Can you believe January 2025 is nearly here!?

We are delighted with the progress made during the first semester! Our students have shown remarkable academic growth, evident in the strong results of our December District Benchmark Assessments (grades 2-6) and the gains in the December District Reading Assessments (DIBELS) for our K-3 students.

The students have settled into a fantastic groove within our learning community, and we are incredibly proud of the dedication and hard work demonstrated by our teachers, teaching assistants, and support staff every single day.

We eagerly anticipate the exciting opportunities that the new year, 2025, will bring for all of our Steele Stallions. While the third quarter promises a host of engaging activities, our primary focus will remain on fostering a strong academic focus and ensuring continued student success.

We value open communication with our school community. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns. We wish you a joyous and restful Winter Break. We look forward to welcoming you back in the new year!

As we open up the second semester in January, please help us with creating a safer drop-off situation following the drop-off expectations below. Stallion Staff will be starting off the semester helping ensure that our families understand and follow the proper the drop off procedures.

🛑Drop-Off Dangers🛑

Our friendly and gentle reminders regarding drop-off in the morning may need a bit more firmness.

There continues to be many cars using the Kenyon parking lot as a drive-through drop-off, as well as the curb on Kenyon. This is a safety hazard for all children.

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.
We care about our students!

Lost and Found:

Our Lost and Found is currently overflowing with unclaimed items, particularly jackets.

To ensure these items find a new home where they can be used, we will be donating any unclaimed jackets to a local clothing bank after January 17th.

We encourage you to check the Lost and Found during parent pick-up or during your morning drop-off routine to retrieve any missing belongings.

Thank you for your understanding

Important Upcoming Dates:

• 01/06/25 - 1st day of 2nd Semester

• 01/10/25 - Student of the Month Assembly, 8:00am

• 01/10/25 - Eegee's Party for Students w/growth or proficiency on December Benchmark Testing

• 01/17/25 - Lost and Found items donated to the TUSD-Palo Verde Clothing Bank

• 01/20/25 - MLK Day Observed, No School

• 01/21/25 - Ms. Conely Kinder Classroom District GATE testing

• 01/23/25 -TUSD Expo Event @ Tucson Convention Center, 5:30-7:30pm

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

• 02/06/25 - Bus Evacuation Drill, 10:00am

• 02/07/25 -Student of the Month Assembly, 8:00am

• 02/13-2/14/25 - Parent Teacher Conferences, dismissal 11am

• 02/20-2/21/25 - Rodeo Break, No School

Register today at Steele!

• If you are continuing at Steele, please go to your ParentVUE account, confirm or update your student’s information.
• If choosing a different school (like middle school), please visit tusd1.org/discover.

• Why register now?!? We plan for teachers, classrooms, budget, all the things we need for the year.

Remember, online registration is required for all students every school year.

I am originally from South Dakota and moved to Tucson in 2006. I met my husband here and we have one daughter. I attended undergraduate school at the University of South Dakota and graduate school and New Mexico State University. I have been working as a speech and language pathologist for 22 years. This is my fourth year with TUSD. I am happy to be working at Steele full-time. In my free time, I enjoy reading, cooking, and hiking.

Hi Steele Families! My name is Emily Freed and I am the Curriculum Service Provider and the Testing Coordinator for Steele. I have been teaching and coaching at Steele for 11 years and have worked for TUSD for 19. My husband Jason and I have been married for 19 years and have 2 daughters, Lily and Hannah. Lily is a Jr. at Rincon and Hannah is in 8th grade at Alice Vail, where her dad teaches math. Over Thanksgiving break I got to check a trip and activities off my personal bucket list and go to New Your City to be at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and see the Statue of Liberty!!! Away from school I enjoy reading, spending time with my family, traveling, going whitewater rafting and going to the beach.

Hello, wonderful families and fantastic students! I'm Ms. Munsey, your dedicated MTSS Facilitator, committed to fostering a supportive environment where every child can thrive. I have been in education for the last 11 years and earned my Bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona and a Master's from Northern Arizona University, so I like to refer to myself as a Lumber Cat. Outside the world of education, I love watching spooky movies with my dad and sister, engaging in epic D&D quests and board games, cuddling with my kitties, and immersing myself in the captivating world of books. As an avid reader, I've set a challenge: I'll read as many books as my age this year. So, 22 books it is... plus another 10 😅

Hello! I’m Mrs. Serafini, and I’m the Special Education Resource Teacher at Steele. This is my 14th year at Steele! I love helping students to achieve their academic goals!

I consider myself a Tucson native. My family moved to Tucson from Libya, North Africa when I was 5 years old. I went to TUSD schools up through high school, and I graduated from the University of Arizona.

I have two grown kids. My son, Miles, is 26, and he works with students in an employment program at Tucson High School. My daughter, Abigail, is 23 and works as a manager at Dutch Bros.

I’ve been married to my husband for 2 years, and together for 10. If you’ve been to a Starbucks, he probably designed the building!

I love to travel! The most thrilling thing I’ve done is fly over glaciers in Alaska!

I’m looking forward to retiring this May! I would love to foster dogs and learn to make jewelry when I’m retired!

• 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.

Submit student attendance via ParentVUE.

With cold and flu season underway, we want to remind families that you can report your student's absences via ParentVUE. With ParentVUE, you can submit your child's attendance at any time of day, skip remembering to call during office hours and focus on your student's health.

You can also use ParentVUE to enter planned absences, including doctor's appointments and family trips.

To submit attendance, go to the attendance section in ParentVUE and select the blue 'Report Absence' button to get started.

Need help accessing and reviewing ParentVUE? Call the office at 520-731-6800 for assistance, or take a look at our easy-to-follow ParentVUE guide here.

• 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 to our campus, all guests 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.

To ensure the safety of our students, all parent and non-parent volunteers must complete or update the volunteer 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. 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 (City of Tucson holidays excluded).

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

Is your daughter interested in Girl Scouts?
Most Fridays 2:00-3:15p
Explore STEM, the outdoors, leadership and more!
Questions? Contact Erin at eallen@girlscoutssoaz.org

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

Alexis McVickers (Mrs. Mac)- Teacher, Kindergarten

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)

Trang Nguyen -TA, Preschool (Ms. Robertson’s classroom)

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

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