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 IRHS News
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From the Nighthawk Parent Organization
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December 19, 2012
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CONGRATS Nighthawks!!!!!
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IRHS Bowling Teams Excel
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Did you know that both the boys and girls bowling teams have gone undefeated this year? Most recently both were successful in the Divisional Roll-Off on Wednesday Dec. 12 and will bowl for IRHS in the City Roll-Off today, December 19th, at Golden Pins Lanes for an opportunity to represent Ironwood Ridge in the State Roll-Off. Way to go Nighthawks!
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IRHS Student Has a Role
 Congratulations to Musical Theatre student Amanda Valenzuela. She was one of 8 students in the city of Tucson who auditioned and received a spot to work with cast and crew members from the show "Wicked" this Spring.
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Make Your
AZ Tax Credit Donation
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 Principal's Corner: Much Happening at IRHS
from the desk of Principal Szolowicz
There is a lot going on across our campus in addition to the normally scheduled finals and other cumulative assessments. Some key issues include: - The course description book is moving forward toward publication. The most notable changes are occurring in our Career and Technical Education Department where some course sequences are being realigned to both meet new standards and the evolving needs of the workforce particularly in software design and media arts.
- Work is continuing on the addressing the needs of our "targeted population." The Social Studies department is specifically addressing the AIMS and Social Studies related skill of chart and graph reading. The Band program is providing peer tutoring. The P.E. department is addressing "affective" needs including encouragement. Special Education advocates are continually monitoring their portion of this student group and making instructional and assessment adjustments as necessary.
- Interestingly, playing fields such as our football/soccer/track&field field, can actually be unsafe for competitive play. After 12 years of extensive use, the field in our stadium is currently in need of repair. Soccer fans already know this as all of our home games to so far this season have had to be played at other sites. We are working with the Amphitheater Facilities and Inter-Scholastics departments to repair the field over fall break. At this time, we are anticipating the field will be usable for competitive play when we return in January.
- We are still feeling the effects of last week's tragic events. A special thanks to Terri Amonson for helping out with athletics related issues. Another special thanks to AJ Malis for handling referrals. Here are some updates:
- Paul Krause's passing left the family with some unexpected expenses. His daughter has set up a memorial fund at http://www.giveforward.com/paulkrausememorialfund
- Principal Tilicki is recuperating after his car crash but returned to work on Monday, working half-days this week.
- I look forward to seeing all faculty and staff at our annual breakfast this Friday, December 21, at 8:30 a.m. in the MPR. We are having a country style breakfast buffet catered by the Cracker Barrel and will enjoy a performance from the IRHS Encore Choir. A special thanks to the Nighthawk Parent Organization for their contribution toward the breakfast! It is one way Nighthawk parents express their appreciation for the hard work you do in helping their children to succeed.
Enjoy Winter Break and here's to a safe and happy holiday!
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College Tip: Home Base, a Great Space
by IRHS Counselor Dave Goldberg
Seniors don't have to attend the college closest to them, they don't have to attend the college their parents went to and they don't have to attend the college their friends will. With minor variations, per your parental control, those things are true.
But we all know from 11 years of anecdotal data that IRHS's four-year college-bound seniors who are accepted to several universities or colleges frequently attend the UofA. Whether it's because of proximity to home cooking, perceived savings in housing and food costs, recession or that other universities didn't offer as much institutional aid, the fact remains that we have a fantastic university about 18 miles from The Ridge.
Total cost for attending the UofA will come in around $19,500 (tuition, room & board, books and fees). If your student attends the UofA and you do save a chunk of dough on housing and a few other items, then you've kept some powder dry for graduate school. Staying here for your undergrad and attending the UofA is good financial planning and a sound business investment. Even ASU's and NAU's hidden costs rise when you consider travel to and fro and housing and food costs. ASU goes so far as to require freshmen to live on campus, citing persistence and GPA patterns. It's all about in loco parentis. When those schools offer better gift aid packages, then the decision becomes murkier and much better for your child.
Just to get this out there for all of our students, you need to become familiar with the UofA and use it as a baseline. You know about the basketball program. You may have bumped into Wilbur at a football game. You know they have a great Astronomy program, but are you aware of the nitty-gritty of fist-year programming, class sizes, the gen. ed. curriculum, persistence into the sophomore year and credits awarded for AP scores over 3? All fascinating stuff!
To get some answers, consider a tour of the UofA. Here are a couple of ways:
To get a more in-depth visit to the UA use these programs:
My personal favorite for your senior is the Class Cats program for prospective freshmen. It's a little tricky to set up but well worth it to get an inside look at the classroom experience and how it differs from the high school experience. It's a real eye-opener. Go ahead and visit that Psych 101 lecture class. Bring your binoc's.
