Kenya’s Questions ~ What Would You Fix About Pueblo?

Kenya Acosta El Guerrero Pueblo

By Kenya Acosta

The title is self-explanatory. Every two weeks or so, I will ask students to respond to a particular question. Their answers will vary from simple to complex responses. Here is this edition’s question:

What would you fix about Pueblo?Pueblo El Guerrero Kenya's Questions Cartoon

“Students mistreat the school, and they really shouldn’t.” (Leslie Robles, senior)

“They [teachers] don’t care about their students’ feelings, they only care about their job.” (Daniella Contreras, senior)

“The air conditioning isn’t right. They want us to work in a proper environment, yet they don’t provide proper temperatures for class. A lot of teachers have to use their own money when the school should be providing the supplies. School trips aren’t handled efficiently. The athletics department and our academic programs don’t get the same amount of treatment or funding, and there really should be a balance.” (Jose C. Martinez, senior)

“The lunch lines are horrible in first lunch. By the time you get your lunch, it’s time to go.” (Frankie Verdugo, senior)

“The food has no flavor and I have no morale to keep going. Our staff here at Pueblo wants us to do our best, but we can’t do that by eating this quality of food. We also need more supplies for teachers; they shouldn’t have to pay for classroom supplies with money out of their own pockets.” (Hector Jimenez, senior)

“The food is nasty.” (Emilio Grijalva, senior)

“The sausage was literally hanging out of my corn dog during lunch because it was so soggy and wet. What type of corn dog is wet? I can’t stand the cheese here, too, it’s disgusting.” (Mina Van Garder, senior)

“We don’t get enough food.” (Payton Rios-Sanders, senior)

“The ratio between students and teachers should be way different. There should be fewer students in our classes; a class of 35 or more is ridiculous.” (Kimberly Lerma, junior)

“I think that we don’t have enough time in our classes.” (Eneida Flores, senior)

“I took credit recovery ‘Edgenuity’ during the summer. The site crashed the last few days, and once I finally got back on the site, all of my work was gone. I feel like our school should spend our money more wisely. I remember during my sophomore or junior year; we spent over $4,000 dollars on our Cyber Café that nobody uses. They’re planning on doing tutoring there, but we have a library for that.” (Roman Romero, senior)

“There’s almost never soap in the restroom, and that’s absolutely disgusting.” (Shaira Perez, senior)

“Sanitation is a super huge problem. There’s no toilet-paper, no paper towels. This is illegal, isn’t it?” (Aaron Andrade, senior)

Mr. Brouillette Gives Kids A Push

By Iram Arce

Teacher Assistant Ron Brouillette

One of the many new faces at Pueblo Magnet High School this school year is Mr. Ron Brouillette, who is a teacher assistant for Ms. Rebecca Baltos, an exceptional education teacher.

He is a graduate from the University of Arizona and Columbia University, and he earned a PhD in international development administration, focusing on exceptional education with an emphasis on deafness.

Brouillette applied for a Fulbright scholarship, which allowed him to move to Africa for 25 years, opening schools for the deaf.

“Africa was so wonderful, the people were natural and joyful,” Brouillette said. “I opened schools for the deaf to get them into school.”

Brouillette grew up with a deaf brother, inspiring him to dedicate his life working with people who are in need of special assistance.

“My brother taught me about disabilities,” he said. “I lived with him and lived through him, and I felt the struggles he endured.”

After 25 years in Africa, Brouillette returned to Tucson to support his daughter, who is attending the U of A. He added that it was at this time that he applied for the job here at Pueblo as a teacher’s assistant.

He said that Ms. Baltos helps him guide and support any of the students’ needs.

“Working with Ms. Baltos has been a true delight,” Brouillette said. “She’s a real pro and knows what she is doing.”

He paused and added, “These kids [at Pueblo] are smart. They just need a little push, and I’m the one who will give them a little nudge in order to help them live a successful life.”

Annual Fiesta De Los Guerreros Set For April 17, 2015

By Felicity Aguilar and America Cardenas

Fiesta Warriors Club 2015

Standing: Sponsor Adalberto Rodriguez, Carlos Jaimez & Enrique Rebolledo
Sitting: Diana Rodriguez, Angel Morales & Andrea Morales

Our Fiesta De Los Guerreros will be held on Friday, April 17, 2015; this annual event has been a tradition at Pueblo since 1957.

