Deer Canyon Echoes

Good evening, Deer Canyon Families:

On behalf of the entire Deer Canyon staff, we would like to wish you and yours a safe, restful, and enjoyable Winter Break! We hope you are able to make time to take pleasure in this season of joy with your children, family, loved ones, and friends because it’s these experiences that truly bring richness and meaning to our lives. We wish each of you and your families Happy Holidays and a healthy, prosperous New Year!

This week, Deer Canyon came alive through another musical theater performance of "Beauty and the Beast," a rockin’ 5th grade music concert, and tons of festive winter holiday parties in our classrooms. My favorite school activities are those that bring families to campus to share in these joyful experiences. Welcoming parents, grandparents, and siblings into our classrooms, hallways, and MPR was the cherry on top to a wonderful end of our 2023 calendar year.

When we return from Winter Break, we will pick right up where we left off in our learning, school routines, and fun! Westview students will be visiting 2nd-4th grade classrooms to read our students books they wrote this school year. We will close out our final week studying the Filipino culture through our Global Languages program and begin to engage in learning another language and culture. Additionally, Associate Superintendent of Student Support Services Greg Mizel will be visiting DCES classrooms, staff, and students. We look forward to all of the fun that January will bring!

Speaking of January: Save the Dates! PUSD will observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 15 (NO SCHOOL) and participate in a staff Professional Growth Day on Monday, January 29 (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS). Looking ahead into springtime, please mark your calendars: Deer Canyon will host a site-based Professional Growth day for all staff on Monday, March 11. March 11th, 2024 will be a non-student day for Deer Canyon.

January-March 2024 Parent Education Courses (ENROLL HERE):

• Are You Tired of Your Child Saying “No” – TK-5th Grade

• Help Your Children Manage Stress and Anxiety: Build their Emotional Intelligence – TK-5th Grade

Families of students served through Special Education: Deer Canyon’s Parent Ambassador(s)

In PUSD, we offer a wonderful resource for families of students served through Special Education: the PUSD Parent Ambassadors program. At Deer Canyon, parent volunteers whose own child(ren) access special education services through PUSD are available as mentors to guide and support parents of children with IEPs or those exploring special education options. Drawing from their own experiences, they offer invaluable insights and advice to encourage collaboration among parents and school staff on behalf of students.

Community is important to us here at Deer Canyon and our parent ambassadors want to connect with you on whatever level you need: general camaraderie, answering questions, or sharing their own experiences. Sometimes, simply connecting with another person through a shared experience can be powerful. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the PUSD parent ambassadors with students at Deer Canyon, Michael Matsuda and Stacy Zhang, using THIS FORM.

A Note about Attendance and Winter Break
We appreciate everyone’s efforts to ensure their student attends school each day when we return from break on Monday, January 8. During the winter break from school (12/23-1/7), we are grateful to our families for helping student(s) maintain a schedule, structure, and routine in their day. This will ease the natural challenges of transitioning back to school on January 8. As long as your child is healthy, please encourage and emphasize the importance of positive attendance while school is in session.

Every day of school is an important opportunity for students to learn as well as to connect to their peers and teachers. The student experience in the classroom cannot be replicated and is vital to student progress and development (both academically and social-emotionally).

When we return from Winter Break, Deer Canyon will be participating in a site-based, schoolwide attendance incentive plan! In our January 5 edition of Echoes, I will share attendance data from last year and set goals (and incentives) for positive weekly attendance in 2024.

We recognize and thank:

• Our students and their families who do their best to show up daily even when it isn’t easy.
• Our teachers and support staff who go above and beyond to make school a welcoming and safe place for all students to learn.
• Our many, many healers and helpers — the support staff and community volunteers who provide the extra hands and attention our children need.

I encourage each of you to take a breath, slow down, and revel in this season of joy with your loved ones. Deer Canyon staff wishes each of you and your families Happy Holidays and a healthy, prosperous New Year! May the upcoming days off be restful and healing.

Katie Bendix

Principal