Lake Havasu Unified School District
Quarterly Family Newsletter- School Year Kickoff 2023-24
We are LHUSD#1!
Dr. Rebecca "Becky" Stone
Launching the Year Together
Dear LHUSD Families,
Warm greetings and a heartfelt welcome back to a brand-new school year! We hope this finds you rejuvenated, filled with anticipation, and ready to embark on an exciting educational journey alongside your child. As we come together once again, our shared goal remains unwavering: to ensure a successful and enriching experience for every student.
At LHUSD, we firmly believe that a child's education thrives when the school and home join forces in a collaborative partnership. As we set foot on this fresh academic chapter, we emphasize the significance of our alliance and the immense impact it can have on your child's growth, achievements, and overall happiness.
We recognize that each student is unique, with individual talents, interests, and needs. That is why we are dedicated to fostering an environment that values every child and encourages them to flourish. By working together—parents, teachers, and the entire school community—we can create a supportive atmosphere where students feel empowered, inspired, and equipped to reach their full potential.
Throughout the school year, we pledge to provide an exceptional educational experience that encompasses academic excellence, character development, and a nurturing social environment. Our devoted team of educators is committed to delivering quality instruction, personalized guidance, and innovative learning opportunities tailored to your child's distinct strengths and areas for growth.
However, true success lies in the collective efforts of the entire village. We encourage you to actively participate in your child's educational journey. We value your insights, contributions, and involvement in school activities, whether through volunteering, attending parent-teacher meetings, or engaging in open dialogue with our faculty. Your partnership reinforces the message to your child that education is a priority and that we are all invested in their success.
To facilitate effective communication, we will ensure regular updates through newsletters, emails, and our online platforms. These channels will provide you with valuable information, important announcements, and resources to support your child's learning beyond the classroom walls. Together, let's stay connected and build a bridge of understanding between school and home.
Once again, welcome back to the 23-24 school year. Let us embark on this journey of knowledge and growth hand-in-hand, cultivating a memorable and successful year for your child. We look forward to working closely with you, embracing the challenges ahead, and celebrating the triumphs that are sure to come.
Together, we will make this academic year truly extraordinary!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Stone, Ed.D.
Governing Board
Governing Board Meetings
Communications and Community Outreach
Raising Scholars Podcast
Raising Scholars Podcast
Our "Raising Scholars" podcast is a broadcast designed for families to hear all about the mission and vision of learning which is being carried out at LHUSD for the academic and social emotional growth of students in our district. It is also a place to share tips, tools, advice, and reflections on how our schools, families, and our community can help our students learn to make the most of their potential in their K-12 learning experience.
July Podcast Episodes
Havasu Community Schools Coalition
Are you a community partner interested in learning more about our Havasu Community Schools Coalition. Our coalition is an alliance of school and community partners built to better support our schools and served the needs of our students and families in our community. Our Lake Havasu community is exceptionally giving toward our schools. Our goal for building the coalition is to create a more aligned, efficient, and proactive way in which we communicate with our community regarding the needs of the schools in our district and in Lake Havasu City.
If you are interested in being a partner in our outreach or would like to attend one of our quarterly meetings, please scan the QR code below or click on the link to fill out our interest survey. If there is a business or organization that you know is interested in getting involved in this conversation, please be sure to share this information. We look forward to working together to support our school and community needs together! Our next meeting will take place on September 11th @ 1:30pm. Please check out our Facebook page for updates on all the ways we are working together to serve our schools! https://forms.gle/EL5uymq9xPPijswK7
Support our Schools Week
Support our Schools Week is here! The week long event is happening between July 24th-29th. As part of our coalition outreach, we are working with several community partners to gather much needed teacher supplies, nurses supplies, and additional supplies for our schools and family outreach as well. Please help us get the word out to our businesses and community partners about this event. We are excited to have Mayor Cal Sheehy join us for an event to issue a proclamation for our 2nd annual Support our Schools Week to serve Lake Havasu City schools and families. We are so grateful for our community partners who help support us each year! See the flyers below for more information on this event or contact communications@lhusd.org for more information on what is needed for our schools!
Back to School Health Fair
The Havasu Community Health Foundation is back to support our schools! Don't miss the opportunity to gain access to free sports physicals, health immunizations, dental screenings, hearing and vision screenings, haircuts, and so much more before the school year begins! We are excited to partner with again with the foundation this year to support the families in our community and our LHUSD schools!
Are you ready to make a difference for our students? If so, our district is looking for qualified certified and classified substitutes to help serve in our classrooms. Get more information or apply now at https://www.lhusd.org/substitutes. We can't wait for you to join our team!
Substitutes Needed
Dollar for Dollar -Understanding How We Serve Our Schools
In the past year, your tax credit contributions have raised over $442, 389.00 for programs such as band, sports programs, academic intervention, and kindergarten enrichment as well.
Taher Food Services
Meal Program Applications for 2023-24
Do not miss the opportunity to fill out your child's free and reduced lunch application today for the 2023-24 school year. Whether your family needs assistance or not, your application helps our schools get access to the public funding available to help support our schools social services and academic intervention programs to support our students. Please click on the link below to fill out your child's application today! https://www.lhusd.org/childnutrition
Each year, Arizona State University, in partnership with Helios Decision Center for Education Excellence reviews data from Arizona high school graduates about their success in Arizona public universities and community colleges. Data was reported for students who have graduated starting 2017.
