October 23, 2025

This week's Teacher Feature is Mrs. Alexis Smith,the English 3 and Professional Communication’s teacher. I had the opportunity to interview her this past week to find out more about one of the newest teachers at the high school.

Q:What is your position at Natalia High School?

    A: “I am an English teacher at Natalia High School. While it's my first year teaching at Natalia (and in Texas!), this school year is my seventh year of teaching in all.” 

Q:Where did you move from/raised?

       A: “I was raised on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, just forty minutes outside of New Orleans, but I moved from Missoula, Montana, where I spent four years.” 

Q:What made you move to Natalia?

     A: “I actually live in San Antonio! I moved to be closer to family, but I love the history, culture, and friendliness of San Antonio and South Texas. I chose to teach in Natalia because I love teaching in small schools– and I'm glad I did! I love my students and the community of Natalia.” 

Q:What made you become a Teacher and Why?

        A: “I first became a teacher because I wanted to give back to Mississippi, where I grew up and spent all of my years, from kindergarten to college, in public school. Great teachers changed my life, and I wanted to be like them. Seven years later and a year spent trying a different career, I can say that I am a teacher because I hate being bored, think teenagers are the funniest and most creative people in the world, and love sharing good books with people who help me see the world from different perspectives. Teenagers inspire me! 

Q: What is your favorite food from where you were born?

        A: “This is such a hard question! Just like Texas, Mississippi and New Orleans are known for their culinary traditions. If I had to choose, I'd say a cup of gumbo and a slice of king cake for dessert.”

Q: What is your favorite hobby to do in your free time?

    A: “I love running! I ran my first marathon over the summer. When I'm not running, I enjoy going to concerts and reading.”

Make sure you stop by to say “Hi” to Mrs.Smith and give her a welcome to the Mustang family if you've never met her. We are so glad she is here! 

By Isaih Ledezma, 11th grade

October 13, 2025

Fall Festival is an exciting event that brings in a lot of money for all of the organizations that have stands at the festival. It’s also a very fun festival that you will definitely want to attend, and make sure to bring all your friends and family; the more the merrier!

The theme of this year’s Fall Festival is sugar skulls. This year’s Fall Festival is taking place on October 20th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. They want it to be a spooky fall festival, with skulls all around. The fall festival is going to be taking place right in the Junior High parking lot.

They’re able to do this because of the time of year since it’s a very fun time to celebrate, so have fun! 

By Collin Reuter, 10th grade

October 13, 2025

What exactly does the government shutdown mean and why should I care? 

A government shutdown is when the government ceases all operations. Top Democrats and Republicans, including Congress all failed to pass appropriations bills and could not decide on funding, which in turn caused the federal government to shut down at 12:01 AM ET on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.

Trump suggested on Tuesday, October 7th that his administration could take major actions during a shutdown like this, this includes cutting government benefits for large groups of people, cutting pay indefinitely from workers until further notice.

So, how does this affect you? Well, it could be affecting your family either directly or indirectly. The shutdown has affected thousands of federal workers, most of them furloughed,  like service members, federal officers, TSA members and others.They will all be obligated to work without pay or placed on temporary unpaid leave, or exempted from their jobs.This may cause financial stress for those who live from paycheck to paycheck and other problems. Unfortunately, these problems will keep growing until both parties are able to agree and restore the state funding.

By Sem Jimenez, 10th grade

October 6, 2025

Our Natalia Mustangs will be hosting the annual homecoming parade on Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at 6 pm.  

The parade will include our amazing Might Mustang Band, our varsity and junior varsity Mustang Football teams, Lady Mustang Volleyball and Cheerleaders, Journalism, BPA, NTHS, FCA and so many more of our school's organizations. 

The parade will follow through Natalia starting at our high school parking lot and ending back by the junior high parking lot where we will have our tailgate and community pep rally. 

We hope to see everyone along the parade route sporting your blue and white! Go Mustangs!

By Arianah Quezada, 11th grade

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is hosting their first movie night on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, at the high school gym, starting at 6:30 PM. 

This event aims to bring students and athletes closer to God through a fun and engaging evening. 

Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets, pillows, and their favorite candies. 

The FCA focuses on strengthening Christian faith, developing leadership skills and building community through sports. 

Meetings offer opportunities for student/athletes and coaches to lead in event planning and prayers. Regular Attendance at FCA meetings is encouraged for those seeking to deepen their relationship with God. 

This movie night is a great chance to connect with others in faith and fellowships. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to grow closer to God and strengthen our community. 

