MURPHY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO.21

The recognition is the first of its kind in the Murphy School District. Kuban School had submitted applications for the prestigious A+ recognition for each of the past 3 years. In 1996 Kuban's application failed to catch the eyes of the judges. A year later, Kuban School received a site visit, but again, was not selected as A+. Two years of experience paid off this year, however, as the A+ evaluation team marveled at the school's aesthetic beauty, wonderful children, committed parents and dedicated staff.

The other schools recognized include Homer-Davis Elementary in Flowing Wells District, Frye Elementary in the Chandler District and Andalucia in the Alhambra District. The award has special meaning to Kuban, however, because it marks the academic turnaround of a school that, four years ago, was identified for Title I school improvement.

Kuban will receive $3,000 from Bashas' Markets and Shamrock Foods at a celebration event scheduled for April 14, 1998, at the YWCA Development Center. Seventy-five Cougars - students, parents, teachers, board members and administrators - will be allowed to attend the celebration which will include an ice cream social and video tape of Kuban School.

Who's Who Among America's Teachers recently notified Mr. Ken Gordon, P.E. Teacher at Garcia School that he was selected for inclusion in the fifth edition of Who's Who Among America's Teachers, 1998. This honor is exceptionally gratifying since it comes from a successful former student, Josh Trujillo, who recommended Mr. Gordon because, "he made a difference in my life."

There is no greater reward for teachers than to be valued by former students. Only high school and college students who have been cited for academic excellence themselves in Who's Who Among American High School Students or The National Dean's List respectively are invited to nominate one teacher from their entire academic experience.

As indisputable testimony to the value of outstanding teachers, Who's Who will honor a select 5% of our nation's teachers. America's best teachers will be recognized just as the best doctors, lawyers, athletes, business people and other professionals have traditionally been honored.

On behalf of the Governing Board and Administration I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy SPRING BREAK. Dr. Robert I. Donofrio

Murphy School District held its district-wide Spanish Spelling Bee on February 6, 1998 at the District Field House.

Second and Third Grade:

First Place: Erika Valenzuela from Garcia School

Second Place: Carolina Campaña from Garcia School

Third Place: Joana Alvillar from Garcia School

Fourth and Fifth Grade:

First Place: Grecia Campaña from Garcia School

Second Place: Mayra Dorame from Garcia School

Third Place: Gabriela Castillo from Hamilton

Sixth through Eighth Grade:

First Place: Juan Carlos Hernandez from Hamilton School

Second Place: Maritza Barrera from Sullivan School

Third Place: Pamela Ortiz from Hamilton School

The first and second place winners went on to compete at the Regional Tournament. Murphy has one winner who will compete at the state level in Tucson. The first place winner is Grecia Campaña from Garcia School.

Ms. Rachel Berman, Ms. Estela Haider, Ms. Jeanetta Martinez and Ms. Claire Hogarth were the Spanish Spelling Bee coordinators from each school. Mr. Arturo Carrizoza was the Master of Ceremonies and Mr. Eduardo Castillo from Eldorado Books Publishing was the word pronouncer. Sylvia Aldaz, Rachel Reyes, Noemi Dorame, Bertha Ramirez, Cecilia Dominguez and Eddie Avila served as judges.

In January, Mrs. Clark's, Mrs. Humphreys', Ms. Hammer's, Mrs. Palmer's and Mrs. Davitt's classes from Hamilton School took a trip to the zoo. The kindergarten classes were studying about animal's characteristics and habitats. This was the culminating activity to the unit.

The annual Murphy School District Spelling Bee was held January 27 in the Governing Board Room. Spellers represented all four schools and included Claudia Gonzales and Pedro Cruz-Roman from Garcia School, Jacqulyn Orona and Daniel Robles from Kuban School, Maurice Finley and Malia Gonzalez from Sullivan School and Joseph Kobasic, Maria Sanchez and David Vasquez from Hamilton School.

