Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Parent Letter & Podcast

P.V.U.S.D. Superintendent, Dr. James P. Lee, has written a letter and created a podcast for all parents and community members to update you about our district budget and the upcoming May 18th, special election.
Please click on the link provided above to reach both forms of communications.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Kindness Assembly


Today at Desert Trails we celebrated the many acts of Kindness our students display on a regular basis! Here are just some of the compliments given to these "kind" students:
(pictured- Third graders "Jose has a huge heart and goes out of his way to help others"- "Alex comes to school with a smile on her face and a kind word to say about everyone" -"Xamoi is kind to his fellow classmates, and he is also respectful to adult." From second grade: "Colby has a kind heart and is a true friend to everyone"- "Ava is consistently being a good friend to her classmates" - "Sydney thinks before she speaks and she always looks for the good in others"
From Fourth grade: "Jayden is considerate and concerned for his peers" - "Meggie is always eager and ready to lend a helping hand to her friends" - "Michelle is a kindhearted person who is helpful to others" - From Fifth grade: "Alex plays fair and is nice to everybody"- "Taylor is a true example of kindness" - "Caroline is a role model for spreading acts of kindness" From Sixth grade: "Bella shows kindness and concern for others" - "Eduardo is polite and kind to students and teachers daily"
These students were honored at our Kindness Assembly today, a Pay it Forward student created video was shared (and will soon be on our DTES Kindness page for you to enjoy, and they each received a one of a kind Kindness T-Shirt! CONGRATULATIONS!!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

New Report Card

REPORT CARDS AND INFINITE CAMPUS: PVUSD is going through a major change in its student data management system. Our new system, called Infinite Campus, will prove to be a very powerful opportunity for you to monitor information regarding your child. Please click on the link above for step-by-step instructions on how to check your child's grades.

To view a sample copy of our new Report Card, please click the link provided above.
Username and password to access this system is the same as with pigb.

As a result of a district elementary Standards Based Report Card Task Force,
changes were made to improve the reporting communication for parents.
Students will now receive both a letter grade and a Standards Proficiency grade in
Science and Social Studies to be consistent with Math and Language Arts reporting.
The standards will only be assessed in the quarter in which they are taught. In
addition, Study Skills and Citizenship will now fall under the main heading of Life
Skills with several new descriptors.

Please keep in mind our teachers are having to go through many transitions and challenges as they learn a new reporting system. The district has allowed some flexibility to 3rd quarter grades and teachers will not be required to post standards, so you will be seeing letter grades. Thank you in advance for your understanding. Please contact your child's teacher if you have any questions about your child's grades! The Parent Portal is right around the corner and looks to be a wonderful resource for you. More information will be coming soon.

Media Fest 2010

Dear Families, Please feel free to attend the following district event!

The Paradise Valley Unified School District acknowledges the support of the community in supporting an override that supports the infusion of technology into the teaching environment. MediaFest 2010: Creating Community, will take place on Tuesday, March 23, 2010, at Shadow Mountain High School. Guests will be able to view video submissions from students and faculty member from schools from across the district. Video viewing is available in the SMHS cafeteria beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Celebration Awards ceremony begins at 6:45 in the SMHS auditorium, and video viewing will continue for another thirty minutes upon the conclusion of the awards ceremony.

A student-produced video, along with a staff-produced video was selected to represent each school site at the district MediaFest 2010 event. This year's D.T. winner was J. Heywood, N. Moffo, and D. Porambo from Mr. Carlson's class! Our staff-produced video will be posted soon on our school website for you to enjoy! This event is free and the public is encouraged to attend.

Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Community Service Notice

On March 15, the U.S. Census Bureau starts mailing 2010 Census forms to Phoenix residents and more than 130 million addresses across the nation.
While the form is brief and won’t take much time to complete, it will be worth your time – literally. Because returning your Census form means dollars back to your community. Each person counted means federal and state funding for important local services including job training programs, neighborhood fire stations, bus service, library hours, and senior and youth programs.
The goal of the Census is to count all people living in our country at that time – it does not ask about immigration status. But in Phoenix, each person counted means about $400 a year in funds directly for city of Phoenix programs and services. Reverse that thought, and each person living in Phoenix who is not counted means a direct loss of $400 a year to the city budget. For our state budget, every person counted means about $1,550 in funding each year. When multiplied by your neighbors, this adds up to millions of dollars.
Not only are most of us concerned about money these days, but most people feel short on time. It’s good to know the 2010 Census is the shortest form since the first Census in 1790. Just 10 questions that will take just a few minutes to complete.
Another important point in this day and age is that the information you provide on the Census questionnaire is completely confidential. Personal Census information is not shared with any other government agency or organization. No exceptions. Census workers take a lifetime confidentiality oath and can go to jail for revealing Census information.
And while many of us think of Census workers going door-to-door, that’s really only used as a last resort. Getting an accurate count is so important, it’s only if you don’t return the questionnaire that a Census representative will call or visit your home.
You will receive your 2010 Census form by the end of March. When your form arrives, you’ll know that filling it out and dropping it back in the mail is easy, safe and important. For more information, visit phoenix.gov/census2010.

KINDER-PARKING LOT

Some concerns have been brought to the attention of our Safety Committee about our Kindergarten pick-up and drop off procedures. The concern is that parents are parking in the YELLOW zone, getting out and leaving their car. This then disables others who would like to use the YELLOW zone as intended= load/unload. The Safety Committee has made the recommendation that parents who intend to walk their child(ren) into the campus use the parking spaces that are available and DO NOT PARK IN THE YELLOW load/unload zone.
Thursday, cones will be set up along this YELLOW zone to remind parents. Also,pulling up as far as possible would allow others to use this zone as well.
Along with following City zoning laws, your patience is needed. Please allow 10 minutes to safely move through the parking lot whenever you drop off/pick up.
Your cooperation is greatly appreciated and necessary for the safety of our children.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

March eNews

Desert Trails Read-a-Thon~ Thanks to our wonderful PTO for launching a fundraiser that supports reading!!! Our Bedtime Story Hour was such a fun time with students of all ages.
Many teachers came out in support of this fundraiser to motivate our students to read, read, read! Thank you also to our parents and students who joined us in the Library this past Monday and Wednesday nights. We appreciate your support!

Doozy of a Deal Inc.~ During these difficult economic times, fundraising has become quite an arduous undertaking. We are very thankful to have supporters like you to help us reach our goals.In order to help us raise these ever-important funds to help our school function to its maximum potential, we are very excited to be partnering with Doozy of a Deal, Inc., the Valley’s new “Deal of the Day” website, which delivers savings of 50-80% off at local restaurants, studios, spas, attractions, etc. Doozy of a Deal has committed to donating 7.5% of all proceeds from our families back to our school.Please review the information on the attached flyer that came home today, or simply follow this link (www.doozyofadeal.com) to sign up. Be sure to select “Desert Trails Elementary” as your benefiting organization, so that we will receive 7.5% every time you make a purchase. This is not a PTO fundraiser but another avenue to raise funds for Desert Trails and give families great deals! Thank you for your continued support.

Paradise Valley Gifted Services~ join us in the Library, March 10th, 6:30-7:30 to learn more about the Gifted services offered in Paradise. Dr. Dina Brulles, Director of Gifted Services will be our speaker.

Kindergarten Round-Up~ Monday, March 8 kicks off our Kinder round-up! If you have an incoming Kinder student, please join us Tuesday, March 9, 5:00-7:00 for our Meet & Greet Night! We also will be hosting several tours for incoming Kinder students during the month of March & April.

District Field Day~ join us March 9, at 9:00 at Horizon High School to cheer on our students as they compete in their events and represent Desert Trails.