Students at Salado Elementary studied the life cycle of a chicken and learned it takes 21 days for an egg to hatch. On April 19, the first egg hatched and was named Eli, and the second egg hatched two days later was named Lia. Students also learned that chicks are living things because they need food, water, and reproduction.

Highland Forest Elementary Speech Pathologist Mrs. Andrea Gonzales worked with the Life Skills classroom and did a fun activity to engage the kids. The activity consisted of making "Dirt Cups" out of chocolate pudding mix, milk, cool whip, crushed Oreos, topped with gummy worms and strawberries. The kids loved the hands-on activity as much as they enjoyed eating their activity afterward!

Mrs. Garza’s Pre-K class at Salado Elementary celebrated Earth Day by making a drawing of our Earth.

Sinclair Elementary librarian Kandi Housholder is "so proud of our Sinclair Bluebonnet Club students. You all did a wonderful job!"

Salado Elementary's Run Club participated in the Second Annual Jr. Hornet 2 Mile Fun Run, and the team won First place in both girls and boys division! Congratulations to the Salado Patriots Run Team and the following runners who placed individually: Ava P. (1st), Bella G. (2nd), Jazmine C. (4th), Zoe R. (6th), Eric S. (3rd), AJ T. (4th) and Elijah G. (11th). A special shout out to Mr. Perez and Ms. Flores for sponsoring the club and meeting weekly with the students.

Pecan Valley Elementary fourth-graders went on a field trip to the San Antonio Botanical Garden. It was a successful educational experience!

Third-grade students from Mrs. West's class participated in Tradition Elementary's "Night at the Museum." Students researched historical figures and presented them to the community.

Families had a great time at Harmony Elementary's "Fiesta Bingo 4 Books" event on April 28. Shout out to the Elmendorf Library for participating, too!

Sinclair Elementary first-graders get so excited when the fourth-graders read to them in the Sinclair Library! 

Watching the different stages in the butterfly's life cycle has been fascinating for Mrs. Olivarri's second-grade students at Oak Crest Elementary. They released eight adult butterflies and have another five still snugly wrapped in their chrysalises.

It was all smiles at the final session of Highland Forest Elementary's "Puentes Pre-K Family Engagement" series with the awesome families!

It's "Buy One Get One Free" at the Sinclair Elementary Book Fair May 2-6! You can shop late on May 3--open until 6:30 p.m. Great gifts for teacher appreciation!

Highland Forest Elementary's Run Club had a great time participating in the Fun Run at East Central High School. We’re so proud of all of our HF runners!

April 27 was Administrative Professionals Day, and Sinclair Elementary celebrated their Administrative Assistants, Margie Cornejo and Maria Alvarez. Sinclair is so lucky to have you two. Thank you for everything you do for us!

This week, kindergarten students at Tradition Elementary had a special moment with a former EC teacher, Mrs. Davis, in the learning library. She was very impressed by their explanations of the engineering design process.

The Battle of the Bluebonnet team represented Highland Forest Elementary so well and brought home this beautiful trophy!

Sinclair Elementary students participated in the Battle of the Bluebonnet Books. They gave a big THANK YOU to the school's librarian Ms. Housholder for supporting their love of reading!

Congratulations to Abel, Highland Forest Elementary's Superintendent Student of the Month. Academic Performance: Abel always does his independent work when asked and never needs redirection to complete work. He participates in whole group instruction with enthusiasm, answers questions when asked, and even volunteers to answer questions. Abel never gives up when it gets complicated; instead, he continues to try and keeps a smile on his face the whole time. Attendance: Abel rarely misses school, and it's due to doctor's appointments if he does. Citizenship: Abel follows school and classroom expectations. He loves to help peers and teachers. Abel is always respectful, uses his manners, and does what is asked. Abel respects items that aren't his and takes care of them. He is very caring and friendly towards both teachers and peers, and he always includes others when playing. Community and School Service: Abel is willing to help whenever needed and will do so when asked and voluntarily. He cleans up when he has made a mess and does his best to keep his classroom looking nice.

Fourth-grade students at Highland Forest Elementary who met proficiency on skills taught throughout the week were able to choose a prize from the treasure chest!

This week, Mrs. Levrie's class at Salado Elementary prepared a "Very Berry Healthy Breakfast Pizza." The students learned to measure, spread, cut with child-size safety knives and mix through these cooking activities. They used all their senses in experiencing perhaps new fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and spices throughout the cooking program.

Highland Forest Elementary kindergarten students went on a field trip to the Witte Museum on Thursday. The two students pictured are Dezmond B. and Blake H.