Pictured is District Spelling Champion Claudia Gonzales from Garcia School. She represented the Murphy School District at the Region 7 Spelling Bee. On the left is the second-place winner, Jacqulyn Orona from Kuban School.

The Spelling Bee Coordinators included Ms. Kasper from Garcia School, Mr. Gross from Kuban, Ms. Hogarth from Sullivan and Rachel Berman from Hamilton School. Kathy Granillo-Beebe and Alice Flores served as judges.

The first annual Murphy School District Fine Arts Festival was held on Tuesday, January 27 at Kuban School.

Students from all over the district performed. This event was coordinated by the Fine Arts teachers Rob Guignard, Vickie Mountz, Paul Harris and Dianne Anderson-Nickel.

Coaches Gil Enciso and Mike Pruett entered the Kuban Boys' Basketball Team in the Peoria Invitational Tournament.

Pictured is Celeste Elias from Garcia School who performed "Magic Moments", a piano solo. Edith Fabian from Kuban School performed with a group of students to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."

There will be no school for students and the Administrative Center and school offices will be closed during Spring Break, April 6-13, 1998. Regular hours resume on Tuesday, April 14.

District administration, Governing Board members, staff, students, and parents want to acknowledge and thank our school nurses for all they do for us.

The nursing and health education programs are vital to the success of our students. The ability to go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure students are in school, healthy, and ready to learn is appreciated.

The ability to deal with students and parents who are in crisis both through your professional expertise and knowledge of outside referral sources is of great service to both the client and to all of us.

This note is sent to you in hopes that you can schedule any of your child's appointments (e.g., Dr., Dentist, Orthodontist) around dates when it is essential that your child be at school.

Students in grades three through eight will be taking the Stanford 9 and Aprenda 2 test from April 20 through April 24. There is no make-up for this test and it is important that your child be in school during all of the testing days. Please schedule any appointments for your children around these dates.

Esta nota es enviada a usted con la espreranza que usted pueda hacer citas del doctor o dentista, alrededor de estas fechas cuando es necesario que su niño/a este en la escuela.

Estudiantes en tercer al octavo grado estarán tomando las pruebas Stanford 9 y Aprenda 2, el 20 de abril al 24 de abril. No puede volver hacer estas pruebas , es muy importanté que su niño/a esté en la escuela durante los días de pruebas. Por favór de hacer citas de doctor o dentista despúes de estos días.

Read ... Read ... Read is what is on the minds of many students at Garcia School. And the reason the students are so excited about reading is a new club, the Garcia Wildcat Reading Club.

The Garcia Wildcat Reading Club began in January. Criteria for the reading club is different for every grade level. It ranges from parents reading to students in kindergarten to writing book reports for junior high students.

At the end of each month students are rewarded at an assembly for having achieved their reading goals. Prizes include certificates, pencils, erasers and notepads. Cake and punch are also served at this presentation. In January, 143 students were presented awards.

Read ... Read ... Read is what is on the minds of many students at Garcia School. And the reason the students are so excited about reading is a new club, the Garcia Wildcat Reading Club.

The Garcia Wildcat Reading Club began in January. Criteria for the reading club is different for every grade level. It ranges from parents reading to students in kindergarten to writing book reports for junior high students.

At the end of each month students are rewarded at an assembly for having achieved their reading goals. Prizes include certificates, pencils, erasers and notepads. Cake and punch are also served at this presentation. In January, 143 students were presented awards.

Apr. 3 Teacher Inservice (T/A) Early Dismissal

Apr. 6-13 Spring Break - No School

Apr. 29 Teacher Inservice (A) Early Dismissal

May 13 Teacher Inservice (T/A) Early Dismissal

May 20 Teacher Inservice (T) Early Dismissal

May 25 Memorial Day - No School

May 27 Teacher Inservice (T/A) Early Dismissal

Elizabeth Salas, an eighth grader at Sullivan School recently entered the Arizona Association for Bilingual Education's (AABE) essay contest for third through twelfth graders. She was awarded first place in the 6th-8th grade level for her essay entitled "Proud to Be Bilingual - The Golden Key." The winners received $250 and were asked to present their essays in English and their native language to several hundred people at the AABE conference at ASU West on Friday, January 30, 1998.

