Presidio School Monthly Newsletter - November 2021
Message from the Principal - November 2021
Dear Presidio Families,
Wow! The past couple of months have flown by and I anticipate December doing the same! We’ve experienced ups and downs this month and I couldn’t have made it through without the help of the #PresidioFamily! To the Presidio faculty and staff - thank you for stepping up and stepping in to help. I know you are all busy as well, yet you’re always willing to jump in and sub or cover shifts for those who are out. To the students - your flexibility and willingness to roll with changes is admirable. We are all here for you, but are seeing that you’re also here for us! Finally, to the Presidio families and stakeholders - we’ve had a crazy couple of years. Your support, input, and encouragement during times of uncertainty has and continues to be a blessing! We’re all in this together and I can’t imagine going through all of this with a better team. I’m proud to be part of the #PresidioFamily and am excited about our future.
So long November. We’ll see you again around this same time next year.
As we approach the new year, Presidio would like to take some time to reflect on the many accomplishments of the #PresidioFamily.
When we say 'Presidio Family' we are talking about our hardworking students, our supportive parents, and of course our faculty and staff who go above and beyond day in and day out. We are thankful for all that we have been able to accomplish thus far as one of Arizona's founding charter schools.
Selected in 2007 from over 120,000 public, charter and private schools as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, one of the nations top education awards.
Designated an 'A' school by the Arizona Department of Education since the inception of the A-F letter grade system.
Recognized as a Tucson "A" leader by A for Arizona, an initiative led by the Arizona Chamber Foundation in partnership with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
The recipient of U.S News and World Report's Gold Medal, their highest honor. Presidio was the only Title I school in Arizona to receive such an honor.
A free college preparatory education focused on strengthening college opportunities.
If you are as thankful as we are for the Presidio Family and all that we as a community have accomplished, then please consider helping us to raise money via the Arizona Tax Credit Donation!
Maximum Allowable Extra-Curricular Tax Credit Donation : Married couple filing jointly: $400 Single individual or head of household: $200 Husband & wife filing separately: $200 (each) Reduce the amount you owe in taxes or increase your refund by the amount you donate. You may donate less than the maximum donation and still be eligible for the tax credit. Enrollment Requirements: None. You do not need to have a child enrolled in a school to receive the tax credit. Multiple Donations: You may divide your donation between schools and be eligible for the tax credit. How the Money Will Be Used: Presidio will use these funds to sustain exciting and educational field trips; provide uniforms and/or supplies for sports and club activities; support the needs of activities such as Performing Arts, Martial Arts, Music, Visual Arts, Music and Art History, Prom, Character Education, Student Council, the Edible Garden, Sea Camp, and much more. Extra-curricular Fees Paid For My Child: You may designate your AZ Tax Credit Donation to be applied to the fees associated with your own child's participation in an extra-curricular activity.
Many of you have already stepped forward and made a contribution- Thank you. If you haven't had a chance to give yet, please consider doing so now. It's quick, easy, 100% refundable and will make a big impact for our school.
The Presidio Family truly appreciates your support THANK YOU!!
The Art and Music Showcase is right around the corner, December 3rd! Tickets for the 9:00am and 1:00pm shows are $1.00 each. This year we will be displaying student art work as the students enter the stage to perform what they learned in music. Student performers will wear their school uniform shirt that day. We look forward to seeing you, thank you for supporting The Arts at Presidio!
The annual Winter Dance and Kung Fu Showcase for grades 7,6,4,2,Kinder, and High School will be held on Friday, December 10th with performances at 9 am and 1 pm.
Tickets will be available in the front office starting November 29th. Tickets are $1 each. Cash only please.
This event has limited seating, so please get your tickets early.
Parent Night: Get Fired-Up About Reading!
Friday, December 3, 2021 4-6 PM
K-12 Bookwalk with prizes
Literacy Crafts to Make and Take
Guest Storytellers
K-2 Literacy Ideas for Home, and much more
Come for Dinner
Chili with topping options and Fritos, carrots sticks, s’more kit, and a soft drink
$5
The Character Mall will be fired-up for roasting your marshmallows.
Earlier this month the Presidio School senior class completed their first fundraiser of the year - The Buffalo Exchange Clothing Sale! A total of 18 seniors worked together and were able to pull in just over $4,000 to go towards their end of year senior trip. The students worked hard on all aspects of the event from selling refreshments, and running the cash register to standing in front of the school with signs advertising the event. Prior to the event the students loaded a 17 foot U-Haul truck with the donated items from Buffalo Exchange. Then they separated the clothing into their appropriate categories, and made sure to advertise the sale to the Presidio community and beyond. The event was a two day fundraiser beginning with a pre-sale of items on Friday, November 10 for Presidio families attending the Presidio School Family Night event, Presidio faculty and staff and family. The following day the clothing sale was opened up to all and the seniors were blown away by the support they were shown from the Tucson community - we estimate that 350-400 people attended the event! The Presidio School senior class would like to give a huge shout out to U-Haul and Buffalo Exchange for their support and donations that allowed this fundraiser to be a success.
Happy Holidays, #PresidioFamily!
We have officially entered the holiday season! Each year at this time Presidio activates our Presidio Cares Program to assist families in our community who might need a little help. This year Presidio Cares will look a bit different due to Covid and the need to make sure we are keeping everyone's health and safety in mind. Presidio Cares is holding both a Virtual Giving Tree and a drop off Community Food Drive. You will find detailed information on both below.
