We THANK YOU to our entire community for an amazing start to the 2024-2025 school year! In just a few days of being back we saw hundreds of smiles, student engagement, creating new friendships, while reconnecting with friends after summer, and teachers who had worked super hard to create beautiful learning spaces for kids. We look forward to our year of collaboration and partnership!

Together, we SHINE!

Mrs. Colangelo, Proud Principal

Throughout the year we will be consistently highlighting and showcasing the excellence and learning taking place at Sonoran Foothills. We encourage and invite you to follow along by following our social media accounts below:

Facebook: Sonoran Foothills School

Instagram: SonoranFoothills_Bobcats

Twitter (X): BobcatsSF

Early release Friday's (PLC Friday's) are an instrumental part of student achievement and success at SF. Our teachers create assessments, analyze student data, make informed decisions on instruction, identify targeted instruction for all learners and more while collaborating with their grade level teams. We appreciate your support of this time.

Early Release Fridays in August

Dimissal is at 2:00pm. Kindergarteners dismiss at 1:45

August 9th

August 16th

August 23rd

August 30th

Other Important Dates:

Step It Up school fundraiser begins the week of August 26th. This is an amazing school fundraiser to support our school! More information to come.

Curriculum Night, Wednesday August 21st.

• This is a virtual event. Parents be on the look out for an email from your child's teacher with a Powerpoint presentation sharing important curriculum and essential standards for the year. Your child's 2023-2024 AASA reports will be sent home this week as well.

Parents who would like to chaperone field trips, volunteer in the classroom, help out by making copies, etc. need to have gone through the DVUSD volunteer training one time during your student’s school years. This can be completed at any school in the district.

Sonoran Foothills will be holding our first volunteer training on Thursday, August 15th at 4pm in the library.

Use this link to view all training dates around DVUSD - https://www.dvusd.org/Page/30646 (more dates will be added in the next 2 weeks).

SF staff wants to thank you for your support and cooperation with our dress code and technology expectations. Please refer to this letter that outlines our expectations. Students will be dress coded and asked to change if not adhering to the dress code. We ask that all electronic devices are out of sign and silenced/on vibrate. These procedural changes are aimed at enhancing student safety and minimizing classroom disruprtions to enhance student learning.

Hello BOBCAT families! Our PTSA is looking for your support. Become a PTSA member by scanning the QR code. We have a lot of great events planned and need your help to make them successful! Our 1st PTSA meeting will be held on August 19th at 4:15pm in the Library. Join us to hear what we have in mind and how you can help. We are excited for a fun filled year!

Please join us for our first family night/event of the year!

The safety of all our children is our foremost concern and we ask that your patience and cooperation before and after school to keep everyone safe during pick up and drop off. Below is a list of critical information to ensure safe arrival and dismissal procedures so we kindly ask that you read this informatoin entirely:

• Please follow the designated traffic flow patterns as you enter and exit our campus.

• Please observe speed limits when driving on or near our campus! 15 mph on the street, and 5 mph on school grounds.

• Young children may not run and play in the front of the school, or outside the administration building.

• Do not block walkways if waiting for students.

• Please do not text on your phone while picking up or dropping off students.

Do not park in student drop-off and pick up areas, bus areas, and other no parking areas. If you park and pick up your child, please get out of your car and meet them in the parent pick-up area and walk them back to the car using designated crosswalks. Having your child cross alone and get into your car while you are in the parking lot is not safe and will not be allowed.

Cars parked in fire lanes and other no parking zones may be reported to the authorities. This is for the safety of our students.

Students may not arrive earlier than 8:30 AM unless they are attending a scheduled activity. Students are not permitted to wait in the office. Breakfast starts at 8:30 AM in the MPR. Staff supervision on campus begins at 8:30 AM. Do not drop your children off before 8:30, as there will be no supervision.

All students are required to leave the school campus immediately after dismissal, unless they are involved in after-school campus activities.

Bicycles, Skateboards, and non-motorized Scooters

Students are permitted to ride bicycles, skateboards, and non-motorized scooters to school. For safety reasons, it is recommended that only third through eighth grade students ride to school. It is also suggested that all students who ride to school wear a helmet for their protection. Students must lock their property in the bike rack area. Those who ride to school assume all responsibilities and risks involved. Riding on campus is not allowed. The school is not responsible for items left in the bike rack area.

Mini-bikes, motorcycles, motor-bikes, motorized scooters, heelies (tennis shoes with wheels), hoverboards, and roller blades are not allowed on campus at any time.

