SCV35 News

Hello SCV35 Families and Staff,

This past week, school communities across the country were concerned and saddened by the tragic events that unfolded at schools in several states. I would like to take this opportunity to express our condolences to the families who were impacted.

In addition, on March 20, 2023, Rio Rico High School was the first of three schools in Santa Cruz County to receive threats of violence. This resulted in SCV35 taking additional security precautions including checkpoints at all entrances, additional police presence, and backpack searches by District and RRHS Administration. These threats were determined to be not credible, but District officials will continue to take all threats seriously and will work closely with our law enforcement partners to continue providing a safe learning environment.

Along with existing safety precautions, the District has entered the final stages of our security upgrade projects which include security cameras at all District sites, radio upgrades, keycard entry, security fencing, and enhanced lighting.

Regarding the emotional security of our students and staff, all of our schools are staffed with school counselors and all schools utilize referral services to best support students and families. We also encourage parents to attend their school’s site council meetings and to ask questions or bring up concerns regarding school safety. You are also welcome to send concerns and questions to: communications@scv35.org.

In closing, we must all remember the importance of maintaining a safe learning environment. Remaining vigilant and reporting concerns, asking questions and understanding our school safety procedures are all ways we can continue improving the safety of all our students and staff.

Sincerely,

David Y. Verdugo

SCV35 Superintendent

At the Regular Governing Board meeting on March 28, 2023, the board voted to award the pool construction contract to MDG located in Sonoita, Arizona. The projected completion will be in April of 2024.

Mountain View Principal Chris Jackson and Rio Rico High School Principal Hector Estrada went to Capitol Hill! They met with lawmakers to discuss educational issues related to school funding, safety, and the social-emotional health of students and staff in Arizona and the Rio Rico Community.

The Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) is pleased to award Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District 35 the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting (COE). ASBO International’s COE recognizes districts that have met the program’s high standards for financial reporting and transparency. The school district earned the Certificate of Excellence for its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the fiscal year ended 2022. Continue reading

Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District students are wheeling their way to good health thanks to Allkidsbike.org. They recently funded new student and teacher bicycles, helmets, curriculum, and maintenance equipment for a bicycle program that was launched in March at Calabasas, Mountain View, and San Cayetano Elementary schools.

Continue reading

Above: Ms. Kuhm teaches kindergartners at San Cayetano Elementary how to use the new bikes. Once the kids learn to balance, the pedals can be added to the bicycles.

Calabasas 6th grader Liam Arvizu, recently merged his love of legos, passion for creating stop animation, ambition for being a YouTube creator, and his math knowledge to create a video explaining ratio tables. He uploaded the video to his YouTube channel. He said, “Whenever you have something in your head to do, persevere to do that, because if you think it’s a good idea, and you don’t, you’ll probably miss an opportunity.”

By Kazandra Navarro, RRHS

As part of her Digital One Photography Course, our instructor, Melanie Estrada, assigned a project that gave students creative freedom to express our opinions on real-world issues and our own experiences through photographs. We were asked four impactful questions in which we had to respond with less than six words that would be written on a post-it. We then had to project our thoughts and emotions through the photograph, so the viewer could visually capture our message. Not only were we learning elements of photography, but students were able to reveal their voices without judgment. Because of our limitation to six words, we learned that we do not need the entire dictionary to voice our opinion, but choosing the right words to say can leave an everlasting impression like no other.

Personally, I chose topics and experiences that were near and dear to my heart, as I know the majority of students did. For example, I chose to focus on addiction to drugs for the most upsetting issue in society by saying “It’s not just one time”. Through the different compositional elements, I send out a message that doing drugs will send you down a dark place and a continuous spiral that will end up costing you way more than the money you bought it with. Each student was able to articulate their own message and have it portrayed on the wall, so that whenever students saw the photographs they could be reminded of a pressing issue in society and/or a beautiful experience a student chose to showcase.

This program is enhanced by Pima JTED.

Mountain View award winner, 2nd grader, Daniel Villa, receives his certificate of merit from Principal Christopher Jackson during the school’s First Semester One Awards Assembly on March 1st. MVES students received hundreds of awards for academic achievement and proficiency in Reading, Math and Language Arts, as well as growth awards from each of their Specials subjects. (Right) 1st grader, Hakim Merino, holds three well-deserved awards on stage.

The Sock Puppet Comic is by Amir Becerra Paredes at Rio Rico High School.

(The photos below can be enlarged by using clicking the upper right-hand corner of the photo)

On Monday, April 3, 2023, Francisco Arellano (South Dakota School of Mines, D-2) and Jesse James Octavio-Callejo (Pacific University, Oregon D-3) signed their national letter of intent with student-athletes, parents, and KVOA and KOLD watching.

Coach Scurran commended Francisco for his hard work since this was his first year playing football. He called Jesse an integral part of the community and students cheered when he mentioned his Arizona State Wrestling Championship title.

Andrea Verdugo was also honored for contributions to the football team this year as the football manager. Andrea will attend the University of Oregon. She was recognized for her contributions, academic achievement, and community service. For those contributions, the National Football Foundation created a new national award to honor her which will be known as the 12th Man Award. "She is the first person recognized by the National Football Foundation for her contributions promoting football here at Rio Rico High School," said Scurran. In addition to the recognition, Andrea will receive a scholarship."

Scurran also commended the student-athletes and families in attendance for their support. "We succeed as a family, we succeed as a school. Help all your people. We have a lot of people out there that don't get this kind of recognition and that's what we do. We help. I've been here a little over a year, and let me tell you, that is your greatest strength. What you guys do for each other and what you do for your community. This is a very unique school in that regard. This is the 9th high school I've coached at and I've never been at a school. I've never been to a place like this that this kind of people like you, your heart and your soul. That's what you contribute to all of us."

Rio Rico High School wrestler Sophia Renteria secured her spot on the Arizona National Wrestling Team after competing in the AZ-USAW National Qualifier held at Red Mountain High School on March 11th, 2023. The team will represent Arizona in the Fargo Cadet and Junior Nationals in July in Fargo, North Dakota. Continue reading

These four athletes have been selected to represent Rio Rico High School at the upcoming Student Leadership Summit in Phoenix on April 10 as part of the AIA's Student Leadership Advisory Committee. These four will attend classroom sessions designed for student-athletes to become leaders at their school. The summit will also provide these athletes an opportunity to network with other student-athletes across the state of Arizona.

Above: Nicolette Bojorquez (Soccer), Hector Navarro (Baseball), Ariadne Tapia (Volleyball), Danny Knapp (Track and Field)

Do you have a child who will be a kindergarten student this fall? The Kinder Readiness Fair is coming in April. Families will have the opportunity to tour the school, meet the kindergarten teachers, and take a tour of the school bus.

Those who register early will receive a free "Future Hawk" t-shirt. To get started, visit scv35.org/registration or use the QR code on the flyer above! For more information about registration or to get your ticket, call Cristina Pierce at (520) 375-8281

Would you like to learn more about advertising in the SCV35 Newsletter? Email communications@scv35.org for more information.