Dear Cienega Families,

Last week we successfully finished class schedule registration for the 2015/2016 school year. Current 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students selected their choices for next year's class schedule. If your student did not get a chance to register, please have them see his or her counselor as soon as possible.

Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Thursday, February 12^th from 1:30 - 6:30 p.m. in the Student Union. I encourage all of you to join us and meet with your student's teachers to discuss his or her academic progress. If you need more than a few minutes to discuss concerns, please contact the teachers to schedule a time to meet during their office hours.

Also, consider joining us for Vail Pride Day on Saturday, February 21^st at the Pima County Fair Grounds. Student work will be displayed, awards will be given out, and it is a great opportunity for the community to come together.

We look forward to seeing you at conferences and Vail Pride Day. Your involvement in your child's education is an important part of keeping our Cienega community strong.

Sincerely,

Nemer Hassey

Principal

Are you looking for a way to bring up your students third quarter grade?  Then check out Intersession!  The first session begins Monday March 9th and runs through March 12th.  The second session runs from Monday, March 16th through March 19th.  The cost is $75 per class.  Classes are capped at 25 students with a 15 student minimum.  First Session offers the following courses:  Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2, World History, US History and Government. The second Session offers: English 9-12, Biology and Freshman Physics. 

Click below for registration form and bus route information.

Registration Form

AM Bus Route

PM Bus Route 

Cienega FFA competed in 5 events at our district competition: Aquaculture placed 3rd overall and Tucker Kinder placed 3rd high individual; Meats Evaluation placed 2nd overall; Livestock 10th and Vet Sci 13th and Job interview Lexi Kinder placed 5th high individual. We congratulate these amazing students for their hard work and as they all prepare for State on March 6th.       

Congratulations to the following Cienega High School seniors, who signed with their respective colleges last Wednesday, February 4th! These students have worked hard on the field and in school but not without the support of their family, teachers and friends. We are so proud of their accomplishments.
Go Bobcats!

Athletes from Left to Right.....

Que Brown, football (Pima)
Francisco Dicochea, football (Pima)
Adriell Alvarado, football (Phoenix College)
Bailey Pavelich, softball (Pima)
Tre Stewart-Ruiz, football (Arizona Christian University)
Joe Tavizon, football (Phoenix College)
Austin Vaughan, football (Phoenix College)
Kyle VanAlstine, soccer (Pima)       

Have you noticed that Cienega is a little greener lately?  That's due to a collaboration between Cienega Green Team, Softball, Cienega Administration, the Vail Facilities Dept., and a division of Tucson Electric Power called Trees for Tucson.  Over the month of January, 40 new trees were planted by 98 Cienega students.  Mutiple locations were selected to provide shade for students and fill in more desert areas.  One area to be excited about is the bus bay:  10 trees were planted to provide shade for those waiting for their ride!  Other locations include the front of the 100 building, inside and around the main areas of campus, along the back side of the softball field, and along the multi-use Cross Country path.  Given the advice from the Vail Facilities Dept. and Trees for Tucson, trees were planted in winter to provide enough time to acclimate to the hot summer temperatures.  Trees planted include blue Palo Verdes (Parkinsonia florida), Desert Willows (Chilopsis linearis), and Red Push Pistache (Pistachia chinensis).  Both the Palo Verde and the Desert Willows are native while the Red Push Pistache is hardy and well adapted to the desert.  Drip irrigation was laid down prior to planting and students learned the appropriate way to plant and care for trees over time.  In the future, Green Team hopes to add more trees to needed areas and create name placards placed in front of different trees for easier identification.  This will also make our school more like an arboretum and similar to the University of Arizona.  May they grow tall and provide future Bobcats the needed shade to enjoy our campus!     

Students enrolled in English  (9, 10, 11, AP Language) and Mathematics (Algebra 1, 2, Geometry) courses will take the State of Arizona's AzMERIT  End-­of-­Course  assessments that will test their proficiency in these subjects in April.  Students will not be required to pass the End-of-Course tests for graduation.  However, students must still earn the minimum number of English and Mathematics credits in order to graduate.

