Cortez High School A Proud Member of the Glendale Union High School District

8828 N. 31st Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85051

623.915.8200

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS

Reid Chitwood

Principal 623.915.8209

Justin Tarver

Operations/Resources 623.915.8206

Walt Sampson

Student Services 623.915.8207

Jacquelyn Parmeley

Attendance/Discipline 623.915.8208

Attendance: 623.915.8201

Bookstore: 623.915.8214

Counseling Office: 623.915.8202

Psychologist: 623.915.8231

Nurse: 623.915.8203

Social Worker: 623.915.8230

Cortez PRINCIPAL REID CHITWOOD

GOVERNING BOARD PATTY KENNEDY, PRESIDENT

DON DEBUSK, CLERK RICK FIELDS

VICKI JOHNSON PAM REICKS

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS:

EUGENE E. DUDO

Glendale Union High School District

7650 N. 43rd Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301

Cortez Highlights is published for parents & other interested members of the community. Comments & inquiries

should be directed to:

October 22, 23, & 24th AIMS Testing

November 11th, Veteran’s Day (NO SCHOOL)

November 28-29th, Thanksgiving Recess (NO SCHOOL)

Dec. 17th & Dec. 18th, Final Exams (Half Day)

Dec. 20th, End of 1st Semester (NO SCHOOL)

Dec. 23rd—Jan. 3rd, Winter Recess (NO SCHOOL)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

TUESDAY, Jan. 7th, Second Semester Begins

Jan. 20th, MLK, Jr. Day (NO SCHOOL)

Feb. 17th, President’s Day (NO SCHOOL)

March 14th, End of 3rd Quarter

March 17th—March 21st, Spring Recess (NO SCHOOL)

May 6th—May 15th, Advanced Placement Exams

May 20th, Honors & Awards Ceremony

May 22nd & May 23rd, Senior Finals

May 26th, Memorial Day (NO SCHOOL)

May 28th (Wednesday), GRADUATION!

May 28th, Final Exams (HALF DAY)

May 29th, Final Exams (HALF DAY)

PARENTS: Please

remember to call

the Attendance

Office if your

student will be

absent.

623.915.8201 or

623.915.8211

Did you know that you can check

grades online 24 hours a day? Bring

your picture ID to the front office to

obtain your log-on information.

The Glendale Union High School District does

not discriminate on the basis of race, color,

national origin, sex, age or disability.

All participants in our quality school are motivated to

strive for excellence in teaching and learning.

To meet the challenges of life, we develop individual potential

and promote life-long learning.

AIMS Test Dates

Oct. 22: AIMS Writing

Oct. 23: AIMS Reading

Oct. 24: AIMS Math

This testing session is for

any 11th and 12th

graders that have not

taken/passed AIMS.

Math & English

tutoring is available,

see Math/English

teachers for more

information

Cbrown, 2013 Cortez High

School has

received the

highest label

available to

schools by the

Arizona

Department

of Education, “A”. We are working

to keep our school’s score of an “A”

and creating pathways for more

student achievement. I am

extremely proud of the Cortez

faculty and staff who have made

this possible through their diligence

to make Cortez a great school.

However, let’s not forget our

parents and community for their

continued support in helping to

achieve our high Arizona label, as

well as the students who have

poured their hearts and souls into

their studies to make this happen.

I am proud of everyone’s efforts to

make Cortez a school of high

standards. It has always been our

vision (Cortez Community) to have

Cortez be an island in the community

where our children can receive a

high quality education in a safe,

nurturing environment. When

students graduate from Cortez they

will have the advantage over other

students because of the rigorous

educational environment and the

reputation of Cortez High School.

Congratulations to all for a job well

done and for receiving the highest

performance label of “A”.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

HOW ARE WE HERE TO HELP?

8th Hour is a time for students to not only make-up missing work and tests,

they will also be retaught and tutored in the subject they are failing. This

will be a mandatory class held one hour a week (from 2:45-3:25), for a

minimum of 4 weeks, but may be longer based on the success of the

student. Students assigned an 8th hour may also be assigned an

Academic Enrichment in the same subject, barring any other requests for

the student’s time by another subject, so that the enrichment may

happen more frequently and the student achieves success more rapidly.

We all want the best for your son or daughter, our student, and if we work

collectively together, we can encourage, support, and assist them in

being successful. And please remember at Cortez...

