The Weekly Penguin
November 24, 2024
3 schools days until Thanksgiving
Hi all,
A HUGE congratulations to the cast and crew who put on Sweeney Todd. Not only is it one of my favorite musicals, everyone did an amazing job from start to finish. Musicals happen every other year because of the sheer amount of work that goes into it, but the product is certainly worth it. Great work!
Parents: if you plan to check out your student early on Wednesday, November 27 please send a note with the student, preferably in advance. Office staff will be limited, and it will take a while to retrieve students at the last minute. We appreciate a little grace and patience and are asking for this step to aid in the efficiency of our office. We will not be accepting calls to check students out after 1:29 pm.
Read below, and Happy Sunday!
Upcoming events:
November 28-29: Thanksgiving break - SCHOOL CLOSED
Wednesday, December 4: Boba with the Principal - Ni Hao Tea: 4726 E. Broadway Blvd, 4:15pm
Thursday, December 5: Dance winter showcase - RUHS auditorium, 7:00pm
Tuesday, December 10: UHS Site Council meeting - RUHS library, 3:30pm
Wednesday, December 11: RUHS choir & orchestra concert - RUHS auditorium, 6:30pm
Thursday, December 12: Giant Steps jazz concert - RHUS auditorium, 6:00pm
Tuesday, December 17: UHS Student of the Month breakfast - RUHS auditorium lobby, 8:00am
Tuesday, December 17: UHSPA December meeting - RUHS library, 6:00pm
Tuesday, December 17: Winter band concert - RUHS auditorium, 7:00pm
Table of contents - NEW INFORMATION
AP exams and registration - FEES POSTING SOON
Athletics - winter sports begin!
CCCC (College, Career, and Counseling Center) update
Family engagement survey
Governor's Youth Commission: Domestic Violence Awareness campaign
Table of contents - CONTINUING INFORMATION
RUHS club list
Tutoring is here!
UHSFAA - student microgrants
UHSPA info
Yearbook info
Winter guard/drumline - fees and participation
AP exams and registration - FEES POSTING SOON
AP exam registration has passed. AP exam fees will be posted by December and are due by May 1. We will notify everyone once exam fees are posted.
Review the following document (UHS AP Exams 2025_Payment & Cancellation Details (valid 11.02.24 - 03.01.25)) for information on how to register late for exams and/or cancel exams. Late Registration and Exam Cancellations must be done my March 1 at 9:59pm.
Athletics - fall sports wrap up, winter sports begin!
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.
See below for direct links to each sport offered for the winter season at Rincon/University High School. Congratulations to all our fall sports, you did a great job! Next week I'll try again to have spotlights for individuals and teams who competed in the fall post-season.
Winter sports lineup:
CCCC (College, Career, and Counseling Center) update
SENIORS:
Financial Aid Apps Info Night
Monday 11/25 at 6:00pm on Zoom
For all current 12th Grade Students & Parents/Families
The FAFSA officially opens on December 1st. Join to learn about how the FAFSA works and how to successfully complete it (including changes that have been made in the last year). All students should complete the FAFSA. We will also share some resources on the CSS Profile which is often required for students who are applying out of state. It's important that both students & parents attend this info session if possible!
Zoom Meeting ID: 851 8416 7337
Passcode: 425309
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) – Every junior parent/guardian and student was emailed links & more info on 9/30, so check your email if you missed this!
[Q2] Building Your College List – November 19 – keep an eye on your email for info & links from the presentation!
[Q3] Financing College – February 4
[Q4] Planning & Preparing for the College Application Process – April 15
---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 USH Counseling, College, Career Center webpage 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.
ALL STUDENTS:
Online Health and PE classes have now started. If you would like to be enrolled, please contact Mr. Encinas by email. To be eligible for online Health, you must have taken or be currently enrolled in AP Macro/Microeconomics, or you must have already taken Honors Economics. Please contact Mr. Encinas with any questions.
