Infinite Campus Blast for January 2017 http://mesquitehigh.gilbertschools.net/

Get MHS Announcements on Twitter @MHSWildcat_News

Mesquite High School’s Administrative Team consists of:

Ken Fetter Principal Administrative Office Coordinator Diane Cassens 480-632-4750 ext 1130

James FisherAssistant Principal Registration Attendance/Discipline Last Names N-Z Administrative Secretary Valerie Nettgen 480-632-4750 ext 1135

Jason Grantham Assistant Principal/Athletic DirectorAttendance/Discipline Last Names A-F Administrative Athletic Secretary Christine Kelly 480-632-4750 ext 1137

Michelle Nakamura Assistant Principal Special Education Attendance/Discipline Last Names G-M Administrative Secretary Kim Templin 480-632-4750 ext 1138

January 5, School Resumes January 11, 18 & 25, Early Release - 1:30 PM January 16, Martin Luther King Day - No School January 19, 100th day of the 2016 - 17 school year January 21, GPS EXPO @ St. Xavier from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

from 1st semester!!!

Mesquite marching band had another incredible season earning their 3rd consecutive Division 3 ABODA state championship on November 12 at Glendale Community College. The band also performed the following weekend in the AzMBA championship at Campo Verde High School and once again were crowned 2A champions! View their final performance at: https://youtu.be/68VdJ4ngbEw

During our fall athletic season every team (badminton, boys & girls cross country, boys and girls golf, football, swim and dive, and volleyball) qualified for postseason play.

● Congratulations Natalie Weber - Division II singles state champion and region player of the year!

● Badminton team was Division II State Runner Up! ● Jordan Schumaker was chosen as region player of the year! ● Preston Smith was chosen region player of the year and was named to the Arizona

Republic/AzCentral All-Arizona football team! ● Coach Hanna was named Division II Badminton Coach of the Year! ● Outstanding job to all our fall student-athletes!

Congratulations to Sam Oguma for receiving the exclusive Thespian Scholarship. Sam is 1 of 4 in the state of Arizona to receive this award! Well done Sam!!

Danielle Delgado was 1 of 5 from Arizona to serve as a Teen Court Ambassador and earned an all-expense paid trip to the Supreme Court and the White House in Washington, D.C. We hope you had a great experience!

This fall, Columbia Scholastic Press Association, out of Columbia University in New York, awarded Roots 2016 a Crown award. In March, Mesquite will know if we are a Gold or Silver Crown winner. Nationally, there were 68 high schools, junior highs and colleges - of all sizes- given this nomination. For school yearbooks, there are two primary national associations for high school journalism, NSPN and CSPA. Last year, Mesquite received a Pacemaker nomination for our 2015 publication from NSPN, but we have never been recognized by CSPA for this award. Our fingers are crossed as we wait for the news in March!

This fall, Mesquite received notice that the following students were named 2017 Commended Students in the National Merit Program. Congratulations to:

Daniel Fay Jacob Friedman Jessica Taysom Vivian Yu

Congratulations on a job well done!

Congratulations to Joel Joseph for being selected Mesquite’s HOBY representative . HOBY’s mission is to inspire and develop our global community of youth and volunteers to a life

dedicated to leadership, service and innovation. We look for great things from Joel!

A first for Mesquite High School! In February, our Concert Choir has been selected to be a demonstration choir for the AMEA (Arizona Music Educator’s Association) Convention. Mrs. Ubrig and her students will perform for convention headliner, Dr. Charlene Archibeque (nationally renowned choral director and educator) on Friday, February 3rd. The choir will also showcase their talent on Saturday, February 4th at the Mesa Convention Center.

Congratulations to Melody Fraser for being selected Mesquite High School’s Teacher of the Year for 2016-17. Melody was chosen by her peers to represent MHS in the district level competition. Great job!

● Speech and Debate: Our Winter Trophy Division I States Tournament awards list reads like the 12 Days of Christmas: 1 win in Oratory (Skylar Wise); 2 debaters placing 2nd (Makayla Martinez and Jeffy Yu, Novice Public Forum); 2 trophies for Megan Codling (3rd in Humor, 4th in Drama); 3rd Place for Bryton Bryner (Novice LD); 4th Place for Courtney Somsan (Expos) and Hebba Subuh (Prose); and 5th Place for Claudia Frank/Mia Graves (Duet Acting) and Macey Sierka (Oratory)! Plus three more breaks to semis (Dani Delgado/Expos, Claudia Frank/Prose and Alyssa Rojo/Oratory)! Phew! What a wonderful day for the team! And 4th place as a team out of a total of 25 schools.