According to Elizabeth, "Being bilingual is like having the golden key to the future." Although she feels more comfortable speaking and studying in English, she plans to continue taking Spanish courses in high school and college.

Elizabeth's teacher, Mrs. Russell, accompanied Elizabeth to the luncheon. She hopes that Elizabeth's success will inspire other student writers to enter their writing in contests so that they also may be rewarded for their hard work.

The PAC continues to hold its monthly meetings. You are encourage to attend.

Presentations on very interesting topics such as Immigration Information and Parent Involvement and the Law have been held.

The PAC is in the process of raising funds by holding burrito sales and raffles to be able to provide student scholarships and help fund travel for parent training activities. The PAC officers elected in September are:

President Maria L. Chabolla

Vice President Magdalena Bravo

Substitute Edelmira Avila

Secretary Dina Vasques

Substitute Elvira Yanez

Treasurer Cecilia Dominguez

Substitute Ester Hernandez

You are invited to become involved with the PAC in an effort to help our schools

and children.

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Registration for kindergarten (children who will be 5 by September 1, 1998) will take place in the Field House at 1441 S. 27th Avenue on May 12, 13 and 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. No appointment is necessary.

Matrícular para el kinder (niños que tendrán los 5 años antes del 1 de setiembre, 1998) tomará parte en el Field House al 1441 S. la 27th avenida el 12, 13 y 14 de mayo de las 8:30 a.m. hasta las 3:00 p.m. No se necesita cita.

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Sullivan students raised over 2600 food cans for charity! In December W.R. Sullivan School and American Express teamed up to raise over 2600 cans of food for the Kids, Cans and Caring Project from American Express. Ms. Pacheco and the Sullivan Student Council directed the canned food drive, collecting and counting cans over four weeks for the St. Mary's Food Bank. The entire student body did a wonderful job of collecting cans during this period. Third grade and junior high collected the most cans during the drive and will receive a pizza party for their efforts! Most of all thank you, Sullivan Community for donating so much for the people in need this holiday season.

for the holiday season. American Express volunteers came to Sullivan and gave a gift to each and every Sullivan student. This was extremely generous as the gifts came from the American Express employees themselves. The company also gave $1,200 to the school to continue building a co-axial TV network. This network is used by students who deliver morning news, weather and sports to the entire campus each day.

The students in Miss Marcotte's class have been studying about fire safety with "Firepal Ray". This was a culminating activity where students were able to try on equipment. A detailed discussion of the equipment, terminology, and its purpose provided the explanation to the students.

This was part of an ongoing study in Mrs. Chambers' science class. The Phoenix Fire Department has brought this program to Hamilton School for the past two years and they do classroom presentations, K-8.

Loren King, a student at Hamilton School, gets to try on some equipment with the help of 'Firepal Ray'.

In Mrs. Obeso's classroom there are always happy faces, many parents and plenty of learning going on. These are just a few of the activities that you might see if you stop by room #1 at Garcia school.

A parent, Luisa de la Cruz, might be reading to a group of students, while other parents, Irene Martinez and Graciela Ruiz , work with some students on math lessons. Mrs. Carmen Gamez enjoys painting cascarones or drawing with two or three students at a time. Diana Obeso becomes a flexible volunteer, doing social studies, science and story telling with bright eyed students. Elizabeth Perez is is our "Make it and Take it" writer and activity designer. She forms small parent groups and teaches them methods that work in reading and spelling. Mrs. Obeso cheers these volunteers on, because without their help Kindergarten classroom #1 would not be the same. THANK YOU PARENTS!

Parents are able to dial the phone numbers that pertain to their child's school and listen to messages recorded in English or Spanish by the school officials about school activities, uniforms and events.

