Here is a sampling of CFSD academic contest winners.
Poetry
Congratulations to the winners of our annual poetry contest, one from each K-12 grade level. They are: Kindergarten - "Spring" by Xavier Bingham (MZ), 1st Grade - "Micah" by Mara Chan (SD), 2nd Grade - "Pink" by Abby Vanwinkle (MZ), 3rd Grade - "Constellation" by Lilah Winter (MZ), 4th Grade - "The Wild Life" by Reese Lewis (VV), 5th grade - "Rain Dance" by Robyn Burguillo Meyen (VV), 6th grade - "Peace" by Emma McNulty (ECMS), 7th Grade - "Fading Memories" by Zen Shah (OGMS), 8th Grade - "Death" by Riley McGuire (OGMS), 9th Grade - "If I Could" by Quin Mekkelsen, 10th Grade - "Wanderlust" by Avery Maland, 11th Grade - "Dear Imaginary Friends" by Adlanta Cromer, and 12th Grade - "My Girl" by Amy Cao. Read the poems here.
Art
CFHS student Ellen Kim placed first at the Congressional Art Show held at the offices of Juan Ciscomani in Tucson. Her work is titled 'Unspoken Crisis: The homeless in advanced societies." The piece will be displayed in the US Capitol for one year, Ellen will receive complimentary airfare and be invited to a Congressional Reception for all of the winners around the nation.
Chess
Congratulations to Esperero students, Vincent (7th) and Julian (8th) Merheb who took 2nd place at the Arizona State Championship Blitz Chess Tournament. Congratulations to three Sunrise Drive 1st grade chess team members, Owen Chu, Adam Elitzer, and Eleanor Smith, who won 1st place in the state chess tournament on January 21.
Choir
On October 20-21, CFHS hosted the Arizona Choral Educators Fall Festival in the Music Hall. There were 25 choirs from 15 different schools from all over Southern Arizona. The choirs were adjudicated by local choral experts Dr. Marcela Molina, Jennifer Campman, and Dr. Jeff Vanderlee. Out of the 25 participating choirs, our choirs received the top three scores of the whole festival, earning them the title of Superior with Distinction. The Concert Chorale received the highest overall rating, and Change of Pace took the top score in literacy.
Choir Silver members include Meryl Abdelmessieh, Sunita Adhikari, Jillian Bea, Ivy Buffalo, Abigail Carnahan, Ellaina Carnahan, Madisyn Gabbard, Gia German, Riley Goetsch, Brielle Groves, Sarina Herrington, Harper Hisey, Sophia Hudgens, Elise Lanzarotti, Olivia Linton, Lorena Marye, Sophia Maria Oliveira, Anna Palmer, Alexus Perry, Ada Tenbroeck, Isabella Trader, and Avisa Victory.
Concert Chorale members include Meryl Abdelmessieh, Abigail Amante, Frances Bavier, Owen Becker, Sophie Bian, Laila Brooks, Ellaina Carnahan, Mariah Coats, Mia Correggio, Lillian Dupont, Nora Fadel, Carter Ferrell, Addison Fluegel, Fox Foster, Layla Fraser, Madisyn Gabbard, Isabella Gamas Collazo, Isabella Garcia, Aisha Gereau, Charlotte Gordon, Zachary Green, Norah Jacob, Alexandra Kapke, Audrey Landau, Laney Lee-Hilton, Thomas Lindgren, Sebastian Mehl-Dominguez, Vincent Merheb, Esperanza Naney, Salome Nifong, Stephie Norvilus, Edgar Padilla, Anna Palmer, Fernanda Partida Guillen, Alexus Perry, Cullen Rae, Anakin Ramirez, Maya Reed, Taylor Rupprecht, Eli Schmidt, Benjamin Silverman, Eden Tarquinio-Alexander, Joseph Towe, Mason Trible, Luis Urtaza, Arian Valiani, and Nathaniel Wiley.
Change of Pace members include Ellaina Carnahan, Carter Ferrell, Jacqueline Foley, Fox Foster, Isabella Gamas Collazo, Aisha Gereau, Kiera Kuehnle, Siena Mayfield, Zachary Pittner, Benjamin Silverman, Abigail Sinclair, Louisa Stine, Alejandro Tavera-Reyes, and Luis Urtaza.
Mr. Jeffrey Evans is the Director of Choirs for Catalina Foothills High School.
