September 20, 2004

Principal's Notes
Parents of high schoolers often have concerns and questions about homework. Is my child receiving too little homework? Too much? Is my child completing all of his assignments? Many teenagers are pretty private about their academic lives, and parents find it challenging to strike the right balance between giving their child more independence (hence responsibility) and maintaining some oversight in their child’s academic affairs.

Students at City High School can expect to have homework on most nights. Some classes, such as Spanish and math, will require that students complete practice exercises on a regular basis. Homework in other classes, such as science and humanities, will depend more on the unit of study and project due dates. Students will begin reading the novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter in humanities this week and will have nightly reading assignments. In science class, students have begun their year-long site study with the first part of the project due Friday 10/1. We encourage students to have a planner of some sort, so that they can keep track of nightly and long-term assignments and record due dates.

Tutoring is available to students Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings between 7:45-8:25 in the library/lounge area on the first floor. Tutor Federico Chialvo’s expertise is in math and Spanish, but he can provide students with homework support for all classes. We are scheduling after-school tutorial times to begin next week and will share that information with parents and students once the days of the week are established.

Carrie Brennan, Principal

Communication with City High School Staff
Parents are encouraged to connect with teachers and other staff at the school either by calling the office (623-7223) or emailing individuals. The best way for parents to get an update on a student’s progress is to contact the student’s advisor. The advisor will then check in with all of the teachers and follow up with the parent. Below are listed all of the names and email addresses of the City High School staff. To reach instructors of the arts and fitness electives, please contact Camellia Cosgray.

Carrie Brennan	Principal; Advisor	carrie@cityhighschool.org
Federico Chialvo	Teaching Assistant; Math Tutor	federico@cityhighschool.org
Camellia Cosgray	Art Teacher; Teaching Assistant; Advisor	camellia@cityhighschool.org
Eric Freund	Math Teacher; Advisor	epfreund@cityhighschool.org
Brett Goble	Director of Operations; Humanities Teacher; Advisor	bgoble@cityhighschool.org
Jon Knutson	Information Technology Coordinator	jonk@cityhighschool.org
Elliott Lax	Science Teacher; Advisor	elax@cityhighschool.org
Lisa Lieber	Spanish Teacher; Advisor	lisa@cityhighschool.org
Eve Rifkin	Academic Director; Humanities Teacher; Advisor	eve@cityhighschool.org
Jennifer Rosenthal	Community Partnerships Coordinator	jrosenthal@cityhighschool.org
Lynn Schneuker	Office Coordinator	lynn@cityhighschool.org
Mary Helen Valdez	Office Assistant; Bookkeeper	maryhelen@cityhighschool.org

In the Field
Students in the first period Spanish class will head to the University of Arizona Student Union on Tuesday afternoon to hear acclaimed poet Norma Elia Cantú read her poetry. Cantú’s work appears in University of Arizona professor Tom Miller’s anthology Writing on the Edge: A Borderlands Reader. The Latina poet from Texas has won the prestigious Premio Aztlán and a position in the Laredo Women’s Hall of Fame.

After-school Activities
Parent James Cirrito has volunteered to direct the City High School band. An organizational meeting for all interested students will take place Monday, 9/27 at 3:30 p.m. Practice will likely be two afternoons a week.

The boys basketball team practices on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30-4:30 at the YMCA; games are on Friday evenings. Participation costs include team registration fee (sliding scale of $50-$20), t-shirt costs of $10, and Y membership of $10/month. If a student is interested in playing but needs help covering the costs, he should talk with the team’s coach, Eric Freund, or with Carrie Brennan.

The following clubs and teams are being organized with meeting/practice times still to be determined: animé club (will likely meet Wednesday mornings; see Ben Acosta for details), dance team (see Kate Young). Students have also started to express an interest in a girls basketball team, a fencing team, and a chess team. Any students who might like to participate, or parents who might want to volunteer coach, should see Carrie.

Voices: Community Stories Past and Present is our partner organization sharing the 48 East Pennington Street school location with us. They are currently hiring youth (ages 14-21) for staff positions as writers-photographers for 110° Magazine. 110° is an annual publication that features "Tucson's teens telling Tucson's stories." Applications are due this week; the last day for interviews is Thursday, 9/30.