Pueblo High School

Class Of 2019 Finally Gets Its Legacy

By Illianna Valenzuela

Even though Pueblo High School has officially closed its campus this first semester of the school year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, that does not mean that there are not great acts occurring.

On Thursday, October 29, several members of the Class of 2019, along with students from Ms. Espindola’s Garden Club and other volunteers, planted 23 trees around the school.

Graphic design teacher and Class of 2019 sponsor Mr. Ernesto Somoza said, “The senior class gifted me this project back in 2019, and they had to remind me several times that the project needed to get done. I felt like the student in this case.”

Mary Rose Bourbon, Mr. Ernesto Somoza, Sam Lopez & Aylin Coronado.

Class of 2019 President Sam Lopez said, “The idea of planting trees was definitely something we have wanted to do since our freshman year. I believe the idea originally started back in a conversation between my mom and me during my first few weeks of high school. From there, my best friend and future Vice President Aylin [Coronado] and I brainstormed ways of leaving something that will embody the spirit and

growth that the class of 2019 had. Planting trees was the most symbolic thing we could think of. With the help of our amazing sponsor, Mr. Somoza, we were able to pull this all together.”

Most of the trees were planted in the north section of the school, but some were planted by the tennis courts and a few in the front of the school. Prior to the “big dig” event, Somoza and Lopez initiated the project by shoveling the earth, as starters, and realized that the task of planting nearly two dozen trees was going to be challenging for the incoming crew.

“The ground was very hard,” Somoza said, “so for the days leading up to planting the trees, Sam [Lopez] and I—along with his mother—went to Pueblo to pour water in each of the holes to soften the dirt.”

Eventually, after the dirt was softened, other participants from the Class of 2019 included Aylin Coronado, Mary Rose Bourbon, Jovan Miller, Kendall Ervin and Jasmine Bojorquez, could start digging holes and planting the trees. Many other people were involved in this project, including parents, underclassmen and several volunteers from the Tucson Clean and Beautiful Organization.

Several varieties of trees were planted, including Red Push Pistache and Vitex. Three Texas Ash trees were donated by Pueblo High School Principal Mr. Frank Rosthenhausler (aka “Mr. R”). In the future, Somoza said that bench tables, a mural and flower beds may be placed in the same area to create a “Warrior Pride Plaza”.

In the short time since the trees have been planted, Somoza said that the spaces are already becoming habitats for wildlife.

“I saw a large red cardinal sitting on top of one of the trees and many other small wild birds using these trees as resting spots,” Somoza said. “The Vitex trees have already brought some butterflies, a praying mantis and a few lady bugs. It is interesting to see how an area like this can change so quickly in just a week or two by introducing water and trees.”

He added, “The entire project process was beautiful. I really enjoyed seeing former students working with new students to make a positive change on our campus and in the world.”

“Being a student at Pueblo High School and being part of the Class of 2019 definitely had the biggest impact on who I am today,” Lopez said. “My time here at Pueblo, although short, were the best times of my life. It felt right to give back to something that has given so much to me.”

Lopez added, “The callouses on Mr. Somoza’s hands will definitely serve as reminders of all of the hard work.”

Pueblo Welcomes New Speech & Language Specialist

By Freddy Gradillas and Axel Rosas

Ms. Julia Raykin is new to the Pueblo High School staff this year as a speech and language therapist. Even though she is new to PHS, she has been working as a speech therapist in high schools for more than 14 years.

Born in Moscow, Russia, Raykin would find herself moving with a group of other Jewish immigrants, who moved to Austria, then Italy—and then from Italy to the United States.

During her high school years Raykin was very interested in languages and how people talked—so she decided to learn more about her fascination for linguistics and languages. She completed an internship through her high school at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York. After high school, she studied in Israel for a year. She came back to New York to pursue a degree in Communication Disorders and earned her Master’s degree at Long Island University, graduating with a Master’s of Science in 2004.

“I was really interested in languages and wanted to help people out,” Raykin said. This love of languages probably had to do with the fact that she was bilingual. Her mother was a speech therapist in Russia, but speech therapy was very different there. She said that she is able to communicate fluently in English and Russian and can converse in Hebrew and Spanish.

