rio rico newsletter

SantaCruz ValleyUnifiedSchool District#351374W.Frontage RoadRio Rico,AZ 85648

(TheSantaCruzValleyUnifiedSchoolDistrictNo.35newsletter ispublished three timesperyear toinformthecommunityofprograms,philosophies,andplansof thedistrict.Questionsorcomments

shouldbeaddressed to the superintendent.)

OCCUPANTECRWSS

Non-ProfitOrg.U.S. PostagePAIDTumacacori,AZPermitNo.7

WHALE TALE THRILLSKIDSPage 4 MacbethatRRHS

INSIDE

Librariesbuild skills

DavidSlagg retires

Top middle school musicians

Topspeller emerges

5

6

7

9

10

SANTA CRUZVALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL

NewsletterWINTER 2010, Vol. XVI, Issue 2

‘EDUCATE EVERYONE EVERY DAY!’3535District No.District No.3535353535 “We believe that everyonewill experience successful

learning every day.”District No.

CMSFOODDRIVEBREAKSRECORDS

Page 8

Santa Cruz Valley Unified School Dis-trict No. 35 is committed to providing andstriving to offer quality preschool pro-grams at two of the three elementary sites.

Both San Cayetano Elementary Schooland Peña Blanca Elementary School offermorning and afternoon sessions for stu-dents who will be four years old by Sept. 1.

The classes are 2.5 hours in length, andaddress a language development curricu-lum for the needs of little ones in a varietyof developmental domains. Children havethe opportunity to develop social interac-tive, motor, and pre-academic skills aswell as language abilities through partic-ipation in a variety of group and individ-ual activities.

In addition to enriched indoor and out-door play, songs, stories and crafts,preschoolers visit the campus library and

Preschoolsprepare forkindergarten

See PRESCHOOL / 9

EARLY SUCCESS

DearCommunity Residents,We asked our contributors for this is-

sue of the Santa Cruz Valley UnifiedSchool District No. 35 newsletter to puttogether several articles about how theadditional funds available through the2006 maintenance and budget overrideelection have made a positive impact onall the students.

We appreciate the strong support resi-dentscontinue toshowfor theschooldis-trict, and want to be transparent in re-porting to you how your tax dollars arespent.

Don’thesitate tocallmeifyouhavead-ditional questions.Sincerely,Daniel Fontes/ Superintendent(520) 375-8261

Career classes engage teensRio Rico High School students Laura Hernandez, left, and Karolina Oros practice on a health dummy. They’re students in a Certified Nursing Assistantclass offered through the Career and Technical Education program.

Three years ago the voters ofSanta Cruz Valley UnifiedSchool District No. 35 approveda budget override which wasdesigned to focus on the Careerand Technical Education path-ways at Rio Rico High School.Monies were allocated for a di-rector, teachers,equipmentandfacility improvements for threeprograms: certified nursing as-

sistant, culinary arts and agri-culture. Today, there is a hive ofactivity in the classrooms, asstudents prepare themselvesforcareers in theirchosenfieldsof interest.

Director of CTE is EleanoreRankin, who taught businessand accounting at the highschool for seven years andserved as sponsor of the Future

Business Leaders of America(FBLA), a national organizationof business students. Rankinworkedin thebusinessworldasan administrator and comptrol-ler and has experience in sur-veysanddataresearch,whichiscrucial to the maintenance ofthe programs. She was instru-mental in setting up Pima Com-munity College credit in con-

junction with the CTE classesand is passionate about her jobandtheopportunities thatRRHSis now offering to students.

The oldest program is theagriculture program, started in1994 by Karen Sondak, and nowtaughtbyAdelaidaMcLaughlin.The program has been expand-

SeeRRHS / Page 18

On Nov. 7, 2006, the voters ofSanta Cruz Valley Unified SchoolDistrict No. 35 voted in favor of afive percent per year budgetspending override. This initiativewas approved by over 57 percent ofthose voting.

The question is: What is beingdone with these funds?

The generated funds averaged$882,000 per year. As the basic ele-mentary school curriculum was inplace and students were meetingthe learning benchmarks set bythe state, the decision was made toenhance additional experiencesfor the students at these schools.

Elementary schools are wherebasic learning starts and becomesthe formative years for success.Each school added a pre-school,

art and physical education teacher.A band director and librarian wereshared by all grade schools.

At the middle schools, a librari-an and band director were addedand at the high school four careerand technical education teacherswere added. This allowed the highschool to start a culinary arts andan agriculture program and en-hance graphic design and nursingprograms.

These programs have now beenin place for three years and we areseeing very positive results.Grades have stabilized and are onthe rise. Students are looking for-ward to coming to school and arelearning more than just readingand math. They are developing amore rounded view of the worldand they are using their new skillsby expressing their many talents.

The school board is very proudof these additions to the educationprocess and thanks the voters fortheir support. It has been the bestinvestment that any communitycould make, especially in these fi-nancially challenging times.

, Santa Cruz Valley District #35 Winter 2010 Newsletter

NOGALES INTERNATIONALWICK COMMUNICATIONS

SANTA CRUZ VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT No. 35

ROSIESIMPSONMember

Mission Statement

HARRYCLAPECK

Clerk

BRIANVANDERVOET

President

SUSANFAUBIONMember

“We believe that everyone will experiencesuccessful learning every day.”

ROBERT VALDEZMember

Board members can be contacted through the district office:

281-8282or by writing to: Santa Cruz Valley Unified School

District #351374 W. Frontage RoadRio Rico, Arizona 85648

Manuel C. CoppolaPublisher & Editor

268 W. View Point Drive, Nogales, Arizona 85621,520.375.5760 Fax 520.761.3115

On the web:www.nogalesinternational.com

To advertise in your school newsletter please contact:Maria or Carmen

at the Nogales International:520.375.5760

SCVUSD#35TRANSPORTATIONDEPARTMENT

For information or questions call:(520)761-2164 (direct line)

[email protected]

School Board

DANIEL FONTESSuperintendent

Santa Cruz ValleyUnified SchoolDistrict No. 35

Override improvingschools’ offerings

Learningrevolvesaround100th day

By Harry ClapeckGoverning Board member The 100th day of school is

celebrated across the nation tomark the halfway point of theschool year. Throughout theday at San Cayetano Elemen-tary School, which was Jan. 15,special projects revolvingaround the theme of 100 werecarried out.

Students from kindergartento fifth grade eagerly waitedfor the activities of the day.Kindergartners made the mostof it by celebrating with an ex-ploration of the meaning of100.

From 100th day glasses to100 Fruit Loops necklaces,kindergartners excitedly cele-brated this special day. Fourthgraders developed a shoppinglist of books not to exceed$100. Overall, studentslearned the meaning and be-gan to anxiously count downto the last day of school.

By Bertha Rodriguez

Third grade students from Mrs. Noreiga’s class imagine life as a 100-year-old human.

