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Hamilton High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Adelina Cetaj who won the state playwriting competition in November. She had her play directed by a professional director and performed for the 90 other schools present at the competition. In addition, Hamilton Theatre seniors Raven Harris, Reily Neimyer, and Xavier Valdez auditioned and received offers from colleges and universities across the nation.  
   Basha High - (2019-2020)  Basha High won the 6A girls volleyball state championship in dramatic fashion on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The Bears came from behind to defeat Perry High 14-25, 21-25, 32-30, 25-23, 15-10 to win their first-ever title. Congratulations to both teams on an incredible season!  
   Casteel High - (2019-2020)  Sylvia Grace, Career and Technical Education teacher from Casteel High School, received the highest honor given to Project Lead the Way teachers, "PLTW Outstanding Teacher," at the Project Lead The Way national conference in San Antonio. Project Lead the Way recognized Sylvia in front of hundreds of attendees, including teachers from across the United States.  
   Chandler High - (2019-2020)  Twelve student-athletes signed NCAA Letters of Intent to participate in athletics at the collegiate level next year during Chandler High's Fall Athletic Signing Day. Congratulations and good luck to the following: Victoria Mason, Mykah Anderson, Ashlyn Reidhead, Gabriel Garcia, Gunner Garcia, Efrain Manzo, Joseph DiCarlo, Nicole Lunsford, and Cierra Bevilockway.  
   Chandler High - (2019-2020)  Chandler High's Theatre Troupe attended the two-day Arizona State Thespian Conference in downtown Phoenix featuring a main stage production, dozens of one-act performances, and attend workshops geared toward honing their craft. Students were able to meet and collaborate with students from all over the state. CHS's APAC (Advanced Pantomime and Characterization) students took home a Superior Rating for their One Act titled, "Hammered: A Thor and Loki Play," one of our tech teams came home with 2nd place in one of the Tech Challenges, and 2 of our seniors took home 2 of 6 available scholarships. Nainoa Aguano won a $1,500 scholarship for his monologue/song audition, and Theo McEntire won a $1,500 scholarship for an essay he wrote about why he wants to be a theatre teacher. Additionally, EJ Newton, along with Nainoa Aguano and Theo McEntire, auditioned for college scholarships and were called back by several colleges who are interested in having them attend their schools.  
   Hamilton High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Kristine McGettigan of Hamilton High who earned her National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) status for the second time. Thirty-eight teachers in CUSD have the NBCT status, and only three percent of certified K-12 teachers teaching in the United States have voluntarily worked towards and ultimately earned the rank of the NBCT title.  
   Perry High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Perry High girls volleyball on an incredible season, runners up after a dramatic contest with Basha High for the 6A girls volleyball state championship on Wednesday, Nov. 13.  
   Casteel High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to lacrosse player Rylee Dockery (Casteel junior) who along with Kateri Hernandez (Hamilton senior), Reese Mastellon (Hamilton junior), and Gabriella Valadez (Perry junior) were chosen by the Women's National Lacrosse Team to represent Team Arizona and will be traveling to the President's Cup in West Palm Beach, Florida in November. The CUSD girls were selected based on skill, athleticism, and leadership and will join other lacrosse players from the state to compete on the national stage. This is the highest division in Arizona for girl's lacrosse, and we are thrilled to cheer them on! Pictured top, from left to right: Reese Mastellon, Kateri Hernandez, Rylee Dockery. Bottom: Gabriella Valadez.  
   Hamilton High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to lacrosse players Kateri Hernandez (Hamilton senior) and Reese Mastellon (Hamilton junior), who along with Rylee Dockery (Casteel junior) and Gabriella Valadez (Perry junior) were chosen by the Women's National Lacrosse Team to represent Team Arizona and will be traveling to the President's Cup in West Palm Beach, Florida in November. The CUSD girls were selected based on skill, athleticism, and leadership and will join other lacrosse players from the state to compete on the national stage. This is the highest division in Arizona for girl's lacrosse, and we are thrilled to cheer them on! Pictured top, from left to right: Reese Mastellon, Kateri Hernandez, Rylee Dockery. Bottom: Gabriella Valadez.  
