Focus on TUSD - October 2006

Student Stars

Van Buskirk Constitution Day Play
Students and employees of Van Buskirk Elementary School gathered Sept. 15 to see a play created by the students for Constitution Day and to recognize the anniversary of Sept. 11. After the play, students, faculty and staff sang patriotic songs at the flagpole on school grounds.

Brichta at the Fire Station
Brichta Elementary School third-graders visited Fire Station #20 Sept. 12 to present firefighters with a PowerPoint presentation, gifts and goodies, to thank them for their service to the community, while honoring the memory of Sept. 11.

Staff and School Success

Cavett Kicks Off the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
Cavett Elementary School celebrated the kick-off of a new bullying prevention program last month. The Olweus (Ol-VEY-us) program, which has been implemented in more than a dozen countries around the world, is designed to improve peer relations and reduce bully/victim problems in elementary and middle schools. This program was made available to Cavett as part of a partnership with CODAC Behavioral Services.

Booth Fickett to Host South African Teacher
Next spring, Booth-Fickett Math/Science Magnet School will be one of two schools in the United States to take part in a Fulbright Teacher Exchange, which will provide the opportunity for cultural and informational exchange. Kathryn Mahady, who teaches seventh- grade Social Studies and eighth-grade Humanities, will teach in Tweeling, South Africa during 2007. Booth-Fickett will host her exchange teacher, Mr. Mosuwenyana Mokoena, during the same time. Mokoena will live in Mahady's house during the year and Mahady will live in his house in Tweeling.

Booth-Fickett has set up several exchange programs with Refeng-Thabo School in Tweeling. Booth-Fickett's student council will organize fund-raisers, social activities, and exchanges of photos and letters throughout the year. Mahady will distribute disposable cameras to her students in South Africa and encourage them to take photographs during her visit. She said she plans to send the cameras back to Booth-Fickett for the film to be developed, and where the photos will be displayed on a map of South Africa in the school's office.

Mokoena is the recipient of a national teaching award in South Africa and has been recognized throughout that country for his teaching. Parents are encouraged to come into the school and meet him once he arrives.

--Submitted by Kate Mahady

Innovative Educators at Borton
Sheri Marlin, Ginger Snider and Renee Olson of Borton Primary Magnet School will represent the United States at the worldwide Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum in Philadelphia, Nov. 9-12. The Borton educators were selected because of their "exemplary use of technology in the classroom, with their peers, and for their own professional development and productivity," according to a Microsoft press release.
"Only four schools in the United States were selected," said Principal Teri Melendez. Borton will be the only Arizona school represented.

"Congratulations to you, your staff and students for making us proud," said Superintendent Roger F. Pfeuffer.

Borton was selected following Marlin, Snider and Olson's participation in Microsoft's regional forum for innovative teachers, held in Redmond, Wash., in September. The forums recognize and reward outstanding examples of educators collaborating and sharing expertise to build collective knowledge.

Borton Primary Magnet School "is a school that lays the groundwork for primary children to realize their tremendous potential," said Brian Bratonia, director of Microsoft Corp.'s Partners in Learning Program, U.S. Public Sector.

"Here the staff is actively working to construct their own meaning for learning by participating in community based field experience projects, continued and replicated in the classroom," said Bratonia in recognizing Borton at the awards dinner in September.

"Teachers prepare primary children to use system tools and research strategies. Children know what it means to access prior knowledge, locate sources, formulate questions, analyze and synthesize and share their results. Meaningful, embedded assessments are used throughout the school day to inform instruction and ensure that each student is making progress toward his or her learning goals. This occurs because of the faculty's commitment to collaboration, team planning, and exploration of innovative ways to increase student learning," said Bratonia.

Borton is "a school that prioritizes time for teacher learning and collaboration," said Bratonia, "because it knows that it is essential to support student learning. This is a school where every educator is a member of the learning team."

