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AUSTIN – El Paso Mariachi ensembles will join groups from across the state  to compete for top honors at the 2020 UIL State Mariachi Festival on February 21-22.

This year’s contest, at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, is the fifth year of the state mariachi contest and second year as an official UIL contest.

Eighty-two schools will perform at the state festival this year.

Tickets for the State Mariachi Festival are $15 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets will only be sold at the door and will be cash only.

Schedule

Session 1: Friday, Feb. 21  |  11:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Schools:Bridgeport, Donna North, Eagle Pass, Edinburg, Edinburg North, Falfurrias, Kingsville King, Kyle Lehman, La Joya, La Joya Palmview, Laredo Martin, Melissa, Mercedes Early College, Mission Sharyland, Rio Grande City, Rio Grande City Grulla, San Antonio Harlandale, South San Antonio

Session 2: Friday, Feb. 21  |   5:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.

Schools:Del Rio, Edinburg Vela, Socorro, Hebbronville, Hidalgo Early College, Laredo Alexander, Laredo United South, Mission Sharyland Pioneer, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North, Robstown Early College, San Antonio Lanier, San Antonio McCollum, San Antonio Southwest, San Antonio Southwest Legacy, Seguin, Somerset, Vanguard Mozart Secondary, Zapata

Session 3: Saturday, Feb. 22  |   8:00 a.m. – 2:45 p.m.

Schools:Arlington Sam Houston, Conroe, Edcouch-Elsa, Eastlake, El Dorado, Fort Worth North Side, Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy, Klein Oak, Laredo Cigarroa, Los Fresnos, Lubbock, Mathis, Northside Holmes, Northside Jay, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Southwest, Port Isabel, Premont, San Angelo Lake View, San Antonio Fox Tech, San Diego, San Marcos, Teague, Texas City

Session 4: Saturday, Feb. 22   |   3:45 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

Schools:Bryan, Carrizo Springs, Converse Judson, Edinburg Economedes, Americas, Del Valle, Hanks, Fort Worth Carter-Riverside, Fort Worth Paschal, Fort Worth Polytechnic, Grand Prairie, McAllen, McAllen Rowe, Odessa, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo, Rice, Roma, San Antonio Brackenridge, San Antonio Edison, San Antonio Highlands, San Antonio Jefferson, Santa Gertrudis Academy, Valley View

Live Video   |   UIL App

A full schedule can be found online.   Box 5 will provide a live webcast of the State Mariachi Festival.

UIL State is the official mobile app for all UIL State Championships. The app features spectator information, schedules, team profiles, and live stats. It is free and available for immediate download in the App Store and Google Play.

Tax season is here, and students in the Socorro Independent School District are set to help community members file free of charge.

SISD students, with the help of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, will offer tax preparation services from Feb. 3 through April 15 at Americas, Eastlake, Socorro, Montwood and Pebble Hills high schools.

To receive services, taxpayers with an annual income of $56,000 or less can show up to one of the sites from 4:30 to 7 p.m. to file their 1040 EZ, 1040A and 1040 forms. The process for a typical return takes about 30 minutes.

Taxpayers who are disabled, elderly or limited English speakers who make above the maximum income may still be assisted in their tax preparations.

Individuals should take a photo identification card, original social security card for everyone listed in the income tax return, W-2 wage statements for the 2019 year, 1099-SSA, 1099-R and 1099-G, work expenses, 1095 health coverage, direct deposit information, the 1098 for student loans, proof of child dependent care expenses, and property tax statements.

If filing joinly, both individuals must be present.

The students are certified for basic preparations and advanced preparations for self-employment and retirement.

“We have a lot of repeat student volunteers because they enjoy doing this,” said Christopher Nwihim, business academy coordinator at Pebble Hills High School. “They enjoy the challenge and want to assist the community, so the feedback has been nothing but positive.”

SISD income tax preparation sites include:

Americas High School, 12101 Pellicano Dr.

Feb. 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25 and 27

March 3, 5, 24, 26, and 31

April 2, 7, 9, 14 and 15

Socorro High School, 10150 Alameda Dr.

Feb. 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24 and 26

March 2, 4, 25 and 30

April 1, 6, 8, 13 and 15

Pebble Hills High School, 14400 Pebble Hills Blvd

Feb. 3, 6, 10, 13, 17, 20, 24 and 27

March 2, 5, 26 and 30

April 2, 6, 9, 13 and 15

Montwood High School, 12000 Montwood Dr.

