elementary school level (grades PK3 through 5). The objective of the bilingual education program is to teach the Texas essential knowledge and skills through the use of the students’ primary language. The goal is to enable English language learner students to become competent in the comprehension, speaking, reading and writing of the English language through the development of literacy and academic skills in their primary language and English. Research shows that once essential concepts are learned well in one language, they can be transferred to a second one. Research also demonstrates that schooling for limited English proficient students in which instruction is only given in English is often inadequate for our students. Therefore, we offer an early exit transitional program that provides instruction in a language that is comprehensible to the students, while emphasizing a strong English-as-a-second-language (ESL) component. The ESL component aims to teach English through methodologies that take into consideration the students’ native language, which is not English. The bilingual education program has the same high expectations for our students regarding the state-required curriculum, simply with linguistic modifications while they are on the road to becoming proficient in English. The Bilingual/ESL Department for Valley View ISD will provide the necessary support to all the schools so that our students master the state curriculum at or above grade level and learn English at a high academic level. If you have any questions regarding bilingual education, please contact the office at (956) 340-1050.

Compliance with ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act)

It is very important to note that Family and Community Engagement and parent outreach activities, such as these ESL Classes for Parents, have been activities which we proposed on our 2017-2018 ESSA grant request to the Texas Education Agency.

PEIMS OFFICE

Perfect

ATTENDANCE It’s rewarding to come to school!

The District has 97.33% in Attendance.

Perfect attendance demonstrates the motivation of a student to be at school every day, and to overcome obstacles that stand in the way of his or her goal. Valley View ISD had six classrooms with perfect attendance in the 1st 6wks, and currently has sixteen classrooms for the 2nd 6wks. This demonstrates how determined Valley View ISD students are to achieve Perfect Attendance. Classrooms were awarded with a PEIMS Perfect Attendance Field Trip and high school students were additionally rewarded with a movie ticket.

1st 6wks 100% Perfect Attendance High School

Science

Mrs. Lozano – Spanish

J. Rivas- Math

ECC

North Elem.entary

3rd E. Garcia, 4th L. Guerra

3rd Grade M. Garza

High School R. Perez - Robotics L. Lozano - Spanish R. Saenz - History

ECC

V. Rios KG

North Elementary J. Fernandez 3rd E. Cantu Flores 4th

Wilbur E. Lucas I. Orozco - PK S. Tapia - 4th Grade

Valley View Elementary

L. Guerra 4th Grade B. De La Garza 4th Grade

5th Grade Campus R. Cruz, P. Hernandez

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J. Rivas - Math K. Hess - Band D. Jasso - Band D. Torres - Band

South Elementary

SUCCESS, NOTHING LESS

1st 6wks 100% Perfect Attendance

PEIMS

M. Cantu 8th Grade

Valley View Elementary

Campus/Department

Principal /Director

Phone Number

Superintendent’s Office

Rolando Ramirez, Superintendent

956-340-1000

Asst. Superintendent’s / Curriculum Office

Monica Luna, Assistant Superintendent

956-340-1000

Business Office

Rolando Moreno, Finance Director

956-340-1030

Federal Programs Dept.

Camilo Martinez, Federal Programs Dir.

956-340-1050

Migrant Department Dr. Matthew Meyers, Migrant/Bilingual/ESL Director

956-340-1060

Special Ed. Department

Perla Del Angel, Sp. Ed. Director

956-340-1080

PEIMS Department

Sandra L. Rodriguez, PEIMS Director

956-340-1020

Child Nutrition Dept.

Karla Rodriguez, Child Nutrition Director

956-340-1170

Support Services/ Transportation Department

Alejandro Rodriguez, Support Services Director

956-340-1140

CTE Department

Ramiro Balderas, CTE Director

956-340-1500

Fine Arts Department

Manuel Rodriguez, Fine Arts Director

956-340-1500

Athletics Department

Julio Martinez, Athletic Director

956-340-1500

Technology Department

Jorge Martinez, Technology Director

956-340-1120

Testing Department

Sergio Coronado, Assessments Director

956-340-1000

Grants Department

Nancy Montemayor, Grant Writer

956-340-1030

Human Resources

Claudia Garza, HR Specialist

956-340-1110

Valley View High School

Jesus Garza, Principal

956-340-1500

Valley View Early College

Tammie L. Garcia, Principal

956-340-1200

Valley View Jr. High

Antonio De La Cerda, Principal

956-340-1300

Valley View 5th Grade Campus

Tomas Villagomez, Principal

956-340-1400

Valley View Elementary

Jesus Cerda, Principal

956-340-1450

Valley View North Elementary

Marina Leal, Principal

956-340-1600

Valley View South Elementary

Elizabeth Reyes, Principal

956-340-1650

Wilbur E. Lucas Elementary

Dr. Rosemarie Gomez, Principal

956-340-1700