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Picks of the Week Newsletter - December 5, 2025

Posted Date: 12/05/25 (06:00 PM)
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Sunlit orange and leaves on tree

OGMS Picks of the Week

Our newsletter for families and our community

Sunlit orange and leaves hanging on tree
 
If you are visually impaired, and you are using these captions to understand our newsletter, please email me (Mark Rubin-Toles) at mrubintoles@cfsd16.org, so we will know someone actually benefits from them. We want to make them useful. Screenshot of a calendar, and the text: Dec 8 - Dec 12 Dec 15 - Dec 19 8 15 6 - 7 PM Beginning & 7th-Grade Band Concert Happy Monday! 9 16 CFHS Choir director visits OGMS 8th-Grade Choir 6 - 7 PM Intermediate & 8th-Grade Band Concert 6 PM 7th-Grade Choir at Reid Park Zoo Lights Performance 6 - 7 PM Choir Concert - Call Time for Students 5:30 PM 10 17 Wednesday Late Start 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM 7:25 AM DROP-OFF FOR BEFORE-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES 7:30 AM Zeroes Are Preventable (ZAP) - by invitation only 7:30 AM Study Hall / Community Schools 9 - 9:25 AM Teacher Office Hours 1:51 - 2:30 PM Schoolwide Assembly (Arrive before 1:45 if you are taking your Panther out of school early this day - or you may be waiting a while) 5 - 9 PM DOUGHBIRD Dine Out 2960 N. Campbell Ave, Tucson 7:30 - 11:00 AM Half Day - Grading Day 11 5:30 - 6:45 PM Evening Campus Tour of OGMS for Prospective Families - Invite Your Friends and Neighbors! 7 - 8 PM Orchestra Winter Concert 18 12 Late work deadline for Quarter 2 7 PM 6th-Grade Choir La Encantada Snowfall ❄️ Performance 19 End of Quarter 2 Winter Break Dec 22 - Jan 2, 2026
Phone: 520-209-8200 / Attendance Line: 520-209-8290
Anonymous Tip Line: 520-209-8299
Community Schools After-School Pickup: 520-209-8215

To Plan For:


Sat, Nov 1 - Open Enrollment Application Opens
Mon, Dec 22 - Sun, Jan 2 Winter Break - NO SCHOOL
Wed, Jan 7 - Guided Tour of OGMS for Prospective Families 2:45 - 4 PM
Fri, Jan 9 - Quarter 2 Report Cards Released
Thur, Jan 15 - FFO Meeting 8:30-9:30 AM In the Library
Mon, Jan 19 - Martin Luther King Civil Rights Day - NO SCHOOL
Wed, Jan 21 - Full Day NO Later Start 7:30 -2:30

Donate Items
Volunteer!
 

OGMS Dine Out - Wed, Dec. 10

Dough Bird will donate 30% of sales to Orange Grove's FFO!

Wednesday, December 10th, 2025
From 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM
DOUGH BIRD
2960 N. Campbell Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85719

Take-out or dine-in available; Please mention "Orange Grove" when ordering.
Screenshot of Dough Bird Flyer
 

Magic Wand and Apple Watches!

Misplaced your magic?
Are you missing your Harry Potter Wand or Apple Watch ?
Swing by the front office; your stuff might be waiting.
 

Panthers We're Proud Of

Panthers Tackle the Tour de Tucson

Lucas Meza, Cayden Allie, and Macklin Capuano smile in the rain after completing a grueling 66-mile course during the annual Tour de Tucson cycling event. It is a testament to their endurance - and months of training - that they can smile after that many miles!
Panthers turned out for the annual El Tour de Tucson bicycle event and got soaked.
 
Screenshot of OGMS homepage.

Purchase Your Yearbook!

*UPDATE*
Parents, please log in or create an account with Community Schools to purchase a yearbook.

You can find the yearbook option under "Enrichment."

If you have questions, please contact Community Schools.

