Things are already quite busy at Sky Islands at the start of a new school year! Students in Watershed Management and Urban Horticulture are planning and designing future farm projects and harvesting produce for the students in Culinary Arts and the lunch program. Students in Lead Guitar have jumped right into their first ensemble piece, Chemistry in the Community class has been testing school soil samples, members of the Environmental Leadership class have been working hard to build trust through a series of activities, and students in US/AZ History have been developing their performing arts skills with Dr. Aurelia Mouzet from the UofA as part of their live action component of making history come alive through performance based on what they’ve learned in the classroom.
As the semester progressed, students settled into their classes, and the school welcomed various guest speakers, such as representatives from Northern Arizona University and Pima County hydrologist (and former Sky Islands math teacher!) Dave Saba. Students in Health class toured various grocery chains in the city to analyze the quality and availability of foods in different socioeconomic regions, and students in the Lead Guitar class performed their ensemble and solo portfolio pieces for the school at the end of the first quarter.
As the weather cooled, students volunteered their time to remove invasive Russian thistle from last year’s ecological restoration site, Environmental Leadership class worked on their seed ball bike, and students in Urban Horticulture class harvested tons of produce from the school gardens and partnered with the 9th grade Arts class to build benches for seating in the art room’s new media center.
When Halloween arrived, the students (and staff) did not disappoint! Many people got into the holiday spirit with an array of costumes, including some denim doppelgängers…
