Paulo Freire Freedom Schools

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Students and staff showed up matching for Twin Day during our recent Spirit Week. Days like this do more than boost school spirit; they help build strong connections and a true sense of community on campus. We love celebrating together and creating memories that make school feel like home.

Teacher Shoutout! In Mr. Keegan's humanities class, our students designed their own nations, creating governments, borders, and policies. They then engaged in a live simulation where they negotiated trade, formed alliances, debated decisions, and navigated conflict and peace treaties.

The game was so engaging that students carried discussions into lunch, strategizing with fellow "countries" and plotting against others. This experience helped students truly understand how global decisions create ripple effects across the world.

In science class, Mr. Nick had students explore moon phases and how the moon impacts Earth, using Oreo cookies to model each phase of the lunar cycle! This hands-on project made learning sweet, exciting, and memorable, and was the perfect way to stay engaged right before a break. Big shoutout to Mr. Nick for making science interactive and fun!

Our Environmental Justice Lab elective gives 6th graders the chance to take learning beyond the classroom and into the garden. Students learn regenerative farming practices, choose and care for their own vegetables, and build real-life skills like responsibility, patience, and environmental stewardship.

Along the way, students explore Indigenous practices and thread them within their personal gardening practices honoring often overlooked and even suppressed practices. Students not only develop life-long skills, but learn to center sustainability, balance, and care for our community and planet.

Our students take learning beyond the classroom through hands-on research. Through experiences like Living River of Words and many more, students are taught how to ask meaningful questions, gather evidence, and engage in real-world research that connects directly to their community and environment.

When students begin to see themselves as researchers and changemakers, learning becomes meaningful.
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Our classrooms are spaces where students take ownership of their learning, teaching one another, leading discussions, and celebrating each other's successes. When students are empowered to lead, learning becomes deeper, more meaningful, and truly their own. We're proud to create a community where every students is both a learner and a leader.

Before breaks, we love counting down the days with creativity, joy, and school spirit, and during our recent Spirit Week, the students delivered! One highlight was Future Me Day, where students dressed as their dream careers. From doctors and pilots to professional golfers, our halls were full of potential.

The most memorable? A knight who showed up in a 3D-printed helmet and shield, proof that imagination and ambition know no limits. We love celebrating our students' creativity and their dream careers, even if some of them don't exist in this current century.

Our students regularly explore Reid Park Zoo, where learning comes alive through real-world experiences. These visits help students better understand wildlife, ecosystems, and our shared responsibility to care for all living things.

Education happens everywhere, and our community is our classroom.

One of the incredible benefits of being a middle school connected directly to a high school is the opportunity for our students to step into high-level experiences early. This season, three of our middle school students are competing on the high school basketball team, pushing themselves to play at a higher level through hard work and dedication.

The team has won their last two games, and we are so proud of our students and the entire team for their effort, growth, and teamwork on and off the court.

Go Narwhals!

Our Naturalist Club spent the day participating in the Living River of Words program, exploring the Santa Cruz River through both science and art. Students learning about the river's important in Tucson's environment, both past and present, while observing, reflecting, and creating alongside this vital waterway. Experiences like these help students build a deeper connection to their community and grow as environmental stewards.