Alicia Reyes (Center) holds scorebook showing the 17 3-Pointers she made to break record.
On January 27, Pueblo’s Girls’ Basketball team enjoyed a colossal win over Cholla with a final score of 98-11. Another victorious moment that night was sophomore Alicia Reyes, Class of 2018, setting a new state record.
Reyes made 17 three-pointers during the game (for a total of 51 points in just three-pointers!) and ended up scoring a total of 57 points, topping the previous Southern Arizona high of 54 made by another Warrior, Angela Lopez, set in the 2007-08 season.
“She [Reyes] is my shooter, she is my best shooter!” exclaimed Coach Ismael Galindo.
The previous record of three-pointers made in a single game was 14 set last season by a Phoenix Sierra Linda High School student, Janae Gonzales.
“When I hit the record breaking three-pointers, I could not stop smiling,” Reyes said. “I could see my teammates cheering for me, and it was a great feeling!”
Reyes tied the national record of 17 three-pointers that was set by Rebecca Greenwell from Kentucky back in January 2013.
“I want to break the national record!” Reyes exclaimed. “That would definitely be something to talk about for a long time!”
One of the team’s greatest games this season was their matchup against the Safford High School Bulldogs; that evening, the Warriors girls’ basketball team broke that team’s 24-consecutive winning streak.
The girls’ basketball team ended the regular season with a final record of 22-3, going undefeated in their section. They need the support of the Pueblo community when they take on the Casa Grande Cougars in the second round of sectional playoffs on Thursday, February 11.
This past year, Pueblo’s athletics department has consistently risen to challenges and reached awesome success. This has also been the scenario for Pueblo’s boys’ soccer team.
The boys’ team was able to successfully take the win in 10 out of 12 of their season games; as a result of this phenomenal record, the team will be headed to playoffs.
“It was a great season,” said Brayan Urias, a senior who is midfielder for Pueblo’s soccer team. “I think this team has been the best to play at Pueblo.”
On Saturday, February 6, the boys were able to take the win in their second round playoff game against NFL YET Academy with the final score of 7-2. This is the first time that Pueblo soccer has gotten this far with an opportunity to place in state.
“We’ve come a long way from where we started and we’ve definitely changed our mindset about how much effort we need to put in,” said David Greenwood, a senior who plays forward for the team.
Senior Erick Garcia, another midfielder for the boys’ soccer team, said, “Out of my four years playing here at Pueblo, this team is my favorite because most of us have played club soccer together, and that just adds to the dynamic chemistry we have out in the field.”
The boys’ next game is at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10, at Tucson High School, where they will take on Glendale Prep.
“I hope we are able to bring another state banner into Pueblo’s Lever Gym,” added Garcia.
If the boys are able to win in the semifinals game against Glendale Prep, they will move on to the championship game and will represent Pueblo at the highest level.
“I am confident we can make it to State final,” said senior Mario Rodriguez, a midfielder on the team. “Throughout the entire season, everyone on the team has put in the effort to play to the best of their ability and represent Pueblo with pride.”
Mr. Francisco Urtuzuastegui, Pueblo’s boys’ soccer coach, much like the rest of Pueblo, is extremely excited and proud of how much the team has accomplished this season.
“The team consists of guys who are filled with so much enthusiasm [for soccer],” Urtuzuastegui said. “They have really committed themselves to their practices, and I’m extremely proud of them. I am confident that the boys can take State, which would be a great experience for them and to make it [their mark] at Pueblo. A State victory would also be a very personal victory that they will remember for the rest of their lives.”
Pueblo Magnet High School hosted the first annual student athlete signing ceremony on Friday, January 15. Seven of our Warriors announced their schools of interest or their choices of where they will be attending college in the fall.
Among these Warriors, only one senior, Vanessa Molina, officially signed. She committed to attending Central Arizona College to play softball.
“The student athletes had the choice of signing at the college, their home, or here at Pueblo,” said Assistant Principal Frank Rosthenhausler. “Vanessa Molina decided to sign here at her high school and wanted to give the opportunity to her fellow student athletes.”
Three of her fellow softball teammates, Vanessa Duarte, Alizea Corday, and Sierra Gaskill, committed to attend Phoenix College and signed the next day, January 16.
“I am extremely proud of the girls’ commitment on and off the field,” said first year high school softball coach Curtis Ruiz. “It makes coaching worth every minute especially when you get to see the players you have had for years finally achieve their dreams of playing ball at the next level.”
Senior Frankie Gomez was also apart of the celebration, and he expressed three schools of interest for baseball. Gomez is still undecided as to where he would like to attend college in the fall.
“I would like to thank God and my family for the amazing opportunities and support they have giving me over the years.” Gomez said. “I still haven’t committed to which college I’ll attend. It’s going to be a difficult decision.”
