This is the final newsletter of the year – WOW! I hope you all enjoy

May 2015
Donna Allen, PTA President
Dr. Barry Lanford, Principal
Volume 8, Issue 9
This is the final newsletter of the year – WOW! I hope you all enjoy the
last few days of school. The Lopez PTA is still hard at work! We are
still looking for someone to fill the position of Parliamentarian, as well
as a few positions on the Executive Board. Please contact Donna
Allen, allenfam226@satx.rr.com, if you are interested.
On May 15, volunteers enjoyed a wonderful breakfast bar hosted by
the Lopez administrative staff. A big “thank you” to Pat Chavez,
Kasey Cone, and the other administrative staff for putting this
together for us. Also thank you to Miss Preiss and her students for
the wonderful pastries. At the celebration we were able to honor some
outstanding volunteers for the year. These volunteers were nominated
by teachers and staff for all they do for the school. The following
ladies were recognized: Trisha Garza, Anita Sioco, Jeanette Shoaf,
Corie Taylor, Dawn Vogel, and Heather Wood. Congratulations to all of
you. We know how much you love our kids and have put so much of
your heart and soul into serving. The entire school benefits from our
volunteers who work so hard to make Lopez such a great place to be. We will finish off the year with our big 8th Grade Party at Time Warner
Park on Tuesday, June 2. This is a fabulous send off for our 8th grade
students - let’s hope for great weather!
I have truly enjoyed serving as PTA President this year, and look
forward to another great year next year. For all of you moving on to
high school - best of luck (go Rattlers!). Have a wonderful, safe
summer break!
Donna Allen
2014-2015 PTA President
AllenFam226@satx.rr.com
THE PRINCIPAL’S PODIUM
Well Panthers, the school year is done. As they say, “put a fork in
it.” This year is certainly one to be proud of. In reviewing our
STAAR scores, we outscored Bush in nine areas and Tejeda in all
but one. Our Level III Advanced Scores were higher than last year
and our Progress Measures were higher in all categories except one
where we dropped one point. Overall, a very successful academic
year. All extracurricular groups performed well and as a result,
Lopez claims its fourth MIDDLE SCHOOL CUP in a row – making us
six time winners in 8 years.
As I have written before, I can report that Lopez was selected as the
#3 Middle School in the Greater San Antonio Area. The rankings
are based on how well a school serves it’s “at risk” population. As
we have a limited number, it is hard to score well for each child
carries more weight in the ranking. While I am happy to receive the
accolade, I concur with Dr. Gottardy in being wary of the Children
at Risk group as they are decidedly in favor of an A – F school
ranking system. While Lopez has always received an A+, I know
many of our colleagues who work just as hard, make many
academic gains and have a positive impact on children’s lives who
receive a lower grade based solely on STAAR scores.
Just as in years past, I credit the teachers for being so studentcentered. The relationships that they build are the foundation for
good learning. Also, the values that are instilled by you, the
parents, make our students what they are. Our teachers and staff
merely capitalize on that and push the students further.
As summer looms near, please encourage your child to rest and
relax, but also READ….
Thank you for all that you do for our students.
Sincerely,
Dr. Barry Lanford, Principal
Lopez PTA proudly presents the
2014 - 2015
President's Volunteer Service Award Recipients
President's Volunteer Service Award - Bronze
President's Volunteer Service Award - Silver
50-74 hours
75 - 99 hours
Abigail Gates
Anya Marrufo-Zubaran
Acelyn Evans
Caitlin Medina
Andrew Schlereth
Dana Marion
Angela Kruas
Kayla Isbell
Anjali Patel
Trenton Boudreaux
Aubrey Carraghan
Avery Darilek
Bryce Trench
President's Volunteer Service Award - Gold
David Moreno III
Dylan Martinez
100+ hours
Ethan Joergensen
Frankie Stiehl-Guerra
Abigail Baseley
Hayden Harsh
Alyson Matson
Kinley Hatch
Ana Cravioto
Kyle Lantz
Anne Meadows
Kylie Durish
Benson Meadows
Lauren White
Blake Thurmond
Martin Restrepo
Dalton Steel
Michael Zahabi
Elena Dominguez
Oliva Gonzalez
Katelyn Shaffer
Pablo Lafuente
Kendall Cheslock
Patrick McNealy
Mackenzie Miller
Simin Momin
Samantha Sanchez
Teresa Ward
Sarah Johson
Sarah Rudolph
2014-2015
Lopez Middle School
PTA Board
Officers
President – Donna Allen
1st Vice President – Erin Larsen
2nd Vice President – Tonya
Joergensen
Secretary – Sheryl Staffier
Treasurer – Erin Pruetz
Parliamentarian – Deanna Lauer
Historian – Kim Greenberg
Committee Chairs
8th Grade Party – Kym Pharris
8th Grade Party – Anita Sioco
ADEPT – Terri Solis
Arts in Education – Crystin Galan
Awards/PVSA – Heather Boudreaux
Campus Improvement – Kelly Samaie
Council Delegate – Tori Scoffield
