District employees unite during 2024 convocation
(Seguin) – Seguin ISD Superintendent Dr. Veronica Vijil is counting down the days until the start of a brand-new school year. Dr. Vijil’s excitement for the 2024-2025 school year was made clear during this year’s opening convocation held Friday at the Seguin Coliseum. After years of being held in Seguin High School’s Tom Crump Gym, school district employees found themselves embracing change at the city facility.
In addition to being about change, Dr. Vijil says this year’s convocation was about coming together whenever, wherever. She says it’s about adapting and making a difference no matter what.
“It’s really about coming together, this unity, collaboration and community. I am talking to teachers about elevating the status of educators and their importance in everybody’s lives as well as revealing our leadership definition and talking about how we all own a part of being a leader in the school district,” said Dr. Vijil.
Unlike past years, Dr. Vijil says this year’s convocation was bittersweet. That’s because this year’s message was more of a reminder for the district’s 1,000 plus employees.
“We have embedded the Matador Mindset. This is our hashtag for this year. We just want everybody to embrace this unity that has happened and it comes on the heels of the passing of Chloe Belicek who as a 17 year old was able to bring a community together like I’ve never seen so really just the words that I’ve heard spoken about her – her description, talking to her parents really has propelled us to know what is really important in life. So, we can just make that energy, and that movement happen all year long and keep remembering to lift each other up. We are going to be okay, and our kids are going to be okay, and we are here for them and them for us, and we are here for each other. That’s the message,” said Dr. Vijil.
Chloe was a star athlete and a star student at Seguin High School who died from injuries sustained in a car accident in late July.
If anything, Dr. Vijil says Chloe embodied the direction that the district now takes.
“If a 17-year-old, in her 17 years, can model all the words that come to mind of what we think a Matador Mindset is – respect, kindness, the love, the giving, the teamwork – all of that is really who we are. This is what Seguin is all about and this is what I have come to love and cherish about the Seguin community. In times of trouble or where there are obstacles, we have to come together,” said Dr. Vijil.
This year’s convocation theme was “Going for the Gold” in the spirit of the Summer Olympic Games.Employees at each campus uniquely represented their team at this year’s event. Following a cookout around the Coliseum gazebo, staff gathered inside for an “inspiring message” from Author Jill Siler.
The first day of school for the Seguin ISD is Thursday, Aug. 15.