April 2016 Desert Star School

2131 S. 157th Ave Attendance: 623-772-4601 Goodyear, AZ 85338 Office: 623-772-4600 http://ds.avondale.k12.az.us

FROM THE PRINCIPAL – KARA LARGENT

Desert Star celebrated Kids at Hope Report Card Day last Wednesday, March 30th. This day is a national day for all Kids at Hope schools and usually occurs in the spring. What makes this day special is how different this “report card” is. A Kids at Hope Report Card is not about academics - it is about kids' talents, goals, and dreams for the future. It is about what we, as Treasure Hunters, see in our students that make them Kids at Hope. We truly believe that all kids are capable of success - no exceptions! Kids at Hope Report Card Day allows us the opportunity to celebrate and recognize all the talents and skills our students have that will make them successful in life. Below are pictures of our school-wide assembly, as well as Ms. Ewing's 3rd grade class proudly showing off their report cards.

                                                                                       

April Events 4/5 4th & 8th Science AIMS Board Meeting 5:30PM 4/6 16-17 DC Trip Parent Mtg 6pm 4/7 3rd-8th AzMERIT Testing –

Writing (free breakfast for all) 4/11 3rd-8th AzMERIT Testing -

Reading & Math I (free breakfast for all)

4/12 AzMERIT Testing - Reading & Math II (free breakfast for all)

4/13-15 AzMERIT Testing-Make-ups 4/14 PTO Meeting 6pm 4/15 Fire Pals Assembly K-5 4/21 Progress Report go Home 4/22 1st Grade Field Trip to World

Wildlife Zoo DS PTO Peter Piper Pizza

Night 4:00-8:00PM 4/25-29 Playworks Game Time Week District Math Challenge Week 4/26 Price/Dominguez Field Trip to

the Phoenix Zoo 4/27 District Gifted Night @ DS:

Expertise Expo 6-7:30PM

Looking Ahead . . . 5/2-5/6 Teacher Appreciation Week 5/3 Board Meeting 5:30PM 5/4 Playworks Junior Coach Conf Kinder Camp 16-17 8am or 5pm

Please  help  your  child  be  successful  for  testing  by  doing  the  following:

q Getting  a  good  night’s  sleep  each  night

q Eating  a  breakfast  rich  in  protein  (eggs,  cheese,  meat)  each  morning  

       FREE  Breakfast  is  provided  in  the  cafeteria  to  ALL  students  on  testing  days

q Bringing  a  healthy  snack  to  school  each  day

q Getting  your  child  to  school  on  time  each  day  (a  student  arriving  late  will  be  held  in  the  front  office  until  the  next  testing  session  begins)

q Not  pulling  your  child  out  during  the  school  day  (a  student  pulled  out  in  the  middle  of  a  test  cannot  make  it  up  when  they  return)  

Thank  you  for  your  assistance  in  ensuring  that  every  child  is  given  the  full  opportunity  to  do  his/her  best  with  testing  next  week.

 

EVERY  student  that  is  on  time  to  school  for  ALL  four  testing  days  will  receive  a  FREE  DRESS  day  on  Friday,  April  15th!

Students  -­‐  Don't  forget  to  bring  in  your  headphones  for  testing  days!

Reminder:  AIMS  Science  &  AzMERIT  Testing  is  this  Week!

April  5th,  7th,  11th,  &  12th

NEHS / NJHS  

St ude n t Co un ci l

Next Year NJHS and NEHS Members Invi tations and appl ications have been given to prospective new members to join ei ther NJHS (7 th & 8th) or NEHS (4 th-6 th) for next year. These applications are due on April 8th. In addi tion to fi l l ing out the appl ication, students are asked to respond to 3 questions on a separate paper in complete paragraphs. Students also need to have three teachers fi l l out recommendat ions. Once selected, members have the responsibil ity to continue to demonstrate these qualities: maintaining a 3.5 GPA, showing good leadership, service, character and cit izenship in and outside of school. A referral and/or suspension will result in an automatic dismissal from NJHS or NEHS. Attending NJHS or NEHS meetings and supporting the group through fundraising i s a lso an expectation. Mrs. Amaro is the sponsor of NJHS and Miss Burch is the sponsor of NEHS if you have any questions please contact them.

We have a Math-a-thon for St . Jude's Hospital , End of the Year Celebration and Field tr ip to look forward to the next few months. Be sure to at tend meetings to be included in events. We are look ing for students to help with the school s tore before school !

