Tag Archives: El Dorado

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.”

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.

In a much-anticipated match up, the legendary Midland Lee Rebels rolled into town Friday afternoon to take on the home-standing El Dorado Aztecs.

However, as the game got underway, and the Aztecs both turned the ball over to the Rebels via an  interception and lost their team leader Cedarious Barfield, the Rebels took full advantage of the situation – eventually winning 63-0.

Our very own Andres Acosta was there, and brings you his view of the game via this ‘Story in Many Pics.’

El Dorado High School students are seeing the world of microorganisms through a 50-cent origami-like paper microscope.

The newly developed Foldscope, a paper microscope, is the creation of Dr. Manu Prakash and his team from Stanford University. El Dorado is one a few high schools in the country to be given use of the microscope for free. The only stipulation: students have to document their findings on Prakash’s worldwide Foldscope community forum.

“I saw Dr. Prakash’s Foldscope presentation on the internet,” said Leticia Cortez, a microbiology teacher at El Dorado. “I thought it would be a great educational tool for my students.”

The thin, paper microscope is used during the students’ science lab. Findings are placed on the microscope with a simple piece of tape and a flashlight, like that on a cellular phone, is used to see the results. It also can be connected to a cell phone with a magnet. This allows students to take photographs or videos of microorganisms.

The student response has been incredible, Cortez said. She sees the tool as another way for students to get interested in science. The hope is that one day every child will have the tool in their science class, she said.

El Dorado senior, Thomas Hayes, was skeptical at first. There was no way something as flimsy as a paper microscope could do anything, he said.

“But it’s awesome,” Hayes said. “We get to see all kinds of cool microorganisms from rain, pond water or whatever we use.”

His lab partner, Sabrina Bernal, thinks a small, simple tool like this is valuable and opens the gateway for students to be more into science or a medical career.

“So many things are possible thanks to the microscope,” Bernal said.

Prakash’s goal is to deliver one million microscopes worldwide. He wants to reach students and would love for every child to have one in their back pocket. He is excited El Dorado students are part of the Foldscope community.

“If you learn to use the tool well, you can watch individual bacteria swim; how exciting is that,” he said in an email to Cortez. “We encourage students to be the ‘owners’ of Foldscope; and use it with smartphones they might already have in a daily life context – and not just in classes.”

For Cortez, the whole experience has been eye opening. She likes that her classes have been involved since the beginning of the new invention, she said.

“I was nervous with excitement,” Cortez said. “We were one of the first high schools to get the microscopes. And now seeing the impact it will have on education, science and students, I find it rewarding.”

To view photos of the event, click HERE.