February 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

Each  November,  our  school  celebrates  Kids  at  Hope  Day.    You  may  remember  that  this  year  our  focus  was  on  the  Four  Destinations:  Home  &  Family,  Career  &  Education,  Hobbies  &  Recreation,  and  Community  &  Service.    The  national  theme  for  this  annual  day  was  “Destined  for  Destinations.”    Each  day  that  special  week  in  November,  Desert  Star  focused  on  a  different  destination  allowing  our  students  to  “time  travel”  to  the  future.    Not  only  did  we  feel  that  our  week-­‐long  celebration  was  a  success,  but  so  did  the  Kids  at  Hope  organization.    Desert  Star  School  was  announced  this  past  week  as  the  Grand  Prize  Winner  of  the  Kids  at  Hope  Day  contest  2015!    Their  notification  to  us  stated,  “We  were  truly  inspired  by  the  thoughtfulness  and  overall  enthusiasm  of  you,  your  staff  of  Treasure  Hunters,  and  students!    Congratulations  to  you  and  the  

entire  campus  of  Treasure  Hunters  in  and  around  your  community  for  believing  in  the  success  of  every  child,  No  Exceptions!”  

We  are  very  proud  of  this  honor  and  continue  to  show  a  high  level  of  dedication  to  the  ideals  of  Kids  at  Hope.    Kids  at  Hope  is  not  a  program,  but  rather  a  philosophy  of  what  we  believe  is  possible  for  our  students  –  each  and  every  one  of  them.    Below  are  just  a  few  pictures  from  that  week  –  one  showing  students  helping  to  load  over  900  canned  food  items  gathered  for  “Community  &  Service”  and  one  showing  students  walking  through  a  “tunnel  of  hope”  on  Wednesday  morning  as  the  bell  rang  and  they  headed  to  class.        

2/2 Board Meeting 5:30PM 2/4 Progress Reports go Home 2/8 Galileo Testing Week 2/9 McTeacher Night 5-7PM 2/11 PTO Meeting 6:00pm @ Library 2/15 President’s Day- NO SCHOOL 2/16 APTT Night 4th grade @ 5:15PM APTT Night 2nd and 5th @ 6:30PM 2/17 Kinder Registration 4:30- 6:30PM APTT Night 8th @ 5:15PM APTT Night 1st & 7th @ 6:30PM 2/18 NEHS/NJHS Field Trip to

ASU APTT Night Kindergarten 6:30-7:30 PM 2/19 8th Grade Field Trip to Castles

n Coasters for Physics Day 2/25 Kinder Field Trip to Children’s

Museum 2/26 Spring Picture Day

8th Grade Explore Your Destinations Day

Middle School Dance 5:30 -7:30PM

2/29 Author Jo Mlsek visits Desert Star Looking Ahead… 3/1 Board Meeting @ 5:30PM 3/2 Read Across America Peter Piper Pizza Night 5-8PM 3/3-3/4 Early Release Days 3/4 End of Quarter 3 Report Cards go home

NEHS / NJHS  

TECHNOLOGY

This rotation, students are practicing our keyboarding skills and we are working on Coding. We are also learning new tips from Scratch to enhance our projects. Many classes are working on research projects so I have added some research information to Mrs. Amaro’s Website. In addition to this some grade levels are learning about security safety on an F.B.I. website.

Pennies for Pasta

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society partners up with Olive Garden sponsoring the Pennies for Pasta program each year. Collection boxes and information have been sent home. We will be collecting coins from Feb. 1st through Feb. 19th. The class that raises the most money will receive a pasta party from Olive Garden! We appreciate your support!

Field Trip to ASU

On Feb 18th, National Junior Honor Society and National Elementary Honor Society are planning a trip to ASU to tour the campus and visit with representatives. With the high cost of college and the advance planning necessary to make a smooth transition to college, it is never too early to start planning. We want to encourage all our students to set goals for college and future careers, whether it is ASU or another college of choice. There will be a mandatory NJHS/NEHS meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 16th at 3:00 in the library. If students cannot attend they must talk with Mrs. Amaro or students will not be able to go on the trip to ASU.

Kindergarten Open House and Registration

Desert Star will be hosting an Open House for incoming kindergarten students for the 2016-2017 school year. You and your child will meet the kindergarten teachers, experience the kindergarten classroom and activities, receive a kindergarten readiness packet as well as the registration packet on Wednesday, February 17th , from 4:30 to 6:30PM. Please start in our Library when you arrive. If you are able to bring the following items with you, we can register you that evening: original birth certificate, two proofs of residence (lease or mortgage agreement, utility bill), immunization records, and picture ID. Students that are 5 years old by August 31st, 2016, are eligible for kindergarten.

