Pistor Paw Prints
October 2023
The ABCs (and D) for a Successful School Year 2023-2024
At Pistor Middle School, we come to school each day, on time, prepared to learn, focused on learning, and dressed for success!
Here are some important reminders and updates to ensure access to a learning environment conducive to student success and to ensure safety while on campus for all students, faculty, staff, and families.
1. Attendance - If you child(ren) are absent or late, please be sure to notify the front office at 520-908-5414 within 48 business hours. Students with excessive unexcused absences (10+ per semester, will not receive credit for their class and may be subject to retention. Please see attached bell schedule.
2. Backpacks - Students are expected to carry a clear or mesh backpack from class to class while on campus. If you need assistance, getting a clear or mesh backpack. Please reach out to Ms. Valencia, our School Community Liaison. Students who bring a backpack that is not see-through, will have the opportunity to check their bag and have it stored for the day.
3. Cell Phones - Students must have their cell phone (if they have one), turned off and out of sight from the time the first bell rings (8:45 AM) until the last bell rings (3:50 PM/2:50 PM on Wednesdays).
4. Dress Code - We are a uniform school. The dress code was revised slightly last year to make it a little more flexible for students and families. We expanded our basic uniform to allow for non-collared shirts (rounded neck in red, white, black, or gray) and blue jeans (no rips, holes, tears, or fraying and no sagging). Everything else remains exactly the same. See the Pistor Dress Code policy on our website.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Pistor Student and Teacher of the Month for September
Student of the Month - Azzaiyah Julio
Teacher of the Month - Ms. Burnham
Each month students nominate a student and teacher they feel exemplifies Panther Pride. The winners are selected by Student Council!
1st Quarter Honors Assembly - Thursday, October 26th, 2023
8th Grade (2nd period) - 10:00 AM
7th Grade (3rd period) - 10:50 AM
6th Grade (6th period) - 3:00 PM
Looking forward to celebrating all the things our Panthers are achieving!
Pistor Family Movie Night - FREE, FREE, FREE!!!
- There will be popcorn and other snacks available for purchase.
- Feel free to bring your lawn chairs to get comfy!
- Students must be accompanied by an adult parent or guardian.
Proud Pistor Panthers Working Hard!
Creating Cell Models
Dissection of Chicken Wings
Cyber Security with the FBI
Congratulations Lady Panthers
Bond Election 11/7/2023 - Pistor MS
The Tucson Unified School District Governing Board is proposing a $480 million bond to update and renovate aging schools, add security and safety systems, and provide technology to every student. The bond will be used to improve neighborhood schools by replacing deteriorated roofs and aging air conditioning units, providing security fencing and access control, renovating fine arts spaces, and modernizing science labs and career training spaces, among other things. The bond will not be used for salaries or benefits.
Tucson Unified serves over 40,000 students across 231 square miles. We route 12,500 students to the school of their choice and to after-school activities, and our fleet travels over 16,000 miles each school day.
We support 88 schools that range in age from over 100 years old to 12 years old with an average age of 55 years. In all, Tucson Unified has over 9 million square feet of buildings to maintain. Although we strive to maintain these schools to high standards to serve our students, we have faced significant cuts to State capital funds in the last 15 years and our last bond was approved by voters nearly 20 years ago. Current funding does not allow TUSD to maintain our schools at the levels they should be to support the education of our students.
If approved, Pistor Middle School is slated to receive approximately $3.5 million dollars in upgrades and repairs to our facilities. Click on the link below to see exactly what projects are in the works if the bond is approved.
https://bond2023.tusd1.org/Pistor
Don't forget to vote Tuesday, November 7th, 2023!
Panther Buck Store
The Panther Buck Store operates with a zero budget, meaning everything we have to give to students is donated. We are looking for donations to help us keep the store fully stocked. If you have or would be willing to donate ANY of the following items, your assistance would be greatly appreciated.
