Quail Run Community Newsletter

Dear Quail Run families,

We had an amazing first month back to school at Quail Run!

We are in full swing with our teaching and learning as we head into September. Hopefully, some cooler days will be in our future. Our students have done so well with indoor recess, but it is time to get outside!

Please read through this monthly newsletter to see what is new this year and check out the video below to see what our students have been up to this last month. There is so much happening at Quail Run this month.

Your Partner in Education,

Vicky Raymond

Proud Principal

We want to emphasize the critical importance of regular school attendance for your child's academic success and overall well-being. Your child's presence in class is essential for them to fully benefit from the instruction provided.

When your child attends school regularly, they can:

• Participate fully in lessons: Engage in classroom activities, discussions, and projects.
• Build strong relationships: Connect with their teachers and classmates, fostering a positive learning environment.
• Develop essential skills: Learn important life skills, such as time management, problem-solving, and perseverance.

When your child misses school, they may miss out on:

• Key concepts: Important information that is covered in class.
• Opportunities to practice: Chances to reinforce their learning through homework, projects, and tests.
• Social interactions: The chance to build friendships and develop social skills.

We encourage you to:

• Prioritize attendance: Make school a top priority in your child's schedule.
• Communicate with your child's teacher: Let them know if your child will be absent in advance.
• Seek help if needed: If you are struggling with attendance, please reach out to your child's teacher or counselor for support.

Your child's attendance matters. By ensuring they are in class regularly, you are investing in their future and setting them up for success.

The Annual Update process is completed by parents or guardians online within Infinite Campus. This allows you to update information that may have changed in your household. This replaces the earlier versions of paper forms we called Emergency Cards. We request that this information is verified/updated yearly.

Please do this as soon as possible as the front office staff will begin making phone calls to those who have not completed shortly after the school year begins.

For additional information please click the Annual Update Smart Card or view this presentation for step-by-step instructions. There is also a short video on the process to assist you. If you need help, please reach out to PV Assist at (602) 449-2375.

Does your student share with you what is happening in Art, P.E. Spanish, and STEAM? Check out our September Special Area Update for all the information you need to see what will be happening this month in these special areas classes!

Picture day information and online ordering are now available by visiting mydorian.com and searching for your school’s name, Quail Run Elementary. Your online order can be placed before and up to four (4) days after picture day.

Our annual Health Screenings will take place from Sept. 17 - 20. Please sign up here if you are able to help as a parent volunteer. Nurse Kate will need assistance with hearing, visions, height, and weight. No previous experience necessary - any adult can help!

PVSchools is committed to creating a safer and more positive online learning environment for our students. Over the summer, we implemented several new measures to protect their digital well-being.

Key changes include:

• Curated Content: Teachers now have access to a wide range of movies and documentaries through Swank K12, a streaming platform that offers over 30,000 titles for educational use. This easy, safe, and legal streaming service ensures students are exposed to relevant and educational content.
  
• YouTube Safeguards: YouTube videos are now set to the highest safety level for K12 students.
• Email and Google Workspace Guidelines: Email in Google Workspace EDU, Google Workspace services, including Docs, Classroom, Calendar, Keep, and Tasks, have specific usage guidelines for different grade levels.
• Document Sharing and External Communication: Document sharing in Google Workspace EDU is now limited to internal use for 1st–8th grade students. External emailing and chatting in Google Workspace EDU are also disabled for K8 students.
• Digital Safety Training: 9th–12th grade students are required to complete digital safety training for Google Chat and Gmail before using these services.

These changes are part of our ongoing commitment to providing a secure and supportive learning environment for our students. By implementing these measures, we are helping to protect our students from online threats and ensure they are using technology responsibly and effectively.

• Refrain from using your cell phone while in your cars so you can focus on student safety. We need all parents to be vigilant and watch carefully to help ensure everyone is safe.
• Handicapped Parking Spaces - You must have a handicapped placard to park in these spaces at all times.
• Reserved Parking - Please refrain from parking in a reserved parking spot. These are reserved for staff members that need to leave or arrive on campus during peak times. They may need to park as we are dismissing.
• Never park by blocking a driveway. We work hard to maintain positive relationships with the private residences surrounding our school!
• Our crossing guards are trained to keep our students safe. Please wait for them to tell you to cross and stop when asked, whether driving or a pedestrian.
• If you are picking up in the front of the school, please walk on the sidewalks and encourage your students to do the same. It is not safe to run through the rocks or climb on large rocks. We are working hard to keep the rocks off the sidewalks, especially for the safety of our bike riders.

The QRES School Council is composed of staff, parents, and community members. The purpose of the School Council is to assist in planning, coordinating, and facilitating safety and instructional ideas that will promote and enhance the safety and learning of the students at Quail Run Elementary School.

