SanTanValley.com

Shots were heard this morning in the Circle Cross Ranch community. The situation has been resolved. Please continue reading for details.

This is Dana Hawman, Director of Public Relations for Florence Unified School District. This morning, about 7:30 am, staff members at Circle Cross Ranch K-8 reported hearing gunshots from within the Circle Cross community, and students reported seeing suspicious vehicle activity in the neighborhood park that is behind the school. Principal Sobkoviak immediately called 911, and the school implemented lockdown procedures to insure the safety of our kids.

4th grade students in Ms. Darcera's class at Florence K-8 and Ms. Dunning-Farmer's class at Circle Cross Ranch joined online for an interactive videoconference event entitled, "Native Americans," presented by Atlanta, Georgia's award-winning Center for Puppetry Arts. During the lesson, the teacher in Atlanta, GA could see and hear students in both classrooms, call on them to answer questions and direct them in activities.

The Golden Gophers were aptly named as the team took first place in Florence Unified School District’s annual districtwide Battle of the Books, held at Anthem K-8, Tuesday 2/12. Runners up, team Gopher Spirit, weren’t far behind, as the two teams were tied for first place at the end of the regular competition, necessitating two tie-breaker rounds to determine the final victor. Both teams represented Florence K-8, coached by Katie O’Connor and Shubhra Khan. Third place went to the Rockin' Readers from Circle Cross Ranch, coached by Michelle Pappalardo.

The FUSD Governing Board received two districtwide Energy Star Leader Awards on behalf of the District.

One awards was for "achieving a portfolio average energy performance score of 79 for the year 2012."