September has stated out busy! We’ve already accomplished so much, including picture day, our first Student of the Month assembly celebrating our Students of the Month for the character trait of Safety. As well as our top performers on last year's Spring State exams (AASA). Our teachers and students are dedicated to academic growth and are working hard in their classrooms every day.

Upcoming Event: Parent-Teacher Conferences Don't miss our upcoming parent-teacher conferences! Our goal is to achieve 100% participation, so please schedule a time to meet with your child's teacher. We offer various meeting options, including in-person, phone, Microsoft TEAMS and Zoom. If you haven't scheduled a time yet, please reach out to your teacher through Class Dojo or call the front office.

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Girl Scout Meetings every Friday 2:00-3:15 (still spaces available- must enroll with Girl Scouts of Southern AZ)

• 9/18-9/20-Parent Teacher Conferences- half days 11am release all 3 days
  

• 10/3- September Student of the Month Assembly 8:00am- 6th grade presents
  

• 10/4- Grading Day-No School
  

• 10/7-10/11 Fall Break-No School

• 10/25 Fall Festival
  

• 11/5- Arizona Opera at Steele: Rusalka: The Littlest Mermaid 9:30-10:10am
  

We have more positive vibes going on at Steele. In addition to the amazing academic learning going on in our classrooms, we have seen a drastic improvement in our student social emotional learning (AKA- Student behavior) across the school.

Twice a month our leadership team meets to review our student behavioral data. We look at ongoing struggles, referrals, and what discipline has been applied. Our purpose for meeting is to dive into the data, identify patterns and put pro-active plans in place to support pro-social behavior. Our review of our August 2024 data showed a 68% decrease in student referrals to the office and disciplinary action from last year. This is incredible work on the part of our teachers, students and families. Please continue to have those important talks with your children about what safety, respect and responsibility looks like at school. I cannot wait to review and compare September's data!

Our annual Open House and Parent Meeting was on August 20th. We appreciate everyone who attended. Ms. Harris' presentation is available for review, please find it attached. For your convenience, we've also included an attachment of TUSD’s Student Code of Conduct.

• Drop off window is 7:15-7:40am
• Do not drop students off prior to 7:15am.
• If your child will be eating breakfast, please ensure they are dropped off no later than 7:30 so they have time to eat. The bell rings at 7:40am and students need to be lined up and ready to start class at 7:45am otherwise they will be considered tardy.

Pick Up: 1:55pm M, T, Th, F and 12:55 every Wednesday.

• During the first week your student should have received a colored card with their first name/teacher to put into your vehicle window. Having these name cards in vehicle significantly speeds up the release process for everyone.
• When you pull up, we will call your child via radio and load your child in a quick and safe manner.
• If you would like to walk and pick up children, you are welcome to park in the Kenyon lot and line up down by the Sarnoff entrance doors so the staff member at the door can call your child out of the cafeteria. Please make sure to get in line so that our staff can call your student out as quickly and orderly as possible.

• Students load and unload on the passenger side of the car, if necessary to load on the driver’s side only do so with staff assistance.
• Adults stay in your vehicle, staff will assist student in exiting and entering vehicles. Only load and unload in the zone where adults are present.
• Do not unload down the line and pull out.
• Follow traffic laws with regards to making U-turns in and out of the pick-up/drop-off line.
• DO NOT drop students off in the Kenyon parking lot, unless you park and walk them to the door. Follow staff directions during drop-off and pick-up. This is a parking lot with cars moving in and out and is UNSAFE to drop children off here.
• Always use the crosswalks if parking across Sarnoff on Kenyon to pick up students.
• Always model patience and kindness for our students.

We are excited to welcome visitors and volunteers back on campus, all guest on campus during school hours must sign-in through the front office. Families are welcome to come onto campus and join their child for breakfast in the cafeteria or before school recess and line up with their child without signing in. If a parent is staying past the school bell to volunteer, they must sign in through the front office.

Volunteering around the school and attending field trips: To ensure the safety of our students, all parent and non-parent volunteers must complete or update their application each school year.

Link to volunteer application below. Please contact our office staff if you need assistance. Plan ahead and fill out applications 2-3 weeks in advance to ensure you will be able to volunteer.

TUSD & Steele have partnered with the City of Tucson to provide low cost, on campus child care for grades K-6. Applications are online on the link below, registration opens July 18, 2024 8:00am. Don't delay, spots fill up fast. KIDCO will be offered every school day from dismissal to 6pm for children who have registered through the City of Tucson program (including half days and early dismissal Wednesdays).

If you are in need of financial assistance for the afterschool program, discount applications are available for City of Tucson residents only and must be submitted prior to registering your child online. Go to any City of Tucson Recreation center in person to apply.

Eastside centers are: Clements Center 520-791-4355 or Udall 520-791-4931

Steele will provide all the school supplies your children need while they are at school. Throughout the year, teachers may have donation requests for special projects and events. They will communicate through their Class Dojo page.

If you need assistance with getting your child a backpack or academic supplies for home, please contact our front office staff, and they will assist you.

Additionally, if you're interested in donating to your child's classroom, feel free to reach out to their teacher to discuss donation opportunities. Your support is always welcome and appreciated.