Instructions for purchasing the yearbook can also be found on our OGMS website https://ogms.cfsd16.org/home. under "Payments & Purchases."
Screenshot of yearbook flyer
 

Information for Our Community

Open Flyers
Screenshot of The Boarder Newsletter
Screenshot of Campus Tour Flyer
Open Flyers
Screenshot of CS Yearbook for sale
Open Flyers
DOUGH BIRD Join U s WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10TH O F SALES* WILL BE DONATED 30% NEWETEBSPM9-MP Fundraiser Benefiting PANTHERS ORANGE GROVE MDIDLE SCHOOL ORANGE GROVE MIDDLE SCHOOL TUCSON 2960 N. CAMPBELL AVE TUCSON, AZ 85719
Open FLyers
Screenshot of Flyer
Screenshot of FLyer
Screenshot of flyer.
Open Flyers
Screenshot of OGMS calendar for the year.
Open Flyers
 
The CFSD Core and Supplemental Resource Preview List can be viewed at this link:


Governing Board Members
Amy Krauss, President

Eileen Jackson, Vice President
 
Jacquelyn Davoli, Board Member

Tom Logue, Board Member

Gina Mehmert, Board Member
 
Dr. Denise Bartlett, Superintendent


State of Arizona Legislative Representatives for CFSD
(please check www.azleg.gov for contact information)
 
Legislative District 18
Representative Nancy Gutierrez
Representative Chris Mathis
Senator Priya Sundareshan
 

"Pics" of the Week

Snapshots of life and learning at OGMS
Chilly mornings, lovely days, and a dash of end-of-semester energy left students feeling lively.

Algebra with Ms. Looft

Quadratic functions model situations that are all around us - and are useful for everything from playing catch to exploring the solar system. Students were finding the x intercepts of various parabolas. Desks that work as white boards encourage students to scribble - and showing work is a huge plus in multistep problems. Keep simplifying, and those messy knots of numbers get more managemable.
Desktops also serve as white boards in Ms. Looft's algebra class.
Desktops also serve as white boards in Ms. Looft's algebra class.
Desktops also serve as white boards in Ms. Looft's algebra class.
A boy uses his white board as a desk in Ms. Looft's algebra class.
 

Generating Electricity With Bicycles

Students in Mama Snow's class enjoyed learning about energy through a presentation by TEP. They rode bikes to power a blender, a floor fan, a hairdryer and more. It was a lot more work than they thought it would be! Pedaling feet spin magnets surrounded by wire coils, producing AC current in the wires.
Students in Ms. "Mama" Snow's science class learn about generating electricity with a bicycle.
In "Mama" Snow room, Tucson Electric Power demonstrated how to generate electricity with bicycles.
Students get a chance to generate electricity with bike pedals.
Students generate electricity with stationery bikes.

Proving the Conservation of Mass

Ms. Pyne's science students are writing a procedure to prove the Law of Conservation of Mass. Developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, it holds that though chemical reactions transform matter, in a closed system, no mass will be lost - just rearranged. It holds true in classical physics.
Ms Pyne works with a student in science class.
A student works on creating a procedure to prove the Law of Conservation of Mass.
Students work in science class.
Students work in science class.
 

No Yolk! Panthers Serious About Engineering Safety

Cars for humans have crumple zones that absorb kinetic energy - while the car may be totaled, the occupants are better protected. Mr. Uphoff and our 7th-grade science team recently challenged students to design an egg carrier, using paper, glue and tape, to mount on a chassis and roll down a ramp. Students scrambled to come up with structures to absorb shock.
Students get ready to roll eggs - in protective carriers - down a steep ramp and into a concrete wall. The lesson helped students understand how good designs absorb the energy of impact.
A computer screen shows materials and design parameters for the egg protectors on wheels.
Two students show off their egg protector.
Two girls pose with the egg-protection compartment they made in Mr. Uphoff's class.
A student shows their egg carrier, which is rolled down a ramp and into a wall to test how well the design protects the egg.
Three girls with egg compartments made in Mr. Uphoff's class. The students may be cracking up, but with good design their egg won't be.
A student holds his shelter for shells - eggshells, that is. The compartment is mounted on wheels and rolled into a concrete wall. With good design and a little luck, the egg will remain intact.
Students work outside on containers built to protect eggs in a collision.
 