The telephone numbers for all four schools are already programmed and as of February 1st, 1998 you can call and listen to the recorded messages. The numbers are:

Garcia Elementary School 353-5155

Sullivan Elementary School 353-5255

Hamilton Elementary School 353-5355

Project SOAR is a mentoring program for 6th grade students at Hamilton School who have academic problems. Some of the problems are gang involvement, personal and social problems. Project SOAR first started in Tucson Unified School District in 1994, and has expanded to three other schools. Project SOAR is designed to encourage students to focus on their education, and personal values. The project consists of the following: individual mentoring, academic support, skill building, parental participation, and social activity.

For example a mentor will meet the student at least twice a week. The mentor will provide support to the student with homework through tutoring assistance. The mentor will also work with teachers to see what needs to be done and how they are doing. Meetings are provided to encourage parents and students to communicate and interact with the mentor and students. Social activities are for students to socialize in environments, such as cultural, sports, movies and amusement park events. Project SOAR students learn more about themselves, their interests, and learn how to make positive decisions in their lives.

The program is coordinated by Reyna Provencio and supervised by Merlinda Provencio. It started on the Hamilton campus in October 1997.

Sherman Park residents along with some Hamilton School students went Christmas caroling and presented poinsettias to some of the elderly grandmothers in the area.

Some of the carolers and Sherman Park neighbors were:

Eleanor Hernandez, Melissa George and

Maria Ramirez, Angelica Medina

Elizabeth Portillo, Anthony Reclosado,

Eleanor Portillo, Christopher Reclosado,

Alexis Portillo, Anthony George,

Vincent Hinkle and Leticia Reclosado

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? La escuela Kuban, bajo la dirección del Director Clay McAllester ha logrado el premio de A+. La escuela Kuban fue nombrada por la Fundación Educacional de Arizona como una de solo cuatro escuelas de A+ dentro del estado. Este reconocimiento es el primero de su clase dentro del Distrito Escolar de Murphy. La escuela Kuban recibirá $3,000.00 departe de las marquetas Bashas' y Shamrock Foods en una celebración que se llevara acabo el 14 de abril, 1998 en el YWCA Development Center.

? Quien es Quien Entre Los Maestros de América notifico al Sr. Ken Gordon, maestro de educación física en la escuela Garcia que había sido seleccionado para ser incluido en la quinta edición de Quien es Quien Entre Los Maestros de América, 1998. Este honor es excepcional porque la nominación viene del Sr. Josh Trujillo, quien fue un estudiante anteriormente del Sr. Gordon y recomendó al Sr. Gordon porque como dijo, "el hizo una diferencia en mi vida." No hay una recompensa mayor que el ser valorado por sus estudiantes.

? El Torneo de Ortografía en Ingles anual fue llevado acabo el 27 de enero en el salón de la mesa directiva. Los participantes representaron a las cuatro escuelas. La campeona Claudia Gonzales de la escuela Garcia represento al Distrito Escolar de Murphy en la Región 7 del Torneo.

? El Distrito Escolar de Murphy llevo acabo también el Torneo de Ortografía en Español el 6 de febrero, 1998. Tuvimos varios estudiantes que competieron en Tolleson. Todos ellos trabajaron muy duro y salieron triunfadores. Gracias a todos estos estudiantes, sus padres, maestros y personal que participaron en este Torneo. Grecia Campana de la Escuela Garcia gano y competirá en Tucson al nivel Estatal.

? El primer Festival de Artes anual fue llevado acabo el mates, 27 de enero en la escuela Kuban. Estudiantes de todo el distrito participaron en este Festival.

? Los maestros Gil Enciso y Mike Pruett matricularon a los estudiantes de la escuela Kuban en el equipo de basketball de los varones en el Peoria Invitational Tournament.