School Council meetings are open to the public and generally meets once monthly. Meeting dates can be found on our website.

If you have an item of interest you would like for the School Council to review, please complete this form. Complete the form once for every issue or interest you would like discussed.

• If you need to relay a message to your student during school hours, you can call the office or leave a message directly on our Voicelink account at (602) 449-5465. The office staff will NOT transfer calls to classrooms, as this will interrupt important instructional time.

• If your child forgets their lunch, you may bring it to the front office before 10:30 am.

• Be sure to communicate end-of-day arrangements with your student in the morning, prior to coming to school. We want to ensure all students get home safely. If there are any changes in how students get home, please notify the office and the teacher.
  

• School hours are from 8:45 am - 3:15 pm. If you are picking up a student early, please be aware that every minute counts and minutes missed accumulate throughout the school year. Also, be aware that students cannot be called to the office early for an appointment. Students will be called from class at the time you arrive to check them out.

• If your child is late to school, arriving after 8:45 am, a parent is required to walk them into the front office to sign them in tardy.

• No early pick-ups are allowed after 3:00 pm. You cannot sign out your student from 3:00 - 3:15. This is a change from previous years.

• School breakfast is available beginning at 8:30 am. Please drop off at 8:30 am if your child is eating breakfast. It is the same purchasing system as our school lunches. Students are not allowed to bring Starbucks drinks, smoothies, etc. on campus in the morning.

• Birthday treats must be store-bought and easy to pass out for the teacher. No cakes that need cutting, please. Cupcakes are allowed. Balloons are not allowed on campus.

• You will need your ID every time you pick up students prior to dismissal.

• Your student will not be released if the person picking her/him up is not on the contact list. If you need to add a friend or family member to the contact list you will need to go to Infinite Campus to update Emergency Contact information through your annual update.

• You can check your child's grades by downloading the Infinite Campus app or logging on online. Click here for directions.

If your child is ill or unable to attend school for any part of the day, please notify the office at (602) 449-4401. Please give your student’s name, teacher's name, and reason for absence.

**For your child’s safety, please make sure to notify the school office before 9:10 a.m.

**Fever or vomiting requires a 24-hour period in the absence of those symptoms without the use of medication before they may return to school.

Lunch Reminders:

• If your child forgets their lunch, you may bring it to the front office before 10:30 am. Any student that does not bring a lunch will choose a hot lunch and their meal account will be charged.

• There is no hot fast food allowed for lunch if you are dropping off a lunch. Visitors may bring in hot lunches (see visitor section below). Subway, Jimmy Johns, and Jersey Mikes are all good options for a special drop-off lunch.

• Students are not allowed to share food.

• We will have a special table for students with food allergies. Your student may be invited to join a friend at this table. If your child is invited to sit at this table, peanut butter is not allowed.

• When packing your student´s lunch, please be mindful that they are able to open the food or containers themselves. No glass containers.

• Based on the recommended State Nutritional Recommendations, sodas/carbonated beverages are not to be brought to school.

Lunch Visitors:

• You must sign into the front office and get a visitor sticker.
  

• You may bring lunch for your child. If you are coming to visit and stay with your child during lunch, the lunch may be a hot lunch. Sodas/carbonated beverages are not to be brought to school.

• You may not bring lunch for any student other than your own.

• You may not pass out treats to any students due to allergies.

Purchasing a School Lunch:

The Nutrition & Wellness Department will charge students for their meals based on their free, reduced, and paid meal application status during the 2024-2025 SY.

PVSchools provides meals at no cost to students qualifying for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. Click on the link below to see if your child is eligible.

National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program

Visit the Lunch Menu section of our website for more information about menus, meal prices, and to load money into your student´s lunch account.

All parents at Quail Run are valued members of our Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). We do not collect membership dues. Our goal is to provide support to our QR staff and enrich our students’ learning environment and experience. The PTO organizes many fun family activities and student programs as well as fundraising events to support these programs. All are welcome!

Check out the two upcoming fundraisers below - Panda Express and a Friday After school Ice Cream Truck! These are two fun things you can do with your children to support our school.

Interested in helping out? We are always looking for committee members and would love for you to get involved. Send us an email!

To keep up to date and get involved, please follow Quail Run PTO on Facebook and Instagram!

Amanda Bunney

Quail Run PTO President

ptoquailrun@gmail.com

Do you shop at Fry's Food? You can link your Fry's VIP card to Quail Run PTA and effortlessly earn money for our school simply by doing your normal shopping. Signup once and the school will reap the benefits all year!

