Final Exams and the End of Block 2!

A huge Thank You goes out to my students for a fantastic block 2 of the school year. Time has flown by the past 10 weeks as we make our way to the end of the year.
We take our Final Exams this week in our classes.
Please make sure you look over your study guide and take time to understand what is being asked of you.
Thank you again and let's finish strong!

Fire Up!
Mr. Rodriguez

Lobos battle Vipers but fall 65-54

The Alta Vista High School Lobos basketball team traveled to San Miguel High School and played a hard fought game vs. the Vipers. The tightly contested game was neck and neck the entire way as the Lobos won the first quarter 16-14. The Vipers went into the intermission winning 31-30. The Lobos then cut the lead to 44-42 after three quarters while winning the quarter by a 14-13 margin. The Vipers would pull away in the 4th quarter by outscoring the Lobos 21-10.
The Vipers were given a 36-24 advantage at the free throw line as the Lobos were whistled for 25 total fouls to the Vipers 17. The Vipers made 18 of those attempts while the Lobos cashed in on only 7 of those opportunities.
The atmosphere was fantastic with a full gym filled with Alta Vista fans. Both sides cheered their teams on and it gave our players an amazing opportunity to shine.
The Lobos were paced by Jesus Leyva's 18 points. Angel Martinez checked in with 17 before fouling out of the game with 3 minutes to go.
Shaheed Clemens added 8 points and multiple rebounds before fouling out with 4 minutes to go in the game.
Milton Hernandez scored 4, Josue Boldin scored 4, and Frank Leon scored three out of 4 free throws with his Rick Barry throwback technique.
Coach Rod is very proud of the effort and heart displayed in the face of adversity.
We have improvements to make, but we have also come a long way.
The loss drops the Lobos to 4-5 on the season with 5 contests to go.
We are grateful for the support and thank everyone who traveled to cheer at our game.
Fire Up and Go Lobos!

Coach Rod

Lobos Howl To Victory over Knights 51-20!

The Alta Vista Lobos traveled to Immaculate High School last night and played a complete game winning 51-21 over the Knights.
The Lobos were paced early by Jesus Leyva's three 3 pointers in the first quarter. Angel Martinez then caught fire in the 3rd quarter with 10 points including a pair of 3 pointers and a set of spectacular drives to the hoop. He finished with 20 points on the evening.
Nine different Lobos scored points in the collective effort toward victory. They are:
Angel Martinez 2o
Jesus Leyva 11
Josue Boldin 6
Shaheed Clemens 4
Frank Leon 3
Milton Hernandez 2
Tre Lewis 2
Martin Simpson 2
Miguel Maldonado 1

The Lobos return to competition next Tuesday vs. Lourdes Academy.
We will be honoring our Pearl Harbor Veterans as the game lands on December 7th.
We thank everyone who comes to our game. It is great having our fans travel and cheer on the Lobos!

Fire Up!
Coach Rod

Lobos Growl to Victory over Griffins: 42-11

The Alta Vista Lobos Basketball team emerged with their first victory of the season last night over the Griffins of Greenfields Country Day School 42-11. After a tough start in the Boyd Baker Tournament, the Lobos rebounded with a quality win over an opponent who showed great effort and class.
The Lobos were paced by Angel Martinez's 19 points and 6 assists. Defensively Shaheed Clemens dominated on both sides of the glass with 13 rebounds.
Ten Alta Vista players scored and all Lobos contributed to the first victory of the season.
The were:
Jesus Leyva 3
Fausto Fimbres 2
Shaheed Clemens 2
Milton Hernandez 4
Frank Leon 2
Mike Leon 2
Josue Boldin 4
Frankie Romero 4
We return to competition tonight vs. Immaculate Heart High School.
We thank the students and faculty who continue to travel and support our program.
We are grateful for your presence at our games!
Fire Up!
Coach Rod

Lobos fall to Miners 51-21

The Alta Vista High School Lobo basketball team opened the 2010-2011 season in the Boyd Baker tournament held at St. Gregory's College Prep gymnasium.
San Manuel High School turned the Lobos away 51-21. The combination of missed shots and turnovers lead to an unbalanced effort.
Overall Coach Rod was pleased that the boys did not give up throughout the game but recognizes that we have much to do in order to have success.
Angel Martinez led the scoring effort with 10 points.
Milton Hernandez, Martin Simpson, and Shaheed Clemens led the charge under the boards.
I wish to thank all of the Lobo faculty who made the trip to the game:
Mr. Harris
Mr. Davis
Mr. and Mrs. Garcia
Mr. Martinez
I also wish to thank the students who made the time and effort to come support us.
We are grateful for your support and promise to give better effort next time!
Fire Up!
Coach Rod

Thankful Hands for Thanksgiving

My wonderful daughter Ani (10) taught her dad a valuable lesson on the impact of simplicity. She and her sister Maile (7) created a cut out turkey out of construction paper and proceeded to create the feather's of the turkey with cut out hands. Within the hands was written what they were thankful for. My daughters' turkey is proudly displayed in my home.
I decided to take this very simple approach and apply it to my students.
I asked my daughter to re-create the turkey and then have my students trace their hands so as to make the feathers. The students then were asked to write in their hand what they were thankful for. The following are pictures of our version of the Thanksgiving turkey.