Santa Cruz Valley District #35 Winter 2010 Newsletter,

Mountain View teacher Dan Duniho stands with fourth graders Francisco Lopez, Breanna Romero, Andre Avalos-Padilla and Laisha Alvarez (Leann Robles not shown) in front of the 60-foot pastelblue whale they created.

Photo / M. Dittmar


Whale tale – 4th graders bring story to life

Mountain View Elementaryfourth graders recently read a sto-ry fromtheirnewlyadopted"Read-ing Street" textbook entitled“Adelina’sWhales.”But thatwasn'tnearly enough… not nearly ... bigenough.

The story tells of a Mexican girlliving on the Baja Peninsula whowatches the gray whales returneach year to spawn in the warmocean waters. The cultural con-nection for many students was ob-vious, except for one very largeproblem. Despite reading otherbooks about whales, the studentstruly had never seen one. Theystruggled to imagine their impres-sive size.

But Mountain View teacher DanDuniho, previously a resident ofMaine, had seen one. And he

worked with his team (DeannaBazzanella, Michele Titcomb, andTrudi Wieduwilt) to figure out away to integrate such an “enor-mous” project into the math andLanguage Arts curriculum.

“Since I had done an actual-sizedrawing of a Humpback whalewhen teaching in Maine, I knew itwas doable,” explained Mr. Duni-ho. “I knew the life-size gray whalewould provide a unique experi-ence for a few artistically inclinedstudents, as well as give the wholeschool an experience in seeinghow big these creatures are.”

The math involved creating ascale that would nearly match theactual size of a gray whale. Giventhat an actual gray whale is about12 feet by 36 feet, this proved to betoo large for the wall size available

in the cafeteria. The project wasthus scaled down slightly to a two-thirdssize thatwouldnearlymatchthe actual size of a gray whale andstill fit the wall.

Next, Mr. Duniho copied a pic-tureofagraywhale fromoneof thebooks students had read, and hedrewaone-by-one-inchgridontopof it. Three strips of paper 24 feetlong by 3 feet wide were cut, taped,glued, and bordered. Then, using aT-square and long tape-measure,Mr. Duniho created the grid thatthe students would use.

Students were chosen in a vari-ety of ways from each of the fourfourth-grade classes, with eachstudent committing to two days af-ter school for one hour each. Thestudents consulted art teacherMark Dittmar for suggestions on

different typesofmediumsandset-tled on colored chalk and charcoal,with hairspray being applied to fixthe image and prevent smearing.

On the first day, each studentwas given a miniature copy of thewhale with the grid divided intoeight areas. Each student wascharged with transferring the linesfrom their section to the 2x2 footboxes and connecting the linesdrawnbytheotherstudents.Work-ing in pencil, through trial and er-ror, the students approximated theoriginal picture. On the secondday, the students colored in the to-tal space, using their feel for colorand blending the various colorswith theirhands. Itwas a bit messy,and everyone had to be careful notto step inside the whale. The finalimage was sprayed with two cans

of hairspray.Although only two-thirds the

sizeofanactualgraywhale,thefin-ishedproductprovidesaclose feel-ing of how big a gray whale actual-ly is. Academically, the studentslearned that there are few limits asto how big something can get aslong as a useable scale can befound. “It was a cool project,” said10-year-old Francisco Lopez.

“Whales are bigger than Ithought, but completing the gridwasn’t that hard,” Lopez said. Thenamesof theparticipatingstudentsare signed in the upper corner andare: Lopez, Laisha Alvarez, AndresAvalos, Victor Martinez, BreannaRomero and Leann Robles.


The sounds of Elizabethan Eng-lish, punctuated with militarydrums, eerie bells, Scottish tunesand live dulcimer permeated theRio Rico High School cafetoriumthe evenings of Nov. 12-14 as theRio Rico Thespians presentedWilliam Shakespeare’s well-known play, "The Tragedy of Mac-beth."

The performances receivedstanding ovations from enthusias-tic audience members, many ofwhom had never seen a Shake-spearean production. One audi-ence member, Annette Balderra-ma Paz, a former RRHS Thespianspresident, traveled from Phoenixin order to see the show.

“When I heard the thespianswere producing ‘Macbeth,’ Icouldn’t stay away. I was in the lastShakespearean play, ‘Love’sLabour’s Lost,’ and I rememberedwhat an effect it had on me. Justbeing involved in Shakespearechanged my awareness. This pro-duction was excellent and I wasproud of everyone involved,” she

said.The Rio Rico Thespians were

founded in 1997 by Theatre ArtsTeacher and Director Celia Con-cannon, and it has matured into aprogram which includes academ-icclasses intheatrearts, theRioRi-co Thespians, and the Santa CruzDrama Boosters, the parent or-ganization which produces theplays. Their productions are din-ner theatres, catered by the No-gales restaurant Las Vigas, andthey are organized by an experi-enced front-of-house crew whoadd a special touch to the evening.

Four RRHS faculty membersparticipated in theproduction: JimWierski as King Duncan; Chris Pe-ters and Morgan Falkner as themurderers; and Christine Bogart,who contributed the melodioussounds of the dulcimer during thebanquet scene. Mr. Peters also isthe RRHS technical director. Hesupervises lightsandsoundfor thethespians.

Cochise College student AmyBoltjes contributed her costuming

skills, and Gabriel Gudenkauf, aPima College theatre arts studentand former Thespians’ president,made a cameo performance as theporter and Siward. The youngestthespian was Sergio David Ahu-mada, a San Cayetano ElementarySchool fifth grader, who shone inhis role as Mcduff’s son.

Seniors who participated in theproduction included actorsCameron Zuniga, Elizabeth Hor-ton, Jose Rangel, Melannie Hurta-do and Jonny Escalante, costumemanager Sharon Pak, assisted byAlaina Vega, Liseth Santos andArisdelziUrtusuastegui,andassis-tant stage manager Madison Mol-era,

Back stage crew was EdnaSmith, the front-of-house manag-er was Haley Brewington, thecrew consisted of VictorDominguez and Colton Holloway,and Micaela Foster worked asmake-up designer/manager.

Juniors included actors VictoriaAhumada, Ruth Cione, Alex Ger-ber, Caleb Iwaniuk , MacIntyre

Rath, Ariella Valencia, Justin Wil-ley, stage manager Edward Ca-marena, back stage crew AbnerBalderrama and Raul Berrellez,properties manager Ryann Quick,student technical director RaulBravo Arizmendi and Jacob Lowe,sound technician.

Sophomores who participatedwere actors Erik Echeverria,Theresita Lopez, Sarah Maudlin,Luis Moreno, costume crewMadel Martinez, back stage crewJacqueline Martinez, and CesarGrijalva, Ricardo Mejia, Joy Norie-ga, Samantha Ramirez and YvetteZacarias, front of house crew.

Freshmen participants were ac-torsKarinaCota,KrystalDeLaOs-sa, front-of-house crew Lupita An-drade, Joseph Kane, Karina Mora,Nicole Vega, and lighting techni-cian Renee Bland.

