I grew up being told that "Girls can do anything better than boys" .... except be "Woman of the Year", apparently.

Caitlyn Jenner, aka Bruce Jenner, has just been given the title of Woman of the Year, by Glamour Magazine and I am not only stunned, but offended.  

Influenza (also known as flu) causes thousands of deaths each year.

Last September, after listening to a 45-minute anti-federal diatribe by state representative Mark Finchem, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors voted to join a group of western rural counties in a plan to take over federal land. Tea party advocate Finchem explained that the plan involved a “multi-prong” approach, but identified only two approaches -- litigation and legislation. He did not identify what other approaches were contemplated.

Everyone Breathe Asthma Education Grants Program recently awarded 10 stu­dents with asthma $2,500 savings bonds and 10 $5,000 grants to the students’ schools, in­cluding Lindsay C. Bridgeford of Circle Cross Ranch K8 in San Tan Valley.

We often hear and read that people are very resistant to change. Most certainly that is true. Oh, there are always a few folks who love to be on the bleeding edge and are happy to adopt new practices, but that sure isn’t the norm.

I’m a bit older than most who are reading this column, but I still think young – or I think I do. I get up at 4:30 or 5:00, jump in the shower, and get out loaded for bear and feeling great; then I look in the mirror and think, “Wow. Who is that old sucker looking back at me?”

Happy New Year from everyone here at Poston Butte High School.

We want to make sure everyone is ready for the start of the second semester and we want everyone to be safe.

Florence Unified School District hosted the 1st Annual FUSD Science Fair at Copper Basin K-8 on March 5th as a part of the Arizona SciTech Festival (Feb. 9 to Mar. 17). An estimated crowd of 300 people were in attendance as family, friends and community members stopped by to show their support and to see what the students are doing.

Entries in the districtwide show included the top three winners from each school for each category: Animal Sciences, Behavioral & Social Sciences, Cellular & Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth & Planetary Science, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Medicine & Health Sciences, Physics & Astronomy and Plant Sciences. Students in grades 5-6 were judged in the Elementary Division, while students in grades 7-8 were placed in the Junior High Division.

Each year, car crashes claim the lives of more than 3000 teens; making car crashes the leading cause of death to teens in America.

In an effort to help combat this devastating trend, we have partnered with your PBHS Cheer Team to help bring information about the causes of these crashes to the teens in our community.

In addition to stronger laws and increased education, research indicates that parental influence is a very important factor in combating this devastating trend.

What is FUSD’s “FULL DAY” aka “Stampsheet” Program and Why, Oh Why, do we have it?

In April of 1988, an early rising teacher, Bill, and I were sitting in my office at 6:00am just visiting. I was always in my office at that time, and he came by occasionally.

This particular morning, he was telling me a little about his 13 year old son, let’s call him Jeff, who was smart and a really good kid, but who hated doing homework. His son went to school in a neighboring district and since he hadn’t done much of his homework, he had ended up falling behind and his grade card for 3rd quarter had been pretty poor.

This will be a targeted recruitment event where we will be searching for teachers, speech pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, and school psychologists.

Our emphasis will be focused toward recruiting Highly Qualified Teachers in critical, hard to fill areas of SPED, Math and Science.

Florence Unified School District No. 1 invites you to our 2011 Teacher Job Fair held Saturday, February 26, from 9am to 1pm at Poston Butte High School, San Tan Valley Arizona 85143. This will be a targeted recruitment event where we will be searching for teachers, speech pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, and school psychologists. Our emphasis will be focused toward recruiting Highly Qualified Teachers in the critical, hard to fill areas of SPED, Math and Science. We are actively seeking those with a passion to make a difference in the lives of students for the 2011 - 2012 school years.

In observance of National Victim's Rights Week and in support of FUSD's Anti-Bully stance, volunteers from the Community Services Division of the Pinal County Attorney's Office were in all of the Florence District schools on Monday or Tuesday this week handing out flyers about Anti-Bullying, Victim's Rights and online resources to middle school and high school students. Pinal County Victim Advocate Ginger Butcher who coordinated the event stated, "All of the advocates that went into the schools had nothing but great things to say about the experience and their interactions with your wonderful students." For more information about anti-bullying and about anti-bullying policies at Florence Unified School District, go to www.FUSDAZ.org and click on "Anti-Bullying Information."

Dear Parents:

Florence USD Assessment Program
In our continuing effort to provide your child with the best education possible, the Florence Unified School District engages data driven instruction to diagnose where each child has progressed academically.  We use different types of
assessments to ascertain what your child has learned well, what he/she is ready to learn, and what your child is not quite ready to be taught.  We analyze each student’s AIMS and Terra Nova results, placement tests, pre-tests, post-tests, and
administer quarterly benchmark assessments.

Math Bee champions from the seven Florence Unified School District K-8 schools gathered on March 8 in the Poston Butte main gym to bat­tle for bragging rights as the best of the best.

Three teams from each school represented grades 3 and 4, grades 5 and 6, and grades 7 and 8, each team working math problems with increasing difficulty to score points.

Florence and Coolidge high schools may be rivals on the field, but the Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs have effectively teamed up to win a $50,000 grant for engineering! Tracey Celaya, Florence CTE Director, and Polly Abraham, Coolidge CTE Director co-wrote an Innovative Technology grant proposal at the end of September and it was approved on 12/15.