The Weekly Penguin
December 1, 2023
To the point
Hi folks,
I'll cut to it this week: thank you. Thank you to everyone for your continued patience during our repair projects for the north gym and the auditorium. Thank you to our district leadership for working with us to accommodate our programming needs. Thank you to our teachers and students for the extreme patience in re-building infrastructure and putting things in place to have a safe, secure place to teach and learn. We'll get through this challenge and we'll be fine.
As of today, we have relocated nearly all of our programs. Band is still in a holding pattern until the outdoor rehearsal facility is powered and weatherproof, which it nearly is. We are still looking for a colorguard facility for after-school rehearsals, but I'm confident we will have a location soon. The remainder of our programs have been relocated to their expected location or at least have a temporary home until their location is completed, such as our dance program. Unfortunately, we don't have an accurate timetable on the construction work to be done as the project is still in the planning phase based off a needs assessment being conducted on both structures. I will be in touch with the community as details become available.
To end this bulletin, I am once again making a plea to our entire community, and Rincon HS is doing the same. We have had a string of vandalism attempts in our newly-renovated student restrooms, including tagging and wasting large amounts of paper products by stuffing them down toilets and sinks. I can't claim to understand the reasoning behind these actions, but they must stop now. If anyone has information on who is doing this, please speak to administration from either school. This school is our home, both for students and staff alike. We are doing our best to improve our facilities to modernity and these actions do nothing to help the situation we are in. Thank you in advance.
Everyone please stay safe, make good decisions, and continue doing your good work on and for our campus.
Table of contents
UPCOMING EVENTS
AP registration & test info
Assessment calendar
Athletics - winter season
CCCC info
Family engagement workshops
Graduation caps, gowns, save the date!
PSAT scores released this week!
SAT at UHS on March 6th (11th grade)
TUSD family engagement survey
UHSFAA - Carolyn Kemmeries Memorial Fund
UHSFAA - student micro-grants
UHS yearbook
UPCOMING EVENTS
12/22......GRADING DAY, END OF THE FALL 2023 SEMESTER. NO SCHOOL STUDENTS
12/23/23-1/7/24......WINTER BREAK, SCHOOL CLOSED
AP registration & test info
Please refer to our AP Payment, Cancellation, & Late Registration document for the most updated AP information now that registration is over. We are working on adding fees to your finance accounts based upon your order. We will communicate when fees are posted and ready for payment.
Assessment calendar
The UHS Assessment Calendar is a tool to assist teachers in their planning and helps parents support their students as they plan and advocate for themselves. You can filter by grade and by subject. Keep in mind that although students can view this calendar, they have individualized calendars on Canvas.
Note however, that although there are grade specific subjects, not all students are enrolled in all of those courses. For example, a tenth-grade student is enrolled in either AP World History or AP European History. There are also multi-part finals, so those tests do not necessarily take up the entire class period. Teachers have different grading deadlines depending by grade. You can view the calendar here.
Athletics - winter season
The 2023-2024 RUHS Sport Pass is now available for purchase in the Finance Office for only $30.00 per person. This is a great savings to all parents or students who want to attend games. For example, anyone that attends all 9 home basketball games will save $6.00 per pass. The pass is good for any regular season athletic events on the RUHS campus for the entire school year. The passes are not good for post season playoffs.
Most important is that this helps RUHS athletics directly. All proceeds from the $30.00 pass stays at RUHS in the Athletic Department. When purchasing tickets individually, the money is split with the other TUSD high schools. Please purchase your 2023-2024 RUHS Sports Pass today and save at the ticket gate. For questions contact the finance office today.
Please note: RUHS is a clear bag-only campus. Please only bring clear bags when attending home games at RUHS athletic events. Below are links for the roster of fall athletics. Click on any of the links to go to their respective AIA website for their game schedule, record, etc.
CCCC info
College & Career Newsletter (Quarter 2)
Grade-level newsletters to keep you up-do-date on college & career readiness. Each newsletter includes important dates, opportunities, scholarships, a college of the month, and other resources to be successful in your college & career endeavors.
- Class of 2027 – 9th grade
- Class of 2026 – 10th grade
- Class of 2025 – 11th grade
- Class of 2024 – 12th grade
Junior College-Ready Seminars - 11th grade
Please join the UHS Counseling Team for our quarterly College-Ready Seminars focusing on how juniors can prepare for applying to college. Each quarter we will focus on a different topic to assist juniors & families in their college planning by breaking down the process and helping you work smarter, not harder! We highly encourage all junior students/families to attend each quarter, so they are best prepared for next year.
[Q1] College Admissions Testing – September 7 (COMPLETED),
[Q2] Build Your College List – November 2 (COMPLETED),
[Q3] Financing College – February 15,
[Q4] Plan & Prepare for Applications – April 18.
All seminars take place on Zoom at 6:00pm. More details and Zoom links can be found here.
