Sedona, AZ. February 2010. Dr. Mai Yasue gave a one-hour class on the sustainability of global fisheries to Verde Valley School science students on Friday, February 12. Dr. Yasue teaches courses on global studies, environmental sustainability, community-based conservation and marine conservation at Quest University, a small liberal arts and sciences university in Squamish, British Columbia.

Dr. Yasue began with an overview of the evidence on the ecological collapse of global fish stocks and then discussed the political, economic, socio-psychological factors that have led to this collapse.  For more information on this story visit www.vvsaz.org

Phoenix, AZ. February 2010.  At PARDES, the staff cultivates each child by giving them the tools to help them learn.  Looking at our alumni, we are able to see the fruits of their labors.  Our campus is full of life with each of the kids learning about the world in which they live.

This year's Gala will be held at Congregation Beth Israel on the evening of March 6, 2010.  The evening will feature the auction, a delicious meal (Kosher, Va'ad supervised), and a live band.  All inquiries, including those interested in volunteering, should contact the Gala Chair, Eve Bressler, at eve.bressler@cox.net.

Washington, DC.  February 2010. The U.S. House of Representatives could vote soon on legislation governing elements of a schools disciplinary policy and practice.

The bill (HR 4247) would affect all public schools and private schools whose students or teachers benefit from any federal education program (about 80 percent of Catholic schools, for example). The measure represents an unprecedented and unwarranted degree of federal regulation of religious and independent education.

To contact members of Congress about this important issue, please visit CAPE’s Legislative Action Center at www.capenet.org

Tucson, AZ. February 2010. Solon America has donated a solar array to IST. The 120 KW array consists of photo-voltaic panels manufactured at Solon's plant here in Tucson, supports and an inverter to convert the DC to AC. The generated electricity will be used by the School, and may even be fed into Tucson electric Power’s supply grid.

The donation was accepted by Mr. Robert Young, Head of School, at a ceremony held Friday 12 February to mark the departure of Solon America CEO Mr. Olaf Koester, an IST parent. Mr. Koester is to oversee the installation of the array as his last official duty.

For more information on Solon America visit http://www.solon.com/cw/en/.

Tucson, AZ.  February 2010. Some media and Arizona legislators have been attacking scholarship tax credit programs. These scholarship programs, which have been a monumental blessing to many families, save the state money. On Thursday, February 11, opponents attempted to derail SB 1274 to enable taxpayers to make donations to these programs by April 15 by proposing six hostile amendments. Thankfully, all were defeated. Earlier in the week on Monday, the House Ways and Means Committee passed HB 2664 to strengthen accountability and make several improvements to the scholarship programs. 

For more information visit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGuxilF-PEY

Students in Orme's Senior Class are beginning their research projects in Dr. Brownridge's Sustainability and Southwest Studies Senior Seminar. Their research will include subjects from Southwestern ceramics to dormitory energy use, to wind monitoring and use on our campus. 

For more information on this story visit: www.ormeschool.org

Tucson, AZ. February 2010.  Nicholaus Moore, J1 Spanish / English, has been named a winner in the Tucson Festival of Books Young Writer's K - G2 Competition.

This is a great achievement for Nicholaus who spends half his day in Spanish, and in fact he learned to write in his Spanish class last year before beginning formal English lessons this year.  Well done Nicholaus! The award will be presented at the awards ceremony, 10.00am 13 March, in the Festival's Children's Area. Congratulations to all JS teachers and students on their successes.

For more information on this article visit www.internationalschooloftucson.org.

Mayer, AZ. February 2010. Orme Junior Whitney Lewicki, and Freshman Vanessa Teskey both turned in strong performances at the Desert Sport Horse Competition on Saturday, February 13th. The competition took place at Horselovers' Park. Whitney earned three 1st Place Ribbons and Championship, with Vanessa earning two 2nd Place finishes and Reserve Champion.

On the Western side of the sport, Senior Conor Dwyer earned the High Point designation and a 5th Place finish at the Double C Roping Competition in Casa Grande, also held on Saturday. Conor roped an impressive 18 out of 19 steers that day - all the more impressive a performance as this is Conor's first roping competition after a several month hiatus due to a minor injury suffered by his horse (now fully recovered).

Congratulations Whitney, Vanessa, and Conor!

For more information on this story visit: www.ormeschool.org