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"It was a great opportunity for our students to not only hear, but play music literature from another part of the world," said SUSD Fine Arts Coordinator Nathan Johnston.
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The school robotics season is wrapping up over the next few weeks, with final qualifier tournaments and state championships of the VEX and FRC formats. FIRST LEGO League competition wrapped up last month, with teams from Cheyenne, Cocopah, Kiva and Yavapai proudly representing SUSD. Yavapai will be heading to a post-season tournament out of state, the reward for having grabbed second place at last month's state tournament at ASU. Way to go, Thunderbots!
Kudos also to Coronado High School's two, rookie Cyber Dons teams that turned in solid performances at recent local tournaments.
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S-u-p-e-r-l-a-t-i-v-e Spellers 
When it came to spelling the championship word, Redfield Elementary School 5th grader Omkar Bharath didn't blink. "Ontological. O-n-t-o-l-o-g-i-c-a-l. Ontological."
With that, Omkar successfully defended his SUSD Spelling Bee title, out-spelling 23 other school Bee winners for the third year in a row. Omkar says he used a different approach to studying for the Bee this time around. "I did a little every day, but as the Spelling Bee got closer, I did more and more. If you work really hard and make sure to take breaks, it's not all about intense pressure."
Joining Omkar at the Region II Spelling Bee on Feb. 23 in Cave Creek are the five runners-up in the district spelling competition:
Max Greenspan, 6th grade, Cocopah Middle School; Jiatian Yin, 8th grade, Cheyenne Traditional School; Gabriella Tadio, 8th grade, Desert Canyon Middle School; Victoria Bourgeois-Conti, 5th grade, Hopi Elementary School; and Kelly Ciardullo, 5th grade, Anasazi Elementary School.
The SUSD Bee was held at Arcadia High School last month.
"In these days of automatic spellcheckers, it's rewarding to see proof that our students are reading, writing, articulating and expanding their vocabularies," observed Sheryl Rednor, SUSD Executive Director of Teaching and Learning.
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Ingleside Sweep
Ingleside Middle School 8th grade students Quinn Thompson, Ella Crowson and Landon O'Rourke (middle, L to R) walked away with the first, second and third place prizes this year in the grades 6-8 division of Arizona State University's annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. essay and poetry contest. The trio are students of Language Arts instructor Wesley Wagner (L), one of SUSD's 91 National Board Certified teachers.
This year's contest entrants were asked to write about a person or situation in their lives or community in which leadership through service is demonstrated. Quinn wrote about his mother, Ella wrote about her grandmother and Landon wrote about a woman he met in Africa while on a family trip. Ingleside Assistant Principal Erin Kadera (R) joined them for the Jan. 18 celebration at ASU.
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Scholarly Pursuits
Congratulations to Chaparral High School's Christina Wang and Desert Mountain High School's Hannah Bernier and Logan Farrington. These standout SUSD seniors are among Arizona's candidates in the 2018 edition of the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Established more than 50 years ago, this program recognizes some of the nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. Semifinalists will be named in April; finalists in May.
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Looking Ahead
This year's junior class is getting ready to take the ACT college entrance test Feb. 25-26. SUSD is offering the test free of charge to the Class of 2019. Not only does the ACT assess student knowledge in four areas - English, math, science and reading - it also provides personalized information regarding academic strengths and career planning that should be useful to students looking to bolster their college application profiles.
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Grab Your Curbside Spot!
Yee-ha! You just can't beat a good, old-fashioned parade, and that's what you'll find at tomorrow's 65th annual Parada del Sol in downtown Scottsdale! While you wouldn't ordinarily think that a combination of cowboys, horses, marching bands, football players and floats would go together, the Parada makes it work: think the Rose Parade, gone w-a-a-y Western!
SUSD will be well represented in tomorrow's festivities, with entries ranging from the state champion Arcadia High School marching band, Pueblo Elementary Dust Devil Singers and Laguna Elementary gifted program to the 2017 4A state champion Saguaro High School football team (co-Grand Marshalls!), Tonalea K-8 National Junior Honor Society and the Desert Canyon Middle School Spirit Line. Even the Coronado High School girls basketball team that's headed to the state tournament next week for the first time in more than 20 years will be there! And we've heard that alums from Scottsdale High School, which closed 35 years ago, are taking part!
So grab a lawn chair, stake out a spot on the curb and cheer on SUSD! The parade starts at Drinkwater Blvd. and Scottsdale Rd. at 10 a.m. For a map of the parade route, click here.
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SUSD Sports Wrap
Several high school sports seasons wrap up this week and next, and SUSD teams and athletes are in the thick of it - as usual! Nine of our 10 girls and boys basketball teams played or are still playing in post-season state tournaments, as well as eight of our 10 soccer teams.
Yesterday, the Coronado girls basketball team won its tournament play-in game, downing Moon Valley by 16 points. It's the Lady Dons' first post-season tournament appearance in 22 years! Saguaro's Sabercats clipped Bradshaw Mountain by 5, also in a 4A play-in game. The Saguaro boys face Higley tonight.