Directory – Valarie Day
Healthy Lifestyles – Emily Okikawa
Hospitality/Faculty Appreciation Heather Wood
Annie King
ZZ Mylar
Shelly Hull
Library – Casey Herridge
Life Membership – Deanna Lauer
Founders – Deanna Lauer
Membership – Claudia Mitre
Multicultural Fair – Maritza Morgenroth
Newsletter – Valarie Day
Pantherama – Donna Allen
Social Coordinator – Viviana Schlereth
Special Education – Heather Baseley
Spirit Items – Connie Carrington
Volunteer Coordinator – Michelle Dunn
Support Positions
Community Relations – Jeanette Shoaf
Social Media – Dora Evans
Website – Stephanie Dullea
Workroom – Rachel Maurer
Lopez PTA Membership
PTA Links
u  NEISD Council of PTAs
ww.necouncilpta.com
u  State PTA www.txpta.org
u  National PTA www.pta.org
Lopez PTA has it’s own website to keep you up
with all PTA events: www.lopezpta.org
Yearbook News
Don't delay...order your yearbook today!
http://www.jostens.com/apps/shop/yrbk_catalog.asp?
cid=271617&pfid=2014061004152968794&affiliateId=1623514
A Reminder From Attendance
Please send a note with your student when he/she is absent. A
student has 2 days to turn in a Parent or Dr.’s. note to receive
credit for that absence.
Thank you!
Lopez Calendar of Events
Do you want to stay current on the Lopez happenings?
From the Lopez homepage (www.neisd.net/lopez/) you
can subscribe to Lopez Middle School events!
Keep in touch with the NEISD app!
Download it now from the app store!
Mark your calendars! Panther Prowl Orientation – Thursday, August 20, 2015
6th grade 8:30-10:00 a.m.
Marketplace open from 8:30- 11:00 a.m.
Parent presentation in Cafeteria at 9:00 a.m.
7th/8th grade 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Marketplace open from 5:00-7:00 p.m.
New parent presentation in Cafeteria at 5:30 p.m.
All students will report to their Advisory teacher. Advisory lists will be posted on our main doors. Students will receive their tentative schedule, locker, and
tour. Our marketplace will sell P.E. uniforms, agenda
books, and spirit items. A friendly reminder from our Nurse Kathy Rackley to all
students who are missing the new shots. You will not
receive a schedule on Panther Prowl if immunizations
are not updated. All students delinquent of their needed
shots on the first day of school will be dropped from
enrollment and will have to re-register. Parents may view
Parent Portal to see if their child is missing TdaP,
Meningococcal, and 2 Varicellas. Please make every
effort to take care of your immunizations this summer! Please call our Nurse Kathy Rackley if you have further
concerns or questions at 210-356-5021.
Lopez MS NJHS
The Lopez Middle School NJHS had a busy Spring. We
sponsored an anti-bullying week in February and recently
worked with the Social Network Club on a math manipulative
drive. Our entire school worked together to donate various
math manipulatives to assemble summer math bags for
approximately 150 students at Royal Ridge Elementary
School. Each bag has various items students can use to
review math concepts and skills over the summer.
In May we also inducted our 2015-2016 Lopez Middle School
National Junior Honor Society members and officers. We
were honored to induct one hundred seventy-one members. Our chapter would also like to introduce and congratulate
the 2015-2016 NJHS Officers:
President: Kiley Thomas
Vice President: Gabrielle Agbenyiga
Secretary: Aditi Sarlashkar
Treasurer: Linda Liu
Reporter: Tashya Makani
Chaplain: Gemmalee Dyermok
Sergeant-at-Arms: Sutton Thomas
Historian: Maria Giraldo
We are very excited about this outstanding group of student
leaders and look forward to an amazing school year!!!!!
Lopez Panther Returns
Former Panther, Sam Allen, came back to speak at the Parent to
Parent Support group at Lopez Middle School. He discussed the
challenges of having Aspergers to a captive audience of parents and
teachers of children with special needs. Sam has taken a pro-active
approach to having autism. He is the inspiration behind and worked on
the production/content for the documentary, Coping to Excelling:
Solutions for School-Age Children Diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism
or Aspergers Syndrome. Sam offers his insights into the world of Autism
through speaking at conferences as well as writing blogs on
aspergers101.org. Currently enrolled in LakeView Community College,
working toward a degree in Business Computer Information Systems,
Sam enjoys spending his time building high-end computers, on-line
gaming and even took time to build a low-powered FM Radio station
for fun. Sam’s take on having Aspergers is: “Don’t think of Autism as a
weight but more like a pair of wings in which to soar”. Lopez is so
proud to have a leader for children with Autism. For more information
on Parent to Parent, contact Tammy L. Drake, LMS at
tdrake@neisd.net
Social Networking
Social Network and Leadership Club learns about
Groundwater Sleuthing!!
