YOUTH

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EMCC’s Kids College opens registration

BY LAUREN SERRATO

West Valley View Staff Writer

Estrella Mountain Community College’s Kids College is returning, this time online and in person.

Open to children ages 8 to 16, EMCC offers a wide range of classes that last three days to six weeks, starting in June and July.

Class topics include culinary, creating with art, sign language, 3D printing and design, and specialized classes that focus on academic topics such as coding and science.

EMCC prides itself on offering affordable summer options for parents in which to enroll their kids.

“The community college is here for the community, and so being able to offer classes at an affordable rate is what part of our mission is,” said Landis Elliott, EMCC’s workforce development manager. “We want to be able to offer affordable classes to the community and provide something to engage those from learners.”

Elliott said this summer the program is introducing “Wild About EMCC: Experience Nature in our Backyard.” During the class, students will learn about native and pet-trade species maintained within the Life Science Division at EMCC. They will also study the care, ecology and handling of numerous reptiles, arthropods and small mammals used in EMCC’s Animal Ambassadors Community Outreach Program.

Students will harvest vegetables in EMCC’s teaching garden, survey for burrowing owls around the campus’ artificial burrows, feed the college’s outdoor turtles and create several nature-themed crafts.

To cater to parents who don’t yet feel comfortable sending their children to campus, EMCC will also offer live online computer gaming and coding classes. Students will be able to learn how to make their own video games; create an animated Minecraft video on YouTube; or learn the basics of coding languages such as HTML, JavaScript and CSS.

Elliott said it was disappointing to not have in-person classes last summer. However, she’s excited and confident about the classes being offered the next few months, thanks to the program’s COVID-19 precautions.

“It was devastating not being able to have the kids on campus. We pivoted and had some online Kids College classes,” she said.

“So this year, we do have a few online Kids College classes for those that might not want to come onto our campus, but for those coming on campus we reduce the size of the classes. We’ve implemented social distancing guidelines, and all of our students and the instructors are wearing masks.”

Elliott said many classes are designed to help stimulate a newfound passion for the child’s future in a variety of fields — and to escape the heat.

“What we’re trying to do is not only have a really fun experience for the kids, but we also want to engage them in potential career fields,” she said. “All of our Kids College classes, including our art classes, too, are just there to spark the student’s interest to see if that’s an area they might want to do in the future for a career.”

Of all the classes offered, Elliott said “Culinary Kids — the Bakery” is one of the program’s most popular ones. The class roster for the culinary course is already filled, but Elliott said parents can add their children to the waiting list.

“After they get some instruction, they take their learning into our culinary kitchen, our campus kitchen, which is really cool and large, and all the equipment’s in there,” she said.

“We have instructors then take them through actually doing the baking and, in this case, making the desserts, too. At the end they have a really amazing snack tray.”

Whether parents choose online or in-person classes this summer, Elliott said there is something to engage all young learners.

“The takeaway is going to open up the young scholars’ minds to the possibility of doing something they love as a career in the future,” Elliott said. “Who knows, maybe we’re going to see the scholars back on campus in the future, taking classes toward a certificate or an associate degree at Estrella Mountain Community College.”

All in-person classes will take place at EMCC, located at 3000 N. Dysart Road in Avondale. To register, visit estrellamountain. edu/kids-college.

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WEST VALLEY VIEW NEWS | JUNE 23, 2021

Tolleson junior named cyber ‘scholar’

BY LAUREN SERRATO

West Valley View Staff Writer

Ajunior at Tolleson’s University High School has been named a scholar in the National Cyber Scholarship Competition.

Sean Lemuel V. Cabahug participated in the rigorous 48-hour online competition against 5,000 other high school students nationwide.

As a scholar, Cabahug was among the top 540 highest-scoring students who met the eligibility criteria for the scholarship. Cabahug will receive a $2,500 scholarship for any U.S. college.

Cabahug also earned an invitation to participate in the Cyber Foundations Academy, a multiweek online program based on the SANS Foundation’s training course and certifi cation. It is valued at more than $3,000.

“So far, the way that I’ve been learning is really erratic. It’s not guided. So, sometimes when I go out and try to do something security related, I can’t exactly. But what I’m looking forward to in the Cyber Foundations Academy is a clear path to learning more, building from the foundational skills and building up new skills that I’ve wanted to achieve that are very diffi cult and require a lot of time,” Cabahug said.

More than 50,000 students nationwide attempted to qualify for the competition, with only 10% meeting the requirements. The competition was sponsored by the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation.

The cybersecurity competition is designed to challenge students to solve computer security problems, as well as capture and defend computer systems.

“Of course, it’s focused on cybersecurity, but it focuses a lot on the variety of subtopics in cybersecurity. There’s cryptography, there’s binary exploitation, there are websites you have to try to fi nd misconfi gurations and to try to break. There’s a lot of variety and range

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of diffi culty,” Cabahug said.

Students are ranked on a point system during the competition. The more challenging the problem, the more points it’s worth. The tasks vary in diffi culty, but Cabahug admitted that even the tasks worth the lowest number of points, meaning they’re deemed easy, were very diffi cult to solve.

As the cybersecurity fi eld continues to grow, Cabahug said he plans to attend college in fall 2022 to study in a fi eld related to cybersecurity.

Prior to the competition, Cabahug said he was convinced he was going to study to become a web developer but soon realized his knowledge in cybersecurity widened his college and career plans.

“After the competition, I defi nitely feel like considering cybersecurity as an option in the future, as a career,” Cabahug said. “I feel like after the competition I could prove to be much more. I could spread out into the security area. I defi nitely think it could be especially benefi cial to hang on with cybersecurity.”

