Communications Arts Newsletter Blog

by Leslie Miranda

There is an office located inside the Comm.Arts main office that many see, but do not know. But it is a place that our students become well-acquainted with during their Senior year: the “Go Center,” with Mrs. Valeria Crowson as its director. She is the College/Career Readiness Tech here at Comm. Arts, one of the many people who help students on their road to college.

Mrs. Crowson helps each student locate the colleges and universities that fit their dreams, needs and plans. Then she helps them to research what those particular schools have to offer, in order to help each student make the best choice. Mrs. Crowson not only has  a wealth of knowledge, she will jump through hoops helping our students get into the college that is best for them. And even more important, Mrs. Crowson is the go-to source for precious information about scholarships for seniors (and sometimes even juniors).

by Brittany Leitner

Do you have a hobby? We have a club! This year Communications Arts High School offers more club choices than ever before. Due to the entire school having 5th period lunch, students can gather and meet for clubs at a time that works for everyone.
Classic Comm.Arts clubs like Helping Hands and Science Club are better than ever, and two new ones, World Cultures Club and Game Creations Club, are off to a great start.
If you want to have “that warm fuzzy feeling younget from helping people,” according to sponsor Mrs. Dehlinger, Helping Hands is the right club for you. In Helping Hands students participate in a large community service event once or twice a month. Currently they are working on the “Adopt-a-Family” project. Students have already collected $700 for gifts for needy families.
If building, creating, and experimenting is more your style, then come to Mrs. Betchel’s room Thursdays at lunch. Right now, Science Club is focusing on beating Comm.Arts rival St. Mary’s Hall High School in the San Antonio Science Bowl. However, you don’t have to be a science genius to join Science Club. According to Ms. Betchel, “all you need is a general interest.”
The two new clubs that have been added to the list are more on the creative side. World Cultures Club began when students at Comm.Arts who come from different backgrounds expressed a desire to get together and share their knowledge of other countries. During a Friday lunch meeting, members decide on a culture they wish to explore and then choose what aspect of that culture they wish to study. At the next meeting students present their research and choose another country. The World Cultures Club is a great way to become a leader and be involved. As sponsor Mr. Scott put it, it is “very student-run.”
If you visit the World Cultures Club, you might stumble upon the Game Creation Club right next door. The Game Creation Club is for students who have an interest in all gaming, from video games to board games. Students not only study and discuss popular games already available, they also spend time creating and coming up with ideas for their very own games. Since the Game Creation Club doesn’t just focus on one type or era of gaming, if you want to have a good time and get your creative juices flowing, the Game Creation Club might be your perfect fit.
From helping others to gaming mastery, Communications Arts has a club for you. Next time you’re sittin

by Nik Kelly

“¡Hola, chicos!” Señora Reynosa cries as students walk into her classroom. They warm up, twirling and dipping each other gracefully, spinning around the room. The Comm. Arts Latin Dance Club meets every Tuesday and Thursday after school in Señora Reynosa’s room, C224. The members learn new moves and present dances as well as perform and compete with the Taft Latin Dance Club. President Leslie Miranda describes the club as a place where kids can come and focus on the moves and on the form, a place “to dance away the world.”
Every Wednesday during lunch, one can walk into Ms. Dehlinger’s classroom, C119, and see a large gathering of self-proclaimed eco-warriors. These students are members of Comm. Arts’ Environment Club, sponsored by Ms. Dehlinger. The club focuses on making Comm. Arts “greener”, by recycling paper, cans, and plastic bottles, collecting pull-tabs for the Ronald McDonald Charity House, and architecting the annual Grassroots Café, a night of poetry and performance. When asked about the goal of the club, President Hannah Haworth states, with a shy smile: “To save the world.”
Every other Tuesday, during the second half of fifth period lunch in the Comm. Arts Lecture Hall, the seats are filled with students actively involved with Student Council. Sponsored by Mrs. Driggers, Student Council works diligently on year-round projects and fundraisers such as Homecoming, the winter fundraiser, Turkey Fest, Earth Day, and the end of year Banquet. Mrs. Driggers describes the club and its efforts as “a way to serve the school. We want to make it look good, keep it clean, and just make it better for the student body.” Like all clubs, membership in Student Council is open to every student at Comm. Arts.
After school every Wednesday, like clockwork, students congregate in Mrs. Swoboda’s classroom, C220, for the weekly meeting of the Creative Writing Club. The meetings begin with a discussion on writing, sharing pieces written by the students, or just jumping into the newest piece. The Creative Writing club, one of the newest clubs at Comm. Arts, is quickly  growing in size, popularity, and involvement. Collaborating with the Environment Club for Grassroots Café and assuming the task of the Literary Magazine are not easy responsibilities, but the club is taking to their new assignments with ferocious dedication. “It’s very student-run,” says Mrs. Swoboda, smiling brightly. “We come together and try to build a community of writers.”

by Caitlin Stives and Liseth Vazquez

The smell of hot tamales filled the air so quickly, you’d swear you tasted it as soon as you left the building. With so much food, most people didn’t even know where to start. From donuts and caramel apples to chili dogs and nachos, the outdoor classroom was taken by surprise as Comm. Arts students of all ages poured in.
As new freshmen, we had no idea what to expect. Never before did the words Turkeyfest have any meaning. When asked how Turkeyfest was in the past upperclassmen simply said, “fun” or “great” but those answers didn’t explain enough. But as it finally rolled around we all realized it was so much more. The sight of the overpacked outdoor classroom with the variety of food was so overwhelming, we concluded it was definitely worth the wait.
Not only did Turkeyfest represent eating until we couldn’t stand, which was very easy to do. It also had a much deeper meaning: having fun with friends and being thankful for all that we have.

