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April 20, 2007
SUSD Hosts Public Discussions
Scottsdale Unified School District is hosting Public Discussions at each complex to discuss with and inform the community about two possible upcoming overrides — renewal of the M&O Override and a proposed Capital Override. The meetings will include a presentation from Superintendent Dr. John M. Baracy followed by a Q&A session for the public. SUSD Administrators and Governing Board members will also be present.
All meetings are scheduled for 6-7:30 p.m. The dates and locations for the meetings are:
- Tuesday, April 24
Chaparral Complex
Chaparral High School
Media Center
6935 E. Gold Dust Ave., Scottsdale
- Thursday, April 26
Arcadia Complex
Education Center – District Office
Governing Board Room
3811 N. 44th St., Phoenix
- Monday, April 30
Coronado Complex
Coronado High School
Media Center
2501 N. 74th St., Scottsdale
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Charros to Honor SUSD Teachers, Staff, Volunteer and Students
 Outstanding Scottsdale Unified School District educators and students will be honored Friday, April 20th at the Scottsdale Charros’ 21st annual awards banquet. The Charros are a group of local businessmen who promote Scottsdale. Money generated through the Charros' involvement with spring training pays for the scholarships and awards.
The Charros will honor a Student of the Year, Teachers of the Year at the elementary, middle and high school levels and present awards to an SUSD support employee, a school volunteer and a Scottsdale Community College professor. The event is sponsored by General Dynamics and the Scottsdale Republic.
Students to be honored are Jessica Jardine, Arcadia; Brian Hake, Arcadia; Ben Grossman, Chaparral; Rachel Baumann, Chaparral; Sean Harvey, Coronado; Kuo-Ling Chung, Coronado; Nicole Riley, Desert Mountain; Daniel Sluyk, Desert Mountain; Bianca Haase, Saguaro; and Shyam Yekanath, Saguaro.
Teachers receiving honors are Karen Dertach, Anasazi; Art Eklund, ANLC; Patricia Vassaux, Aztec; Pamela Hornbeck, Cherokee; Ryan Keller, Cheyenne; Rebecca Hirschfeld, Cochise; Bobbie Faulkner, Copper Ridge; Holly Hooley, Desert Canyon; Kari Kurland, Hohokam; Debbie Voris, Hopi; Joan Cardell, Kiva; Mary Macaluso, Laguna; Mimi Carroll, Navajo; Paul Schettino, Pima; Jenny Ekstrom, Pueblo; Terri Lee, Sequoya; Kay Ringo, Tavan; Donna Stokes, Tonalea; Sonia Cordova, Yavapai; Kay Nichols, Zuni; Leslie Ringler, ANLC; Adrienne Moyer-Bass, Cheyenne; Laura Mendleson, Cocopah; Kurt Fredrick, Copper Ridge; Matt Lins, Desert Canyon; Wes Wagner, Ingleside; Gail Chamberlin, Mohave; Russ Capri, Mountainside; Sia Chamberlin, Supai; Joani Share, Arcadia; Christine Marsh, Chaparral; Joe Schmidt, Coronado; Julie Parker, Desert Mountain; Chris Brandt, Saguaro; and John Brubaker, Sierra Vista.
Classified and volunteer winners will be announced at the banquet.
Classified staff nominees are Dijana Schlegelmilch, Anasazi; Keith Shelton, ANLC; Sherry West, Aztec; Linda Hall, Cherokee; Sue Emery, Cheyenne; Dave Moore, Cochise; Laurie Kalush, Copper Ridge; Wanda Tingley, Desert Canyon; Judy Edmondson, Hohokam; June Winkler, Hopi; Jill Gross, Kiva; Sherry West, Laguna; Diana Dunkel, Navajo; Debbie Heun, Pima; Susan Scherman, Pueblo; Tom Hernan, Sequoya; Lisa Heimburg, Tavan; Julie Kredlo, Tonalea; Mariela Duarte, Yavapai; Lerinda Beeler, Zuni; M. E. Fusco, Cocopah; Pam Linderman, Desert Canyon; Lorna Herrera, Ingleside; Evavgelina Hayworth, Mohave; Nina Marasco, Mountainside; Milton Zurhoff, Supai; Georgia French, Arcadia; Ray Johnston, Chaparral; Jerri Kelley, Coronado; Duffy McManus, Desert Mountain;Lori Jacques, Saguaro; and Carol Grabowski, Sierra Vista Academy.
