Trying to prepare for a national competition while still logging time in support of a school's various sports teams - football, volleyball and basketball, for example - can be quite taxing. But each year, that's what cheerleading squads striving to do well in national competition must balance. | The Lamar cheer squad competes at the National Cheerleaders Association Senior and Junior High School Championships.

As principal of Newcomer Center, Mark Strand has seen it all - and certainly heard it all - from students with astonishing stories of survival and fortitude. Young students arriving at a place where they often don't know the language or have a feel for the culture can be a scary, unsettling proposition.

"You have some kids that come here and kind of dip their toes in the water," Strand said of Newcomer Center, a school designed to help seventh through 10th grade non-English-speaking students prepare for their home school by teaching the English language in all content areas.

"Then you have those who just jump right in," he said. | Newcomer junior Gerardo R. was honored as the AISD Student of the Month for January.