Happy Sunday, all! I hope you had a great Rodeo Break. See you tomorrow!
PRINCIPAL'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
All of these practices are in order to maintain the attendance expectations for UHS, which are very simple: arrive every day to every class on time, and contact the school promptly when you must miss for legitimate reasons. These rules are not in place to penalize students or families who have situations out of their control. This again is the expectation of all students and adults as a part of life skills application. Note also these are not new policies, but we are re-evaluating and cleaning up our policies for the betterment of our community.
Parent survey thanks!
Thanks folks for filling out the TUSD parent school quality survey. We reached our goal of a minimum of 30% responding! If you have not yet replied the announcement will stay below through the end of February with the link to the survey. We appreciate your feedback!
UHS attendance policy, practices, expectations
It is the expectation for every student attending and every adult working at UHS to arrive on-time for school. For students, this is a fundamental life skill that is part of adulting both now and after high school. In reference to TUSD governing board policy JE-R – Student Attendance, the following school policies are in place for absences and tardies, and will be expected/enforced throughout the school year.
Student tardies
All students are allowed 5 tardies per class, per semester. This precludes any tardies which qualify as excused, see below for definitions. If a student has 6 or more tardies in any single class period they may be subject to disciplinary procedures according to the TUSD student Code of Conduct. Practice at our school has included after school detentions, but can also be assigned as lunch detentions, Saturday School, or other means of appropriate, proportional consequences.
Tardy Sweeps
The UHS administration may call a Tardy Sweep on any day, during any period. A clarification from last week: tardy sweeps function as an extension of the existing tardy policy, and any unexcused tardies noted above the limit will be subject to instant disciplinary consequence as described above. Why the sweeps then if it doesn't count as something extra? It is a way for us to hold immediate accountability and tracking of student attendance issues so we can move forward quickly and improve.
Student absences
Student absences will be accounted for according to the referenced Governing Board policy. Please note one important distinction: a phone call for either an absence or tardy does not necessarily excuse that absence or tardy. If a student is sick and it is called in, then the absence will be noted according to the specific illness. If a student is called in for a medical/dental appointment, then the office would need verification of said appointment in the form of a note from the office. Conversely, if a parent/guardian called the school to inform that their student overslept and is on the way, or that the family is taking a vacation, it would be noted as verified by the attendance office but marked as UNEXCUSED. UHS is also considering changing the practice of allowing 18-year-old students to sign themselves in and out of school if they still live with their parent/guardian. What will be instituted is using this as an example: we have had several students sign out in the last few days as "sick" at the end of the day, and left early. Like all other students, if a student is signing themselves out as sick, they must have checked in with the health office and be deemed too sick to stay in school. Otherwise, this will be counted as an unexcused absence.
Detention Feb 24/25
The next round of assigned detentions will be served this coming Monday, February 24 and Tuesday, February 25 from 3:30pm-4:30pm in the RUHS cafeteria with Mr. Miller supervising. Students will have been informed in advance, and some may still be informed this Monday. Detentions take precedence over after-school clubs and athletics, and coaches will be notified if student will either be late to or miss practices and competitions.
Please Respect Our Neighbors - continuing
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 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.
Students: if you are entering our campus on foot, do not walk through gates that are designated for vehicles. On Arcadia, the pedestrian gate in front of the administration building is the only gate that students should be using to enter campus on foot. On 8th Street, south of our campus, pedestrians need to enter through the gate next to the softball field. On 5th Street, north of our campus, students should be entering the pedestrian gate right next to the parking lot. Foot traffic entering/exiting through the parking lots puts lives in danger and hinders the flow of safe traffic.
Please make sure you are following the traffic patterns and utilizing pedestrian gates for foot traffic. As a school community, we have to work together to ensure everyone is safe. If we all abide by the designated foot and vehicle traffic patterns, we not only limit the potential for accidents, it also helps to keep the traffic flow smooth and timely. Thank you for your continued support and dedicated attention to this matter.
Please respect these traffic laws reinforced by signs near the south 8th St gate:
- There is no parking, stopping, or standing during school hours (7:30am-4:00pm, M-F) going east on 8th St from Mountain View Ave to Arcadia Ave. This is dangerous as it creates a bottleneck along the street and makes passage potentially more treacherous.
- There is no parking anytime going north on Arcadia Ave from 10th St to 8th St. This is dangerous as it creates a bottleneck along the street and makes passage potentially more treacherous.
- There is no stopping in the middle of any through roadway to either pick up or drop off students. All traffic must pull off on designated or legal areas out of the throughway.
- The driveway 8th St gate to Rincon/University High School is an exit gate only. This will be enforced by the school through campus security and administration. All traffic is to exit and turn right (westbound) to exit the neighborhood. This is part of the through-campus loop which has been established between the school and the neighborhood through consultation and observation.
- All students walking off campus to the south will go through the eastmost walk-out gate, NOT the driveway gate. This will reduce the risk of being hit by a car.