DECA
The Catalina Foothills High School DECA chapter shone brightly at the District 3 Regional Leadership Conference and Competitions on Friday, January 10, 2025, proudly representing CFHS with integrity and sportsmanship. Held at the Rothery Educational Service Center in Sierra Vista, the team competed against over 200 students from across Southern Arizona and achieved outstanding results:
- 24 out of 29 members earned at least one medal.
- 20 members have already secured their spots in the State Competitions, taking place February 27 - March 1, 2025.
- 4 additional members are awaiting final rubric results, which may qualify them for State as well!
Individual Results:
Aiden Amado: Test medal and placed 1st in his event
Kyleigh Benton: Placed 1st in her event
Jacob Bergthold: Test medal and placed 3rd in his event
Charisma Corkle: Test medal and placed 2nd in her event
John Donelly: Test medal and placed 2nd in his event
Shelby Drake: Test medal
Arthur Filgueiras Pinto: Test medal and placed 1st in his event
Isabelle Franco: Test medal and placed 2nd in her event
Sydney Hellbusch: Test medal and placed 2nd in her event
Samuel Irish: Test medal and placed 3rd in his event
Joaquin Islas: Test medal and placed 1st in his event
Andrew King: Placed 1st in his event
Sophia Mallino: Test medal
Walker Nighswander: Placed 3rd in his event
Daniela Oliver: Test medal and placed 1st in her event
Natalia Ortiz: Placed 2nd in her event
Dylan Panno: Test medal
Shubh Patel: Test medal and placed 2nd in his event
Ely Savir-Baruch: Placed 3rd in his event
Thomas Vamos: Test medal and placed 1st in his event
Zarya Vinal: Placed 1st in her event
Zachary Wagenheim: Test medal
Sage Wexler: Test medal and placed 1st in her event
Aiden Wilt: Placed 2nd in his event
DECA is coached by Jason Reinhardt, CFHS Business Management and Finance teacher.
Congratulations to all our DECA competitors for their hard work and success. Your achievements exemplify the excellence and dedication of our CatFoot community!
FIRST LEGO League
At the 2025 FIRST LEGO League State Championship Catalina Foothills School District (CFSD) celebrates the outstanding achievements of its FIRST LEGO League (FLL) teams at the State Championship held on Saturday, January 18, at Arizona State University’s West Campus. Competing against 71 teams from across Arizona, CFSD teams excelled, earning multiple awards, placing three teams in the top 10 for robot scores, and advancing three teams to postseason competition. CFSD had five teams earning top awards and three placing in the top 10 for robot scores. As many as three CFSD teams may advance to postseason competition. Award Highlights: Team 5155 Reef Rangers – 3rd Place for the Core Values Award Team 5158 Partners for Life – 2nd Place for the Innovation Project Team 5151 Marine Micro Masters – 3rd Place for Robot Design Team 5153 Illuminators – 2nd Place for the Core Values Award Team 5152 Barbaric Blooms – 1st Place for the Innovation Project CFSD extends heartfelt gratitude to the coaches Charlotte Ackerman, Noah Mickey Colman, Maura Baker, Tiffany Wiley, Nancy Hsiao, and all of the parent and student mentors who guided our teams to success. Their leadership and dedication have been instrumental in inspiring teamwork, innovation, and excellence among our students. Many of our alumni were recruited as judges and referees for the state tournament. Team Roster Highlights: Team 5155 Reef Rangers – 3rd Place for the Core Values Award Team Members: Andrew Trombetta (OG), Damon Hayden (OG), Emily Fink (OG), Gigi Trombetta (OG), Isadora Friedman (SD), Lily Ruiz (OG), Lucas Rodriguez (EC), Mikey Stefano (OG), Sophia Barrios (OG) Team 5158 Partners for Life – 2nd Place for the Innovation Project Team Members: Brenden Sult (OG), Ethan Luo (OD), Graham Martin (SD), Kason Strunk (VV), Lucas Byrne (SD), Noah Chavez (OG), Sebastian Bonomolo (OD) Team 5151 Marine Micro Masters – 3rd Place for Robot Design Team Members: Amelie Puell (SD), Isha Bandopadhay (SD), Luke Danilowitz (OD), Richelle Yang (OD), Yihan Yang (OD), Dylan Pan (SD), Turner Jason (SD) Team 5153 Illuminators – 2nd Place for the Core Values Award Team Members: Kaeli Greer (VV), Rebecca Black (VV), Jacob Colman (EC), Ellie Bao (VV), Liam Wilhelm (VV), Brooke Miller (VV), Gideon Singerman (VV), Sylvia Goldstein (VV) Team 5152 Barbaric Blooms – 1st Place for the Innovation Project Team Members: Natasha Jain (VV), Mara Janjić (VV), Blake Brasfield (EC), Connor Flaherty (EC), Colin Wilhelm (VV), Lilly Candlish (VV), Ben Barlow (EC), Claire Varden (EC) Team 5154 Tellers of the Propellors – Scored 30th in robot performance with a max score of 200 points Team Members: Beckett Latcham (VV), Stella Obler (VV), Brooks Matchett (VV), Henry Kiser (VV), Cyrus Candlish (EC), Ezra Coan (VV), Ava Moore (VV), Ezra Rottenstein (VV), Landry Henderson (VV) This year’s theme, “Submerged,” invited teams to explore underwater environments and focus on marine sustainability and innovation. Teams designed and programmed robots to tackle tasks related to underwater challenges, conducted research to identify specific problems, and proposed innovative solutions.
