EVENTS AND EXTRACURRICULAR
04-28-2017 | ACC INVITES DVHS TO IT ACADEMY
ACC (Highland Campus) invited Del Valle Computer Science students to visit the IT Academy. While enjoying some pizza provided by ACC, students were shown a presentation on two certifications they can pursue while still in high school, Computer Repair and Computer Web Development. Enrique Velasquez, a current IT Academy student, spoke about his personal experience with the program, and the advantages it has had on his education.
Students were then escorted to an area known as the ACCelerator, an extremely large learning lab covering over 32,000 square feet and consisting of over 600 computer stations. The impressive area also includes glassed in classrooms and study rooms where students can receive instruction and do group work/study sessions.
Students were encouraged to sign up for the program. The program is provided at a very low cost to high school students provided they maintain a particular average along with keeping up with their current high school load. The courses are provided two days a week in the afternoon, and bus transportation is provided to and from ACC.
Many thanks to Lauren Thomas, the ACC Career Programs Specialist, for inviting our students to see their facility and giving them this wonderful opportunity to participate in the program.
Students were then escorted to an area known as the ACCelerator, an extremely large learning lab covering over 32,000 square feet and consisting of over 600 computer stations. The impressive area also includes glassed in classrooms and study rooms where students can receive instruction and do group work/study sessions.
Students were encouraged to sign up for the program. The program is provided at a very low cost to high school students provided they maintain a particular average along with keeping up with their current high school load. The courses are provided two days a week in the afternoon, and bus transportation is provided to and from ACC.
Many thanks to Lauren Thomas, the ACC Career Programs Specialist, for inviting our students to see their facility and giving them this wonderful opportunity to participate in the program.
04-21-2017 | STUDENTS ATTEND UT SHADOW DAY
Jr-SHPE members and Tech Girls attended the annual Shadow Day at University of Texas's Cockrell School of Engineering on Friday afternoon. Students were greeted by the UT-SHPE and given a tour of the Engineering schools around the campus. They had a chance to meet a robot who wondered aimlessly, learn how fire reacts in different situations, witness a state of the art lazer and 3D printing facility, and participate in an innovative car creation activity.
During a nice dinner, UT students discussed their daily activities, schedules, and time management. Other topics included professionalism, career choices, hardships, and friendships to help give a more realistic view of some decisions and challenges that will be encountered while attending college.
The UT-SHPE has been involved with Del Valle for five years now. For the 2016-2017 school year, Ascencion Ramirez served as UT-SHPE ambassador. We would like to extend many thanks to her and her team for making this year a huge success for our students. They have exemplified true professionalism, guidance, and knowledge in helping our students prepare for their future.
During a nice dinner, UT students discussed their daily activities, schedules, and time management. Other topics included professionalism, career choices, hardships, and friendships to help give a more realistic view of some decisions and challenges that will be encountered while attending college.
The UT-SHPE has been involved with Del Valle for five years now. For the 2016-2017 school year, Ascencion Ramirez served as UT-SHPE ambassador. We would like to extend many thanks to her and her team for making this year a huge success for our students. They have exemplified true professionalism, guidance, and knowledge in helping our students prepare for their future.
04-20-2017 | DVHS HOSTS CLUB CARNIVAL
DVHS hosted a club carnival on Thursday evening. A cake walk, photography booth, makey makey kits, gardening, and jenga were among the many fun activities. Booths were set up to display information and students were available to answer questions and encourage participation of guests. The goal of the evening was to boost club memberships.
Students are encouraged to join clubs to help increase their awareness in various subject areas, as well as meet new friends. Clubs help produce a community of people with common interests. Members can participate by doing community service, fund raisers, club events and gatherings. Students who are involved in extracurricular activities have a tendancy to do better in school. Find a friend and join a club today! Come by and talk to one of the sponsors:
Garden Club | Mr. Wheeler & Chef Calder
Tech Girls | Mrs. Dixon & Mrs. Saben
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) | Mz. Janzen
Hospitality and Tourism | Ms. Jenkins
Poetry Club | ??