“Your Destination is GRADUATION!”

New Additions

Book Fair

Academic

Enrichment

National Merit

Open House

Cheer News

Senior Info

*Apply NOW (to colleges and

universities)

*Send Transcripts

*Take the ACT or SAT

*Apply for a FAFSA Pin

*Fill out FAFSA (after Jan. 1st only)

It’s a busy time of year for SENIORS.

Do you know what your senior should be

doing right now?

Jeri Bennett Susan Johnson

English Science

Jennifer Rogers Elizabeth Tezak

English ELL

Ed Welch Rachel Wight

Applied Tech Dance

Josh Woznicki Tish Jefferson

Social Studies Social Worker

This year we have a few new faces around

campus… Please help us welcome them!

All participants in our quality school are motivated to strive for excellence in teaching and learning.

To meet the challenges of life, we develop individual potential and promote life-long learning.

Do you know what

Academic Enrichment is all about? All students are encouraged to come on campus

every WEDNESDAY between 8:15 AM & 8:55 AM to

meet with teachers, receive tutoring or make up

ANY missing assignments/tests. If a student is also

falling behind in a class, a teacher might assign a

MANDATORY Academic Enrichment.

A special thanks is in order for our Media Center

Director Jennifer Beyer and to everyone that

participated in the Book Fair this year. CHS sold

$1,394 in Scholastic items and was able to

purchase 64 books for the Media Center. That’s

equal to 47,000 minutes of reading! This year,

many of our English classes visited the Book Fair,

which meant a huge portion of our student

body was able to stop by. Not only were students

able to browse new reading material, school

supplies, posters and many other things, it also

allowed them to check out our fabulous Media

Center. Needless to say, the media center has

been busy before/after school and during

lunch ever since.

Mr. Justin Tarver

Asst. Principal

of Operations

& Resources

Mr. Tarver comes to us from

Independence High School.

A SPECIAL WELCOME TO:

In Sept., AP Literature and Composition students

went with Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Hirsch to Grand

Canyon University to see Twelfth Night by William

Shakespeare. Not only did they see the play but

they got to have a “talk back” with the actors

and director, ate free lunch and

got to speak with one of Mrs.

Rogers’s old students who now

attends GCU. Jake Womer,

stated, “It was great to see a play

of such professional quality.” The

students were excited to find out more about this university.

A huge CONGRATULATIONS is in order for

Amanda Wahlers. Amanda has qualified

as a semifinalist in the 2014 National

Merit Scholarship Program. She is among

only 16,000 high school students across

the nation to receive this outstanding

honor! We look forward to Amanda

progressing on and hopefully becoming

a Finalist in the near future.

The Advanced Art and Advanced 3D Design

classes are having a First Annual Art Show and

Sale in December! Students work will be juried

into the show and the show and silent auction will

be held in the CHS Conference Room before

school, during lunch and after school Wednesday,

December 11th through Friday, December

13th. AND The show will be

open for parents Friday night

from 6pm to 8pm! Light

refreshments will be served

during the Friday night

opening.

Cortez Cheer was victorious again at the UCA

Cheer Camp on June 23rd through the 25th. Our

fantastic cheer team won the spirit-stick everyday

and even got to take it home with us! We won a

Superior trophy for Home Routine, a Superior trophy

for Camp Champs and a Superior trophy for the

hardest working team at camp. Josh Lamar,

Captain, and Alex Smith, Co-captain, both won a

leadership pin, and the team also was selected by

other campers as a great leadership cheer squad.

WAY TO GO COLTS!

On the evening of Tuesday, August 20th, 2013, Cortez opened its gates to

welcome students and parents to our 2013-2014 Open House. The night

was a huge success with over 400 students and parents attending this

annual event. We kicked off our time together in the CHS Cafeteria with an

Ice-Cream Social. Our very own Colt football team served up some rather

delicious desserts. Afterwards everyone traveled to our Auditorium to hear

a welcoming presentation. People were then sent on their way to follow

their student’s schedule, hour by hour. This was an excellent time for

parents to meet their son or daughter’s teachers, hear about classroom

policies and even experience what a typical day at CHS is like for their HEY PARENTS… DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN CHECK GRADES

24 HOURS A DAY? GO TO THE CHS WEBPAGE & CLICK ON

INFINITE CAMPUS. CHECK OUT GRADES, ATTENDANCE & MORE!