Howenstine Offers New Courses
This year, Howenstine High Magnet School is offering more options in its English Department. In addition to the required English courses, the school offers courses in journalism, creative writing/literary magazine, and a dual credit course for upper classmen in partnership with Pima Community College. Check out the journalism class' monthly newsletter online at the Howenstine High School web page: www.http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/howenstine/

New Teacher Profile
Joe Morgan went from being an electronics technician, to an instructor at Pima Community College (PCC) to joining the faculty at Palo Verde High Magnet School. This describes Morgan's progression from work he says he was good at, to a job he says he has always wanted. He was an electronics technician working for TUSD Facilities for quite awhile. He had always wanted to teach, so he earned a special certificate to teach Humanities at PCC. For him, that wasn't enough. He went on to complete his K-12 teaching certificate through the new certification program at PCC, and now he teaches learning-disabled students at Palo Verde High Magnet School.

Catalina High Magnet School LEARN Center
The LEARN Center at Catalina High Magnet School celebrated its 20th anniversary in September and dedicated the center to businessman Steve Santa Cruz for his 20-year commitment to the center and his passionate support of LEARN students.
He is our "mentor, benefactor, supporter, business partner," said Teacher/Coordinator Marge Gould of Santa Cruz, who is president of SC Design Companies. In welcoming guests to the school, Catalina Principal Dan Bailey praised Gould for her 20-year leadership of the center.

The LEARN Center offers classes designed to help at-risk students develop literacy skills and 21st-century workplace capabilities to succeed in school, in the workplace, in higher education, and in the real world. The center is funded by a partnership of the Arizona Supreme Court and Tucson Unified School District. Approximately 3,500 students have been served during the 20 years.

Approximately 50 people attended the celebration, which combined a ribbon cutting for a second LEARN Center classroom. In addition to Santa Cruz, the following people participated in the ribbon cutting: Chief Justice Ruth McGregor, Arizona Supreme Court; Dave Byers, director, administrative office of the courts; retired Arizona Chief Justice Frank X. Gordon; and TUSD Superintendent Roger F. Pfeuffer.

The LEARN Center is two professional office classrooms, each equipped with 20 computers. Gould was the creating force behind the concept of the center; Julie Kasper teaches in the second classroom, which recently opened with new IBM computers. Mark Hanna is the aide for both classrooms. Students spend one class per day in the center using computers to improve their reading and writing proficiency. Business partners participate in mock job interviews, and provide guest speakers and mentors for students. The SC Design/KB HOME Challenge for Excellence provides incentives each semester to students who have no unexcused absences, raise their grades and improve their scores on online practice AIMS tests.

LEARN Center community partners are SC Design Companies; KB HOME; IBM; TMC HealthCare; Pima Community College, Community Campus; Mike Halle, 3-HealthPartners; National Wright Realty; Accent on Vision; and Educational ReadSources.

Individual supporters are Guy Atchley, Lt. Col. Carlos Garcia, Judge John E. Davis, Ellen Reed, Dr. Herman Gould, Cathy Travers, Barbara Leonard, John Clark, and Neil Atchley.

Catalina High FEAST students provided continental breakfast for guests at the anniversary celebration; FEAST is the school's culinary arts program.

Soleng Tom Students and the Magic Box
The Magic Box began eating last month at Soleng Tom Elementary School. During a 15-minute assembly, students were asked to "feed" the box original stories. The Magic Box feasted on student-written works for two weeks while it was housed in the school's library.

The stories were collected by former University of Arizona students intent upon turning the students' written words in a theatrical production. The Magic Box is part of Soleng Tom's "Stories that Soar" program. Last year's program inspired about 300 stories!

Some weeks later, what returns to the school is a professional theatrical production of 20-30 of the stories submitted. The student-writers are invited on stage to be recognized for their literary contributions. This program motivates and encourages students to continue writing.

Catalina AFJROTC
Catalina High Magnet School's Air Force Junior ROTC unit recently received an "exceeds standards" rating in its unit evaluation by Col. Don Benche, Area 7 administrator. The cadets of the AZ-943 Group at Catalina High received the highest rating an AFJROTC unit can achieve. Outstanding cadets were: Lt. Col. William Nevels, Corps Commander; Major Michel Schwemmer, Vice Corps Commander; and 1st Lt. Aaron Lopez, Logistics Officer.