Thespians President ElizabethHorton said, “The quality of ourproductions is heightened by theparticipation of our Booster par-ents." Suzanne Gerber teaches setdesign and supervises, along with

Luann Ahumada and Lois Cooper,the construction of the sets. Thework of Ana Quick and Amy Gu-denkauf on props and costumeshelped bring the totality of theteam's artistic vision onto thestage. Rita Kester brought a firmhand and excellent judgment tothe play by serving as the produc-tionmanager.Theproductionalsoreceived considerable supportfrom Carole Brainard and BarbaraHyde from the Society of CreativeAnachronism, and of course ouradministration and the schoolboard. School Board President Bri-anVandervoetandhiswifeattend-ed the production, as did districtSuperintendent Daniel Fontes.

The production was also pre-sented on Dec. 7 to the eighthgraders from Calabasas and Coat-imundi middle schools. The thes-pians hope to make this an annualevent.

A large cast and crew impressively performed “Macbeth” to the delight of audiences.

Macbeth challenges RRHS thespians

At the Santa Cruz Valley Unifiedschools, the librariesarehelping toprepare the students for futuresuccess by building the informa-tion literacy skills they need tothrive in today’s information econ-omy. Student success depends on acombination of reading compre-hension, technology skills, and theability to be a critical thinker.

Students who know how to find,use, and evaluate ideas and infor-mation have the skills for produc-tive life-long learning. The li-braries at the elementary, middle,and high schools partner withteachers to help students developreading comprehension and to de-velop effective information seek-ing skills.

Reading is a major focus at theelementaryschoollibraries.Theli-brary works hard to hook childrenon books and foster a life-long loveof reading, says elementary librar-ian Kim Crowlie. Every class isscheduledtovisit the libraryonceaweekforread-aloudsandachanceto check out books.

In addition, the elementary li-braries hold Open Library Nightonce a month. On those eveningsthe library is open for students,parents and grandparents to checkout books, listen to stories, and en-joy special reading related events.Elementary librarian YolandaFuentes is encouraging students to

participate in Readers’ Theater ather Open Library Night at PeñaBlanca.

Theelementarylibrariesalsoin-troduce students to the DeweyDecimal System. This gives thestudents a foundation to under-standinghowto locatebooks in thelibrary.Studentsareencouragedto

find books both for pleasure read-ing and to help with class work.

Themiddleschool librariescon-tinue the focus on reading and in-formationseekingskills thatbeganat the elementary schools. Stu-dents in the Sustained Silent Read-ing classes are scheduled forweekly library visits to check outbooks. Middle School librarianKim Armenta is available duringthese visits to guide the students tointeresting books that are appro-priate for their reading level.

In addition, Ms. Armenta worksclosely with teachers to teach thestudents essential research skills.Students learn to use the library’sonline catalog to find books insidethe library, and learn how to con-ducteffectivesearches to locate in-formation on the Internet. At Cal-abasas the students use their tech-nology skills at the library and atthe computer lab. At Coatimundithere is a computer lab inside thelibrary, so the students can conve-niently conduct all their researchin one place.

When students move on to highschool, thelibraryiswaitingtosup-

port their learning. Researchskillsbecome even more important asthe students gear up for college.The librarian teaches studentshow to search online databases foracademic articles, and points stu-dents to trustworthy resourcesboth in the library and on the In-ternet. In addition, the librarianhelps the students develop theircritical thinking skills by teachingthem how to evaluate the sourcesand information that they find.

It’s not all work and no fun at thehigh school library! The Rio RicoHigh School Book Club encour-ages reading for pleasure. BookClubmembersmeettwiceamonthwith librarian Lara Hull to readanddiscussgreatbooksfrommanydifferent genres.

At every level from elementaryto high school, the school librariesare working to help students de-velop skills for the future. We sup-port teachers and students to en-sure that “everyone will experi-ence successful learning everyday”.

By Lara Hull


Preparing our students for future successLIBRARIES ...

Students at Coatimundi Middle School learn how to do research oncomputers in their school library.


Ruben Bojorquez, grade 5, poses with Mountain View Elementary School Principal Stephen Schadler and runner-up Jorge Bojorquez, grade 3.Ruben will compete in the Santa Cruz County Spelling Bee on Feb. 16.

Photo / Tracy Hall

Thoughtful homeowners ask questionswhen examining their annual property taxstatements. “Is it worth it?” is one. Presentlythe district’s elementary fine arts are fundedwith override dollars. Should they be fundedanother seven years?

Good question. Let’s look at what the dis-trict’s elementary art program costs the tax-payers and what the program provides.

For about $5 a month, a homeowner with$150,000 of assessed property currentlymakesitpossibleforthedistrict’s5-to-11yearolds to receive a well-rounded introductoryart education through the study of four disci-plines (art history, art production, art criti-cism,andaesthetics).This instructioncomesthrough certified teachers using a curricu-lum they are presently aligning with statestandards and tailoring to specific grade lev-els.

Students also learn the process of market-ing. For example, this year alone, SanCayetano successfully raised $2,000 for theirart program by selling student work that hadbeen made into commercial products.Mountain View students sold an additional$500 of student-made greeting cards andprints.

Anoutgrowthofhavingcertifiedart teach-ersatPeñaBlanca,SanCayetano,andMoun-tain View is an expansion in extra-curricularopportunities. All of these schools now pro-vide additional instruction in the form of af-ter-school clubs, holiday workshops, andsummer art classes. All the teachers are alsoworking professional artists.

Indirectly,currentoverridedollarsmakeitpossible toshowcasestudentwork throughavariety of media vehicles, including nationalpublications and newspapers, online, andtelevision. Inaddition tobeingrecognizedonlocal and county levels, students from allthree elementary schools have receivedawards in county, state, and national compe-titions.

Work has been displayed at the interna-tionally renowned Tubac Festival of the Artsand appears annually in a prestigious Tubacgallery show. This exposure not only fulfillsstate mandates, but bonds our communitywithourschoolsandbuildsconfidenceinouryoung people.

Ifoverridedollarsarediscontinued,all thiswould disappear along with the positive im-pact the arts have on learning core subjects,accelerating language acquisition amongthe district’s large English Language Learn-ers (ELL) population, and helping curb ab-senteeism.

Fair question. Honest answers.

Art promisessignificantdifference ina child’s life

ADDS MANY SKILLS

Mountain View’s topspeller emerges in contest

5THGRADERVICTORIOUS

Mountain View ElementarySchool students and staff start their daywith a brisk morning walk to school.

Exercisehelps

studentsexcel


During November, the Calabasas Mid-dle School Student Council collected 1,380food items which were donated to localagencies to help those in need.

Since this began in 2003, CMS studentsandstaffhavegivenmorethan5,000items.

The class of Michelle Castellano, a sev-enth-grade math teacher, won the annualcontest. The class of Judith Hyden, whoteaches eighth-grade language arts, was aclose second.