● Blood Drive Results: At the blood drive on December 5, 2016, 62 lifesaving donors stepped up to donate, resulting in 45 procedures for our community and reaching 100% of our blood drive goal.

● Math Competition Results, Round 2: Tied for 3rd going into round #3. Best of luck Team Mesquite!

On Presidents Day Weekend (February 18 - 20) Mesquite High School will be hosting Go For Launch! Go For Launch! is a 3-day program (8 hours each day) that uses Space Exploration as a platform to launch student involvement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), STEAM (Art), teamwork, communication and leadership. This program is created and presented by Higher Orbits, a non-profit, and was developed to reach high school-aged students but can easily be modified for middle school / junior high or collegiate aged groups as well. Students are immersed in the wonder of Human Spaceflight through a variety of talks delivered by experts in the fields of space & STEM: such speakers have included an astronaut, former International Space Station (ISS) and Space Shuttle Flight Controllers, Astronaut Instructors, scientists, and engineers. Students get insight and feedback from experienced space and STEM professionals whose

goals are to illustrate the numerous possibilities that exist in the world of STEM. A unique facet of Go For Launch! is that the students will work with an astronaut for at least two - if not all three - days of the event. Broken into teams, students will work together for the entire event. Nearly every talk features collaborative activity, before or after, where team members must work together to complete tasks for daily awards. These tasks are designed to build leadership and teamwork skills, as well as enhance team communication. The culminating exercise is a design project. Each team must define and design a space experiment. At the conclusion of each program, the teams will present their ideas to a panel of judges from the Space & STEM fields, who will then choose a winner from each Go For Launch! event. Depending on funding, the experiment will either launch, or it will be in competition with a handful of other projects from the same division and the division winner will have their experiment launched to the International Space Station. Go For Launch! is a unique and memorable experience that brings spaceflight to communities that might not otherwise have access to this. Space inspires! The Go For Launch! experience gives students experience and skills that can lead to success in any venture that requires imagination, leadership, teamwork, and problem solving skills. Higher Orbits looks forward to bringing Go For Launch! to your area! Registration is now open for Mesquite High students. Please register at: http://higherorbits.org/student-programs/go-for-launch/mesquite-high-school-2017/ through December 25th. When registering, use code GOWILDCATS (all capital letters) at the bottom of the registration form in the box marked “coupon code” for a discounted rate of $100.00. After early registration, (for MHS and MJHS students only) the cost for the 3 day program will be $250.

There has been a change to the instructional minutes for all high school students. Beginning with the registration process in January 2017, all students must register for 5 or more credit bearing classes in order to meet the minimum 720 hours of instructional time required by Arizona Department of Education. 2018 seniors, you will also be expected to register for 5 credit bearing classes! If you have questions about this change, please contact your student’s counselor or MHS administration.

Tax Credit Donations on line: Please be aware that GPS will be accepting tax credit donations online starting December 1st, 2016. Community members can donate to any school or tax creditable item right online and a receipt will be sent via e-mail once the payment has been processed. http://www.gilbertschools.net/parent_zone/tax_credit_information We now have Chromebook covers available for any freshman or sophomore students who have interest in protecting their device. The covers are now on sale in our bookstore for only $10.

I am pleased to announce the Wildcat Incentive Rewards Program! One of Mesquite High School’s challenges is maintaining the Arizona Department of Education School Report Card grade of an “A”. Our goal is to continue to experience an increase in performance levels among our students in both our general education

classes and our special education programs. This program is unique to Mesquite and will be linked to the performance level of each student on the state tests of AzMERIT and AIMS. The link below will provide you more details. Check it out! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZPb9Mc7Ogh0uloSdb3QSmsx1Yc041-DNSMlJ1oocmoQ/edit It is never too late to begin preparing for the state tests of AzMERIT and AIMS. The link below will provide you support material and sample tests. I think you will find it a valuable resource! http://www.azed.gov/search-results/?q=AzMERIT%20practice%20tests

