Lights On Afterschool by Guest Blogger, Casey Morgan

Lights on Afterschool was a hit!

Lights on Afterschool is an event that is celebrated by afterschool programs nationwide on October 22.

At Lights on Afterschool, we celebrated by inviting parents, community members, and administration to see what our Afterschool Program is doing. The parents and students enjoyed making Halloween crafts together as well as viewing the student’s crafts and projects that were displayed. In all, we had about 200 people at our event, which is awesome!

Our guests included Dollar Dog from Northeast Texas Credit Union and our very own Marty the Mustang Mascot.

Subway platters were provided by: Greg’s Miracle Mart and First National Bank of Hughes Springs


A BIG THANK YOU for everyone who came and supported this great program!!

A little bit about ACE:

ACE provides extended learning opportunities for children and their families and offers innovative, hands-on activities that reinforce and complement students’ regular academic programs. These before and afterschool activities are based on research and best practices and include academic enrichment, challenging curriculum, and tutorial services. Our ACE, Afterschool Center on Education, helps keep kids safe, inspires them to learn, and helps with working families.

Red Ribbon Week, Oct 26th-30th by Guest Blogger, Kim Stovall

The Story Behind the Symbol & Red Ribbon Week

Enrique "Kiki" Camarena grew up in a dirt-floored house with hopes and dreams of making a difference.

Camarena worked his way through college, served in the Marines and became a police officer. When he decided to join the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, his mother tried to talk him out it. "I can't not do this," he told her. "I'm only one person, but I want to make a difference."

The DEA sent Camarena to work undercover in Mexico investigating a major drug cartel believed to include officers in the Mexican army, police and government. On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his office to meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at the agent's side and shoved him in a car. One month later, Camarena's body was found in a shallow grave. He had been tortured to death.

Within weeks of his death in March of 1985, Camarena's Congressman, Duncan Hunter, and high school friend Henry Lozano, launched Camarena Clubs in Imperial Valley, California, Camarena's home. Hundreds of club members pledged to lead drug-free lives to honor the sacrifices made by Camarena and others on behalf of all Americans. These coalitions began to wear red badges of satin, red ribbons, as a symbol Camarena's memory. The Red Ribbon Week campaign emerged from the efforts of these clubs and coalitions.

Today, Red Ribbon Week is nationally recognized and celebrated, helping to preserve Special Agent Camarena's memory and further the cause for which he gave his life. The Red Ribbon Campaign also became a symbol of support for the DEA's efforts to reduce demand for drugs through prevention and education programs. By wearing a red ribbon during the last week in October, Americans demonstrate their ardent opposition to drugs. They pay homage not only to Special Agent Camarena, but to all men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in support of our nation's struggle against drug trafficking and abuse.

HSISD Red Ribbon Week Events

Monday, October 26 – “Turn Your Back on Drugs” – Wear your clothes backwards

Student Assemby "The Making of A Champion" by Commandos USA http://www.commandosusa.com/

Tuesday, October 27 – “Don’t Let Drugs Get In Your Way – or, You Will Have A Crazy Hair Day” - Wear hair “CRAZY”

Wednesday, October 28 – “Put a Cap On Drugs” – Wear CRAZY caps or hats.

Thursday, October 29 – “Team Up Against Drugs and Show your Spirit” – Wear RED and BLACK

Friday, October 30 – “Dream It, Believe It, Achieve It….Drug Free!” Wear College t-shirts or sweatshirts.

Weather Plans / School Cancellations & Closures

A huge thank you to all the parents, grandparents, aunt and uncles who came yesterday to pick up your students when school was canceled at 1:30 pm, we truly appreciate you. As a superintendent, you have to make what you think is the best call based on the limited information you have at that given time. Based on the information we were receiving about road closures and the possibility of more rainfall, I thought it best to get our students home while we could safely do so.

I also want to take this time to update everyone on how we disseminate information about school closures/cancellations, so in the future, you know where to turn for information.

1. School2Phone: We will send out emails, phone calls and text messages to everyone who is signed up with our School2Phone system. In the event this system fails, as it did so last night, we have a variety of other outlets we use to get information out to the public, so please be sure to check those.

2. Our School Website: www.hsisd.net is constantly updated with the latest information, if you have access to the internet, always check it.

3. Our District & City Marquees

4. Media Outlets: KSLA - Channel 12, KTBS – Channel 3, KTAL – Channel 6, KLTV – Channel 7 and Radio Stations KYKX-FM, KIMP-AM, STAR 96.9 and KALK-FM.

We also depend on you to contact your friends and relatives to make sure everyone has the information they need.

Again, thank you for responding so quickly yesterday and I apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused

A True Mustang by Guest Blogger, Alanah Sloan, 11th Grade

A TRUE MUSTANG…

...can’t wait for Fridays, not because it’s almost the weekend but because they can’t wait to watch their football team play .

...has at least lost their voice once in their life because they screamed so much for their team.

...will be sitting there in the stands supporting the guys even when it’s pouring rain outside.

...does not leave the game early just so they can beat the crowd.

...not only supports their football team but also their cheerleaders, Shining Starz, Flags, Majorettes, and band.

...strives to be the best they can be in everything they do.