Acad emic P aren t Te ache r T eams

Our  third  and  final  night  of  Academic  Parent  Teacher  Teams  is  fast  approaching.    We  have  greatly  valued  your  support  and  participation  in  this  partnership  throughout  school  the  year.    Please  make  sure  your  calendar  is  marked  now  for  your  child’s  night  and  time  below.    Students  whose  parents  attend  earn  a  free  dress  day  and  the  class  with  the  highest  %  of  attendance  at  each  grade  level  earns  a  bonus  recess  time  as  well.    As  always,  translation  and  childcare  (in  the  cafeteria)  are  available  for  you,  if  needed.    Tuesday,  February  16th     5:15pm     Fourth  Grade  in  the  Library           6:30pm   Second  Grade  in  Classrooms  

6:30pm   Fifth  Grade  in  the  Library      Wednesday,  February  17th*     5:15pm   Eighth  Grade  in  the  Cafeteria           6:30pm   First  Grade  in  Classrooms  

6:30pm   Seventh  Grade  in  the  Cafeteria  *This  evening  childcare  will  be  available  in  the  Gym.  

 Wednesday,  February  18th     5:15pm   Third  Grade  in  Classrooms    

5:15pm   Sixth  Grade  in  the  Library           6:30pm   Kindergarten  in  Classrooms  

Communication  is  very  important  to  us  at  Desert  Star!    If  you  are  not  receiving  our  weekly  email  blast,  please  call  our  front  office  at  623-­‐772-­‐4600  to  ensure  we  have  your  current  email  address  in  our  system.    You  can  

also  sign  up  for  our  text  reminders  by  texting  the  message  @desertstar  to  81010.  

Tr e asur e H un te r of t he M o nth – M r. J e sse Do bso n Congratulations to Mr. Jesse Dobson, our February Treasure Hunter of the Month! Mr. Dobson is in his third year teaching 6th grade at Desert Star. He received his Bachelors Degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) Oneonta in secondary education specializing in Social Studies and is currently working on his Masters Degree in Educational Policy with ASU. Mr. Dobson became a teacher to impact the future leaders of tomorrow. He wants to have a seat at the table to ensure our future leaders receive what they need to affect change. He enjoys teaching Social Studies because of the value it has on citizenship and character. One aspect of the Kids at Hope philosophy he has taken hold of is goal setting. He sees the students understanding that the decisions made today will impact them later down the road. Although it can be hard for students to see the bigger picture, saying the Kids at Hope pledge every day helps them realize that tomorrow starts today. His passion for Social Studies and enthusiasm for teaching is very evident in his classroom. Some of the students nominating him for this award describe him as “always having a smile on his face.” They describe his classroom as active and fun, always focused on learning new things. They feel that he knows how to motivate and support them in all they do. For that reason and more we want to thank Mr. Dobson for being a great Treasure Hunter for our students. Mr. Dobson also wants to thank Desert Star. Moving across the country three years ago was a bit intimidating, but Desert Star has made him feel part of the family and the larger community. We feel very fortunate to have him as a part of our team!

Grade L ev el Spot lig ht s Desert Star is a community school and we greatly value the partnerships we build with our families and are

thrilled that so many of our students start with us in kindergarten and are able to stay with us all the way

through 8th grade. We want to celebrate and accentuate these partnerships by sharing some of our staff

with you in each edition of our newsletter. We hope this allows you to better know who is on our campus to

support you and your child every day.

Our Second Grade Team Ms. Cordova has been teaching for three years and I am proud to say all of them at Desert Star. She was

born and raised in Phoenix, graduating from ASU West. Even though Ms. Cordova commutes from quite a

distance to be at Desert Star with our students, she can’t imagine being anywhere else.

Ms. Lesak has been teaching for three years, joining the Desert Star team last January 2015. She is from

Moscow, Pennsylvania and attended Penn State University. She has a sweet 5-year-old son and enjoys

photography as a hobby.

Ms. Smith has been teaching for 28 years, the last eight

of which have been at Desert Star. However, all 28 years

have been with the Avondale Elementary School District.

Her hometown is Tucson, Arizona and she attended

University of Arizona. She enjoys second grade,

spending 25 out of the 28 years of her teaching career in

that grade level.

(Left to Right: Sarah Cordova, Allison Lesak, Peggy Smith)

Our Fifth Grade Team Ms. Provost attended the University of Oregon for her Bachelors Degree and Boise State University

for her Masters Degree. She has been teaching for fifteen years, ten of which have been at Desert Star. She

has taught K-8 in three different states. In her spare time she enjoys watching college football, NASCAR, and

traveling to spend time with family and friends.

Ms. Schaffran grew up in Marshalltown, Iowa. She attended

University of Northern Colorado for her Bachelors Degree and

University of Phoenix for her Masters Degree. Has been

teaching for twelve years, all of those at Desert Star! Her

passion is reading, which is evident in her fifth grade language

arts classroom.

Mr. Heilman is from Chicago, Illinois. He has been teaching for

five years, the past two at Desert Star in fifth grade Science and

Social Studies. He loves the energy, honesty, and enthusiasm of

his students. He is truly grateful for the opportunity to teach at

Desert Star. There is nowhere he would rather be than right

here at Desert Star.

(Left to Right: Nicole Provost, Paul Heilman, Sheryl Schaffran) ,