   Perry High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to lacrosse player Gabriella Valadez (Perry junior) who along with Rylee Dockery (Casteel junior), Kateri Hernandez (Hamilton senior) and Reese Mastellon (Hamilton junior) were chosen by the Women's National Lacrosse Team to represent Team Arizona and will be traveling to the President's Cup in West Palm Beach, Florida in November. The CUSD girls were selected based on skill, athleticism, and leadership and will join other lacrosse players from the state to compete on the national stage. This is the highest division in Arizona for girl's lacrosse, and we are thrilled to cheer them on! Pictured top, from left to right: Reese Mastellon, Kateri Hernandez, Rylee Dockery. Bottom: Gabriella Valadez.  
   Basha High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Basha seniors Vennela Ambadipudi and Maxwell Turner who have been named National Merit Semifinalists based on last year's PSAT NMSQT scores. About 1.6 million students in some 22,000 high schools enter the National Merit Scholarship competition annually when they take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Semifinalists are the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represent the top 0.5% of the state's senior students.  
   Basha High - (2019-2020)  For the sixth year in a row, Basha High School cadets, under the direction of Colonel Clifford Stansell, raised money for Honor Flight Arizona, a program that sends WWII/Korean and Vietnam War veterans to Washington, D.C. free of charge. Cadets simply brought in loose change (pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters) and did this internally without asking for donations from any of the other classes in the school. This year they raised $1,725 and is by far largest donation ever! Honor Flight Arizona website 
   Chandler Online Academy - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Sydney Chun who has been named a National Merit Semifinalist based on last year's PSAT NMSQT scores. About 1.6 million students in some 22,000 high schools enter the National Merit Scholarship competition annually when they take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Semifinalists are the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represent the top 0.5% of the state's senior students.  
   Hamilton High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Hamilton seniors Emily Abraham, Neya Balakrishna, Julia Fletcher, Margaret Han, Devrath Iyer, Sung Won Kim, Nivea Krishnan, Jihyun Lee, Chloe Leff, Ashley Lepham, Rebecca Li, Elissa Matlock, Burke Peterson, Rohan Sathe, Dev Singhania, Vaishalini Sitaraman, Kevin Tang, Antonio Valdez, Kevin Wang, Sherry Wang, Karina Yang, Sarah Zhang and Vivian Zhao who have been named National Merit Semifinalists based on last year's PSAT NMSQT scores. About 1.6 million students in some 22,000 high schools enter the National Merit Scholarship competition annually when they take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Semifinalists are the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represent the top 0.5% of the state's senior students.  
   Hamilton High - (2019-2020)  The Hamilton High School boys golf team capped off a perfect season (five tournament wins) with a victory at the 2019 Arizona Division 1 State Championship played at Omni Tucson National Golf Course! It was the team's seventh state championship in school history. The Huskies battled a talented Brophy team each day to win by three shots overall. Both teams shot 11 under par the second day.  
   Hamilton High - (2019-2020)  Junior Johnny Walker played a spectacular final round with 8 birdies and no bogeys to claim the individual state title at the 2019 Arizona Division 1 State Championship played at Omni Tucson National Golf Course, with a two-day total of 136 (-10) (pictured). Sophomore Mahanth Chirravuri came in fourth place to earn All-State honors. Freshman Anawin Pickulthong came in 12th place and senior Ethan Adam came in 16th place. Freshman Ryo Ito and sophomore Nick Lippe were part of the team effort. Other teams members are senior Tyler Biberdorf, junior Alex Paul and sophomores Rohan Singh and Aiden Palermo. Additionally, senior Joy Callinan (pictured) won the girls individual state title.  
   Perry High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Perry seniors Craig Cardon, Hester Charles and Alyssa Zhang who have been named National Merit Semifinalists based on last year's PSAT NMSQT scores. About 1.6 million students in some 22,000 high schools enter the National Merit Scholarship competition annually when they take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Semifinalists are the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represent the top 0.5% of the state's senior students.  
   Perry High - (2019-2020)  For the second time in Perry High's history, The Precedent student newspaper, under the direction of Damien Tippett, won first place in Arizona for General Excellence. The award is journalism's version of a state championship, and was presented at the Arizona Interscholastic Press Association fall convention. The newspaper won 29 awards for writing, design, cartoons and photography; congratulations goes out to Vivian Duong, Anna Myers, Kenna Cassey, River Bradshaw, Nadine Loureiro, Isabel Behrendt, Grant Sands, Holly Olaszak, Aeneas Zobel, Rhaelyn Mehan and Mea Griffen! The Precedent - the online voice of Perry High 
   Hamilton High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to the Hamilton Chess Team for winning the AIA State Team Championship in November! They went with a perfect 5-0 to the tournament, completing their perfect 19-0 season -- the first in school history! As the top-seeded varsity team, Rick Sun, Kenneth Su, Joseph Wang, Michael Chen, and Vincent Sin defeated the second, third, and fourth seeds in three straight matches en route to their title. Their compilation of 54 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie over the last three seasons has given them their second title in three years, only missing the title last year on tiebreaks. With the chess team only in their fourth season, they have truly accomplished a great feat. In addition, Aryan Eksambe took first in the JV section, and Harry Winsberg also took a top-10 finish. Anvi Joshi, Miro Vanek, and Andrew Quan rounded out yet another strong showing of Hamilton's depth in the JV section, scoring well above expectations.  
