The Weekly Penguin

The number of school days until UHS graduation, and the number of school days left overall. Things are going to start happening in quick succession, so stay on top of everything and be proactive with your communication with teachers,

Upcoming events:

Wednesday, April 30: Coffee with the Principal - 7:30am, RUHS auditorium lobby

May 5 - May 16: AP exam regular schedule - RUHS south gym and supplemental areas, AM and PM. Check your individual MyAP accounts for information specific to your testing date and time, and the info from Ms. Palos below!

Saturday, May 17: Arts Under the Stars - RUHS campus, 6-8pm. More info to come!

Monday, May 19: UHS Declaration Night - time TBD, RUHS amphitheater

Wednesday, May 21: UHS graduation - 7pm, Kino Memorial Sports Complex

Saturday, June 7: South Gym Painting and Clean-up - 9am-1pm. Join us as we paint railings, paint walls, clean up the bleachers, and paint the bathrooms and locker rooms in our South Gym. University High School will have all of the necessary painting supplies and materials. Just bring yourselves and a can-do attitude.

AP testing info

Athletics - spring 2025

CCCC (College, Career, and Counseling Center) update

Graduation regalia, cords

Presidential Scholar semifinalist

Senior graduation info link

UHSPA update

Bond update: construction planning

New (Old) Instagram for UHS!

Pima County Summer Youth Program

RUHS club list

Traffic around Rincon/University

UHSFAA - student microgrants

The season is upon us! AP testing begins Monday, May 5. See the information below for more details.

AP STUDY SESSIONS

AP test season is here! We are administering over 2,200 for our students, and our teachers are hosting test prep sessions. See the schedule here for current and future sessions scheduled. Use conference periods to your advantage and find friends to coordinate your studying.

AP PAYMENT AND TEST DAY DETAILS

Ms. Palos has compiled a master list of AP testing information for the coming weeks. It's a lot, but take the time to read it all as it pertains to anyone taking even a single AP exam. Reminder that this year all AP exams will be on the Rincon/University campus. Let us know if you have any questions!

AP Payments & Test Day Details

Megan Palos she/her

College & Career Readiness Coordinator

University High School

421 N Arcadia Ave, Tucson, AZ 85711

Come support Boys Tennis in the State Tournament - April 30th at 3:00pm Vs. Mesa Mountain View.

RUHS Athletics T-Shirts for sale in the Bookstore!!

$15 for 1

$25 for 2

Spring sports are here! See below for direct links to each sport offered for the winter season at Rincon/University High School.

Spring sports lineup:

Baseball - VAR

Baseball - JV

Softball - VAR

Softball - JV

Tennis - boys VAR

Tennis - girls VAR

Track & Field - boys VAR

Track & Field - girls VAR

Volleyball - boys VAR

Volleyball - boys JV

Volleyball - boys FR/SO

All students (9th-12th) MUST have a TUSD issued laptop!

Students MUST check out a TUSD issued laptop each year. Even if you use your personal laptop daily for classes, you will need to have a TUSD laptop for AP Exams. If you do not currently have a TUSD laptop, please visit the finance office ASAP to get a permission form and check out a laptop for the remainder of the year.

Students, make sure you are signed up for the Remind for your class, and please remember to check these messages! We post info about scholarships, summer activities, college & career-focused events on campus, and more! Don’t miss out!

JUNIORS:

-Join the UHS Counseling team for our quarterly College-Ready Seminars focusing on how juniors can prepare for applying to college. Each quarter we will focus on a different topic to assist juniors & families in their college planning by breaking down the process and helping you work smarter, not harder! We highly encourage all junior students and families to attend each quarter so they are best prepared for next year.

[Q1] College Admissions Testing – September 24 (rescheduled from 9/10) – Links & more info were sent out on 9/30, so check your email if you missed this!

[Q2] Building Your College List – November 19 – Links & more info were sent out on 12/13, so check your email if you missed this!

[Q3] Financing College – Tuesday, February 18 – Links & more info will be sent out soon if you missed it!

[Q4] Planning & Preparing for the College Application Process – April 15. This will cover valuable information about the application process – we look forward to seeing all of our rising senior students and families!

---All seminars take place on Zoom starting at 6:00 pm. See attachment for more info; zoom links have been updated! We look forward to seeing you there!

