Catalina Foothills School District

6-10-25 Outstanding Achievements:
Two robotics teams from Catalina Foothills School District—Partners for Life and Reef Rangers—were selected to compete at the Western Edge FIRST LEGO League Open, an international tournament; CFHS Track & Field athletes Katherine McNulty – Open State Champion in both the 1600m and 3200m. Her double win places her among the elite distance runners in the state and Aliyah Akinbile – 4th place in the 300m Hurdles and 7th place in the 100m Hurdles; Five Catalina Foothills High School HOSA – Future Health Professionals members who represented CFSD at the National Anatomage Tournament this past weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada. Congratulations to Ella Hennings, Zoya Zar, Milaia Hart, Alexa Fischer, and Nathan Wu on qualifying and competing at this national event.

5-13-25 Outstanding Achievements:
Orange Grove Middle School Economics & Personal Finance Teams earned an impressive three state championships; CFHS Falcon Musicians Earn Top Honors at the ABODA State Festival; Four of our CFHS art students were picked to showcase and exhibit their work; Three CFHS seniors made the first ever Arizona All-State Guitar this year; ​Ventana Vista Elementary School and Sunrise Drive Elementary School students had an outstanding performances at the 2025 Arizona State Chess Competition!​​​​​; CFHS sophomore performed on International Jazz Day at the Hotel Congress Plaza; Two CFHS students have been selected to receive the prestigious National Merit – The University of Arizona Scholarship; Several CFSD students had exceptional performances at the 2025 Arizona Chinese Speech Contest; Manzanita and Sunrise Drive Math Teams are headed to the US Math League Nationals; CFHS Boys Tennis team has earned the title of Division II State Champions for the 2024-2025 season.

4-8-25 Outstanding Achievements:

CFSD students shined at the 2025 Southern Arizona Research, Science, and Engineering Fair with sixty-three (63) projects receiving awards. See list of winners here (PDF); Two CFHS students have been selected for the prestigious 2025 KEYS Research Internship at the University of Arizona’s BIO5 Institute; Five talented CFHS students excelled at the Arizona Proficiency and Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) STAR Events competitions; Esperero Canyon Middle School Band received a Superior rating at the Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association (ABODA) Band Festival; CFHS Choir earned a Gold rating and placed 2nd in the Concert Choir category in the 3A division at the Nashville Heritage Festival; CFHS Choir Senior was awarded first chair in the Tenor section for the 2025 Arizona All-State Choir; We are proud to share that two CFHS students have been selected to participate in the prestigious STARTALK Chinese language program at the University of Arizona in 2025.

3-11-25 Outstanding Achievements:
CFHS Change of Pace Choir, both the Jazz and Madrigal categories, earned Superior-the highest possible rating at the Jazz & Madrigal Festival; All seven of our National Merit Semifinalists have advanced to Finalist status in the National Merit Scholarship Program; CFHS Pomline showcased their talent at the USA Spirit Nationals at the Anaheim Convention Center; CFHS varsity cheerleaders were in Anaheim to compete at the USA Spirit Nationals Competition; CFHS Boys Soccer Team has been selected to receive this year's AIA Soccer Sportsmanship Award; Two CFHS Model United Nations students stood out earning awards for their outstanding speeches in their respective committees; At The District and Pima County Spelling Bees, Ventana Vista Elementary student won 1st Place and advanced to represent CFSD at the Pima County Spelling Bee; CFHS DECA students earned high placements and seven qualified for the International DECA Competition; Canyon View student was selected in the Tucson Festival of Books’ Young Artists Competition.

2-11-25 Outstanding Achievements:
CFSD FIRST LEGO League (FLL) teams excelled earning multiple awards at the FIRST LEGO League State Championship; Pioneer Robotics went undefeated at the FTC Palo Verde-Goodyear Qualifier; CFHS Student Council earned the prestigious “Outstanding Council” award and several others at the Arizona Association of Student Council (AASC) conference; CFHS Advanced Theatre earned accolades in team and individual events at Southern Arizona Festival of Theatre (SAFT) Regionals.

