

The Weekly Penguin
May 12, 2025
Thank your mother
Good morning! This bulletin was held until Monday morning in observance of Mother's Day. Regardless of your family structure at home, you have folks in your life who have helped you, guided you, or just listened to you and loved you. They don't have to be your biological mother, they just need to have been there for you. Whoever they are, thank them and show them some love today.
AP exams continue! After a week of testing, here are some updates and reminders:
- Any testers with parking permits are to park in the south student parking lot. No students parking in the north lot for the remainder of testing. If you filled out the paperwork to be excused and are taking a morning AP, you will receive a pass to get off campus.
- The only items allowed in the testing room are:
- District-issued computer.
- The charger for the computer.
- A writing utensil of some sort: pen, pencil.
- A snack.
- Water.
- EVERYTHING ELSE LEAVE AT HOME IF YOU DON'T NEED IT. We will have check-in and check-out, but don't bring anything you don't need.
- If you have an AP exam scheduled beyond when your district device is due (see End of year checkout announcement below), TURN IT IN. We will provide you your district device for AP testing. You will already know if you are scheduled to take a late AP, but if you have questions contact Mr. Flores at Marcos.Flores@tusd1.org.
- See the AP info form in the announcement below for detailed information.
Upcoming events:
May 5 - May 16: AP exam regular schedule - RUHS south gym and supplemental areas, AM and PM. Check your individual MyAP accounts for information specific to your testing date and time, and the info from Ms. Palos below!
Friday, May 16: last curricular school day for 12th grade students - DO NOT FORGET to have your parent/guardian call you in on May 19 and May 20. You may call yourself in if you are 18+ years old.
Saturday, May 17: Arts Under the Stars - RUHS campus, 6-8pm.
Monday, May 19: Senior Sunset - 6pm, RUHS amphitheater
Monday, May 19: UHS Declaration Night - 7pm, RUHS amphitheater
Wednesday, May 21: UHS graduation rehearsal (12th grade students only) - 7:30am sharp, Veteran's Memorial Stadium @ the Kino Sports Complex
Wednesday, May 21: UHS graduation - 7pm, Veteran's Memorial Stadium @ the Kino Sports Complex
May 21-22: 9th/10th/11th grade device return - during your math class. Your teacher will escort you to the library for device check-in.
Saturday, June 7: South Gym Painting and Clean-up - 9am-1pm. Join us as we paint railings, paint walls, clean up the bleachers, and paint the bathrooms and locker rooms in our South Gym. University High School will have all of the necessary painting supplies and materials. Just bring yourselves and a can-do attitude.
Table of contents - NEW INFORMATION
AP testing info
Athletics - spring 2025
CCCC (College, Career, and Counseling Center) update
Declaration Night info!
End of year checkout
Graduation regalia, cords
Presidential Scholar semifinalist
Senior graduation info link
UHSPA update
Yearbook - pickup info!
Table of contents - CONTINUING INFORMATION
Bond update: construction planning
New (Old) Instagram for UHS!
Pima County Summer Youth Program
RUHS club list
Traffic around Rincon/University
UHSFAA - student microgrants
NEW INFORMATION
AP testing info
The season is upon us! AP testing begins Monday, May 5. See the information below for more details.
AP STUDY SESSIONS
AP test season is here! We are administering over 2,200 for our students, and our teachers are hosting test prep sessions. See the schedule here for current and future sessions scheduled. Use conference periods to your advantage and find friends to coordinate your studying.
AP PAYMENT AND TEST DAY DETAILS
Ms. Palos has compiled a master list of AP testing information for the coming weeks. It's a lot, but take the time to read it all as it pertains to anyone taking even a single AP exam. Reminder that this year all AP exams will be on the Rincon/University campus. Let us know if you have any questions!
AP Payments & Test Day Details
Megan Palos she/her
College & Career Readiness Coordinator
University High School
421 N Arcadia Ave, Tucson, AZ 85711
Athletics - spring 2025
Congratulations to our tennis athletes as they advanced in post-season tournament play! Congratulations especially to UHS 11th grade student Vikram Narendran for cinching his 2nd state title! Below is Vikram posing with Rincon AP Pablo Madrid who went to the match and cheered him to victory. We are so proud of you Vikram!
RUHS Athletics T-Shirts for sale in the Bookstore!!
$15 for 1
$25 for 2
Spring sports are here! See below for direct links to each sport offered for the winter season at Rincon/University High School.
Spring sports lineup:
CCCC (College, Career, and Counseling Center) update
Students, make sure you are signed up for the Remind for your class, and please remember to check these messages! We post info about scholarships, summer activities, college & career-focused events on campus, and more! Don’t miss out!