ThenextscheduledCMSfundraiserwill

be the Pennies for Patients program inMarch. All the money collected goes to theLeukemia and Lymphoma Society, whichtargets childhood cancers. Donations canbe made in the school front office Mondaythrough Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Food drive breaks recordsSEVENTH GRADERS WIN

Anibal Bojorquez won the Calabasas MiddleSchool spelling bee which was held on Dec. 17.There were 40 students competing in the pre-liminary grade level bees, and nine studentsparticipating in the school-wide competition.

Anibal won in the fourth round, spelling theword “suggest” correctly.

Bojorquez will represent Calabasas at theFeb. 16 Santa Cruz County Spelling Bee. Con-gratulations! We are very proud of Bojorquez'saccomplishment.

Bojorquez winsCalabasas MSspelling bee

Calabasas Middle School student council students, from left, Kate Suarez, Keren Bojorquez and Maria Martin, pack food on the last day ofthe food drive.

One fact that is clear about the youth of todayis their ease of use with technology. Popular de-vices include cell phones, computers, digitalcameras, and video games, to name a few. Thephotography club was developed to help usethis technological prowess by students to en-hancetheircreativityandhelpthemlearnaskillthat could become a lifelong hobby.

The Photography Club is part of the Cal-abasas Middle School after-school program,which offers students a chance to learn manydifferent aspects of the art. Some of the subjectsthat are expected to be covered are depth offield, artistic expression in photos, black andwhite photography, and the creation of moviesusing photos.

Students will be given weekly assignmentsthat go beyond what they might normally usetheir camera for. Near the end of the schoolyear, each student will pick his or her favoritephotos, which will be turned into a hardboundbook. Some of the photos will be displayedaround the campus and entered into contests.

Forfurtherinformationaboutthiscluboranyafter-school program class, please contactMichael Stabach, the CMS after-school facilita-tor, at (520) 375-8600.(Lawrence is the school photo club advisor.)

Photography clubcomes into focusat Calabasas MS

By Jeffrey Lawrence

Above left, Andrea Fuentes helps the student council collect the donated food. Above right, Kate Suarez, left, Maria Navarro, and EvelyneLopez, right, head to the 8th grade to collect more food items.

Governing Board meeting are heldon the second and fourth Tuesday of

the month in the Rio Rico HighSchool Choral Room beginning at

5:30 p.m.The public is welcome to attend.

Former school board member, bus driver and referee, Rio Rico resident David Slagg has retired.


Slagg retires after 22 good yearsDISTRICT SERVICE

Longtime community member DavidSlagg parked his yellow bus at Santa CruzValley Unified School District No. 35’s de-pot for the last time on Nov. 13.

Fornearly22yearshischeerfulgreetingand warm welcome charmed ourdistrict’schildren and put their parents at ease. “Imiss Mr. Slagg already,” said 10-year-oldCelesteParadaofTumacacori."Hewasmybus driver since first grade.” Many of thedistrict’schildrenechoedthesamerefrain.The kindly grandpa under the cowboy hatmade a significant impact on them.

Mr. Slagg served the school district formany years and in different capacities. Heonce served as a member of the governingboard, he served on and chaired a numberof committees, and he helped to developcurriculum. His passion, however, hadbeen working as a referee, where his good

judgment and impartiality earned him astellar reputation. “I refereed almost everymiddle school basketball game from 1987into the mid-90’s” he proudly noted.

Asanowner-operatorofTriangleEnter-prises,Mr.Slaggalsoprovidedthedistrict’steachers with quality customer service for13 years. He was typically seen taking ex-tra care in delivering classroom suppliesbecause he himself had been a substituteteacherfor fiveyearswhiledrivinghisbus.“I substituted for (now superintendent)Mr. (Daniel) Fontes while he was still aclassroom teacher,” he said, over a groupof children huddled around him.

Originally from the Midwest, the Slaggfamily moved to Arizona when David ac-cepted a position as a pastor. The weatheragreedwithhiswife,Ginny,so theystayed.Ask David what he enjoys most about liv-ing in Rio Rico and he’ll talk about thewide-open spaces and close-knit commu-nity thatremindhimof theDakotafarmon

which he was raised.Asalong-timeresidentofDistrict35,Mr.

Slagg has seen tremendous growth in theSantaCruzValley. “YearsagoIwoulddrivein the morning, park the bus, and substi-tute teach. Then someone would bring thebus to the school site and I would drive thekids home again. At that time there wereonly six to eight buses compared to the 40we now use.”

Looking forward, Mr. Slagg sees contin-ued growth for the district. “It wouldn’tsurprise me if the population doubled inthe next 25 years," he said. "There wouldbe more children, and we’d need at leastone more elementary school.”

In addition to more schools, that kind offuture growth would require filling otherneeds, as well. As of January 2010, one ofthe largest of those needs is to find moremen like Mr. Slagg, a true community ser-vant.

By Mark Dittmar

MVES inclusionprogram movesstudents forward

At Mountain View Elementary School,staffworkscloselytogethertogiveeachstu-dent as much individualized instruction aspossible. For students with disabilities,many of whom are also learning a secondlanguage, teaching in their least restrictiveenvironment is key to making this happen.

All teachers on campus are trained to dif-ferentiate instruction and are supported bythe special education department in orderto meet these varied needs. By joiningforces in the general education classroom,teachers are better able to provide serviceswhile allowing students with disabilities tohave more contact with their peers.

Mountain View Special Educationteacher Marion Duboy works in the ele-mentary environment but uses her middleschool experience to help prepare her stu-dents for the future.

“My job is to ensure that students withdisabilities receive appropriate accommo-dations and modifications that allow themaccess to and progress in the general edu-cation curricula with the ultimate goal ofmaking sure they are ready for their nextstep in life,” she explained.

“I want them to feel they can succeed inthe regular education world, which is whyall studentsstart theirday in thegeneraled-ucation classroom where my staff and Ibring support services to them.”

Ms. Duboy developed Individualized Ed-ucation Plans for students at the middleschoollevelforseveralyearsbeforemovingovertotheelementarylevel.ShefollowsthegeneraleducationK-5reading,writing,andmath calendar to merge Individualized Ed-ucation Plan goals and state standards andcreate a specialized curriculum for eachstudent.

The main advantage of inclusionarypractices isbeingable tobring togetherstu-dents with disabilities -- and those without -- to create a comfortable learning environ-mentforallstudentswheretheylearntoac-cept individual differences and developfriendships that might otherwise not occur.One student at Mountain View explained itthis way, “I like working in my classroomwith my friends. I’m learning how to readand can earn prizes.”

Students also receive services outside ofthe general education classroom when ap-propriate services or curricular modifica-tions cannot be provided for them in thegeneral education classroom. PrincipalStephen Schadler added that, “Special Edu-cation students are no different than otherstudents in the sense that we try as hard aswe can to give every student as specific andindividualized an education as we can. Wefunnel the appropriate resources where weneed to.”

All students regardless of their needs areentitledtoafreeandappropriateeducation.The professional learning community atMountain View Elementary is making surethat happens.


Top middle school musicians attend festsThis year many Calabasas

and Coatimundi MiddleSchool Band students willhave the honor to participatein the Southern Arizona Hon-ors Band Festival and the Ari-zonaMusicEducators’Associ-ation All-State Middle SchoolBand Festival.

