2011 THUNDERGRAM

Parent Newsletter

Fall

Thunderbird High School

Eachyear,studentsfrequenttheCounselingandCareerCenterstoreviewtheireducationalplans,bothfortheirtenureatTHSandafterward,aswellasreceiveresourcestohelpthemachievetheirgoals.CounselorsandtheCareerCenterSpecialist,Mrs.Blosser,makeitapointtohavefacetimewitheachstudentatleastonceayeartoensuretheyareinformedandcomfortablewiththeirtimeatTHS.Parents,pleasefeelfreetocontactyourstudent’scounselororMrs.Blosseranytimewithquestionsorconcerns.Freshmenparents,pleasecontactyourstudent’scounselortoschedulea4-yearplanwheretogetheryoucanlayoutyourstudent’sclassesthroughouthighschool;thecounselors

areMs.Austin,Mrs.Colombo,Mrs. Irwin, Mr. Riney, andMs. Rollins. Encourageyour students to makeappointments with Mrs.Blosserand their counselorstodiscusstheirplansforthefuture.

Caption for pictures:Seniors review scholarshipopportunities while visitingthe Career Center during their scheduled senior credit checks.

Counselingandcareercentersguidestudents’futureplans

ScholarshipmoneyforCommunityCollegestograduatingseniors

As you can see, these itemsarelargepurchasesthatbenefittheentirecampus. We truly appreciate thegenerosity of all the businesses andcommunity members who sponsorand donate to this very worthy cause.Pleasecontinuetosupportthebusinesses in this community whosupportThunderbirdHighSchool.Seeyouatthetournamentnextyear!

8thannualChiefParentAssoc.golftournamentasuccess The 8th Annual ThunderbirdGolf Tournament, sponsored by theChiefParentAssociationwasonceagaina huge success! We had one hundredparticipating golfers enjoy a beautifuldayofgolfwhichincludedseveralgamessuchasClosesttothePin,LongestDrive,Hole-in-One, and Sink the Putt. Theboys’golfteamhadagreattimeearningmoney from participating golfers who“tipped” them to hit the drive off hole#11.Over140additionalpeopleboughttickets to participate in the eveninghappy hour, dinner buffet, and silentauction at the Moon Valley CountryClub. Itwaswonderful to see somany

parents,residentsofMoonValley,andcommunity members come out andsupportThunderbirdHighSchool. The CPA would like to clarifythat all proceeds made from theannual golf tournament go towardsupporting student and staff needsTHROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SCHOOL.The following are examples of itemstheCPAhaspurchasedoverthepastseveralyears: -PicnicTablesandSunshades, SmartBoards,Lawnmower, Laminator,Microscopes,Voice Recorders,IceMachine fortheAthleticDepartment,

ALCBusinessELLEnglishFACSFine ArtsForeign LanguageMathNJROTCPerforming ArtsPhysical EducationScience Social Studies

Congratulations to the following students of the month. They were nominated by members of the specific departments and selected for recognition by members of the honors and awards committee.

Outstanding Senior Award: (August) Kent Morrissey, Emily Rose. Chief Pride Award: (August) Antonio Newman, Austin Irvan, Chandler Brennan, Joseph Montano, Michael Vickers, Nicole Muehleisen, Robin Uber, Timothy Fullerton, Wendy Ocegueda, Zachariah Venn.

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

for August: Principal:MattBeldenEditor:DemetriaGrahamContributors:DepartmentChairsAdministrativeStaff

The Thundergram isanofficialpublicationofThunderbirdH.S.1750W.ThunderbirdRd.Phoenix,AZ85023Call623-915-8900toplaceanarticleortobeaddedtothemailinglist.

staffTHUNDERGRAM

Allen CowanEmma HarmanPhuong PhamJacob RebisFrania Gonzalez PreciaAbigail MarshallHaylee PoncyPatricia Andrade BlancoKeely KoutsSydney RoweMatthew MainezCaleb StevensLainn Caldwell

UPDATESACADEMICislocatedat1516N.35thAvePhoenix,AZ 85009. Article submitted by DawnJacoby

Social Studies Department

The Social Studies Departmentat Thunderbird High School providesinstruction in World History andGeography, U.S. History, AmericanGovernment, and Economics.Sophomores can take World Historyand Geography from Mr. Crable, Mr.Melton, or Ms. Jones. U.S. History isoffered to juniors byMr.Wittenwyler,Mr.Francis,andMs.Griffiths,whoalsodoublesastheteamleader.Finally,thesenioryearisdividedwithonesemesterdevoted to American Governmentother semester covering EconomicswithMrs. Zimmerman,Ms. Jones,Mr.Wittenwyler,orDr.Lovell.

Additional course offeringsinclude Advanced PlacementGovernment & Politics (taught byDr. Lovell), Advanced Placement U.S.History (Mr. Parker), Honors WorldHistory (Mr. Melton), Leadership andStudentCouncil(Mrs.Zimmerman).

Veteran members of the SocialStudies Department are particularlyexcited by the infusion of enthusiasmandenergyMr.FrancisandMs.Joneswillbringtotheirclasses.