- candy (anything and everything, they are particularly fond of chocolate and Mexican candy)
- chips (they love the spicy ones)
- stickers
- croc charms
- fidget toys
- anything 10 - 14 year olds like
If you would like to donate, please ask for Ms. Diane, office manager. She will be happy to take your donation.
TUSD’s Family and Community Engagement (FACE)
TUSD’s Family and Community Engagement Department will provide monthly communication via ZOOM. Join us for FACE to Face! Ms. Lacey Grijalva will host in-depth discussions to bring together our TUSD and Tucson communities.
Sessions will be hosted via Zoom once a month on Thursdays.
2023-24 FACE to Face Schedule:
DATES & TOPICS
Oct. 26 - Mental Health & Grief and Loss
Nov. 30 - Open Enrollment
Jan. 25 - College Preparation
Feb. 29 - Student Equity
Mar. 28 - Community Summer Programs
Apr. 25 - TUSD Leadership
Each session will be 45 minutes. There will be no sessions in December & May.
Join Via Zoom
Sessions will also be streamed live to the
Tucson Unified Family Centers and
FACEtoFace Facebook pages
Please send any questions or concerns to:
FACEtoFace@tusd1.onmicrosoft.com
Emergency Drills - Lockdown
We will also send out an announcement via Remind immediately before the drill to alert families. If you haven't signed up yet, I would highly recommend doing so to receive time sensitive announcements.
Remind for the 2023-2024 School Year!
If you would like to receive text messages with time sensitive information and important updates, please subscribe to the following Remind groups. Parents and Guardians only. We will only use Remind in cases were information is time sensitive (i.e. cancellation of sports or events, emergency situations, etc.).
6th Grade - text @pistorms6 to 81010
7th grade - text @pistorms7 to 81010
8th grade - text @pistorms8 to 81010
You do not have to download the app to use Remind. This is a private thread meaning that you will be able to receive text messages but only from the principal and/or assistant principals.
Counselor's Corner
Happy Fall from the Counseling Department! We have just concluded the 1st quarter of this school year Yah!!!!
We hope that you and your student have settled back into the school routine and are off to a great start with the new school year.
The Counseling Department has been busy ensuring that students are set up for success this school year. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have as we start the 2nd quarter, please feel free to contact Ms. Rivera at mcristina.rivera@tusd1.org or Mr. Counts at wilson.counts@tusd1.org.
Mr. Counts last names A - L (and 504 Coordinator)
Ms. Rivera last names M - Z
October is a month dedicated to a variety of important causes. Mental Health Awareness and Wellness is one. Red Ribbon Week is October 23rd-31st. Please take this opportunity to teach your child about healthy choices. This month is also known for Anti-Bullying and Positive Attitude month.
Having a positive attitude has a lot to do with having a Growth Mindset. Someone with a growth mindset views intelligence, abilities, and talents as learnable and capable of improvement through effort. On the other hand, someone with a fixed mindset views those same traits as inherently stable and unchangeable over time.
Mental Health Resources:
CRISIS Response
- Text HOME to 741741
- Text, Call or Chat 988 available24/7
- National Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-8255
Text, Talk, Act
Text START to 89800
HOW IT WORKS
- Youth gather in groups of 3-4.
- Groups text into our platform and follow the text message prompts.
- Together, the group discusses mental health and how to help others.
- Youth become more comfortable talking about mental health and learn where to get help.
Campus Hours
If your child arrives to school after 9:00 AM, a parent or guardian must come in to the office to sign them in.
All students are expected to leave campus by 4:00 PM unless they are participating in a supervised sport, club, or activity.
Dress Code Reminder - Tops
Dress Code Reminder - Bottoms
If a student is out of dress code, they will given a warning for their first offense. Subsequent offenses will follow the TUSD Code of Conduct for a Level 1 offense.
Registration Open for CCLC - Activities, Clubs, Tutoring, etc.
