SanTanValley.com

Congratulations to the Mountain Vista Middle School Wolverine Wrestling team for their outstanding performance at the Florence Open Wrestling Tournament, held at Poston Butte High School on Saturday, May 4, 2012.

The Wolverines came home with quite a few medals and the team demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship throughout the tournament.

Way to Go Wolverines!  We are so proud of you!

The Central Arizona Juniors Volleyball 16's Team comprised of FHS and PBHS girls won the Gold Medal in the Arizona Region of USA Volleyball this Saturday defeating Aspire 31-29, 25-17 in the Championship match.

These girls have been playing together since January and went 31-3 on the season.

Poston Butte High School is the home of a very small group of students who are already showing great promise for our future. For the second year in a row, the Future Problem Solving team at Poston Butte has claimed multiple first place trophies in the State Bowl at Arizona State University West and have been invited to the International Conference at Indiana University in June where they will compete against winners from nearly every state and a dozen nations.

Eighty-one students from Poston Butte High School competed in the 37th annual Central Arizona College Math Competition. Students took first place in Level 1 Algebra I and both first and second place in Level 3 Pre-Calculus and Calculus, resulting in a total score that landed the team in 1st place overall for 2013.

The Poston Butte team has placed well in the annual competition for all three years that they have competed, earning a third place overall in 2012. "I am just super proud of our kids," stated Dr. Bob Pappalardo, principal. "We just keep getting better and better. I'd say the team performance is a positive reflection on the changes we have implemented in our math program as well as some hard work and perseverance on the part of some really great kids."

Students  and Parents: Summer is fast approaching and many of you may be thinking about attending summer school to make up credits or advance your education. Here is the information that you will need for summer school. Computer Pick up Date: June 7 Start Date: June 10  

Walkers will go around the clock in the battle against cancer when the second American Cancer Society Relay For Life® of San Tan Valley gets underway with teams of residents gathering at Poston Butte High School on April 12th at 6pm.

Relay For Life events are held overnight as individuals and teams camp out at an athletic track, park or other gathering area, with the goal of keeping at least one team member on the track or pathway at all times throughout the evening. Teams do most of their fundraising prior to the event, but some teams also hold creative fundraisers at their camp sites during Relay.

I would like you to know how grateful I am for the FUSD Board of Trustees' decision to hire me as the next Superintendent. I have personally met with all Principals and Assistant Principals. We have a great team of leaders who are willing to do what's right and bring excellence to each school. I'm excited about the changes happening in our district.

On Wednesday, March 6th, 2013 at 6 a.m. the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office received a call from the Florence Unified School District regarding a “hit list” which was discovered on the internet and reported to them by a parent of one of the students on the list.

The list was created by two female students; an 8th grade student at Walker Butte K-8 and a 10th grade student at Poston Butte High School, and placed on the social media site Instagram. Also on the media site was an icon of a pistol next to the word “hit list.”

As Florence USD continues its evolution to excellence, we find ourselves in a year of great change; a new superintendent, new Board officers, and several changes in school leadership positions. What has not changed is our focus on KIDS FIRST. Every decision we make is grounded in student safety, achievement and growth. I am contacting you today to let you know that I will be a part of this ongoing evolution.

I’m Gary Nine, Superintendent of Florence Unified School District. You may be aware that one of our students was suspended on Friday, February 1, 2013, because he had a photo of an AK-47 assault rifle as wallpaper on his netbook computer, which is issued and owned by the school district. All of our students agree to abide by an Acceptable Use Policy that outlines guidelines for student use of the district-issued computers. The Acceptable Use Policy provides that such computers are for student schoolwork and prohibits certain activities.