SCV35 News

On Monday, September 11, San Cayetano Elementary School hosted a touching morning ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of 9/11 and honor our community's heroes. The event paid tribute to first responders, active-duty military personnel, and veterans, recognizing their invaluable service and sacrifices.

Students, faculty, and staff gathered on the school grounds to welcome these distinguished guests. The air was filled with a mix of solemnity and gratitude as the ceremony began.

A Heartfelt Welcome

As the honored guests arrived, they were greeted by a sea of handmade posters and heartfelt letters created by the students. These colorful displays expressed messages of thanks and admiration, showcasing the children's appreciation for the brave men and women who serve our community and country.

Honoring Our Heroes

The ceremony featured several key moments:

• A moment of silence to remember those lost on September 11, 2001
• The Pledge of Allegiance, led by student representatives
• Brief remarks from Mrs. Renteria, the school principal addressing the purpose for the gathering and thanking special guests.

Principal Renteria discussed the importance of saying “thank you” and teaching students about service and sacrifice.

A Lasting Impact

The event not only honored our local heroes but also provided an educational opportunity for students. Students learned about the events that occurred on 9/11 and the importance of how communities can come together when help is needed.

Fifth-grader Abigail Kuhm said, "It was special for me to be able to honor the guests because I now know how important they are for our community and how they help save lives."

As the ceremony concluded, it was clear that the impact of this event would resonate with students long after the day ended. San Cayetano Elementary's tribute served as a powerful reminder of the strength of our community and the enduring spirit of service that defines our nation.

Rio Rico High School Varsity Football team beat the Nogales High School Apaches during their Homecoming football game on September 13. The RRHS Hawx Dance Team and Marching Band put on captivating performances. Check out more photos and information here.

The National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) is actively involved in organizing blood drives, which serve as a significant community service initiative. These events not only help to address the critical need for blood donations but also provide students with valuable leadership and organizational experience. NJHS at CtMS has organized numerous successful blood drives in the past. This year's blood drive was held on August 30th, 2024.

The NJHS collaborates with organizations like the American Red Cross to ensure that these drives are well-organized and impactful. They provide resources for planning, recruitment, and execution, making it easier for students to contribute meaningfully to their communities. According to Ms. Noriega, NJHS sponsor at CtMS, “We decided to organize these periodic blood drives on the last Friday of August, January and April. This provides an opportunity for people to donate blood every three to four months.” To encourage participation and event management skills among students, student leaders actively participated in building connections and promoting the event within the community. Students take various roles as timers, escorts in case donors are faint, snack servers, office guards and sign-in clerks.

To promote participation, American Red Cross Society offered all blood donors snacks and a $20 Amazon Prime gift certificate. According to Ms. Noriega, “this year about 30 donors signed up for the donation but only 22 were able to donate blood. 3 of the donors were power red which is a more important donation. This was more than our last blood drive but way under the numbers for previous years.” Following members of NJHS were part of the leadership group that organized the blood drive: Max Gutierrez, Hannah Hardwick, Maxwell Ringer, Kenslee Lopez, Sheila Gomez, Lily Machado.

According to student Kaileia Thompson, “This blood drive helped provide an opportunity to exhibit responsibility, fairness, and citizenship qualities that are part of being a member of NJHS.” Another student, Anna, said “ Being involved with the blood drive helped me understand the benefit of being part of community service and helping other people. This also helped me appreciate people who decided to be part of this donation for saving lives.”

Hosting blood drives through NJHS leads to community impact by addressing urgent medical needs, increasing student engagement in planning and executing community service projects and raising awareness. By raising awareness among students and the community, NJHS at CtMS plans to increase the number of donors for future blood drives.

K-5 students are invited to participate in Liberty Utilities' Smart Water Use Art Contest. Students are encouraged to show off their creativity and demonstrate what a day without water means to them. Artwork can be done outside of class time and can be a personal project. Click on the PDF below to learn more. Submissions are due by October 18.

This past summer, Coatimundi Middle School Cavalier, Nogales Patterson, participated in the U.S. National Tae Kwon Do Championship held in Dallas-Fort Worth Texas. He won a bronze medal in the Boys 12-14 Age Division and Red Belt Category. Nogales has participated in the sport of Taekwondo for three years now, and is enjoying every second of it.

Back in May of 2022, Nogales was selected to attend the Grand Prix in Reno, Nevada. While there, he won a gold medal in Poomse (defined patterns of defense-and-attack forms and moves) and made a name for himself among his fellow competitors. This amazing win was what allowed Nogales to compete in the National Championship in July of 2022 where he won the Bronze Medal in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Nogales' parents, Mark and Vanessa Patterson, wrote they "are extremely proud of him for all his efforts, hard work, commitment, dedication and discipline."

Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District No. 35 is amazed by Nogales and his great talents and gifts!

Pictures courtesy of Mauren Figueroa.

The Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District No. 35 Transportation Department recently received two new white fleet buses. They will be used for special events and the transportation of Rio Rico High School students taking Pima JTED classes in Tucson.

On September 16th, Calabasas School was alive with the vibrant spirit of (a belated) Mexican Independence Day as students from Pre-K through 8th grade proudly wore their festive outfits. The younger children were dressed in bright, traditional clothes, complete with colorful accessories, while older students sported shirts featuring the Mexican flag and cultural patterns. It was a wonderful display of heritage and community, bringing everyone together to honor the special day. ¡Viva México!

Come swim and relax at the new SCV35 Aquatic Center on Saturdays from 10 am - 5pm! Pool passes are required to enter and are free to make for anyone who lives within district limits (in Rio Rico, Amado, Tubac, or Tumacacori-Carmen). They can be completed here. Anyone residing outside of district limits must purchase a day pass.

During May and June, Mountain View’s tax credit-funded Advanced Art class met for 60 hours of personalized instruction. Seven students - Analy Armenta, Evelyn Angulo, Ashley Villalpando,

Cataleah Briones, Angelo Montemayor, and sisters, Lyra and Kenslee Lopez created works of art using both wet and dry mediums of their choosing; such as charcoal, pastel, oil pastel, acrylic

paint and clay.

Handling charcoal for the first time last summer, Analy Armenta spent 16 hours creating a realistic lion which she exhibited and sold for $500 in the Tubac Art Center’s 2024 Mid-High Art Show. This summer, she created a second lion in half the time!

In addition to drawing another lion, Analy created a self-portrait using mixed mediums (oil pastel, marker, India Ink, and colored pencils). In her portrait titled, Girl with a Veil, Analy placed a wooden Oaxacan mask and flowers below her face to image a triangle; a centuries old trick for pointing the viewer upward and creating a sense of spirituality. She further developed this theme by contrasting the dead expression on the mask with the vitality on her face (see below). Analy is now in Grade 5.

Evelyn Angulo, now also in fifth-grade, drew a self-portrait using dry pastels. Her ability to capture denim and cotton textures and the weave of her cowgirl hat is striking, as is her handling of the pattern on the bandana around her neck. In The Cowgirl, Evelyn used a black background not as a way to fill space, but to accentuate the lighter areas on her face. There is a mystery in the cowgirl’s eyes that is hard to miss. Like the Mona Lisa, her eyes appear to stare at you wherever you are in the room. Evelyn’s drawing, like the other students’ work is 18 x 22 inches.

Cataleah Briones, who is now at CtMS studying in Mr. Ilrath’s Advanced Art class, created a self-portrait using light-colored dry pastels to capture her whimsical personality. In her picture, Cowgirl with Flower, the eleven year old strategically placed warm and complimentary colors in such a way that they show a soft, sheen in the hair, subtle facial features, and pithy flower petals. Cowgirl with Flower was her first attempt using dry pastels.

“Actually, I surprised myself,” she said with a grin. “I didn’t think I could make something this good.”

The others chose to further develop their value making skills with charcoal. Ashly Villalpando, now in Grade 5, created a self-portrait in western motif with strong black and white contrast. In The Girl with the Hat, Ashley’s black hat, black hair and black scarf frame her lightly shaded face, allowing her eyes to capture the viewer’s attention

Learning to use charcoal, erasers, and smudging tools to create textures takes time. By experimenting, Ashley found she could make hair sheen by starting with thin grey lines, erasing and then adding back black or white. Repeating this process many times gave her the layered look of hair she was hoping to create. She even etched fine lines into the paper with a pin before brushing sanded charcoal powder into the grooves.

“It took me a while to learn which smudger to use. Q-Tips, cotton balls, fingers, and suede clothe leave different effects,” Ashley said.

For her next project, Ashley is considering making a picture using white pastel on black paper; a challenging medium that requires reversing the way you think. For example, a dark area can’t be made lighter by erasing since the paper is black; white must be applied.

Angelo Montemayor, also now a CtMS student, used charcoal of varying hardness and pigment to create a self-portrait. In it, the strong contrasts, subtle values, and a sense of space come together in a convincing way. Boy with Soccer Balls, his second charcoal portrait this year, leaves the viewer wondering about his involvement in the sport. Angelo’s first charcoal piece was one of six that received the Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District No. 35 Governing Board's recognition in the spring.

Lyra Lopez, a sophomore at RRHS and her sister, Kenslee, an 8th grader at CtMS have participated in the Summer Art Program for years working primarily as teacher aides offering advice and demonstrating technique to the younger students.

When they are not busy readying materials, explaining a process, or demonstrating a technique, the Lopez girls do their own art work; Lyra sculpting and modeling, and Kenslee making 2-D charcoal portraits.

Of note is Lyra's ability to draw a realistic animal and turn it into a 3-D statue using an animation style, a transition not every art student can perform as easily as she can. This summer’s effort was a humorous sculpture of a bear fishing for its lunch. Lyra sells her statues, but will enter this piece in the Tubac Center of the Arts 2025 Mid-High Art Show in the spring.