Feb. 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25 and 27

March 3, 5, 24, 26 and 31

April 2, 7, 9, 14 and 15

Eastlake High School, 13000 Emerald Pass

Feb. 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26

March 3, 4, 24, 25 and 31

April 1, 7, 8, 14 and 15

El Dorado High School, 12401 Edgemere Blvd

Feb. 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24 and 26

March 2, 4, 25 and 30

April 1, 6, 8, 13 and 15

Socorro Independent School District students showcased their talent and knowledge in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math at the 2019 UIL BEST Robotics competition.

William D. Slider Middle School and Montwood, Americas, Eastlake and El Dorado high schools participated in the recent competition.

“Our students did extremely well this year,” said Veronica De Avila, career and technical education facilitator. “Students were tasked with finding a solution to a real life natural disaster where they had to use their robots to repair electrical lines and supply electricity to an area.”

From the 24 El Paso and New Mexico teams that competed, Montwood won the overall prize. El Dorado and Slider also took home awards for their engineering notebook and exhibit.

The Rams, who are now advancing to the state contest, won first place in the UIL team category, first place in the marketing presentation, and first place for their engineering notebook. The Rams also won two second place awards for their robotics game performance and the coveted BEST Award.

“Our team has come a long way from four years ago,” said Jesus Hernandez, a senior and Montwood robotics president. “We have worked very hard to come up with better plans on how we approach things, and to see it all work out is an amazing experience. I am looking forward to seeing how we fare against other Texas and New Mexico area teams at state. I have high expectations.”

Slider won second place for their engineering notebook, which is a comprehensive report where students document potential solutions, their design process and strategies they employ.

“We are extremely proud of our students,” said Sophia Benavidez, Slider co-coach and team mentor. “They did really well and had to go up against high school and early college students at this competition. They produced nothing but quality work. By the time they get to high school they will be phenomenal.”

El Dorado won third place for best team exhibit, which is the visual display of the project. The Aztecs also placed third for the interview, a category in which students share knowledge and understanding of their work.

“Competing at BEST was a good experience,” said Julissa Artiaga, a senior at El Dorado. “When you’re in robotics you have fun and build a family. Students should join because there is something for everyone, like marketing, programming and team spirit. It teaches you professionalism, life lessons, and the importance of working as a team.”

Three Socorro Independent School District mariachi groups will showcase their musical talent at the 2019 UIL State Mariachi Festival February 22 and 23 in Edinburg, Texas.

Americas, Eastlake, and Socorro high schools are three of the four mariachi programs in El Paso advancing to state after earning a Division One, Superior rating at the UIL Regional Mariachi Contest.

“It’s awesome for our schools and district to be represented at the state mariachi contest,” said Janet Lynch, SISD instrumental music specialist.

“Our students will get to compete with the best mariachis in Texas. It gives them the chance to see and listen to other groups and learn how to improve their craft in mariachi music.”

Each mariachi program has ten minutes to perform two songs, one in the style of son jalisciense. Groups that receive the highest rating will receive a trophy.

The SISD musicians are excited and feel confident that they will do well.

“This is such a big accomplishment,” said Alondra Carbajal, a senior at Eastlake High School. “We are very excited because we have been working really hard for this competition.”

With the upcoming state contest, the students are fine-tuning their skills and strengthening their stage presence.

“We are practicing as much as we can,” said Steve Ramirez, a senior at Socorro High School. “We are strong enough and I know we can do this. Le vamos a hechar ganas!”

Sergio Ramos, mariachi director at Americas High School, said the extra hours students spend practicing their violins, guitars, trumpets, and vocals will pay off.

“’These are hard-working kids and their commitment to the organization is very evident,” Ramos said. “I’m very proud of my students, and it makes me happy to see mariachis from different high schools participate. Hopefully, this becomes a standard for the city.”

To live stream the 2019 UIL State Mariachi Festival, visit the Texas UIL website.

It was one of the busiest weekends yet for El Paso bands, with three separate contests taking place on Saturday. The end result was some great finishes for our local groups.

The first contest of the weekend was the 4-A Area contest in Lubbock. Mountain View and Clint represented El Paso, but neither band was able to advance past the preliminary round.