The Southern Arizona Hon-ors Band Festival featuressomeof thebest studentmusi-cians in southern Arizona.Students are nominated bytheir band directors to partici-pate,andthentheyarechosenbased on the instrumentationof the ensemble. The festivalwas Feb. 6 at Canyon del OroHigh School in Oro Valley.

Bandstudentsreceivesheetmusic before the festival, thenthey rehearse most of that day.Students perform a concert toconclude the festival. Thisyear Rio Rico has many stu-dents participating in theSouthern Arizona HonorsBand Festival. Band studentsfromCalabasasMiddleSchoolare: Diana Ramirez, Do-minick Ram, Vincent Lopez,Jane Armenta, Katie Sellman,Daniel Manjarrez, Keren Bo-jorquez, Alexa Mendoza andRamon Garavito. CoatimundiBand Students are: Ben Bauer,Charles Richardson, AshleyFavela, Crystal Melara,Ramiro Bravo, Aaron Hernan-dez, Andrea Van Duinen,Gabriel Paco, Tyler Bauer andBen Noriega.

The Middle School All-StateBand Festival is an all-day fes-tival on March 13 that featuressome of the top student musi-cians in Arizona. Students arenominated by their directors;only a very select few are cho-sen for this honor. This year’sfestival takes place at HigleyHigh School in Gilbert.

Participating CMS studentsare: Ana Mercado, JackieMeza, and Rhys Betz. Partici-pating Coatimundi MiddleSchool Band Students are An-drea Van Duinen and RamiroBravo.

CMS Middle School Students performing in Honors Bands, from left, are Jaqueline Meza (7th, clarinet), Keren Bojorquez (8th, flute), Rhys Betz (8th, tenor saxophone), DanielManjerrez (8th, trumpet), Dominick Ram (6th, trombone), Vincent Lopez (7th, euphonium), Ana Mercado (6th, trumpet), Ramon Garavito (8th, tuba), Diana Ramirez (6th, flute),Alexa Mendoza (8th, trombone), Katie Sellman (7th, flute). Not pictured is Jane Armenta (7th, euphonium).

STRIKE UP THE BAND

By Cory Walavich

CTMS Middle School students performing in Honors Bands. Back row, left to right, Ramiro Bravo (7th, tuba), Aaron Hernandez (7th, percussion), Tyler Bauer(8th, tenor saxophone), Andrea Van Duinen (8th, flute). Front row, left to right, Ben Bauer (6th, horn), Crystal Melara (7th, trumpet), Fiona Bogart (6th, clarinet), Gabriel Paco(8th, clarinet). Not pictured are Ben Noriega (8th, trumpet), Charles Richardson (6th, euphonium).

SCVUSD No. 35’s Anticipated Vacancies for 2010/2011High School English, Math, Art and Chemistry

Special Education Teachers K-12 High School Instructional SpecialistAthletic Trainer; call (520) 375-8267


“Teens for Hygiene and Health” isthe name of a new endeavor of theRio Rico Thespians, the drama clubat Rio Rico High School.

The project is designed to collectbadly needed supplies for the belea-guered people of Haiti after the re-cent earthquake there devastatedthe already destitute Caribbean na-tion. The club is collecting itemssuch as toothpaste, toothbrushes,soap (preferably Ivory), non-alcoholor baby shampoos, conditioners,combs, brushes, nail clippers, handand body lotion, antibiotic ointment,

bandages, stomach relief tablets, an-tiseptic wipes, first-aid kits, andgloves.

Victoria Ahumada, vice presidentof the Thespians, is serving as theproject coordinator and is organiz-ing the distribution of the collectionboxes, which will be put in the class-rooms of the teachers who choose toparticipate.

“Ms. (Celia) Concannon, our the-atre teacher and sponsor, came to uswith this idea and our decision to dothis was unanimous," explainedAhumada. "We realize that if we can

give one tube of toothpaste, or fivetoothbrushes, that it is not the quan-tity that counts; it is our decision togive that counts. If we give actualitems, rather than money, it makes itmore real to us. The next time wepick up our tube of toothpaste, orwash our hair in a hot water shower,we will hopefully be able to remem-ber ourselves and others who arewithout these basic items.”

For more information about"Teens for Hygiene and Health," callthe RRHS Theatre Arts Office at (520)375-8765.

Thanksgiving basketsgathered for needy

GOOD WILL Program acceleratesyoung readers’ skills

Peña Blanca ElementarySchool has launched an in-tensiveguided-readinginter-vention block and after-school reading program toaccelerate the growth of itsyoung readers.

Evelyn Armijo, Peña Blan-ca’s Title 1 coordinator, is incharge of organizing theseprograms and keeping trackof the students’ progress.Mrs. Armijo keeps track of480 children, seven interven-tion assistants, 10 tutors, and19 classroom teachers.

She does this by collectingdata from many sources, in-cluding assessments takenby reading teachers, aides,and tutors, and from the re-sults of district and state as-sessments from tests titledGalileo and DIBELS, or Dy-namic Indicators of BasicEarly Literacy Skills.

Everydaystudentsaremetwith specialized personnelfor 45 minutes during class-room time for guided read-ing. Guided reading consistsof having students groupedby their reading levels insmallgroupsoffourtosixstu-dents. The specialized per-sonnel then teach studentsthe strategies that they needto become successful read-ers.

What is unique about thisintervention block is thatthere are seven trained inter-vention aides involved in ad-ditiontotheclassroomteach-ers.Thisallowseachgrouptobe met by one interventionaide or classroom teacher for45 minutes. What this meansfor students is that they aregetting more one-on-onetime with a reading teacher.

The intervention aides aresuch a big part of this blockthat they have been dubbedthe “SWAT Team.” The“SWATTeam”iscomposedofRosa Mendoza, Christina Ro-driguez, Donna Villaescusa,Ruth Donohoe, MarthaFuentes, Sylvia Montanez,and Ann McQueen.

Classroom teachers playthe role of guided-readingteachers during this time aswell, and they conduct infor-

mal reading conferencesthroughout the day to moni-tor their students’ ongoingprogress. Informal readingconferences are when ateacher meets with one stu-dent to teachthemhowtobe-come successful readers.

Inadditiontothis interven-tion held during the schoolday, Peña Blanca also begantheir after-school reading tu-torial program on Jan. 11.During the after-school pro-gramstudentsaregroupedinwith the same way as in theguided reading program.The students selected for thisprogram were those with thegreatest need to acceleratetheir reading performance.

This additional time spentin an intensive reading envi-ronment will help these stu-dents move up the ladder totry to get them to grade-levelreading. The teachers andstaff members participatingas tutors are Ruchi Chhabra,Denise Felix, Yuki Carillo,Andrea Danielson, MelissaBracamonte, Renee Lekey,Eva Schnitzler, Isabel Fim-bres, JessicaSanchezandTo-vah Handley.