I believe it is important to take a moment, daily, to thank my students for everything they do for me in our classes. They are the reason I am a teacher. I find equally important to let the staff, support personnel, and faculty know how grateful I am for what they do for our students on a daily basis. After reading each hand I feel a tremendous sense of community with the campus.
Thank You Lobos for everything you do.
Have a great Thanksgiving!

Mr. Rodriguez

2010-2011 Lobo Basketball Team

It is with great pleasure to present the 2010-2011 edition of the Alta Vista Lobo Basketball team. We begin our quest for excellence at the 2010 Boyd Baker tournament held at St. Gregory's Prep.
The Lobos are:
#3 Angel Martinez
#5 Miguel Maldonado
#10 Tre Lewis
#11 Fausto Fimbres
#12 Martin Simpson
#13 Francisco Romero
#15 Jesus Leyva
#20 Miguel Leon
#21 Frank Leon
#22 Alvaro Contreras
#25 Josue Boldin
#32 Milton Hernandez
#33 Shaheed Clemens
#34 Cesar Fuentes
#44 Levi Marcus

Team Managers
Valeria Romero
Marissa Goode

Game results will be posted after every game.
Our home opening game will be held at the Kino Memorial Center gymnasium December 7th vs. Lourdes Catholic.
Come out, stand up, and cheer the Lobos to Victory!

Fire Up!
Coach Rod

AIMS test October 26,27,28 2010

Greetings Lobos!

The annual AIMS (Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards) test will be administered Tuesday October 26, Wednesday October 27, and Thursday October 28. The subjects tested are Writing, Reading and Mathematics.

Here are some tips to prepare for the testing week:

• Get a good night's rest before the test.


• Eat breakfast before the test.


• Use deep breaths to curb any test anxiety


• Plan an alternate route to school in the event of traffic problems


• Plan an alternate ride in the event of transportation problems

Here are some test taking tips for the day of the test:

• Take as much time as you need. It is not a race.


• Scan the test before attempting to answer any questions. Answer the questions you are confident you know. Come back to the more difficult questions later in the test.


• If it is a writing prompt, use a graphic organizer to gather and organize your thoughts. After you have written your rough draft, re-read your response and edit any needed areas.


• DO NOT use text language (4=for, u= you, k= okay) while writing your response. Use proper grammar and spelling.


• Stay focused throughout the testing session.

Have confidence in your abilities and do your best!

Fire up!

Coach Rod

KVOA's Kristi Tedesco visits AVHS

Greetings Lobos,

Today we hosted our annual Career College Fair. My classroom was fortunate to have KVOA's anchor Kristi Tedesco visit.

The students had many relevant questions are were engage at the comments and advice that Kristi gave.

Thanks to Ed Wagner for setting this up.

We are grateful for the opportunity to have a local television news personality come to our class to inspire us to seek success in our lives!

www.kvoa.com/news/kristi-tedesco

Mr. Rodriguez

Lobo Students Pay Tribute to First Responders

Greetings Lobos,

Saturday marks the 9th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

Our class studied the events and we decided that we would pay tribute to our local Police and Firefighters by writing letters of thanks.

My letter reads:

Dear Officer/Firefighter,

My name is David Rodriguez and I am a teacher at Alta Vista High School in Tucson, Arizona.
We studied the events of September 11th in our American History classes. I wish to take this moment to thank you for your service to our community. I have known of the courage and sacrifice shown by the police and fire departments of New York City, Washington D.C. and Shanksville that fateful day. I also realize that you show that same courage and sacrifice on a daily basis in order to keep me safe.
On behalf of my community, my school, my peers, and my family: THANK YOU!

Respectfully,

David Rodriguez
Teacher

Alta Vista High School

Tucson, Arizona

This weekend, please take a few moments to remember.

Thank you.

Mr. Rodriguez

Lobos are NEVER gymless!

Greetings Lobos!

Thanks to the philosophy I learned at http://www.rosstraining.com/ of 'Never Being Gymless' we are better people.

Here are some photos of our class using a community park's soccer goal as the anchor for our suspension strap workout. AnJeanine, a member of our Volleyball squad is demonstrating a bench press and curl combination along with what is known as an 'Atomic Crunch' which is a push up followed by a crunch while your feet are suspended. A 'killer' excercise!!