In 5A play-in games, Chaparral's boys tip off against Shadow Ridge at 6:30 tonight at Shadow Ridge and it's Arcadia at Paradise Valley., also at 6:30 p.m.
In 6A, Desert Mountain hosts Sunnyside at 6:30 p.m. Brackets for next week's state tournaments come out tomorrow. When they're issued, you'll find them
here.
 Bouncing over to soccer, state tournaments are this weekend. On the 4A girls' side, Saguaro won its play-in game against Greenway, only to be defeated in the first round by Cactus Shadows. In 5A, the Arcadia girls team made it all the way to the state semifinals yesterday, but ended up losing in an overtime heartbreaker against #1 Notre Dame Prep. The Saints aren't done with SUSD yet, however, as they take on our #3 Chaparral Lady Firebirds in the state final at 4 p.m. tomorrow at Campo Verde High School in Gilbert. To earn its place in the final, Chaparral has had an impressive run, beating Marana Mountain View, Liberty (in OT) and Ironwood Ridge. In 6A, Desert Mountain gave it their all in a play-in match against Mountain Pointe, but failed to advance.
On the boys' side of the soccer ball, the 6A Desert Mountain boys shut out Westview in a play-in game, but ended up on the wrong side of their first round match versus Sunnyside. In 5A, Arcadia nipped Glendale in a play-in match, but was unable to survive against #2 Independence. Chaparral took the direct route to post-season play, where the 'Birds are 2-0 so far, scoring victories over Carl Hayden and Flowing Wells. Their opponent in this afternoon's semifinal is #8 Ironwood. Should they advance, the final is at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at Campo Verde High School.
 Lastly, the state wrestling tournament is underway in Prescott Valley. Hazim Sedek is representing Coronado High School in the 195 lb. weight class. Chaparral sent three wrestlers: Zac Bozik (145 lb.), Kaleb Bates (160 lb.) and Christian Bower (195 lb.).
SUSD is proud of ALL of its athletes, regardless of the final tally or whether they hoist a championship trophy. Competing in high school sports, as many of you probably recall, is tough, and the balancing act that must be done to stay up on academic work while also pushing yourself physically is incredibly demanding. We truly appreciate their efforts and are proud to have them representing SUSD! Thank you!
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Dancing the Night Away
Join SUSD's high school dance programs for an evening of artistry as dancers from Arcadia, Chaparral, Coronado, Desert Mountain and Saguaro High schools come together to take part in the district's annual Dance Festival Showcase at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 20 at Chaparral High School's Auditorium. Tickets are $5 each; $3 for age 65+. Ten and under are free.
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Final K-Roundups for
Next School Year
The last batch of Kindergarten Roundup events for the 2018-19 school year take place next month. If you will have a kindergartner in the fall and want to familiarize yourself with your child's new school community and what a kindergarten day looks like, find your school's schedule here.
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Scottsdale Unified School District values our partnerships with local business. Businesses now have the opportunity to support SUSD through the purchase of monthly advertising in SUSD newsletters that are distributed to the families of more than 23,000 SUSD students and more than 3,000 employees.
Additionally, SUSD offers several other opportunities for businesses to support the District through event sponsorships and school wish-list fulfillment.
Businesses interested in learning more about opportunities to support SUSD can contact the SUSD Communications Department at
[email protected]
.
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| Tax Credit Contributions Benefit SUSD Students |
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Tax Credit
Tax Credit contributions can be made anytime throughout the school year. Anyone who pays Arizona state income tax can give. Please click HERE to learn more about making a tax credit contribution to SUSD.
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Upcoming Events
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February 13:
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SUSD Governing Board Regular Meeting, 5 p.m., Coronado High School, 7501 E. Virginia Ave., Scottsdale
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February 14:
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Early Release - All grade levels - Professional Development
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February 19:
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Presidents Day - No school, District offices closed
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February 20:
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SUSD Dance Festival Showcase, 7 p.m., Auditorium, Chaparral High School, 6935 E. Gold Dust Ave., Scottsdale
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February 21:
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SUSD Special Kids Field Day, 9:30 a.m., Mountain View Park, 8625 E. Mountain View Rd., Scottsdale
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February 21:
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End of
Elementary Trimester
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February 26-27:
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Junior class takes ACT Test
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February 27-28, March 1:
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Early Release - K-5/6 and K-8 school Parent/Teacher conferences
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March 9:
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End of Middle School/High School 3rd Quarter
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March 12-16:
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Spring Break
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CONNECT TO SCOTTSDALE STUDENTS AND STAFF
THROUGH OUR MONTHLY DIGITAL NEWSLETTERS!
Support your own business by supporting Scottsdale Schools.
We have two monthly newsletters with ad space available - one to the parents of our 23,000 students and one to our 3,000 employees. Every dollar you spend advertising with us goes back into promoting our amazing students and schools!
SHARE YOUR PASSION FOR EDUCATION BY BECOMING A SPONSOR!
Scottsdale Unified School District is always looking for new community partnerships. From sports to science and from fine arts to robotics, our school teams can always use more support. If you are looking for a way to help our students and promote your business at the same time, ask us about our sponsorship opportunities!
Contact our representative today at 480-484-6223 for more information.
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