If you can't come this week you can also come another time; there's way more meetings this year!

By Bailee Lara, 9th grade

With the introduction of a new school year comes a brand-new lifestyle, and though you might not feel the need to establish a healthy one, applying a healthy lifestyle to one's life has proven to better their lives in numerous ways. 

Studies have shown that maintaining a healthy lifestyle can reduce stress, anxiety, and improve people's emotional well-being. However, most people refrain from doing this because of the amount of effort it takes, the overwhelming feeling of organizing everything, or not knowing where to begin. So here is a description of what a healthy lifestyle is and how to maintain or start one!

First of all, having a healthy lifestyle simply means to carry out particular habits and choices to promote your body's overall physical and mental health. Those healthy habits and choices include engaging in exercise, having a healthy nutrition plan, implementing healthy hobbies,  organized work/school time, and getting a good amount of shut eye. It is important to have all of these established in order to ensure that none of these practices are overlooked when we face un-predictable problems throughout our lives. 

The most recommended thing to help with organizing these practices is a calendar. Though it may seem difficult at first, having a calendar can help with so many things and is a highly convenient way to help organize your regimen. When you first start to organize your calendar, you need to define all of your goals, list all of your tasks, and then prioritize your task based on importance. 

Then, in order to introduce a healthier lifestyle, start adding in a dependable nutrition plan, a good exercise routine, a particular time for work/school, a time for hobbies, and a good sleep schedule. All of these are important and needed in a healthy lifestyle. 

Nutrition is important due to how it improves our growth and development, improves our mental health, maintains a healthy weight, and provides energy for all of our new days! The food that you consume doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to be nutrient-rich, so just make sure that you are able to eat a balanced diet with controlled portions! 

Physical activity helps to reduce stress and anxiety, helps you sleep, helps maintain a healthy weight, and increases your energy mentally and physically! Doing physical activity doesn't have to be “hardcore workouts!” either; 30 minutes daily is enough to provide the health benefits! 

Having a set time for work or studying is a great way to keep on task and keeps us from procrastinating. 

Having hobbies included in your daily or weekly schedule is important no matter what it is, since having one improves one's health both mentally and physically by reducing stress, boosting mood, and increasing happiness. It truly doesn't matter what it is, so long as it brings joy to you! 

The last and most important is your sleep schedule. Sleep helps your body with so many things, including mood, energy, brain function, cognitive performance, body repair and rest, and so many other bodily functions! It's important to get 7-9 hours a night at least in order to improve health. 

I hoped this helped and I wish you the best of luck with your new lifestyle!

Article by: Bethany Gallegos, 11th grade

August 27, 2025

This school year, the Art Club is planning some exciting new memories and opportunities for the students who join, and I got to hear all about it after speaking with the club's advisor—also our school's art teacher—Sherry Bowie.

First off, whoever plans on joining this club will surely get to experience various events the club has to offer. For example, the Art Club plans on participating in this school year's Fall Festival with possibly a haunted house and other events to save up for activities like going on museum tours, attending art workshops, and participating in community projects like murals around Natalia.

Mrs. Bowie shared , “We hope to get kids noticing art a lot more,” so the Art Club could be useful to you both personally and creatively. You’ll have a space where you can enhance your artistic skills, be able to observe others' creative ideas to learn from, and to think outside the box more for diverse art forms. You can also learn more about how to work with others, be in a space where you can relate to something with others, and have an outlet for self-expression.

If you are interested, speak to either Mrs.Bowie in room 220 or speak to the club’s President, Gabby Hawkins. Club meetings will be once a week, day undecided, and encourage others to join also!

August 27, 2025

At the beginning of the school year, students expressed themselves by their clothing. They were all good until the day they had their class meeting with the principal and other administrators.

Students like wearing hoodies, ripped jeans, hats, having {unnatural} hair colors, and piercings because they like to show off different styles and express themselves in many different ways. 

We asked students in each grade level 9th - 12th to give their opinion about the school dress code. All students chose to remain anonymous.

9th Grade: “The school dress code here is a lot better than most schools; it’s fair.” 

“The dress code is pretty fair, but the only thing that bothers me is the leggings and not being able to wear a tank top.”

10th Grade:  “The dress code is pretty standard, but I want to have more freedom with piercings and hair color.” 

“It is fair at some points, but I wish we were able to wear hoodies, sweatpants, and pajamas.”

11th Grade: “It is somewhat fair, but we should be able to have higher holes in pants and higher shorts.”

 “It’s fair mostly,  but we should  be able to wear more accessories.”

