Thorndale ISD

Volume 2, Issue 5: 10/11/24

Greetings Bulldogs! Happy Friday.

Reminder - School Holiday Quickly Approaching:

Next week the 9-weeks ends on the 16th! Additionally, students will enjoy a fall break and will have no school on October 17th, 18th, and 21st.

Fall Festival Coming Soon!

Thorndale Elementary PTO and the TMS Middle Matters parent groups are excited for the Fall Festival on Saturday, October 26th from 6-8 PM!  Enjoy games, a haunted house, Chick-fil-A & pizza, face painting, trailer jail, a book fair, and a silent auction!

Come join the fun—we can't wait to see everyone’s costumes! 

** If you have a silent auction item to donate please bring to the TES office or contact the TES Boosters on Facebook!

National School Lunch Week!

New Staff Welcome to Thorndale ISD:

We are excited to welcome our new staff to Thorndale ISD!

• Tara Garner will be the 5th Grade English teacher.
• Steven Leatherwood is our Non-CDL Driver

National Principal’s Month

October is National Principal Month! Help us thank our principals at Thorndale ISD for their leadership and dedication to our students and community! We are very lucky to have each of them!

• TES - Shannon Morrison
• TMS - Scott Frei
• THS - Tandy Betak

Custodian Appreciation Day!

In case you missed it, October 2nd was Custodian Appreciation Day!

Please join us in saying a huge THANK YOU to our amazing custodial staff! Thorndale ISD is lucky to have six of the best, working hard to keep our school safe and clean every day!

• Cathy Stracener
• Cruz Stewart
• Dallas Griffith
• Rafaela Rodriguez
• Jennifer Holmes
• Dennis Butler

Real Talk - 6th - 12th Grade Class Meeting

On Thursday, October 10th I met with the high school students in the cafeteria, and then later with the middle school, to discuss two important topics. First, we went over the bond presentations that have been shared on the website and social media. It was fun to see the student's positive reactions and excitement for their future high school!

The other topic was equally as necessary, but less fun. It was a talk about the risks, impacts, and consequences that come with vaping. Vaping has taken the place of cigarettes as a threat to underage smoking. Unfortunately, although TISD is often separated from the “issues” that are seen in larger school districts, we are not immune to the distractions and disruptions that occur in student-age populations.

Thus, I wanted to ensure our students heard firsthand the seriousness of vaping.

Here are just some examples of vapes and e-cigarettes:

The intention of my presentation was to explain:

1. the evolution from cigarettes to e-cigarettes/vapes.
2. the health concerns
3. they are illegal at school, especially for students under the age of 18
4. that state law treats them the same as marijuana or THC when found in school and results in DAEP placements

Please have a serious conversation with your children about your stance on underage vaping and please do not assume that your child does not have access to them.

Kickoff Events - Thorndale ISD Community Involvement & Superintendent’s Student Lighthouse Leadership Committee:

We kicked off the first Community Involvement meeting of 2024-25 for TISD! We’re grateful for the 15 community members who are joining us this year. They got a first-hand look at the Thorndale Elementary campus, heard from students, spoke with TES Principal Shannon Morrison, and reviewed the latest Bond updates. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Shout out to the TES Student Council members for speaking to our committee and to Mrs. Jones and Mrs. McAnulty for helping them prepare!

Additionally,

Reminder: Hall of Honor Dinner & Recognition:

Reminder, Thorndale ISD is starting a Hall of Honor award for past Thorndale athletes to recognize their accomplishments. The selection committee selected the following individuals to be recognized in the first year of the recognition:

• Lee Roy Caffey, 3 time Super Bowl Champion
• Bob Evans, former NFL player and holds THS Shot Put record
• Donald Beard, University of Texas track athlete who still owns a state record in the hurdles (180-yard hurdles)
• Newton Butts, former athlete, coach, and volunteer announcer for the Thorndale Bulldogs
• Renee Jackson, the first girl athlete to compete at a state track meet
• Don Cowan, Head Coach for 3 State Championships in football at THS

The community is invited to the dinner and celebration that will be held on October 18th and starts at 4:30 pm in the TISD Cafeteria. Tickets for the Hall of Honor event are on sale and may be purchased at the Thorndale Administration Office for $15. If you would like to reserve tickets and pay at the door, please email Coach Kovar at john.kovar@thorndale.txed.net Each honoree will be given a plaque and an opportunity to speak about their time at Thorndale High School! Hope to see you there! Go Bulldogs.

Fightin’ Band from Bulldog Land Update:

Help us Congratulate your Fightin' Band from Bulldog Land! They went up against not only 2A schools but 3A-6A Bands and ADVANCED TO FINALS! They ultimately finished strong in 7th overall!

FFA Updates:

Thorndale FFA has had a great start for the month of October.  Sixteen greenhands(first-year members) represented us at Area Greenhand Camp on Saturday, October 5th.  Junior FFA had their second meeting of the year followed by a chapter meeting.  Members joined together for games and food, business matters, and their Pack Pals service project.  Stock the trailer flyers are also out for collection of paper goods and toiletries for Thorndale Cares.  Up next….Rockdale Fair and our fundraiser to begin Oct. 21st.

Thorndale FFA also had 3 exhibitors at the State Fair of Texas Market Swine show! Hadley Meadors and Jaxson Clinard showed in Class 3 Yorkshire. Congratulations to Riley Clinard with her Class 1 Yorkshire that placed 6th and earned her a sale slot!

Cross Country Updates:

The Varsity Girls and Boys ran at Granger Lake Monday and both came home DISTRICT CHAMPS! The Lady Dogs had 4 top-10 finishers, and the Bulldogs had 2 in the top 5! Both teams have qualified for Regionals which will take place on Monday, October 21st. 

Lady Dogs Medalists:

• Raven - 1st Place - District Champ
• Skielle - 2nd Place
• Nadia - 3rd Place
• Emily - 10th Place

Bulldogs Medalists:

• Case - 1st Place - District Champ
• Jaime - 3rd Place

JV Bulldogs:

• Lance - 1st Place - District Champ
• Briggs - 2nd Place

Congratulations to Krystal for finishing 2nd at the Jr. High District Cross Country meet this week! Huge shoutout to Jayden and Noah for their great performances too! 

Volleyball Updates: 

MS Lady Dogs traveled to Granger to take on the Lady Lions. The 7/8 Combined team WON in 2 sets, 7th grade WON in 3 sets, followed by the 8th grade team closing out the evening with a WIN in 2 sets.

The Varsity Lady Dogs swept McDade in 3 sets in Thorndale (25-10, 25-9, 25-13).  The Lady Dogs will finish the first round of district play in Holland on Saturday. JV Maroon will play at 11:00 am, followed immediately by the Varsity. The JV Gold has the day off. The JV Maroon Volleyball squad defeated McDade in two sets  (25-17, 25-16). The win moves them to 3-1 in district play.

Prior to McDade, the Lady Dogs swept Milano in 3 sets (25-15, 25-20, 25-18) moving Thorndale to 1-0 in district play, and defeated Barlett in 3 sets (25-10, 25-16, 25-16),  and then later Granger in 4 sets to remain undefeated in district competition (3-0).  After dropping the first set (19-25), the Lady Dogs took the final 3 sets (25-11, 25-13, 25-19).

Football Updates:

The football team continued their winning streak with a convincing home win against Hempstead to move to 4-1. After a bye week, they will be challenged tonight against Mason in our first distant district away game.

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Most sincerely,

Zack Kleypas
Superintendent
Thorndale ISD
#TISDStrivingForExcellence

“Keep improving, always, in all ways.”