Junior Dribblers: 6th incoming 9th
June 4, 2012 through June 7, 2012
1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
VMA 9th Grade campus Gymnasium

CAMP FEE: $25.00
All campers will receive a camp t-shirt and ball!
Camp prizes to be given away at the end of each session.
Awards for top campers at the end of camp.

PLEASE SIGN UP
Athletic Secretary Office in Gym
ask to speak with Anna Meza

DEADLINE TO SIGN UP IS MAY 14, 2012

Questions please contact: Coach Arredondo
Email: carredondo@sbcisd.net
Phone: 956-361-6455

Star Gazing With Mom

Dads, Grandpas, and Uncles were welcomed to join their children in reading about constellations.  The students and their parent make a telescope to view their favorite star pattern.  Parents and students had a great learning experience! They were such a bunch of shining STARS!

To Infinity And Beyond With Dad

SAN BENITO — For students Bernaby Castrejon and Marco Rodriguez, the award-winning video that captured the rivalry of the Battle of the Arroyo will help them launch their careers.

In December, the school district’s KSBG-TV 17 won Nike’s High School Rivalry Tour Contest for the video project.

“I’d never had an accomplishment like that before,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve never felt so excited in my life.”

Nike lauded the TV station’s dramatization of one of the state’s fiercest football rivalries.
“Of all the schools in Texas, our rivalry was the greatest and our video proved it,” Castrejon said. “I really like how we incorporated the Battle of the Arroyo along the years.”
Featuring game footage, KSBG-TV 17’s powerful video sheds light on the rivalry between the San Benito Greyhounds and the Harlingen Cardinals, with candid interviews with San Benito Athletics Director and Head Coach Gantt, KGBT-TV Channel 4’s Clay Williams and Greyhound football players.

“It was teamwork,” Castrejon said. “It was working together to come up with a great project.”

The project taught students to produce top quality productions, Castrejon said.

“I learned what is expected of professionals — hard work, dedication, determination,” he said.

The project helped students hone skills in production techniques, Rodriguez said.
“I learned to edit more — how to do dramatic cinematics,” he said.

The award included a uniform for each member of the Greyhound varsity football team and a uniform for each member of the San Benito High School varsity cheerleading team.

March 01, 2012 10:27 PM
By FERNANDO DEL VALLE
Valley Morning Star
fernandodv@valleystar.com

Article taken from Valley Morning Star on March 2, 2012

PRESS RELEASE:
February 15, 2012

San Benito, Texas — Oscar Medrano, a member of the San Benito Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees, was awarded 2011-12 School Board Trustee of the Year by the Texas Classroom Teachers Association (TCTA) during the organizations awards banquet on Thursday, February 9^th at the Westin Galleria in Houston, Texas.

TCTA presents trustee awards annually for outstanding service to education, students and the community. Medrano was selected based on a nomination submitted by the San Benito CTA, a local affiliate of the statewide TCTA. Founded in 1927, TCTA is an association for Texas teaching professionals and serves 50,000 members across the state.

In nominating Medrano, the San Benito CTA praised him for regularly visiting school campuses “where he meets with teachers, custodians and paraprofessionals to show support and address concerns. On a weekly basis, he reads to children and attends school functions such as concerts, plays, athletic events and club meetings.” In choosing Medrano, awards judges were impressed with his involvement not only at the local level but also at the state and national levels. During the last legislative session, Medrano was part of a delegation of statewide school board members who rallied to “Make Education a Priority.” Recently, he traveled to Washington, D.C., for the 2012 Federal Relations Network Conference, where trustees gathered from around the country along with congressional representatives to discuss key federal education issues.

“The accomplishments and success achieved by our students reflect the hard work our teachers devote in creating lifelong learners and making San Benito a better place to live and learn.  I am extremely humbled and thankful to the San Benito CTA for nominating me for this prestigious award.  It is an honor to represent the community that I so much love.  I dedicate this award to all our teachers and the school district, and I thank TCTA for this honor,” said Mr. Medrano.

Medrano was elected to the San Benito CISD school board in 2008, having previously served a term from 2003 to 2005. During his tenure, he has held the positions of secretary, vice-president and president. Medrano graduated in 2010 from the Texas Association of School Boards Leadership TASB Program becoming the first school board member from San Benito CISD to earn “Master Trustee” status.