Robotics | Mr. Davis
Chess Club | Mr. Grimes
Universal Interscholastic League | Mr. Plumley
Students are encouraged to join clubs to help increase their awareness in various subject areas, as well as meet new friends. Clubs help produce a community of people with common interests. Members can participate by doing community service, fund raisers, club events and gatherings. Students who are involved in extracurricular activities have a tendancy to do better in school. Find a friend and join a club today! Come by and talk to one of the sponsors:
Garden Club | Mr. Wheeler & Chef Calder
Tech Girls | Mrs. Dixon & Mrs. Saben
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) | Mz. Janzen
Hospitality and Tourism | Ms. Jenkins
Poetry Club | ??
Robotics | Mr. Davis
Chess Club | Mr. Grimes
Universal Interscholastic League | Mr. Plumley
03-07-2017 | HHF HOSTS LOFT STEM SYMPOSIUM AT UT
The HHF (Hispanic Heritage Foundation) hosted the LOFT (Latinos On Fast Track) STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) Symposium at the University of Texas for Austin area high schools. This leadership and workforce development program sponsored by the U.S. Army provides career-path guidance, and educational and networking opportunities for juniors and seniors in high school pursuing STEM fields.
Upon arrival, visitors were invited to participate in various fun physical challenges hosted by the Army. During the morning presentation, students engaged in discussions on what makes a good leader. After enjoying a nice lunch, students listened to a group of panelists who shared their stories of overcoming obstacles to become successful.
Students can join the LOFT Network online community to connect with other students across the county, as well as receive information on educational grants, workforce development programs and learning opportunities at http://hispanicheritage.org/.
Upon arrival, visitors were invited to participate in various fun physical challenges hosted by the Army. During the morning presentation, students engaged in discussions on what makes a good leader. After enjoying a nice lunch, students listened to a group of panelists who shared their stories of overcoming obstacles to become successful.
Students can join the LOFT Network online community to connect with other students across the county, as well as receive information on educational grants, workforce development programs and learning opportunities at http://hispanicheritage.org/.
02-23-2017 | JUNIORS VISIT TEXAS A&M IN CORPUS
Students from the Junior class hopped a charter and headed to the Texas A&M campus in Corpus Christi! Known as the "island" university, the campus resides on the Texas gulf coast along with natural wetlands, a scenic hike-and-bike trail, great views of the bay area, and many palm trees!
Students can choose studies from Business, Education and Human Development, Liberal Arts, Nursing and Health Sciences, and Science and Engineering colleges. The university also offers distance education and learning technologies.
For more information on this university, visit http://www.tamucc.edu/.
Students can choose studies from Business, Education and Human Development, Liberal Arts, Nursing and Health Sciences, and Science and Engineering colleges. The university also offers distance education and learning technologies.
For more information on this university, visit http://www.tamucc.edu/.
02-17-2017 | SHPE VISITS AUSTIN FOAM
SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) members were invited to visit Austin Foam and Plastics plant in Pflugerville. Mr. Mark Lannan hosted the visit, walking students through various processes used in creating foam packaging for products.
Important points addressed were environmental friendliness and how AFP recycles waste materials, roles of various engineers involved in creating the packaging, significance of foam color used, and how packaging is determined based on size and weight of the product.
This opportunity provides a different viewpoint in Engineering, rather than focusing on the product itself, addresses the care of the product during delivery and storage.
Many thanks to Mr. Lannan for taking time out of his busy schedule to spend time with our kids. Experiences like these help our students gain a wider perspective on types of Engineering fields they can study.
Important points addressed were environmental friendliness and how AFP recycles waste materials, roles of various engineers involved in creating the packaging, significance of foam color used, and how packaging is determined based on size and weight of the product.
This opportunity provides a different viewpoint in Engineering, rather than focusing on the product itself, addresses the care of the product during delivery and storage.
Many thanks to Mr. Lannan for taking time out of his busy schedule to spend time with our kids. Experiences like these help our students gain a wider perspective on types of Engineering fields they can study.
02-07-2017 | SHPE RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS
Regular SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) meetings are held once or twice a week. This student ran organization gives its members opportunities to lead in various activities and projects, and is geared toward STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) studies.
The current officers are:
Dayani Davilla, President (appointed)
Enrique Velasquez, Vice President (appointed)
Rebecca Gomez, Secretary (elected)
Juan Rojo, Treasurer (elected)
Karla Montero, Historian (elected)
The club is assisted by UT SHPE members, who visit Del Valle two or three times a month. They provide information pertaining to college life and enrichment programs, and engage members in various learning activities. During this visit, students play the maze game. They are blind folded and walked out to the middle of a maze. They must find their way out without seeing, using the strings forming the maze as their only guide. The activity offers an important lesson in life, which students discover one by one.
