Borton Magnet Messenger

What a wonderful first semester we have had at Borton! This messenger will highlight some of the successes at Borton and is built around the 5 Pillars of effective magnet schools as established by the Magnet Schools of America: Diversity, Innovative Curriculum and Professional Development, Academic Excellence, Leadership, and Family and Community Partnerships.

Borton takes pride in its diverse community and is intentional about making inclusive family engagement experiences where everyone is welcomed. This Thursday, December 22nd, Borton staff looks forward to thanking our families and friends for being a part of our Borton community. Pastries with Pals begins at 7:15am in the dining hall. This event will be followed by a Winter Sing-Along at 8:20am in the courtyard in which each class will take turns leading the community in songs. We hope you can join in the celebrations! If able, please consider donating a non-perishable food item or hygiene product to benefit our Borton community.

On October 28th, Borton 5th grade students participated in a Science Day at the UofA hosted by Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). SHPE is the nation's largest association dedicated to fostering Hispanic leadership in the STEM field. SHPE UofA students engaged Borton 5th graders in STEM challenges and connected the learning to their own studies and professions of engineering, computer science, mathematics, biomedical science and more. Some of the challenges included building catapults and strongest ships and inflating a balloon with chemistry. They also spoke about the importance of resiliency and perseverance in their STEM pursuits. An additional highlight for the students was the physical space of the Environment and Natural Resources 2 Building at the UofA. Many students expressed never having been on the UofA campus and this is experience spurred curiosity, questions, and interest in higher education.

The Sunflower room will have their Celebration of Learning for their Tree Project on Wednesday December 21st at 12:30 in the courtyard and all of Borton is invited! Student inquiry has been driven by the question: "Why are trees important, and how can we share the importance of trees with our Borton community?" As a part of their inquiry, students worked with Borton's Outdoor Learning Specialist, Mikaela to identify native trees on campus and the importance of those trees. As an end product, the students created a book inspired by author and illustrator, Todd Parr that they've titled "Trees are Important." Each child will receive their own copy of the book which they will share with their families, reading buddies, and larger Borton audience.

The Honeybee's mini project was prompted by the driving question: "How can we organize our classroom library so that it is more efficient?" The students were complaining about how the library was difficult to keep organized and find books that they wanted to read. This tension jump-started a project to create a better system for organizing the books in their classroom. Students have been studying different genres, different types of libraries, efficiently counting all of the books in their library, designing a plan to sort and organize the books, and creating an informational catalog that will be a living document that students can add to as they read books throughout the year. The Honeybee Celebration of Learning is scheduled for this Thursday, December 22nd.

Borton earns a “B” label by the Arizona Department of Education! This labeling is based on student academic growth, proficiency in English language arts, math and science as measured by Arizona standardized tests, the proficiency and academic growth of English language learners. Borton faculty and staff's dedication to students has brought Borton to a ”B” letter grade, a proud achievement.

Borton teachers use systems thinking tools to help students visualize complex cause and effect relationships. Causal loop are visual diagrams that show feedback relationships within systems. There are two types of causal loops: reinforcing feedback and balancing feedback. In the Great Adventure class, a student draws a reinforcing loop demonstrating how she uses kind words with her friends, the more her friends feel happy, which in turn makes her want to use more kind words, and so on. After reading the book Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson, the Puffin class explores the interdependencies of plants and animals in a desert habitat. A Puffin student draws a balancing loop with a woodpecker and saguaro demonstrating that the woodpecker eats the diseased part of the saguaro cactus which in turn the saguaro provides it with a nesting place. Casual perspectives of systems can be applied at higher grades to solving complex problems or issues without jumping to conclusions.

Honeybee Teacher, Maddie Schepper was accepted to the Arizona STEM Acceleration Project (ASAP) and has joined the 2022-2023 cohort as an Arizona State University ASAP STEM fellow. As a STEM fellow she will be experiencing high quality Professional Development from STEM Education organizations and will be designing projects to advance the field of STEM Education throughout Arizona. The Borton community is proud of Maddie and excited to be a benefactor of her involvement.

On October 27th leaders from our local non-profits and businesses, as well as TUSD district leaders visited our school as part of the TUSD Magnet Business Symposium. Fifth grade student ambassadors represented Borton admirably guiding our guests on a tour highlighting our magnet strand and adding their own stories about what makes Borton unique and special. Guests from Tucson Symphony, UA College of Education, Boys and Girls Club of Tucson, Fox Tucson Theathre, Literacy Connects, Bank of America and Bens Bells are all interested in partnering with Borton as a result.

Borton's Math and Science Night on December 15th was a huge success thanks to the efforts of Borton teachers on the Math and Science committee, many community partnerships, and last but not least, our families who showed up with enthusiasm! We want to say a special shout out to our community partners for donating their time, expertise, and passions:

Thank you Carol Crowell (former Borton Teacher and Magnet Coordinator, current Borton Board Member, and current PESI Leadership) for engaging Borton students in Systems Thinking games!

Thank you Mansfeld Magnet Middle School for challenging our Borton students Math Dice Jr. games for the chance to win cool prizes!

Thank you Partners for Equitable Science Instruction (PESI) for making helicopter spinners with our families to explore gravity and air resistance!

Thank you Saguaro National Park for your display, tutorials and even horror stories about desert creepy crawlies!

Thank you STEMAZing Systems Thinking for teaching Kumihimo braids, a Japanese weaving technique that uses math patterns to create intricate friendship bracelets!

Thank you Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association for helping us learn about the night sky and providing the opportunity to see Jupiter's Moons and Saturn!

Thank you Therapy Dogs of Southern Arizona for showing up in festive attire and warming our Borton hearts as always!

Thank you UofA Neuro Science Team for providing Borton students with an opportunity that made their nervous system visual!

Thank you again to Borton Math and Science Committee! Borton families can look forward to Literacy Night in the Spring.

Borton hopes that your child's and your first semester at Borton has been positive. We want to hear about your experience, as well as your hopes and dreams for the next semester and following school years. This survey is completely anonymous (unless you would like to include your name and would appreciate a response). You can answer as much or as little of the survey as you want to. The more information we gather, the more it informs our practice. We especially want to hear from our new Kinder families, although we are happy to hear from everyone. https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=4FBwvMxLCUiSReqLZQhIZbkiYQ-5x1VInnwo6bIsu_xUMDREQ1ZSS1BNVFJISTM1TExQWEk0SzBDTC4u

Registration is open! You can save time and avoid filling out pages of paperwork by using the NEW 2023-2024 online registration process. Just log into your ParentVUE account using any browser at https://parent.tusd1.org. Click on the Online Registration button in the upper right corner. Please call Borton office at 225-1000 with any questions or if you need assistance. We hope that you'll register before the break.

Know someone looking for kindergarten, first grade or elementary student wanting to switch schools? The Magnet and open enrollment application for the TUSD SY 2023-2024 is now online applytusd1.org. The first lottery drawing is in January. Please spread the word about our wonderful Borton community whenever you get the chance.

Did you know that you can give your Arizona tax credit to Borton? The amount you donate is subtracted from the amount of Arizona State taxes that you owe. You get a 100% refund on your money! These funds are used to support after school programs, extended library hours, field trips, sports, and so much more. The front office can help you make your contributions, or you can make it online at https://az-tucson-taxcredits.intouchreceipting.com