Glendale Union High School District 7650 N 43rd Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301

Final Exams—Dec. 20-21 Winter Break—Dec. 23-Jan. 7 Second Semester begins—Jan. 9

Superintendent Brian Capistran Governing Board Members Patty Kennedy, President Pam Reicks, Clerk Patti Hussey, Member Susan Maland, Member Andrew Pulcipher, Member Highlights is the school’s official educational newsletter whose purpose is to promote open communication throughout the school year. Comments and inquires may be directed to Karen Biesbrouck, correspondent of Highlights, 8045 N. 47th Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85302

Public Notification of Nondiscrimination Annual Public Notification of Nondiscrimination Glendale Union High School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in admission to its programs, services or activities, in access to them, in treatment of individuals, or in any aspect of their operations. GUHSD provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. GUHSD Career & Technical Education Department does not discriminate in enrollment or access to any of the programs available, such as business, applied technology, FACS, nursing, and fire science. The lack of English language skills shall not be a barrier to admission or partici-pation in the district’s activities and programs. GUHSD does not discriminate in its hiring or employment practices. This notice is provided as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Questions, complaints or requests for additional information regarding these laws may be for-warded to the designated compliance coordinator(s), call 623-435-6006 or 623-435-6067, 7650 N. 43 Ave., Glendale, AZ 85301 Notificación Pública Anual de No Discriminación: El Glendale Union High School District (GUHSD) no discrimina en base a raza, color, nacionali-dad, género, edad, o discapacidad de admisión a sus programas, servicios, o actividades, en acceso a ellas, en el tratamiento a individuos, o en ningún aspecto de sus operaciones. GUHSD provee el acceso igual a los Boy Scouts y otros grupos designados para los jóvenes. El departamento de Educación Técnica y de Carreras de GUHSD no discrimina en su matriculación ni en el acceso a cualquier de sus programas disponibles, como negocios, la tecnología aplicada, FACS, enferme-ría, y formación para bomberos. La falta de habilidades con el inglés no será una barrera a la admisión ni la participación en las actividades del distrito y sus programas. GUHSD tampoco discrimina en sus contratos o prácticas de empleados. Esta noticia es provista y requerida por el Título VI del Acto de Derechos Civiles de 1964, Sección 504 del Acto de Rehabilitación de 1973, Título IX de la Enmienda Educativa de 1972, en el Acto de Era de Discriminación de 1975, y el Acto de los Estadounidenses con Habilidades Diferenciadas de 1990. Ud. puede comunicarse con el coordinador de cumplimiento sobre preguntas, quejas, o para más información con respecto a estas leyes. Director de Operaciones y Atletismo, 623-435-6006 Directora de la Educación Espe-cial 623-435-6067, 7650 N. 43rd Ave. Glendale, AZ 85301.

Apol lo High School Parent Newsletter

A Proud Member of the Glendale Union High School District Volume 44, No. 2 Winter 2017

Apollo receives an A rating from the state

POSTAGE

Mark your calendar Booster Club meeting—Jan. 8 Future Freshman Night—Jan. 18 Booster Club meeting—Feb. 12

Career Fair—March 7 Spring Break—March 19-23 AZ Merit Writing—March 27 AZ Merit Reading—March 28

AAA awarded for 2017-18

Just like students were eager to learn their quarter grades, schools all across Arizona waited anxiously for their school grade.

The new grading system that the Arizona State Board of Education has put into place calls for the half of the grade to be based off AZMerit scores and other indi-cators such as graduation rates. This year only 17 percent of Arizona high schools received letter A grades according to the Department of Education.

“It’s been in hiatus for two years because the state couldn’t figure out how they wanted to rate schools, finally the commit-tee came up with some categories,” Princi-pal Brooke Parsons said.

“If you look at some of those schools, they only have 200 to 400 kids, where we have 2,000 kids,” Parsons said. “We have one of the highest populations and the diversity we have is impres-sive.”

Numbers don’t fully convey the effort put in to make Apollo the successful and welcoming A school that it is.

“I think every single person on this campus plays a huge role, even clerical, a secretary, an assistant, everybody, not just the school, but the community also. Community members who help support with financial needs, tax credit. They are helping to give us experiences here that could benefit our success,” Parsons said. Written by Patty Loera—Hawk Talk editor-in chief

Finals Schedule

Semester finals begin

December 20

Period Time

1 8:00-9:20

2 9:25-10:40

3 10:45-12:00

December 21

Period Time

4/5 8:00-9:20

6 9:25-10:40

7 10:45-12:00

Amongst those categories, AZMerit scores is the biggest category. Though it is not a graduation requirement, it does determine 50 percent of the grade given to schools. The other components to the grading includes graduation rates, ELL and also college and career prepa-ration including whether or not students pass their AP exams or if they fill out their FAFSA, take dual enrollment clas-ses or take CTE classes.