Like most teachers and staff members at Pueblo, Raykin said that she has been challenged working via Zoom this school year.

“The amount of work, sending numerous emails every day and returning assignments to students is very difficult,” Raykin said. She added, “Sometimes I feel like it’s hard to connect with students when they want to have their cameras off because I can’t really tell what’s going on with them.”

Raykin said that she would return to Pueblo when the TUSD School Board decides when it is safe to do so.

“When I do return, I will certainly follow all of the proper safety precautions,” she said.

Raykin said that she enjoys focusing on her students’ strengths and weaknesses—to determine what they need to continue developing their positive attributes and how to improve areas that need to be developed.

She stated, “I really want to focus more on students’ careers and how schools can help them with their futures.”

Raykin added that self-discovery is one of the most valuable lessons a child could learn in school.

“Getting students to know themselves is the life-long journey that I want to help them begin,” she said.

Ms. McCormack: Loyal To The End

By Angella Armenta and Kevin Salazar

Even with the rocky start of the 2020-2021 school year, Pueblo High School’s teachers remain faithful and committed to teaching our Warriors.

One of those loyal teachers is Ms. Teresa McCormack, who has called Pueblo “home” since the fall of 2018, when she was simultaneously completing a one-year master’s teaching program at the University of Arizona while student-teaching Spanish I and II at PHS.

McCormack currently teaches ELD I (English) to freshmen and sophomores.

“I miss my kids!” McCormack said. “I miss the whole interaction with them. I want to come back. I’m not planning to retire nor resign like some teachers did or are. The students at Pueblo are awesome, fun, respectful, and they create an atmosphere not seen or felt in other high schools. The staff and administration at Pueblo played a huge factor in me being at Pueblo.”

McCormack earned her bachelor’s in education in 2017, with honors, and she taught in Germany a year before coming to Pueblo High School.

“My husband served in the Air Force for 24 years, and several times we were stationed overseas, including Germany,” she said. “Living there was a once in a lifetime experience.”

While living abroad on a military installation, McCormack accepted a job as a para-professional working with general and special education high schoolers.

“It was the best time ever!” McCormack said. “I met students from all over the 50 states, and I still keep in touch with some of them through social media.”

She said that she chose her teaching field because she wanted to have a positive and influential impact on the next generation.

“As a teacher’s aide for more than 10 years, I saw a connection that I had with teenagers,” McCormack said. “I did not want to lose that impact on future students who I had not met yet.”

When students and teachers are allowed to return to campus, McCormack said that she will do everything possible to make her classroom a safe environment. McCormack hopes to be able to help her students in person and to continue giving them positive advice. She added that she wants to continue to encourage her students to follow their dreams in life without obstacles.

“I can’t wait to come back to the classroom,” McCormack said

From Cross Country Star To Star Counselor

By Sergio Calvillo and Jaime Montaño

Ms. Kimberly Lamadrid is one of Pueblo High School’s new counselors, although this is not her first counseling position; she transferred from Lawrence Middle School after a year.

Lamadrid said that she was attracted to Pueblo because of its Latino community.

“I have immigrant parents, and I understand the different struggles of people,” said Lamadrid.

Like most employees at Pueblo, Lamadrid said that her work has been affected by Covid-19, and contacting students and their families has been challenging.

“I really miss the interaction between my students and me,” Lamadrid said.

When not helping students succeed, she coached Pueblo’s cross country earlier this semester.

“At least I got to interact with students during this [cross country] activity!” Lamadrid said.

Lamadrid said that running has always been a part of her life. During her middle school years, she would run around her neighborhood for fun, and later in high school she joined the cross country team; she even continued to run during her college years.

Despite the challenges of communicating online, Lamadrid said that she does see a future at Pueblo.

“I want to stay here as long as I can because the Pueblo community is a very exciting place.”

New Math Teacher ‘Adds’ To Staff

by Ismael Angulo, Getsemani Cazares and Easther Zazueta

Among the two dozen or so new teachers and staff members at Pueblo High School this school year, Ms. Taylor Hall is PHS’s newest math teacher—Algebra I to Freshmen, and Algebra to Response to Intervention (RTI) Freshmen and Sophomores.

