After two and a half years of being an assistant principal at Pueblo, Mr. Joel Bacalia has accepted a job at University High School, which he will officially start, full-time, on January 4, 2016.
Mr. Joel Bacalia with Olivia Gonzalez & Jorge Romero
Bacalia said that one of the reasons why he is accepting this assignment is because of proximity to his wife and children.
He added that he has already been transitioning to University High School for the past several weeks. Eventually at UHS, Bacalia will be in charge of curriculum and instruction, which is what he has been his assignment and duties at Pueblo since the fall of 2013.
His other responsibilities at UHS will include completing teacher evaluations, supervision duties, leading and teaming with the counseling department, and helping to promote the school.
Though he has only been at Pueblo for two and a half years, Bacalia will miss many teachers, staff members and students.
At the last spirit assembly, on Friday, December 4, 2015, Bacalia realized that, “these [members of the Pueblo community] are my people”. He expressed that making a decision to accept the position at University High School was not an easy one.
Bacalia hopes that after he leaves Pueblo, his legacy will be for students, teachers and staff members to think back and say that he was “a good part of their day”. If that doesn’t work, then Bacalia hopes that he is remembered for his “beard and colored pants”, he added.
“I really do believe in the theory, ‘Once a Warrior, always a Warrior’,” Bacalia asserted.
Among all of the great resources this school has to offer, one of the greatest is Mr. Carlos Gonzales, Jr., who is Pueblo’s Trio Educational Talent Search Program Coordinator.
TRiO Program Coordinator Carlos Gonzales (right) with Iram Arce.
Gonzales is here on campus as a college advisor for Trio students three days out of the school week; he can be found either in the College and Career Center or in the library. TRIO is not an acronym and actually stands for the word “Three”, which represents the three parts of the TRIO program: Upward Bound, Education and Student Support Services. Gonzales said that he specializes in the second program.
Gonzales said, “I definitely like to get to know my students starting from their freshman year up until their senior year because I feel it takes a long time to develop a real relationship with a student.”
He focuses on preparing students for applying for colleges, looking for scholarships, and helping students to choose the best college for them.
One of the many students who appreciate Gonzales is sophomore Iram Arce, who said, “Mr. Gonzales keeps me motivated no matter how challenging things may seem. So far, he has helped me open more doors to my future. I’m so lucky to have such an amazing person who does such an amazing job in this program.”
Left to Right: Yulissa Tarango, Daniella Contreras, Alejandra Navarrete, (kneeling) Damaris Ponce & Lazaro Tovar pose for Dia de los Muertos “altar”.
This past Monday, several Pueblo teachers and hundreds of their students boasted their Dia de los Muertos displays (or, “altars”, as they are referred to in the Mexican culture) throughout Pueblo.
El Dia de los Muertos is a day to celebrate, remember and prepare special foods in honor of those who have departed. On this day in Mexico—usually Nov. 2—the streets near cemetaries are filled with decorations of paper, flowers, candy, skeletons and skulls, as well as parades.
Mr. Gray’s student display for Dia de los Muertos
On this day, death is laughed at in its face. Many euphemisms are used for death, la calaca (the skeleton), la pelona (“baldy”), la flaca (“the skinny”), and la huesada (“bony”). In parades, children carry marigolds, and music is played and dances are made to honor the spirits.
Ms. Mejia’s student display remember the 43 of Ayotzinapa
Here at Pueblo, many students learned about the Mexican culture and the significance of Dia de los Muertos. One student, junior Ana Lopez, said, “Ms. [Cathy] Gastelum really taught us a lot about this holiday. I learned mostly that we should always mourn our lost loved ones, and this holidays is an easy way to mourn those who have passed.”
Another junior, Anamim Yarisa, also in Ms. Gastelum’s classroom, said, “Everybody should reflect on those who have passed. A holiday like Dia de los Muertos makes it much easier to say goodbye to somebody we’ve lost.”
Several other teachers partook in this holiday with their students, including art teacher Mr. Ned Gray, Spanish teacher Mr. Jesus Orduño and social studies teacher Ms. Jessica Mejia.
Mrs. Shepard & Mr. Orduño’s student display of Dia de los Muertos
This is that time of the year that many seniors start to realize that graduation is only seven months away, and with a new quarter underway, it’s time to start swallowing that reality pill. Many seniors are preparing and planning for a collegiate future, but to do this, they will first have to take the ACT.
Students must achieve a score of 22-36 on the ACT to receive a scholarship in and/or out of state.
TUSD pays for all juniors to take the ACT in April, and there are opportunities to take the ACT retakes throughout the school year. A student has numerous opportunities to obtain their desired score.
“You’re ignorant for not being serious about the test, because even I wasn’t, now I know how important that test was and how it could’ve helped me,” said senior Alejandro Arguellez.
Arguellez came to Pueblo to follow his dream: to play basketball. He has dreams of playing for UCLA and joining the NBA. However, he will first need to take the ACT, which he plans to do tomorrow, Oct. 24.
“I knew that I needed to prepare for the test because I learned a long time ago that not preparing is preparing for failure,” Arguellez said.
Another senior, Kia Guedes, has been studying for the ACT, which she will also take this Saturday, October 24. She plans to score high because she has prepared for this test. For the remainder of this school year, she will maintain her high GPA and continue to work diligently to earn a scholarship to the University of Arizona.