The goals of both these in-terventions are to identifystruggling readers early onand to provide them with theinstruction they need to raisetheirconfidence,fluency,andcomprehension in reading.Last year the after-schoolreading program was a suc-cess in producing moregrade-level readers.

This year teachers, stu-dents, and parents have al-ready noticed growth in thereading ability of students.This growth has been seen inthe outcomes of the GalileoBenchmark Tests. Studentsscored significantly higherthis year during the secondGalileo benchmark as com-pared to the results from lastyear.

This year all grade levelstested at or above the bench-mark. Galileo is an indicatorof how well students will doin the upcoming AIMS Test.With both interventions inplace, Peña Blanca hopes tomake greater gains this yearand produce even more flu-ent readers.

By Andrea Danielson

Teens support Haiti disaster relief effort

The Rio Rico Rotary Club conducted its annual drive to distribute Thanksgiving baskets to needy families in the area.All of the schools in the Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District #35 participated by collecting more than 3,000 pounds of foodfor distribution.

NEW GROUP AT RIO RICO HIGH SCHOOL

Peña Blanca Elementary School holds Li-brary Night every third Wednesday of themonth. During library night our school pro-vides valuable information, tips, and activi-ties for families to use when reading withtheir children at home.

During library night our families are wel-comed with refreshments and cookies. Prin-cipal Sandra Figueroa is full of information tosharewithourparentsandasateamtheprin-cipal, librarian, library technician, literacy fa-cilitator and literacy technician all plan andprepare for this special night each month.

TheDecemberLibraryNightwasveryspe-cial for thereason thatchildrenandtheirpar-ents enjoyed a night of creativity and love forbooks with their loved ones. The childrenwere excited to be authors and illustrators oftheir very own by creating a book with mate-rials the library provided.

The January event was accompanied witha Readers’ Theater, where the students werescripted“TheThreeLittlePigs.”Ourstudentswereexcited toshowoff theiractingpotentialand enjoyed sharing what they were capableof with their family members.

After a night of enjoyment and quality timeparents spent with their children, they leavefor home with books, leap frogs and back-packs filled with priceless treasures andmemories. Iwanttothankthoseparentswhohave attended our Library Night and wouldlike to take the opportunity to invite thosewho have not attended, to be part of an un-forgettable moment to bring their childrenevery third Wednesday of the month to PeñaBlanca Elementary School library from 6 to 7p.m. Your children will appreciate it and sowill you.


Students act out “The Three Little Pigs” at Peña Blanca’s Readers’ Theater.

The Rio Rico High School StudentGovernment is in the process of plan-ning and coordinating the InauguralSpring Carnival to be held on Satur-day, March 13.

The event is to coincide with theLucky Clover 5K walk/10K run that isorganized by the Rio Rico SportsBoosters and cross country/trackcoach Roger Bristow. The walk/runwill be held early that morning.

The carnival idea is an expansionof the annual Spring Fling normallyheld at the high school during schoolhours.Studentgovernment is lookingto involve all school clubs, local com-munity leaders, and businesses. TheU.S. Border Patrol, Santa Cruz Coun-ty Sheriff’s Department, Rio Rico FireDepartment, and Rio Rico RotaryClub chapter will be among the localservice groups that will be extendedan invitation.

“We (STUGO) believe that greatercorrespondence and interaction withthe community makes for a positiveschool experience for all parties in-volved,” explained STUGO AdvisorEddie Rodriguez, a RRHS social stud-ies teacher.

The festivities are scheduled to beheld either on the new auxiliary fieldat the high school or at the west endparking lot. Each club will offer vary-ing activities and it will include a Bat-tle of the Bands, dance-a-thon (danceoff), carnival-themed games, dunktank, food booths and much, muchmore. The cost per booth will be $10.

“The idea (for the community-wide event) was generated throughdebateonhowwecouldget theentirecommunity to attend an event at acentral location,” Mr. Rodriguez said.

For additional questions or con-cerns, contact STUGO Advisor EddieRodriguez at [email protected] or (520) 604-2338.

Carnival isplanned forMarch 13

Library Night can unite familiesPeña Blanca providesfun, food and extrainfo for parents

Parents are always welcome atSan Cayetano Elementary School.Room K-3 is a wonderful placewhere parents can meet other par-ents and chat. In this room parentscan also find support by staff, in-cluding our very own Debbie Con-des.

Ms. Condes started working asthe new parent liaison in January.She brings a lot of enthusiasm andis ready to form the bridge be-tween parents and education.

“Building stronger partnershipsbetween the parents and theschool is my primary goal," Ms.Condes said. "I am a mother of twostudentswhoattendSanCayetano.My son is in fifth grade and mydaughter is in first grade. I was a'stay-at-home mom' from the timemy son was born 10 years ago, andnowIamafull timeworkingmom,so I feel I can identify with parentsin both situations. I believe strong-ly in parent involvement, and re-search shows that the more in-volved parents are in their child’seducation the more success the

student will have!"The other priority San Cayetano

has is to spread a simple message:“Themost important20minutesofyour day -- read with a child,” Ms.Condessaid."OnethingI’d loveforparents to know is that even read-ing to them in Spanish is good. Justshowing them to love books andlove reading is the most importantlesson."

I inviteallourSanCayetanopar-ents to come visit K-3; it is calledthe “Parent Room” because it isspecifically created for them. Par-

ents can come in to talk, take Eng-lish classes on Tuesday and Thurs-day mornings, and attend parent-ing classes on Monday mornings.We also have books and tapes thatcan be checked out. I hope every-one will feel comfortable and wel-come coming in. We want all par-ents to be partners with SanCayetano.Thebeneficiariesof thatwould be our children.(Debbie Condes, San Cayetano

Parent Liaison, (520) 375-8342,[email protected])


Bridging home, schoolBy Bertha Rodriguez

DebbieCondes, theparent liaison atSan Cayetano,encouragesparents to par-ticipate morewith their chil-dren.

Coatimundi Middle School eighth graders, from left, Karla De LaCruz, Selene Tofani and Michaela Fischer tag items for the National JuniorHonor Society’s fund-raising community yard sale.

Yard sale providesfundraiser for area


The new Rio Rico High SchoolShow Choir took the stage for thefirst time Dec. 4 and produced aholiday concert that was well re-ceived by more than 300 guests inattendance. Choir Director JimWierski, who founded the choir inthe middle of last year, explained:“The emphasis of this concert wasto highlight the many aspects ofthe Fine Arts Department, ourschool population, and of our dis-trict.”

That kind of department-wideand district-wide participationwas evident from the openingtrumpet fanfare, written and per-formed by some of RRHS Band Di-rector Allison Coyle’s musicians.The decorations on the tree wereput together by the school's Spe-cial Education Department. TheSan Cayetano Children’s Choir,under the direction of Wendy Nor-iega, participated. The RRHSTeachers Choir was led by JanaLarson. And from Celia Concan-non's dance class emerged a bal-lerina, Cristal Carranza, whodanced to a movement from "TheNutcracker Suite.