   Basha High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Basha High School senior Zachory Lundgren who won the Division I boys state diving championship on November 8 at the Kino Aquatic Center in Mesa.  
   Perry High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Perry High School sophomore Alexia Jackson who won the Division I girls state diving championship on November 8 at the Kino Aquatic Center in Mesa.  
   Hamilton High - (2019-2020)  Please congratulate Adelina Cetaj who won a "Top 3 in the State" slot for the State Playworks Competition for the second year in a row! She will have her play directed by a professional director and presented at our State Festival.  
   Chandler High - (2019-2020)  The Chandler High Wolves are once again the winners of the Battle for Arizona Avenue and Premier Region champs after beating Hamilton 42-38! Congratulations to Dae Dae Hunter for being named the game Most Valuable Player.  
   Chandler High - (2019-2020)  The Chandler High Wolfpack Marching Band is part of the Elite Eight and have qualified for Superstate.  
   Hamilton High - (2019-2020)  Huskies badminton, under the direction of Lauren Regester, had a terrific season and advanced to a title game for the first time on Thursday, October 31 in an all-CUSD State Division I championship game at Mesquite High School. Hamilton's Rujuta Sane captured the 2019 single championship. Rujuta is a 4.7 student who is also the top girls runner on cross country.  
   Perry High - (2019-2020)  Perry High badminton prevailed over Hamilton High, 5-0, on Thursday, October 31 in an all-CUSD State Division I championship game at Mesquite High School. The Pumas, coached by Lerina Johnson, won the state title for the third straight year. Perry's doubles team of Nikhita Jayaraj and Ashley Rodarte won the doubles state championship against their teammates Sophie Jex and Megan Dye. Perry Badminton Division 1 State Champs - Photo Album 
   Perry High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Perry High DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) for winning first place in the Junior Achievement Stock Market Challenge! The JA Student Stock Market Challenge is a live stock market simulation, featuring teams of high school students who compete to see who can accumulate the highest possible net worth in their investment portfolio. The exciting, fast-paced event offers a taste of what it's like to build a portfolio, manage risk, and experience its performance in a compressed period of time. Approximately 430 students (86 teams, five students per team) from around 20 valley high schools experienced the thrill of the trading floor at Junior Achievement's 2019 Stock Market Challenge Event. Chris Atwood, Hunter Quick, Sammie Baldwin and Bryce Lynch beat out 86 teams from around the state to bring home the trophy to PHS! Junior Achievement's Student Stock Market Challenge website 
   Perry High - (2019-2020)  Perry's Concolor Yearbook staff won First Place in General Excellence at the Arizona Interscholastic Press Association's Fall Convention for their 2019 book But Who's Counting? Individual staffers also won awards for their photography and writing. Sydney Carlson & Layla Mushtaq, Sydnee Milkovic & Lauryn Terry, and Sophia Vojacek & Amanda Romano won Honorable Mention for Clubs, Academics and Sports, respectively. Abby Kozel & Alexa Guy won Excellent in Sidebar Writing for their Student Life Stats. Ashley Johnston & Layla Mushtaq won Superior for Student Life. And Sydnee Milkovic won Superior in Featured Photo for Combustion Experiment.  
   Casteel High - (2019-2020)  Casteel High School senior Sadie DeShon was named a Samsung American Legion Scholar national finalist from Girls State. She will receive a $10,000 award. Samsung American Legion Scholarship website 
   Chandler High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Nina Anguis, Luke Bass, Melody Colucci, Esme Crawford-Paz Soldan, Alexis Gonzalez, Miranda Gonzalez, Jacob Pisors, and Jose Segovia who have been named National Hispanic Scholars for scoring within the top 2.5% on the PSAT/NMSQT amongst Hispanic and Latino testers during their junior year.  
