Pueblo High School

Welcome Back, Mr. John Howe!

By Lauren Ahern and Nayeli Sanchez

As we near the end of this school year, it’s never too late to welcome back a former employee from Pueblo’s yesteryear. Mr. John Howe, a former Assistant Principal from the 2005-06 school year, has returned to Pueblo as a learning support coordinator.

Prior to being an Assistant Principal at Pueblo a decade ago, Howe worked at a number of schools all around Tucson as a Principal, Assistant Principal and as a middle school language arts and science teacher.

After a couple months off to try out a different career, Howe then decided to return to education.

“I reallymissed the school environment and working with students, faculty and staff,” Howe said.

As the Learning Support Coordinator (LSC), Howe said that his new position involves working with academic and discipline support. Howe also helps with peer mediations, strategizing how to improve students’ grades, and informing teachers about students’ specific needs.

Returning to Pueblo, Howe said, “Things haven’t changed here at Pueblo [since 2006], and that I’m happy to be back. Students are still courteous and respectful.”

Next year, Howe hopes to be back at the same job, although the position will be officially known as Multi-Tier System of Support (MTSS).

“I’ll be doing about the same things I’m doing now, which is ensuring the well-being of our students,” Howe said, “but I hope to be working with teachers more to reduce the number of referrals and to help teachers with classroom management strategies.”

Also, Howe is now managing all of the Youth On Their Own (YOTO) students.

“I really want to help students—and our staff—in any way possible,” he said. “I also like getting my share of exercise at this job, locating students and teachers in different classrooms across the campus. It’s a whole lot better than sitting at a desk all day.”

Warriors Receive Library Card, Access To Pima County Libraries

By Victor Garcia

New to Pueblo Magnet High School, librarian Ms. Marsha Jean Burrola issued library cards to Pueblo students on March 17, 2016.

Classes were invited to the library for four periods throughout the day, for a total of 10 classes. Burrola said that she had already been teaching research material to 12th graders, but wanted them to have access to more databases that Pima County public libraries can provide. By entering their card number and pin number, students gained an opportunity to have access to much more information.

Pueblo High School Librarian Marsha Jean Burrola

According to Burrola, about 170 Pueblo students received these cards, and about 70 thus far have signed up for the virtual library.

”I’d like for students to be aware of the resources available to them,” Burrola added.

She added that she was able to work with Mexican-American Studies Director Dr. Maria Figueroa and Pima Community Public Library (PCPL) in order to make the library card and virtual library a possibility at Pueblo. Normally, students under the age of 18 would need parent permission, but PCPL decided to give all students library cards in “real” time without parental permission. Students will be able to use these cards at any Pima County library as well as the internet.

Burrola stated that she wished that more students understood how being a part of this process could potentially help them with their academics. She also said that students should feel that they had to be a part of this program just because their teachers wanted them to have these opportunities.

“The opportunities to gain so much more information should be reward enough,” she said.

Burrola would love to offer our students more chances to sign up.

“I would love to continue this process [of getting more students signed up for this library card] in the fall,” Burrola said.

2016 Yearbooks Arrive At Pueblo!

By Salvador Varela

During first period on May 5, 2016, this year’s El Dorado (yearbook) arrived via a giant truck, and Mr. Pete Pederson, sponsor/teacher of the yearbook, was beyond ecstatic.

“I am excited and pleased this yearbook is here three weeks early,” Pederson said.

During the school year, the yearbook class sold 310 yearbooks. To avoid having residuals, there are just 53 yearbooks to be sold before the end of the school year. When they are sold, there will not be any additional yearbooks.

Editor-in-chief Vanessa Molina encourages those who bought a yearbook (and for those who buy on Wednesday) to attend the “yearbook signing” party after school on Wednesday, May 18, 2016.

“This will be a fun event—and everybody will know how hard we 10 yearbook students worked during the school year to get this yearbook completed,” Molina said.

The yearbooks will cost $60, and students will need to put down a minimum of a $20 deposit.

“I hope this yearbook reflects the spirit of the school’s 60^th anniversary,” Pederson said.

Molina said, “This is the best yearbook that Pueblo has had in years, and we’re really excited to see students’ reactions when they crack open the front cover.”

The front cover of this year’s El Dorado is especially creative, Pederson said, although he isn’t going to give any clues as to its look. Sophomore Iram Arce designed the cover, and he’s been sworn not to give away any secrets either.

“I am definitely beyond honored by contributing to this 60^th anniversary yearbook,” Arce said. “This will be one of my proudest legacies at Pueblo.”

Pederson added that this year’s staff was more professional than previous years, and he anticipates an even better staff next year with nine students. The yearbook class will switch to fourth period instead of 2^nd period this year.

