Students and staff of the Elgin School welcomed the community to watch an all-school Taiko drumming performance on May 3. The performance was the culmination of a week-long artist-in-residence program, run by Odaiko Sonora Japanese Ensemble Drumming of Tucson. The program was funded by the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
Guests also saw ballroom dance performances, an art show, were served a pizza dinner and visited the classrooms. Several local businesses and organizations, including the PRT, set up informational exhibits, as well.
Stradling Scholarships Announced
By Betty Barr
The Anne Stradling Equine Foundation has awarded scholarships to two Patagonia Union High School graduating seniors for the school year beginning in the fall of 2019. The funds will be deposited with the college of their choice in increments of $1,000 per semester for two years, a total of $4,000 for each award winner.
“These students epitomize the qualities of high academic scholarship, a deep commitment to community volunteerism, a strong background in agricultural activities, and a dedication to their school’s organizations that this scholarship was designed to promote,” said foundation president Beth Sullivan.
Gianna Martin, fourth in the PUHS graduating class, has taken numerous honors classes and is a member of The National Honor Society. She has overcome many life challenges while working part-time jobs, including lifeguarding at the Patagonia Public Pool for the past two summers.
She has been very involved in school activities, serving as Secretary of the Student Council and President of the Future Farmers of America, and participated on the school volleyball and basketball teams. She also volunteers as a Student Docent for the Patagonia Museum and was a Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Delegate.
She plans to major in environmental sustainability at the University of Hawaii. “Not only do I want to become an environmentalist,” she said, “but I also want to travel and participate in organizations and projects bigger than myself that will make a positive
impact.”
Ralphie Quiroz is extremely involved in agricultural activities including FFA and 4-H where he and three teammates represented Arizona in the 4-H National Skillathon Competition.
He was also elected by his peers to be Mr. 4-H last year and was selected to represent Arizona at the National 4-H Legacy Awards in Washington D.C.
He has been a counselor for the past two years at the 4-H Wildcat Camp, mentoring youth and helping them develop their leadership skills. He is also an excellent student, graduating third in his class and is a member of The National Honor Society.
Despite all his activities and volunteerism, Ralphie has worked throughout high school to put aside funds for his future education. His main passion is sports, especially basketball, and he is hoping to turn this passion into a lifetime career. He plans to attend the
University of Arizona and focus on the field of Sports Management.
STEAM Program Debuts at Patagonia School
By Marion Vendituoli
Patagonia Elementary School 3rd and 4th grade students showcased the results of ‘The Universe Within’ program that was designed to combine science, technology,engineering, art and math (STEAM) by allowing the students to create their own imaginary worlds and explore scientific principles. The Universe Within is an educational world building course pilot created by nonprofit Mat Bevel Company’s School of Intuition.
The program, held May 16 at the school, began with students, wearing headdresses that they had created, describing superpower characters that they had created. Each student read a poem about a social problem and how their character would solve that problem.
The poetry was followed by songs and ‘playground physics,’ demonstrations of such principles as Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion and centripetal force.
The program was organized by David Clovesko-Wharton, Paula Shafer, Lars Marshall and Deb Goff. Local sponsors of ‘The Universe Within’ were South32, the Patagonia Regional Community Fund, The Stage Stop Inn and Wild Horse Restaurant, High Spirits Flutes, the Santa Cruz foundation for the Performing Arts, the Mountain Empire Rotary Club and Jack Zittere.
Elgin Student Wins Award
Elgin School 8th grader Ryan Anderson was awarded a $100 check at the Elgin School community event held May 3 for his prize wining essay on ‘What freedom of speech means to me.”
The check was presented by Peter Firos, of Sonoita, on behalf of the Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) of Green Valley, an affiliate of the national FRA, which is a non-profit U.S. military and veterans organization.
Anderson placed first in the essay contest for 8th graders throughout Southern Arizona, and subsequently was awarded first place in the Southwestern regional competition.
Elgin School student Cade Hubbell received a check for $75 for his essay, which placed first in the contest for 7th graders in Southern Arizona and in second place in the regional competition.