   Arizona College Prep - Erie Campus - (2019-2020)  WASTECON 2019 showcased different types of sustainability methods being implementing all over the U.S. at the Phoenix Convention Center on Wednesday, Oct. 23. As part of the event, the Arizona Recycling Coalition announced their six $5,000 grant awardees... and we are proud to announce that three ACP Knights were granted a $5,000 award to start sytrofoam recycling in our own school cafeteria using Tenebrio beetles! The grant will fund an effort to manage styrofoam within the schools cafeteria, reduce ACP Erie's ecological footprint, and aim for a sustainable school. The president of the organization also mentioned that though there was a record number of applications this year, ACP Erie was on top of the list! Arizona Department of Environment Quality is looking forward to our project as a pilot program for other organizations, too. Way to go, Aahana Dugar, Blake Entwiller and Nevan Hanford. GO KNIGHTS! Arizona Recycling Coalition Grants website 
   Arizona College Prep - Erie Campus - (2019-2020)  The Knights Innovators presented their idea of a Hydrothermal Hat to Maricopa Superintendent of Schools Steve Watson and Deputy Superintendent Matt Morales. Both of them had a great time at Rachna Nath's class playing with all of her pets. The team's Hydrothermal Hat idea was highly appreciated, and Mr. Morales is connecting the team with companies like Medtronics, SAP, Intel and First Solar. The team has also been invited by the Chandler Innovation Incubator program to start the Track 1 program and an entrepreneurship soon.  
   Basha High - (2019-2020)  Once again, the Basha High School FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) Early Childhood chapter was one of 33 schools from across the country that has earned the Lead4Change Certified School honor in recognition for its inspiring community service work and demonstration of leadership. Lead4Change is a student leadership program which provides leadership lessons that align with 21st century skills and integrate literacy, social-emotional learning, and project-based learning standards. Additionally, Lead4Change provides financial support to help students with their community service projects as they apply leadership lessons and address specific needs in our community. Pictured: Teacher/Chapter Adviser, Melanie Alexander; Student/FCCLA Chapter President, Sebastian Dees; and Principal, David Loutzenheiser.  
   Chandler High - (2019-2020)  Luke Bass, CHS senior and baseball player, has been named a Player's Choice Academy (PCA) Triple-Impact Competitor Scholarship Finalist! A Triple-Impact Competitor is an athlete who works to improve oneself, teammates, and the game as a whole. Luke has a 4.8 cumulative GPA, is part of the IB program, and is a leader on campus and on the baseball field.  
   Chandler High - (2019-2020)  Kambria Anson, Juliette Covitz, Bryn Creek, Ezra Glenn, and Haniyah Syed have been named National Merit Commended Students! Although they will not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who took the PSAT/NMSQT.  
   Hamilton High - (2019-2020)  After being named a finalist in 2017, Hamilton High science teacher Debbie Nipar was named a recipient of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science. She traveled to Washington D.C. last week to be recognized. Established in 1983, this is the highest award given by the U.S. Government to kindergarten through 12th grade teachers of mathematics and science, including computer science. Awardees come from schools in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools, and schools in the United States territories of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. Nominations and awards are facilitated by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Science Foundation. Whitehouse.gov website: President Donald J. Trump Announces Presidential Excellence Awards in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering 
   Arizona College Prep - Erie Campus - (2019-2020) 2019 National Blue Ribbon School   Arizona College Prep - Erie Campus has been designated an Exemplary High Performing Schools - National Blue Ribbon School for 2019! The recognition is based on a school's overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups, and affirms the hard work of educators, families and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content. ACP Erie is among 362 schools in the nation and one of five schools from Arizona that will be honored by the U.S. Department of Education at a recognition ceremony on November 14-15 in Washington, D.C. 2019 National Blue Ribbon School: Arizona College Prep Erie Campus - U.S. Department of Education website 
   Basha High - (2019-2020)  Basha High symphonic orchestra, under the direction of Jonathan Gott, won "Superior with Distinction" at the ABODA (Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association) Fall Festival at Corona del Sol High School prior to fall break.  
   Arizona College Prep - Erie Campus - (2019-2020)  The following 12 Knights have earned the title of Commended Students in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship program, based on their 2018 PSAT/NMSQT scores: Parsa Amini, Ian Booth, Angelina Brasen, Jon-Luc Bryant, Junyi Gao, Mia Gomez, Matthew Kearney, Dawson Moulesong, Ivy Nguyen, Thomas Obrenovich, Michelle Yao, and Natasha Zimmerman. Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scores out of 1.5 million students who entered the competition by taking the 2018 exam.  
