Saddle Mountain Unified School District #90

Join the Saddle Mountain Family!

The RFMS RoboColts are in Mesa today for the AZ Middle School VEX Robotics State Finals. The competition starts around 8:00 AM.

You can watch the livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo_9j9GZSFl-eNtyfQ8tiGg/featured

Our team numbers are 4461A and 4461B if you want to follow along from home.

Over the weekend, the SMUSD Elementary Robotics teams traveled to Queen Creek to compete in the Arizona Elementary VEX IQ State Finals. It was the first time in SMUSD history that all three elementary schools were represented at the State Finals! All three teams did great, but the Winters' Well RoboScorpions made it to the tournament playoffs and finished with a ranking of #6 in the state! They also won the first-ever State Finals award for SMUSD. Great job to all the students and coaches for their hard work this season.

Transportation will be using alternative routes at dismissal. We anticipate a delayed drop off time for many buses. We thank you for your patience as we ensure our students all get home safely.

Due to an accident, the I-10 is closed. We are currently assessing the situation to determine how or if it will impact transportation at dismissal. We will provide an update as the impact on dismissal becomes more clear.

Our Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Patti Thompson, presented to the Governing Board during the February meeting last week about the Northern Arizona University (NAU) West Valley Pathways to Teaching Program, which leads to teacher certification in Arizona.

The NAU West Valley Pathways to Teaching Program is a collaborative “Grow Your Own” educator preparation initiative offered by *Northern Arizona University* in partnership with multiple West Valley school districts in Arizona. This program is designed to expand access to teacher certification for local community members, current district employees (such as paraprofessionals and instructional assistants), and others interested in pursuing a career in education.

The initiative provides state-approved undergraduate and graduate degree pathways that lead to full Arizona teaching certification. Coursework is offered in flexible formats to support working professionals — including in-person classes at district sites in the afternoons and evenings as well as asynchronous and synchronous online coursework. Students complete the teacher preparation curriculum required for certification, including practicum experiences and full-time student teaching.

Key features of the program include:

Grow Your Own (GYO) model: Focuses on recruiting and preparing future teachers from within the local community, particularly those already working in education roles or serving diverse student populations.

Degree options: Eligible degree programs include elementary education, special education, secondary science teaching, and other certification tracks.

Flexible delivery: Blends online instruction with local, site-based courses to accommodate employed students.

Financial support: Many students qualify for the Arizona Teachers Academy Scholarship, which can cover tuition and mandatory fees, making the program tuition-free when combined with other aid.

Students often receive advanced consideration for employment within partner school districts upon completion of the program.

Overall, the West Valley Pathways to Teaching Program aims to strengthen the local educator workforce, support community members in becoming certified teachers, and address the teacher shortage in Arizona by making certification more accessible, affordable, and aligned with community needs.

The RoboColts are in Mesa today for their last tournament of the regular season. You can watch it live at this link. RoboColts are team number 4461A and 4461B. https://www.youtube.com/live/d0MM1Gtgxfg?si=zg5GREsBEXxucM-X

Reconfiguration Updates for the 2026-2027 school year.

The SMUSD VEX IQ teams traveled to Mesa on Saturday for their last tournament of the regular season. All three teams had a great day with WWES moving into the 5th place spot in the AZ robot skills ranking, DSES moved into 11th place, and TES ended up winning 2nd place in the tournament. All three teams have received an invite to the AZ State Finals for the first time in SMUSD Robotics history. Congrats to all three teams and their coaches.

Join us in person or online at https://www.youtube.com/@smusd90/streams Additional information can be found here: https://go.boarddocs.com/az/smusd90/Board.nsf/Public

The RoboColts win again! This past Saturday, the RFMS RoboColts traveled to Bogle Junior High in Chandler for a tournament. Both teams did well, but Team A walked away with the Amaze Award for the first time in SMUSD robotics history! That marks the sixth award in four tournaments so far this season, tying a district record set 4 years ago. One more award this season will make it our winningest season ever!

Thank you to everyone who helped make our Special Olympics event such a memorable day for our students! 🏅

We are incredibly proud of our athletes for their teamwork, effort, and positive spirit. A big thank you to our teachers and staff for their support, our JAG student organizers for their outstanding leadership, and all of the volunteers who gave their time and energy to make the day run smoothly.

Special thanks to Tonopah Valley High School for hosting and serving such delicious food. Your hospitality made the experience even more special for our students and families.

We appreciate everyone who helped create a day full of inclusion, fun, and celebration!

Ready to get certified and earn your degree tuition free with NAU West Valley Pathways to Teaching? Check out our next session today Thursday, January 29th, 2026, from 4:00 - 5:00 pm via zoom. Use the link or QR code to register! Interested folks are always welcome to email Cassandra Lockard directly at: Cassandra.Lockard@nau.edu or call 623 478 5681 for interest in a 1:1 informational meeting.
https://nau.zoom.us/meeting/register/uIUhUAdeQ1eyhOe5QzCVWw#/registration

Huge news out of Prescott today. The two RFMS VEX Robotics teams traveled to Prescott today and were the only 2 middle school teams in the tournament. Both teams met up in the finals to face each other for the tournament championship. Team A came out with our first tournament championship in four years! They were teamed up with former RoboColts, Charlie, Isaac, and Brayden. Team B did great making it to the finals. Both teams brought home trophies, bringing our count for this season to 5 trophies in our first three events. Next week we travel to Chandler for a middle school only tournament, and hopefully some more awards!

January is School Board Appreciation month. Thank you to our dedicated school Board Members for their support on our campuses and in our community. We appreciate your time and service to our students and staff.

Please see the attached message from Superintendent Dr. Winters about possible configuration changes coming to our district for the 2026-2027 school year. https://aptg.co/HmH06t

Even our school administrators are lifelong learners who lead by example. This is Dr. Scales facilitating a Kagan cooperative learning strategy in a classroom last week at Tartesso Elementary!

Today, the WWES, DSES, and TES robotics teams traveled to Mesa for their second tournament of the season. All the teams did really well. TES finished in 14th, DSES finished 9th, and WWES finished in 2nd place! Great job to all the students and coaches!

On Saturday, both RMFS VEX Robotics teams traveled to Madison Highland Prep for their second tournament of the season. Both teams played exceptionally well, finishing in 7th and 10th places among a field of mostly high school competitors. Team B walked away with their second consecutive Judge's Award! The teams travel to Prescott next weekend for their next tournament.