The last round of gifted testing of the school year will soon be here! We will be testing students the weeks of April 25th and May 2nd. This round of gifted testing is for any K-8 student who hasn’t already been tested this year. Parents are welcome to refer students to be tested for our gifted program. Referral forms can be picked up in the front office or can be found online at: http://www.avondale.k12.az.us/cms/One.aspx?portalId=147581&pageId=304751. Forms must be filled out and returned by April 15th. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email me. Leah Lorimer, llorime@avondale.k12.az.us, 623-772-4681

M ess age Fr om O ur Cou ns elor

Grade L ev el Spot ligh ts

Seventh Grade Ms. Becker was born in Bogota, Colombia and grew up here in Arizona, attending ASU. She has been teaching for 21 years, 13 of those right here at Desert Star. She is an avid reader and enjoys passing the love of books to her students. She can't imagine doing any other job since this is the only one that keeps her learning every day.

Ms. Elisha Snow attended ASU for her undergraduate studies and NAU for her graduate degree. She has been teaching for two years and we are thrilled she joined our team this year at Desert Star. This is her first year teaching Junior High and she has enjoyed the experience. She loves teaching and helping students achieve their goals and become successful individuals. She believes that the staff and students here at Desert Star are amazing. She couldn't have asked for a better team!

Ms. Christine Scheidenlein (Dee) went to ASU. She has been teaching for three years – we feel very fortunate that she was able to join our team partway through the year. She has truly made Science come alive for the 7th and 8th grade students. Something you may not know about Ms. Dee is that she is a certified Zumba teacher.

Seventh Grade Team (Right to Left: Sandra

Becker – Language Arts, Elisha Snow – Math, Christine Dee – Science)

Special Areas Ms. Amaro’s hometown is Hugo, Minnesota and she attended college right here at ASU. She has been teaching for 27 years and we were excited for her to come over to Desert Star this year to support our students with technology and Coding. Ms. Amaro and her husband enjoy going to sporting events and spending time with friends. They have three crazy dogs.

Ms. Swim grew up all over the United States with a father in the military. She attended college right here in the valley at Glendale Community College, NAU, and Grand Canyon University. Ms. Swim has taught for many years in the district, but this is her first year with us at Desert Star. We are glad to have her musical talents! She has a strong love for all of the arts. She has participated in many different performing groups for many years. She is a strong advocate of them as well. She performs all over the valley in all types of venues when she gets the chance.

Mr. Morales attended Sterling College in Kansas for his Bachelors Degree and received his Masters from NAU. He has been teaching for 32 years, 30 of those in the Avondale District and 6 at Desert Star. He has taught at the High School, Junior High and Elementary levels. He has coached College, High School & Junior High. He loves teaching and watching the students grow to become successful young adults.

Specials Team (Right to Left: Julie Amaro – Technology, Marietta Swim – Music, Tom Morales – PE)

Tr e asur e H un te r of t he M o nth – Ad elita Gon zale s Congratulations to our April Treasure Hunter of the Month – Adelita Gonzales! Ms. Gonzales has been a member of the Desert Star Team for three years, but has worked in education since 2005. As an interventionist working primarily with our English Language Learners, students nominated her for this special recognition because she “cares about us”, she “wants us to be safe”, “she is kind to everyone” and she “helps us learn.” Ms. Gonzales has worked with children from ages 2 ½ to 18. She truly believes she can change the world one person at a time. At the end of each school year, she gets very emotional because she becomes attached to the students – she truly cares about each and every one and their future. She chose to work in education because she had awesome teachers that gave her a strong foundation. She wanted to do the same for others – be the fuel they needed to be successful. Ms. Gonzales is a Treasure Hunter at Desert Star because she believes that every student has a strength and you can build from that as an educator. She sees the beauty in everyone! She takes great joy in seeing the students’ faces when you know you are making a difference for them – that feeling truly is priceless. We are very lucky to have Ms. Adelita Gonzales at Desert Star impacting students. Congratulations to her for being our April Treasure Hunter of the Month!

Technology integration has been strong this year at Desert Star with the roll out of ipads in all third and fourth grade classrooms and ipads in language arts and social studies classrooms at the fifth grade level. At the beginning of the year we were also able to roll out Chromebooks in our language arts and social studies classrooms in the 6th - 8th grade classrooms. I have exciting news to share that right after spring break we were able to go to a 1-1 device program for all students in 6th - 8th grade. Students receive the Chromebook assigned to them during homeroom time and are responsible for that device the entire school day, returning it to homeroom at the end of the day. Due to this roll out, teachers across all curriculum areas in 6th - 8th have been able to integrate technology on a daily basis and our students have been able to engage in learning in new ways as well. We hope to continue 1-1 roll out at more grade levels in the future. Thank you for your support of technology in our school and for your child's learning!

Ch rome bo ok s 6 t h-8 t h