Juniors: We will be in your APUSH class on Friday 5/16 to review ECAP components and give you time to work on it plus have us (Ms. Villagio & Mr. Encinas, possibly Ms. Palos) there for questions and support. We may also have some updates from U of A admissions at that time, so stay posted!
Attention Student Artists – we would love to display your work on our CCCC gallery wall over the summer and into the beginning of next school year! We have many visitors who always comment on the wonderful student art that they see on display. If you would like to submit 2-dimensional pieces of art, either as a loan that we can give you back next year or as a donation, please bring it to the CCCC or to Ms. Cardenas. Nothing bigger than 18” x 24” – thank you for sharing your creativity with us!
Declaration Night info!
12th grade students: check out the information bulletin from Ms. Palos regarding Declaration Night, which this year will take place on Monday, May 19 at 7pm in the amphitheater of University High School. We are so excited to celebrate you!
End of year checkout
12th grade checkout:
- Senior checkout forms will be passed out in AP government classes on Monday and Tuesday. It is your responsibility to complete the entire form and turn it in by your last day, Friday, May 16.
- 12th grade students may turn in district-issued devices to the finance office starting Monday, May 12 if you don't need them anymore. You may go anytime during the day, including class time if your teacher allows.
- All debt must be paid prior to the graduation ceremony in order to collect your diploma at the conclusion of the ceremony.
9th, 10th, 11th grade checkout:
All 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students will check in their school devices on Wednesday, May 21 and Thursday, May 22 in the library:
- 9th grade students will turn in their devices during their AP Environmental Science class.
- 10th grade students will turn in their devices during their AP European History and AP World History classes.
- 11th grade students will turn in their devices during their AP US History class.
Graduation regalia, cords
We are gearing up for graduation, and we are in the final quarter until then! University High School's graduation will take place on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at the Kino Sports Complex, and Rincon High School's graduation will take place on Thursday, May 22, 2025 at the Rincon/University High School stadium. We have some information regarding regalia for each day. Pardon the formality of the language but we want to be clear on what the expectations and requirements will be. Please reach out to your respective administration team if you have any specific questions surrounding your school's regalia and adornments.
The Rincon and University administrations would like to share the cord system that is approved
for graduation regalia. Each school has bought their cords for our respective students for this school year only, and afterward anything specified below will need to be purchased by their respective entities if they want to continue the practice for next year. All other regalia such as sashes, stoles, or other decorative items must be approved through the practices described in governing board policy IKFB-R - Graduation Exercises - Adornments to Cap and Gown. Cultural adornments are also allowed through the same governing board policy. All students must wear their respective school's graduation regalia and can participate in graduation exercises through stipulations described in governing board policy IKFB - Graduation & Promotion Exercises.
ALL CORDS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED THE WEEK OF GRADUATION, EITHER ON DECLARATION NIGHT OR AT GRADUATION REHEARSAL.
Top 20 (Rincon only): gold
National Honor Society (Rincon only): white
AVID scholar (Rincon only): turquoise
AP scholar: royal blue
AP scholar with honor: blue/white twist
AP scholar with distinction: blue/gold twist
Elected student council officer: silver (student council responsible to purchase for SY 25-26)
Competitive club officer: orange (club responsible to purchase for SY 25-26)
Interest club officer: red (club responsible to purchase for SY 25-26)
Any athletic honors, fine arts honors, or other academic honors will be purchased by the individual students through Jostens, such as letters, school graduation year numbers, pins, etc.
CLARIFICATION: random decoration of mortar boards (caps) and robes is not permitted. Come speak to Mr. Ranjel with any questions regarding the information provided or with questions about approved regalia, adornments, and decorations. Stay alert for any further information regarding graduation!
Presidential Scholar semifinalist
We are pleased to announce UHS student Katherine Lam was selected as one of 621 national semifinaists to advance to the final round of the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. This is an incredible accomplishment, and we are all so very proud of Katherine's nomination! She will find out in the coming months if she has earned the final honor, which will be announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. Congratulations, Katherine!
Senior graduation info link
For the most up-to-date information on UHS Graduation, visit the UHS Graduation Info Page and/or join the mailing list at Graduation Info Mailing List. There will also be an informational Zoom meeting at 6:30 PM on April 24. Zoom Link.
Thanks!
Lisa Volkening
UHS Physics
Senior class sponsor
Pronouns: she/her
UHSPA info
We need YOUR help to make Grad Night 2025 a success...
If you are a senior or parent of a senior, please buy your ticket as soon as you can. Funds from ticket sales are needed to cover the cost of the event. See the link below. Buy your tickets now! We currently have 70% of the class registered for grad night! Help us get everyone on campus to celebrate together one last time...