Another Go-Round for Earth/Moon/Sun System

A student works with a laptop and a solar system model to answer questions in class.
A boy works on a computer in Mama Snow's class.
 

Starting Stamina Early for Life's Long Haul

PE teachers hold the 2-mile "Turkey Trot," an annual Thanksgiving week tradition...followed by the annual "Turkey Bowl" the following day.

Students could walk or run the distance in the cool weather.
Students hit the track at Orange Grove Middle School for a 2-mile run or walk.
Mr. Northam's students hit the track at Orange Grove Middle School.
Mr. Northam's students hit the track at Orange Grove Middle School.
Students hit the track at Orange Grove Middle School for a 2-mile run or walk.
Students hit the track at Orange Grove Middle School for a 2-mile run or walk.
A girl on the track at OGMS.
A student runs on the track at Orange Grove Middle School.
Mr. Northam's students hit the track at Orange Grove Middle School.
Three students walk on a track.
A boy participate in Ms. Farr's PE class.
Girls participate in PE with Ms. Farr.
PE students on the track at Orange Grove Middle School.
 

The Fog of School

Unusual weather conditions led to unusual imagery at Orange Grove Middle School.
Frosty air meant students could see their breath at daybreak.
Students on the OGMS campus in the morning.
Frosty air meant students could see their breath at daybreak.
 

More Talent to Share

One "Orange Grove's Got Talent" contestant was inadvertently trimmed from last week's newsletter. We also wanted to give you a better view of a string quintet, as well as a couple of views with all acts on stage.
A girl performs on keyboards at "Orange Grove's Got Talent."
All acts take the stage at the finale of "Orange Grove's Got Talent."
Students on stage after the talent show.
Last newsletter showed these youngsters hunched over instruments - here is their lighter side!
Ms. Alvarez, Ms. Snow, Ms. Skerik and Ms. Conte are among the staffers who helped out at the talent show.
 

Scenes from Lunch in Courtyard, Game Room

Inside and outside, Panthers paused for midday meals, chats with friends and impromptu entertainment. Ms. Cordero-Muir made students work for their (very) high fives. Parent volunteers staffed the game room, and one student posed with the self-portrait she did in art class. In other news, a group of boys left their table perfectly tidy (and windproof!) when they paused lunch for a game of foosball.
Math teacher Ms. Cordero-Muir gives a student a *really high* high-five.
Another student attempts to match Ms. Cordero-Muir's *really high* high five in the OGMS courtyard.
Students enjoy a friendly game of foosball in the Commons.
Pingpong in the game room is popular when volunteers are available to staff the game room.
Volunteers help set up the floor-size Connect 4 strategy game - it's tough! - and supervise students playing pingpong and foosball.
Girls who did up a classmate's hair wanted to capture the moment for posterity.
A student stands next to a self-portrait on display in the OGMS courtyard.
Are these boys imitating the Tin Man from Oz? It wasn't Halloween. Some people also believe (wrongly) that tin-foil hats protect people from electronic surveillance. A third possibility is that they are middle school students just clowning around.
Girls read the thoughts of other OGMS students, who wrote what they were grateful for on colorful paper leaves to make for a striking display.
Girls fill colored-paper leaves with thoughts of gratitude for our recent display of thankfulness.
Students pose at the table they left perfectly tidy while they enjoyed a game of foosball in the Commons (Thank you, parent volunteers!) The procedure, even if you're coming back, is to clear the table of debris and weigh down any menu items that might blow away.