This is a free community event that will be held from 4:30-11:00 in the school patio and will feature bands such as Monarkas Del Norte and Los Aucentes De Sínaloa this year. These bands play mexican cumbías & most of our favorite norteño songs. A DJ will play hip hop music to satisfy everybody’s musical tastes. There will also be special performances by our feeder school’s folkloricos and mariachis. Check out the full entertainment schedule online.

“Planning for Fiesta de los Guerreros is year round,” said sponsor Adalberto Rodriguez, Pueblo’s Media Specialist. “It’s such a big event, that the day after Fiesta, we start planning for the next year’s.”

President of the Fiesta Warriors Club, junior Diana Rodriguez, said, “I really hope that more people attend this year’s Fiesta because it helps a lot of our clubs. Also, because of City of Tucson budget cuts, this year we’re going to have tables and not just booths for clubs to raise money.”

Vice president of the Fiesta Club, junior Carlos Jaimez, said, “Fiesta is one of the best events we have here at Pueblo. Clubs can fundraise and make a lot of money. Guests can buy food, play games, dance and have fun. It’s just an all around blast!”

Fiesta charges clubs a fee of ten percent of their night’s profits, and there is an annual competition for the best decorated booth & table. If the club wins first or second place, they do not have to pay the ten percent fee.

“The Science club has been the winner of the best decorated booths for the past four years.” said Rodriguez, “I cannot wait to see what clubs have in store for us this year.”

Fiesta welcomes over 1,000 people each year including, students, faculty, alumni and community members.

Visit www.fiestadelosguerreros.com for more details & follow them on Facebook.

King Zelin and Queen Gelsey Crowned at Homecoming

By Ezra Valenzuela

Homecoming celebrations would not be complete without the traditional crowning of our king and queen—Pueblo’s royalty. This year’s contenders were seniors Sergio Cordova, Sabrina Parra, Zelin Pallanes and Gelsey Grijalva.

During halftime, our Warriors’ choice was announced: King Zelin and Queen Gelsey!

Grijalva, who is a member of the Spirit Line, accepted the crown with great surprise.

“I felt excited to be chosen as my school’s homecoming queen because it’s such a great tradition!” Grijalva said. “Becoming queen was such an honor especially at the last home football game during our awesome winning season.”

She paused and added, “This is the last home [football] game that I’ll ever attend as a Pueblo student, so the entire night was very sentimental and especially memorable. I’ll never forget the magic in the air—not only to be voted queen but also to be a part of this triumphant season at Pueblo.”

Homecoming King Zelin Pallanes said, “I was totally surprised that my peers would vote for me, so I am definitely humbled by the entire experience.”

“My crown is going to remain a treasure in my life,” Pallanes said. “It means a lot to me that I won during the last home game of this triumphant football season.”

For the rest of the evening, Pallanes and Grijalva cheered on their Warrior team. In the end, Pueblo defeated Empire by a score of 47-27.

To view complete picture gallery of Homecoming 2014: Click Here

Warriors Welcome New Assistant Principal

By Anais Salais

Pueblo Magnet High School welcomes a new member to the administration team this year, Ms. Alma Carmona-Alday, who is the new Assistant Principal of Community, Advanced Learning and Academic Associated Projects.

This is Carmona-Alday’s first assistant principal position, and with her strong background in education in teaching kindergarten—as well as being a learning support coordinator for TUSD at McCorkle K-8—she said that she feels ready to make a positive impact at Pueblo.

“I feel really welcomed and I am excited to be here!” said Carmona-Alday. “I love being in the classrooms and at the lunches because it gives me the chance to get to know the students better.”

Carmona-Alday was born and raised here in Tucson. She attended Davis Elementary, Utterback Middle School and Tucson High Magnet School. She earned two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Arizona in bilingual education and Spanish, as well as two master’s degrees from Northern Arizona University—in school counseling and educational leadership.

Even though she is very busy with her duties as an assistant principal, Carmona-Alday said that she enjoys dancing and even was a Zumba instructor at Desert View High School.

