Sunnyslope’s AFJROTC placed fourth in this year’s Leadership and Academic Bowl (photo courtesy of the Glendale Union High School District).
Glendale Union High School District
Enrollment open at GUHSD
Glendale Union High School District offers nine nationally recognized high schools, all of which schools are ranked among America’s best high schools by U.S. News & World Report. GUHSD provides championship athletics, extracurricular activities, cutting-edge STEM opportunities, career and technical education options and more.
Henry Calkins (right) and Oliver Howard placed second in their category at the FBLA National Conference.
The new school year begins Aug. 8. It is not too late for new students to enroll for the 2022–23 school year.
AFJROTC places in leadership, academic finals
Sunnyslope’s Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) placed fourth overall in the 2022 JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl finals and first in their division. Round 1 started in November with 580 teams. The top 50 percent moved to Round 2 in February. Round 1 and 2 involved 80 questions covering math, science, vocabulary, grammar and current events. Students are given 30 seconds to answer each question and 60 seconds for the math problems.
2022 grads set scholarship record
The Glendale Union High School District (GUHSD) Class of 2022 set a new record by earning more than $114 million in scholarships, which was a $16 million increase from the previous year. Sunnyslope, Thunderbird and Washington High School graduates earned a combined total of over $47 million in scholarships.
For additional information, visit www.guhsdaz.org.
Sunnyslope wins at FBLA conference
Sunnyslope High School’s Future Business Leaders of America chapter won at the FBLA National Conference. Henry Calkins and Oliver Howard placed second in Local Annual Chapter Business Report, and Bennett Corcoran, Joshua Garcia and Gael Rodriguez placed ninth in Digital Video Production. Sunnyslope High School is the only Arizona high school who had two National Conference winners.
Osborn Elementary School District
Rows of bicycles surprised Solano second graders just before summer break (photo courtesy of Osborn Elementary School District).
Safety lessons garner bike surprise
Second graders at Solano Elementary School received a nice surprise gift just before summer break. Thanks to Maricopa County’s Bike Safety Program, the students went home with brand new bikes after completing six weeks of in-class bike safety lessons.
Early learning opportunities available
Ninety percent of a child’s brain develops before kindergarten, and Osborn School District offers several early childhood options for the area’s youngest learners. Preschool opportunities for the 2022–23 school year include Osborn Montessori Program, Dual Language Community Preschool, Developmental Preschool and Head Start/Early Head Programs.
To learn more about early childhood learning opportunities in the Osborn School District, visit the district website at www.osbornnet.org or call 602-707-2000 for information.
Paradise Valley Unified School District
Two-year program offers special training
Whether a current employee of Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVSchools) or a community member with a 4-year degree, those who have a strong desire to work in a classroom with special needs children may want to check out the PVSchools ASPIRE program.
ASPIRE is the district’s two-year “in-house” program designed to give interested candidates the training and tools they need to move up in their careers by earning an Arizona Teacher Certification in the area of Mild/Moderate Special Education. The PV ASPIRE program allows qualified candidates to work in Special Education positions while earning their Arizona Department of Education certification.
Participants receive support from the program coordinator and mentors, and the best part of the PV ASPIRE program is that there are no out-of-pocket costs.
Explore the arts at Arts Academies
Children who are passionate about dance, theater, creative musicianship and music technology or visual arts will find an outlet to express their creative passions, with a seamless continuation from elementary school through high school.
Geared for students in grades 5-12, the PVSchools’ North Valley Arts Academies offers the first fully integrated arts education programs in the area at Desert Cove Elementary School, Shea Middle School and Shadow Mountain High School.
The unique program is set within a school learning environment and focuses on empowering young people to tell their own stories, develop their creative selves, and engage the world through the arts.
Students and parents interested in learning more about the program can visit www.pvschools.net/academics/nvaa.
Phoenix Union High School District
District is enrolling for 2022-23 school year
Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) is now enrolling for the 2022–23 school year. The district’s growing portfolio of schools aims to find the right fit for area families by offering small specialty schools like Phoenix Coding Academy, where students can learn cybersecurity and participate in internships that prepare them for a career in the tech industry.