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. If you are interested in receiving free peer tutoring, look for the list of tutors in the CCCC or ask your counselor!
Family engagement survey
Governor's Youth Commission: Domestic Violence Awareness campaign
This post is on behalf of amazing UHS student Eve Kpetehoto. Thank you for all you do for the school and community!
Hello UHS families!
I have recently been accepted into and become a member of the Domestic Violence Workgroup of the Arizona Governor’s Youth Commission (GYC), which is housed within the Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith, and Family.
On behalf of the Arizona Governor’s Youth Commission’s Domestic Violence Workgroup, I invite you to partner with us to bring attention to the issue of teen dating and domestic violence. During the months of October and November 2024, the Domestic Violence Workgroup will be conducting an awareness campaign throughout the state to bring attention to this issue. The campaign will have several components including public education, resource referral and a product drive.
As a member of the community, I am asking if you would be willing to join us and participate in this campaign by being a product drive donation site. Donation products include shampoo, conditioner, body wash, children’s and adult clothing, bedding, children's toys, soap, to directly help those in Arizona’s community domestic violence shelters. The Domestic Violence Workgroup will provide a donation box and all the necessary materials to secure donations to be placed in the UHS administration office and we will arrange to collect any product donations received. (from Mr. Ranjel: although this campaign will officially end in November I am more than happy to leave the donation box in the administration office through the end of the semester.)
Please let me know if you would be willing to participate in this campaign or have any questions. By working together, we can help those in need and bring an end to domestic violence and teen dating violence in our state.
We look forward to working with you!
Respectfully,
Eve Kpetehoto
Governor’s Youth Commission
RUHS club list
Here is the latest 24-25 RUHS club list. Find a club that fits you and join the community!
Tutoring is here!
UHS offers tutoring in a variety of subjects, and the schedule has now been finalized. Please see the UHS tutoring schedule on Canva for the full listing of available and regular tutoring sessions. You may also speak with any of your teachers at any time to arrange a time to work with them directly if they are not included on this list. You may go to any teacher of any subject for tutoring or help, it doesn't have to be your teacher! You can also follow the QR code below to see the flyer.
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 update
Newsletter with information on events and efforts between now and the end of the year! Direct delivery to your email inbox! If you are not signed up to receive our newsletters, click the "Subscribe" link at the bottom of this update :)
Make sure to join us for our monthly meetings 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.
- 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 monthly Grad Night planning meeting after the UHSPA general meeting on 11/19. We will start our active planning. I will be communicating with the planning committee soon. If you would like to join the group, please email UHSPAor show up on 11/19!
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 by email. 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 by email**
Yearbook update
Yearbook Purchasing
The yearbook is discounted to our cost ($65) for a limited time. To make sure to get the lowest price, please purchase your yearbook soon. To purchase, visit the Lifetouch website and our school code is 15096125.
Seniors
What is a senior ad? A senior ad is your very own page in the yearbook to create a tribute for your senior student! See the photo for an example of a senior ad.
Senior ads are a terrific way to show how proud you are of your graduating student and support the Yearbook class. Because we sell the yearbook for cost, this is our fundraiser for supporting yearbook equipment and software. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to purchase a senior ad (tribute). You do not need to complete the tribute page the same day as purchase. When you purchase, you set up an account and you can go back to it later. The page will be due late January.
Winter guard/drumline - fees and participation
Rosters are being made for winter colorguard and winter drumline! There will be a change for all band/colorguard students moving forward, starting with this winter's participants in the extracurricular competition component of each organization: all students will have the participation fee option added to their as soon as rosters are received in the finance office. All students wishing to participate in the extracurricular competition component of their team must have their fee paid BEFORE rehearsing or performing. This will go into effect also for the coming school year with marching band participation/competition. We are re-vamping the method of loading fees into InTouch for an easier experience, and we will be in constant communication when they are ready to be accessed. Thank you for your support as we work to ensure all fees are collected and thus as much financial support as possible is granted to our amazing programming.