Glendale Union High School District
Spring recital raises funds for dance program
The music is being cut, the costumes have being ordered, and the Thunderbird High School dancers are returnsrehearsing daily for the upcoming spring dance recital, “Let’s Groove!” The April recital, the biggest performance and fundraiser for the Thunderbird dance department, includes a cast of more than 200 dancers.
The show begins at 7 p.m. on April 19, 20 and 21. Pre-ticketed audience members are seated first between 6:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. There is no assigned seating.
Tickets are $7 and can be purchased starting two weeks before the show in the THS bookstore. Tickets also will be sold at the door. The school is located at 1750 W. Thunderbird Road.
Young at Heart art show returns
The annual district-wide art show, Young at Heart, features work by students and faculty who will display their talents in a variety of mediums including photography, oil and acrylic paints, colored pencil and three-dimensional works. Many of these pieces are also available for purchase.
The show will be held at the ASU West Fletcher Library, located at 4701 W. Thunderbird Road. The public can view the works of art during regular library hours from April 2-25. The awards reception will be at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 12; admission is free.
WHS students are sewing for others
A group of Interact Club students at Washington High School have been learning to sew for others. Under the guidance of WHS nurse Mary Freeland, English teacher Jill Green, and science teacher Maggie Mott, these students have made and donated bags, quilts, baby accessories, clothing, and even 300 eyeglass cases. The cases and eyeglasses will be distributed in Peru.
Madison Elementary School District
Park gets new sports equipment
Student-athletes at Madison Park Middle School will be taking the field with brand-new equipment this season, thanks to a generous donation from the North Central Women’s League.
A crowdfunding page on DonorsChoose.org was created by Madison Park Athletic Director Sara Daffe to raise a total of $552 for new league-approved baseball and softball bats, as well as new game/practice balls, and equipment bags. The bats are especially critical as the current bats no longer meet conference requirements—which means Madison Park teams were in danger of not being able to play in conference-sanctioned games this season without them.
When the North Central Women’s League heard the donation request had received zero funds and hand only three days left before it expired, the group quickly jumped into action. “We are a group of women dedicated to serving the North Central Phoenix area. We are so happy to support our teachers and students,” said President Marianne Friedman.
The donation by the North Central Women’s League was matched by the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation, so only $276 was needed in pledges for the $552 goal to be met. All the equipment was purchased the next day online from Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Inaugural ‘Dash’ joins ‘Bash’ in April
The Madison School District, in partnership with the Madison Education Foundation, hosts its first “Madison Dash to the Bash” 5K community walk/run on Saturday, April 7, at Granada Park, 6505 N. 20th St.
Enjoy a morning run/walk through North Central Phoenix followed by the Madison Bash, the district’s annual exhibition and celebration of students and the arts, from 9 a.m. to noon. The free event features artists and musicians from all eight Madison schools, local vendors, food trucks, a raffle and more.
Park for the race at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 1973 E. Maryland Ave. Check-in for the dash begins at 6:30 a.m., and the race sets off at 8 a.m. Cost is $35 ($15 for students ages 14 and younger).
There is an optional 1K Mini Dash for ages 10 and younger at the Rose Lane campus after the 5K is completed, and no fee is required, but participants do need to pre-register.
All proceeds benefit the Madison Education Foundation, which provides arts experiences to Madison students. For more information or to register, visit www.MadisonDashtotheBash5k.com.
Osborn Elementary School District
World Read-Aloud Day held at Solano
Solano School recently celebrated its “We Are Solano! World Read-Aloud Day Reading Picnic.” Solano teachers read multicultural picture books to their students and together with their students decorated their doors to highlight a book of their choice.
Families were invited to join shared reading lessons, enjoy a picnic lunch with students, and complete a Scavenger Hunt.
Nutrition education just for students
Osborn School District Child Nutrition Director Sheri Ottersen, Nutrition Coordinator Cory Alexander, and Education Coordinator Jilliann Feltham are on a mission to reduce cafeteria waste by half.
The project started at Clarendon School where, with education classes, student volunteers and lots of effort, the project was successfully piloted and the cafeteria trash went from more than 180 lbs. per day to 90 lbs. per day.
The department will take its efforts to Solano School next, ultimately making the rounds to all Osborn schools.
