Ms. Taylor Cleland is back at Pueblo High School to take over math classes for Ms. Rhesa Olsen who retired at the end of last semester.
She should look familiar to many students—as Cleland taught here at Pueblo from 2018 until 2022 to pursue her passion in writing (and to avoid COVID-19).
“I’m a writer, and I wanted some more time to work on my writing,” she said, explaining why she left two years ago.
“I also got long-term COVID-19, so I couldn’t work full time. However, I’m much better,” said Cleland.
She also substituted many times before this semester, but Cleland adds that she likes having her own students a lot more.
She said that she is focusing on getting the students back on track.
“When students have substitute teachers, they end up doing little or nothing,” Cleland said.
Her main goal is trying to create a positive learning environment for students, allowing students to listen to music while they do their work and frequently monitors all her new students’ work.
“I think if students have a positive environment in which to learn and work, they will have much better chances of academic success,” Cleland said.
She added, “I also have students working on projects as well as having some students teaching their peers. This creates an exciting learning environment.”
Project Contact has returned to Pueblo High School.
This service is an outlet to educate students about preventing sexually-transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy and to provide knowledge about having safe sex.
Nurse Kate Straub contacted this program to be a part of the Pueblo community as a way to keep our students safe and educated about sex.
“Project Contact is a fantastic!” said Straub. “This service reduces students’ chances of getting pregnant,” said Straub, “as well as keeping them informed about sexually-transmitted diseases.”
Project Contact is part of the Pima County Health Department and is on campus every second and fourth Monday of the month from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., located in a large RV in the southwestern part of the campus by the portables.
“Students can freely obtain information and get educated about sex, and so far this service has been a positive experience for students,” Straub said. “Hundreds of students have already taken advantage of Project Contact,” said Straub.
She added that this service provides free and confidential advice to students; contraception, condoms, and STD testing and treatment to all Pueblo students is available.
Students interested in visiting this service can sign up in the nurse’s office; students will be discreetly called out of class whenever the Project Contact RV is on campus.
Straub said, “Nobody is going to know your [students’] business, so there’s no need for anybody to feel embarrassed. Everything is confidential.”
A senior, who wishes anonymity, said she had a “very positive” experience visit to Project Contact.
She said, “These medical professionals were genuinely nice. I learned a lot during my visit and recommend that if students need this kind of advice or help to sign up for this free service.”
Straub said that she is planning to continue this program for as long as she can, labeling it “a great resource” for the Pueblo community.
“For now, Project Contact is here to stay,” she added.
This service is also available at TAPP (Teenage Parent Program) and Tucson High School.
“Project Contact would like to visit other schools—as the service will be available to anywhere if the program is embraced by schools’ administrators and nurses,” Straub said.
“I’m just happy that we are lucky enough to have this service available to our Pueblo community,” she said.
After being head coach for six
seasons, Mr. Brandon Sanders has stepped down; Mr. Jacob Allen is now Pueblo’s
head football coach.
Sanders became inspired to become a coach after his own coach at the University of Arizona, legendary Mr. Dick Tomey, who guided him and, in a sense, groomed him to be a great leader himself.
“I wanted to see if I could
actually do it [coaching high school students],” said Sanders. “It would’ve
been another challenge for me to have success.” he added.
Sanders is not leaving the position without a legacy. He led the Warriors football team to a 41-22 record over the past six years; he hopes that he provided a foundation for a lasting successful football team.
“This [past] season was great,”
Sanders said. “I think I was able to grow along with the program.”
Sanders added that his moments as a
head coach was fun, and he hopes that his ethics taught his high school
students respect and to “grow” their love of football.
At the end of the school year, Sanders will commit to becoming a defensive back coach for the Tucson Sugar Skulls in the Indoor Football League.
“Coaching is my purpose in life,
and I am proud and grateful for the experiences at Pueblo,” Sanders said.
Spirit Week: Keeping Themes Original! By Mariel Ponce and Xylenn Nevarez
Sept. 23 through the Sept.
27 marked Pueblo High School’s had their first spirit week of the new 2019-20
school year, and the themes were imaginative and wild, according to many
students.
The themes for this year
included the following: “Mathletes vs. Athletes” on Monday; “Speed- dating” on
Tuesday; “Sideline spirit” on Wednesday; “College Fan Day” on Thursday; and “Final
countdown” on Friday, which was the official theme for the assembly as a whole.