To receive the letter A grade, a school must receive a percentage of 86 or high-er. Apollo received a 90 percent and also ranked number 8 on the top ten highest graded valley high schools’ list, along with other GUHSD schools.

flourishing rap experience has given him a voice that he uses to combat bul-lying and raise awareness for ac-ceptance of people’s differences. The AAA group/organization award goes to marching band, which earned the award for their many achievements, like qualifying for state competition the past three years, and their many hours of dedication to their craft. In fact, they spend early morning hours and late evenings to perfect their field show for football games and competitions, in addition to rehearsing during the school day. Band director Gabe Lugo has been leading this outstanding group for the past 10 years. Christine Sampson was honored as AAA staff member. She is Apollo’s data processor, but she’s held a number of positions here for the past 10 years, such as instructional aide and attend-ance office lead. She was previously an instrumental music teacher in the Glendale Elementary School District

for 20 years. Former student Linda Nguyen was awarded for her volunteer work. As member of Apollo’s Key Club as a student and now as a co-sponsor, she has dedicated hundreds of hours toward commu-nity service. In the past two years alone, she has dedicated 380 hours of volunteer work and 100 hours so far this school year. She is an integral member of the Apollo community, as well as the community at large. Congratulations to this year’s winners. They were honored at the district board meeting on November 15.

Achievement Above All is awarded yearly at each school in the Glendale Union High School District. Here are this year’s winners: For AAA teacher, Elizabeth Snyder has been the Community Based teacher at Apollo for the past 10 years. She deals with special needs kids that “face more physical, cognitive, cultural, medical, and socioeconomic barriers” than most students, according to princi-pal Brooke Parsons. Mrs. Parsons credits her nomination for this award to her positive impact on the students Mrs. Snyder teachers, as well as the rest of the staff. Senior Isaiah Acosta was awarded AAA Student. Born with multiple health issues and a bleak prognosis, Isaiah has defied the odds and endured over 100 surgeries. He dedicates many hours to community service, par-ticularly at Phoenix Children’s Hospital where he serves as a member for the Youth Advisory Board. His

Boys’ Basketball

Boys’ Schedule

Nov. 30 Sierra Linda Away Dec. 2 Wasatch Away Dec. 7 Shadow Ridge Home Dec. 8 Centennial Away Dec. 12 Liberty Away Dec. 14 Goldwater Away Dec. 15 McClintock Away Dec. 16 Deer Valley Away Dec. 19 Williams Fld Away Dec. 27-30 Tourney Away Jan. 9 Kellis Away Jan. 12 Ironwood Home Jan. 16 Sunnyslope Away Jan. 18 McClintock Home Jan. 23 Kellis Home Jan. 30 Sunnyslope Home Feb. 2 Ironwood Away Feb. 6 Maricopa Home Varsity 7:00 p.m./JV 5:30/ Frosh 4:00

Community service: Canned food drive for St. Mary’s Food Bank Biggest games: Sunnyslope on Jan. 16 and 30

Girls’ Basketball Biggest game/match up this season: Iron-wood (Jan 12 and Feb.2) and any sister school with which they have a friendly rivalry Key players: They have 9 seniors, 2 juniors and a freshman; as a team they are ready to play. All of these young ladies will con-tribute. Goals for the season: Our goal is the ulti-mate goal, state championship and we will take it 1 game at a time! “This group of ladies has worked very hard to develop a bond on and off the court and are going to be fun to watch this year,” said coach Susan Prado-Ortiz. Girls’ Soccer Biggest game/match up this season: They have two big games this year: Dec. 15 against Campo Verde who are very well coached, according to Apollo coach Abra-ham Enriquez.; the second biggest game is after winter break against Raymond S Kel-lis who played really hard last year.

Community service: Girls will practice soccer skills with a special needs pro-gram and also help in the Special Olympics over the winter break. Players to watch: Raquel Fuentes, who score 25 goals and 10 assist last year, is being recruited by junior colleges. Also two juniors Emma Fuentes and Valerie Lerma who are both being recruited by ASU and are this year’s team captains. The final player to watch is sophomore Kacie Mearse who had 6 goals and 17 assists last year and also has a couple of schools trying to recruite early. Goals for the season: “Our goal this year is to make it back to the playoffs and make it further than last year and hopefully have a chance to win a state title,” coach Enriquez said.

