Coming Up
New schools coming in the southwest
Tucson Unified Schools is in the process of securing sites for two new elementary schools that would help alleviate overcrowding on the southwest side. One would be located in the far southwest area of the district and the other would be in the Mission Road-Irvington Road area. A task force chose these areas after looking at existing conditions in schools, as well as new development.
Based on the task force's June tour of feasible sites, the Engineering, Facilities and Planning Department prepared a request for proposals to send to interested parties in order to solicit land trades. If land is traded, it would eliminate the need to purchase land, generate funds for land improvements and supplement construction funds.
The task force will consider four trade proposals submitted. Design of the schools is scheduled to begin next spring.
New westside bus facility planned
The Governing Board of Tucson Unified Schools has selected a site just south of the southeast corner of Valencia Road and Cardinal Avenue for a new bus facility that would serve the western portion of the district. By moving 120 buses from the central Winsett facility, the district will free up space at Winsett and save at least $500,000 annually in fuel and driving times.
Neighborhood meetings have been held and the schematic design is almost finished. Engineering, Facilities and Planning Department representatives are meeting with Pima County officials to determine the level of roadway improvements that will be required to serve the site. Discussions are under way on funding these improvements through cooperative agreements, as well as dedicating land for a public park.
Tully welcomes ballet dancers
Tully Elementary Magnet School, 1701 W. El Rio Drive, will offer an eight-session ballet education course for fourth-graders beginning Monday, Nov. 3. The 45-minute ballet sessions will be on Mondays and begin at 2 p.m.
Only 40 slots will be available, so the first 10 students from each fourth-grade class will be admitted. A waiting list will be available. For information contact Tully fourth-grade teachers or Rose Cota, the Tully Magnet-ELD coordinator.
Cezar Rubino, a Ballet Tucson dancer and a Ballet Arts School teacher, will instruct the classes. A freelance choreographer and teacher, he is also on the University of Arizona administrative staff.
The dance classes will include an introduction to ballet, where students will be taught ballet basics beginning with a mini ballet barre, which is where dancers learn fundamentals such as bends and stretches while holding onto a support apparatus. Dancers will also learn the beginning of center practice, which is where pirouettes and jumps will be taught.
Classical piano music on ballet class CDs will accompany the training.
Catalina to showcase programs
Eighth-graders and their parents are invited to Catalina Magnet High School on Thursday, Oct. 16, for "Catalina Programs Showcase," an education fair that is designed to help students and family members learn about the career programs available at the school. The showcase will be from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the school at 3645 E. Pima St.
"The Catalina Showcase will be held throughout the school in the various career academies, e.g., the airplane hanger in the Aerotech Building, the hospital room in the Magnet Building, the culinary arts kitchen, the business classrooms, the Art Room and Music Room, the Journalism Room, the Construction Technology school – all at Catalina," wrote LEARN Center English teacher Marge Gould in an e-mail.
Students enrolled in the various programs will be wearing the attire representing that career, e.g., flight suits, hospital scrubs, hard hats, chefs' coats and hats, business attire, smocks, etc.
Representatives from Catalina's career academies and magnet programs will be available to answer questions. Academies and programs that will be featured include:
- Construction Trades – Plumbing; electrical; carpentry and heating; ventilation and cooling (HVAC)
- Allied Health – Certified nursing assistant; radiology tech; sports medicine; first responders; pharmacy tech; fire science
- Aviation – Pilot training; aircraft mechanic; avionics/robotics
- Career & Technical Education – Business management and administrative services; culinary arts; audio visual technology; agricultural business management
- Traditional School of Educational Excellence – Honors classes; community service; concurrent enrollment classes; Advance Placement classes
- Fine Arts – Beginning and advanced art; instrumental and vocal music; school band; drama
- Air Force JROTC – Drill teams and color guard; community service
- Freshman Transition Program – A personal, success-oriented small learning environment with a team of teachers for each 100 freshmen
- LEARN Center – Community mentors guide at-risk students through a self-paced program incorporating reading, writing, computers and workplace skills
Guests will be given maps showing the locations of the programs being showcased. There also will be AFROTC cadets in uniform and Link Crew students who will escort people to the various programs as needed.
New Mary Meredith school dedication set for Oct. 15
For the first time in its nearly 20-year history, the Mary Meredith K-12 School has a permanent building with spanking brand new classrooms for its students. The new $1.8 million multipurpose building and courtyard at 755 N. Magnolia Ave., built with voter-approved bond money, will be dedicated Wednesday, Oct. 15. The ceremony will begin at 5 p.m.
"We're still unpacking but we're all excited and happy, parents and students included, about the new look," said Principal Terri Polan.
The building project began Aug. 1, 2007, and construction continued throughout the 2007-2008 school year. A temporary occupancy permit allowed students to move into their new classrooms on the first day of school, Aug. 11.
The new school is a little east of the school's stand-alone multipurpose room, which was completed in May 2006.
It's been a long time coming for this school, which educates a unique population. Mary Meredith is a special-needs school that can accommodate up to 60 students. It has one teacher and two intervention technicians in each of 11 classrooms, including a well-equipped life skills classroom, a vocational classroom with individual counseling offices, and a computer skills laboratory.
"We hope you will join us as we celebrate a world of opportunities for our students," Polan said. At the dedication, tours will be conducted. Refreshments also will be served.
The old campus had one multipurpose room and nine portable buildings joined by snaking sidewalks in a busy area of the city. Those buildings included offices, classrooms, the library, computer lab and restrooms. The school's multipurpose room, completed more than two years ago, is an integral component of the new campus. It was not financed by bonds.
The architectural firm Emc2 designed the new 14,500-square-foot building following staff recommendations. The rectangular structure with a central courtyard has only one door, allowing staff to track student movement. For safety reasons, the building is set further back from the street. Each of the classrooms has a separate restroom.
An athletic field will cover the area where the portables once stood, featuring a grass field, and basketball and tetherball courts.
The Mary Meredith School began in 1990. It is named for Mary Meredith, who was the second director of special education for Tucson Unified Schools.
Santa Rita teachers exhibit art
Santa Rita High School visual arts teachers Veronica Bell-Sandler and Vickee Sotelo Lopez are exhibiting their work through Dec. 30 at a Tucson gallery. Their show is called "Show and Tell…and Our Second Passion is Teaching Art!"
The exhibit began Sept. 17 at the Clement Center Building #2 Gallery, 8155 E. Poinciana Drive. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday from 6 am. to 10 p.m.; Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.
Bell-Sandler, a Boston native, moved to Tucson 16 years ago. For most of the last three decades she has been known as "Mrs. Bell-Sandler, art teacher" with little time left for her artist identity. She renewed her enthusiasm for watercolors after becoming an empty nester a couple of years ago. She enjoys the light clarity in Arizona, an aspect she uses when she paints.
Lopez said her experience at the Teacher Institute of Contemporary Art in the summer of 2007 in Chicago changed the way she sees herself as an art teacher. She has branched out to painting with oils and acrylics and has experimented with pastels. She takes summer art classes every year.