The largest contest of the season was simultaneously happening in Las Cruces. The 41st annual Tournament of Bands took place with some outstanding results for our local groups.28 bands took the field in 4 classes with the following results.

In preliminary Class B Awards, Irvin won Outstanding Music Execution, Burges won Outstanding Percussion, Alamogordo won Best colorguard, and Jeff/Silva won the Drum Major award. Riverside finished third, Irvin finished second, and Alamogordo finished in first place.

In preliminary Class A , Eastlake High School took Music Execution, Percussion, and Colorguard, while Parkland High School took home the Drum Major award. Top finishers were Las Cruces High School in third, Bel Air in second, and Eastlake in the top spot.

In preliminary Class AA, Hanks swept all captions. Cleveland High School from Rio Rancho, New Mexico, came in third, while Onate finished second and Hanks took the top spot.

The 10 bands advancing to finals were Albuquerque Eldorado, Las Cruces, Cleveland, Del Valle, Eastwood, Eastlake, Horizon, Onate, Bel Air, and Hanks High Schools.

Hanks High School ended the night as Grand Champions with their show ‘Pocket Full of Poseys.’ Other finalist finishes included Eastlake in second place, with Onate High School from Las Cruces in third and Bel Air High School finishing fourth. Cleveland was in 5th place, followed by Horizon High in 6th, Eastwood in 7th, and Del Valle in 8th. Las Cruces High finished 9th and Albuquerque Eldorao finished 10th.

Perhaps the biggest news of the days is El Paso has both the advancing bands from the Area A 6-A marching band contest. 14 bands competed in prelims, with seven bands advancing to finals. El Paso bands in finals included Americas, Coronado, Montwood, and Pebble Hills.

At the end of the second and final round of competition, Pebble Hills came in first, followed closely by Montwood. These two bands, both from the Socorro ISD, will now travel to San Antonio to represent West Texas at the State marching band contest.

Prelims for the 6-A contest will be held in the Alamodome on Monday, November 5, with the finals round taking place on Tuesday, November 6.

Directors of the Pebble Hills Spartan band are Maximo Sierra, Raul Chavira, Daniel Hunt, and Cecil Crabtree.

The Montwood “Mean Green” band is under the direction of Beto Pererz, Roman Lechuga, and Caitlyn Colette.

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Author – Lorraine Kubala

The complete schedule can be viewed on the ‘Musical Notes- The Blog’ page on Facebook.

27 bands took the field at Franklin High School Saturday, as El Paso ISD hosted their invitational contest for area marching bands.

Serving as adjudicators for the event were Valentino Leyba, Kevin Moreman, and Shawn Silva, all band directors in the Las Cruces Public Schools. Instrumental Coordinator Julio Castillo was the contest organizer.

Due to the large number of bands entered, the contest was divided into morning and afternoon sessions. An awards ceremony was held at 11:30 after the first 13 bands performed. After a lunch break, the afternoon saw another 14 bands take the field, capping the day with an awards ceremony for these bands at the final conclusion of the contest.

Receiving first divisions, which denotes a “Superior” performance, were Franklin, Riverside, Parkland, Hanks, Bel Air, Eastlake and Del Valle High Schools in the morning session, and Irvin, Burges, Americas, and Coronado High Schools in the afternoon.

Bands receiving second divisions, denoting an “excellent” performance, were Horizon, Eastwood, Ysleta, and Socorro High Schools in the morning, and El Paso, Andress, Jefferson Silva, and Chapin High Schools in the afternoon.

Bands receiving a third division, or “good” performance, were Canutillo, Anthony, Fabens, Clint, Bowie, San Elizario, and Austin High Schools.

This contest served as a tune up for the bands and was great for getting some last minute pointers from the judges before the UIL contest next Saturday. All the El Paso-area bands will compete in the state- sanctioned contest which this year will advance 2-, 4-, and 6-A bands to the Area marching band contests for each respective class.

Those contests will take place in Amarillo for the 2-As, Lubbock for the 4-As, and Odessa for the 6-As on October 27th.

Locally, there is plenty more action coming up in Band-tober. The aforementioned UIL contest is next Saturday, October 13, at the SAC. This contest will be for ratings, just as today’s contest was, with qualifying bands advancing to the Area round of contests on the 27th.