1-14-25 Outstanding Achievements: 
Two CFHS seniors have been named 2025 Flinn Scholarship semifinalists; CFHS Robotics team Pioneer 327 secured a place at First Tech Challenge (FTC) State Championship; CFHS DECA excelled at the District 3 Regional Leadership Conference; CFHS Varsity Pomline earned a 1st and 2nd place at the recent UDA dance competition.

12-10-24 Outstanding Achievements: 
Catalina Foothills High School's Counseling Department nominated seven outstanding sophomores for participation in the prestigious Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) Seminar; CFHS senior student selected for the Arizona All-State Jazz Clinic Choir; Fifteen Esperero Canyon Middle School students selected and participated in the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) statewide Contaremos Honor Choirs in November while ECMS Julia Higgins, Choir Director, served as choral educator and CFHS Jeffrey Evans, Choir Director, served as clinician and conductor; CFSD hosted the Tucson Regional First Lego League (FLL) tournament at Orange Grove Middle School where six CFSD teams of elementary and middle school students will advance to compete in the Arizona FLL State Challenge Competition in Tempe, AZ on January 18, 2025.

11-4-24 Outstanding Achievements: 
CFSD schools earn an “A” rating from the Arizona Department of Education; SDES achieved a perfect score of 100 in the  Arizona Accountability Model; Seven CFHS seniors have been named National Merit Semifinalists; CFHS girls’ golf team competed in the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division II State Championship; CFSD choirs earned the title of Superior with Distinction at Fall Festival; ECMS student is a winner of the annual AZ529 Essay Writing Contest; CFHS boys' golf team delivered an outstanding performance at the Division II State Golf Championship; CFHS Falcon Marching Band achieved remarkable success at the University of Arizona’s Band Day competition.

10-22-24 Outstanding Achievements:
Approximately 100 choir students from Catalina Foothills High School, Esperero Canyon Middle School, and Orange Grove Middle School performed the National Anthem at the Arizona Diamondbacks game to an audience of 41,192 fans; Catalina Foothills High School has earned a place on the College Board's Advanced Placement School Honor Roll for the 2023-24 school year; The Catalina Foothills High School Falcon Marching Band delivered an outstanding performance at the 2024 Arizona Regional Championship.

10-1-24 Outstanding Achievements:
Two CFHS students have achieved a perfect ACT score; Eight CFHS students have been recognized as Commended Students in the National Merit® Scholarship Program; CFHS Junior is one of three Tucson junior golfers who qualified for the Pebble Beach at the PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee tournament; CFHS tech theatre students went to Live Theatre Workshop in preparation for the state competition in November.

9-10-24 Outstanding Achievements:
CFHS Boys Golf team placed 2nd in the Brophy Rodeo National Golf Invitational at Grayhawk: Twenty-five students from CFHS have been awarded National Recognition by the College Board, setting a new record for our high school; CFHS Junior was named the girls champion of the cross-country Rio Rico Rattler Cross Country Invitational; Seventh grader at Esperero Canyon Middle School, has been named one of the Top 300 Junior Innovators in the 2024 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (JIC).

8-13-24 Outstanding Achievements:
Hughes Federal Credit Union awarded two CFHS graduating seniors $2,000 scholarships to pursue higher education. Scholarship recipients are Class of 2024 graduates Siena Hazel Davoli-Boen and Anderson Peters; CFHS senior Nina Raju was a finalist in the U.S. Department of State’s 2024 NSLI-Y Russian Summer Program in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