- All parents/guardians/community: the best route to drop off or pick up your students is to enter the campus and follow the route. This will help to reduce double- and triple-parking along Arcadia Ave, cars making illegal U-turns, and potentially hitting any pedestrian traffic.
See the attached diagram below for the routes in and out of campus. The reason for this is that students walking across the street are dodging vehicles going in multiple directions, creating blind spot corners without room for cars to navigate safely. We aim to get all parties on the same page: the Sierra Estates neighborhood and its residents, RUHS students/parents, RUHS administration and staff, and TPD. The danger brought upon the students and pedestrians by illegally dropping students off on 8th St. between Mountain View and Arcadia and Arcadia from 10th St. to 8th St. is palpable. Our priority is the safety for students and pedestrians. Please use caution.
Rincon and University High Schools are the central hub in this community, and we want to develop safe, respectful relationships with our neighbors so that we are a welcome entity in the community, modeling civility and respect.
Please be extra-vigilant during student drop-off and pick-up to follow and abide by the posted signs, and by obeying all traffic laws regarding parking, speed limits, and safe driving overall.
TPD regularly enforces the area and violations of regulations may result in hefty fines. Beyond that, we want to teach our students what it means to be courteous neighbors as leaders in the community. As concerns continue to escalate, we advise all members of the Rincon/University community and surrounding neighborhoods to report violations to TPD. However, we are hopeful that the continued communication between the schools and the neighborhoods combined with proceeding with caution while traveling in the area will eliminate the need to involve law enforcement.
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.
We urge you to support our neighbors, as well as our young drivers and pedestrian students, by practicing patience and consideration while traveling in the nearby neighborhoods. Remember, the safety of everyone in the area, including your student, is the goal!
Upcoming events:
Wednesday, February 26: spring orchestra concert - RUHS auditorium, time TBD
Thursday, February 27: Coffee with the Principal - RUHS auditorium lobby, 7:45am-8:45am
February 27 - February 28: Intermediate drama showcase - RUHS little theater, times TBD
Friday, March 7: Grading Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
March 8-March 16: Spring Break - SCHOOL CLOSED FOR STUDENTS, STAFF
Wednesday, March 26: TUSD PLD - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
Wednesday, April 16: UHS Instate college tours, day one - see announcement below
Wednesday, April 23: UHS Instate college tours, day two - see announcement below
Athletics updates - girls b-ball moves on!
Congratulations to our RUHS girls basketball team for winning their first playoff game this past Thursday against Cibola! Check out this incredible accounting of the game UHS assistant principal Jason Miller wrote! They move on to play Hamilton this coming Thursday, keep strong, Rangers and Penguins!
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:
UHSPA update
Thank you for joining us for our latest monthly meeting on February 18th, we appreciate your participation. Future meetings will be on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. 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.
- Our overall UHSPA Annual Fund Drive is LIVE! Your support allows us to continue our outreach efforts with our UHS Community. Primarily, we fund classroom grant requests, Grad Night, and teacher and student recognitions. Click here to learn more about UHSPA activities and DONATE to our fundraising effort.
- And speaking of Grad Night 2025, help us celebrate our seniors! Click here for more details on how to help:
- Seniors and Senior Parents- Buy your tickets now before the price increases!
- Join our Grad Night planning committee. Our next meeting will be after the monthly Parent Association meeting on February 18th. If you would like to join the group, please email uhspa or show up to one of our meetings.
- Donate to support this great event.
- Find an item on our Grad Night Amazon Wishlist and purchase a prize for a senior or supplies to help us host the event.
Our UHS families have been amazingly supportive of our classroom supply drive. The Wishlist will stay open to reflect current classroom requests. Teachers/ staff please send needed supply requests to uhspa. Anyone shopping on Amazon and wanting to send an item of appreciation to the school can check out our Amazon Wishlist to support our most recent classroom needs. Your continued donations of kleenex and hand sanitizer is greatly appreciated.
Other recent UHSPA activities included supporting Counselor Appreciation week. We certainly appreciate everything our CCCC staff does for our students.
** Sign Up for Remind- text [student grad year code] to 81010 -- ([student grad year code]: @uhspa2025, @uhspa2026, @uhspa2027, or @uhspa2028) ** Subscribe for communications from UHSPA ** Email uhspa **
Yearbook update
Yearbook Purchasing
Yearbook submits the final number for publication by MONDAY, February 24th, so PLEASE order soon. We will only purchase 50 books beyond the Feb. 23rd purchased amount. Last year we sold out, so please order soon to make sure you have a book when they arrive in May! Yearbook staff has been working hard to create a 312-page book that captures the moments, community, and achievements of our 2024 - 2025 school year!
The yearbook is price $75 for a limited time. The next price increase will happen on 2/28. Purchase your yearbook soon if you are hoping to purchase it at a lower price. Visit the Lifetouch website and our school code is 15096125.
UHSFAA - student microgrants
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.