Medrano just completed his 16th year with the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, where he serves as the patient advocate and volunteer services coordinator.

The San Benito School Board of Trustees will honor Mr. Medrano with a reception during the February 21^st regular scheduled meeting.

A small crowd cheered Monday night as members of the San Benito High School chess team climbed off a bus as the new state champions.

The 17-member team won the district’s first Texas Scholastic Chess Championship in Dallas on Sunday with a victory over Brownsville’s Porter High School and Bellaire High School, the team that reigned five years as the state’s champions.

The team will now move to the national championships in Minneapolis, Minn., in April.
“It’s an honor to be the state champions,” Superintendent Antonio Limon said Monday. “This isn’t something that happened overnight. It’s something we’ve been working on for 10 years to come to fruition.”

San Benito High School finished with 20 points, while Porter and Bellaire each took 17.5 points; Veterans Memorial Academy finished with 13.5 in the two-day tournament.
“The accomplishment is huge,” high school Coach Eric Villarino said. “It’s a pinnacle. All the work we’ve done paid off.”

The victory boosts the team to the ranks of Brownsville’s powerhouse teams that have dominated the region since the 1990s, said Luis Gonzalez, assistant director of the district’s After-School Program, which pushed to build the chess program launched 10 years ago.

“It sets a standard for other teams,” Gonzalez said.

Strong finishes by other San Benito teams helped hone the talents of younger players who will fuel the high school team in years to come, Villarino said.

“Our San Benito teams did very well overall,” Villarino said. “We’re going to keep building on that.”

The top two finishes by the San Benito and Porter teams show the strength of the Rio Grande Valley’s chess programs, Villarino said.

“The top two teams in the high school division came from the Valley so that speaks a lot of our Valley programs and our commitment to chess,” Villarino said.

In the high school division, Veterans Memorial Academy, the district’s ninth-grade campus that won the United States Chess Federation’s ninth-grade national championship in 2010, took fourth place in the high school division.

In the middle school division, Miller Jordan Middle School finished in third place, while Riverside Middle School took fifth place.

In the elementary school division, Dr. Cash Elementary School finished in third place, while Ed Downs Elementary School took fourth place.

San Benito senior Simon Vasquez took a fourth-place finish among the tournament’s top scorers.

“It’s a great victory for our team,” said Vasquez, the team’s anchor who developed his talent with the district’s chess program since first grade.

Across the state, the team has risen to become a powerhouse, Karlos Ramos, a senior who began playing chess in fourth grade, said.

“When we’d go to state, the other teams didn’t know who we were,” Ramos said. “It’s really important to win and represent the Valley.”

Sophomore Brandon Flores was one of the players who joined the high school team after helping Veterans Memorial Academy win the ninth-grade championship in 2010. He has been playing chess since the fifth grade.

“It gave us experience and a lot of confidence,” said Flores.

The championship comes on the heels of the high school team’s victory last month in the Region 8 tournament held at Veterans Memorial Academy.

Jack Garcia, director of the district’s After School Program said, “I think we can play with anyone in the country. It’s extremely tough at the national level. They’re in for some tough competition.”

Jonah Barrera, right, holds up a a sign that reads “State Champs” as he waits for his brother, Joel Barrera, to disembark a charter bus. The elder Barrera, along with classmates from San Benito High School, were returning from a state-level chess championship. By Dina Arevalo/Valley Morning Star

February 20, 2012 10:40 PM
fernandodv@valleystar.com
956-430-6278

Article taken from Valley Morning Star on Feb. 21, 2012

King and Queen:  Cadets Joshua Jaso and Lizeth Gonzalez
Prince and Princess:  Cadets Gustavo Guevara and Nashvill Huerta
Duke and Duchess:  Cadets Armando Vela and Lizbeth Gonzalez
Lord and Lady: Cadets Alonzo Chapa and Nahomi Rodriguez

Students interested in joining NJROTC should talk to their counselors or call LT Rolando Gonzalez or Chief Richard Williams at 276-6075.

San Benito NJROTC Drill Team ready for Personnel Inspection at a Drill Competition