Are you looking for an exciting career in education with the award winning Vail School District?

We are recruiting Elementary, Middle, and High School Teachers — all grades and subjects, Special Education Professionals and Speech Language Pathologists.

Register online today to schedule a screening interview appointment!

Then plan to attend the fair:

WHEN:  March 9, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

WHERE:  Desert Sky Middle School – 9850 E. Rankin Loop, Tucson, AZ

Science Fair Season Is Here! Judges Needed

Every year our students practice and demonstrate their understanding of science by designing and carrying out their own original experiments. They share their results at a school science fair, and the top achievers are selected to go on to the Southern Arizona Regional Science and Engineering Fair and the International Science and Engineering Fair. They also share their projects with the public during Vail Pride Day.

Would you like to help with this very important process? Vail schools are looking for community members with backgrounds in science, engineering, medicine, etc., to be volunteer judges for our science fairs.

We also have mentors meet with the SARSEF-bound students to give them advice and feedback to help them improve their projects. This happens in the days preceding Vail Pride Day, on the mornings of Thursday, February 14, and Friday, February 15, from 8:45 AM until around 11 AM. Vail Pride Day is held at the Pima County Fair Grounds.

If you can help with science fair judging, please contact the site science fair coordinators at the schools below. If you are a parent, you are not required to volunteer at your child’s school, but may help at any school.

If you are able to help with the Vail Pride Day Science Mentoring process on February 14 and/or February 15, please contact Dr. Michael Frank, the Vail School District Science Fair Coordinator at frankm@vail.k12.az.us. Breakfast snacks are provided for mentors!

Will your child be age 5 before September 1, 2013?

Attend Kindergarten Roundup!

Kindergarten Roundup allows parents to learn more about the school that their child will be attending and also provides an opportunity for parents to get a head start on filling out the registration paperwork. Please verify which school your child will attend by previewing the District’s attendance boundaries.

The Kindergarten Roundup schedule is as follows: 

For kindergarten registration information at Vail Academy & High School, please contact Tricia Kaparoff at 879-1905 or via email at kaparofft@vail.k12.az.us. All applications for VAHS are due March 1st.

NOTE: Please bring the following information with you to Kindergarten Roundup.

Please mark your calendars!

The Information Nights are as follows:

• January 14th 6:30pm@ Desert Sky
• January 16th 6:30pm@ OVMS & Corona Foothills @ Old Vail
• January 17th 6:30pm@ Rincon Vista

Next week, there will be two Open House Nights to visit each high school campus.

• January 22nd 5:00pm-7:30pm@ Cienega and Empire High Schools
• January 23rd 5:00pm-7:30pm@ Andrada and Vail Academy High School

Important Dates to Remember:

• March 1st – Deadline for Registration Packets @ Andrada, Empire and Vail High School
• March 5th – Official Lottery if registration packets exceed the allotted student enrollment for Andrada, Empire and Vail High School
• March 15th – Final Date for students and parents to pick a high school

If you would like to print a copy of this annoucement, click here.

For more detailed information on each of the High Schools, please click here.

Once again, one of Vail School District’s own was not only chosen as a “40 Under 40″ winner for 2012, but they also have the distinction of being this year’s “Man of the Year”.

Congratulations to our “The Man of Year”, Principal of Desert Sky Middle School, Micah Mortensen!  He was honored on December 13 at the 40 Under 40 Recognition Breakfast. It was a surprise to both Mr. Mortensen and his Family.

A Vail native, Mr. Mortensen was chosen not only for his leadership abilities but for his passion for his community, family and education.

“What sums Micah up best is how he was inspired by a rich culture and with a strong sense of community,” said Superintendent Baker. “That culture inspired him to continue the tradition and lift the community even higher while creating the next generation of leaders while positively and profoundly impacting education communities in Vail, Tucson, and throughout the state of Arizona.”

Mr. Mortensen joins a long line of Vail winners including the 2011 Women of the Year, Katie Dabney, Principal of Mesquite Elementary, Assistant Superintendent John Carruth (2005), Kevin Carney, Director of Beyond Textbooks (2006), Cindy Lee, former Principal of Empire High School (2007), Justin Chesebrough, former Principal of Ocotillo Ridge Elementary (2009), Andy Chlup, Director of Technology (2010), and Superintendent Calvin Baker (Mentor of the Year, 2010).

This is the eighth year that the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Arizona Daily Star, has recognized “40 up-and-coming business and community leaders under the age of 40.”

The Vail School District would like to remind parents, staff, community, and statewide residents of its Invest in Arizona Youth website where Arizona residents can easily donate their tax credit dollars to school programs of their choice.

It’s Important. This is your chance to have a say where your tax dollars go. Arizona will allow you to send your school district a tax credit now and you may be able to subtract the total amount from your State income tax. That’s right – EVERY DOLLAR you contribute gets added to that “refund” column!

It’s Easy. Just use this site to direct your contribution of up to $400 (married, filing jointly) or $200 (single) to the schools and activities you choose and then re-claim your contribution on your taxes. You will receive a receipt immediately upon completion of your contribution.

You Can Make Deductible Donations Above Tax Credit Limits. You can donate well beyond the limited credit by claiming your extra gift as a fully tax-deductible donation on your State and Federal taxes.

Your Employer May Match Your Donation. Yes, that’s right. Many employers will match your charitable contributions including Raytheon, all Gannett subsidiaries, AT&T, Bank of America, Costco Wholesale, Discover Financial, Home Depot, National Bank of Arizona, Quest Communications, and many more. Ask your HR department about contribution matching today!

You Benefit. Arizona School District residents gain a stronger school district through your tax credit contributions. All Arizona residents may participate and direct their contribution to the programs of their choice. Tell your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers about the Arizona School Tax Credit.

Visit the Invest in AZ Youth site to see all the great options for your donations!

Congratulations to Cienega’s Copper Thunder Marching Band on a great and successful season!

Their season ended November 10^th with a trip to compete in the State Marching Band Championships at Glendale Community College. In order to advance to that Championship round, they needed to qualify for the State Marching Festival. They did so by earning an Excelling rating at both the Flowing Wells Show of Shows and the Ironwood Ridge: Marching the Ridge Festival. WAY TO GO!

After the two festival ratings, the band went on to compete at the State Marching Festival where they earned a Superior rating and won three captions, indicating the best in each category including: Music Performance, Visual Performance, and Percussion Performance. At State, they placed 7^th. And at Championships, they placed 10^th.

The Copper Thunder Marching Band was one of only two schools outside the Phoenix area to advance to the championships and was the ONLY one from Southern Arizona.

Way to go Copper Thunder – We are so proud of you!