01 | March | 2012 | SOUTHWEST PHOTO JOURNAL

STATEHOOD SNAPSHOT: SAN XAVIER ARIZONA TOPS SAY MISSION SCHOOL FOURTH GRADERS ON BIRTHDAY

POSING WITH ARIZONA 100 YEARS OF STATE HOOD BIRTHDAY CAKE

FRONT ROW FROM LEFT: JOSETTE NUNEZ, TONY LEVARIO, JAZZMYN JOSE, LAMASI LEWIS, NATALIE, BURREAL, YESLIE PEREZ, JUAN GARCIA 2ND ROW FROM LEFT:4TH GRADER TEACHER VICTORIA McLELLAN, KEION LOPEZ, SARAH SALVICIO, DAKOT HOGAN, VICTORIA VALENZUELA, JAEDEN JOHNSON

Here are the students responses to the question…
What do you like about living in Arizona?

Dakota
When I wake up in the morning, I like to seeing the sun come up behind the mountains.

Victoria
What I love about living in the South West and Arizona is our school, which is a wonder to see!

Keion
What I love about living in Tucson is the mission and all of the roadrunners!

Sarah
Living in the desert is fun because the temperature is warm enough and we don’t have to worry about earthquakes.

Yeslie
I like Arizona because I get to see a lot of wild animals everyday of my life!

Juan
I love Arizona because there is water and desert and trees in Arizona.

Josette
If you go to the mountaintops, you will get a good view!

Nataly
I love Arizona because I have family and friends here. I get to see them whenever. I love our school and our teachers are the best, especially our 4th grade teacher.

Jazmynn
I love living in Arizona because a lot of my family members live here, and the summer is really warm. There are a lot of things to do like swimming, climbing mountains, and see animals, like coyotes, prairie dogs, and rabbits.

Tony
The things I like about living in the Southwest and Arizona are the fact that we don’t have to worry about things such as, earthquakes, tornadoes, or tsunamis, and we have a lot of cacti.

Lamasi
I like to look at the beautiful sunsets.

Jaeden
I like the smell of the desert when it rains.

Thank you so much! Victoria

ARIZONA’S 2012 BIRTHDAY was the 100th anniversary of Statehood for this western territory who in 1912 was the last link for the lower 48 and finally forged the United States into the geographical formation it enjoys today. Just 9 miles south of Tucson off I-19, lies the San Xavier Del Bac Mission which still ministers to the Tohono O’odham, who built the mission from sun-dried brick. A National Historic Landmark, San Xavier Mission was founded as a Catholic mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Construction of the current church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church’s interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and mural paintings. It stands as one of the oldest building in the United States.
I had the opportunity to visit San Xavier’s Mission School Fourth Grade class on Arizona’s birthday February 14th or Valentine’s Day. Teacher Victoria McLellan had solicited help from her sister-in-law and relatives to bake a birthday cake for Arizona’s 100 anniversary and they decorated it beautifully for her students to enjoy and celebrate the day.

TOHONO Oodham Students exchange valentines...

San Xavier fourth grader Josette Nunez reads Valentines from Jazmynn Jose (left)
and Keion Lopez

Tohono Students line up for their piece of the 100 years cake.

San Xavier 4th Graders line up for a piece of Arizona's 100 years Cake being dished out by Teacher Victoria McLellan

Close to final bell, the 4th graders took the opportunity to finish up their Valentines and pass them out to their fellow students. While enjoying their good wishes from each other, McLellan led them in singing Happy Birthday Arizona and cut the cake and began to nibble on their piece of history and enjoy their celebration of the past.

The San Xavier Mission School has provided an education for grades K-8, since 1864 for the Tohono O’odham people. More recently the school opened enrollment to all. In 2002 the school added new wing that doubled the size of the school. Now they have four more classrooms, a computer lab, an art room, a meeting room that doubles as a music room.