Phoenix Union High School District
A lesson in dangers of distracted driving
North students learned about the risks of distracted driving, and driving under the influence, during a hands-on safety program presented by Banner Health in classrooms, Feb. 26-March 2.
Mock exercises involved walking on a designed map, not actually driving. The students tried to “drive” using a steering wheel while texting, and then perform the activity again without distractions. The students also attempted to “drive” with and without goggles that simulated effects of marijuana and alcohol, using goggles that altered students’ perception. That distraction activity was timed and performed with and without goggles.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. According to the CDC, a total of 2,333 teens in the United States were killed in 2015.
Top ranking earns band spot at state festival
The Camelback Concert Band performed at the Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association (ABODA) Area Concert Festival on March 1, and received a rating of “Excellent,” qualifying the Spartans for the ABODA State Concert Festival. As a result, the CBHS Spartan Concert Band will travel to Chandler High School on April 25 to perform in the ABODA State Concert Festival.
Nearly two dozen qualify for contest
Fifty-one students from Camelback DECA competed at the State Career Development Conference, held March 2-4 at the Arizona Grande in Phoenix. Of those students, 33 were semi-finalists and 22 qualified for the International Competition in Atlanta, Ga., set for April 21-24.
All of these students wrote 11- or 30-page research papers and demonstrated leadership and entrepreneurship as they competed against 1,600 students from around the state.
First place-winners were: Entrepreneurship Promotion—Tasneem Al Sabbry, Vanesssa Corrrea and Alexa Castillo; Creative Marketing Project—Nydia Salazar, Josh Lopez and Ezequias Fuentes; Student-Based Enterprise—Marisela Flores, Jocelyn Higuera and Litzy Barrera; Pitch/Role Play—Hailey Espinoza and Leslie Cruz, for the Dogs for Our Brave Community Service Project; and FreeSpace App—Oscar Garcia, Brian Jimenez and Jared Figueroa.
Private And Charter Schools
Students receive Service Awards
Eight students from St. Francis Xavier School recently were honored by the Catholic Community Foundation (CCF), which recognizes eighth-grade students from throughout the Diocese who display a love and understanding of their Catholic faith, not only to performing acts of service, but to living a service focused life.
This year’s award recipients from SFX were Kate Cowan, Michael Fisher, Jack Sorensen, Will Sanford, Matthew Sandoval, Kate Brink, Jayme Brown, and Peter Laborin. Kate Claypool, Kate Ryan and Anna Bahti were finalists.
Recipients were honored at a ceremony on March 2 and received an $8,000-$12,000 tuition scholarship for the Catholic high school of their choice.
MHP Twisted Axles win robotics contest
The Madison Highland Prep Twisted Axles won a tournament championship award at the Arizona Interscholastic Association Vex Robotics Competition, held March 2 at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University–Prescott. The Twisted Axles student team included Saif Ahmed, Noah Norvold, Mason Flower, Liam Matthews, Nathan Pollaro, Drake Morris and Logan Valencia.
MHP engineering courses, such as Intro to Engineering, Civil Engineering, Principles of Engineering and Engineering Design and Development, offered through the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) program help support students’ VEX extracurricular activities.
Primary students have fun getting hands dirty
Kindergarten through fourth-grade students at Midtown Primary School recently painted personal pots and planted black or pinto beans and flowers. Once their seedlings are big enough, they will be transferred into the school’s plot at the Keep Phoenix Beautiful Garden project.
Midtown’s mini-gardeners have already planted several things including sunflowers, watermelon, onions and tomatoes. They enjoy watering their plants and watching them grow. The students added earthworms to their plot after learning about their benefits and the role they play to help plants grow.
School wins sixth Aerospace Challenge
“Team Serendipity,” an eighth-grade girl powerhouse team from SS. Simon & Jude School, won first place in the Honeywell Fiesta Bowl Aerospace Challenge on Feb. 10.
More than 200 teams created a scale model and written report about an international logistics mission to colonize Phobos, a moon of Mars. The purpose of the mission was to develop a plan to establish a sustainable base on Phobos with minimum support from Earth.
The winning eighth-grade students from SS. Simon & Jude will enjoy a week at Space Camp this summer and be featured at half-time during the Fiesta Bowl game.
The event is the largest STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) program for grade school and junior high students in Arizona.