For a whole family experience, the best bet for prospective freshmen is UofA Up Close. Those spring dates are 1/26, 2/22, 3/2 and 4/6. You need to RSVP to make that happen. It's free for students, $20 for each guest.
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 Parents of Academically Gifted Students - Testing Deadline Extended to 1/31/13
If your child has been identified for the REACH/Gifted Program in Amphitheater District in a previous grade they do not need to be re-tested. If your child was identified as gifted in a different district or state please contact Cymry DeBoucher (Kim-ree De-boo-shay) with their scores to determine if they qualify for gifted services in Amphitheater. To refer your child for testing please complete this testing referral form. Submit the testing referral form to Mrs. DeBoucher no later than January 31, 2013. The form may be dropped off at the IRHS Front Desk.
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 "Nets for Vets" - January 18 at 7:30pm
The IRHS chapter of the Veterans Heritage Project is pleased to announce a special night for honored service men and women to attend a boy's basketball game against Marana High School. "Nets for Vets" is January 18th, 2013, at 7:30pm. If you are a veteran or know someone who is a veteran and would like to attend this event, please contact us at irhsazvhp@gmail.com. The veteran and one guest will be admitted for free with either a military ID, their name on the RSVP list, or an invitation. Students may also stop by Mr. Dickinson's room, A214 for more information. Even if you are not a veteran, please consider attending this event and bringing a donation for their Honor Flight fundraiser! This organization sends veterans to Washington D.C. to see the war memorials that were meant for them. It costs about $1,000 to send a veteran, and they would like to send at least one! |
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Audition Info for School Musical, "Beauty & the Beast"
Audition forms/materials for the all school musical "Beauty and the Beast" can be found outside the Blackbox Theatre on the cork board through January 11th. Students should also bring Mr. Canalia a blank CD for the background music they need. |
 Finals Schedule
12/18 Final Exams (Periods 2,3)
12/19 Final Exams (Periods 4,5)
12/20 Final Exams (Periods 6,7)
12/21 No School - Winter Break
FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE (Period 1 meets every day)
7:10 - 8:08 Period 1
8:15 - 10:15 Period 2, or 4, or 6
10:15 - 10:30 Break
10:30 - 12:30 Period 3, or 5, or 7
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 Drop/Add Information
Mon/Tues Jan 7th and 8th- Students who have failed a course
Please see last weeks newsletter for more information, including acceptable reasons.
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Colleges Visiting
Pima Community College 11:30am
1/14, 1/28, 2/11, 2/25, 3/11, 3/25, 4/8, 4/22, 5/6, 5/20
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Grand Canyon University Info Night, 12/27 6pm
Grand Canyon University is hosting a Parent/Student Information Night at the local GCU Satelite Campus (5099 E. Grant Road) on Thursday 12/27/12 at 6pm. Please RSVP to campusadmissions@gcu.edu. For more info contact the local GCU rep, Sarah Faulk at 720-7562 or Sarah.Faulk@gcu.edu. Sarah is also available for individual appointments to meet with students and parents over the break at Starbucks, or for campus tours.
The Info Night will address: Their 6 colleges, on-campus housing, student life, academics, on campus jobs, spiritual life and more, including financial assistance -- academic scholarships ranging from $4,000 to $12,000); AIMS qualifiers (3.0+ GPA and exceed in 2 AIMS) offers $7,000 or $8,000; Early Decision Scholarship of $2,000 by committing to GCU by January 1st.
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Reminders
Summer Seminar at the United States Air Force Academy. For Juniors; 1/31/13 app deadline; here is the program's website and an overview. Winter Formal is 1/12/13. Tickets are sold during conference period. The current $45 price will go up $5 each week. Support Project Grad: 10-Years Saving 10,000 lives.
If you or someone you know owns a business,
please consider participating in or donating to the Oro Valley Cup Golf Tournament (Project Grad's largest fundraiser). Sponsors, players, donations for raffle prizes and silent auction items need. Their website has donation forms. Questions? contact OV Cup Chair Greg Fitzgerald.
Navy Blue IRHS Santa Hats Sale through December.
Hats are $10-$12 each. To purchase, you may also call Tammy Bristow at 850-5216. Supports Boys Soccer Team
Do you have extra shoes lying around? If so, please drop them off in one of the boxes around campus. Student Government will make sure they are given to people around the world that need them Teddy Bears for Children in Hospital: For only $19.99 you can send (in your name) "Curly the Bear" to a hurting or needy child at the Tucson Ronald McDonald House or the University of Arizona Children's Hospital. Please contact Encore Show Choir via Teresa Irwin. TUTORING @ IRHS: After-school tutoring is closed until after winter break. |
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Resources
Nighthawk Parent Organization welcomes anyone to submit ideas for this newsletter, school speakers, and NPO-sponsored events/projects. Please email us anytime with your information or your concerns.
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2475 West Naranja
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