Principal's Message

Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year!

I am thrilled to be welcoming your child(ren) back to school! We have eagerly anticipated the return of our students to our VMHS campus. Our continued commitment to fostering resilience, perseverance, grit, empathy, and the ability to communicate effectively in diverse learning partnerships will undoubtedly help our students thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

In addition to the physical safety and academic prominence, a stronger emphasis will be placed on social-emotional learning as we continue to ease our students back to normalcy. Veterans Memorial High School is such a special place to learn and grow. We are proud of our campus and have high expectations for each and every student. Our students are kind, compassionate, and inquisitive.

Together with our dedicated staff, we strive to make connections with students to help them feel valued, accepted, and safe. Our VMHS motto of “Academic Excellence! The Right of Every Student!” will continue to guide our mission to provide a rigorous and joyful school environment. Our goal is to encourage active student engagement to foster a lifetime love for learning.

Partnering with families will be crucial this year. We appreciate your support as you work with students at home. We encourage families to stay connected and informed by following our district website for important updates and information regarding our reopening plans.

Some information/reminders to parents for the new year to ensure the safety of all our staff and students:

Face to Face Instruction will continue for the school year 2022-2023

-Teachers and students will be on campus five days a week.
-Teachers will be on campus and assigned full classes/courses for face-to-face students.
-All instruction will be delivered in a traditional classroom setting with safety protocols in place.

-Students will receive 100% real-time instruction following their regular class schedule.
-Students will be required to attend classes from Monday-Friday (8:15 AM to 4:15 PM daily

Our safety guidelines for extracurricular activities are aligned with our district, UIL, Texas Education Agency, and CDC.
The first line of defense will begin at home. We ask that parents continue to screen students for fever and other symptoms of COVID-19 before leaving home. If your child is not feeling well, has symptoms, or has a temperature, we ask that you keep your child home and see your doctor. Teachers will monitor students and refer any children to the campus nurse should anyone show symptoms.
Mission CISD will continue to be transparent and will continue to send notices to parents and staff regarding any positive cases of COVID-19 on campus, as we did as students started to return to class last school year.
Student drop-off (at the front of the campus) will begin at 7:30 AM. Students must be dropped off at a time that allows them to be in class by 8:15 AM
Student pick-up (at the front of the campus) will begin at 4:15 PM. All students should be picked by 4:45 PM
Students will attend class daily promoting a healthy learning environment.
All students will follow a dress code; the dress code was placed on our webpage https://vmhs.mcisd.net/ for reference.
The district has been revamping our lunch program. Students may pick up a plate prepared by our nutrition staff (free of charge) or bring their lunches from home (microwaves are available for use). Due to safety concerns, lunches will not be dropped off, nor will students be allowed to be picked up for lunch.
Students will be allowed to be checked out, by a person on their approved contact list, for appointments only.

Respectfully,
Fidel Garza Jr., M.A. Ed