The concert program includedmany holiday favorites such as “OHoly Night,” “O Christmas Tree,”“The First Noel,” “12 Days ofChristmas," "Carol of the Bells,”and “Feliz Navidad.” The choir al-so sang in four languages, Ger-man, Latin, English, and Spanish.

Mr. Wierski indicated the im-portanceofexposinghissingers toas many types of music as possibleand not singing strictly in Englishor Spanish. To increase the feelingofcommunity, therewerealsocol-laborations among the RRHSShow Choir, the San CayetanoChildren’s Choir, and the RRHS

Teacher’s Choir.The inclusion of Ms. Noriega’s

Children’sChoir,withtheirenthu-siasm andjoyof singing, producedcrowd-pleasing results. The kidsstole the show. The Teacher’sChoir sang two songs, producing aglorious sound, which has en-couraged Ms. Larson to expandthegroupto includeteachers fromthe entire school district.

Other highlights of the nightfrom the high school students in-cludedtheboys'versionof“OHoly

Night,” the girls' rendition of“Benedictus,” Raul Bravo's andKathy Kim’s poignant tuba/pianosolo of “Ave Maria,” and MelissaYepiz and Ariella Valencia’s stun-ning vocal duet of the same song.

Manyof thestudents involvedinthe RRHS Show Choir have neversung in an organized context, andthe process of learning the musicand singing as an ensemble hasbeen challenging. “The policy ofour group is to accept anyone whohas the desire to sing, which canmake it difficult to create a goodblend of sound," said Mr. Wierski,"but we are determined to bringthe joy of singing to all who want

to participate.”As choir member Danelle Vil-

lanueva said, “The best thingabout it (choir) is that it is open toanyone who would want to partic-ipate in a musical ensemble, but tome it was a huge gain of confi-dence, meeting new people andbuilding wonderful memories.”Knoel Sotomayor, a bass in thechoir, noted that “It’s amazinghow, despite the diversity of every-one in the group, we can all cometogether tomakesomethingbeau-tiful.”

The impact of this new Fine Artsprogram is just starting to be felt atthe high school, but the excite-ment and interest in choir is grow-ing. This is evident by the additionof six new members into the choirsince the winter break and the‘buzz’ on campus about this newopportunity to participate in FineArts.

It is hoped that choir will pro-vide opportunities to build self-confidence, improve vocal abili-ties, and open up a new world ofmusic to students. In addition, aquartet will be forming to performas a smaller group that can repre-sent the choir for special eventswithin the district. Yepiz ex-pressed her feelings about choirwell: “I’m glad to be part of some-thing that goes beyond ... throughour voices.”

The next concert for the RRHSShow Choir will be Friday, April30, at 6:30 p.m., and is titled“Broadway comes to Rio Rico.”The concert will include Broad-way show tunes for all genera-tions, with the addition of somedance and choreography. Thechoir invites the entire communi-ty to come and enjoy the show!

Choir formed at high school

The next Rio Rico HighSchool Show Choir concertwill be Friday, April 30, at6:30 p.m., and is titled“Broadway comes to RioRico.” The public is invited.

The band program at Santa CruzValley Unified School District No. 35hasgrownfromasinglebanddirec-tor with approximately 70 band stu-dents in grades 6-12 in the schoolyear 2000, to this school year with300-plus band students in six build-ings.

The budget override funding thatthe Rio Rico, Tumacacori, Tubacand Amado communities approvedthree years ago has assisted thegrowth of this program by fundingtwo of the four current band direc-tor positions. This has allowed theband program to grow extensivelyand has provided elementary bandstudents with the dedicated directorneeded to ensure an outstandingmusical start.

The band program provides fifthgrade students with the opportunitytojointhebandandlearntoperformon many of the band instruments.Students now receive instrumentalinstruction twice a week during theschool day, once in smaller (like-in-strument) groups, and once in a fullband setting.

The elementary band director,James Ball Jr., provides this essen-tial initial instruction at SanCayetano,MountainView,andPeñaBlanca elementary schools. Bandstudents are taught the basics oftone production, note reading, per-formance,andmoreontheir instru-ment.

Before the override, the band du-ties were assigned to the elemen-tary general music teachers, on topof their general music responsibili-ties. Withtheoverride,thebandstu-dents have been provided with aband director specifically assignedtotakecareoftheneedsofthesestu-dents.

After elementary school, bandstudents continue with bandthrough their middle school band,either at Coatimundi Middle Schoolwith Director of Bands Patrick Ech-lin, or at Calabasas Middle Schoolwith Cory Walavich. Both middleschools offer students the opportu-nity to perform in multiple concerts,

march in parades, participate in theJazz Band program, participate inregional and all-state honors bands,perform in school ceremonies, andwork closely with the Rio Rico HighSchool band program.

Over the past few years, Rio Ricomiddle school bands have earnedhigh marks regularly at concert andJazz Festivals. The middle schoolband program prepares students tobe highly successful in the highschool band program, and assistsstudents with responsibility, leader-ship and character growth.

The Rio Rico High school pro-gram has evolved into an extremelystrong, comprehensive band pro-gram that began to grow underWesley Brewer, and has continuedto flourish with director Alli Coyle.RRHS Bands consistently performacross the state at Concert, March-ing and Jazz Festivals, and earn thehighest marks.

Rio Rico bands are recognizedaroundthestate for theirexcellencein performance. Rio Rico band stu-dentsperformat footballgamesandparades, present multiple concertsthroughout the year, attend bandfestivals across the state, performfor the student body, and presentconcerts regularly throughout thecommunity.

RRHS students compete musical-ly with young musicians around thestate, despite the lack of private in-struction available to these studentsin the Rio Rico area. Despite thischallenge, RRHS band students reg-ularly earn spots in the regional andAll-State honors bands, Universityof Arizona honors bands, and otherensembles. Many RRHS band grad-uates have chosen music as a ca-reer, and currently there are multi-ple graduates pursuing their musiceducation degree at the Universityof Arizona.

Wethankthecommunityforsup-porting this outstanding schoolband program.

Band programs flourishto more than 300 students


This past October the Parent Ac-tionTeamatSanCayetanoElemen-tary School was privileged to attenda two-day Leadership Develop-ment Conference on School, Fami-ly, and Community Partnerships inBaltimore, Md., on Oct. 27-28.

The team received in-depthtraining in building the bridge be-tween school and family. For many,the definition of family is simplymom and dad. In reality it is morecomplex than that. Dr. Joyce L. Ep-stein is the director of the NationalNetwork of Partnership Schools atJohn Hopkins University, and to-gether with her staff she arrangedthe conference.

“We are much more alike thanwearedifferent, yetwefocusonthedifferences,” Dr. Epstein noted dur-ing her opening speech. The teamplans to begin working to constructthe bridge by focusing on Epstein'skeys to successful school, family,and community partnerships:

• Parenting: Assist families in un-derstanding child and adolescentdevelopment and in creating theconditions at home that supportchildren as students.

• Communicating: Communi-cate with families about school pro-grams and student progressthrough school-to-home andhome-to-school communications.