Ms. Wicker’s class at Sinclair Elementary visited the zoo this past Wednesday. They had a fun time exploring all of the different animals!

Mrs. Munk's kindergarten class at Highland Forest Elementary took a field trip to the Witte Museum. They did some counting, learned about animals (and dinosaurs), and had so much fun!

Oak Crest Elementary second-grade students created book talks this week—think of it as a commercial for your book. This time, they presented them orally. In the future, they want to incorporate multimedia presentations! Most common comment: "WOW! I'm going to read THAT book next!"

Mrs. Munk's & Mrs. Kimball's kindergarten classes at Highland Forest Elementary picked up trash around the playground on Earth Day.

Tradition Elementary had a fantastic turnout for their Scholastic Book Fair this week! Thank you, teachers and parents, for encouraging students to be leaders in their learning!

Mrs. Glass' third-grade class at Pecan Valley Elementary shared their historical figures research with Ms. Zapata's first-grade class.

On April 27, Running Club students (4th and 5th grades) from Salado, Highland Forest, Oak Crest, Tradition and Sinclair Elementary competed in the Second Annual Jr. Hornet 2 Mile Fun Run hosted by Cross Country Coach Raynaldo Gonzales and the ECHS Cross Country team.

Heritage Middle School AVID students completed a business plan for a mobile business. Activities included a business plan, loan applications and a mobile business truck.

Legacy Middle School tennis players had a wonderful showing at the Southern Tier Athletic Conference (STAC).

Sixth-grade students at Heritage Middle School have worked hard preparing for STAAR. Here you can see two different activities. First, STOP, PLOP and ROLL: an annotation game and then SAY, MEANS, MATTERS: a game to encourage deeper thinking with the text and using Text Evidence.

 

Have you seen the creativity of our East Central High School students?! Subscribe to the Hornet Nation Productions' Vimeo channel to see their incredible work and weekly updates! LINK: https://vimeo.com/hornetnationpro

East Central High School's BexarFest competition team has a terrific story in the May issue of Live from the Southside Magazine! Click here to view the magazine online.

On Friday, CAST Lead High School celebrated Catelyn Vasquez in her role as Partnership Development Specialist. Ms. Vasquez is dedicated to providing students with experiences directly related to their futures, connecting them with industry partners, finding mentors and securing internships. She is also an outstanding member of the leadership team and tackles any task. Thank you, Mrs. Vasquez, for all you do for students, teachers and families!

The East Central ISD Police Department became a TCOLE-approved training provider on April 21, 2022. This training and certification provide continuing education for our officers in-house. Additionally, this approval allows the ECISD Police Department to train our officers and those from outside agencies in continuing education and certification courses.

The ECISD Police Department does NOT offer Basic Police Officer Certification (BPOC). BPOC interested persons should contact San Antonio College LEA or the Alamo Area Council of Governments LEA.

Responsibilities

We have one full-time training coordinator whose responsibilities include:

• Assure compliance with all TCOLE regulations/rules and Training Academy Rules
• Coordinate all training activities for 16 commissioned and two civilian personnel, including:
  • State-mandated training (Legislatively required)
  • Assignment specific training
  • Career development training
  • ISD/Department mandated training
• Locate and host training seminars for our personnel
• Hold training advisory board meetings (three civilians and two employee members).
• Maintain detailed training records
• Maintain and coordinate the use of classrooms, driving track (ECPD + 5 other agencies), and firing range (ECPD + 5 other agencies)
• Test, evaluate, and acquire equipment

Additional Instructors

Although there is only one full-time coordinator, the East Central ISD Police Department has many great instructors among their ranks who instruct classes part-time and their other full-time duties. These specialized instructors include Defensive Tactics, Driving/PIT, Firearms (all are handgun/shotgun instructors with several specialized in rifle and low-light techniques), Less-Lethal weapons, Police Bicycle, FTO (Field Training Officers who provide one on one on-the-job training for 15 weeks for new hires), SFST/Intoxicated Drivers, Taser, plus others.

TCOLE Requirements

TCOLE mandates that every Texas Peace Officer receive 40 hours of continuing education every two years. The East Central ISD Police Department has committed to doubling this required amount so that every ECISD Police officer receives, minimally, 40 hours of training every year. Most surpass that mark yearly.

East Central's Child Nutrition Department was excited to join Pecan Valley Elementary and Tradition Elementary for their parent engagement nights on Thursday, April 28! Students and community members sampled Fiesta Street Corn and Sweet and Savory Popcorn! On Wednesday, April 27, the department celebrated its professionals for Administrative Professionals Day. We are truly thankful to have such outstanding and dedicated professionals on our team!