On October 20, bands from Texas and New Mexico will take the field again at the SAC for the SISD Marchfest. The Marchfest contest uses a 7- person judging panel and is a two-round contest.

After prelims, 6 bands from the small band class will advance to a finals round, while 8 bands in the large band class will advance. No division ratings are given at this contest. Instead, the bands are given numerical scores and ranked in first place, second place, and so on.

The experience of competing for those rankings will come in handy for the last weekend in October. The advancing bands attending the Area contests will be ranked, and the highest -placing bands will advance to the State marching band contest.

This contest is held at the Alamodome in San Antonio on November 5,6, and 7.

Meanwhile, most of those bands not advancing to Area contests will instead journey up to Las Cruces for the NMSU Tournament of Bands, also taking place on October 27th. This contest, too, uses a 7-person judging panel and a prelims/finals format.

The Tournament of Bands for many years has served as the penultimate contest for bragging rights around the area, and promises some amazing marching show action for local band fans.

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Author – Lorraine Kubala

The complete schedule can be viewed on the ‘Musical Notes- The Blog’ page on Facebook.  

Click here for a complete listing of all the ‘Bandtober’ Events

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Once again, the El Paso Herald-Post will be providing band fans with LIVE, STREAMING coverage of SISD’s Marchfest on October 20, 2018!   Our day-long coverage starts at 7:20 and goes on through the finals!

Andress senior Chauncey Wilkes won his first varsity meet ever winning the Chapin Invitational at Skyline Park in 16:40.3

Americas junior Jacob Ye was second (16:43.18), third went to Socorro senior Mario Luna (16:52.22), Franklin senior Jacobo Wedemeyer was fourth (16:56.73) and Americas senior Tyler Rodriguez was fifth (16:58.11).

Ye and Rodriquez led the Americas boys to a meet championship. Americas won the team title with 32 points followed by Socorro (77), Chapin (97), Burges (99) and Franklin (101).

On the girl’s side, Franklin sophomore Eva Jess continues her two-year El Paso unbeaten streak alive, winning the race in 19:15.11. Chapin senior Skyler Goodman was second in 20:39.84 followed by Franklin senior Amalia Dorion (20:58.52) and a pair of Americas juniors – Daphne Duran (21:00.14) and Priscilla Villalobos (21:05.44).

Franklin’s top five finished in the top 12 to take the team title with 34 points followed by Americas (48), Socorro (66), Bel Air (108) and Hanks (114).

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For complete and in-depth coverage of the meet, as well as photos, this week’s Power Rankings, top 10 teams, top 25 times and more, log on to elpasorunning.com, follow them on Twitter @eprunning or visit their Facebook page

The Socorro Independent School District celebrated more than 3,400 graduates at commencement ceremonies on May 31, June 2 and 3 at the Region 19 Chito Samaniego center and the Don Haskins Center at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Socorro Independent School District students recently made history, as they were the first SISD students to exhibit their work at the El Paso Museum of Art.

“I am really excited for our students,” said Macka Jones, visual art specialist for SISD. “This is an amazing experience and for many of them a dream come true. We are proud to be a district of endless opportunities and that is what we created today, an opportunity for our students.”

Young artists were thrilled to see their beautiful ceramics, diverse paintings and hand-crafted sculptures at the 59-year-old museum. Their art was placed next to an exhibit featuring artwork owned by the actor and comedian Richard Anthony “Cheech” Marin.

“It’s pretty unbelievable that my work is being showcased at the El Paso Museum of Art,” Saenz said. “We all worked really hard to get here so we could display our love of art.”

The exhibit originated last September when students toured the museum’s permanent collection of art, the 7,000-piece Kress Collection.

The students were asked to choose a work that caught their eye and create an art piece inspired by that particular work.

“Working with the SISD students and teachers has been a great experience,” said David Hernandez, education curator at the El Paso Museum of Art. “The art work is impressive and it’s interesting to see the direct correlation between their work and what they saw at the museum.”

Marquez, a senior at Pebble Hills, was inspired by American painter Raphael Soyer.

“It took a long time to finish my piece but I’m really proud of it,” Marquez said. “My freshmen year I would have never imagined that my work would be featured in a museum. This is a really big deal!”