...doesn’t know the word “can’t”.

...isn’t afraid to paint their face and go a little crazy!

...knows their school song by heart and sings it with pride.

...supports and loves our team even when we lose.


No matter where they go or what they do, a true Mustang will ALWAYS be a Mustang at heart.

What Is A Mustang By Guest Blogger, Blaine Lewis, 11th grade

What is a Mustang? Who are the Mustangs? What does it take to be a Mustang? All of these are questions you may be asking yourself, but you would only be asking these questions if you were not from around here. By living here, you know without a shadow of a doubt who and what the Mustangs are. You know what it takes to be a Mustang and what kind of dedication you have to put forth. A mustang is a free-roaming feral horse that was brought to the Americas by the Spanish. They are wild, untamed, and can be very unpredictable; kind of like the Hughes Springs Mustangs.

When we're down in the fourth quarter 14 to 7 with 2 minutes left on the opponent's 30 yard line, all I can say is you better not be getting ready to celebrate because we're coming for you! I know what you're thinking... he's telling me all of this stuff about the mustangs but where are they and who are they? We are THE Mustangs and we live in the great town of Hughes Springs, Texas. To be a Mustang you cannot just live in Hughes Springs and go to Hughes Springs High School but you have to have the heart of a Mustang. You must be willing to give it your all whether you can win the game or not! You must be able to give your very best until you have nothing left and every second of the game has been played. That is the great thing about being considered a Mustang.

You know that no matter what, our players will give it their all until the very end - no matter what! I know that if our girls are winning 75 to 55 they are not going to start slacking and let the other team gain some ground. I know that that if our boys are on the baseball field and they have been playing in a tournament all weekend, and they're in the championship game, they're not going to take it easy because they're tired! I also know that if I hear someone talk about a fellow Mustang, then I can guarantee that it will be a compliment about that person because we do not accept poor judgments by our fellow Mustangs. We do not accept being second place, we do not accept being second best, and most importantly we do not accept anything less than a VICTORY! WE ARE THE YOUNG THUNDERING HERD!!!!!

College Week by Guest Blogger, Heather McGregor

This next week, in addition to our Homecoming festivities, our elementary and high school campuses are hosting College Week! This is a time when we encourage all of our students to begin thinking about what they will do after high school. We believe that all students should do something to further education after high school. Difficult economic times like these remind us of the importance of further education.

We talk to students about options in military training, vocational programs, community colleges and 4-year colleges and universities. At the high school level, we also talk about financial aid and scholarship opportunities. We do all of this because earning more education after high school gives kids the best chance for earning potential.

There are many activities being held on each campus to help students begin thinking about their future possibilities! This week would be a great time for you to join us in helping your child start planning for the future.

Please take a moment to talk to your child about what his/her plans are for after high school. Students who have a plan for the future have more success in school and (of course) after high school graduation. If they ask questions and you don’t know the answer, don’t worry (college planning has changed a lot!) just contact your school’s counselor; they will get the answer for you! Just having a conversation with your child helps him/her know that you believe the future is important, and that goes a long way!


Elementary Counselor: Ken Miller, millerk@hsisd.net

Jr. High Social Worker: Kim Stovall, stovallk@hsisd.net

High School Counselor: Heather McGregor, mcgregorh@hsisd.net

College Week Event Calendar for HSHS and other college planning tools are available on the HS Counselor’s website.

Go to: www.hsisd.net; Click on Campuses, High School, Counselor
* Hughes Springs Jr. High will host their college week next Spring.

HSISD Website Survey by Guest Blogger, Sarah Dildine

I would like to thank everyone who took the time to participate in the HSISD Website Survey that was posted on the home page, your input is greatly appreciated. I was really happy to see some of the suggestions everyone had for making the website better and would like to take this opportunity to address some of those suggestions:

1. Printable Events Calendar: This is a feature that NetStart, the website provider we use, is working on and it should be available sometime in the near future.

2. Paying For School Lunches Online: This is something we have explored in the past, but at the time, did not like any of the options available to us. However, we had quite a few requests for this, so we will continue to explore the products available and consider adding this feature to our district in the near future.

3. Pictures, pictures and more pictures: Okay, so I know you all love seeing the pictures on the home page – thanks for all the compliments! I had several suggestions regarding pictures: someone suggested posting pictures from the past, someone else suggested more junior high pictures and another person suggested putting an upload page so that community members could upload/share pictures they took at HSISD events. All great ideas! However, being that we are a school district, we have laws that limit what we can and cannot post. We have to have permission to post students’ pictures. I have to be sure that I do not post a picture of a student whose parent does not want it posted. Due to this, we cannot have a community picture page. This also limits our ability to post pictures from the past. Lastly, I am trying to do a better job of posting elementary and junior high pictures. A big THANK YOU to all the junior high parents who have sent me pictures and allowed me to post their pictures on the website – I really appreciate it!

If you have pictures from an HSISD event that you would like me to consider posting, feel free to email them to me dildines@hsisd.net. Remember, I cannot post every picture, but I will certainly take a look and post what I can.

Again, thanks for your input and feel free to contact me at anytime with suggestions on how we can make www.hsisd.net even better!