Volunteer nominees are Tammy White, Anasazi; Maria Kitkowski, ANLC; Maria Kokoska, Aztec; Michelle Smart, Cherokee; Debbie Domenico, Cheyenne; Sue Tooker, Cochise; TC Collins, Copper Ridge; Anna Marie Mars, Desert Canyon; Melissa Brown, Hohokam; Randy Kirsch, Hopi; Jana Davis, Kiva; Pauline Wynn Miller, Laguna; Heidi Schaefer,Navajo; Nancy Hunter, Pima; JoAnn Sears, Pueblo; Mary Donaldson, Sequoya; Matt Toney, Tavan; Steve Krohl, Tonalea; Evelyn Haberer; Yavapai; Claire Stacker, Zuni; Vicki Ruby, Cocopah; Scott and Marilisa Wynn, Desert Canyon; Lisette Murney, Ingleside; Susan Renner, Mohave; Colleen Katz, Mountainside; Lorna Rodriguez, Supai; Anne Keenan, Arcadia; Kathy Barney, Chaparral; Mark Peterson, Coronado; Kathy Schmidt, Desert Mountain; and Kathy Nord, Saguaro.
Congratulations to all those who were nominated!
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Earth Day Celebrations
 Did you know that April 22nd is Earth Day? Many of our students are reducing their "carbon footprint" this year by planning activities, proposing possible solutions to problems and environmental issues, planting flowers and volunteering.
- Arcadia High School students are working on an in-class PowerPoint presentation about environmental concerns facing Arizona today. Topics range from broad to specific: global warming, wildfires, drought, air pollution caused by vehicles, water conservation, land development and the importance of recycling. They’ll also come up with possible “real-life” solutions we can use.
- Chaparral High School’s Environmental Biology class set up tables at lunch to show different environmental issues. The students will also offer eco-friendly tips to fellow students. The school’s Animals, People, Earth (A.P.E.) Club is painting a mural for Earth Day. It consists of a huge tree with statistics about global warming on the leaves. There will be leaves throughout the walls of the building with other global warming facts and conservation tips written on them.
- Eleven Service Learning students at Desert Mountain High School will be volunteering their time on Earth Day at the Senior Citizens homewhere they’ll plant flowers with the seniors. Ten Service Learning students will be volunteering their time at the Phoenix Zoo to help run games and activities for the zoo’s Earth Day Celebration from 8-11:30 a.m.
- Aztec Elementary School’s sixth grade students are involved in the Lions Quest Service Learning project; all of these projects are themed around helping the environment. Some students are creating Public Service Announcements; others are planting flowers and drought resistant plants. One student will teach information about energy conservation, and another student will teach about wildlife conservation to younger students (grades). Another group is re-using paper and creating flyers informing the families in the school community about the air pollution from car emissions to persuade them to turn off their cars while waiting in the student pick-up lines.
- Laguna Elementary School’s fourth graders are doing a "Garbage to Gold" activity. Students are given an article of garbage and asked to find another use for it. For example, a large soda bottle can be turned into a bird feeder. On April 19-20 second graders are doing an entire rainforest program about saving the earth. The program entails songs, poems and sign language about the wonders of the rainforest and how we need to preserve it. There will be “safari kid narrators" and a toucan skit. Each class has a song and dance they perform, with the kids pretending to be animals from the rainforest.