Student Council advisor/teacher
Mr. Greg Obregon, said, “The themes are chosen by students at Pueblo during
their lunches or through emails.”
He said, “This year’s
themes were great, but ‘Pajama Day’, which wasn’t part of this year’s themes,
will always be my favorite.”
Allissa Barone, a
senior, is a member of the Spirit Committee, said that she hopes that more
students can participate in helping determine future spirit weeks’ themes.
“I would also like to
see more seniors becoming involved—especially since it’s their last year of
high school,” she added. “If more seniors became involved, I think the
underclassmen would follow the trend.” She paused and added, “For the first
spirit week, I thought students were fairly spirited.
Hazel Haynes, another senior and member of the Spirit Committee, said that she wants the student body to know that Student Council represents all students—and that the organization’s number one objective is to ensure that allstudents’ opinions are being counted.
“We work for everybody
at Pueblo,” Haynes said.
According to Obregon,
Pueblo’s next Spirit Week will begin on Dec. 2, although themes are not
determined yet.
“We hope that we receive
a lot of different ideas for December,” he said. “Let’s keep the originality
coming our way!”
First Spirit Assembly: A Result of ‘Hard Work’ By Kevin Cazares and Ivan Rosas
On Friday, Sept. 27, we had our first spirit assembly of the school year. It’s always one of the most anticipated events of the entire school year. This year’s spirit assembly, according to students interviewed for this story, did not let our Warriors down. The week’s dramatic themes just added to this anticipation.
Student Council worked diligently to ensure that Homecoming 2019 would be an
unforgettable and positive event.
Mr. Greg Obregon, Student Council teacher and advisor, helped coordinate his
students on how to make Spirit Week and the first Spirit Assembly a success.
Obregon said, “With all of the extra hours they put in during school hours
and after school, I was confident they couldn’t fail. In the end, I was very
impressed. Their hard work really paid off, and we had mostly positive comments
about all of the spirit activities, including the assembly.”
One of the highlights that students enjoyed most
was when our varsity football players broke a piñata to commemorate their
winning season.
Despite most students enjoying the assembly, a
few expressed how they wished the assembly would end when it is scheduled to be
over.
The next spirit week is scheduled for the week of
Dec. 2-6, according to Student Council.
Warriors Winning Streak Over By Palmira Henriquez and Daeyalina Moreno
Pueblo hosted the Homecoming football game on the newly dedicated “Saturnino ‘Curly’ Santa Cruz” Stadium. Up to this point, the Warrior football team was 4-0, an undefeated season with hopes of making it 5-0.
Taking on
the Catalina Foothills Falcons was supposed to be a cinch for the Warriors, but
it was anything but that.
“I feel
as if the entire team had the energy to pull off a victory, but somehow we
lost,” said sophomore Enrique Cancio (#2).
Sadly,
the Warriors’ winning streak came to an end, reporting their first loss of the
season. Head Coach Brandon Sanders said, “During the game, the team lost its
fundamentals, and after playing and defeating local rivals, the team could not
find the same high to conquer the Falcons.”
Despite
the loss, our Warriors put up a good defense during the first quarter, keeping
the score at 0-0. However, that all changed in the second quarter; by halftime,
the score was Pueblo, 0, Falcons, 12.
Quarterback
Marcelino Vega (#4), a senior, said, “The energy was there, but it faded as the
game went on. We lost focus during the game.”
The final
score: Pueblo 0; Falcons, 19.
Royalty: The Crowning Tradition Continues! By Darian Aldaco and Getsemani Cazares
Although royalty for
juniors and seniors was announced the next day at the homecoming dance, the
focus during the halftime game was freshman and sophomore royalty.
Freshmen Jazmyne Garcia
and Fabian Morenowere crowned “Lady” and “Lord” for their Class of
2023.
Garcia said, “I felt
happy that we won because I didn’t think people would vote for us. I want to
thank everybody who believed in us!”
Moreno said, “When my
name was announced, nothing else mattered to me. I was proud of myself but
mostly proud of my girlfriend Jazmyne.”
Sophomores Daidryan
Mendivil and Jezelle Fuentes were voted “Duke” and “Duchess” for their
sophomore class.
Mendivil said, “We were
really happy and excited that people voted for us.”
“It was like a really great dream!” Fuentes said.
‘The Night of Nights’ By Ismael Angulo and Alina Cuen
On Saturday, Sept. 28, the Warriors lit up the night with a
neon bowling theme. For the first time in the Lever Gym, the hype of the dance
continued throughout the week–especially the announcement of royalty for
juniors and seniors.