She admitted that she always loved dancing, and for many years, she thought that she would become a full-time dance teacher.

“After I earned my administrative degree, I found out that Pueblo didn’t have a dance teacher for a while, and I was hoping to become long-term substitute teacher—but I couldn’t because all of the work I was involved with as an administrator,” Carmona-Alday said.

Her husband is a teacher at Sunnyside High School, and they have two children, ages three and five.

“I wwouldn’t have gotten where I am now without my husband and family,” said Carmona-Alday.

Carmona-Alday has a positive outlook on this school year and the future of Pueblo that she aims to be a part of.

“I never thought I would love Pueblo so much,” she said. “I hope to be here for a long period of time.”

She admitted that she is very ambitious and that her goal is to one day become a principal. Her goal for now is to inspire Pueblo students to help make a positive impact at the school and in the community.

“Pueblo is going to be what our students make of it, and I hope that our students don’t ever give up on Pueblo,” said Carmona-Alday.

Pueblo Surging, But ‘Major Mountain’ Awaits Tonight

Pueblo vs. Nogales is also KOLD 13 Game of the Week:

Pueblo will look to stretch their winning streak to four straight games Friday night when the Warriors host Nogales in a Week 5 high school football matchup.

Pueblo (3-1) opened the season with a late one-point loss at Amphi but has rolled off victories over Santa Rita, Rio Rico and Rincon.

The Warriors are led by 1st-year head coach Brandon Sanders, a former Arizona Wildcats defensive star who made it to the NFL with the New York Giants.

The Apaches enter at 2-2 having won two straight over Douglas and Cholla.

Nogales at Pueblo is our Overtime Game of the Week. David Kelly will be lives from the south side with a report in during the KOLD News 13 at 6 and you can see the game highlights Friday night on Overtime which kickoffs on KOLD News 13 at 10:20 p.m.

Jorge Romero (Class of 2016)

Pueblo’s Memo Berube and Jorge Romero both had doubts about their football team coming into this season. In fact, Berube, a senior, was toying with the idea of hanging up his cleats for good.
He’s glad he didn’t.

In just four games, Pueblo (3-1) has already matched its win total from each of the last three seasons. Furthermore, a win tonight would mark just the second time in the last 10 years the Warriors have registered four victories in a season.

“I’ve never felt this great during football,” said Berube, who missed most of last season with a left knee injury. “I wasn’t expecting as good of a season so far and came into the spring with some doubts.”

First-year coach Brandon Sanders and the Warriors host Nogales tonight at 7 with a chance to win their fourth straight game — a rarity in itself for Pueblo recently.

To make sure his players aren’t coming into the game overconfident, Sanders has reminded them that they haven’t been within 49 points of the Apaches in the last two years.

Nogales (2-2) has won seven straight meetings between the schools, most recently with a 56-0 win 2013, and holds a 14-6 advantage in the series. The last time Pueblo topped the Apaches was in 2000.

Coach Brandon Sanders

“That’s a major mountain for these kids,” said Sanders, a member of the UA’s “Desert Swarm” defense in the mid-1990s and a former NFL player. “We don’t shy away from anything; we recognize it, we own up to it and we step up to take on the challenge.

“That’s what I want to see: Can we step up to the challenge to play?”

The Warriors have already conquered one challenge this season, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to rally against Santa Rita in Week 2. Since then, Pueblo has outscored opponents 81-12 in two games.

“It transitioned from the field to the locker room,” said Romero, a junior who leads the team with 581 yards rushing and six touchdowns. “You should have seen the lock room; there was so much adrenaline, you could see that we wanted to play.”

Since taking over last spring, Sanders has reconnected with Pueblo’s storied past. Former coach Curly Santa Cruz is among those who Sanders has brought in to speak with the team. After all, Santa Cruz spent 15 years with the program and was the last one to lead the Warriors to the state playoffs, in 1990. The way Romero sees it, however, that’s about to change.

“A lot of people have high expectations for us but there’s also still a lot of low,” Romero said. “We had doubts from a lot of people coming into the season but we’re ready to prove them wrong.”

Courtesy of Tucson.com (Daniel Gaona)