Sunnyside alum acts heroically Daniel Hernandez, Jr., the intern to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who rushed to assist her after she was shot, attended Liberty Elementary School and Apollo Middle School, and graduated from Sunnyside High School in He graduated from Sunnyside High’s Certified Nursing Assistant program and was a member of Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA). He received an Alumni Association scholarship and is currently a junior at the University of Arizona. Daniel Hernandez, Jr.

Sixto Molina to be honored On January 29, 2011, SUSD Safety Coordinator Sixto Molina will be honored by the Tucson Police Foundation with the Unsung Hero Award. Award recipients are chosen for their actions above, beyond and outside of their official duties that contribute to the betterment of the community.

SUSD Alumni Assoc. to present at national meeting Scholarship America will hold its annual meeting in Tucson, and has asked the Sunnyside School District Alumni Association to make a presentation Jan. 27, 2011.

Building partnerships The Sunnyside District will hold meetings with business and community partners Jan. 13 and 20 about our transformation through technology.

Blue Devil wrestlers Congratulations to the Sunnyside High wrestling team on achieving 310 consecutive dual match wins with victories January 5 versus Rincon/University and Tucson high schools.

Lauffer students to lead buffelgrass removal effort On January 17, with support from Tucson Audubon, Tucson Clean and Beautiful and Pima County, Sunnyside - Audubon Student Urban Naturalists (SASUN) from Lauffer Middle School will teach volunteers about buffelgrass and lead a buffelgrass removal effort in Julian Wash. The Audubon’s SASUN program aims to build young peoples’ interest in birding and nature.

Sunnyside students conduct hearing, vision screenings In December, Sunnyside High Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) who are enrolled in the Beginning Medical Careers classes conducted hearing and vision screenings for 180 second- and fourth-grade students at Esperanza Elementary. Their teacher, Cathy Monroe, and Esperanza’s nurse, Linda Kenney, assisted.

Challenger teacher one of 30 selected for civics program Challenger Middle School teacher Norma Higuera-Trask is one of 30 Arizona middle school teachers selected to participate in a new program designed around the educational website formerly known as Our Courts and inspired by Justice Sandra Day O’Conner.

School leadership teams are participating in Change Leadership training through a partnership with Arizona State University. SUSD partners with Arizona State University for professional development

The issue of EdTech magazine coming out later this month features Project Graduation in a feature called “Crossing the Threshold – Schools are leveraging technology to increase graduation rates. Here’s how.” National publication features Sunnyside

Governing Board earns top honor The Sunnyside District Governing Board received the Lou Ella Kleinz Award of Excellence from the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) Dec. 16, 2010 at the ASBA/Arizona School Administrators annual conference in Phoenix. The award honors the most outstanding educational leadership by a school board in the state of Arizona, and is the ASBA’s highest honor.