by Monica Jacob and Megan Shudde

From being chased down by a wild boar to working with Post-Traumatic Stress victims in a ward after the Vietnam War, Mrs. Stevens provides a wide range of experience when teaching her students. A “flavorful” life best describes what Mrs. Lisa Stevens, the new U.S. History teacher at Communications Arts High School, brings to the classroom.
Born in Madison, Wisconsin, into a large family, Mrs. Stevens learned to be an independent and strong woman. Her father worked for the governor of Wisconsin as an engineer on his personal team. Because this was the time when “women were not accepted in the work field,” Mrs. Stevens’ mother stayed at home and took care of her along with her two older sisters.
As far as jobs are concerned, Mrs. Stevens could list hers for hours. She first started out working in a hospital and cleaning the nursery ward. From there, Mrs. Stevens joined the military as a Psychiatric Technician. “I went into the recruitment office and asked to see every uniform from every different branch. Then, I tried them on to see which color looked best on me. (The verdict: green) So I joined the army!” says Mrs. Stevens laughing as she recounts old memories.
It was in the army where Mrs. Stevens met her husband. Soon after, she left the service to become a military wife in order to raise their two young boys. She home-schooled them for five years until a school opened up on base where Mrs. Stevens worked as a substitute teacher. In addition, Mrs. Stevens worked as an aerobics instructor, an archivist at a museum, as well as a supplemental instructor at a college in Louisiana. After all of this, Mrs. Stevens moved to San Antonio, where she attended college at UTSA.
Before Comm. Arts, Mrs. Stevens worked at an “inner city” charter school and from there moved to Keystone Academy, a college preparatory school in the Monte Vista neighborhood of San Antonio near downtown
In this 2008-2009 school year, Mrs. Stevens has joined the Comm. Arts family, succeeding the beloved Mr. Bigelow. Although the entire Comm. Arts population is devastated by the loss of such a talented individual, Mrs. Stevens has brought a fresh teaching style to the US History AP class.
When asked why she chose history, Mrs. Stevens replied quickly, “I love history. It’s what I have my Masters degree in. I like knowing where we’re from and where we’re going.”
After receiving the job at Communications Arts High School, Dr. Folks, the NISD superintendent, told her, “Welcome to the Promised Land.”
“All of the students at this school want to be here and want to learn, they are very respectful. There is no stress. I come into work smiling everyday and I leave work smiling. You can see the ambition in these kids that will take them farther in the future.”
Mrs. Stevens refers to herself as a very “animated” person. She says that she wants parents to feel at ease because their children are in good hands. “I’m going to prep them for college so that they are a step ahead of other students. It’s always easier when you have that advantage.” Comm. Arts is happy to welcome this new teacher.
We hope that she will enjoy her experience here as she imparts knowledge and skills that will contribute to the success of her students.

by David Rodriguez and Martin Caldera

Years of fierce fundraising (with the help of Senior Class Sponsor Mr. Craig Rendon) finally paid off for the class of 2009 in the form of our  Senior Trip to Austin in December.
After the two-hour bus drive, of course the first thing most of us wanted to do was eat. Luckily, the Bob Bullock State Museum, our first stop, features the “Story of Texas Café,” where we fueled up before embarking on our tour. The relatively new State Museum (opened in 2001) has three floors, each with its own Texas exhibit theme: Encounters on the Land, Building the Lone Star Identity, and Creating Opportunity. After perusing the educational yet entertaining exhibits, we watched Star of Destiny, an interactive presentation that uses special effects like wind and smoke to evoke hurricanes, oil gushes and space rockets.
Next we strolled over to the nearby Capitol building for a photo-op before returning to the museum to take in another movie, Grand Canyon Adventure 3D: River at Risk, which convinced us of the importance of conserving and protecting our nation’s rivers.
To round out the Austin experience, we ventured across the street to the University of Texas, where we discovered first-hand what the campus is like. Since eating is always a priority with us, it was necessary to grab a quick snack in one of the UT cafeterias before piling back on the bus.
Since some of us will be making a more long-term commitment to Austin in August, this was more than just a field trip, it was a glimpse of our future lives.

by Leslie Miranda

The 2008-2009 school year has seen some interesting changes at our school, including the introduction of educational seminars. The content and purpose of these lunch-time meetings is designed specifically to benefit students at each grade level, and student attendance is mandatory.
Freshmen and sophomore seminars occur more often than those for the juniors and seniors: freshmen attend seminars three times a week and sophomores attend once a week, during the first half of lunch. The school staff recognizes that students are making major time commitments to this new program. Vice principal Windy Barker says that, even though the students “would prefer free lunch,” they have responded to the program with a respectful attitude.
The seminars for Freshmen are designed to help equip them with the right skills and knowledge to become successful in the rigorous programs offered at Communications Arts. Topics of discussion have included proper time management, how the brain works, different learning styles, and organizational techniques. Older students enrolled in the Leadership class lead the lessons, which are often interactive and allow the freshmen to become increasingly self-directed.
The program has been running smoothly so far, but Mrs. Barker would like to have more time to spend with the students. Although she would not want to take extra time out of lunch, she feels “once you get started, it seems to be over.” The most important thing she would like the students to take from the seminars and apply to their school life is organizational skills, which she believes are the root of success for any student.
The seminars will carry on until the end of the year, and continue to cover information that will contribute to the success of the students.