Sal Varela and Kia Guedes prepare for ACT Test
“I’m not nervous,” Guedes said. “I’ve taken the pre-ACT, and I’ve been preparing for the real test since the first day of this school year.” She paused and added, “I think that three months of preparing for the ACT is more than enough time. I just need to go in tomorrow and take this test seriously opposed to junior year when I first took it.”
Salvador Varela, a senior who will be graduating with the Class of 2016, is also planning to take the ACT this Saturday. Varela has been preparing since the beginning of the summer and admits that he is a little nervous. His plans are to attend Pima Community College; he then plans to transfer to the U of A.
“I feel pretty confident about this test, because a lot is expected,” said Varela. “It’s nice to know that I can retake this test if I bomb it tomorrow, but I’m feeling fairly confident about this test.”
For more information on taking the ACT, students can see Mr. Ruben Romero in the College and Career Center; you can email him ruben.romero@tusd1.org or contact him at (520) 225-4542.
Dr. Maria Bicknell, Pueblo’s marketing teacher and CTE coordinator, said, “Every subject will be tutored because our teachers are so talented.”
Bicknell said that the teachers volunteering for tutoring include, Mr. Steve Lopez, Ms. Rhesa Olsen, Ms. Rhonda Alexander and Ms. Pamela Shapiro. Bicknell said that she, too, will be a tutor, and she and the other teachers will be helping students with a variety of subjects.
On Monday, Sept. 28, a Town Hall meeting was held in Pueblo’s library in order to inform our community of the decisions being made regarding our school’s magnet status.
District officials were present, including TUSD Superintendent Dr. H. T. Sanchez, as well as a dozen Pueblo students, mostly from media classes, as well as several Pueblo teachers.
Dr. Augustine Romero explains the Magnet Program situation.
Dr. Augustine Romero, Pueblo’s principal, began this meeting by giving a brief history of Pueblo’s magnet status, which began back in 1992. The focus of this magnet school back then—as it is now—communications. The effort to transition to a magnet school was challenging, despite the effort to attract students from other regions of Tucson to make our student population more racially diverse.
Fast forward to 2015…
“Equality in our schools only shows what everyone deserves, but equity is what we need in this case,” said Dr. Romero. “The diversity of our student enrollment should not be a determining factor when they have [shown a considerable rise in academic success].”
This year, however, Pueblo was on the verge of having its magnet status removed, but our Native American student population helped meet the integration goal. Pueblo has become restless because of this standing question: What would happen if we lost our magnet status?
“We are already under-funded as it is,” added Romero.
The removal of Pueblo’s magnet status would result in the loss of about $538,000 of funds. This being the money that pays for teachers, student field trips, additional staff, and programs. These magnet funds are generated through local taxes.
“The reduction in funding would be detrimental to Pueblo,” said TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez.
Sanchez added, “If you pay rent or mortgage you are [helping fund Pueblo], and these are local dollars.”
TUSD Superintendent Dr. HT Sanchez answered many questions regarding future of Magnet Program.
Although Pueblo is gradually achieving racial integration, students must accomplish higher academic levels in order to improve our chances of keeping our magnet status.
“Higher grades, AP class enrollments, more scholarships, acceptance to institutions of higher learning, and higher scores on semester exams will help to support our efforts of keeping Pueblo’s magnet status,” explained Sanchez.
Romero echoed the same response.
Dr. Willis Hawley appointed by federal court judge Bury, referred to as the ‘Special Master’, who originally placed Pueblo on a list of schools to lose their magnet status has since removed us. However, our magnet status remains endangered and Dr. Hawley will return in about a year to raise the question once again.
“Lots of advisement is taken into account when making a decision regarding a school’s magnet status, including the community’s and ex-administrators’ opinions,” said Sanchez. “But ultimately the ‘Special Master’ gives his own recommendation.”
“People just want to be a part of something positive, it’s going to be harder to achieve racial diversity with a lack of something positive [our magnet status] benefitting our school,” said Romero.
Pueblo’s magnet coordinator Ms. Laura Gallego, said that if Pueblo were to lose its magnet status, it would result in more students in classrooms because there would be fewer teachers because there are several who are paid out of the magnet money budget.
“It worries me [losing Pueblo’s magnet status] because the communications program is what makes Pueblo unique,” said Skyblue Estrella, a senior at Pueblo, who attended this meeting. “If Pueblo loses its magnet status, we will not only lose what makes it special, but also a part of our community that we students hold dear [teachers and students].”
English teacher Ms. Constance Onsae said, “I think the parent meeting went well. A lot of information was shared about the current magnet status [dilemma] and how parents can work to get around the process and obtain the magnet money Pueblo deserves, even in our current financial state.”
She paused and added, “I do believe that Dr. Sanchez seems to be doing all he can to help the Pueblo magnet status.”
Pueblo will remain on the “Endangered” list regarding its magnet status, and in one year, the issue will be discussed once again. In essence, Pueblo’s magnet status is “safe” for now, but the evaluation process will resume next year to discuss the fate of the school’s magnet status for the 2017-18 school year.
“I am hopeful that we will retain our magnet status after next year and years thereafter,” said Dr. Romero. “The criteria has been established for us and we must continue down a path towards greater integration and elevation of our levels of academic achievement.”
