Santa Cruz Valley USD celebrates student art, announces Fine Arts Month events and district recognitions

The Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District recognized student artists and marked Fine Arts Month during its Oct. 7 governing-board meeting, highlighting a large collaborative mural and announcing upcoming events and district recognitions.

Student leaders and teachers from Mountain View and other district schools presented the collaborative piece — a large mural featuring a horse and other artworks — and discussed their roles in design and execution. Eighth-grader Andrea Garcia described working “on the background, the design of the horse, and the cavalier,” and said she helped with name tags representing each student who contributed. Several other students described their parts of the project and the challenges of finalizing background colors.

Teachers and board members praised the students’ work and process. A teacher who introduced the students said he had tracked one student, Victoria, since kindergarten and noted her award-winning charcoal technique. Board members congratulated the students and confirmed the mural will be displayed in a district ‘‘Fiesta Room’’ after county review.

The district also announced that Nourdes Vasquez will be recognized as an outstanding board member and that Superintendent Verdugo will receive a superintendent recognition at an upcoming statewide conference. Board members who served as conference co-chairs said the district will have strong representation at the event and that the superintendent will serve as a panelist.

Other routine items discussed at the meeting included a superintendent’s update on school visits and student reactions to a new food-service provider, a reminder that next week is fall break for students with schools remaining staffed, and a note that the district’s next regular meeting is Oct. 28. Board members also mentioned a partnership with the University of Arizona to plant an estimated 300–500 plants along a frontage road; locations remained under discussion.

The board approved the meeting agenda and ratified the consent agenda before moving to presentations and the executive session later in the agenda.

Students who spoke at the meeting included Andrea Garcia, Tirzah Vega, Stephanie Baraza, Kaida Garda, Lily Brown and Rosanne (last name not specified in the transcript). Teachers and presenters included Mr. Mac and Mr. Dittmore (staff names as given in the transcript), and Superintendent Verdugo attended and spoke during the superintendent’s report.