Hall grew up in Iowa, but she moved to California to earn her undergraduate degree at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Immediately following completion of her bachelor’s degree, she attended Stanford University where she earned her graduate degree. Hall looked for a teaching position in California, but she said that she did not find the “right fit”. Taylor moved to Tucson because she had family here, and she decided to try to find a job in Southern Arizona.

“Mr. Rosthenhausler [principal of Pueblo] reached out and asked me to interview,” Hall said. “The more I looked at Pueblo, I felt like the culture really matched where I wanted to be.”

Hall, like all teachers at Pueblo thus far this school year, have been teaching online. She said that she will gladly return to the classroom when it is safe for her and her students, but unlike many teachers, Hall seems to have a positive outlook regarding online instruction.

“I really like teaching online,” she said. “I really enjoy using the technology and the tools to teach with the computer.”

Hall has some advice for seniors applying to colleges.

“I never got to know any of my high school teachers very well,” Hall said, “and getting letters of recommendation was very hard. I recommend that students choose teachers they get along with and like—and to keep those relationships continuing because they might need them even after the school year is over.”

Pueblo Principal Expresses Frustrations, Triumphs For 2020-21 School Year

By Victoria Cazares and Alondra Lazalde

The 2020-21 school year has been a complicated time for the Pueblo community, and Mr. Frank Rosthenhausler, our school’s principal, recently expressed his fair share of struggles—but offers advice and solace to those who are sharing his frustrations.

Rosthenhausler, who is beginning his third year as principal at Pueblo, said that not seeing his students and staff in person has been the very challenging.

“I admit that I had a tough first week,” Rosthenhausler said. “I shared in the agony of seeing families struggle, our students struggle and our staff struggle. All of this isn’t exactly what I had signed up for when I became principal. Still, it is my responsibility to make our [Pueblo] community whole.”

Despite the challenges that he has encountered, Rosthenhausler said that he has become more adjusted to the often adverse and challenging circumstances that the Pueblo community has experienced regarding online instruction during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It’s been emotionally tough, but I’ve figured out some ways to cope,” said Rosthenhausler. “At the end of the first quarter, I feel a lot better now, and interviews like this help because I get to talk to the kids and see the kids. In the end, I’m okay with where we are for now.’’

As principal, Rosthenhausler said that it has been a bit challenging keeping the balance between students and teachers. He fears that teachers are handing out too much homework, or they are not assigning enough.

“I ask myself a lot of questions, like, ‘Where does that balance lie between teaching and handing out homework and grading homework? How can we avoid stressing out our students with an incredible amount of work and time on the computer? How do teachers avoid stressing out themselves with handing out too much work and trying to grade everything they assign—as well as provide the feedback necessary for students to actually learn?’” He paused and added, “How can we all do what’s best for our students and teachers…?”

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, the TUSD Governing Board decided that students will not be returning to campus after the fall break on Monday, Oct. 19. There will be future meetings to determine when the district will deem it safe for a campus return—and at a specific capacity. Rosthenhausler said that he does not know anything for certain, which has been frustrating.

However, he did express that he will be “very pleased” to see all the students again. He believes there is more to school than just education; high school is also about students’ experiences with their peers and their teachers.

“There’s so much more to education beyond what we learn in books,” Rosthenhaulser said. “Our students really need the opportunities to socialize with adults and with their peers, organize their day, and be a part of clubs and other organizations that really hit the social and emotional aspects of schooling.” He paused and added, “I’ll be thrilled to see everybody back, and I’ll be holding my breath until that happens.”

Rosthenhausler encourages students to stay motivated while they are learning online.

“I would like students to finish off strong, make sure they are paying attention in teachers’ Zoom meetings, handing in homework and keeping their heads above water, so that when the time is right to return to campus, we can slowly start coming out of the ocean.”

Rosthenhausler said that it is important for the Pueblo community to be flexible for the next several months. He said that it is very possible that we could return to campus—only to have to return back to online instruction if being on campus is deemed unsafe again.

“We just have to be tough,” he said. “This situation is a true test of life. Our path isn’t always what we’ve outlined.”