- Mark your calendar for DC Dining @ Golden Spoon on Sept. 25 & 26.
Dollar a Day Fundraiser - final call for donations. Check if your employer can double your impact.
Contribute questions or comments for the October DCPSO meeting: Deer Deck
Check out the minutes from this week's DCPSO meeting.
Good evening, Deer Canyon Families:
This week, students engaged in discussions, lessons, and activities within the Start with Hello framework. Students learned about building connections, making friends, and fostering inclusion through direct instruction, practicing our introductions, peer modeling by our DC leaders, and more. On Thursday and Friday, we even had bracelet-making at lunch and recess! Thank you to Mrs. Macdougall and our DC leaders for putting together such a great week.
This week, we also started our new weekly student recognitions. On Tuesday, I called 12 students to my office to celebrate the fact that they were “Caught Being Kind” by a staff member last week. These students were seen on campus displaying one of our six character traits: respect, trustworthiness, responsibility, caring, fairness, and citizenship. Check out @deercanyonpusd for a photo of these phenomenal students. Congratulations, all! I can’t wait to see our staff submissions for who will be recognized next week.
Next week, we will continue with our digital citizenship lessons, on a quest to become a recognized Common Sense Media badge school! On Monday, PUSD Tech and Innovation staff will be on campus to view, document, and celebrate the great work our students and staff are doing around digital citizenship.
NEXT FRIDAY, September 29, is our first Spirit Day: SPORTS DAY! Students are encouraged to rock their favorite shirt, jersey, hat, or any other sports-related item!
SAVE THE DATE: Friday, October 6, is our next Funky Friday!
We continue to recognize Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month through October 15. Here are some resources for your family to continue the conversation at home:
As a reminder, September is Attendance Awareness Month! Parent partnership is crucial to ensuring our students are receiving the full advantage of consistent school attendance. Should your child need to be absent for any reason other than illness, doctor/dental appointment, or funeral, for 5 days or more, it is important that you request an Off Campus Independent Study Contract (OCIS). A contract changes the designation of the student’s absence from “Unexcused” to “Excused.” Please request the OCIS at least 5 days in advance from the office and notify your child’s teacher. Thank you for your support and partnership! CLICK HERE for more attendance tips and resources.
I hope you all enjoy a safe and restful weekend. Next week, we round out the end of September…where is time going?! Time flies when you’re having fun!
Katie Bendix
Principal
Dollar A Day Fundraiser - Final Update
Wow! Thank you for your amazing generosity, Deer Canyon families!
Our hearts are filled with gratitude. During the past few days, we have seen a number of donations come in, increasing our pledged funds and expected corporate matching gifts to a total of $43,184!
This represents 109 families and 145 students who've helped us meet 37% of our annual goal! We couldn’t be more excited about this momentum at the end of our campaign. While our Dollar A Day Fundraiser is coming to a close, please know that if you’d like to support the DCPSO, we accept donations throughout the year, at any time.
If you’d like to register and donate in the next couple of days, please complete our Google Form and payment process HERE. Starting 9/25, we’ll be accepting donations more directly via Paypal, Venmo or by personal check or cash at the front office.
PayPal: PayPal Link to DC page
Venmo: @deercanyonfoundation
Check: “Deer Canyon Elementary Foundation”
Thank you so much for supporting our special school. Our students deserve it! Looking forward to a year of enriched learning and many fun times together. We hope to see you at a DCPSO meeting soon.
With warmth and gratitude,
Melissa Davis
VP, Fundraising
DCPSO
This week we celebrated Start with Hello! This is a school-wide initiative designed to encourage students to notice others who may be in need of a friend. Students were taught to reach out and help, by starting with Hello!
On Tuesday, students were welcomed by DC Leaders in the morning. You may have also noticed the chalk messages out front in lots of languages! Later in the day, students received a lesson from our Counselor, Mrs. MacDougall. They were taught how to spot the difference between someone who prefers to be alone and someone who may be looking for a friend. They also practiced different ways to include others and make new connections.
On Wednesday, everyone wore a nametag and learned the importance of using people’s names correctly. Students shared about their own name origin and greeted others by name throughout the day.
Thursday, students were invited to bring a new friend to the DC Leader table, and make a friendship bracelet at recess. Friday, they were invited to sign a ribbon which signified their promise to include others and be kind.
It was a great week!