Graphic Design
CFHS Graphic Design students participated recently in the Quickfire Design challenge hosted by the Arizona Design Education Network. Students have 2 days to design a solution to the given prompt. Giovanni Arenas took 1st place in a competition where students had to design a logo for a restaurant named Metropolis that focuses on cuisine from cultures all over the world. His graphic design teacher is Megan Badger.
History
The following social studies students qualified for State History Day competition: Natalie Aaronson, Atharva Deshmukh, Nizar Hadeli, Ingrid Heim, Calvin Holst, Sarah Kaddoura, Aidan Jackson, Ryan Kemmer, Jordan Knope, Gia Longo, Nadia Louri, Rebeca Moreno , Tess Nakonechy, Elyssia Salamanca-Fernandez, Alexander Reich. Their advisor is Summer McCall.
Marching Band
The Catalina Foothills High School Falcon Marching Band achieved remarkable success at the University of Arizona’s Band Day competition on Saturday, November 2, 2024. Competing against 47 bands, the Falcon Marching Band earned first place in their division, achieved the highest music performance score of the day, and secured the top individual marching score, distinguishing them as the highest-scoring Tucson band at the event.
This year’s show, titled “Play!”, was recognized for its beloved musical pieces, dynamic artistry, and engaging themes. Under the direction of Renee Shane-Boyd, Ian Marcusiu, and Tina Walton, and led by Drum Majors Bryan Zhang, Shelby Giachetti, Dominic Bell, and Sara Nielsen, the band’s performance was honored in multiple categories, winning top captions in General Effect, Visual Performance, and Music.
Math
Students Jayden Yao (SD), Warren Moore (SD), Miles Hao (SD), Tyler Tong (SD), and Haoyu Wang (MZ) with Coach Ning Hao did well at the virtual Math League National Championships on July 19. The team's scores placed them in the U.S. Top 25 in Division 5. Their work made the contest look as easy as pi.
Music
Our three CFHS orchestras performed well at the Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association's (ABODA) Area Concert Festival at Gilbert High School on March 5. The Symphonic Strings earned a Superior with Distinction rating. The Sinfonia earned a Superior rating. The Concert Orchestra earned an Excellent rating. Their director is Ryan Watson.
The ECMS band also performed well at an ABODA Festival on March 2. The Intermediate Band received a rating of Excellent. Seventh Grade Band received a rating of Superior with Distinction. Eighth Grade Band also received a Superior with Distinction rating. Their director is Cory Walavich.
