March 16, 2007
Construction Update
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Chaparral High School |
Saguaro High School |
Sierra Vista Academy |
Construction is underway at five Scottsdale Unified School District high schools and Sierra Vista Academy.
- At Chaparral High School, demolition crews razed the west side of the auxiliary gym. In its place a new gym and vocational education building is being constructed. Academic buildings will be built during Phase II of construction. The estimated cost to rebuild Chaparral is $49 million. McCarthy is the contractor and Orcutt/Winslow is the architectural firm for the project. Construction at Chaparral High School should be completed in January 2009.
- At Saguaro High School, the parking lot was demolished to make way for a two-story "A” Building. During Phase II of construction, the athletic complex will be renovated. The estimated cost to rebuild Saguaro is $47 million. DL Withers is the contractor and DLR Group is the architectural firm for the project. Construction at Saguaro High School should be completed in January 2009.
- At Coronado High School, crews are erecting the auditorium and performing arts building. Then, the 700 building will be demolished to finish construction on the baseball fields. The estimated cost of construction is $45.2 million. Construction at Coronado High School will be completed in December 2007.
- At Arcadia High School, crews are constructing the main academic building. Next year the gymnasium and athletic complex will be built. The estimated cost of construction at the school is $42.1 million. Arcadia High School will wrap up construction by August 2008.
- At Desert Mountain High School, projects include expansion of the dining facilities, parking lots and drop-off areas. Restrooms will be built at the baseball/softball fields, and a new field house will be constructed. A zoned air conditioner for the shared City of Scottsdale Library will also be installed. The estimated cost of the construction at the school is $3.0 million. Construction will be completed in June 2008.
- At Sierra Visita Academy, crews are almost finished doubling the size of the campus. New buildings include classrooms, art and science buildings and a fitness center. The Phase II construction at the school is estimated at $4.1 million. A dedication ceremony is tentatively scheduled in mid-May.
During this construction process, the administrations at all sites are successfully balancing construction to accommodate academic and athletic needs at the schools with minimal disruption to the education process.
Thank you to the voters who approved a $217 million bond in November 2004 to modernize Arcadia, Chaparral, Coronado and Saguaro high schools, make improvements to Desert Mountain High School, begin Phase II construction at Sierra Vista Academy and to purchase land and buses. At this time, all projects are on time and on budget. The result will be outstanding centers of learning, arts and athletics for our children.
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SUSD Students Chosen as Phoenix Youth Ambassadors
 Seven Scottsdale Unified School District students have been chosen to serve as youth ambassadors and travel to Phoenix's sister cities through a summer exchange program. Those students are: Mallory DeLashmutt, a junior at Arcadia High School; Amy Forker, a sophomore at Arcadia High School; Arianne Gruys, a junior at Chaparral High School; Maddy Kloss, a junior at Desert Mountain High School; Rachel Lowenstein, a junior at Arcadia High School; Lexi Moody, a junior at Arcadia High School; and Robert Morgan, a junior at Arcadia High School.
The Youth Ambassador Exchange Program, sponsored by the City of Phoenix's Sister Cities Program, allows young people from around the world to learn about and experience each other's cultures.
The students are selected on the basis of their communication skills, maturity, flexibility, leadership and self-confidence. each will live with a host family in their designated sister city for three weeks in June and early July, then reciprocate and house their host family's son or daughter in Phoenix in mid-July.
Phoenix Sister Cities are: Calgary, Canada; Catania, Italy; Chengdu, China; Ennis, Ireland; Grenoble, France; Hermosillo, Mexico; Himeji, Japan; Prague, Czech Republic; Ramat Gan, Israel; and Taipei, Taiwan.
For more information, visit www.phoenixsistercities.org , or call 602-534-3751.
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Yavapai Students Learn Safety Lessons
 Yavapai’s Elementary K-4th grades had a real life house safety lesson on March 09, 2007. Thanks to the Home Safety Council, the only non-profit organization that is solely dedicated to preventing home-related injuries, students moved from room to room in a “Field Trip on Wheels” simulated 1,000 square foot house. The five areas of safety include fire and burning, falling, poisoning, choking and drowning.
Each class had a half hour tour that went from living room to kitchen, bathroom, backyard and bedroom, where they saw video clips of Rover, the Home Safety Hound, explaining dangers and how they should be fixed. Students were asked to spot potentially dangerous situations such as toys on steps, poisonous cleaning supplies in easy-to-reach cabinets, an unattended hair dryer near water, or a stovetop left unattended. Each child had a flashlight and together they flashed on the potentially dangerous situation and said, “Code Red Rover, grown up come over,” while one of the Great Safety Adventure employees corrected the situation to make it safe.