Students will be taking the AZMERIT test online this year at Cienega.  Students using schoolowned devices will not need to do anything in advance to prepare their computers.  

Bring-Your-Own-Device  (BYOD) students will need to install the application in advance.    

BYOD  (Bring-­Your-Own-Device) Students: If you bring your own computer you need to install an application before the day of the test.  If you need help please stop by the tech office  (Room 727) before February 23rd. Please visit this website for the link to download the secure testing browser for the AZ Merit online test:

1) On your device to go : http://azmeritportal.org/  

2) Scroll to bottom of the page  (links on left side) 

3) Download the app for your Windows, Mac or Chromebook

Dates:  

By February 23rd -  BOYD testing app/browser installed    

Week of March 2nd  - testing device check (app launched) in English class.  

April 2nd - AzMERIT Practice Test  

AzMERIT testing dates will be:  English April 13, 14  & 15 and Math April 21, 22,  & 23.  

For more general information regarding AzMERIT testing, please visit the official  AzMERIT website - http://azmeritportal.org/    

Download flier here 

The NJROTC Orienteering Team competed at the Rio Rico High School Army JROTC Orienteering Meet on Saturday 7 February.  The meet was held at Santa Fe Ranch near Nogales, AZ and was attended by Southern Arizona JROTC units.  Our teams excelled in this physically demanding competition.   

Vail NJROTC cadets assisted at all the recent high school information parent nights.  The visited all the Vail middle schools and assisted by handing out high school information pamphlets to current 8th graders and their parents.  The NJROTC program is a Career Technical Education (CTE) program and our cadets stood by to answer questions.  

Vail NJROTC cadets from Cienega, Empire, and Andrada provided support at the Sunny-Vail Leadership Conference held on Thursday, 29 January.  Our cadets sang the National Anthem and presented the Colors.  They were excellent Vail representatives. 
   

Seniors and parents of seniors: If you want to stay updated on all of the details for this last semester of your high school career, be sure to download the SchoolWay app. Join the Vail School district, then Cienega High School, then the group "Class of 2015" Push notifications will be sent to you regarding scholarship deadlines, graduation information, grad night information and any last minute senior information. Go to myschoolway.com/vail to download the app or use the web based app if you don't have a smart phone.  

 Print flier here

Senior Parents: In order for your senior to participate in the graduation ceremony, all fines in the Library, Bookstore and Cafeteria must be taken care of. Their name cannot be added to the seating chart if they owe fines.

Avoid the crying and the stress at the end of the semester and do it now.  Contact the library, bookstore, and cafeteria at the numbers below:

Library:  879-2808

Bookstore:879-8813

Cafeteria:879-1888 

Dreaming of going to Australia and New Zealand?

Well now you can, and reasonably!

$4680 - If you act now, the monthly payments are super reasonable!

You only need a $95 deposit (online) to hold your spot  

Monthly payments right now are reasonable for this  

ALL inclusive trip

March 15 - March 29, 2016 (Spring Break)

Here is the link for this fabulous trip!

 http://www.eftours.com/tour-website/1564787ZX

There will be a ...

Mandatory parent information meeting on Monday,

February 16, 2015 at 6:00pm in room 323

LET'S USE THOSE TAX CREDITS NOW BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR!

If you sign up for the trip you are automatically eligible for monies raised from our fundraisers - it's free money for your trip!!

For past tours we have raised a few thousand dollars in a short time. We certainly have more time available to raise more for this trip.

You can also use tax credits 3 times before the trip! Also, Raytheon matches funds. Come to the meeting and let us show you how!

This trip is includes airfare, entrance to all exhibits, hotel and two meals every day!

A sneak peek into our trip:

New Zealand's thriving Maori culture and unique natural wonders draw visitors from around the world.

In Australia, Sydney greets you with its iconic sights: the Opera House, the tower and the harbor bridge.

Get up close to the famous local wildlife-koalas, crocs and kangaroos-and enjoy the stunning scenery and local history along the Gold Coast.

 PRINT FLIER HERE