If you are interested in joining the organization, visit Mrs. Jansen in room C107, or talk to any of the officers listed above. We would love to add another Cardinal to our team!
The current officers are:
Dayani Davilla, President (appointed)
Enrique Velasquez, Vice President (appointed)
Rebecca Gomez, Secretary (elected)
Juan Rojo, Treasurer (elected)
Karla Montero, Historian (elected)
The club is assisted by UT SHPE members, who visit Del Valle two or three times a month. They provide information pertaining to college life and enrichment programs, and engage members in various learning activities. During this visit, students play the maze game. They are blind folded and walked out to the middle of a maze. They must find their way out without seeing, using the strings forming the maze as their only guide. The activity offers an important lesson in life, which students discover one by one.
If you are interested in joining the organization, visit Mrs. Jansen in room C107, or talk to any of the officers listed above. We would love to add another Cardinal to our team!
01-21-2017 | F1 IN SCHOOLS RACING HELD AT COTA
Engineering Design and Problem Solving (ED&PS) students participated in the F1 in Schools (F1iS) competition held at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on Saturday. The program gives students the opportunity to apply Engineering principles they have learned in their classes by using the Design Process to create a competitive CO2 dragster race car. Students must adhere to specific regulations pertaining to wheel size-width, car length-width-weight, and employ aerodynamics.
Pit displays are created representing their team and car design, 3D models of past and present designs, various processes used, and sponsors. Verbal presentations are given by students to discuss the process they went through to achieve their desired car design. Students are also required to produce a portfolio of their digital 3D model creation using specialized industrial standard software showing renderings and formal drawings of the car parts and assemblies.
For racing, the Cardinal team won three of the four heats that were ran, with Carlos Reyes at the start line. Students also received the "Newcomer Award" for having all new team participants.
This is the second year DVHS has participated. While the team is still learning the competition as a whole, the goal is to improve over the previous year. It is projected that within a few years, DVHS will challenge the competition!
View one of the winning races below!
Pit displays are created representing their team and car design, 3D models of past and present designs, various processes used, and sponsors. Verbal presentations are given by students to discuss the process they went through to achieve their desired car design. Students are also required to produce a portfolio of their digital 3D model creation using specialized industrial standard software showing renderings and formal drawings of the car parts and assemblies.
For racing, the Cardinal team won three of the four heats that were ran, with Carlos Reyes at the start line. Students also received the "Newcomer Award" for having all new team participants.
This is the second year DVHS has participated. While the team is still learning the competition as a whole, the goal is to improve over the previous year. It is projected that within a few years, DVHS will challenge the competition!
View one of the winning races below!
12-02-2016 | STUDENTS TOUR DVHS CONSTRUCTION SITES
Civil Engineering and Architecture students toured construction sites currently in progress at DVHS. Cody Lester, the project manager from American Constructors, Inc., led the tour, and talked about the progress of the project. Other topics of discussion included worker safety, stakeholder involvement, soil integrity, calculation of vertical and horizonal weight, and the purpose of retention ponds.
Current projects under construction are a new state of the art athletic facility, a data center attached to the Administration building, and a Fine Arts addition. Plans for a Career and Technology Education (CATE) building will begin in the 2017-2018 school year.
Many thanks to Cody, Melissa Caldwell, and Norris Sebastian for giving our students this opportunity! Some of the best learning occurs outside of the classroom!
Current projects under construction are a new state of the art athletic facility, a data center attached to the Administration building, and a Fine Arts addition. Plans for a Career and Technology Education (CATE) building will begin in the 2017-2018 school year.
Many thanks to Cody, Melissa Caldwell, and Norris Sebastian for giving our students this opportunity! Some of the best learning occurs outside of the classroom!
11-15-2016 | DVHS DOMINATES SOLAR CAR RACE
DVHS engineering students participated in the annual Solar Car Races hosted by Applied Materials. The all day event included awards in speed, creativity, and originality.