‘Beatlemania’ Rocks Pueblo

by Yamilex Garcia

On Thursday, March 15, 2016, Pueblo’s fine arts department students entertained a small crowd with a concert, performing some of the most influential music by the 1960s English rock and roll band, the Beatles, who, even to this day, hold the record for the most number one singles by a band and the most singles in the Billboard Top 100. In fact, in one week in early April 1964, the Beatles occupied all of the Top Five singles—an amazing feat that has never been duplicated.

After 50 years since the Beatles landed at New York’s JFK Airport in February 1964, “Beatlemania” has not waned. Here at Pueblo, there are many who consider the Beatles one of the greatest bands ever.

The concert consisted of guitar class students, mariachi students, solo performances by teachers, staff, and students, and included the jazz club’s first performance, all whom performed Beatles song in different musical styles.

“The performances were a new concept and all of Mr. Vargas’ ideas, but the concert took on a life of its own,” band and jazz director Mr. Jeff Shepherd said.

After teaching his students Beatles classics for the third quarter, guitar teacher Mr. Jonathan Vargas used the performances as an evaluation for his students and their progress. Mariachi Aztlan also took part in the event, interpreting two Beatle songs in a mariachi style, including “All You Need Is Love”. They also performed Tony Bennett’s 1962 classic “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” and the 1960 R & B classic, “At Last”.

Music teacher Mr. Jim Hill, along with Mr. Shepherd and Mr. Vargas sang two songs, including the Beatles’ “Oh, Darling”.

Also, teachers Ms. Sarah Sutton (drama) and Mr. Shepherd sang two duets.

Mariachi teacher Mr. Johnny Contreras said, “This concert was awesome! I think Pueblo should have more concerts that involve students and teachers.” He added, “Maybe next time Dr. Romero could sing a song for the audience.”

“The night was an awesome collaboration of all the fine arts programs,” said Vargas. “I’m proud of all of the students who participated in this event. We had really positive criticism from the Pueblo community, including Dr. Romero, who announced over the intercom that he really enjoyed the concert.”

Last Spirit Assembly Spotlights Class of 2016 Seniors

By Sandra Iniguez

Pueblo Warriors Class of 2016 Seniors Goodbye Spirit Assembly — Class of 2016 Seniors ready for their Goodbye Spirit Assembly

The week of March 7-March 11, our Warriors brought their school spirit and dressed up for the entire week based on the days assigned by student council.

Monday was “Double Trouble”; Tuesday was “Messy vs. Dressy”; Wednesday was “Gender Bender”; Thursday was “Pixar Day”; and Friday was “Jungle Day”. Friday was finalized with a boisterous assembly that took the Class of 2016 seniors on an emotional rollercoaster.

Here’s video of their traditional grand entrance:

The assembly consisted of performances by the KWXL Radio staff and Pueblo’s Warrior Cheer squad, competitive games, and acknowledgement of multiple sports and clubs. The cheer performance seemed to captivate the audience the most—a preview of their awesome talents that they will showcase on Saturday, March 19, when they compete on a national level in Anaheim, California.

Pueblo Warriors Cheert At Class Of 2016 Goodbye Spirit Assembly — Warrior Cheer ready for nationals

At the very end of the assembly, after the traditional seat change, seniors were presented with a slide show that commemorated their past four years at Pueblo. Not surprisingly, judges Mr. Rana Medhi, Ms. Kelly Crane, and Ms. Angela Gonzalez unanimously chose the seniors as the most spirited group.

“It’s hard to believe that my senior year is almost over, I remember my freshman year as if it were yesterday,” said senior Eneida Flores. “The assembly was a great tribute to the seniors, and it was heartbreaking to see a lot of my peers cry during the slide show.”

Jennifer Bliss: Feeling Right ‘At Home’

By Felicity Aguilar

Last semester, on Oct. 27, Pueblo welcomed a new inclusion teacher, Ms. Jennifer Bliss, who is an inclusion teacher to help other language arts teachers—helping students to improve their reading comprehension skills.

Bliss recently moved to Tucson from New York, where she was also a language arts teacher. Before becoming an educator, Bliss had eclectic careers, including being an auto mechanic; she said that she was even in the culinary field for a while.

“My first impression of Pueblo was how friendly this school is,” Bliss said. “It’s truly a reflection of the school when you see the teachers smiling and coming into work with positive attitude. The staff cares about their students, and I enjoy working with them. I also enjoy seeing how the students want to be successful and try their hardest.”

Bliss attended high school in Brooklyn and graduated in 1999, and she made her way to college in Fredonia, New York. A friend recommended that she move to Tucson, and she has been with TUSD for 14 years.

“As an inclusion teacher, I work with students who need extra support,” Bliss said. “My students are always very respectful and polite.”

She added that she wants to help her co-teachers anyway she can and help students become successful.

Bliss said, “Hopefully this is my last school—as it really feels like home here.”