Registration for the 2024-2025 school year is well underway, and we're buzzing with excitement for what's to come! A huge thank you to all the families who registered by February 14th, allowing their children to join in our super fun Popcorn Dance Party! (Check out the pictures below!) If you haven't registered yet, please don't delay! The ParentVue registration link in the newsletter below.

We are focused on building an even stronger school community at Steele. Our dedicated staff and students have been working tirelessly to achieve academic excellence, and we're seeing incredible results. Did you know we increased our State School Letter Grade to a "B" this year? And we're not stopping there – we have our sights set on achieving that "A" status!

If you know a family looking for a school where their child will thrive, where they'll find high-quality, caring teachers and staff, and where the principal knows every student by name, please encourage them to join the Steele family! We're creating a truly special learning environment, and we'd love for them to be a part of it. Let's continue to build momentum together! School tours are available to families interested in checking us out, just have them call our front office to schedule a tour. We are having our Kinder Round Up information meeting April 8th @5:30pm-spread the word!

State Testing: A Crucial Time for Attendance and Achievement

State testing is rapidly approaching for our 3rd through 6th-grade students. As we enter the final stages of preparation, consistent attendance is more critical than ever. The Arizona Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) plays a vital role in determining our school's state letter grade and provides valuable insights into your child's academic progress compared to state standards.

Testing begins on March 25th with the 5th-grade AZSci test. Please see the full testing schedule below. On testing days, we ask that you ensure your child receives a nutritious breakfast, a good night's sleep, and arrives at school on time, along with a heartfelt good luck wish from home. We'll take care of the rest!

Our Outdoor Learning Space is Blooming!

Our vibrant new garden and outdoor classroom is blossoming, and we're incredibly thankful for the generous donations that have made this vision a reality! Teachers may soon be reaching out via Class Dojo with requests for plant donations to cultivate their classroom garden plots.

If you have any gardening tools, large pots, decorative items, or trellises that are looking for a new home, we would be delighted to welcome them! We also invite community members to volunteer their time in our shared garden space. If you're interested in lending a hand, please contact Karen Seabolt via email at karen.seabold@tusd1.org or leave a message for her at our front office. Let's grow together!

Dr. Shah, TUSD Board Member, visited Steele on Friday, February 28. We were delighted and honored to welcome him! He spent time reading to the 5th grade classes and then took time to field some questions. If you have a 5th grade student, please ask them what they talked about, it was very moving, and very funny too!

3/6 8:00a Student of the Month Assembly 🏆

3/7 All day, NO SCHOOL, Grading Day🍎🔤

3/10-14 All day, NO SCHOOL, Spring Break💐🐝⛅

03/18 5th grade, AZ Sci testing, Part 1 🔭

03/20 5th grade, AZ Sci testing, Part 2 🧪

03/21 Spring Pictures & Girl Scouts 📸

03/25 5th grade, AZ Sci testing, Part 3 🔬

03/26 All Day, NO SCHOOL, Professional Learning Day
04/03 8:30a Gr. 3-6, Arizona's Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) 🌟Writing📝

04/04 8:00a Student of the Month Assembly 🏆 & Girl Scouts 👧

4/08 5:30p Kinder Round Up Information Meeting

04/08 8:30a Gr. 3-6, Arizona's Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) 🌟ELA pt.1📝

04/10 8:30a Gr. 3-6, Arizona's Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) 🌟Math pt.1📝

04/11 Girl Scouts

04/15 8:30a Gr. 3-6, Arizona's Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) 🌟ELA pt.2📝

04/17 8:30a Gr. 3-6, Arizona's Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) 🌟Math pt. 2📝

04/18 All Day, NO SCHOOL, Spring Holiday 🐰🌸🌱💐🐝

Special shout out to all the families who registered their students by the deadline. It was a HUGE success!! Students had a blast at the Registration Popcorn Dance Party!! We saw some cool dance moves and we were happy to see so many kids be able to attend!

We still need families to register if you have not already. Let us know how we can help!

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.

The parking lot (off Kenyon, by the front doors) has become a dangerous place for our families.

This area is NOT A DROP-OFF area, nor a pick-up.
The RED ZONE CURB is also not for drop-off or parking. This is for the safety of all of our students and families.

The drop-off lane on Sarnoff was put in place for the well-being of our students and families, please utilize it. We understand that sometimes families are running late, if that is the case, we ask that you park in a parking space. If necessary, please walk on the sidewalk with your student into the office to sign them in where they will receive a tardy pass. You may see a staff member outside in the morning signaling for cars to move along and follow the proper procedures. We thank you in advance for keeping everyone in our Steele community safe!

🔽See the City of Tucson's first round of plans for the intersection of Kenyon & Sarnoff. 🔽

• 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.

I am a Preschool Teacher here at Steele Elementary, and the children know me as “Ms. Lee.” My name is Lee Ezrre, and I have been married for more than 35 years. My husband and I have five grown children and five amazing grandchildren.

I have lived in Arizona my entire life—originally from Safford before moving to Tucson, where I’ve spent most of my life. Teaching and working with young children has always been my passion. After raising my children, I pursued my dream of completing my education and earned a BA in Early Childhood Education from the University of Arizona. (I can attest that you are never too old to go back to school!)

My name is Estella Robertson and I am the Exceptional Education Preschool Teacher. I am a native Tucsonan, born and raised! I graduated from Arizona Christian University with a Bachelors in Christian Education and later went on to get my degrees in Special Education. I have been in Special Education for nearly 12 years. Preschool is by far my favorite age group to work with.

I was born and raised in Taiwan. I have been in Tucson since 1996. I have two adult daughters. I have worked as a para-pro at TUSD for 9 years. I had worked as Exceptional TA serving students from kindergarten through second grade. I began to work at Steele ES in PACE classroom since 2022.

I work as an exceptional education teaching assistant for preschool, where I am passionate about helping young children learn and grow. I studied culinary arts at Bristol Community College, which fueled my love for cooking and creating large meals to share with others.

Hi. My name is Ms. Nguyen. I’m an exceptional education preschool teaching assistant. I got my Bachelor’s degree at ASU in Exercise and Wellness helping others with health and wellness goals. I have had wide range of experiences teaching piano lessons and little kids. From my spare time, I like to do outdoor activities, cooking, and spending time with family.

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.

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 by email

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

Bernita Corder - Teacher, Ex. Ed. Resource

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

Ashley Livant- TA Preschool, (Ms. Robertson’s classroom)

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)

Alexis McVicker "Ms. Mac"- Teacher, Kindergarten

Melody Morehouse- School Nurse (itinerant)

Judith Moritz- GATE (Itinerant)

Susan Montgomery- Lunchtime Monitor (2hrs)

Samantha Munsey- Attendance & Registration Tech

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

TBD- 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