Please feel free to contact yourson/daughter’s teacher throughout theyear. Thank you for supporting yourchild’seducation,andbestwishesforanoutstanding year. Article submitted byJonathanParker

Foreign Language Department

It is a new school year, andSpanishandFrenchClubsareinfullswingalready!OnFridayOctober7,Ms.Gibbsand Mrs. Tofeelos, club moderators,willbetakingstudentsonafieldtriptoFirstFridayat thePhoenixArtMuseumin downtownPhoenix. There, studentswillgettoexperienceartfirsthand,fromuniqueartistsrepresentingbothcultures.Studentswillalsobeabletoparticipatein a scavenger hunt while there to gain moreknowledgeaboutartistsandtheirartwork. Article submitted by MarisaTofeelos

Visual Art Department VisualArtstudentshaveartworkatthestatefair.Pleasetakeamomenttostopbyandseetheirwork.Artworkwassubmittedinpainting,drawing,3-Ddesignandphotography. Photographystudentssubmitteda resume, business application andpower point of their work to theBret Tarver Learning Center for anopportunitytohavetheirworkdisplayedat the center. The following students’workwasaccepted:Seth Nanny-“Chief”Jocelyn Bautista-“Log”Tim Fullerton-“Togetherasone”and“PurpleBeauty”Sidney Gutierrez-Whitmire“LosdiasdelosMuertos”and“Sunlight”Robin Li Uber-“PieceofParadise”Shawna Mahn-“ADream”Melanie Cady-“Nasa”and“Constitution”Stetson Carter-“LittlehouseonthePrairie”

TheirworkwillbeondisplayatthecenterattheendofOctoberthroughJanuary.TheBretTarverLearningCenter

Operationsandresourcesupdatedinformation Welcome to another busy year at ThunderbirdHighSchool.Fallsports,studentorganizationsandclubsare in full swing. Thebadminton, cross country, swim,golf,volleyballandfootball teams,alongwiththespiritlineandbandareallbeginning their seasonswithhighexpectations. It truly iswonderful to seesomanystu-dents involved at Thunderbird High School. Studentsthatare involved inextraandco-curricularactivitiesat

schoolaremore likely toenjoyacademic success. Pleaseencourage your students to stop by the athletics office iftheyhaveanyquestionsregardingclubsorathletics. Student Government has facilitated spirit days,lunchtimeactivities, a dance and anextremely successfulfall sportsassembly. Our studentpopulation, facultyandcommunity have all contributed to making ThunderbirdHighSchoolaspiritedandexcitingplacetobe.Articlesub-mittedbyJasonLatham

ADMINISTRATION UPDATES Extended Opportunity Period(EOP) is dedicated time for students toreceive help from their teachers. If astudent is passing his/her classes EOPisoptional,unlessa teacherassigns theEOPforadditionalhelp,havingamissingassignmentoralowtestscore.Ifastu-dentisfailingoneormoreclassesEOPat-tendanceismandatory.Aletterismailedhomeandaletterisdeliveredtothestu-

Extendedopportunityperiodisrequiredforsomedentinclassnotifyingthestudentthathe/sheisfailingaclassandmustattendEOP.•Teacherswillpostofficehoursintheclassroomweekly.o Teachers can/should assign students toanyEOPsessionthattheteacher isofferingofficehours.•Failingstudentsareautomaticallyas-signedtoattendEOP.

EOPisoffered:-Monday 7:30-7:55am and 2:40-3:30pm-Tuesday 7:30-7:55am and 2:40-3:30pm;Latebuseswillrunat3:40-Wednesday 8:20-8:55am and 2:40-3:30pm-Thursday 7:30-7:55am and 2:40-3:30pm;Latebuseswillrunat3:40-Friday7:30-7:55amArticlesubmittedbyMattBelden

LISTSGOLF DONORSILVER DONORS

JohnC.LincolnHospitalsNorthMountainFamilyMedicine-

GaryErbstoesser,DO,FAAFPSplishSplashPoolChemicals,Inc.-

Janeen&ChipBuryPynn&Associates-Jacqueline&

ThomasPynnU-Haul-LarryDeRespino

BRONZE DONORSActionChiropractic-JillRichCapitalInsight-SteveNelsonChristineM.Belden,PsyD

FireInvestigations-MarkHellanNorthernArizonaFinancialServices

-JeffAugenstein,EARightHonda-ScottRedden

PUTTING CHALLENGE SPONSOR RealtyExecutives-JanelleCaskie

HOLE-IN-ONE SPONSORDesertGolfCars,DistributorofYamahaGolfCars-JoeRonewicz

Thisisnotacompletelistofallsponsors.ThefinallistwillbepublishedinthenextThundergramissue.

Please help thank these generous supporters of the Golf Tournament.

GOLD DONORSBeale,Micheaels&Slack,PC-John

MicheaelsChasRobertsAirConditioning-

Sissie&BobShankChasseBuildingTeam-BarryChasseHACIMechanicalContractors,Inc.-

Joan&TimKingLawOfficesofRaymondJ.Slomski,

PCLongRealty/Camelback-DaveDix&

MelindaEslingerStonePostDairy-Tammy&Jerry

GeorgeSummitBuilders-PaulStiak

GlendaleUnionHighSchoolDistrict7650N43rdAvenueGlendale,AZ85301

SuperintendentDr.JenniferJohnson

Governing Board MembersIanHugh,GoverningBoardPresidentPamReicks,ClerkRickFieldsVickiJohnsonPattyKennedy

POSTAGE

EVENTSFall

2011 UPCOMING

Oct.17-21FallBreakOct.25AIMSWritingRe-testOct.26AIMSReadingRe-testOct.26NoEOPOct.27AIMSMathRe-test

October

NovemberNov.7CPAMeeting6pmNov.8BondElectionNov.11Veteran’sDay-NoSchoolNov.17-19OneActPlaysNov.24-25Thanksgiving-NoSchool

January

Dec.14NoEOPDec.21FinalsDec.22FinalsDec.23NoSchoolDec.23Jan.6WinterBreak

Jan.9Teacherworkday;NoschoolJan.10SecondSemesterBegins

December