• Volunteering: Improve recruit-ment, training, and schedules to in-

volve familiesasvolunteersandau-diences at the school and in otherlocations to support students andschool programs.

•Learningathome: Involve fam-ilies with their children, includinghomework, other curriculum-re-lated activities, and individualcourse and program decisions.

• Decision making: Include fam-ilies as participants in school deci-sions, governance, and advocacythrough parent action teams.

• Collaborating with the commu-nity: Coordinate community re-sources and services for students,families, businesses, agencies, andother groups, and provide servicesto the community.

Reading should be a part of achild’s entire life; it needn’t be con-fined to the school day. MountainView and San Cayetano elementaryschool libraries have incorporatedways to develop a child’s readingroutine.

Both school libraries open earlyeverymorningandsomeevenings towelcome readers, both young andold. Students come in to read and oc-casionally test on the AcceleratedReader program in the mornings be-fore school, and parents and grand-parents come in to check out booksfor their children.

Once a month families are invitedto Open Library Night when the li-brary is open in the evening for bookcheckout, stories, and cookies. InNovember, Open Library attendeeswere the first to check out recentlyacquired books, and in Decemberour guest Santa read “’Twas theNight Before Christmas” to thecrowd. In the spring Open LibraryNight will feature science books, andstudents will participate in two sci-ence experiments.

The primary purpose of our OpenLibrary Nights is to provide a timewhen children and parents canchoose books together, a time whenwe encourage parents to establishtheir own library accounts and to ex-ceed our regular student book bor-

rowing limits.Additionally, every spring and fall

the libraries sponsor weeklong bookfairs. Community adults help moni-tor the fairs, sharing the experienceof book selection with our students.Theschoolsreceive25percentof thesales’ proceeds, and that money isspent on new books for the libraries.

Another opportunity for parentsand students to work together isthrough the purchase of studentworkbooks. These workbooks aremade available through the LiteracyCenter during parent-teacher con-ferences and at the end of the year.Ranging in price from $4 to $15,these workbooks address academicskills such as reading, writing andmath and provide an excellent wayto help your child practice the skillslearned through the year. For moreinformation you may contact the Lit-eracy Center at your school.

Reading is a major focus of ourschool district’s mission, and one ofour library goals is to hook childrenon books. One way we do that is bychoosing read-alouds that classeswill grab out of your hand. "JuanBobo," "Tikki Tikki Tembo," and"Rough Face Girl" compel listenersto reach for the book and declare,“I’m checking that out!”

Our libraries circulate more than100 books each day, and we want Mt.

View and San Cayetano parents toknow that we invite them to increasethat number in the spirit of partici-pating in their child’s reading rou-tine.

Libraries’ goal: hook kids on books

Jacob Brown sits in for Santa Clausat a December Open Library night.

Partnerships are big topic

Those who attended a leader-ship conference include, front row,from left, Bertha Rodriguez, DebbieCondes and Lizzy Naff. At rear, fromleft, are Dollie Bauer, JanniferArgyros, Principal Gail Rich andRene Celaya.


ed and improved with the overridefunding as two greenhouses onschoolpropertyacrossthehighwayhave been constructed with the fu-ture plan of establishing a hydro-ponics and green growing facility.Students will be preparing for jobsin agricultural education, plant sci-ence, animal science and agricul-tural management in the future.Students belong to the FutureFarmers of America, also a nation-al organization which promotesstudentparticipationintheagricul-tural field.

42CNAgraduatesThe Certified Nursing Assistant

(CNA) program is being taught byStacy Hatton, a registered nursewith 10 years of experience in hos-pice nursing and a desire to giveback to the community by trainingstudents to enter the medical field.In the past two years, 42 studentshave graduated and 80 percenthave passed the State Board ofNursing exam and are currentlyworking in Tucson hospitals. Otherstudents are working in Green Val-ley nursing homes or are studyingto become medical assistants.

This year the program has 22students studying to become Certi-fiedNursingAssistantsandfivestu-dents are in the pharmacologytechnician course. Every studentbecomesCPRandFirstAidcertifiedand currently there is a waiting listfor students wishing to enter thisexciting program.

The culinary arts program is thenewest entry into the Career andTechnical Program, offering op-portunities for students wishing topursueacareerinhotelandrestau-rant management, or as culinaryarts chefs. The program began thisyear and is already filled to capaci-ty. Each student has already passedthe Food Handlers Certificationoverseen by the Santa Cruz CountyPublic Health Department and ef-forts are being made for students toreceive their safety first certifica-tion. The override has provided forthe teacher, Maryann Kinzel, andthe basic industrial kitchen equip-ment and materials. Rio Rico HighSchool is looking forward to the de-velopment and expansion of thisprogram.

The override has given theschool district the ability to contin-ue its efforts to address needed ar-eas of education. District No. 35wishes to express its gratitude tothe voters of this district for its con-tinued support of educational op-portunities for our students.

RRHSContinued fromPage 1

Anatomy studies. Above, Cindy Cho, Anahi Dojaquez, Andrea Camarena and Isabella Badinelli are Applied Bio/Health students expressing their creativedesign work on the back of the garment they are entering in the anatomy fashion show. Below, teacher Stacy Hatton helps Anel Altamirano and Doris Pacheco asthey paint the “thoracic cavity” onto their garment for the anatomy fashion show.


cafeterias. The ultimate goal of the programsis to provide children with the skills they willneed to find success in kindergarten.

The funding for these essential early child-hood programs comes primarily from themaintenance and operations budget over-ride that voters approved starting in the2007-2008 school year. Without the overridefunding, the district could not provide manystudents in our district with a quality pre-school experience.

The state of Arizona does not fund pro-grams for preschool aged students in thesame way as for students in grades K through12. Rather, preschool programs must com-pete for a small share of the state funds pro-vided by the state for pre-K through thirdgrade and all-day kindergarten. In this diffi-cult budget climate, the public commitmentto early childhood programs is the key to pro-viding as many children as possible with agood beginning and foundation for continu-ing education success.

Spaces at both sites are limited and regis-tration begins at kindergarten round-up inMarch. Watch for notices posted in the com-munity. For more information on early edu-cation programs, contact the principal ofyour elementary school: San Cayetano, GailRich, 375-8300; Peña Blanca, SandraFigueroa, 375-8500; Mountain View, StephenSchadler, 375-8400. Or call Melisa Lun-derville in the district Welcome Center at375-8289.

PRESCHOOLContinued fromPage 1

Top spellersOnce again Dominic

Redman, now a fifth grad-er at San Cayetano

Elementary School, was ableto spell his way to the top.

Redman was the championfor the Spelling Bee hosted by

Librarian Kim Crowlie.Runner up was 4th grader

Julissa Hernandez. As afourth grader, Redman wasable to defeat a fifth-gradestudent to win the contest.Redman was ecstatic andsmiled widely during his

award acceptance.

rio rico newsletter

Documents

theyre students

elementary sites

career classes

years old

frontage roadrio rico

technical education

language abilities

budget overrideelection