Two female teen students flash peace signs and hold plates of pancakes while a male teen student holds up a spatula.

How it started vs. how it's going: 2024-25 off and rolling

Brienne Green

September 29, 2024

Our schools have been busy learning and growing in the first few weeks of the new school year!

GRAND HEIGHTS

How It Started

A sign reading "Welcome Eager Beavers", surrounded by smaller signs featuring school-related items, sits in front of Grand Heights Early Childhood Center in Artesia.

How It's Going

• On Aug. 30, the Bulldog football team stopped by to read "Go, Bulldogs!" by Paula Menefee to the Eager Beavers!

Artesia kindergartners sit at tables and listen as a Bulldog football player reads the book "Go, Bulldogs".

• Attendance matters! Grand Heights' most recent Attendance Superstars included Stacia Estrada's Foxes, Laura Upchurch's Flamingos and Dina Williams' Dolphins.

Students in Stacia Estrada's Fox class at Grand Heights smile and pose for a picture.Students in Laura Upchurch's Flamingo class smile and pose for a picture.Students in Dina Williams' Dolphin class at Grand Heights smile and pose for a picture.

• Natalie Whitaker's Cub classroom got a lesson in force and motion this week while enjoying a game of golf!

A young girl uses a yardstick to guide a golf ball toward a cup laid on its side.

CENTRAL ELEMENTARY

How It Started

Students and family members eat hot dogs at cafeteria tables at Central Elementary.

Central's Hot Dog Happening allowed families to visit their students' school and get to know the faculty.

How It's Going

• The Bullpups have been enjoying visits from the Bulldog football and volleyball teams and cheerleaders, listening to stories and collecting autographs.

Two Lady Bulldog volleyball players sign autographs for a group of young girls.A Bulldog football player reads to a Central Elementary student while sitting on a couch.A Bulldog football player reads to a small girl while seated in a hallway at Central Elementary.

• Central classes have been celebrating successful completion of book discussions and tests with fun themed parties! Mrs. Glennie's class enjoyed snozzcumbers and frobscottle after reading "The BFG" by Roald Dahl, and Mrs. LaPointe's class partook in some fancy egg-salad sandwiches and Gloria Dump's punch after finishing "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo.

A group of Central Elementary students eats snacks while seated on the floor of their classroom.A bowl of seasoned cucumbers

A green cake labeled "Snozzcumber Cake" and two glass bottles of green liquid labeled "Frobscottle"Four young girls sit at their desks and enjoy egg-salad sandwichesCentral Elementary students enjoy egg-salad sandwiches and punch at their desks.

HERMOSA ELEMENTARY

How It Started

Diana Harvey's first-grade class and Landon Ivy's fifth-grade class were the first to "Run with the Bulldogs" after having perfect attendance in the second week of school!

Students in Diana Harvey's class at Hermosa Elementary pose for a photo.Students in Landon Ivy's class at Hermosa Elementary pose for a photo.

How It's Going

• More classes have been earning the right to Run with the Bulldogs on Fridays due to their excellent attendance, including Brandi Crawford's third-grade class, Twila Haisten's fourth-grade class and Elisha DeHoyos' second-grade class.

Students in Brandi Crawford's class at Hermosa Elementary pose for a photo.Students in Twila Haisten's class at Hermosa Elementary pose for a photo.Students in Elisha DeHoyos' class at Hermosa Elementary pose for a photo.

• The Superkid fifth-graders participated in a presentation on safety around electricity with Central Valley Electric Co-op.

Hermosa Elementary students listen as two women from Central Valley Electric explain electricity safety using a model.

ROSELAWN ELEMENTARY

How It Started

Roselawn Elementary teachers reach for doughnuts and breakfast burritos laid out on cafeteria tables.

Roselawn faculty members were treated to a pre-first-day breakfast by West Main Baptist Church.

How It's Going

• Maribel Flores' fourth-grade class learned about chemical and physical changes by using blackberries to reveal secret lemon-juice messages.

A young girl uses a Q-tip to draw a picture with lemon juice.A young boy rubs a blackberry over a lemon-juice drawing to reveal the drawing.

• As part of the New Mexico Public Education Department's Level Up Challenge, all of Olga Olguin's first-graders met one or two goals in reading and math and received Kool-Aid pouches from Title I teacher Beatriz Fernandez. Prizes were also awarded to the Top iStation and Most Growth Readers and Mathematicians.

A group of young boys and girls poses for a picture holding pouches of Kool-Aid powder.

YESO ELEMENTARY

How It Started

A group of young boys and girls smiles and holds their hands up in the air while giving the thumbs-up sign.

How It's Going

• The 53rd Annual Enchilada Supper was a big success! Click here for top ticket sellers, photos and more!

Three women from the Yeso PTO take enchilada supper ticket money from a young girl while seated at a table.

• Students who met Yeso's Level Up reading challenge were named Superhero Readers of the Month! They also received Superhero Reader Capes, Ralph or Ricky figurines to display on their desks, and a special Level Up Lunch.

