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CANYON CORRIDOR CONNECTION | 9
Imagine Schools – Cortez Park:
Caring for the Whole Child
IMAGINE SCHOOLS – Cortez Park is a place
for connections in our community. Learning
there goes far beyond the classroom.
Not long ago, students were coming to school
tired because they could not sleep in their own
beds. The air conditioning did not work and
bedbugs chewed on children while they lay in
bed. The owners of the apartments were not
interested in making repairs. The tenants were
refugees and vulnerable.
Tracie Scala and Eh K Lu decided to take action.
They went to the apartments, photographed the
living conditions and sent them toMaria Uhing at
the Phoenix City Prosecutor’s office.
As a result, Maria invited key people to meet at
the school with the families of the students. She
brought Assistant Bureau Chief Will Gonzalez,
Housing Counselor Alma Lara, Neighborhood
Specialist Lisa Huggins-Hubbard, Community
Specialist Jacob Steinbach, Representatives and
Translators Kerim Ababdalecha and Krista
Roy from the International Rescue Committee,
Stephanie Vasko from Catholic Charities and
lawyers from Community Legal
Services to meet with our students’ families in
order to educate them and provide them their
legal options.
Our school is a place for such connections to
take place in our community. When our families
felt trapped by their circumstances, they knew
who to trust: Imagine Schools – Cortez Park.
Below are some of the events that take place at
Imagine Schools – Cortez Park:
FREE ELL CLASSES:
Mondays and Thursdays, 6 – 8:30 p.m.
GIRL SCOUTS:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 6 – 8 p.m.
PEACE DAY:
Sept. 19, 2014 in honor of World Peace
WALK TO SCHOOL EVENT: Oct. 20, 2014
To learn more about Imagine Schools
– Cortez Park, set up a tour to view the
learning facilities or see how you can
provide additional support for students and
their parents, call:
Tracie Scala at 602-589-9840 or 602-619-3587
3535 W. Dunlap Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85051
cortezpark.com
ANEWHIGH-CAPACITY, high-efficiency air cooled
chiller that is connected tomost of the campus with new
underground piping was installed by a very generous
benefactor. The new system has the capacity to cool and heat the
entire campus and our future expansion. What really excites our
athletes and coaches is that the new air handlers, installed in Tepsic
Gymnasium, provide heating and cooling throughout the year.
Bourgade Catholic was also the recipient of a Salt River Project Education
Grant. Holocaust Studies, a newly developed course in our
World Cultures department, will be taught during the
2014-15 school year. Students will examine primary
sources and literature to learn about anti-Semitism, the
Holocaust and contemporary problems of genocide.
Students will also conduct interviews and create
videos to inform their peers and the community about the
consequences of intolerance, lack of compassion and
absence of action in the face of evil.
A grant from Virginia G. Piper Foundation is allowing Bourgade
Catholic to expand and enhance technology on campus over the next
several years. A portion of the grant was made available for peripherals
for the 2014-15 school year. This includes new desktop computers for
classroom use, Chromebooks for use in the library and social studies
classroom in lieu of textbooks, laptops for the photo edit and graphic
design classroom/lab, a short throw projector in the library and a
new technology firewall.
Principal Kathy Rother is very pleased with the advances
Bourgade Catholic will be able to make in technology thanks to the
Piper grant. “Over the past three years, we have made great strides in
improving not only the technology available on campus, but also the
use of technology in and out of each classroom. Our teachers and students
have truly embraced the potential that the integration of technology in
instruction will have on student learning and achievement. The Bourgade
Catholic Technology Plan gives students access to 24/7 cloud-based
communication and collaboration tools, as well as productivity tools and
storage. The Piper Grant will provide the means for Bourgade Catholic
to leap forward exponentially into a blended learning environment at an
electrifying pace. I am thrilled and extremely proud of our teachers and
students who are blazing their way forward toward a cutting-edge and
technologically competitive future.”
Bourgade Catholic High School is a diocesan, co-educational college
preparatory, Roman Catholic high school established in 1962. It is located
on a 27-acre campus at 4602 N. 31st Avenue.
For admissions information, please contact Ms. Mary Ann Burns,
admissions coordinator at
Bourgade Catholic High School has been the Recipient of the Generosity of Others this Summer
Principal
Kathy
Rother
Educat ion