The district also has comprehensive campuses like Camelback, Central and North High Schools that offer a Montessori school (Camelback), world languages (Central), and the prestigious International Baccalaureate program (North). Families also can choose Bioscience High School, which prepares all students for success in college, career, and life.
Find out more, and register by visiting www.pxu.org/enroll.
Washington Elementary School District
Staff at the Royal Palm summer school, many sporting their tie-died T-shirts, had a “groovy summer” with students (photo courtesy of Washington Elementary School District).
Royal Palm wraps summer school
Royal Palm Middle School wrapped up four weeks of summer on June 23.
Highlights of the program included tie dyeing T-shirts, cooking class hosted by Chef Sasha from 24 Carrots and The Blue Watermelon Project who stopped by to make vegan “Cowboy Caviar” using produce from the 19North Community Garden, and a water balloon fight the final week of the program.
Registration open for new school year
The first day of the 2022–23 school year in Washington Elementary School District (WESD) is Aug. 8.
WESD offers a variety of programs to meet area children’s individual needs. From free, full-day kindergarten to special education and gifted services, art, music, PE and STEM. New this year is the district’s Online Learning Academy where students will receive real-time instruction from WESD teachers.
To enroll a student, visit the WESD Welcome and Registration Center in person or register online. For additional information, visit www.wesdschools.org/registration.
Private and Charter Schools
Presentation explores Jesuit slave-holding past
Rev. Tim Kesicki, S.J.
The Rev. Tim Kesicki, S.J. will be Brophy College Preparatory’s guest celebrant at this year’s Mass of the Holy Spirit and will also host an evening presentation from 7-8:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 25, in Harper Great Hall on Brophy’s campus. The presentation is open to everyone at Brophy, as well as to the larger Phoenix community.
The school says that a Jesuit education seeks not only to provide exemplary academic preparation but to also form young people to become leaders of great moral character who are committed to justice. In 2016, the Jesuits in the United States began to grapple with a past that included slave holding.
Descendants of this slave-holding history have invited Jesuit communities to partner with them in a mission of truth, reconciliation and justice. Kesicki will discuss this partnership, share his vision of the way forward and how the work of racial justice is integral to the Jesuit mission.
Kesicki works with the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation, a new partnership between Descendants of Jesuit slaveholding and the Society of Jesus in the United States. He completed his tenure as president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States in September 2021.
The event is free of charge and open to the public; however, RSVPs are requested. Visit www.brophycollegeprep.wufoo.com/forms/m17wpaqi1j1l5g7.
Xavier hosts computer science teachers
Leon Tynes, who teaches computer science at Xavier, joined more than 130 other teachers at a recent professional development week (submitted photo).
Xavier College Preparatory hosted more than 130 computer science teachers this summer as part of the National Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) Professional Development Week. The Arizona K-12 teachers came together on Xavier’s campus to learn, network and create community.
According to Code.org, there are currently 13,342 open computing jobs in Arizona with an average salary of $87,658. Yet, there were only 1,134 graduates in computer science in 2019 and only 38 percent of all public high schools teach a foundational course. CSTA’s efforts to expand high-quality, inclusive and rigorous computer science education for all K-12 students across the state of Arizona are integral to filling computing jobs.
Code.org, The STEMAZing Project, Bootstrap: Data Science, Microsoft Makecode, and local CSTA-Arizona educators facilitated workshops. The event was made free for teachers by the financial support of Infosys Foundation USA.
Leon Tynes, a computer science teacher at Xavier and Maricopa co-director of CSTA-Arizona, said that it was fitting for Xavier to host the event. The school has one of the largest high school computer science departments in Arizona, and the largest computer science honor societies (with more than 140 members). The school is also one of the few secondary schools that require all students to take computer science and have a knowledge of JAVA to graduate.
“More than 10 percent of our students continue in the field of computer science, and enter top universities across the country,” Tynes said.