12th Grade: “The dress code is fair as far as clothes are concerned,  but I believe that the hair color thing is not as distracting as they think it is.”

“I wish we could be more free, and students should be able to express themselves in their style. But if I could change anything, it would be hats and hoodies in the building, pajama pants, and regular backpacks!”

Story by: Nayeli Garcia, 11th Grade

August 20, 2025

Natalia was left with quite a clean up after a powerful storm cell with high winds and heavy downpours arrived on Tuesday, August 19, 2025 just as students were dismissed for the day.

NISD staff jumped into quick action to protect our Mustangs.  

Damage was spread across Natalia, and many residents, as well as the high school, had to deal with power outages for hours after the storm passed. 

High school staff member Jennifer Lujan explained that while they did not suffer any major damage, “The wind did blow our personal items all over and everything was very wet.” She also said their power was out for about 5 hours, coming back on around 9 pm. 

One of the big oak trees by the pavilion by the high school also lost a huge limb. The same tree lost another large limb last school during a dangerous storm as well. 

Thankfully, our maintenance staff and the public works department made a quick clean up of the debris left strewn across the town. 

Story by: Dawn Thomas, Journalism Adviser

October 13, 2025

The Natalia Mustangs gave their fans a night to remember on Friday, October 10, 2025, when they defeated the Nixon-Smiley Mustangs in an exciting homecoming football game with a final score of 18-15.

From the very first kickoff, Natalia showed determination and teamwork. The first half was a defensive battle, with both teams trading strong plays and tackles. Natalia managed to score just before halftime, giving them a small but crucial lead.

Fans filled the stands in blue and white, cheering loudly as the team held up their heads with faces of confidence. The halftime performance by the Nixon-Smiley Band and the crowning of the Homecoming Queen and King added even more excitement to the night.

During the second half, Nixon-Smiley fought back hard, briefly pulling ahead. However, Natalia’s offense, led by junior Mason Giera, responded with a late touchdown drive to Juan Gonzales that turned the game around. A key defensive stop in the final minutes secured the victory and sent the home crowd into celebration.

The game ended with proud smiles, loud cheers, and a strong sense of Mustang spirit. Natalia’s 18-15 win over Nixon-Smiley will be remembered as one of the most thrilling homecoming victories in school history.

By Nayeli Garcia, 11th grade

The 2025 pep rally themes and dates are going to be:

• Out of this world August 28,2025

• Lei down the Pirates September 4,2025

• U-S-A September 25,2025 

• Homecoming Week October 6,2025 

• Pink out October 23,2025 

• Halloween October 30,2025 

Coach Meg also wanted to add that the NHS Mustang cheerleaders and herself work together and put a team effort into making themes like these so that all students and staff can have some fun and show school spirit!

By Isaih Ledezma, 11th grade

August 20, 2025

During the second week of school at Natalia High School,the Lady Mustangs hosted a volleyball tournament August 14-16, 2025. The Heart Of A Mustang tournament was held in honor of  Trudy Smith who was a lovely all-around supporter of Natalia ISD. She attended every sporting event she could and enthusiastically supported the Mustangs. 

Coach Cortinas, one of our volleyball head coaches shared,  “I am hoping to bring home the 5th year anniversary title and to bring attention and awareness to Trudy Smith". 

Junior Kaylee Uviedo also shared her goals and what she wanted out of the tournament mentioning that “My goals going into this tournament was to get as many blocks as possible and come home with a win. What I wanted out of this tournament was to become closer with my team and to create stronger bonds while honoring someone who means so much to our community.”  

The Lady Mustangs overall performance over the two day tournament resulted in a win, bringing home the 5th year anniversary title after defeating the Medina Bobcats 2-0.

Story by: Arianah Quezada, 11th Grade

August 26, 2025

The NHS Mustang Band is almost ready for this marching season; they will be performing their show, “Insomnia” at the first football game on August 29th during halftime. 

Drum majors Ruby and Alora are doing great out on the field, helping keep the band in step. Mr. Acevedo is working with the front ensemble to get their music spot on, while Ms. Delgado is working with the woodwinds to perfect their marching! 

Mellophone player Iris Ayala, and Trombone player Mosses Leija  have their solos down and are ready for their moment, while Flute player Christian Contreras is getting to his solo in the 3rd half of the show! 

According to Jayston Rodriguez, “I would say the band is doing pretty well as of now. We have been working hard these last few weeks, and I have a feeling we are going to make a lasting impression this year and hopefully we make it farther than last year!”

All the section leaders are making sectionals and making sure their section is getting their music done. 

