Hi all,
I have a huge thank you to offer both the Rincon and University HS student councils for an excellent spirit week and homecoming celebration, including a fantastic pep assembly on Friday and an even better dance on Saturday. Also congratulations to our testing team for an outstanding PSAT testing day on Thursday.
A fresh note for our students: I am asking you all to police your trash at the end of lunch. There are a few places we have consistently seen trash left as students walk away to head to class, including several tables and along the administration building where students congregate. Yes, we have groundskeepers, but they are two versus the 2,100+ students and 140+ working on our campus. Do you parts inside and outside of buildings to take care of our home and it will take care of us.
On another note, please see the notice below about parking in the neighborhood south of the school.
And a final note about traffic: I will be asking for assistance from law enforcement at both the beginning and end of the day to monitor and enforce traffic laws. I am tempted to list individual vehicles I have witnessed this week exemplifying such behavior as driving erratically, dangerously, and illegally, but I am going to stay classy. Just know that I have intentionally gotten to school at the busiest time in the morning to observe what is happening with traffic, and parents/guardians/students are perpetuating these behaviors sometimes very literally within inches of my car. Please drive safely.
Upcoming events:
Will update next week!
Athletics
Get your season pass for $30 in the finance office. This ticket allows you to get into all home game event excepting post-season competition/play. All proceeds generated from purchasing this pass stay at the school.
If you wish to participate in a winter or spring sport you can get your athletic packets done NOW. This will save time during the rush to get these done right before a season starts. Stop by Ms. Bull Calf's desk in the UHS admin office to pick up and drop off packets, or if you have questions.
See below for direct links to each sport offered for the Fall season at Rincon/University High School.
Girls’ Soccer, pre-season practices
Pre-season for girl's soccer begins this week on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school on the soccer fields. You must be cleared with the Athletics office before you can participate. Please bring appropriate equipment and protective gear. See Coach Ecelbarger in room 214 or the flyers around campus for more info!
Counseling team and assignments
Amy Villagio
Department chair
Counselor grades 11/12
Last names A-L
Max Encinas
Counselor grades 11/12
Last names M-Z
Sam Matz
Counselor grades 9/10
Last names A-L
Kate Brownstone
Counselor grades 9/10
Last names M-Z
Marcos Flores
504 coordinator, testing coordinator
Katrina Messing
Recruitment and Retention Coordinator
Lori Minor
Writing Specialist
Megan Palos
College and Career Coordinator
Kirsten Pelot
MTSS Coordinator
Korean exchange students
The Asian Pacific American & Refugee Student Services department is hosting exchange students from South Korea for the second year running, and University High School has been invited to participate this year. We will be hosting 10 students for 3 weeks from January 17, 2025 to February 8, 2025, and we are looking for 10 host families to house these students. The department has prepared some detailed information as well as a registration document if you are interested. Please contact Mr. Ranjel directly if you are interested in this amazing opportunity, I am personally very excited to be host to the wonderful students.
Major road construction project forthcoming
The City of Tucson Transportation and Mobility Department has created a road construction plan that aims to permanently change the 5th/6th Street Corridor by reducing the four lanes currently existing down to two lanes, with construction beginning soon. The project is called a “road diet” project as it will reduce the lanes of east/west vehicle travel, by adding/maintaining a center lane for turning and pedestrian bike lanes. This construction will impact travel to and from University High School and is anticipated to affect student drop-off/pick-up in the area.
At this time, the Department of Transportation and Mobility has projected that the work will begin in mid-September 2024, beginning with a water line installation along 5th Street from Wilmot Road to Country Club Road. The waterline work is anticipated to take about 18 months to complete and will reduce travel down to two lanes. The roadway reconstruction along this segment of 5th Street is not expected to begin until the waterline work is complete.
Please see link below if you are interested in more details.
Travel Club is going to eastern Europe!
The UHS Travel Club is launching the 2026 trip to eastern Europe! Students will travel through Berlin, Prague, Krakow, Budapest, and Vienna with faculty chaperones and professional guidance through EF Tours. There will be a parent information meeting on Thursday, October 24th, from 5:30-6pm by Zoom. The trip is open to all students and is AZ Tax Credit-eligible! RSVP for the meeting here: https://bit.ly/3T9aGh3.
UHSFAA - Hall of Fame event
The UHSFAA is hosting a small Hall of Fame event to honor retired UHS English teacher, Kris Tully. See the announcement on the UHSFAA website for more information and to RSVP.
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.
UHSPA info
We are starting to settle into our roles with UHSPA. Be on the lookout for our October UHSPA Newsletter during fall break! Direct delivery to your email inbox! If you are not signed up to receive our newsletters, click the "Suscribe" link at the bottom of this update :)
Make sure to join us for our monthly meeting on October 15th at 6PM in the RUHS Library. 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 the left.
- We still have a need for Junior and Senior parents to serve as general members on our board. This is a low time commitment. You will get a couple of emails a month on things like grant requests and will need to review and vote.
- We will be hosting our first Grad Night planning meeting after the UHSPA general meeting on 10/15. We will continue brainstorming what we want to do to celebrate our seniors' special night and start a list of themes for the celebration
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@uhs-pa.org. 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.
** 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 ** Contact us at uhspa@uhs-pa.org **
