"See Calendar link at left for last minute change in January
2012 AGM Meeting"
A
welcome message from
the
Current President
Hello Spartans:
Welcome to the 2011-2012 Camelback school year. We
invite you to explore our Alumni Association
website, where you’ll find information to reconnect
with old friends and discover what's new and
exciting at Camelback today.
This past May, the Alumni Assn awarded $2000
scholarships to 3 outstanding Camelback seniors.
I'd like to tell you a little bit about these young
people who are on their way to bright futures,
thanks to member dues and donations.
Lucas Garcia:
Lucas finished his high school career as number 4 in
his class. A painfully shy child, Lucas didn't find
confidence in himself and his abilities until he got
to Camelback and discovered the world of sports and
exercise. As Lucas says, "I found confidence in
knowing what I was capable of physically and
mentally. I no longer doubted and silenced myself;
I made friendships and connections with my
teachers. My grades improved and as I kept becoming
more involved, an epiphany came to me. I would make
a great physical therapist. It was always right in
front of me; it just took me some time to realize
and some people to help me." With help from the
Alumni Association scholarship, Lucas begins the
next chapter in his life at A.S.U. this fall,
majoring in sports medicine and physical therapy.
Tha Blay Htoo:
Tha Blay is a refugee from Burma (Myanmar). She and
her family escaped to Thailand when she was a
teenager. Her entire family still lives in a refugee
camp in Thailand, but with the help of Catholic
Charities, Tha Blay was able to immigrate to
America. She was placed in foster care and enrolled
in Camelback High School. That was four years ago,
when she was 16 years old. She did not speak
English. This spring she graduated with a 3.5 grade
point average. During her years at Camelback she
also completed her certification as a Caregiver at
Gateway Community College and worked 20 hours a week
with the Native Healthcare System. She will be
attending Gateway in the fall to complete her work
towards an R.N.
Marysol Miranda:
Marysol is a multi-talented young woman. In
addition to graduating with a 4.0 GPA she
participated in concert/marching band for all four
years. She was also a member of the National Honor
Society. She volunteered every week at the Ronald
McDonald House and plans to continue that
involvement while in college. Marysol's true
passion is fashion. She is fascinated with the
design and construction of not only current fashion
but costuming as well. She will attend Phoenix
College this fall, majoring in Fashion Design.
Do you remember Camelback's Fight Song? Onward,
onward, Camelback...Well, the Fight Song was lost.
A few years ago, when the basketball gym was
renovated, all the banners were taken down,
including those listing our state championships and
the Fight Song. Somehow the banners were lost.
Camelback students today do not know that a Fight
Song exists. Alumni Association to the rescue. We
are replacing the Fight Song banner in time for this
year's basketball season. A few of us old timers
can sing the tune but we need the sheet music so the
band can play it. If any of you former band members
have the music, please send it to me at the email
address listed below my name. I'll be sure it gets
to the band director.
We say a warm and loving bon voyage to Elaine Sabel.
Elaine was the ultimate Camelback Mom. Her two
daughters, Ilene and Susie graduated from Camelback
in the 1970s and have served on the Alumni
Association Board of Directors for several years.
Elaine was such a Camelback booster that she too
joined the Board just last year. Sadly, Elaine lost
her battle with cancer this spring. Thank you,
"Mom", for believing in all of us.
If you are planning a reunion of your class in the
future, we'd like you to consider adding a visit to
Camelback's campus in your plans. The Alumni
Association offers a "Breakfast with the Principal"
event for any reunion group. Breakfast is served in
the school cafeteria prepared by the Camelback Food
Club and hosted by student government and our
principal, Dr. Chad Gestson. Following breakfast
you'll have a tour of the campus and its exciting
new facilities with Chad as your host. To reserve
your group's private "Breakfast with the Principal",
please email me at the address listed below my name.
Finally, watch your email and snail mail boxes for
your membership renewals coming later this fall.
Please renew or join. If you are not yet a member,
joining is easy. Just
click here,
fill out the form, fill your cart, and you're done …
all on line. Your dues are used exclusively for
scholarships and projects that enhance the
educational experience for Camelback students and
lives of alumni. And, if you can, please give a
little extra...
Martha (Marty Manning) Morgan '62
mmorgan44@yahoo.com
Camelback High School Alumni Association
Camelback High School wins ASU award for student
achievement
Principal gives credit to all members
of school community
by Sadie Jo Smokey - May. 23, 2011 09:31 AM
The Arizona Republic
Camelback High School has won the 2010-2011 Lead and
Inspire Award from Arizona State University's Office
of Education partnerships.
According to the Options for Excellence program, the
award recognizes teacher and staff efforts in
building and strengthening student achievement.
Principal Chad Gestson, 33, accepted the award and
answered a few questions about himself and the
school.
Question:
At your job interview two years ago, you said a
successful school needs to engage with, and build
community and
business support. Are you making
headway in the community?
Answer:
Camelback has a rich, rich history. The Camelback
High School community is made up of an amazing group
of students, staff, faculty, parents, business
partners, philanthropists, neighbors and partner
districts who have worked hard to get us here today.
We have a lot of engaged alumni. We're really
promoting once a Spartan, always a Spartan.
(Business group) Social Venture Partners really
brought in a lot of support on campus. There is a
lot of excitement and buzz in the Camelback
community.
Q:
How did you end up with a career in education?
A:
I grew up in the construction trade. I'm a
fourth-generation carpenter. Ten years ago joined
Teach for America. I've been in education ever
since.
Q:
How did you start the transformation process that
won the Lead and Inspire Award?
A:
We started reading research on highly effective
schools around the country. One was a connectedness
component. Students who are connected to their
campus and community are more successful in high
school.
We chose to implement an advisory period. Every
student must join a club or sport, do
community service and attend 15
campus events a year. The buy-in is incredible. We
haven't hit perfection yet. But they have ownership.
They've been involved in the decisions. That's the
most exciting part of it.
Q:
How do you get buy-in from teens inexpensively?
A:
It's not enough that you join a club, but you have
to attend games and open house. We put a hole punch
into their IDs and they earn different privileges.
The biggest incentive is kids get to retake their ID
card picture and get a new ID card. All of these
ideas were student
driven.
Q:
What impact has AVID and GEARS had on campus?
A:
Other schools have AVID (Advancement Via Individual
Determination). We have advisory period for all
students and teachers before lunch and we're and
implementing AVID principles into that time. We've
built in academic assistance, extended library
hours. We started a guest speaker series with our
community, university, business partners in order to
start the transformation process. Enrollment in the
GEARS (Gaming and Web Design, Engineering,
Architecture, Robotics and Sustainability) program
has far exceeded our expectations. We have three
full time teachers offering 15 classes. We're
increasing numbers and enrollment in the program.
The school is maintaining enrollment.
Q:
Are these new programs leading to academic success?
A:
AIMS scores aren't in yet. We're looking at
indicators, the number of A's and B's, grade point
averages, the number of students involved in a new
club or sport . . . All indicators thus far show
success. We'll have hard data in the coming months.
Read more:
http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2011/05/23/20110523camelback-high-school-lauded-student-achievement.html#ixzz1NEwKi47M
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