Hello all. I am Courtney Braren. This is my second year at Steele Elementary and my first time teaching 3rd grade in my very long teaching career. But I loved my class so much last year, I thought it would be fun to be with them again. I have 3 grown children, Ryan, Jake and Nik. I also have several former students who call me mom, which I consider the greatest job I have ever had. During my time out of school I love to hike, live off the grid, garden, travel, and learn new things. So, if you see a teacher wearing hiking boots daily, that is me and chances are I will be singing a tune and smiling.

Fun fact: I have two very different animals, a house rabbit named Milton, and a tortoise named Ollie. I can tell you that the hare will win every race, but the tortoise will keep going and always persists.

Took my breath away moment: The most amazing thing I have ever experienced was the total eclipse of 2024.

Scariest moment: The scariest was a rock fall while hiking in Colorado while perched about 1000 feet above a river on sheer cliff.

Hello Dear Stallions,

I am Ms. Gabato, and I am excited to introduce myself as a 3rd Grade Teacher here at Steele Elementary. This is my 18th year teaching and my 2nd year at this wonderful school.

More About Me:
I came from Cebu, Philippines, where I graduated with my bachelor's degree at the age of 19 and completed my master's degree at the age 24. I also worked as a College Instructor at Cebu Technological University, Cebu Philippines.

I have three boys and a wonderful husband. Outside of work, I enjoy organizing and sorting home stuffs, I also love creating beautiful balloon backdrops.

I am truly happy to be part of the Steele team and look forward to working with you all!

Hello Everyone!

My name is Hannah Norville, and I'm in my second year teaching 4th grade here at Steele. I graduated from the University of Arizona and got hooked on Tucson's pretty nature, delicious food, and fun coffee shops. In my free time, I like exploring the city more with my friends and family. I'm so excited for this school year!

My name is Robin Bizub, the students and staff call me Mr. B. I am a Teacher's Aide and School Monitor here at Steele Elementary. This year is my 16th year working for TUSD, and all of that time has been here at Steele. My education is in Computer Networks and Management. While I'm here at the school, I love watching our students learn new things; as well as being able to witness the joy our children have while playing and being around their friends. While I'm at home I like to collect things. My favorite two things that I collect are my comic books (I have nearly 1600) and my trading card collection (I have nearly 12,000 cards). I volunteer after school and on weekends at the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

My name is Ms. Shayla. This is my third year as an Ex-Ed teacher aide at Steele elementary. This year I am blessed to work in 4th grade with Mrs. Norville and all of the awesome 4th grade students!

I’m an Arizona native, but I lived in Colorado for 25 years. I love Colorado, but not the cold winters, so we’re back in the desert! My husband and I have two wonderful children and we just moved our youngest to Flagstaff to start his freshman year of college. It may take us a little while to adjust to an empty nest! I’m looking forward to a great year with our amazing Steele students and staff!!

Our Super Stallion Staff!

Tom Beech – Band (itinerant)

Robin Bizub- TA & Monitor

Courtney Braren- Teacher- 3rd grade

Julie Christy- Speech Language Pathologist

Kathy Conley- RTI Teacher

Kim Ducsay- Cafeteria Manager

Lee Ezrre- Preschool Teacher

Jennifer Ferrell- Office Manager

Emily Freed- Curriculum Support Provider/Testing Coordinator

Julie Friberg Teacher ELD (itinerant)

Camella Gabato- 3rd grade teacher

Patrice Gant- Health Assistant

Ava Han -TA Preschool (Ms. Lee’s classroom)

Sarah Howard- OMA- Art grades K-3/CCP/CCI

Kristin Kamell- 5th grade teacher

Shayla Knight – Ex. Ed-Gen Ed. TA

Eusebia Limones- Day Custodian

Samantha Munsey -Attendance & Registration Tech

Kim Lonsway – Occupational Therapist (itinerant)

Jolene Luquin (Gen. Ed. TA/small group interventions-part time)

Vanessa Matthews- TA- CCP Program

Meghan McClafferty- Gen. Ed. TA

Emily McDuffie- Counselor (part time)

Melody Morehouse – School Nurse (Itinerant)

GATE- itinerant- Judith Moritz

Susan Montgomery- Lunchtime Monitor (2hrs)

Hannah Norville 4th grade

Christina Payette Library Asst. & Monitor

Jessica Paz- TA- CCI Program

Robin Reddix- Teacher Kindergarten

Victoria Reyes- TA CCP Program

Estella Robertson Preschool Teacher Ex. Ed. Inclusion

Amy Rocha- Teacher-6th grade

Karen Seabolt- School Counselor

Cynthia “Cindy” Serafini – Teacher Ex. Ed. Resource

Peter Shibuya-School Psychologist- (itinerant)

Kimber Silva-Munsey- MTSS Facilitator

Ira Stenlund - CCI Teacher

Marie Taylor- Teacher 2nd grade

Raiden Thaler -Violin & Orchestra grades 4-6th

Victor Weerasuriya-TA Preschool (Robertson- Ex. Ed. Inclusion Pre-School Program)

Katherine “Kate” Woll- Teacher – CCP Program

Brianna Zittlosen- Teacher 5th grade/Site Council Facilitator

Celeste Zylks – Teacher 1st grade

TBD-PM Custodian

TBD- TA Preschool (Robertson- Ex. Ed. Inclusion Pre-School Program