Pueblo Fire Science Takes Charge At Regionals

On Saturday, February 4th, 2012 the Regional SkillsUSA Fire Competition met at the Rural Metro Fire Training Center here in Tucson. The 40 participants from the region were from the west and east campuses of the JTED Fire Program including 6 from Pueblo’s Fire Program.

The competition included the following events: ropes & knot tying, hose rolling, breathing apparatus timed competition, climbing a ladder with tools in hand and a victim drag with a 200 lb. dummy.

The day culminated with a Fire Fighter Combat Challenge that mixed Pueblo students with JTED students and a very delicious barbeque.

Pueblo Fire Science At SkillsUSA Competition

We are very ecstatic to announce that our team made Pueblo proud. Out of the top 10 scores, we had 4 of our 6 participants in the following places:

  • First Place- Carlos Meraz (Senior) – 2nd year in the program
  • Second Place- Juan Aguilar (Freshman) -1st year in the program
  • Fifth Place-Victor Grutzius (Junior) -2nd year in the program
  • Sixth Place- Luis Mendivil (Freshman) -1st year in the program

Manuel Cedre & Hector Ortega made a great showing and just missed being in the Top 10.

Congratulations to the Pueblo Fire Science Program! They showed up at the competition with one thing on their minds and that was to put Pueblo Fire on the map. They did it in a big way!

Thank you Chief Jeff Smith for sharing.

Pueblo Has Two Wendy’s High School Heisman Award Semi-Finalists

Pueblo is proud to announce that Class of 2012 Seniors Damen Romero & Michelle Godinez are 2 of 20 student athletes in the state of Arizona selected as semi-finalists for the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award.  We are very pleased to have a male and female selection this year. 

Damen Romero & Michelle Godinez

This award honors well-rounded young men and woman who excel in learning, performing, and leading in the class room, on the field and in the community. They will both find out in December if they have been selected as finalists.

Finalists will be brought to New York City for Heisman Weekend activities and the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award Banquet in which the two National Winners will be announced nationally on ESPN. 

Congratulations to both and way to represent Pueblo!

Warriors Volunteer For National Public Lands Day

Pueblo Fire Service students woke up bright and early on  Saturday morning, September 24th for National Public Lands Day.  At 6:30 a.m., these  volunteers were ready to work.  We praise their efforts and dedication to the City of Tucson with their participation in restoring the beauty and vitality of our public lands.

On the top of A-Mountain. Can you see Pueblo in the background?

Student volunteers that helped clean A-Mountain were: Carlos Meraz, Blanca Valenzuela, Hector Ortega, Angel Tellez, Luis Mendivil & Juan Aguilar. (From Left To Right)

Thank you for representing Pueblo!  You too can get involved!

Mariachi Aztlan Wins 2011 Tammie Award

We are very proud to announce that our very own Mariachi Aztlán de Pueblo High School won the 2011 TAMMIES Award (Tucson Area Music) for the best Mariachi Group in the city.

This award is voted on by the Tucson community and was presented to the group at the 18th Annual Tucson Area Music Awards ceremony held on August 31 at the Rialto Theater.

2011-2012 Mariachi Aztlan Group

Congratulations to all Mariachi Aztlán members for their hard work and dedication that resulted in them earning this award!

Pueblo Promoting Wellness

Pueblo is the first school in TUSD to willingly adhere to the Wellness Policy, which is expected to become mandatory in October 2012, in that no non-nutritional food/beverage items may be offered on campus before, during, or after school.

In January 2011, Pueblo High School in collaboration with the U of A’s Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) team (Gayle Alleman) created a student health advisory committee (SHAC) of students and certified and non-certified staff members.

This Wellness movement is part of a national initiative kick-started by Michelle Obama to address the issue of rising obesity and lack of activity among the youth. This generation is the first generation to face a shorter life span than its parents due to these issues.

By adhering to the Wellness Policy Pueblo H.S. requested Desert Oasis to remove all non-nutritional foods from its vending machines and replace them with healthy snacks that are in compliance with the AZ District Nutrition Standards. The cafeteria was already serving healthy foods, but in order to support us in our application for the US Healthier School Challenge silver award, TUSD food services (Pam Palmo and Amy Weitekamp) upgraded the school breakfast/lunch menu to offer a wider choice of fruits and vegetables and whole grain foods.

The Warrior Store has stopped selling non-nutritional items such as candy, power drinks, cookies etc. and has replaced its food/beverage items to be in compliance also.

Nineteen children were selected by their peers and teachers to participate in the Student Advisory Leadership Team (SALT) training at Camp Y in collaboration with the U of A’s CPPW team. They are now providing peer to peer education with Wakefield and Drachman/Hollinger elementary schools.

We also did a health fair in April to introduce students to new healthful foods/beverages through taste tests and health information. Pueblo’s journalism and media class supported us by publishing the Guerrero magazine focused solely on health topics and covering the health fair event with Pueblo media.

The Blenheim Institute has also approached us to collaborate with Pueblo to create a more healthful living environment for the school.

We have been given grants through Fuel Up to Play, and anticipating more grants from the US Healthy School Challenge and CPPW monies. These monies are being used to erect a fitness course for the students’ use, re-decorate the cafeteria to create a more attractive and informative eating environment and to purchase shade trees for our patio area from Trees for Tucson. We are also in the process of using the money to create a sanctuary for the endangered spade foot toad on Pueblo campus, where a natural habitat for them already exists in collaboration with the herpetology department at the U of A and to purchase additional yoga equipment.

It was very hard work in the beginning to persuade students and staff to make the change and risk possible income loss from the vending machines and Warrior store, because this income financed student activities and athletics. However, student council and the site council voted that Pueblo High School students’ health was not for sale and the movement took off from there.

We want our Warriors to live long and healthy lives!