Wildcat Press Newsletter
March 1, 2024
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MHS Administrative Team
Principal~Mr. Shawn Lynch
Mrs. Marguerite Brown~Assistant Principal
Seniors
Mr. Eric Cruz~Assistant Principal
Sophomores
Mr. Rudy Alvarado~Assistant Principal
Athletics
Juniors
Ms. Shara Billings~Dean of Students
Freshmen
Spring Break
Spring Break begins on Monday, March 11th and school will resume on Monday, March 25th.
Friday, March 8th will be a half day with dismissal at 11:20am.
Have a safe and enjoyable break!
Friday, March 29th, No School-Spring Holiday
Upcoming Sate Testing- Late Start Schedules: March 26th and April 9th
State Testing for 11th grade:
THE ACT
On March 26th, one day after Spring Break, MHS will be proctoring the ACT, which is our state exam for the 11th grade. Our 11th grade class will begin testing at 7:20 am, so please arrive on time. All other grades may arrive by 11:30 am. Please see the Bell Schedule below. Transportation will run twice that morning, once at normal time for our students testing, and then again 4 hours later, for all other students.
This assessment is extremely important for both the student and the school. For our school, it is one of the major data points that goes into the calculation of our school letter grade. For our students, it provides them with multiple opportunities for their post-secondary goals, such as college entrance and scholarship opportunities. For Arizona Universities, most prefer a score of at least 22 on the ACT.
Additional incentives will be offered to all test takers, where, depending on the score and growth from the ASPIRE test to the ACT, they will become eligible for FREE specialty items, such as: Free Senior Parking, Free Yearbook, Free Homecoming Tickets, Free Athletic pass, and other exciting items that brings their Senior year to life!
Please speak with your Junior about the importance of the ACT, and help encourage them to do their best!
AZsci
The 11th grade will also be expected to take the AZsci, which will be conducted in their Science course on April 1st, 2nd, and 4th. This test consists of three sessions, each about 1 hour in duration. If they do not have a science course here at MHS, please let them know that they will be pulled during a timeframe they are on campus those days. A pass will be delivered to them with the room number to report to one week prior. All teachers are aware, and will work with your student for any missed instruction/work.
State Testing for 9th grade:
The ACT ASPIRE
This assessment will be administered to all 9th graders on April 9th. Like the ACT, this will be a Late Start Schedule, however, because the ASPIRE assessment will not end until 1:20 pm, there will not be any official classes that day. Due to the assessment proctoring time frame, students not testing will be invited to select and participate in several fun activities. Once those activities are solidified, students will be sent a google form where they will sign-up for two activities that appeal to them. Our Freshman cohort will be invited to participate in the second session of those activities for the remainder of their day. Please see the Bell Schedule for that day bellow:
MHS Sports
Congratulations on a great season for our girls basketball team, they are the 4A State runner up! Looking forward to good things coming up in the future!!
On the boys side, they went 14-4 in the regular season and made it to the Final Four for the third year in a row. We lost by 3 in a heart-breaker this week but it doesn't take away from their amazing season and all they accomplished this year.
For Soccer, our boys and girls teams both qualified for the state Play-In game but fell short in that round. They finished the year 6-5-1 for the boys and 6-6 on the girls side. Thank you both for representing yourselves and your school so well.
Finally, our wrestling team finished the year strong! We were able to send a dozen wrestlers to state this year and 5 of them placed in their weight class. Nico Bermudez with a 5th place finish, Kylee Houghton and Trevor Ouellette both finished 4th, Mark Lipsky came in as State Runner-Up, and Eric Rodriguez came home a STATE CHAMPION!! Thank you Coach Alexander and the staff for the time, energy and love you pour into those kids!
Unified Basketball Game
Health News-Measles Information
You may have seen in the news that there have been two cases of measles in the East Valley
recently. While we hope that these are the last of the cases, it is important to acknowledge that
Measles is extremely contagious and that there is a possibility that this could impact our schools
at some point. Therefore we would like to share some helpful and important information with our
families. Typically the illness starts off with a fever, cough and runny nose. It is soon followed by
a rash that typically starts at the head and soon covers the entire body. If measles does spread
into our school community we will immediately begin working with the Maricopa County
Department of Public Health (MCDPH) and you will be notified. Any students who are not
vaccinated will be identified and MCDPH will determine when they can safely return to school.
Unvaccinated students may need to be out as long as 21 days and if more cases arise, it could
be longer.
If you have any questions regarding measles or would like resources on vaccinations please
Thomas R. Garrett Scholarship Essay Contest
SABR’s Negro Leagues Committee will award $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors in its annual Thomas R. Garrett Scholarship essay contest.
Students must write a 1,200-word essay answering a question related to one of the Negro League figures who are the namesakes of the scholarships. (Andrew "Rube" Foster, Robert Peterson, Jimmie Crutchfield, and Normal "Tweed" Webb.)
Eligibility
Eligible applicants must be
- a current high school senior,
- anticipating completion of high school diploma at the time of application,
- planning to pursue a degree at an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution, and
- carrying a minimum 2.5 GPA at the end of their junior year of high school.
Award: $1,000
Deadline: Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Link: https://app.goingmerry.com/scholarships/sabr-negro-leagues-committee-scholarship/14938
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Trade Skills of Tomorrow Scholarship
C&W Services has established a scholarship program to assist current high school seniors who plan to continue their education in vocational school programs.
Award:
If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $5,000 award. Up to 4 awards will be granted.
Awards are one-time only. Past recipients may not reapply.
Awards are for trade skills only.
$5,000 up to 4 recipients
Eligibility:
Be a current high school senior.
Plan to enroll in an accredited vocational-technical or trade school/program for the entire upcoming academic semester/term or year*
*Certification programs must be through an accredited institution and must run on a standard academic semester calendar. Certification programs must be a minimum of one semester/term in length.
Deadline: May, 8, 2024
Link to Apply:
https://app.goingmerry.com/scholarships/trade-skills-of-tomorrow-scholarship/15422
Feedback For New Math Resources
Gilbert Public Schools is in the process of selecting high-quality instructional materials for K-12 Mathematics. Parents, guardians, family members, employees, teachers, and community members are invited to preview and give input on the materials that are being considered.
The materials will be on public review from January 3rd to March 4th of 2024 at the following locations:
GPS District Office - 7:30 am - 4:30 pm Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays
Extended hours at the district are 7:00 am - 6:00 pm - Tuesdays & Thursdays
Ashland Ranch Elementary - 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Mondays - Fridays
Augusta Ranch Elementary - 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Mondays - Fridays
Greenfield Elementary - 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Mondays - Fridays
Playa del Rey Elementary - 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Mondays - Fridays
Highland Junior High School - 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Mondays - Fridays
South Valley Junior High School - 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Mondays - Fridays
Highland High School - 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Mondays - Fridays
Campo Verde High School - 8:00 am - 3:30 pm Mondays - Fridays
Senior Parents and Students- Graduation Google Classroom
In order to ensure that you are as up to date as possible, MHS has created a 2024 MHS Graduation Google classroom.
In order to use the link below, you will first need to confirm that your student has signed in and joined the class. They can then invite you as a guardian. Once you are in, you will be able to review all the important information that is needed for graduation, both as a student and as a parent. As this information is updated, it will also send you emails informing you that more information was posted.
Additionally, it will provide you with email access to Mrs. Brown, who is in charge of Graduation, and allow you to ask any burning questions that you may have.
Finally, there is also a "Remind" link that is added to this Google Classroom that you may want to sign up for. This app will send out text reminders as up coming events near and remind both you and your student about up coming Senior Class deadlines.