Teachers and parents also were happy to see the student work at the showcase.
“During the process I saw tears, passion and joy and that is the creation of art,” said Veronica Chaparro, art teacher at Eastlake High School. “To see them release their emotions into something visual and tangible for the community to see is amazing!”

The student art was displayed April 21-23 and drew a large crowd of students, families, teachers and friends.

The student showcase featured the work of 27 high school students from Americas, Eastlake, El Dorado, Montwood, Pebble Hills and Socorro high schools.

The students featured are: Alimei Saenz, Ana Calderas, Ana Varela, Andrea Soto, Ariel Anguiano, Ashley Diaz, Ayleen Garcia, Blanca Gonzalez, Brianna Robles, Caleb Hernandez, Desiree Boykin, Isaiah Gutierrez, Kimberly Juarez, Leslie Cuellar, Lynette Baez, Marlena Ray, Mikayla Espineli, Natalia Quizz, Natalia Arzola, Noelle Marquez, Paul Sescon, Phoebe Lozano, Sergio Chavez, Stephanie Vazquez, Vanessa Najera, Victoria Aldaco and Viridiana Kropf.

Four mariachi groups in the Socorro Independent School District will once again represent their schools and district February 23 and 24 at the 2018 UIL State Mariachi Festival in Edinburg, Texas

Americas, Eastlake, El Dorado and Socorro high schools are four of the six mariachi groups in El Paso going to state after earning a Division One, Superior rating at the UIL Regional Mariachi Contest recently.

“Socorro ISD is extremely proud of the accomplishments of our mariachi programs,” said Ronald Pingor, assistant director of fine arts. “Over the past few years, the success level has continued to grow and we are very pleased that four of our high school mariachi ensembles will be representing our district at the state level.”

The mariachi groups will perform their best jaliciense, polka, boleros or other mariachi medleys in under ten minutes. Ensembles also will receive a 30-minute clinic with a nationally recognized mariachi educator at the end of their performance. Groups that receive an overall Division I rating will receive a group award as well as individual gold medals for each member.

Last year, El Dorado’s Mariachi Azteca was recognized as a top rated group at the festival. The group hopes to excel at the state contest once again.

“I’m glad we made it this far,” said Juan A. Contreras, the mariachi instructor at the school. “We’ve had a difficult year but despite the challenges my students have worked very hard during rehearsals. I am very proud of them and I know we will do well at the state mariachi festival again.”

Americas, Eastlake and Socorro also are working hard to prepare for the event. The young musicians say their great appreciation of music and culture, combined with a strong commitment to their skill and fellow musicians will make them shine when they take the center stage.

“This is our third time going to state and I am really looking forward to competing and showing all the other groups what we’ve got,” said

Priscilla Diaz-Rubio, a violin player and senior at Socorro High School. “I feel prepared and excited. Mariachi gives me the opportunity to be enthusiastic about my culture, something that is not common for someone my age.”

The SISD mariachi teams have been preparing for 18 weeks, during school, after school and on Saturdays.

“Their hard work and dedication speaks well for both the students and the directors,” Pingor said.

To live stream the 2018 UIL State Mariachi Festival, visit the Texas UIL website at www.uiltexas.org/music/state-mariachi-festival, select the BOX5 Media site or click  here.

Americas and Eastlake high schools were selected as finalists for the 2017 America’s Best Urban Schools Award by the National Center for Urban School Transformation.

The Team SISD campuses were two of 32 schools nationwide and the only schools in El Paso chosen for the award after meeting rigorous criteria including high achievement, arduous curriculum, excellent instruction and enthusiastic student engagement.

“I’m very proud of the excellent work that our teachers, administrators and staff at Americas and Eastlake high schools are achieving,” said SISD Superintendent Dr. José Espinoza. “They work hard, as a team, to offer all children a world-class education and endless opportunities. It is an honor for our schools to be recognized again for this prestigious award and it is indicative of the great teaching and learning going on in Team SISD.”

The 32 finalists will receive site visits from NCUST representatives to analyze the school’s strengths and positive culture that supports the learning of every student. The visits will help the NCUST officials to determine which of the finalists will be named the 2017 bronze, silver, or gold award winners in March.

This is third time Team SISD schools has been recognized for this award. Last year, Mission Early College High School won the Silver Award and SPC. Rafael Hernando III Middle School won the Bronze Award. Escontrias Elementary was given a bronze award in 2014.