Odyssey of the Mind
Community Schools' OM teams competed at the March 27 State Championships. Two teams placed 1st: Odyssey ReOMvention Div II team took 1st in all categories (state champs). Team members are Esperero students Ethan Bialis, Arianna DuPont, Lilianne Ferguson, Addison Fluegel, Annalise Runyon, and Soleil Sakali. Life is a Circus! Div I team placed 1st in Long term and style (state champs). Team members are Ventana Vista students Zeke Bialis, Beau DuPont, Isabel Perez, Isabella Rowe, and Ishani Timbadia. Other award-winning CFSD teams were Escape vroOM Div I taking 3rd place overall and 1st place in Spontaneous with VV team members Benjamin Barlow, Andrew Krokhmal, Eliot Mandel, Daniel Sadiq, Jasper Torrance, Ethan Wagner, and Grace Wolf; Classics...The Musical Production Div I winning 3rd place overall and 2nd in Spontaneous with VV students Lyra Boyt, Eleanor Hudgens, Naomi Hudgens, Elena Mehl-Dominguez, and Julia Moreno; Classics...The Musical Production Div II winning 5th place with EC team members Campbell Arbogast, Stella Ausland, Scarlett Bonomolo, Esai Carrillo, Lillian Dupont, Oliviann Matty, and Isabella Trader; Life is a Circus! Div II taking 4th place overall and 2nd in Spontaneous with EC team members Charlotte Cassell, Alejandra Albino Chapman, Lily Henderson, Joshua Holden, Alexandra Kapke, and Felix LeBlanc. All six teams are coached by Tiffanie Bialis. Parent volunteer Cookie DuPont helps coach the Ventana Vista teams.
Robotics
Huge congratulations to Pioneer Robotics on an unforgettable performance at the FTC Palo Verde-Goodyear Qualifier on Saturday, January 25. Championship Win: Pioneer went undefeated, winning 8 straight matches, including 2 semi-finals and 2 final matches against different alliances. Their dominance on the field secured them the Winning Alliance First Pick and an incredible 286 points in the final match, the 4th highest score in the state! Inspire Award: Pioneer also took home the Inspire Award, the highest honor in the FIRST Tech Challenge. This award celebrates teams that exemplify innovation, teamwork, and leadership, serving as ambassadors of the program while competing with Gracious Professionalism®. Pioneer team members are Estaban Aguirre, Owen Cantor-Goldner, Aidan Chang, Braeden Gracy, Ethan Lin, Kyle Lo, Ali Lucas, Isaak Martin, Valerie McLamarrah, Quin Mekkelsen, Milo Peters, Nathan Wu, and Zoya Zar. Pioneer is coached by Charlotte Ackerman and Sam Kunzeman. Team Mentors are Lukas Gruber, Joel Boroquez, and Michael Gross.
Science
Isabelle Babst, a seventh grader in Ms. Kelly Smith's science class 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).
Arizona Regional Science & Engineering Fair (SARSEF).
Sunrise Drive: Abrielle Stevens - “What’s that Smell?!” (Fixing Problems That Stink - 3rd place); Armelie Puell - “Fish Behavior in response to the environment” (2nd place); Cora Sakievich - “Cookie Monster” (2nd place); David Bui - “Affects of Temperature on Gold Balls” (3rd place); Diego Fatas-Belous and Jakob Chan - “Does Spicy food Affect Body Temperature?” (3rd place); Emery Chukly - “Why is it a bother to have H202 in our water?” (2nd place); Jotham David - “Conductors and Insulators” (3rd place, Second Place Elementary School award); Sylvie Schenten - “How do the bubbles get into bread?” (1st place); Timothy Wong - “Canyon Melting Project” (2nd place); and Zenji Ashton - “Is Your Fingerprint Identification Actually Safe?” (3rd place). Manzanita Elementary: Aubrey Wettengel - “How Does Tube Size Affect the Weight a Dump Truck Can Lift?” (2nd place); Elise McDonald - “Does Positive or Negative Encouragement Vault a Gymnast to Success?” (2nd place); Elizabeth Sipe and Christopher Sipe - “Investigating Well-Known Baking Techniques” (SARSEF Board Award); Ella Winter - “After How Many Days of Use Does a Water Bottle Become Germy?” (1st place); Kathleen Bowman’s Class - “One Small Step for Manzanita, One Giant Leap for the Environment: Less Idling, More Smiling” (3rd place); Lilah Winter - “How do Different Macronutrient Ratios Affect My Blood Glucose and Blood Ketones?” (3rd place, Alex and Laura Catalina Foothills Unified School District #16 2101 E. River Road, Tucson, AZ 