But how exactly does a 17-year-old boy develop a passion and skill for cybersecurity? Cabahug said it all started with his love for computers.

“I’ve been on the computer for a very long time. I started programming back in elementary school and became interested in cybersecurity and this sort of exploitation and hacking thing. At the beginning of high school, I saw a couple of these websites that taught cybersecurity training through handson experiences, and I just jumped in. I developed what I know from there,” he said.

The demand is high for experts in cybersecurity, which is why David Brown, executive director of the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation, said the competition seeks out students who have both an interest and skill in

Sean Lemuel V. Cabahug, a junior at Tolleson’s University High School, wants to study cybersecurity in college. (Photo courtesy of the Cabahug family) the fi eld. “The National Cyber Scholarship Competition recognizes high school students who have demonstrated exceptional cybersecurity prowess and who wish to pursue a career in a growing fi eld in critical need of their talent,” Brown said in a statement. “The NCSF mission is to identify and develop the next generation of cyber professionals. Each and every student who participated in this competition has the potential to develop their skills and build a successful career in cybersecurity.” Cabahug said he is looking forward to learning more about cybersecurity and eventually attend college to study it even further. Cabahug credits the competition, and the preparation for it, with his ability to learn more than he thought possible about the growing and successful fi eld. “It’s a combination of learning from it and the thrill of the competition with its real-time leaderboard, and that inspired the motivation to go out and earn points to get a high ranking. At the same time, with the variety of patents that they offer, I learned a lot that I probably couldn’t have learned for a couple of years,” Cabahug said.

25 Goodyear cheer team prepares for national competition

BY LAUREN SERRATO

West Valley View Staff Writer

After countless hours of practices and local competitions, the ActivStars Centerra Cheerleading elite and pro teams have been invited to compete at a national competition in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Goodyear team will compete in August, making it the group’s fi rst time competing in a national competition.

Head coach Stephanie Johnson said her teams are excited to leave Arizona to compete. Despite it being its fi rst experience at a high-caliber competition, she said their drive and work ethic is unmatched.

“All of them have really been pushing themselves to the absolute limit week after week,” Johnson said.

Her teams practiced at a park for six months because of the pandemic.

Johnson has been a coach with ActivStars since 2013, leading the fi ve levels for kids ages 4 to 18. As a former cheerleader, Johnson said this team has something special about them.

“The girls have gotten so close,” she said. “They’re like a little family, and that’s really different from what we’ve had in the past. These girls really love each other and care for each other, and they are not looking out for just No. 1, but they’re looking out for the team as a whole.”

The ActivStars organization differs from other clubs, she said. ActivStars provides an all-star competitive experience to families who can’t afford to send their children to a bigger, more expensive gym.

As a team, the athletes and their families are working to raise funds to help all families afford to head to the Tennessee competition.

“We don’t want fi nances to be something that holds any of our kids back. We want all of the girls to have the same opportunity,” Johnson said. “Some of our families are a little bit more well off fi nancially; some of them aren’t. It’s really just making sure that it’s a level fi eld and everybody gets a chance to go.”

Aside from fundraising, Johnson said her girls are working hard during their practices but also on their own time to prepare for their fi rst national competition.

“These girls get conditioning sheets. Each week we have them conditioning three days outside of the two days where they practice here, and they have hour- to hour-and-a-half-long practices depending on the teams. They’re always together, always working. It’s become almost like a little job. They’ve been working really hard,” she said.

Of all the teams Johnson has coached in her time with ActivStars, she said she’s bonded the most with this year’s groups. She has had the opportunity to coach some of the athletes since they were 4.

“I’ve had some of them since they were barely able to hold a set of pompoms — they were literally bigger than them — all the way up to now they’re doing back handsprings, tucks, working on layouts and skills that a few years ago they would have never thought possible,” Johnson said. “For me, it’s getting to watch them grow up and seeing all of the things that they have accomplished when we work during practice.”

In addition to watching the athletes improve, Johnson said her favorite part about being a coach is developing trust between the cheerleaders and herself.

Johnson said it’s been fun to see the girls execute a routine that was so technically diffi cult that they thought they wouldn’t be able to do it. She supports the girls, yet pushes them to want more and to try new things.

Neither the pro nor the elite team have competed in a national competition, as Johnson said they typically compete against the same 10 to 12 teams throughout the state. Aside from the experience the athletes will gain, Johnson said they are excited to compete against new teams.

“They have never competed at this level before, so it’s exciting and a little bit scary,” Johnson said. “I think that it’s going to be really good for them to see something outside of just their local competitions. They’re going to see just how big the world of cheerleading really is.”

ActivStars Centerra Cheerleading elite and pro teams will compete in nationals in August.

(Photo courtesy of ActivStars Centerra Cheerleading)

Truth in Taxation Hearing Notice of Tax Increase

In compliance with §15-905.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, Agua Fria Union High School Districtis notifying its property taxpayers of Agua Fria Union High School District’s intention to raise its primary property taxes over the current level to pay for increased expenditures in those areas where the Governing Board has the authority to increase property taxes for the fiscal year beginning July 1,2021. The Agua Fria Union High School District is proposing an increase in its primary property tax levy of $1,300,000.

The amount proposed above will cause Agua Fria Union High School District’s primary property taxes on a $100,000 home to be $ 14.07. Without the tax increase, the total taxes that would be owed would have been $ 6.11.

These amounts proposed are above the qualifying tax levies as prescribed by state law, if applicable. The increase is also exclusive of any changes that may occur from property tax levies for voter approved bonded indebtedness or budget and tax overrides.

All interested citizens are invited to attend the public hearing on the proposed tax increase scheduled to be held July 14, 2021, 5:00 PM at 1481 North Eliseo Felix, Avondale, AZ 85323.