We have been BUZZING about our State Letter Grade
moving up to a B!

Thank you families for the donations to help celebrate our school staff for increasing out State Letter Grade. Our staff enjoyed a wonderful brunch while our students had extended recess with some extra fun treats like bubbles, chalk art, parachute play, and other many other games and excitement. We also enjoyed our Bee Spirit day with a fun end of the day Buzzing Bee Boogie school wide dance celebration. See all the great pictures below!

We are just about half way through this quarter. It will be time for our District Quarter 2 Benchmark Assessments for grades 2nd-6th. Please ensure your students are present on Benchmark Days. Last quarter we celebrated classes that had perfect attendance on those days with a popcorn party! We noticed a significant improvement in our student attendance for testing! Thanks to your support in ensuring excellent attendance, our students were able to give their best effort.

We kindly remind families to review our drop-off and pick-up procedures below. We've noticed an increase in the number of cars using the Kenyon parking lot as a drive-through drop-off. This can create a safety hazard for students and disrupt traffic flow for staff.

To ensure a safe and efficient drop-off, please utilize the designated drop-off lane on Sarnoff or park in the Kenyon parking lot and walk your child to the east entrance by the flagpole.

Student of the Month School-wide Assembly & Holiday Concert grades 4th-6th December 6th 8:00-8:45 am. Join us for this year's intermediate grades Holiday Concert which will be paired with our December Student of the Month Assembly from 8:00-8:45 am on December 6th in the Cafeteria.

Our Primary grades (K-2) Gingerbread Houses & Holiday performance is December 10th from 5:30-6:30 pm. This is a fun family event with a performance of holiday songs from our Kinders, 1st and 2nd graders, paired with a hands on activity of making Gingerbread houses. Parents of primary students be on the lookout for donation requests for the gingerbread houses from your child's teacher.

Important Upcoming Dates:

• 12/6 - 8:00-8:45 am Student of the Month Assembly Holiday Concert grades 4-6

• 12/10- 5:30-6:30 Primary grades Gingerbread Houses & Holiday performance

• 12/19 - Last Day of Semester

• 12/20 - Grading Day, No School, Beginning of Winter Break

• 01/06/25 - 1st day of Semester 2

• 01/10/25 - Student of the Month Assembly

• 01/20/25 - MLK Day, No School

• 01/29/25 - TUSD Professional Development, No School

• 02/07/25 - Student of the Month Assembly

Hi! My name is Emily McDuffie and this is my third year as a counselor at Steele. I love working with kids, and I have two of my own-- a daughter who is 12 and a son who is 8. Together, we love traveling any chance we get, as well as hiking and spending time outdoors. In my own free time, I love reading, yoga, and walking with friends. My favorite thing about being a part of the Steele community is putting together our Student of the Month assemblies where we honor students who have been demonstrating good character. Please feel free to reach out to me if I can ever help you or your student! I am here for you!

Hola, Soy Eusebia Limones, mi trabajo en esta escuela es con mucho amor. Me gusta lo que hago con cariño para ustedes niños y maestros mi trabajo habla por my estoy feliz de ser de este equipo.

Hello, I am Eusebia Limones, my work at this school is with a lot of love. I like what I do with love for your children and teachers. My work speaks for me. I am happy to be part of this team.

Hello Steele Stallions! My name is Karen Seabolt and I am one of the counselors here at Steele. I have worked as a teacher and counselor for about 25 years. Some of my favorite activities are traveling with my husband and daughter. I also love cooking, gardening and hiking. In fact, I can't wait to start working on our upcoming Steele garden, be on the lookout for ways to help! This is my first year at Steele Elementary school and I love it!

Hello everybody! My name is Jeremy Regnier and I am your new PM custodian. Though I was born and raised here in Tucson, I have spent the last 2 years living in Eugene, Oregon where I was working
as the lead custodian at the 5th Street Public Market. My fiancée and I, with our 15-year-old dog, made the arduous journey back to Arizona to be closer to our friends and family in early September, so we are still adjusting to the change. In my spare time I enjoy drawing, painting, writing and listening to music. It’s a pleasure to meet you all and be a part of the staff!

• 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. If tardy, they need to stop in the office to be signed in and receive a tardy pass.

Pick Up: 1:55 pm M, T, Th, F and 12:55 pm 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 the 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 by the flagpole 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, volunteers & chaperones 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 the 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.

Our Super Stallion Staff!

Tom Beech – Band (itinerant)

Robin Bizub- TA & Monitor

Courtney Braren- Teacher, 3rd grade

Julie Christy- Speech Language Pathologist

Kathy Conley- Teacher, RTI

Kim Ducsay- Cafeteria Manager

Lee Ezrre- Teacher, Preschool

Jennifer Ferrell- Office Manager

Emily Freed- Curriculum Support Provider/Testing Coordinator

Julie Friberg- Teacher, ELD (itinerant)

Camella Gabato-Teacher, 3rd grade

Patrice Gant- Health Assistant

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

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

Kristin Kamell- Teacher, 5th grade

Shayla Knight- TA, Ex. Ed-Gen Ed.

Eusebia Limones- AM Custodian

Samantha Munsey- Attendance & Registration Tech

Kim Lonsway- Occupational Therapist (itinerant)

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

Vanessa Matthews- TA, CCP Program

Meghan McClafferty- TA, Gen. Ed.

Emily McDuffie- Counselor (part time)

Melody Morehouse- School Nurse (Itinerant)

Judith Moritz- GATE (Itinerant)

Susan Montgomery- Lunchtime Monitor (2hrs)

Hannah Norville- Teacher, 4th grade

Christina Payette- Library Asst. & Monitor

Jessica Paz- TA, CCI Program

Robin Reddix- Teacher, Kindergarten

Jeremy Regnier- PM Custodian

Victoria Reyes- TA, CCP Program

Estella Robertson- Teacher, Preschool Ex. Ed. Inclusion

Amy Rocha- Teacher, 6th grade

Brenda Rodriguez- Teacher, Kindergarten

Karen Seabolt- School Counselor

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

Peter Shibuya-School Psychologist- (itinerant)

Kimber Silva-Munsey- MTSS Facilitator

Ira Stenlund - Teacher, CCI

Marie Taylor- Teacher, 2nd grade

Raiden Thaler -Teacher, Violin & Orchestra grades 4-6th

Victor Weerasuriya-TA, CCI Program

Katherine “Kate” Woll- Teacher, CCP Program

Brianna Zittlosen- Teacher, 5th grade/Site Council Facilitator

Celeste Zylks – Teacher, 1st grade

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