FRESHMEN & SOPHOMORES:

Make an appointment to meet your counselor – they are excited to work with you during the first half of your high school career! Go to the UHS Counseling, College and Career Center site and click on “Book Appointment.” Email your counselor if you don’t see any times available that work for you, or come by during drop-in hours during lunch or conference period. (Same thing for juniors and seniors!)

ALL STUDENTS:

Students, make sure you are signed up for the Remind for your class, and please remember to check these messages! We post info about scholarships, summer activities, college & career-focused events on campus, and more! Don’t miss out!

Peer tutors: If you want to be a volunteer peer tutor, look for the QR code around the U-building to sign up, or email Ms. Brownstone. Your fellow Penguins will really benefit from your help, and this is an excellent way to give back to your community. We appreciate all of our current volunteers! If you are interested in receiving free peer tutoring, look for the list of tutors in the CCCC or ask your counselor!

Greetings Rincon/University 12th grade students and parents,

We are gearing up for graduation, and we are in the final quarter until then! University High School's graduation will take place on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at the Kino Sports Complex, and Rincon High School's graduation will take place on Thursday, May 22, 2025 at the Rincon/University High School stadium. We have some information regarding regalia for each day. Pardon the formality of the language but we want to be clear on what the expectations and requirements will be. Please reach out to your respective administration team if you have any specific questions surrounding your school's regalia and adornments.

The Rincon and University administrations would like to share the cord system that is approved

for graduation regalia. These cords will be purchased by each school for our respective students for this school year only, and afterward anything specified below will need to be purchased by their respective entities if they want to continue the practice for next year. All other regalia such as sashes, stoles, or other decorative items must be approved through the practices described in governing board policy IKFB-R - Graduation Exercises - Adornments to Cap and Gown. Cultural adornments are also allowed through the same governing board policy. All students must wear their respective school's graduation regalia and can participate in graduation exercises through stipulations described in governing board policy IKFB - Graduation & Promotion Exercises.

Top 20 (Rincon only): gold

National Honor Society (Rincon only): white

AVID scholar (Rincon only): turquoise

AP scholar: royal blue

AP scholar with honor: blue/white twist

AP scholar with distinction: blue/gold twist

Elected student council officer: silver (student council responsible to purchase for SY 25-26)

Competitive club officer: orange (club responsible to purchase for SY 25-26)

Interest club officer: red (club responsible to purchase for SY 25-26)

Any athletic honors, fine arts honors, or other academic honors will be purchased by the individual students through Jostens, such as letters, school graduation year numbers, pins, etc.

Administration will notify students of their receipt of cords from the list above, and they will be handed out closer to graduation.

CLARIFICATION: random decoration of mortar boards (caps) and robes is not permitted. Come speak to Mr. Ranjel with any questions regarding the information provided. Stay alert for any further information regarding graduation!

We are pleased to announce UHS student Katherine Lam was selected as one of 621 national semifinaists to advance to the final round of the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. This is an incredible accomplishment, and we are all so very proud of Katherine's nomination! She will find out in the coming months if she has earned the final honor, which will be announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. Congratulations, Katherine!

For the most up-to-date information on UHS Graduation, visit the UHS Graduation Info Page and/or join the mailing list at Graduation Info Mailing List. There will also be an informational Zoom meeting at 6:30 PM on April 24. Zoom Link.

Thanks!

Lisa Volkening

UHS Physics

Senior class sponsor

Pronouns: she/her

Email Lisa Volkening

Make sure to join us for our last monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 20th at 6PM in the RUHS Library. Please park in the north parking lot off 5th street. Come up the stairs and the door will be unlocked. Turn left inside the doors. The library will be on the left.