Students were required to build a car with a small motor that connects to a solar panel. The design of the car had to meet certain criteria, but the appearance and functionality were left to the imagination of the participants. They then competed in a race against other schools.
Once again, DVHS dominate the competition! Students placed first (Sarahi Butran), second (), and third (Ben Ramos) for fastest cars. Congratulations to those students!
A special shout out goes to Engineering teacher, Mr. Vance Davis, who oversaw the operations of the solar car assembly process and drove the students to and from the event.
View the winning race below!
Students were required to build a car with a small motor that connects to a solar panel. The design of the car had to meet certain criteria, but the appearance and functionality were left to the imagination of the participants. They then competed in a race against other schools.
Once again, DVHS dominate the competition! Students placed first (Sarahi Butran), second (), and third (Ben Ramos) for fastest cars. Congratulations to those students!
A special shout out goes to Engineering teacher, Mr. Vance Davis, who oversaw the operations of the solar car assembly process and drove the students to and from the event.
View the winning race below!
10-17-2016 | DVHS HOSTS NOCHE DE CIENCIAS
Night of Science was held at Del Valle High during Open House on October 17th. Students engaged in various fun science activities and chatted with the UT-SHPE and SHPE Austin members. Delicious snacks and fun door prizes were also included in the festivities.
The event was open to students of all ages and their parents to help spark interest in STEM fields. People in attendance said they really enjoyed the event and learned some new things, which prompted discussions of this becoming a yearly event with an even wider range of activities and experiments to attract larger audiences.
The event was open to students of all ages and their parents to help spark interest in STEM fields. People in attendance said they really enjoyed the event and learned some new things, which prompted discussions of this becoming a yearly event with an even wider range of activities and experiments to attract larger audiences.
10-14-2016 | CONCESSIONS HELP RAISE CLUB FUNDS
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and Hospitality partnered up to raise club funds by working the concession stands during the "Friday Night Lights" football games on September 16th Homecoming and October 14th. Snack items like Frito pies, nachos, hot dogs, burgers, chips, and drinks were served until the 4th quarter.
Opportunities like these allow students to get involved in their community and foster relationships, as well as build professional skills in customer service and teamwork. The money goes toward club activities and items such as member tee-shirts.
Opportunities like these allow students to get involved in their community and foster relationships, as well as build professional skills in customer service and teamwork. The money goes toward club activities and items such as member tee-shirts.
10-11-2016 | TEL AUSTIN HOSTS HIGH TECH U
TEL in Austin hosted the three day SEMI High Tech U event from October 11th to 13th. Seven of the thirty-three students attending from surrounding areas came from Del Valle High. Activities included participation in a variety of Engineering disciplines such as digital electronics, chemistry, computer science, statistics, and environmental engineering, and a visit to Texas State University. Team building, problem solving, and communication skills enforced the learning experience, teaching students about having high expectations for themselves and others. Team presentations allowed an opportunity to express ideas in problem solving to an audience.
Del Valle has participated in this event for five years. Students must apply to the program, and are accepted provided they meet the grade and behavior standards. This year, all female students attended, which further supports the fact that Engineering is not a gender related occupation.
A special congratulations goes to Rebecca Gomez, who was the proud recipient of the $1000 scholarship award for "outstanding leader" voted by her peers. This honor is bestowed upon students who display an aptitude for leadership during the three day training period, and is awarded to only one student during the graduation ceremony.
A big "thank you" goes to Michelle Cotta and Leslie Tugman, for coordinating the SEMI High Tech U program and giving our students this incredible opportunity, and to Mr. Norris Sebastian, Career and Technology Director, for making the arrangements and providing transportation!!
Del Valle has participated in this event for five years. Students must apply to the program, and are accepted provided they meet the grade and behavior standards. This year, all female students attended, which further supports the fact that Engineering is not a gender related occupation.
A special congratulations goes to Rebecca Gomez, who was the proud recipient of the $1000 scholarship award for "outstanding leader" voted by her peers. This honor is bestowed upon students who display an aptitude for leadership during the three day training period, and is awarded to only one student during the graduation ceremony.
A big "thank you" goes to Michelle Cotta and Leslie Tugman, for coordinating the SEMI High Tech U program and giving our students this incredible opportunity, and to Mr. Norris Sebastian, Career and Technology Director, for making the arrangements and providing transportation!!