The Giving Tree is an opportunity for the Presidio Family to help those in need in our community. To participate Click this link and pick from an anonymous list of requested gifts. If you decide to participate in the Giving Tree we ask that all items be delivered to the school, preferably wrapped, with the associated gift information attached to the present by Wednesday, December 15, 2021, at 9 AM. Please email or contact Joe Roos at jroos@presidioschool.com or 520-881-5222 to set up a delivery time.
Any family who would like to participate as a recipient of our Presidio Giving Tree please email or contact Joe Roos at jroos@presidioschool.com or 520-881-5222.
Presidio Community Food Drive - Our food drive began on November 29, 2021, and will run through December 15, 2021. Click this link to see a complete list of requested items. For our on campus learners food can be placed in the food donation boxes in the mornings located at each entrance gate. Distance learners can contact Joe Roos at 520-881-5222 or by email at jroos@presidioschool.com to arrange a safe drop-off time.
Wishing you all a happy and healthy holiday!
Presidio School
Presidio has decided to do composite class photos and not group photos this year. Composite class photos will include any students that have had their individual photos taken on campus September 28th (High Schooll, K-2) or 29th ( 3rd to 8th) and any new or absent student that will have their photo taken on retake day January 12th, 2022. If a student is a distance learner they MUST get their photo taken on campus to be included in this year's composite class photos. This is due to the way the photos need to be uploaded into the software program for our school yearbook. If a distance learner needs their photo taken on January 12th, 2022 they can reach out to Mr. Roos at jroos@presioschool.com by January 7th and he will make arrangements for the student to get a photo taken between 9 am to 10 am on January 12th.
It is the time of year when our kindergarten classrooms are super busy with testing, curriculum, and lots of instruction. We are all in need of a little break so anytime we get to laugh is a welcome relief. In math, we have been talking about different ways to classify things like bugs. Bugs bring up lots of mixed feelings for our little friends. One of Mr. Mike’s students made the interesting comment, “Beetles don’t have teeth.” I can’t tell you how long I have pondered this comment. Do beetles have teeth? Spiders are also a hot topic for us. So when another student said, “I squished a spider and the insides looked like syrup”, we couldn’t help but laugh.
Hello Presidio Family!
Third grade is in the middle of some wonderful learning. In reading and writing they are becoming wonderful authors- writing and refining their personal narratives and fiction stories. In science each are becoming mini meteorologists- telling us how our weather and climate are affected by different forces. In math our class is full of multiplication and division. Expanding In social studies we had our first indoor field trip - we explored the Anza Trail from our classroom, engaging with a time traveler!
The Desert Dwellers have been working hard and learning about a variety of topics including multiplication, types of energy, how to make an inference, and the histories of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. We even had two awesome opportunities to have presenters come to Presidio to help us learn about the sources of energy we use here in Tucson and how we can Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle items we use every day. Check out some pics of us having fun and learning!
High School Science This month, the Environmental Science students analyzed graphs from the latest IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report. In Honors Biology, students explored how various environmental factors impacted the transpiration rate of plants, and designed experiments to test how changing yeast recipes could impact the amount of carbon dioxide produced by their lactic acid fermentation. Our Honors chemists conducted a flame test lab to explore electron configurations and the light spectrum. They are also using VSEPR theory to predict the shape of various molecules, and they are modeling these shapes with building sets. Finally, the Anatomy & Physiology students have been learning about the nervous system, senses, and endocrine system. They visited stations to "test" their senses taste, hearing, vision, proprioception, and touch. They also observed a real sheep brain, and made brain hats to review different regions of the brain.
A huge congratulations to Angelica Quintero for being the winner of the Age 17-18 category of the Taking Action Against Graffiti 2021 Anti-Graffiti Poster Contest! As a winner, she will be receiving a gift card and her artwork will be placed in the TAAG 2022 calendar to be printed in December and distributed at schools, public libraries and community events. Her artwork will also appear on the TAAG Facebook page as well as the Pima County Graffiti Removal page. Out of over 170 contest entries, Presidio High Schoolers - Brandon Barcelo, Sonya Rios Medina, and Rosa Verdugo Felix, also made it to the Top 50! Congratulations again to all of you! Speaking of contests, there are more opportunities for our artists to showcase their creations. The Tucson Festival of Books is sponsoring this Young Artists Contest. Please complete this entry form and let me know if you are interested! Anyone is welcome to take care of their own submission, but I could also help guide students and submit for anyone who needs assistance. There are other contests in the air for the Pima County Public Library. Students and I will work together in the next couple of months. Try to think about your own story and how you can creatively tell your story....
More artwork will be shared at the Presidio Winter Recital on Friday, December 3rd, 2021. See you there!
Our Aftercare students have been really honing in their creativity the last month. November has been full of fall crafts and fun, including this soup project! With a loose interpretation of what National Chicken Soup for The Soul day meant, students were instructed to create a bowl of soup with the following supplies: construction paper, dried up paint, and noodles. Brown construction paper became chicken while green was used to make celery, and the paint helped water turn into a lovely chicken broth! Like most of us will be doing in the following weeks, our students are also preparing for Thanksgiving! One activity in particular had students use paper plates and construction paper to create turkeys with feathers to spell out their names.
To help continue activities like this, donations of things like craft supplies are always appreciated.
Presidio School
1695 E. Fort Lowell Rd., Tucson Arizona 85719 United States
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