Hi Presidio Family!

Despite March being a longer calendar month, it certainly flew by! We were quite busy up until the very end with Board and PTSO meetings, the beginning of standardized assessment season, and our first annual High School Production. I had the privilege of being part of the audience and hearing some of the “behind the scenes” stories and it reminded me why we call ourselves the #PresidioFamily.

This production was a year in the making. The script, written by Sifu, was drafted and revised over the summer of 2022 and presented to students at the beginning of the school year. Characters went through many revisions, leads and understudies. due to illness, other obligations, and movement between schools. Students spent breaks, weekends, and long nights creating the backdrops, sending foot pictures (Ask Praud and Nick for additional information!), and countless painting revisions to bring the scenery to life.

The production was very much a student-led production, supported by the amazing teachers in the Specials Team. With their guidance, the students were able to create a punny, goofy, all inclusive, production that could not have more accurately depicted the Presidio High School. Parents, staff, and families from all age levels attended, just proving how supportive and involved our community is in our school.

This time of year is particularly challenging with standardized assessments, end of the year preparations, and finalizing summer plans. It’s easy to get caught up in the “overwhelm” and forget why we are here, so thank you to our Specials Team, high school students, and Presidio community for renewing my spark!

Happy April!

Jessica Montierth, Principal

PRESIDIO SCHOOL PTSO

 Please join us for our next PTSO Meeting on Thursday, April 6th at 5:00 pm in the Dreamcatcher Library.

What is PTSO?

PTSO stands for Parent Teacher Student Organization.

What is the Purpose of the PTSO?

• To be a relevant resource for families and communities
• To serve as a strong advocate for the education and well-being of every student
• To serve as a type of forum where parents, teachers, administrators, staff, students, and other concerned community members discuss ways to promote quality education, strive to expand the arts, encourage community involvement, and work for a healthy school environment

The Buffalo Exchange $1 Clothing Sale was a great success!!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out and supported by making a purchase, and a huge shout out to Buffalo Exchange for such a fun fundraising opportunity.

Total raised was $2,130 which will be used to help pay for Prom!

The 2023 Presidio School Science Fair took place earlier this year with excellent submissions from across grade levels. A big congrats to three of our students who went on to present their projects at SARSEF (Southern Arizona Regional Science & Engineering Fair), those students were Jamuna Paudel, Armida Hoffman and Jayde Villegas. Jamuna Paudel and Armida Hoffman's projects went on to be chosen as finalists. 

Jamuna Paudel - Does sugar affect how fast ice cream freezes?

Armida Hofman - What makes the best insulator?

Jayde Villegas - How does different concentrations of hair bleach affect hair?

Congratulations to all of our students who participated in this year's Presidio Science Fair!!

Carnegie Learning is having a contest over five weeks in Fast ForWord. Please see the parent letter included below with the important details. The contest runs March 27th - April 28th and students have the chance to win an Amazon gift card!

Second graders in 2A are finishing up how to tell time from AM, PM, as well as time to the minute and hour. We're also in the final stage of our Sonoran Desert Animal Project. The students chose one of four Sonoran Desert creatures: gila monster, javelina, red-tailed hawk, or a bark scorpion. Research was conducted on the chosen animal to find out important facts. Students then built their animals out of white clay and painted them as well as clay cacti, rocks, and other parts of the desert habitat. Those clay parts will then be put into a box to create the full diorama habitat of their creature.

This project includes elements of language arts, science, social studies, and math in order to create a cross-curricular project for the students to better understand the creatures that inhabit the Sonoran Desert around them where they live in Tucson.

In third grade this month, we are continuing our science lesson on animals and plants and how they adapt to their environment. The students love to discuss different animals in their environments and whether or not they hibernate. We started growing wildflowers before spring break and we were all fascinated by the flowers growing so fast in a snowy environment.

-Kelsey

Third grade reading and writing classes took a deep dive into nonfiction books earlier this month - including studying the different parts that make up a book. As part of this lesson student's were given the opportunity to write their own nonfiction animal books which they then transferred into slides and presented to each other at the end of the lesson. The student's passion for animals is definitely shining through!

Third grade then transitioned from nonfiction books into fiction books. They are now getting to use even more of their wonderful creative minds but this time to write down on paper whatever comes to their imagination. In reading, they continue to study nonfiction books though this time focusing on comparing and contrasting different texts

Finally, the students have been working really hard in preparation for the upcoming Arizona Academic State Assessments. They have been checking their reading assessment skills through a myriad of worksheets. They are also learning how to write essays from start to finish including writing an outline, an essay draft, finishing with a typed, edited copy. The students are well prepared for the upcoming standardized assessments!

-Tammy (Mrs. G.)

Greetings to the families and guardians of Presidio's 4th grade classes. This March fourth graders have been preparing to take the AASA. Students will be taking the writing part of the AASA, April 4th 2023. We want to make sure to inform you to try and get your students to class on time. Also we would greatly appreciate it if you remind your students to come to school with their Chromebooks charged and with their chargers. Students will also need to bring headphones as well. Please make sure students eat breakfast so that their brains are working at their fullest capacity.

Ms. Kendra’s 5th Grade ELA

We have been very busy in our class lately! We just finished our first standardized test: AzSCI and feel pretty great about it. Students have been busy learning about our solar system in Science. The students have been particularly engrossed in learning about each of the eight planets. As part of this lesson students will build a model of our solar system. Each student is making a replica of each planet and will then add it to their idea of what the Solar System looks like. They are fascinated with the details of the inner and outer planets and have drawn great representations of the sun. Stay tuned for what the final projects will look like!

Mr. Gaver’s 5th Grade Classes

Even though it has only been a week of the fourth quarter, we have finalized converting measurements and will be closing out writing and interpreting numerical expressions. We still have graphing points on a coordinate plane, analyze patterns and relationships, and geometry to master before the AASA. The next few weeks will be action packed with the AASA right around the corner. Please make note of the testing days, be energized with plenty of sleep and nutritious food to eat, have your Chromebooks charged and ready to go, and don't forget your headphones.

In Social Studies, we have been studying the American Revolution and how it led to America winning independence. We have also been reinforcing the devastations of war, no matter the outcome, by reading the novel, "My Brother Sam is Dead," which tells a "based on true events" version of the American Revolution, and how war affected a family that was split on the reasons for fighting for freedom. This book is a keeper and highly recommended for everyone.

In Science, our class has been studying the mysteries of the universe which include gravitational forces, Earth's movements in space, and patterns in space over time. We have fun projects planned in the near future to supplement the understanding of the out-of-this-world standards of space.

The High School visual arts students worked hard in completing several cooperative paintings this month for the HS Production: Foul Play in Fair Woods. They pushed themselves out of their comfort zones and worked as a strong team.

7th graders completed their lesson on the Principles of Design. Their paintings will be shown at the showcase in May. They are now starting lessons on 1-point perspective drawing.

4th graders finished making their own clay masks, inspired by the study of the culture of African Masks. Students were to choose their own symbolism in shape, colors, and markings.

Spring is here and the 2nd graders were happy to make some hipster bunnies! The use of line, pattern, and complimentary colors were the essentials.

Wow, It's already April and only one month till our Annual Spring Dance and Kung Fu Showcase on May 5th at 9am in the MPR!

From Musicals to Boy Bands, Jazz to Hip Hop, make sure you mark your calendar to see our 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th graders perform and show off what they have learned this semester!

Below are some pictures from After Care, we have been busy having some conversations about feelings during the month of March and have been having some fun with hands-on activities such as shaving cream play, table top bubbles, making slime, doing some yoga and dancing to favorite songs.