Shirts and tops must have straps at least two inches wide and not expose midriffs or be too low cut in the front, back , or unde r th e arms . Halter-tops and shirts with spaghetti straps are not appropriate. Clo thi ng may not be made of see -thro ug h fabric . Clothing must cover the entire buttocks and a modest area of the l egs . U ndergarments should not be ex p osed . Clo thing , backpacks, binder s or other accessories, jewelry , bracelets , or skin ma r kings (temporary or permanent ) with symbo l s or negative messages are n ot a ll owed at school. Jewelry and ornament a l acce ssories such as chains , s piked co ll a r s , o r spiked wr istb an d s are not allowed , as they present a safety hazard to se l f and / or o th ers. C l ot hing it ems identi fied by a school administrator a nd / or a l aw enforcement officia l as ne gative o r gang affi li ated and/or ca rry the potential to create intimid a tion and v i olence will not b e allowed. The f o ll owing are also no t a ll owed:

• Tattered and torn clothing • Hats th a t are altered from their original f o rm s • T an k top underw ear • T rench coats • H air nets , do-rags • Bandanas worn i n a n inappropriate m a nn e r • C l ot h ing wit h gang names , sla ng st reet n a m es • C l ot hing that refer ences drug / alcohol marki n gs • Clot hing t h a t d isplays inappro pria t e messages • Con t act l e ns es th at distract f r om t he ed u ca t ional p rocess

S tu dents may not wear their ha ir in a m a nn e r t hat is disruptive t o th e lea rnin g environment. In th e int eres t of s tud en t safe t y , appropriate s h oes must be worn a t all time s. Bare feet are not a ll owed. Shoes wit h whee l s (Hee l ys) are not a llowed in District bu ild ings.Body p ierci ngs that pose a s af e ty hazard or distract from the educa ti o n a l p rocess are disallowed . Schoo l admin i stra t o r s will make th e fin a l d ecis i o n regarding the app r opr iaten ess of any studen t' s appea r ance.

Just a reminder to students!! L ook in th e mirror before you leave your h ouse to make su r e you are wea r ing app r opr i a t e cloth i ng fo r schoo l. If you are dressed i n ap propriately yo u will be sent to the Nur se's O ffice to c h ange your clothes . E ven th o ugh the dress co de shirts are clean th ey are not the most sty li sh shirts yo u have ever seen. Save yourself the embarrassmen t of being sent t o th e Nurse's O ffi ce a nd fo ll ow th e dress code rules !

Link to the MHS student handbook: http://www.gilbertschools.net/cms/lib3/AZ01001722/Centricity/Domain/237/Secondary%20Student%20Handbook%20FINAL.pdf

In an effort to better spotlight our clubs and activities here on campus in 2016, we have provided an already existing, newly re-labled twitter page: https://twitter.com/MHSWildcat_News - to promote the many accomplishments our non-athletic groups acheive.

http://www.parenttoolkit.com/index.cfm?objectid=C438B4B0-A0CC-11E3-87540050569A5318 Tutoring opportunities are now available during both lunch hours!! Some of our brightest students are willing to tutor students in all levels of mathematics, including calculus! Student volunteers are also available to tutor students in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and all levels of English, Spanish and History. Peer tutoring will be every Tuesday and Thursday and will be held in the counseling office. Please encourage your student to take advantage of this great service!!!

If you have not already created a parent portal in Infinite Campus, here is what you need to do!

1. Go to www.gilbertschools.net 2. Click on “Parent Zone Tab” 3. Next, click on the “Infinite Campus Link” 4. At the bottom of the screen, you will see “Infinite Campus Parent Portal Instructions”

Click on this! 5. Follow directions under accessing the parent portal.

. Sponsor a Bagel Friday!! Bagel Fridays take place on the last Friday of each month. Donate for

a specific month for $120 or just make a donation to the general bagel fund. Contact Kim Templin at 480-632-4750 x1138 for more information.

Now that our marquee is operable, we are now accepting birthday messages for $10. Please contact the reception desk in our main foyer to make arrangements. You can reach the reception desk by calling 480-632-4750 extension 1150 or 1157.

Mesquite High School will educate, mentor and inspire students.

Mesquite High School will prepare students to live a productive, purposeful and enriching life.