Crosswalks

School crosswalks and crossing guards are provided by the City of Phoenix and the Deer Valley Unified School District, respectively, for your child's protection. Please encourage your child to use these crosswalks and not to cross school driveways or busy streets at any other points. We care about the safety of our children and know you will expect them to take advantage of the precautions established for their protection. Parents, please model safe and cooperative behavior for your child and all of our students.

We recognize the need for support at this crossing area and are working on supporting our students and families crossing here by working with DVUSD and the City of Phoenix.

While we work to have a permanent solution, student safety is our number one priority so if you have a student(s) getting picked up in this area please direct your students to walk to the crossing area to be crossed by a SF adult instead of crossing anywhere along Bronco Butte to load into a parked car. Please no u-turns as it is a heavy traffic area and backs up the crossing area. We appreciate your cooperation to ensure that all of our students and families get home safely.

KONA Ice is available for purchase every Tuesday during lunches for grades 1-8.

KONA Ice is $3.00 for a small and $4.00 for a medium.

• 8:45 is the start of our academic day, kids who are not in class at 8:45 will need to report to the office to obtain a late pass.
• After 3:15, no changes to a child's dismissal can be made.
• Please do not text or call your students cell phone during the school day. School phones are available for use with staff permission.
• We do not collect or deliver items forgotten at home such as: PE clothes, a school project, or other miscellaneous items. We do this to maximize instruction and not interrupt our classroom learning environments.
• Examples of items we will take are: glasses, water bottles, Chromebooks, and medicine.
• Attendance is monitored frequently and consistently. Attendance warnings will be sent home for students who are absent more than 10% of days in session or who have accumulated 5+ tardies in relation to the state statue (A.R.S. 15-802 or A.R.S. 15-803).
• If you have a concern or question regarding progress, grades, or behavior, please first go to the child's teacher per our DVUSD Problem Solving Guidance.
• If you are volunteering on campus or attending a classroom event please sign-in and out at the front office.

We highly recommend and encourage families to purchase the device protection plan to help when any damage occurs.

Stock up on SF Bobcat spirit wear for the whole family! Every Friday is school spirit day-wear your blue, silver, and black!

#gobobcats

Sonoranfoothills.offersupermarket.com

Please read this letter from our PE teachers on appropriate footwear and attire to support safety during PE classes.

Meal Prices are as follows for the 2024-2025 (there was no change from last school year)

Breakfast $1.50

K-8 Lunch $2.95

Hello 7th & 8th Grade Bobcat Families!

Baseball & Softball tryouts are right around the corner! Chris Sanchez is returning as our baseball coach and Cami Jones will be leading our softball team!

Tryouts for both sports will be Monday, August 12th and Tuesday August 13th from 3:45-5pm each day. Athletes, please report to the field by 3:45pm. Students interested in trying out for a team MUST have the athletics paperwork completed, uploaded, and approved through www.registermyathlete.com PRIOR to tryouts. All needed forms can be downloaded through Register My Athlete.

Communication will be sent out on Wednesday, August 14th with tryout results. Parents, please reserve Thursday, August 15th at 5pm on your calendar for our Baseball/Softball parent night. Please make every effort to attend with your athlete in order to be informed on this year’s athlete expectations and to meet with the coaches.

If you have any questions, please contact sarah.gummow@dvusd.org.

Welcome back Bobcat Burrow friends. Bobcat Burrow is our before and after school care program through DVUSD. We want to give a special welcome to all our new friends this new school year. August is filling up with lots of fun to get to know you projects, the Olympics are on right now, and we want to hear all about your summer. If you are part of our BB Family, please check in with us (if you have not), we have some paperwork needing some signatures.

This year we are going to create some new adventures with journals building relationships with friends, learning to count and understand money, and our Birthday celebrations. We are excited you are here with us.
If you or someone you know is looking for work, we are hiring, here at Bobcat Burrow. Open to HighSchool students as well. They can reach out to Dina Sands Dina.Sands@dvusd.org and/or to me, Eva Bray-Pollastrini.
If your kid(s) will be absent after school, and not attending our program, please send me a text, email or call. To contact, email eva.bray-pollastrini@dvusd.org and/or call/text us at 623-692-7507.
Donations are always welcome to enhance our learning and activities. Thank you!

DVUSD Gifted Services is proud to offer several FREE seminars for our families. Our first gifted seminar will focus on forming peer relationships and friendships. Parents are invited to join us on Thursday, August 8th (6:00 - 7:00 p.m.) at the DVUSD Governing Board Room for a conversation with Dr. Sarah Bald.