Here are the links to register to save your spot:
English version: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=4FBwvMxLCUiSReqLZQhIZdhfN4vrf9ZKjENwcRC4BdlUN1hIMTBVN0oyNDE1U05MT1BSS1FFWk9ETS4u
Spanish version: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=4FBwvMxLCUiSReqLZQhIZdhfN4vrf9ZKjENwcRC4BdlUNjhGWElSM1lXMTczWUVXQjUwNlk2RFE0
For more information, please contact Ms. Elizabeth Brown and/or Ms. Suzette Gorrell.
Look at the thing s happening at Pistor before and after school!
Cheerleading with Coach Manjarre
Chess Club with Ms. Gallego
Cosplay Club with Ms. Corcoran
Fashion with Ms. Munoz
Good Brothers with Coach Aaron
Henna Club with Ms. Rakam
Language Arts Support with Mr. Coens
Math Support with Ms. Qureshi
Self Defense with Coach Hawke
STEM with Ms. Marya
Tutoring with Mr. Serrano and Ms. Starks
Weightlifting with Mr. Cole
Pistor Athletics
Middle School Interscholastic Sports Offerings and Dates
Second Season October 16 – December 19
- Girls Basketball, Boys Volleyball
- Flag Football Tournament (1-Day) - November 18
- Boys and Girls Soccer
- Boys and Girls Track & Field
Athlete Requirements
An athlete needs to have all paperwork and participation fees submitted before they can begin practices, tryouts, games.
- Active Sports Physical (must be dated March 1, 2023, or later) - You MUST have an active completed sports physical prior to try outs!
- Athlete Packet
- Emergency Information Card
- Parent/Guardian Permission
- Athletic Informed Consent
- Activity Specific Parent Permission
- Provisions of Transportation (FT1002)
- TUSD Interscholastic Athletic Transportation Guidelines (ISC1000)
If your child makes the team, in order to maintain eligibility, students MUST be passing ALL of their classes. If an athlete is suspended for any reason, they will not be able to play of the remainder of the season.
Participation Fees
There is a $30 for middle school interscholastic fee per activity.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mr. Casillas, the Assistant Principal in charge of Athletics and Activities.
ROAR - Respectful, Organized, Accountable, and Responsible
- Fully charged laptop with charging cord
- Notebook and/or binder
- Pen and pencil
- Refillable water bottle (no glass)
October 2023 - National Mental Health and Awareness Month
Grading Day - No School
- Friday, October 6th
Fall Break
- Monday, October 9th - Friday, October 13th
Ms. Pascua Yaqui Visits Pistor Middle School
- Tuesday, October 17th
National Chocolate Cupcake Day
- Wednesday, October 18th
National Croc Day - Don't forget to wear your crocs to school!
- Monday, October 23rd
Professional Learning Day - No School
- Wednesday, October 25th
Quarter 1 Honors Assemblies
- Thursday, October 26th
Panther Movie Night
- Friday, October 27th @ 6:00 PM
National Candy Corn Day
- Monday, October 30th
Family Life Curriculum or Alternative Curriculum - 6th and 7th Grade Science Classes
- Monday, October 30th to Thursday, November 9th
Halloween - Wear your costume (must adhere to TUSD Dress Code Guidelines)!
- Tuesday, October 31st
Looking forward to November...
Dia de Los Muertos and All Souls Day
- Thursday, November 2nd
Veteran's Day (Observed) - No School.
- Friday, November 10th
Pistor Family Engagement Meeting
- Tuesday, November 14th @ 5:00 PM (in-person)
Pistor Site Council Meeting
- Tuesday, November 14th @ 6:00 PM (in-person and via ZOOM)
Pistor CTE Career Construction Day AVID Fieldtrip
- Thursday, November 16th
About Us - Pistor Middle School
Email: kathryn.gunnels@tusd1.org
Website: https://pistorms.tusd1.org/
Location: 5455 South Cardinal Avenue, Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone: 520-908-5400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063651666094