   Arizona College Prep - Erie Campus - (2019-2020)  Publishers of "The American Srbobran," the longest-running, continually published Serbian newspaper worldwide, selected an article by ACP's Katarina Marceta to publish. Her article highlighted another ACP Erie student, Adriana Kangrga, who spent the summer performing traditional Serbian dances across southeastern Europe. Katarina is the Editor-in-Chief of ACP Erie's "Knight Times" student-led newspaper and loves bringing words to life through journalism. Knight Times article: Katarina Marceta's National Newspaper Publication 
   Chandler High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Katherine Chou and Sydney Chun (Chandler High/Chandler Online Academy) who have been named National Merit Semifinalists based on last year's PSAT NMSQT scores. About 1.6 million students in some 22,000 high schools enter the National Merit Scholarship competition annually when they take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Semifinalists are the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represent the top 0.5% of the state's senior students.  
   Arizona College Prep - Erie Campus - (2019-2020)  ACP Erie's Lemelson-MIT team, the KNIGHTS INNOVATORS, presented their Hydrothermal Hat/Headband to the CEO of Chandler Innovations, Mrs. Daina White. Mrs. White invited the team to attend the Track 1 program that the City of Chandler sponsors in collaboration with NACET (Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies) for starting their own entrepreneurship. These ACP students will now be able to access technical support, marketing support, patent support and meet with some of the top businessmen in Arizona to support their cause. The Knights Innovators started their track last Tuesday at Chandler Innovations in Downtown Chandler. This group consists primarily of freshman and sophomores. We are proud of them for mastering public speaking and reaching out to Mayor Kevin Hartke, the Chandler Chamber of Commerce, and many IT companies around Chandler. VIDEO: Hydro-Thermal Hat 
   Arizona College Prep - Erie Campus - (2019-2020)  ACP Erie is proud to have FOUR National Merit Scholar Semifinalists: Jayden Chen, Kazushi Iwamoto, Sharmila Nimbkar, and Orchee Syed. About 1.6 million students in some 22,000 high schools enter the National Merit Scholarship competition annually when they take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Semifinalists are the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represent the top 0.5% of the state's senior students. Way to go, Knights!  
   Hamilton High - (2019-2020)  During an afternoon ceremony, Hamilton High students Zana Ryan, editor; and Nolen Coley, cinematographer; earned a student production Rocky Mountain Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences from their work in the category of "High School Student Craft Editor" for their Hamilton High track promotional video.  
   Casteel High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Casteel High School sophomore Trey (Henry) Telfar III (pictured far left) who was selected by Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, Kathy Hoffman, for her African American Advisory Council.  
   Chandler High - (2019-2020)  Mattie Shumaker and Isabel Honzay went undefeated in doubles 2 at the 2019 Forner Badminton Tournament and earned 1st place medals.  
   Chandler High - (2019-2020)  Chandler Girls Volleyball was named the Bronze Bracket Champions at the Westwood Tournament of Champions.  
   Hamilton High - (2019-2020)  Hamilton High School is currently piloting an AP course developed through a partnership between the CollegeBoard and the African Diaspora Consortium: AP Seminar with African Diaspora content. This is the first ever AP course with an African topic, and Hamilton is proud to be the first school in the western US to offer this course. The Senior Executive Director of the African Diaspora Consortium, Rhonesha Blaché, visited with the class and facilitated a lesson about changing perceptions of Africa. Hamilton students have also had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Adama Sallu as a guest speaker and attending a 1619 commemoration event during which Dr. Sallu was a panelist. A university partnership is also a part of this pilot program, so students will have opportunities for field trips to ASU and graduate student mentorship as they conduct research.  
   Perry High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Tatum Stall who was named the MVP of the Westwood Tournament of Champions Volleyball Tournament this weekend. Perry High won the tournament which featured 36 of the top teams in the state.  
   Casteel High - (2019-2020)  Congratulations to Ashlyn Drew who was named one of the Top 300 MASTERS (out of 2,348 nominees from across the U.S.) in the 2019 Broadcom MASTERS, a program of Society for Science & the Public. She and her science fair project, Heightened Hydroponics, will now compete to become one of 30 national finalists in the Broadcom competition. Press Release: Broadcom MASTERS Announces the Top 300 Middle School Innovators in National STEM Competition 
  

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