From the Counseling Department The Career Center has a college trip coming up so mark your cal-endars. The Grand Canyon Uni-versity trip is Feb. 22. See Mr. Hebert in the Career Center today to save your space. Event: Future Freshman Night Date: January 18, 2018 Time: 7:00 p.m. Description: Future freshman night is an annual event that allows in-coming students to visit the Apollo campus. Future students will have the opportunity to meet staff and coaches, and learn about all of the exciting programs offered to stu-dents. The event will begin in the school auditorium with presenta-tions from different clubs on cam-pus. Families will then be allowed to explore the campus and speak with different teachers and staff members. Event: Career Fair Date: March 7, 2018 Time: 11:00-12:30pm Description: The Apollo High School career fair includes repre-sentatives from various colleges and career fields. Students are able to visit with these representatives during their lunches to discuss potential post-secondary opportu-nities. Please contact Michael Hebert at 623-435-6335 for more information. Event: AZ Merit Testing Date: April 3-19, 2018 Description: As we move to online testing, the testing dates and times will vary. Apollo students will take the state AZ Merit tests in Reading, Writing, and Math. Event: ACT Testing Date: April 3, 2018 Description: Glendale Union High School District is proud to offer all students in their junior year the chance to take the ACT exam free of charge. This national test is es-sential in assisting students to ob-tain college scholarships and open up other post-secondary opportuni-ties for them.

Winter Sports

A big part of the Apollo NJROTC mis-sion is community service. In the first three months of the 2017-2018 school year, the 101 cadets of the Sea Hawk Company have racked up over 1900 hours of community service. Some of that community service is out in the community and working in partnership with other neighborhood groups. The “Love Our Schools Ser-vice Project,” working with a local church and the Apollo Key Club, fo-cused on painting the bleachers. Over 30 cadets from the NJROTC program participated. Other projects the Apollo NJROTC has helped out with in the community are Civilian Emergency Response Training (CERT), Flags on Veteran’s Graves, the Phoenix Veteran’s Day Parade, the Glendale Hometown Christ-mas Parade, supporting the Indian Mar-ket, and numerous Color Guards throughout the city. “I am super proud of the cadets, and all the hard work they do in the commu-nity,” said Commander Erich Schmidt, the Apollo NJROTC Senior Naval Sci-ence Instructor. “They really make Apollo High School look good to our neighbors and friends.” Apollo NJROTC spends most of its

community service hours right here at

Apollo making the school a better place to attend for the students. The many

events Apollo NJROTC supports in-

clude the football chain gang, open house, the cross country and track

Please consider making a tax credit donation to an Apollo organization. Your contr ibution

costs you nothing and will immediately go to support the high school and program of YOUR

choice. The Arizona tax law (ARS 43-1089.01) allows taxpayers a TAX CREDIT on their state

taxes. The TAX CREDIT maximum contributions are as follows:

$400 for married couples filing joint returns; $200 for single individuals and head of household;

$200 for married couples filing separate returns

It is NOT a requirement that the taxpayer have a child enrolled in a public school to donate.

Receive 100% back as a credit against your state income tax liability. For more information, please

visit http://www.guhsdaz.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=754623&pageId=19769547.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO FILL OUT YOUR FAFSA? Your Social Security Number Your Federal Student Aid ID (register for on the FAFSA website) Your Alien Registration Number (If you are not a U.S. citizen) Your 2016 Federal Income Tax Returns, W-2’s, and Other Records of Money

Earned Your 2016 Records of Untaxed Income (if applicable) Bank Statements and Records of Investments (if applicable)

Fill out your application TODAY! The sooner it is completed, you may be qualified for MORE money!

NJROTC focuses on community service Please support all our teams by attending games, buying their gear, or making a tax credit donation to the team. For more information, visit the Apollo website at http://apollo.guhsdaz.org/athletics/winter_sports.

meets, the district swim meets, the nurse’s

office, and school board visits. They are also responsible for the daily Pledge of

Allegiance and putting up the American

and Arizona flag in front of the school

each morning before classes start. Apollo NJROTC also supports the

counselor’s office by providing student

ambassadors to show new students around the school on their first day. Often, the

first fellow student a new Hawk will meet

is an Apollo NJROTC Cadet.

“It is very helpful that a cadet shows a new student around,” said Toni Cook,

Apollo Counseling Department Chair. “It

is great to have a friendly face to show the new students where their classes will be.”

While the many things Apollo

NJROTC does for the school is a lot of

work, it is also a lot of fun. Making new friends while helping out the school and

community is also enjoyable and moti-

vates the students every day.

Apollo artists win again at the Arizona State Fair

1st place: Julianna Cobos-Oil Pastel (pictured right) 1st place: Nydia Mora-Charcoal 1st place: Erica Medellin-Mixed Media 1st place: Erica Medellin-White Charcoal

The Arizona State Fair awarded many of the submissions by Apollo students this fall. A total of 13 pieces were awarded 1st, 2nd , or 3rd place. The 1st place winners have their pieces on display in the board room at the district office.

1st place: Abigail Anderson-Oil Pastel (pictured above) 2nd place: Abigail Anderson-Charcoal 2nd place: Ashley Amador-Charcoal 2nd place: Erica Medellin-Scratchboard 3rd place: Natalia Gammage-Colored Pencil 3rd place: Theresa Santana-Pen & Ink 3rd place: Abigail Anderson-Digital Painting

1st place: Ashley Amador-Scratchboard (pictured left) 1st place: Marisela Medero-Oil Pastel