• Grad Night 2025 is upon us. We need your help- let's celebrate our seniors! Click here for more details on how to help:
• Seniors and Senior Parents- Buy your tickets now! We have 55% of the class registered for grad night! Help us get everyone on campus to celebrate together one last time...
• We need volunteers to make this event work... lots of volunteers. We can't do this without parent support. Please see our signup sheet on ways you can help. This has always been a pay it forward event where underclass parents volunteer on graduation night so senior families can enjoy graduation and seniors can celebrate with their friends but there are several tasks needing support before graduation night that anyone can help with. Please spread the word and help us fill all these spots.
• Donate to support this great event.50% of the cost of Grad Night is covered by student ticket prices, the rest is covered by donations.
• Find an item on our Grad Night Amazon Wishlist and purchase a prize for a senior. We want everyone to get a prize in the raffle! Prizes are starting to come and we are most appreciative of the support but we still have a ways to go to reach our goal. If you prefer, items can be dropped off at the school and we will get them from the office.
• Executive Board, General Board, Site Council support needed for 2025-26! If you are interested in continuing in your current role or helping by taking on a new role next year, please email uhspa@uhs-pa.org. It will be an exciting year of planning and celebrating 50 years of UHS!

** Sign Up for Remind! text @uhspa2025, @uhspa2026, @uhspa2027, or @uhspa2028

(your student's graduation year to 81010. Subscribe to the UHSPA newsletter. Contact us via email.

UHSPA

Email Us
UHSPA Website

University High School Parents Association (UHSPA)

PO Box 57076
Tucson, AZ 85732

Exciting News for Tucson Unified Schools!

The Tucson Unified School District is thrilled to announce that Davis Bilingual Elementary Magnet School, Rincon / University High School, and Tucson High Magnet School will soon see significant improvements in their instructional learning spaces, thanks to the support of the Bond Oversight Committee, the Tucson Unified Governing Board, and Tucson community. At Davis and Rincon/University, the bond program will replace portable classrooms with modern, permanent learning spaces for students. For Tucson High, the bond program will focus on long-awaited renovations and repairs to the Vocational “V” Building modernizing classrooms spaces for students.

The conceptual and design-build phase will run from February 2025, through June 2025. During this time, the Design-Build team will collaborate with each school’s administration to provide conceptual classroom designs for new learning spaces to meet both current and future enrollment needs.

Construction is expected to be completed by the 2027-2028 school year, providing students and staff with state-of-the-art facilities to support their educational journey.

Stay tuned for updates on this exciting project as we work together to create better learning spaces for our community!

Sincerely,

Dr. C

Charlotte Carter, MBA, PMP, Ed.D.

Bond Program Manager

Tucson Unified School District

Last week we announced our new Instagram page due to issues logging into and accessing the previous page. As soon as we advertised it, Instagram considered us imposters, and promptly killed the site. So, we did some serious digging and tracked down the login for the original page, and it's back up! Follow UHS on our new OLD Instagram page for all the latest news, accomplishments, and day-to-day happenings of the school!

Check out the below flyer for the Pima County Summer Youth Program. Get job skills and earn credit!

Here is the latest 24-25 RUHS club list. Find a club that fits you and join the community!

As we continue to adjust our practices with safety in mind, we are continuing our discussions about working with our neighbors around the school, who like us have student and adult safety in mind primarily. We understand the traffic flow is challenging at times but again has been researched and tooled to the current iteration. We are continually monitoring the traffic flow and are always striving to find ways in which we can support both students and adults as they navigate inside and immediately outside the school property. Please read the RUHS driving and walking practices for details and clarifications.

We urge our families and especially our pedestrian students to practice safe routines during drop-off and pick-up times. Thank you to parents and students who have changed your practices to not park or stop in undesignated zones, and to keep traffic moving. Remember, the safety of everyone in the area, including your student, is the goal!

The UHS Foundation and Alumni Association (UHSFAA) seeks to support UHS students, particularly those who are first generation college bound and who are focused on building opportunities for themselves. Through this, the UHSFAA student microgrant is offered for application. Microgrants are awarded to students in need of anything that furthers their educational development. Grants of up to $500 per student per year are available at the discretion of the UHSFAA board of directors and UHS principal, and are based on available funds. Microgrant awards are through application, and can be given for many different kinds of needs: classroom needs including costs associated with internet access, textbooks or personal academic supplies, summer programs, professional education and internship needs, such as travel and public transportation costs, lunch costs, supplies or clothing needs, immunizations, and more. Requests for funding should be for proposals that can be 100% covered by the grant; requests to partially fund larger projects will not be considered. Please provide at least ten days lead time before the funds are needed so the UHSFAA can have adequate time to consider your application.