Jasiah Booth and Justin Pledger have both received offers to play football at the collegiate level.
Booth said that he is also undecided about where he will attend college but has narrowed the choice between Arizona Christian University, Jacksonville University, and three community colleges: Glendale, Mesa, and Scottsdale.
Pledger has the two choices of attending Pima and Eastern College.
Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Brandon Sanders said, “Our student athletes deserve the best. This ceremony was very successful, and I hope this will become an annual event for our Pueblo students.”
On the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 10, I was lucky enough to be invited by Ms. Ginger Arzani, Social Worker at Pueblo and an advocate of immigration reform, to witness Ms. Rosa Robles-Loreto’s announcement that she was leaving the Southside Presbyterian Church after 461 days of living there in sanctuary. With tear-filled eyes, she said that she was returning back home to her family the next day.
“I feel relieved and free,” she said.
Local media was not invited to this event, so being asked to be a part of history meant a great deal to me.
As an undocumented immigrant, Robles took sanctuary inside the Southside Presbyterian Church for more than 15 months. She finally grew frustrated remaining in sanctuary separated from her family. She decided that it was time to return to living her life as a loving mother and wife—leaving behind this country’s broken immigration laws.
Rosa Robles With Her Mother
Robles entered the doors of the church on August 7, 2014, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement entered a final order of deportation against her. She has lived peacefully in the U.S. since 1999.
For 461 days, Robles cooked her family’s meals in the church kitchen and spent nights sleeping in a Sunday school room. Robles and members of the Tucson faith community gathered every evening and prayed for Robles and others who were experiencing difficulties and challenges with this country’s immigration laws.
As a school reporter and photographer for the journalism program, attending this gathering on the eve of Robles’ departure from the Church gave me a sense of how colossal this issue is and how Robles and others in her situation have been adversely affected by this country’s unfairness regarding illegal immigration laws. Those in attendance were very emotional about Robles’ decision to leave. Towards the end of the evening, everybody lit their candles, passing the flame on to their neighbor—all in celebration of Robles returning home.
Nobody knows Robles’ fate regarding her immigration status, but returning to being a mother and a wife was worth the risk.
Nearly 10,000 “We Stand With Rosa” signs have been placed around Tucson, especially throughout downtown, along 4th Avenue, and the Armory Park are, not to mention in schools across the city. Just because Robles is home does not mean that these signs should come down.
Arzani said, “People are encouraged to keep their “We Stand With Rosa” signs visible until immigration laws change. These signs should stay up for years to represent the changes that need to take place in immigration.”
Last May, in our hard copy of El Guerrero, we reported about the plight of Ms. Rosa Robles-Loreto, who was still in sanctuary at a southside church after nearly a year. Five months have passed since the article was published, and Rosa still remains trapped.
Ms. Rosa Robles Loreto, who found sanctuary at the Southside Presbyterian Church in August, 2014 after being stopped after a minor traffic violation has remained there for over a year now. Since the beginning, she has had full support from the church, and throughout the year, her support has grown within the Tucson area. In fact, driving around town drivers are able to spot the now-familiar “We Stand with Rosa” signs. Several teachers and staff members also have these signs posted in their classrooms.
We Stand With Rosa sign held by Nayeli Sanchez & Lauren Ahern
Even our principal, Dr. Augustine Romero, has this sign in his office window. He believes that this issue is a great opportunity to bring awareness to help students explore Robles-Loreto’s situation.
Pueblo’s social worker, Ms. Ginger Arzani, who checks in on Robles to “see how she is doing,” reported that “sometimes Robles-Loreto is up, and sometimes she’s down.”
Arzani added that Robles-Loreto’s family has a big role on her getting through the day.
“She misses her children and her husband very much,” Arzani said
She added that the church is feeding and clothing Robles-Loreto. Occasionally, an attorney visits Robles-Loreto regarding legal issues regarding deportation.
Lawyers and activists say the We Stand with Rosa case is a touchstone that reflects a gap between the White House’s desire for immigration reform and ICE’s actions in the field, which they say still target non-criminals, despite Obama’s directive that prosecutions should focus on “felons, not families”.
Many teachers and staff are aware of the situation that is going on and have different opinions about it.
As for Jessica Mejia, one of Pueblo’s history teachers, she has a positive opinion on this situation. She believes breaking up families shouldn’t happen and she definitely supports her being here because she is an outstanding citizen and contributes to the community.
However, teachers like Cristobal Santa Cruz do not have a specific opinion on what the church should do and shouldn’t do. “It’s their right because they are expressing the 1st Amendment right, but because they are doing this the church has to accept the consequences that may follow.”
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.”