5-14-24 Outstanding Achievements:
MZES Maura Baker, gifted specialist, was honored with the Tucson Values Teachers' (TVT) Award; Two CFHS Juniors will represent CFHS at Boys State 2024; Three CFHS students have been selected to participate in the KEYS Research Internship; Fifty-nine CFHS students were recently inducted into the National Honor Society (NHS); Three CFHS students were invited to compete at the Junior Olympics; CFHS Art student placed first at the Congressional Art Show; CFHS Advanced Theatre students took home multiple awards at the Southern Arizona Festival of Theatre; Five CFHS students participated as members of the Arizona All-State Choir; Thirteen CFHS student athletes signed letter of intent at the NCAA National Signing Day 2024; CFHS yearbook from last year was selected once again to be featured; CFHS senior won Best Actor at the Monte Awards; OGMS boys and girls track and field team won the league championship; OGMS 8th grade volleyball team won the division championship; OGMS 7th grade baseball team won the league championship.

4-9-24 Outstanding Achievements:
Multiple students from several CFSD schools placed well in the Arizona Regional Science & Engineering Fair (SARSEF); Two CFHS students are 2024 Flinn Scholars; CFSD 2024 Poetry Contest Winners have been announced; CFHS art student was chosen as one of five winners of the Outstanding Emerging High School Artist Award; OGMS student won 1st place in the
Aline Goodman Young Artist Award competition; Our district has been recognized with a Best Communities for Music Education Award; CFHS senior in our Early Childhood Education program received the Gold Medal award in her interview competition at this year's state Family, Career and Community Leaders of America competition.

3-12-24 Outstanding Achievements:
Two CFHS Juniors were selected for the 2024 Arizona Girls State; Twenty-four CFHS students were selected for the Arizona Music Educators Association (AMEA) Regional Honor Choir; Sixty-Eight band students were selected for the AMEA Regional Honor Band and Regional Honor Orchestra Winds; Eleven Sunrise Drive students placed in the Chinese Language Teachers Association speech contest; Three CFHS seniors were chosen for the Hispanic Heritage Foundation Youth Awards; Pioneer Robotics won the MOTIVATE Award at state competition; Two CFHS Seniors were named 2024 National Merit Scholarship Finalists; Two CFHS Intermediate Theatre Arts students were selected as finalists to participate in the regional Shakespeare competition at the University of Arizona; Three CFHS Art students were selected by the Arizona Art Education Association for a special exhibit at the Western Spirit Museum; Ten CFHS DECA students competed at State. Five are going on to the International Center Development Conference; Our three CFHS orchestras performed well at the Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association's (ABODA) Area Concert Festival; The ECMS band also performed well at an ABODA Festival.

2-13-24 Outstanding Achievements:​​​​​​
Esperero Canyon Middle School Counselor is named Arizona's Counselor of the Year; Two CFHS Seniors are among the recently named 36 Flinn Scholarship Finalists; The 2023 CFHS Falcon Yearbook received a 1st Place Award from the Arizona Scholastic Association; The CFSD Foundation announced its 5 finalists for the 2024 Teacher of the Year award; CFHS Senior has received the prestigious Navy ROTC Scholarship; CFHS DECA students competed at the District 3 conference; CFHS high school choir members performed at the Arizona Tier 1 Solo & Ensemble Festival; CFHS theatre department did very well at the AZ Thespian Regional Festival; CFHS placed first at the Science Olympiad invitational tournament; CFHS VEX Robotics Club participated recently in a VEX Robotics Challenge(VRC); At the 2024 FIRST LEGO League State Championship, CFSD teams had a strong showing; CFHS Graphic Design students participated recently in the Quickfire Design challenge; Two CFHS girls basketball players were named to the Arizona Interscholastic Association's All-Region 1st Team; Five of our students have been admitted to the STARTALK Chinese language program.

1-9-24 Outstanding Achievements:
Esperero Canyon Middle School 8th grade boys’ basketball team are the Northwest League Champions; Orange Grove's Science Olympiad Team, “The Atoms,” on December 12, scored first place overall at the Science Olympiad competition; At the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) AZ Diamondback Tucson Qualifier on December 16, CFHS Pioneer Robotics earned two awards recognizing the team's overall excellence and gracious professionalism.