? En el mes de enero, la Srta. Clark, Sra. Humphreys, Srta. Hammer, Srta. Palmer y Srta. Davitt's y sus estudiantes de la escuela Hamilton visitaron al zoológico. Los salones del Kinder estaban estudiando acerca de los animales, sus características y hábitos. Esta actividad fue la culminación a la unidad.

? El Comité Consejero de Padres (PAC) continua teniendo sus juntas mensuales con buena participación. Animamos a todos los padres del distrito Murphy a que asistan. Tenemos presentaciones en temas de mucho interés como información sobre emigración y La Ley y en Envolucramiento de los Padres.

? El Proyecto SOAR esta patrocinando un programa para los grados del sexto grado que tienen problemas académicos. Algunos problemas son envolucramiento de pandillas, problemas personales y sociales. El Proyecto SOAR esta diseñado para animar a los estudiantes a que enfoquen en su educación y valores personales. Se provee reuniones para animar a los padres y estudiantes para comunicarse y influirse mutuamente con el mentor y los estudiantes.

? Los padres ahora pueden marcar los números telefónicos que pertenecen a la escuela de sus hijos y escuchar los mensajes que están grabados en Ingles o Español por los oficiales de la escuela acerca de las actividades, uniformes o eventos que se estén llevando acabo. Los números son: Escuela Garcia - 353-5155, Escuela Sullivan 353-5255, Escuela Hamilton 353-5355, Escuela Kuban 353-5455.

? Los administradores del distrito, miembros de la Mesa Directiva, personal, estudiantes y padres reconocen y dan las gracias a las enfermeras del distrito por todo lo que hacen.

? Elizabeth Salas, una estudiante del octavo grado de la escuela Sullivan recientemente entro en un concurso de ensayo, para los grados de tercer hasta grado doce, de la Asociación de Arizona para la Educación Bilingüe (AABE) Se le premio con primer lugar por su ensayo que se intituló "Orgullosa de ser Bilingüe - La Llave Dorada". De acuerdo con Elizabeth, "El ser bilingüe es como tener un llave de oro al futuro.

? El departamento de policía patrocino los programas G.R.E.A.T. en las escuelas del Valle, incluyendo las cuatro escuelas del Distrito Murphy. Los estudiantes del grado siete asistieron al programa de dieciséis semanas para aprender de los afectos de estar envueltos en las pandillas. Destrezas para rehusar a los pandilleros y algunos incentivos para quedarse limpios de envolvimiento en las pandillas fueron reforzados.

? Recuerde que no habría clases para los estudiantes del distrito de Murphy durante las vacaciones de primavera que serán el 6 - 13 de abril, 1998. Las oficinas también estarán cerradas durante esta semana.

The Governing Board meets on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Board Room in the Administrative Center at 2615 West Buckeye Road. You are invited to attend.

Published for residents, parents, staff and students of the Murphy Elementary School District periodically during the school year. Comments, inquiries, and

news items should be directed to:

Murphy Elementary School District No.21

2615 West Buckeye Road

Phoenix, Arizona 85009

353-5000

Please note that the Administrative Center and the four schools offices have new phone numbers.

Administrative Center - 353-5000

Student Support Services - 353-5063

Curriculum Department - 353-5066

Multicultural Services - 353-5071

Nutrition Center - 353-5009

Maintenance/Operation/ - 353-5055

Transportation

Head Start Office - 233-1771

1441 South 27th Avenue

353-5110

Virginia Alcocer, Principal

Carla Garcia, Assistant Principal

2 North 31st Avenue

353-5220

Kenneth Erickson, Principal

Donna Carrillo, Assistant Principal

2020 West Durango

353-5330

Lorinda Brown, Principal

Ann Sorrentino, Assistant Principal

3201 West Sherman

353-5440

Clay McAllester, Principal

Dan Cooper, Assistant Principal

Nurse, 353-5442

School District No.21 of Maricopa County, Arizona

Murphy Elementary School District No.21

2615 West Buckeye Road

Superintendent

President

Members

Mrs. Jennie B. Navarro

Mrs. Norberta Pruett