Happy New Year!

            I hope everyone had a safe and pleasant winter break! Here in San Antonio we have started 2007 with some unusually cold weather. We had two days with a lot of ice and no school because of it! Here in the Residence Halls, we stayed in with movies and games and ordered food to be delivered. It is starting to warm up a bit now and hopefully the spring will bring sunshine and beautiful Texas weather!

            We are looking forward to an exciting spring calendar of events. Plans are being made to take everyone to Six Flags Fiesta Texas (a local theme park) this spring. We are also planning fun activities for the Superbowl, Asian New Year, Easter and the end of the school year.

            This semester I have solidified our requirements for Study Hours. As I’m sure you are aware, we assign boarders study hours either in their rooms or in a common area with a BA if their grades are low or failing. We do this to make sure they are taking time to study and/or are in an area where they can be supervised to make sure that their homework is being done, they are studying their most difficult subjects and that there is someone available to help them. We have found this to be very successful in teaching our boarders good study skills and time management and giving them the help and motivation they need to be successful academically. These guidelines for determining whether or not a boarder has assigned study hours are now posted on the Program Policies page of this website.  

Three of our Boarding Assistants (BAs) have left our program at the end of the Fall semester. Brandy, Li Jean and Dan have moved on to new and exciting phases in their lives, so we wish them the best of luck! Three new BAs have joined us this January, Holly, Alissa, and Monday are wonderful additions to our team!

Also, our beloved Assistant Coordinator, Liz Cruz, will be moving from our High School Boarding Program to the University Residence Life Office at UIW at the end of January. We will miss her dearly, but are happy for her new opportunity and that she will still be close by and able to visit! We have hired a new Assistant Coordinator named Cecilia Ramirez. Cecilia is moving here from Oklahoma and will be working on her master’s degree in Diversity Education here at UIW. We look forward to getting to know her this spring.

            This spring is going to be an exciting time for all, especially our 12 seniors from Incarnate Word High School and St Anthony’s High School who will be graduating in May!  We have 3 new students and are very happy to have them and our 36 returning boarders with us this spring.

Best wishes from all of us here!

Erin Peterson

Coordinator of High School Boarding

Archived Parent Letters:

Fall 2006

August Parent Page