We also need A LOT of volunteers to make Grad Night happen. Please consider signing up to help with the event, set up, and cleanup. We currently have 22% of our volunteer spots filled. Please see our signup sheet on ways you can help. This has always been a pay it forward event where underclass parents volunteer on graduation night so senior families can enjoy graduation and seniors can celebrate with their friends but there are several tasks needing support before graduation night that anyone can help with. Please spread the word and help us fill all these spots.
You can also help with Donations. We are grateful for paypal donations or prizes for our seniors from our Amazon wishlist. Donate to support this great event. 50% of the cost of Grad Night is covered by student ticket prices, the remaining costs are covered by donations. Or browse our Grad Night Amazon Wishlist and purchase a prize for a senior. We want everyone to get a prize in the raffle! We are getting a lot of very considerate prizes in the mail and are most appreciative of the support but we still have a ways to go to reach our goal. If you prefer, items can be dropped off at the school and we will get them from the office.
Make sure to join us for our last monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 20th at 6PM in the RUHS Library. Please park in the north parking lot off 5th street. Come up the stairs and the door will be unlocked. Turn left inside the doors. The library will be on the left.
We have open positions for the UHSPA boards for the 2025-26 school year. Executive Board, General Board, Site Council support is needed for 2025-26! If you are interested in continuing in your current role or helping by taking on a new role next year, please email uhspa@uhs-pa.org. It will be an exciting year of planning and celebrating 50 years of UHS!
Yearbook - pickup info!
All yearbooks will be distributed in Ms. Wheeler's classroom, room 102. Here is the yearbook pickup schedule for all paid orders:
12th grade students - lunch starting on Wednesday, May 14
All other students - Before school, during conference periods, at lunch, and after school starting on Thursday, May 15 through Friday, May 16.
There are only a handful of yearbooks available for sale through the finance office for $120. Seniors will have priority to purchase a book before May 14th. If there are any additional books, underclassmen may purchase a book in the finance office starting May 15th.
CONTINUING INFORMATION
Bond update - construction planning
Exciting News for Tucson Unified Schools!
The Tucson Unified School District is thrilled to announce that Davis Bilingual Elementary Magnet School, Rincon / University High School, and Tucson High Magnet School will soon see significant improvements in their instructional learning spaces, thanks to the support of the Bond Oversight Committee, the Tucson Unified Governing Board, and Tucson community. At Davis and Rincon/University, the bond program will replace portable classrooms with modern, permanent learning spaces for students. For Tucson High, the bond program will focus on long-awaited renovations and repairs to the Vocational “V” Building modernizing classrooms spaces for students.
The conceptual and design-build phase will run from February 2025, through June 2025. During this time, the Design-Build team will collaborate with each school’s administration to provide conceptual classroom designs for new learning spaces to meet both current and future enrollment needs.
Construction is expected to be completed by the 2027-2028 school year, providing students and staff with state-of-the-art facilities to support their educational journey.
Stay tuned for updates on this exciting project as we work together to create better learning spaces for our community!
Sincerely,
Dr. C
Charlotte Carter, MBA, PMP, Ed.D.
Bond Program Manager
Tucson Unified School District
New (old) Instagram for UHS!
Pima County Summer Youth Program
Check out the below flyer for the Pima County Summer Youth Program. Get job skills and earn credit!
RUHS club list
Here is the latest 24-25 RUHS club list. Find a club that fits you and join the community!
Traffic around Rincon/University
As we continue to adjust our practices with safety in mind, we are continuing our discussions about working with our neighbors around the school, who like us have student and adult safety in mind primarily. We understand the traffic flow is challenging at times but again has been researched and tooled to the current iteration. We are continually monitoring the traffic flow and are always striving to find ways in which we can support both students and adults as they navigate inside and immediately outside the school property. Please read the RUHS driving and walking practices for details and clarifications.
We urge our families and especially our pedestrian students to practice safe routines during drop-off and pick-up times. Thank you to parents and students who have changed your practices to not park or stop in undesignated zones, and to keep traffic moving. Remember, the safety of everyone in the area, including your student, is the goal!
UHSFAA - student microgrants
The UHS Foundation and Alumni Association (UHSFAA) seeks to support UHS students, particularly those who are first generation college bound and who are focused on building opportunities for themselves. Through this, the UHSFAA student microgrant is offered for application. Microgrants are awarded to students in need of anything that furthers their educational development. Grants of up to $500 per student per year are available at the discretion of the UHSFAA board of directors and UHS principal, and are based on available funds. Microgrant awards are through application, and can be given for many different kinds of needs: classroom needs including costs associated with internet access, textbooks or personal academic supplies, summer programs, professional education and internship needs, such as travel and public transportation costs, lunch costs, supplies or clothing needs, immunizations, and more. Requests for funding should be for proposals that can be 100% covered by the grant; requests to partially fund larger projects will not be considered. Please provide at least ten days lead time before the funds are needed so the UHSFAA can have adequate time to consider your application.