- Sequoya Elementary School’s third grade classes will make a bulletin board in front of their room with “pollution monsters.” They will also be learning a song called "Good Garbage" to sing on Sequoya TV during Earth Week. In addition, they will be learning the importance or reusing and recycling. The school’s Student Council will build awareness about Earth Day by providing mini-posters about saving the earth to color and by providing word searches that contain words like reduce, reuse, recycle, care, litter, plants and soil. They will also made a special announcement Wednesday morning about how Earth Day started, and they will donate a small tree to the campus. Finally, they had a “Clean-Up Our Campus” time during lunch hours on Thursday to celebrate Earth Day.
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SUSD Students to Swim San Francisco Bay
Braving cold water and a 1.4 mile swim from Alcatraz Island to the shores of San Francisco Bay, Swim Neptune’s Team Alcatraz will swim to raise money to promote water safety awareness and drowning prevention on April 25th.
“One of the great things to come out of this whole experience is getting the children excited about setting goals. Each one of them has his or her own internal reasons for accepting this challenge, and they are all learning a great life lesson about having a challenging goal and doing what it takes to prepare to give it their best shot," said Coach Joe Zemaitis. "I have been very impressed by how hard the team is working and how passionate they are about our cause, drowning prevention."
The 50-member Team Alcatraz has 15 students that represent nine Scottsdale Unified School District schools. Those students are:
Ian Biggane, Kiva; Bobby Byars, Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center; Wyatt Denton, Hopi; Colin Hart, Cochise; Michael Heinonen, Copper Ridge ES; Ethan Hetrick, Mohave,; Allie Jones, Hopi; Hayden McMorris, Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center; Claire Moty, Desert Mountain; Stuart Moty, Desert Mountain; Jackson Pfundheller, Pima; Nick Steveson, Desert Mountain; Nikki Zilliox, Desert Mountain; and Eve Zweig, Pima.
Inspired by their teammate Braxton Bilbrey, who became the youngest swimmer to complete the 1.4 mile swim, Swim Neptune’s Team Alcatraz has been training six days a week since January to prepare for the swim. The team had 10 open water practice swims to prepare the students for the elements that they expect in San Francisco Bay. They went to San Francisco in March, and during training, they learned to counteract tides, chop, wind and limited visibility.
All monies raised will be donated to the Foundation for Aquatic Safety and Training (FAST), a Valley-based non-profit organization. Over the summer, Swim Neptune’s Team Alcatraz will serve as ambassadors of water safety, working with FAST in the community to continue to promote water safety and drowning prevention.
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Take Your Child to Work – After School is Out  Scottsdale Unified School District and other schools across the Valley encourage parents to take their children to the workplace for a learning experience – after school is out for the summer. Districts around the Valley are recommending June 21 as a preferred date for Take Your Child to Work Day. The national date, April 26, comes at a particularly difficult time for students who are working hard to complete their school work for the year. Taking children to work after the school year ends allows them to get the best of both – exposure to the workplace without missing a single precious day of school.
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Quest for the Best Job Fair
Would you like to work for Arizona’s Most Excelling School District? If you are about to graduate or are already an experienced teacher, simply stop by the Media Center at Coronado High School, 2501 N. 74th St., Scottsdale, from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 5th for more information about a rewarding career with SUSD. Click here to register online .
At the Cinco De Mayo Job Fair, SUSD will be recruiting for the following certificated teacher openings:
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Elementary school |
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Middle school |
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High school |
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Special education |
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Physical education |
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Music |
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Math |
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English |
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Science |
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Foreign language |
Parking is available in the school parking lot on East Virginia, and access to an additional parking lot is located on Miller Road.
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Superintendent John M. Baracy volunteered at the Service Learning/Scottsdale Rotary 22nd Annual Special Day for Special Kids carnival on April 14th. 
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Students at Sequoya Elementary School participated in Young Author's Day. Students read stories they wrote to each other. This event was a great way for students to find pride in their work by sharing with others.