Family engagement workshops
As we expand our communications throughout the district, The TUSD Family and Community Engagement department has series of classes and events for all families to attend which cover a host of topics. Check out the list of classes on their latest newsletter. Some classes which might be more pertinent to the UHS student and family are:
- Becoming Financially Fit
- Computer Class and Test Preparation
- Home Energizer Workshop
- Talk It Out
Graduation caps, gowns, save the date!
The 2024 UHS graduation ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 23 at 7:00pm once again at the Kino Sports Complex on Ajo Way. This year, we are working with Jostens as our vendor for graduation supplies. Along with that change is a slight re-design of the graduation attire so everyone will need to purchase a gown this year. Go to the University HS page on the Jostens website to order your cap and gown, announcements, rings, and so much more! Note: the deadline to order to ensure it would be delivered at our first campus delivery event in spring is November 15th. There will of course be extra bulk at our office to fulfill late orders but that will be the deadline for spring delivery. Order early to ensure you have what you need!
PSAT scores released this week!
Students can access their PSAT scores as of Nov 16th by logging into their College Board accounts.
View the PSAT/NMSQT: Understanding Scores for Students and Families guide for more information on what the scores mean.
SAT at UHS on March 6th (11th grade)
The SAT will take place during the school day at UHS on Wednesday March 6th for 11th grade students. For this exam, students will register through the UHS finance office, NOT through the College Board! Payment for the exam through the finance office = registration. The registration fee is $60, or $8 for students on free/reduced lunch. Payment is due by November 15th! To make a payment:
- Go to the student finance portal at https://az-tucson.intouchreceipting.com/
- One in the portal, click on “Items at Student’s School”
- Click “SAT Qualifying Test Participation Fee”
- Click “Buy” for ONLY one of the options (tax credit or non-tax credit, please note that both are non-refundable, once your test is paid for, it is ordered) – If you qualify for free/reduced lunch, please change the amount you will pay to $8 BEFORE clicking “Buy”
- Proceed to checkout and make payment
Please review the Q1: College-Ready Seminar – College Admissions Testing for more information on 11th grade tests!
TUSD family engagement survey
University HS and by extension TUSD are eager for feedback from our families, and we always looking for ways to improve. It's more than a placation, especially for me. To that end, our family engagement team has a survey we would like you each to fill out. You can snap the QR code here, or you can follow the survey link on the UHS home page. The survey will be open until November 24. Thank you for your continued support!
UHSFAA - Carolyn Kemmeries Memorial Fund
The UHS Foundation and Alumni Association is one of two major entities the school works with to provide resources and support for our programming. Please read the below message regarding the starting of a memorial fund for Carolyn Kemmeries, who served as principal of UHS from 1986-1992.
Penguins:
Recently we announced the passing of Principal Carolyn Kemmeries. A Celebration of Life event was held two weeks ago at Bear Down gymnasium at the University of Arizona.
We are pleased to share that, with the blessing of the Kemmeries family, the UHSFAA Board has voted to match up to $20,000 for all donations that have been made, or will be made into the Caroline Kemmeries Memorial Fund. At the request of the family this fund will be used to support UHS students in-need with school supplies and similar needs that support success. As per their request it will not be used to fund a single annual scholarship but instead will be available to provide small amounts for a larger number of students.
Please help us make as much impact with this match as possible! Make a donation to the Kemmeries Fund today in her honor and to strengthen her legacy.
Thank you!
UHSFAA - student micro-grants
The UHS Foundation and Alumni Association (UHSFAA) has money designated for student micro-grants! These grants can cover cost for such items as application fees, school supplies, and more! Moving forward, the UHSFAA would like to encourage students to use the form below for Micro Grants:
Please let us know if you have any questions.
UHSPA update
Look for our next All Parent Meeting in January. In the meantime, here are some activities to be aware of.
Get ready for Grad Night 2024 - Cowboy Disco!
On May 23, 2024, our graduating seniors will be hustling and two-stepping the night away.
Registration for Seniors is open now! The early-bird price is $85 through January 31st. Get your tickets now!
The Grad Night Committees are still looking for a few volunteers to help us plan the best party ever. We need Committee Chairs for Decoration, Entertainment, and Fundraising. Each of the committees are always in need of volunteers. The committees meet for about an hour each month and will pick up with more activities as it gets closer to May. Please email us at uhspa@uhs-pa.org
Sign up for the UHSPA newsletter/emails.
UHS yearbook
When you are ready to purchase photos, Lifetouch provided UHS with a 10% discount for ordering pictures. The code is F202310OFF.
From Lifetouch:
Deadline for purchasing senior tribute (ad page on Lifetouch website): 1/8/24
Deadline for submitting senior tribute: 2/12/24
Yearbook Purchasing:
Please help spread the word so that people know how to purchase senior tributes.
Yearbook prices are currently $60.
Increase online price to $75 January 1, 2024
Increase online price to $90 February 27, 2024
Increase online price to $105 March 27, 2024
Increase online price to $120 April 10, 2024
Price day of yearbook delivery in May - $120