connected is published by the
GISD Communications Department,
printed in-house by GISD Printing Services
and distributed to approximately
105,000 households.
8
Board of
Trustees
Larry Glick
President
Garland Independent School District
P.O. Box 469026
Garland, TX 75046-9026
Scott Luna
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Garland, TX 75046
Permit No. 22
Vice President
Linda Griffin
Secretary
Rick Lambert
*****************E C R W S S ******************
Assistant Secretary
Charles Axe
Dr. Cindy Castañeda
Local Postal Customer
Robert Selders Jr.
Superintendent
around
GISD
f i r s t
Dr. Bob Morrison
d a y
➊
m e m o r i e s
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1
alphabetical order. We became
inseparable best friends, and
are still dear friends today.
3 Bob Morrison, GISD
Superintendent, Garland – I
walked to school with my
brother and sister to Ms.
McCain’s class. She was a
great teacher but we had no
air conditioning and couldn’t
wear shorts. We all had Big
Chief tablets, though!
4 Mitch Bates, Chief
of Police, Garland Police
Department – I was in sixth
grade. I enjoyed returning to
school to see my friends and
looked forward to playing
school sports–baseball,
football and basketball.
5 Kim Marsh, Principal,
Sewell Elementary School,
Sachse – In the sixth grade I
begged my mom to get me
a new pair of Yo-Yo shoes.
My mom surprised me with a
pair that she bought and kept
hidden until the big day.
6 Veruschka Vasquez,
teacher, Walnut Glen
Academy for Excellence,
Garland – Last year, for the
first time instead of driving
alone to work, I was driving
with my daughter. She was
excited to start kindergarten at
Walnut Glen and I was full of
joy. I was finally going to work
with my little companion.
7 Todd Gottel, Mayor,
City of Rowlett – My favorite
memories are the optimistic
feelings produced by wearing
that new first-day-of-school
outfit, walking onto campus
and seeing all of my old
friends, and looking forward
to making new ones!
8 Ricky McNeal,
President, NAACP Garland
Unit – When I could finally
Larry Glick, President,
GISD Board of Trustees,
Rowlett – The first day of my
senior year, the school’s math
team selected me as captain.
Yes, we were nerds, but the
term was not yet in wide use.
We went on to defeat the top
New York City high schools,
and be featured in local and
national newspapers.
2 Jody Luna, PTA
member, Garland – My fifth
birthday was the day before
the kindergarten deadline.
On the first day, I met the girl
behind me while standing in
➒
use my new Batman lunchbox
I picked out myself. No one
else had a lunch box like it.
Then after lunch, we were
told we would be integrating
with students from Southside
Elementary.
9 Dianne Shaw, teacher,
Lyles Middle School,
Garland – In junior high, my
parents gave me a little more
flexibility. Walking to and from
school with my friends was
one of the coolest and most
memorable experiences of my
school days.
10 Rick Coleman (not
pictured), Fire Chief, Sachse
Fire Department – I was a
freshman at Garland High
School. No orientations
indicated which cafeteria was
for freshmen. I flipped a coin in
my mind, and wandered into
one. I saw people who were
much bigger than me, and all
the males had facial hair—
wrong one!