“The girls really enjoyed themselves this week,” said Mrs. Savannah Lopez. “It was all they kept talking about.”

Art work from the 2024 Mountain View Summer Art Program hung in the Russ Lyon-Sotheby’s Office in Tubac during the month of July, and then traveled to the Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District 35’s office, where it was displayed until the end of August.

“I love the Summer Art Program,” said an enthusiastic Cataleah Briones. “Can I come back next year? I know I won’t be a Mountain View student, but maybe I could help.” How do you turn down a kid with pleading eyes?

Now in its 15th year, the Mountain View Summer Art Program is funded entirely by tax-credits. For more information on how you can be involved, contact mdittmar@scv35.org or visit the District website at https://www.scv35.org.

Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District No. 35 is proud to announce that all five of its school sites were named one of America's Healthiest Schools by Healthier Generation, with Coatimundi Middle School being named the only All-Star school in the state of Arizona! All schools were recognized during a recent Governing Board Meeting for their administration and School Health Advisory Council's efforts to create a healthy and nourishing environment for their students.

RRHS Hawkz Couture Fashion Club experienced great success with two fashion shows–one in the spring and one in the summer. President Elba “Raz” Rincon Sedano and Social Media Manager Joseline “Josy” Wise initially started the club as a “passion project,” which according to Rincon, “quickly became something more meaningful than I could have imagined.” The two were joined by Vice President Hayleigh Simmons-Navarro and Secretary Yuliana Castillo. All four serve as chief organizers, designers, and seamstresses of the club.

The first fashion show they participated in on March 30, 2024 was spearheaded by two Pima Community College students and sponsored by the Santa Cruz County Superintendent's Office. Simmons-Navarro explained the focus of the show: “You chose an art piece that inspired or spoke to you in some way.” They were inspired by a painting of a girl eating a pomegranate, which reminded them of the story of Persephone. They were one of only seven clubs out of fourteen who were chosen to be part of the show.

Because of their success with the first show, they used their expertise to mastermind another fashion show on their own, El Fashion, which took place on July 21, 2024 at the M & M Family Orchard. It was inspired by Mexican loteria and culture–particularly the resistance and evolution of Mexican Culture. The fashion show’s theme was culture across the ages, and they had children and teenagers modeling their creations. Children played the early parts of Mexican culture, modeling traditional Mexican garments; teenagers played the modern roles, which incorporated traditional elements of Mexican culture, such as embroidery and religion, but with a modern twist.

Because they had no monetary support for this show, they upcycled some clothes from thrift stores, funded the items that they designed and created themselves, and accepted donations of food and drinks from the community. In order to give back to the community, admission was free, and they accepted donations of quality children’s clothing, which they sent to children and Mexico and local shelters.

Club member and model Enrique Rodriguez explained the importance of the club: “I believe the club is an excellent way of bringing the arts to Rio Rico which is a town sorely lacking in artistic representation.”

In addition, the club has had a unifying effect on the participants. Rincon Sedano explained, “Struggling together with people I had never met before and being new to all of this really developed our friendship. We have been able to reach our community and plan on doing more community-oriented activities throughout many years to come.”

Wise also described the importance of friendships in the club: “The club brought all of us together and formed very close friendships between all of us which I am very grateful for.”

Simmons-Navarro feels that these “connections and friendships” will “last for years to come.”

It has also been a vehicle for personal growth of the members. Rincon said that she had felt “disconnected” from others but that the club is “a tool for me to try and connect with my peers through various ways.”

Wise said, “It has helped me open up more and be less shy” and “helped me to be more creative!”

The club has also had a transformative effect on Simmons-Navarro: “This club has helped me build confidence and felt comfortable being myself without feeling judged during the process.”

Rodriquez described the informative impact of the club: “I plan to become a film director in the future, and while I may not be going directly into the fashion industry, fashion club has taught me more about the importance fashion has in all aspects of the creative process.”

Castillo also said that the “club has given me a different perspective of the process, the expertise, the hardships, and the overall work put into fashion and the future talent it holds as times change and so do minds.”

RRHS English teacher Shenecia Bell, club sponsor, praises their accomplishments: “I love these students as I have had the majority of them as students who had a really good work ethic in my classroom and now it has spilled over to the fashion club. They are very passionate about fashion and art and ensure that everything is in order at all times.”

Photo below courtesy of Hayleigh Simmons-Navarro. From left to right:Akayla Weathers, Mary Andrews, Enrique Rodriguez, Rey Navarro, Dianna Ochoa, Briana Madril

Mark your calendars! You are invited to join Rio Rico High School's CTE Program at their Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony on October 28 at the RRHS Farm. They will be unveiling their new indoor learning space and will offer snacks and refreshments made by the RRHS Culinary Arts Class!