A group of boys and girls pose for a photo while wearing capes and holding up stuffed animals.A group of boys and girls poses for a photo while wearing blue capes and holding up stuffed animals.A girl and a boy pose for a photo while wearing blue capes and holding stuffed animals.

YUCCA ELEMENTARY

How It Started

A large sign reads "Welcome Back Yucca Bandits" with green, yellow and gold balloon displays on either side.

How It's Going

• Bulldog and Lady Bulldog athletes attended Yucca's Sept. 7 Spirit Assembly, and the Bandits also got a visit from Officer Villegas during recess.

Four teenage boys from the Artesia football team pose for a photo in a hallway at Yucca Elementary.A group of high school cheerleaders holds another cheerleader in the air while other students look on.A police officer speaks to a group of students on the playground at Yucca Elementary.A police officer throws a football to a group of students waiting to catch it.

• The Yucca first-graders won the school's first Radical Extra Recess competition, thanks to exhibiting the best behavior over the course of 15 days.

A large group of young first-grade students poses for a photo. Some of the students raise a "number-one" finger in the air.

ZIA INTERMEDIATE

How It Started

A sign reads "Welcome Bulldogs" with smaller signs featuring school-related items like apples and pencils on either side outside Zia Intermediate.

How It's Going

• Zia hosted an awesome new event in August: the Bulldog Traditions Workshop! Students in grades 6-12 were able to spend a day creating posters, spirit wear and Homecoming mums and prepping for Homecoming floats. See photos below and click here for more!

Intermediate-age students gather at cafeteria tables, painting signs and clothing in orange, white and black colors.A group of intermediate-age girls pose for a photo while painting clothing, holding up peace signs with white paint on their hands.Two intermediate-age girls pause from paint-stamping handprints onto their jeans for a photo, holding up their hands, which are coated in white and black paint.Two intermediate-age girls pause from painting cardboard for a Homecoming float to smile at the camera.

• On Bulldog Fridays, Zia Student Council members add a little extra sparkle to their classmates with hair glitter!

An intermediate-age girl sprinkles hair glitter in the hair of a seated intermediate-age boy.

A group of intermediate-age students sprinkle hair glitter in seated classmates' hair.

PARK JUNIOR HIGH

How It Started

Junior-high-age students listen as a teacher displays a kite form.Two teen girls and two teen boys display finished and decorated kites.

Junior high students wasted no time engaging in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) lessons with a kite workshop.

How It's Going

• Rosa Carrera's Family Consumer Science classes got the new school year cooking with Pancakes and Smiles. Students were then able to make cheesy potatoes and explore healthier alternatives to fried food with new air fryers purchased for the classes using Park's Tate Branch Grant.

Three pancakes on paper plates are decorated with smiley-face designs created from blueberries, strawberries and bananas.A teen girl makes a kissy face and a teen boy holds up three fingers while holding plates of pancakes.A teenage boy gets ready to flip a pancake on a hand-held griddle.A teen girl smiles for the camera while scooping potatoes out of an air fryer.Four teen boys pose for the camera while holding paper plates of potatoes.Four teen girls smile for the camera while showing off paper plates of potatoes next to an air fryer sitting on a counter.

• Science Lab Day was a Battle of the Beaks as students determined which bird beak adaptations were best suited to foraging for different types of foods.

Two teen girls write on pieces of paper while a third girl dunks an item into a plastic cup.Four teen girls stand at a table and examine items shaped like bird beaks with sheets of paper containing instructions in front of them.

ARTESIA HIGH SCHOOL

How It Started

A parking place in a lot at AHS is painted with a seagull and the word "MINE" next to it.

Seniors kicked off the new year by claiming and painting their parking spaces!

How It's Going

• AHS's A&P and Biology II students received encouragement to continue their interest in the medical field from third- and fourth-year medical students from Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine in Las Cruces.

Six teen boys seated at a table listen as a male medical student reads from a piece of paper.Teen students and a male medical student sit at a table covered with fake bones of various sizes.

• Class counselors Debbie Kinnibrugh (seniors), Adrienne Blackburn (juniors) and Anessa Golden (sophomores) got to work guiding their various students along their future paths.

Teen girls look at sheets of paper while seated at a table in front of a projection screen reading "Senior Year Things".A woman seated on a stool speaks to teenagers seated at tables in front of a projection screen reading "Get Involved".A teacher speaks to students seated at tables in front of a projection screen reading "Expectations".

• Ashley Mason's class got a visit from Artesia General Hospital's Jordan Fuentes, who spoke to students about macromolecules.

A woman speaks and gestures to a TV screen with a photo of a plate and fork reading "MyPlate.gov".

• Senior counselor Debbie Kinnibrugh hosted a Senior Launchpad event for senior parents and students, offering information and tools that will help upcoming graduates take that next step! Partner organizations included the Chase Foundation, Artesia General Hospital, the Sacramento Mountain Scholarship, Devon Energy, Trio and New Mexico Workforce Connections.

Multiple tables filled with students and parents are seen in a large room containing several ceiling-mounted TVs and a projection screen.

HERE'S TO A GREAT REMAINDER OF THE FIRST SEMESTER!