85718 (520) 209-7500 (520) 209-7570 FAX www.cfsd16.org Schauss Elementary School Award “WCC Best Female Project, Third Grade, WCG Shirley Bemis Memorial Award); Maura Baker’s class - “How Strong Are You, Mayan Blue?” (1st place); Megan Winter’s class - “Which Classroom is Germier, a First Grade Classroom or a Fifth Grade Classroom?” (1st place); Mike Allie’s class - “Recycling Sorting for Success” (1st Place); Remy Scott - “Why is Milk White?” (1st place); and Ria Tuli - “Colors and Feelings” (2nd place). Canyon View Elementary: Autumn Andrews-Hanna - “Twisted Science: Tornados and Hurricanes” (3rd place); Elijah Wilkinson - “Amazing Abilities of Sound #302” (3rd place); and Olivia Babst - “Smart soils keep more water for dryer times” (3rd place). Ventana Vista Elementary: Eliot Mandel - “A Rabbit’s Toy” (3rd place); London Emerson - “Are Your Hands Clean?” (3rd place); Michael Montoya - “Changing Ingredients” (1st place); Mikael Cusanovich - “Poppin’ popcorn with oil!” (2nd place, ASQ SARSEF Sponsored Award); Natasha Jain - “Tennis Fiasco” (1st place); Pascal Guifarro - “Comparing Apples and Oranges” (3rd place); and Rebecca Black - “Is a warm swimmer a faster swimmer?” (3rd place). Esperero Canyon Middle: Brooklyn Natkowski, Elena Suarez, and Cecilia Suarez - “Snail Power” (2nd place, Lee and Kack Mayer Memorial award for excellence in science); Isabelle Babst - “Producing Food and Energy in a Dryer Climate: Agrivoltaics and Water Management of Arizona’s Crops” (1st place, Alex and Laura Schauss Middle School Award, Hogan Energy Hero); and Khalil Shehab and Leo Blueskyes - “Cool Roofs” (1st place). Catalina Foothills High: Iliana Wisniewski - “Runoff Erosion Prevention with Forest Thinnings” (1st place, Arizona Hydrological Society).
Science Olympiad
CFHS placed first at the Science Olympiad invitational tournament held at Casteel High School in Queen Creek on January 20. Congratulations to the team members and to their Teachers/Coaches Kristen Vanderford and Kevin Duong.
Blue Team members are Gwen Alviar, Elliot Aubrey, Francesca Barela, Ava Becker, Logan Curley, Riya Fadia, Jude Fell, Dean Gill, Ella Hennings, Max Henry,Max Irey, Gabi Malo-Molina, Sara Nielsen, Nina Raju, Thomas Scott, and Iliana Wisniewski. Silver Team members are Junchen (Jason) Jia, Liliana Kalish, Gordon Kim, Alex Lehrman, Fritz Mcgee, Brandon Mokhtarian, Raiden Smith, Caleb Vanderford, Ravindu Vithanachchi, Alex Wagonheim, Damion Welz-Rabe, and Cyrus Zhang.
Speech and Debate
Two CFHS Speech and Debate team members are among the 77 Arizona competitors for the National Speech & Debate Association championship ("Nationals"), which will be held online this year. Junior Josh Tint is selected as the first qualifier in the even Big Questions. Senior Husuf Rahman is named a second alternate for Congressional Debate. The competition takes place June 14- 20. Their teacher coach is Angela Hill.
Spelling
Congratulations to Samantha Emslie (CV 5th) who is CFSD's spelling champion for 2023. She will move onto the Pima County Spelling Bee on February 18.
Theatre Arts
The Catalina Foothills High School Advanced Theatre program performed well at the Southern Arizona Festival of Theatre (SAFT) Regionals on Saturday, January 25, earning accolades in team and individual events. The program fielded two teams in the Tech Challenge, showcasing their backstage skills in critical theatre tasks. The teams, comprised of Saki Grobe, Veronica Davis- Soto, Calista Morrison, Robin Oxnam, Elise McFarlane, Cameron Smith, and Aidan Bryant, earned: Second Place in Sewing Machine Threading Second Place in Knot Tying Four students also participated in individual events, earning impressive ratings: Saki Grobe: Superior Rating for their Stage Management Portfolio Vivianna Colson: Superior Rating for her Musical Theatre Dance Performance Jade Leon: Superior Rating for her Musical Theatre Solo Vocal Performance Calista Morrison: Excellent Rating for her Musical Theatre Solo Vocal Performance The instructor of Advanced Theatre is Amy Byroad, Theatre Arts Director. The Catalina Foothills School District congratulates Ms. Byroad and the Advanced Theatre students on their continued success.