Miguel is demonstrating a suspended pull up and a successful dismount!

Isabel is demonstrating an alternating deltoid raise.

There are too many reasons not to be active. We work very hard to find reasons to work out. There is no excuse in our class. We workout everyday and we are better people because of our collective attitudes.

Thanks again to Alta Vista for allowing me to teach this fantastic course. Thank you also to my students for working hard!

Fire up and Go Lobos!

Coach Rod

Stadium Running Lobo Style!

Alta Vista High School is very fortunate to have the use of the Kino Memorial Center and Tucson Electric Park for our Fitness Strategies class. Every 5 weeks we challenge ourselves with running the stadium steps at TEP. Today we ran 22 rows of steps with an average of 20 steps per row for a total of 440 steps.

We accomplished this twice in 20 minutes for a grand total of 880 steps!

Here are a few post-run photos of the 2010 Block One Fitness Strategists!

I want to thank my students for working hard the past 5.5 weeks. Their bodies are changing because they are choosing to work beyond their comfort zone. I am proud of them and look forward to a great second half of the block!

Enjoy and have a great Labor Day weekend!!

Prom and Tuxedo Sale at Alta Vista High School

What: One Day Liquidation Sale on prom dresses. All Dresses $55!!

When: Saturday August 21, 2010

10 AM to 2 PM

Where: Alta Vista High School

5040 S. Campbell Ave (Just south of Irvington)

How: Cash Only Sales! (No Checks, Credit, or Debit Cards)



Who: Both guys and gals (Tuxedo Coats, Pants, Shoes, and more for the guys, and Evening, Prom, and Party Dresses for the Girls).



See more samples at



http://www.azformalstore.com/



Mr. Rodriguez

Alta Vista High School and Great Schools

Greetings Lobos!

It is no secret that I love teaching and coaching at Alta Vista High School. I believe we offer a great education for any student who wishes to dedicate themselves to having a top notch education.

There is a website called Great Schools. This site is a great way to rate our school and get the word out on how good you think our school is.

We encourage all who follow this blog and those who attend Alta Vista High School to take a few moments to write a review of Alta Vista.


Click on the link, scroll down, and give your opinion.





http://www.greatschools.org/arizona/tucson/3072-Alta-Vista-High-School/





Thanks and Go Lobos!





Mr. Rodriguez

Suspension Strap Training Lobo Style

When I ruptured my patellar tendon last December (read previous post) I had ample time to read and research different topics. One of the topics was a suspension trainer. I was completely clueless to this new tool being used in fitness clubs, professional training complexes, and fight gyms. As I researched them I was hooked until I saw the price tag.

I then went to my favorite site for being gymless http://www.rosstraining.com/

As I was looking through Ross' blog posts I found a video for making my own trainer at a fraction of the price. As I regained my mobility I built a trainer and was instantly hooked. It was an easy, inexpensive, and intense addition to my workout regimen.

With the okay from my school administration I purchased the items needed and built a class set of suspension trainers that we started using today. My students were immediately introduced to the beautiful burn you get with your own body weight.

We started small with 5 repetitions in 4 different body movements (bench press, tricept extention, row, and bicep curl. These movements were to be done in succession and then repeated for 3 rounds.

Some of our students decided to increase their reps to 10. It was great to see them buy into the program.

Thanks go out to my administration and office staff (thanks Svetlana!) for giving me the opportunity to try something new. A big thanks to the Lobos for signing up for the class!

Fire Up!

Coach Rod

Welcome Back Lobos! 2010-2011 is going to be great!

Hello Lobos!
Coach Rod here. Hope you had a fantastic summer. It has been a fantastic summer for Coach Rod.

• I taught summer school (American History B)
• I coached our basktetball team at the University of Arizona' Sean Miller basketball camp
• I traveled to El Paso where I coached my football team at the UTEP 7 on 7 tournament
• I celebrated 15 years of marriage
  
• I celebrated the 10th and 7th birthdays of my daughters Ani and Maile at Disneyland!
• I surfed in the pacific ocean :)
• I traveled with my colleagues to Las Vegas for the National Differentiated Instruction Convention.
• I caught up with great friends in Oceanside, California
  
• I coached my football team at Cochise College for our annual 'Camp Cochise' football camp
• I exercised as often as I could and am in better shape than when I left :)
  
• I was informed that I will be inducted into the Nogales High School Hall of Fame.
  

Overall a busy, but productive summer!
I look forward to seeing you all August 4th and an exciting year at Alta Vista High School!

Fire Up!

Coach Rod/Mr. Rodriguez

Lobos At McKale Center and UA Mall