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| Student Recognition |
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AHS Senior Receives Award from Department of Education |
Amphitheater High School Senior, Travis Frank, received the 2009 Youth and Young Adult Award from the Arizona Department of Education at their 9th Annual Transition Services Conference in Scottsdale, last week. Travis received the award for his work with leading and constructing his own special education Individual Education Plan (IEP) and transition meetings for the last three years. Transition services are an integral part of a special needs students’ IEP which are designed to facilitate a successful transition from high school to postsecondary education or employment, and independent living. Though these meetings are required by law for every exceptional education student, Travis’s participation, leadership, and ability to run his own meetings has set him apart from other students, and now earned him this award.
As a member of the Amphitheater Community Transition Team, Travis has attended workshops and provided “the student’s point of view” to other transition teams from across the state. He has participated in panel discussions at the Arizona Transition Conference and has been asked to share his experiences on a national level.
“Travis has given of his time and expertise in the area. He is truly a participating team member as well as the driver of his transition plan”, said Nancy Jones, Transition Coordinator, Amphi High School. “He is an example of what the participation of the student means to the fulfillment and functioning of the transition team and plan.”
In addition to his work with exceptional education, Travis serves as a student Athletic Trainer for the AHS Athletic Department, and works with the AHS varsity football team.
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CDO Academic Decathlon Team Places 4th at Nationals |
On Saturday, March 7, CDO High School won the state championship in the Arizona State Academic Decathlon Competition. CDO dominated the competition and the students left the event with thousands of dollars in scholarships. This is the 31st year that CDO has competed in the Decathlon, which test student skills in art, economics, literature, math, music, science, speech, social science, interviewing and essay writing.
The CDO team also traveled to Memphis in late April where they placed 4th in the National Competition.
Under the leadership of Coach Chris Yetman, students Taylor Cleland (12th grade), Marie Clymer (12th grade), and Jordan Kurker-Mraz (11th grade) finished in the top three of their categories at the state competition. Ben Ferell (12th grade), Melinda Fraser (12th grade), Jennifer Wendel (12th grade), Ellie Strasser (11th grade), Dylan Ousley (12th grade), and Rush Moore (11th grade) turned in excellent scores at the state level as well. Ben Ferell also won a special award for having the top essay of the state competition.
“The students spent, literally, hundreds of hours preparing for this competition and their work paid off handsomely,” said Chris Yetman CDO Academic Decathlon Coach and AP Calculus Teacher.
This is the third extra curricular state championship for CDO as many weeks. The Girls Basketball Team took home that state title on March 3rd and the Boys Soccer Team won the state championship on February 14th. |
Amphi Students of All Ages Headed to World Finals |
Saturday, April 4, proved to be a successful day for Amphi students of all ages as they contested the Odyssey of the Mind State Challenge. Hosted by Grand Canyon College in Phoenix, 90 teams from all over the state battled for the titles. Both the Technical Problem Team from Painted Sky Elementary School and the Classics Team from Canyon del Oro High School placed 1st in the state in their respective categories. The CDO Structure Team placed 2nd. All three teams will compete at the Odyssey of the Mind World Competition at Iowa State University, May 26-31st.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international creative problem solving competition that fosters, the 21st Century Skills of team work, problem solving, creative and critical thinking, engineering and technology, and global awareness. The competition involves teams of students who compete to develop solutions to problems in engineering and the arts. Odyssey of the Mind involves students from all backgrounds in kindergarten through college.
Kathryn Hilton received special recognition at the state tournament for her leadership of two brand new teams of students. Kathryn has been in Odyssey for many years and as seniors, her team mates from past years decided they were too busy to continue. Undaunted, she rose to the occasion and formed two new teams, introducing them to the Odyssey of the Mind program and helping them learn the rules and thinking strategies involved in the competition. She has spent the last eight weeks guiding and leading these teams. At the awards ceremony on Saturday she received an "Outstanding OM’er" award for her leadership and passion for the Odyssey of the Mind program.
“I am so proud of the teams at CDO. Their energy and efforts really showed in their performances at state. Both teams had superior skits that had the audiences and the judges talking about their clever and creative thinking,” said Cymry DeBoucher, Gifted Teacher, CDO High School. “I have no doubt these students are learning the skills they will need to be successful problem solvers in the 21st century.” |
CDO Students win Culinary Scholarships |
Over the recent Spring Break, Canyon del Oro High School seniors Alison Maxwell and
Sabrina Allen competed in the finals of the Careers through Culinary Arts (CCAP) competition.
Together, they won more than $80,000 in scholarships. Maxwell who earned a 2 year, full-ride
scholarship to Scottsdale Culinary Institute valued at $42,000.00. Allen picked up a 2 year scholarship
to the Art Institute of Phoenix valued at $35,000.00. She also won the American Culinary Federation
(ACF) Chef’s Association of Arizona for $5,000. The senior students were presented with their
Scholarship awards at the CCAP breakfast hosted by the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, AZ.
Alison Maxwell serves as President of the CDO Culinary Arts FCCLA club. She competed in the
Family, Careers and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) Culinary Arts competition last year and
placed 2nd (Gold Medal) in the state. She traveled to Orlando, Florida over the summer and competed at
the national competition, winning a Bronze Medal. She plans to compete in the FCCLA competition
again this year in April.
Sabrina Allen has been active in the FCCLA club for three years and has always had a strong desire to
become a Chef. She will also represent CDO High School at the upcoming FCCLA competition.
“CCAP is an extremely competitive and rigorous event that allows student’s to show off their culinary
skills and talents. I am incredibly proud of Alison’s and Sabrina’s success and know they will succeed in
their future endeavors,” said Patti Schmalzel, Culinary Arts Teacher at CDO.
Career through Culinary Arts Program (CCAP) is a culinary arts scholarship program established by
Chef Richard Grausman, a nationally known cooking authority, author, and former exclusive United
States representative of the Paris Cordon Bleu. High School Juniors compete for travel and course
scholarships to various culinary schools across the United States. Seniors compete for national and state
post-secondary scholarships to various prestigious culinary arts schools. In Arizona, approximately 40
high schools participate in CCAP. |
The Sky is Painted by Kids Who Care |
Excited to demonstrate their grateful sense of civic responsibility, the third grade classes at Painted Sky Elementary School are announcing a service project. The Kids Who Care Toy Sale will take place on Friday, December 12th, 2008 at the school from 8:30 am – 1:00 pm. Students at the school have been asked to bring in gently used toys, books, or craft items they no longer want. These items will, in turn, be sold to the other students in the school. All proceeds earned at the toy sale will be donated to Painted Sky Elementary School’s adopt-a-family fund. This fund is used to purchase needed items for a less fortunate family that the classrooms have “adopted” for the holidays.
The Kids Who Care Toy Sale will be organized like a yard sale and students will learn and practice business skills while participating in the event. They will be inventory, sort and price toys; manage money; write receipts; act as salespeople; and practice their consumer skills as customers.
“Our students and staff are filled with energy over this project. The students are eager to ‘get to work’ and even more excited to provide for a needy family here in Tucson, and that is just inspiring. We, at Painted Sky, are very proud of these kids and pleased that they are incorporating some of the Character Counts concepts that we have in our daily curriculum,” said Angela Wichers, Principal, Painted Sky Elementary School. |
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