Education notes: Gregory School fourth in Israel physics event

Five students from The Gregory School placed fourth in an international physics competition held in Israel.

The school was one of only five U.S. high schools invited to attend the International Shalhevet Freier Physics Tournament at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

The team of juniors Elaine Wright, Jaiveer Katariya, Tianyi Zhu and Daniel Leighou, and senior Moritz Gloesslein, designed and constructed a safe consisting of a wooden box with a transparent door that closes with an off-the-shelf electromechanical locking device.

The locking device relied on principles of physics. The essence of the competition was to design a device that other teams could not crack into and likewise, attempt to break into safes designed by other teams.

Entries were scored by a panel of referees, not only for being pick-proof but also for aesthetics and originality. Teams received added points for every safe they managed to crack.

Pueblo High trio win medical competition

Three Pueblo Magnet High School students won first place in a medical-innovation competition.

Ingrid Rojo, Alex Ross and Adnan Taleb developed creosote-based soap for both home and hospital use, according to their teacher, Andrew Lettes.

The competition is a program of the Health Occupations Students of America, which helps train health-science-education students.

The Pueblo students will be heading to Nashville, Tennessee, in late June to compete internationally.

Gregory School hosts college-night events

The Gregory School is hosting two events for college-bound Tucson teens and their families this week.

The first event is Mythbusters: The College Admissions Process on Friday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. A panel of professionals will identify, discuss and dispel myths surrounding the college-admissions process.

That will be followed by a college fair with more than 75 colleges on Saturday from 1 to 3:30 p.m.

Visit gregoryschool.org for details and student registration.

Both events are open to the public and free of charge.

Rincon/University groups take honors

The Rincon/University Winter Guards and drum line continue to collect accolades, even though marching season has come to a close.

The purple and black Winter Guards, which perform with flags, rifles, sabers and dance, earned first and second place at state championships respectively, while the white Winter Guards took second in their division.

Purple is the varsity level, black is junior varsity and white is the freshmen group.

The winter drum line took home fifth place in open class, the highest division.

6 are named as new principals for TUSD

The TUSD Governing Board has appointed six principals for the upcoming school year.

Larissa Filler will be leaving Catalina High School, where she serves as dean of students and athletic director, to lead Vail Middle School.

Pueblo Magnet High School assistant principal Alma Carmona-Alday will move down the street to serve as principal of C.E. Rose K-8.

Emily Walls, a curriculum-service provider at Banks Elementary School, was named principal of Lineweaver Elementary.

Steven La Turco, interim principal at Manzo Elementary, will take on the position permanently.

Mary Morse will serve as principal of Tully Elementary, where she has been working as an interim leader.

Dora Saldamando also turned her interim stint at Wheeler Elementary into a permanent principal position.