Our school is starting a new initiative sponsored by our ATEMS Leadership Council to help students think of others in their community. We’ve talked to the local Food Bank and have been told that toiletries are the most needed items. So, we are challenging our students to bring in 100 bars of soap, 100 packages of toilet paper, 100 bottles of shampoo, 100 toothbrushes, and 100 tubes of toothpaste. They do not have to be the regular sizes. Travel sizes are acceptable. We just want our students to bring in what they can. We will give them until Friday, November 20 to bring it all together. I know it is a short time, but I bet they can do it. If they succeed in accomplishing this goal, they will be given a free pajama and movie day on Tuesday, November 24th. The items will be delivered by the student council to the Abilene Food Bank on Monday, November 23rd. We want to challenge every student to bring in these items. We are aiming for 500 items, but we will be happy with whatever our students can accomplish. I know we only have two weeks to get this done, but I want are students to work hard to make this happen.

I wanted to let you all know that our students did a wonderful job in bringing in items. We asked for 500 items. We received over 2000 items. We had more items than we requested. On Monday, November 23rd, Joe Medellin and Meredith Haney delivered all of the toiletry items to the Loaves and Fishes ministry at Sacred Heart Church. They were also given a tour of the facilities by Vicki King. She was excited beyond belief that our students were willing to give so much to their community. She was nearly in tears. It was a great experience for all our students and we look forward to doing more for our community. Thank you to all the students and parents who took the time to help. Happy Thanksgiving...

Over the course of the year, our students have been involved in community service projects throughout Abilene, Texas. Our students have volunteered at the HEB Feast of Sharing, Boo @ the Zoo, cleaning up around the zoo, planting shrubbery around our campus at 302 Pine St., and Loaves and Fishes. They continue to look for upcoming oppportunities to volunteer. If you are needing assistance or have projects that our students can contribute to, please give us a call at the Academy. If you are interested in learning more about how you can join one of our Advisory Committees, contact John Martinez, Director of ATEMS, at 325-794-4140 ext 7824.

We meet every 2nd Monday of the month at ATEMS @ TSTC in the Conference Room.