The adventure ends in Rover’s bedroom, where they are taught about knowing two exits from each room. They heard a smoke alarm simulation and, because smoke rises, students practiced crawling out to a pre-arranged meeting spot; “Get low and go,” was the motto. At the safety point, students were awarded stickers as “Safety Rangers” and were given a book in which they were asked to draw out their own home’s escape plan.
Lowe’s is a partner in this project. A recently opened Lowe’s on McDowell is a business partner with Yavapai Elementary School.
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Matt Leinart Visits Navajo
Matt Leinart, Arizona Cardinals quarterback, spoke to students at Navajo Elementary School about the importance of healthy eating and nutrition. His visit stems from this group of students (the “Breakfast Club”) participating in a contest sponsored by the Arizona Dairy Council. For one week, students across the Valley logged onto the Internet and entered information about what they ate for breakfast. All of the students who completed entries for each day of the week were entered into a drawing to have Matt Leinart visit their school.
Navajo’s “Breakfast Club” is a free program that provides a nutritious breakfast to students each school day. Parents are also welcome to join their child for breakfast, which costs the grown-up just $1. During “Breakfast Club” time, students watch movies, play games and color.
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Chaparral Student Organizes Book Drive
Do you have new or used children's books that you'd like to donate? Brad Schell, a junior at Chaparral High School, in conjunction with Cochise Elementary School and Cocopah Middle School is collecting children's books for distribution to disadvantaged children in the Valley. Books will be collected through March 23 for distribution after spring break. Books can be dropped off at the APT room at Cochise or at the library at Cocopah.
Brad got the idea of a book drive because he was constantly dropping off donated books at the Mustang Library for his family. He decided it would be better to give the children's books directly to less fortunate children who may never get to a library. Brad's parents suggested he try and collect more books from family, friends and neighbors. His initial goal was to collect 1,000 books.
"I am nearly there with just the books I have managed to round up myself. The Cochise APT President heard about the book drive and wanted to get involved. Coincidentally, I had planned on going over and talking to them the following day. I was the school president at Cochise when I was in 5th grade. I then contacted Cocopah, my former middle school, and they agreed to help, also," he said.
For more information about the book drive, please e-mail Brad Schell  .
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Arts in Education Seeks Nominations
The Arts in Education Council for Scottsdale Schools is sponsoring its 2nd Annual Fine Arts Awards event. The council is seeking nominations to recognize the efforts of individuals and organizations that have demonstrated exceptional support for the fine arts in a school or schools within the Scottsdale Unified School District. These awards will be presented at the Annual Spring Luncheon on May 3. The categories are:
- Fine Arts Teacher
- Administrator
- Arts in Education Council Volunteer
- Community Individual
- Community Organization
The nominations will be judged on the following criteria:
- The significance and/or magnitude of the contribution and/or achievement
- The breadth of the school population served
- The length of time and/or intensity dedicated to the art in our schools
Please send a one-page letter of nomination describing why the nominee should receive the award. Include the name, affiliation and contact information of the nominee, and include the nominator’s name, address, phone number and e-mail address. Identify which category is appropriate for the nominee. The deadline is Friday, April 13, 2007.
Please send your nomination to: Bonnie Sneed, 10830 E. Raintree Dr., Scottsdale, AZ 85255-1800 or fax to 480-342-9157. For more information, call 480-342-8633.
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Two SUSD high schools joined together to educate their Biology classes about mitochondrial DNA. Copper Ridge Math & Science Academy and Arcadia High School students extracted mitochondrial DNA on March 12. Mrs. Dunham’s CRMSA students were bussed to Arcadia to participate in Mr. Bodznick’s extraction experiment. All students were successful at recovering their DNA.
Students from Tavan Elementary School experienced an interactive and educational concert with the Phoenix Symphony Brass Ensemble! Students were given the opportunity to have an educational experience with each of the instruments of the brass family. They also learned how brass instruments work, and listened to famous orchestral works, including “Carnival of the Animals” by Saint-Saëns. The Phoenix Symphony gives educational classroom concerts throughout the Valley each year, which are generously supported by city and foundation grants. Tavan Elementary School was very fortunate to be the recipients of this very worthwhile grant.