The band started doing visuals last friday and hopefully will be adding more throughout the setting of their 3rd half of their show.

 Mr. Mendez added, “I'm happy for our Band. Looking forward to seeing how they do this year.”

Speaking of the first football game, the band boosters are currently selling Burger In a Bag tickets for the band’s needs this marching season. So get yourself a burger and support the Mustang Band! 

This season is gonna be amazing! Good luck, Mustangs! 

Story by: Samantha Mendez, 10th grade

August 27, 2025

Mental health includes our emotional, social well being, and psychological well being. It affects how we think, feel and act, and it determines how we handle stress and get through tough times.

By having open communication, we can all come together and encourage positive peer relationships. We should also utilize available resources and support others. We can create a healthy school environment where every student will feel valued, understood and inspired to prioritize their mental health.  Prioritizing mental health is crucial for well-being and academic success. 

Many children and adults face mental health issues. Make sure to be kind to others. You never know what challenges they go through. You are not alone. 

Tips For Dealing with Mental Health 

• :Engage in enjoyable activities: Spending time with family, going on walks and getting creative.

• Connect with others: Reaching out to new people, making new friends and helping others.

• Prioritize sleep: setting a new sleeping schedule by sleeping earlier than usual.

• Don't hesitate to reach out: If you are struggling try  talking to a therapist or counselor about your struggles.

Story by: Madison Mata, 10th grade

October 23, 2025

Halloween is one of the most exciting nights of the year for teens because it’s a time for dressing up, hanging out with friends, going to parties, or watching scary movies. But before Halloween became the fun holiday we know today, it started over 2,000 years ago with ancient traditions that were meant to honor the dead and protect the living.

It all started on November 1st, called All Hallows’ Eve, which we now call Halloween. By the 1900s, Halloween became a popular holiday that eventually became celebrated with costumes, games, and eventually trick-or-treating.

Today, Halloween has grown into one of the most popular holidays for teenagers. Instead of trying to scare away spirits, teens celebrated by going to haunted houses, carving pumpkins, or posting their costumes on social media. While the meaning of Halloween has changed over time, one thing has stayed the same: creativity, community, and having fun with friends.

Halloween’s history reminds us that even old traditions can evolve into something new and exciting. What began as an ancient ritual is now a night where teens can express themselves, make memories, and enjoy the spooky side of life.

By Nayeli Garcia, 11th grade

October 20, 2025

Have you ever wondered “How old is too old to dress up for Halloween?” 

Most people would say that you should stop dressing up at 16, so we asked a variety of students and faculty what they think.

Seniors Zach Peralta and Jonovan Guzman both said, “You can never be too old to dress up for Halloween, live your life since it’s your only one.” 

Junior Arianah Quezada shared, “I think you should never stop dressing up, you are your own person and you should always dress up.” 

Even some of our faculty agreed. Mrs. Thomas explained, “Dressing up for Halloween and school spirit days is still just as much fun now as it was when I was your age! I have no plans on stopping!” 

So in all, you're NEVER too old to dress up. Continue dressing up as long as you want since you only live once!

By Jeremiah Nava-Gonzales, 10th Grade

Saturday October, 11th

This past Saturday The Natalia Highschool Band, also known as “The Pulse Of Natalia” competed in the God’s Country Marching Festival in Hondo, where they competed against 6 other schools in the 3A section. While the sun was blazing hot, the band pushed through the performance and had an incredible run, blowing the crowd away with their show. 

During the results, they earned the Drum Major award while Lytle earned all the others. As they began to announce the overall results for the 3A bands everyone was nervous. Crystal City got 3rd place and shockingly, Lytle ended up in 2nd place! Then for 1st place… Natalia! It was unexpected because of the results of the awards given, but they did it and worked hard for it.

Our mustang band put in the work that day and came out with incredible results! If you want to be good you have to work for it, and that's exactly what The Pulse of Natalia did. Congratulations Mustang Band and good luck this season!

By Samantha Mendez, 10th grade

Saturday October 4, 2025, the Pulse of Natalia, headed to San Antonio for their two contests.

They performed at The Annual Harlandale Marching Festival, where they performed their show: Insomnia and put on a great show for the audience. 

After, they ate a light meal and departed for the 42nd Annual Rough Rider Marching Contest. There they played their phenomenal show once again for a much bigger audience. 

For the Harlandale contest, it was a comments only contest, since they had no competition. For the Rough Rider Contest they got all 1’s from all three judges. 

By Samantha Mendez, 10th grade