The turnout was impressive this year. More than 100
students were in attendance. Although there were mixed reviews about the dance,
most Warriors interviewed for this story did seem to really enjoy themselves.
Lever Gym allowed more space than the South Gym, and most
students enjoyed the extra space.
Alek Mendez, a senior, said, “This year’s dance was a lot better than
the past years, and choosing Lever Gym instead of the South Gym was a way
better choice and the energy was a lot more feeling.”
The dance was over by 11 p.m., and some students wanted to
express their ideas to make future Homecoming dances even better.
Mendez said, “I feel that at other schools, there is more build-up
to the dance, including more decorations and more clubs serving food and drinks
instead of just a few clubs participating. Even though this is my last
homecoming dance, I would like to see more clubs involved in events like this
in the future.”
One of the highlights of
the evening was announcing junior and senior royalty. First, the juniors were
announced…
David Miramontes and
Marina Villa were voted as the Class of 2021 “Prince” and “Princess”.
Miramontes said, “I
really didn’t expect to win, but hearing my name announced really made my
night.”
“After being crowned
winner, both of us were pretty stoked to receive this honor! It was a memorable
night,” said Villa.
As our seniors continue
to make their last year memorable, Alina Cuen and Aaron Cano were voted our
2019 homecoming king and queen.
Cano said, “It was surprising to win! I didn’t think we
were going to. It was like a rush of joy.”?
Cuen said, “I was very happy and filled with joy to be
honored by my peers! Winning was truly a moment and a night that I will?never
forget. The whole evening was so special to us both.”
Both King and Queen had the dancefloor to themselves;
fittingly, they danced to “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran.
Indeed, “perfect” is an adjective that many would agree to
describe Homecoming ’19 dance.
On Feb. 10, 2017, Pueblo held is 6th annual Mr. Warrior Pageant for senior males to show the judges what they got.
Contestants had to endure four different events to prove to judges why they should be Mr. Warrior. They were graded all on a scale from one through five (with “five” being the highest).
The originator of the Mr. Warrior Pageant, counselor Mrs. Teresa Toro, said, “They boys went through four major events. First—contestants were judged on a “strike a pose” dance routine; then, the boys had to “survive” a “swimsuit cat walk”; thirdly, each contestant had to show off one of their talents; and, lastly, each participated in the “Gala” event—that is, presenting their female escort with a thoughtful gift; the boys were required to wear tuxedos!
The pageant is also a fundraiser—to help seniors raise money for their senior gift as well as to award a senior a $500 scholarship. This year, because of all of the money raised, two scholarships will be awarded to graduating seniors.
The four finalists were faced with a pageant question to end the competition; according to Mrs. Toro, whoever answered it the best—evaluated by the judges—won the pageant.
The winner of the 6th Annual Mr. Warrior Pageant…? None other than Manuel Enrique Navarro, who won two free tickets to Prom, a free tuxedo rental and an Olive Garden restaurant gift card.
“I love Olive Garden,” Navarez said. He paused and said, “Honestly, winning was a total surprise, but I’m not going to lie—it felt good to win. Like, whoa! I’m Mr. Warrior!”
Starting this 2016-17 year, Mr. Drew Berns joins the Warrior family as a reading interventionist, helping struggling readers improve their vocabulary skills along with reading fluency.
“We learn a lot of different strategies to help students improve their reading,” Berns said. “One of the best ones is to read a lot of different genres which helps out the students a lot.”
Although this is Berns’ first year at Pueblo, this is his 13th year of teaching. He has taught in several cities, including Nogales and Phoenix.
After graduating from Canyon del Oro High School, Berns then pursued several degrees from the University of Arizona, including a bachelor’s degree in family consumer services and a master’s degree in Mexican-American studies in 2014.
Berns said that the transition to Pueblo was an easy one.
“I really like our students here [at Pueblo],” Berns said. “I think it’s hard for our students to sit in a classroom for 90 minutes on block days [Wednesdays and Thursdays]—especially freshmen.”
Although he works primarily with freshmen, Berns said that he also helps juniors in RTI (Response to Intervention) classes.
“I really enjoy working with our students one-on-one, and I find it rewarding—for both the student and for me,” Berns said.
It’s no surprise that as reading specialist, Bern loves to read. He said that his
favorite novel is The Devils Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea, a story about a group of immigrants crossing the border between Mexico and the U.S.