Lynne Christopher, Secondary Education Coordinator
for the San Antonio Water System presented an
interesting presentation on water. The club members
at Lopez enjoyed rotating thru stations investigating
ground water sleuthing.
From left to rt: Brothers, Alex and Jose asking how
water is cleaned, Zach and Shelby discovering why
limestone weighs more when wet, and Travis and
Colton investigating with magnifying instruments. The
Social Network and Leadership Club bridges the gap
between ALL children of ALL abilities thru building
friendships at school and our community.
Summer Boredom?
Don’t let your child’s brain get bored or stagnate. Take advantage of summer
break to explore interests and participate in non-traditional learning activities.
These can range from virtual learning, such as on Khan Academy, or in summer
camps. Summer camps cover everything from sports, survival, self-awareness,
and STEM opportunities. For the past three summers, James Lewey has been
hosting robotic and engineering-based camps at TMI-The Episcopal School of
Texas (www.SummerAtTMI.com) for Kindergarten through 8th grade. Prof. Lewey
uses this time to either introduce students to new and fun concepts or continue
to support an interest in these STEM areas.
Engineering and building helps students to visualize their problem solving. It also
gives them the opportunity to use some of their math skills in a concrete manner.
While young children often build by trial and error, with a curriculum and support
a child can actually think about their structure and plan it out appropriately.
Robotics also encompasses building and engineering theory with programming. Programming supports the use of logic skills. While many of the programming
languages used with learning robotics are graphic-based the students still have to
determine logic steps. These logic steps are then mapped out and placed so they
interact correctly. Learning to program with a graphic-based program can help
many students understand flow prior to diving into a text-based programming
language.
If you need a good introductory graphic-based computer language for your child
to learn at home I recommend MIT’s Scratch (scratch.mit.edu). Scratch is a
simple drag-and-drop system that allows from the simplistic to the complex in
the program. All of the games that are hosted at scratch.mit.edu are open so
students can see how other programmers’ code works. This is a great learning
tool and a great resource if a student gets stuck. There is also a rich tutorial
available at scratch.mit.edu.
He is also putting together an Underwater Remotely-Operated Vehicle (ROV)
workshop for 5th-8th graders using the SeaPerch ROV platform. The SeaPerch
ROV platform has a footprint about 12 inches by 8 inches by 8 inches. The ROV
flies through water via a tethered remote control that the students help to build.
The students fly through an obstacle course in a pool and try to complete certain
tasks. This activity is a good opportunity for students to learn about buoyancy,
engineering, electrical systems, and problem-solving. While Prof. Lewey does not
have any scheduled dates yet if you want to know more about this program and
learn when the workshops will be you can email him at
james.lewey@hackersinc.org.
Clinic Announcements
Attention ALL Parents of Current 6th Grade Students:
The State of Texas requires all students receive the following
immunizations before entering 7th grade:
•  Second dose of Varicella (Chicken Pox) vaccine or
documentation of having the chicken pox disease
•  Meningococcal vaccine (Menactra or MCV4)
•  Tdap vaccine in last 5 years
Please avoid the stress of last minute summer activities and
bring in your child’s updated immunization records this month.
You may also fax the record to 210-481-4073 or scan/e-mail to
krackl@neisd.net.
Any student without current immunizations will not receive a schedule
at Panther Prowl in August, so please make your appointments now.
Parent Portal will show your child’s immunizations that are on file
currently.
NEWS FROM THE CLINIC:
Parents- Don’t forget to pick up all medications,
inhalers, Epipens, and diabetic supplies on the last
day of school. I will be discarding any items that are
left over the summer. You will be receiving forms in the
mail for your physician to complete for next year if
your child will be taking any medication.
THANKS AND HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!
Lopez FCA Information
2014-2015 Meetings
When: Every Thursday @ 7:00 am
Where: Lopez Gym with Coach Barbosa
FCA COMMUNICATION
This year we will be communicating in a new way - Via Text Reminder by way of the
app “Remind” (We will continue to use email during the transition period.)
If you would like to receive information about Lopez FCA events please follow these
steps!!
1. 
2. 
3. 
Send a text to (409) 527-8563
In the message portion type: @lopezfca
Hit send
You should get a confirmation text back within just a few minutes!!