Following are some of the major findings.
The report confirms Lake Havasu High School graduates are excelling beyond students from other Arizona high schools in university and community college STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) courses such as aeronautics, biology, chemistry, computer science, and math. Lake Havasu High School graduates are also more successful than students from other Arizona high schools in courses related to allied health, art, business, culinary arts, English, and history.
Starting with the class of 2017, 1092 LHHS graduates have taken at least one course at an Arizona community college, with the vast majority taking courses at Mohave Community College. Some of these students took community college courses while enrolled at Lake Havasu High School. Students have earned certificates in welding, HVAC, nursing, phlebotomy, auto collision repair, dental assistant, EMT, culinary arts, corrections, fire science, entrepreneurship, criminal justice, and retail management.
Starting with the class of 2017, 490 LHHS graduates have enrolled in either ASU, U of A, or NAU. While the report does not provide information about matriculation, it does provide data about success in classes.
The report highlights that over 70% of LHHS students have a GPA above 3.0 at the university level.
While this report does not provide data about students at private or out-of-state institutions, nor does it provide data about students who enter the workforce directly, it provides insight to the success rate of Lake Havasu High School students after they have graduated.
LHHS is paving the way for students and the community and is thankful for the many opportunities available at Lake Havasu High School. Dedicated teachers, rigorous instruction, and programs such as career and technical education and dual enrollment are some of the reasons for this success.
For more information about this report, contact Jaime Festa-Daigle at jfesta@lhusd.org or visit - https://decisioncenter.asu.edu/
Are You Registered for the 2023-24 School Year?
If not, be sure to click on the registration link below or pick up a registration packet from your nearest elementary school. Our schools need your information to be sure that your students are ready for school to start on August 3rd.
Is your child ready for kindergarten?
Take a look at the article below to help identify what "readiness means" and the important ways you can get your child ready for their first day of Kindergarten!
The Start of School is Just Around the Corner
Be sure to take a close look at this year's academic calendar! School starts on Thursday, August 3rd this year. Our schools are starting a couple days early to giver our students and staff some time to get adjusted and ready to learn. It is also an early release day Thursday. So, be sure to that you are paying attention to your school's updates and notifications about your "Meet and Greets" and opening day schedules this year.
Building Leaders in our Schools
Thunderbolt Middle School is committed to building student leaders in our schools!
Each new school year brings opportunities for academic growth and growth in all areas of development. Although children must be knowledgeable when they graduate, they must also be healthy, engaged, responsible, and caring people.
With that knowledge in mind, Thunderbolt Middle School is committing itself to providing curriculum that can support not only social emotional awareness for our students, but also to help them develop leadership skills they can use to help them grow. Leader in Me is an evidence-based, comprehensive school-improvement model—developed in partnership with educators and FranklinCovey—that empowers students with the leadership and life skills they need to thrive in a global community. Leader in Me is about empowering your child to reach their full potential while ultimately finding their voice.
As a school, the staff at Thunderbolt will be making five core commitments to your child. We call these our Core Paradigms. In these paradigms you will find the belief and way we view all students. At Thunderbolt, we see that: • Everyone is a leader. • Everyone has genius. • Change starts with me. • We empower students to lead their own learning. • Educators and families partner to develop the whole person. Not only do these paradigms apply to your student, they apply to all of us! Leader in Me provides our school with the vision and language to lead the school in a way that addresses all areas of development.
As each child discovers and develops their unique gifts and talents, they are given opportunities to lead. As leaders, they can become active, engaged partners in their own education, and their self-confidence, responsibility, and initiative grows. The children quickly understand the benefits of different gifts and talents; they learn to listen to new ideas, work together to achieve results, and motivate one another to be the best. Together, we will see each child grow throughout the year. We look forward to this partnership with you as parents to build the leaders of our future!
Parent Learning Workshop Resources
Are you looking for ways you can better your parenting skills? Are there resources that you've been looking for to help your family find support for the challenges that come with raising kids today? Check out some of the resources being provided by our Arizona partnerships.
Celebrating our Community Partnerships
Our district wants to take the time to thank the dozens of individuals, businesses, and non-profits across our community who have so selflessly supported the needs of our schools, students, and families this year. Through the partnership with our Havasu Community Schools Coalition, we have been able to support so many different needs within our schools. The citizens of Lake Havasu and the many giving organizations that exist solely to give back to our community are part of the reason our schools can thrive in rural communities such as Lake Havasu City. We are proud of the hard work that happens within the walls of our schools every day. Our administrators, teachers, support staff, and each and every individual who works for our district are here simply because we want to make a difference for our children. Without the support of our community, many of the things we have been able to accomplish would never have come to fruition. This district is stronger because of the relationships we build with each other, with our students, and through those connections we build with our community partners every year. So, thank you to every one of you who has given back over the course of this past year. We appreciate all you do, and we can't wait to see those connections continue to thrive and and make our district even stronger for our kids moving into the future. WE are LHUSD#1!