Looking to get more involved in your child’s education? Want to be among the first to know what is happening in the district? If so, I encourage you to attend United Parent Council meetings. Paradise Valley United Parent Council is a district-wide parent group that has been active in Paradise Valley Unified School District for more than 30 years and is a 501(c)(3) organization. Looking out for the interest of students is their primary goal. They do this by offering parents support, information, and opportunities to be influential voices in the decisions that affect their children's education. UPC meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month in the District Administration Center East/West Conference Rooms on the grounds of the PVUSD complex at 15002 North 32nd Street. Visitors are always welcome. Click here to visit their website for information on this month’s meeting.

We welcome site volunteers on our campus as well as chaperones for field trips.

Site volunteers must be parents, guardians, or grandparents of a current student.

School chaperones perform an invaluable service, helping to ensure the safety of students attending events and field trips. Parents, guardians, grandparents, or relatives are eligible to be a school chaperone after completing a background screening. Chaperones are fingerprinted and must agree to a background check.

Apply to be a Site Volunteer or Chaperone

1. Visit the PVSchools job search page.
2. Search for "Volunteer" or "Chaperone."
3. Select the opportunity that best fits your interest.
4. Click on the "Apply Online" button.
5. Create a login and password.
6. Complete the application process.

Please be aware that this application can take up to 12 weeks to clear, so be sure to get it in early. Please contact our front office if you have any questions.

If you or anyone you know needs to enroll a student for the 2024-2025 school year, please know we are still accepting applications for students both inside and outside of our school enrollment boundaries. Open enrollment enables Arizona students to attend public schools outside their district attendance areas or outside their district of residence. It is open to all Arizona-based students.

Click here to enroll for the 2024-2025 school year.

Required Documents for Enrollment

• A certified copy of your child's birth certificate

• Your child's immunization records

• Proof of Arizona residency (e.g., utility bill, house payment, lease/purchase agreement)

• IEP/504 forms (if applicable)

Please note, to register for kindergarten, your student must be 5 years old PRIOR to September 1st, 2024.

You will also be required to complete an Annual Update on Infinite Campus. Please visit the PV Assist website for links and more information.

Sept. 2: Labor Day Recess, No School

Sept. 4: PTO Room Parent Meeting at 1:00 pm in Room 3

Sept 4: PTO Restaurant Night at Panda Express Desert Ridge from 9:30 am - 9:30 pm

Sept. 6: Fall Picture Day

Sept. 11: Patriot Learning Day and Red, White, & Blue Spirit Day

Sept. 12: School Emergency Response Team Meeting at 9:30 am

Sept. 16: PTO Fundraiser Kickoff Assemblies

Sept. 16: PTO Meeting at 3:30 pm

Sept. 17: Student Council Meeting at 8:00 am (officers arrive at 7:45)

Sept. 17: Constitution Learning Day

Sept. 19: PVSchools Governing Board Meeting at 6:30 pm

Sept. 20: QR Spirit Day - wear a QR shirt or blue for school spirit

Sept. 20: PTO After School Treat - Ice Cream Truck at 3:15 pm

Sept. 24: Student Council Campus Pride Morning at 7:45 am

Sept. 25: Sandra Day O'Connor Learning Day

Sept. 26: School Council Meeting at 3:30 pm

Sept. 27: Color Clash Spirit Day - each grade level wears a color(K-purple, 1-white, 2-red, 3-blue, 4-orange, 5-yellow, 6-green)

Sept. 30 - Oct. 4: K-12 Recess, No School

Oct. 8: QR Spirit Day- wear a QR shirt or blue for school spirit

Oct. 10: PVSchools Governing Board Meeting at 6:30 pm

Oct. 11: 6th Grade BizTown Field Trip

Oct. 15: Student Council Meeting at 8:00 am (officers arrive at 7:45)

Oct. 15: Early Release at 12:30 pm

Oct. 15: Lookalike Day - match with your friends!

Oct. 18: 4th Grade MIM Field Trip

Oct. 18: PTO Family Movie Night

Oct. 22: Student Council Campus Pride Morning at 7:45 am

Oct. 23: PTO Restaurant Night at Sonic from 5 - 8 pm

Oct. 25: "Anything but a Backpack" Spirit Day- students may bring their stuff to school in anything but a backpack!

Oct. 28 - Nov. 1: Parent Teacher Conference Week

Oct. 29: Late Conference Night

Oct. 30: Early Release at 12:30 pm

Oct. 31: K-3 Halloween Parade at 9:00 am

Oct. 31: Early Release at 12:30 pm

Nov. 1: No School, K-8 Recess

Attendance Line: 602-449-4401

Nurse Kate: 602-449-4403

School Cafeteria: 602-449-4407

Principal, Quail Run Elementary School

Email: vraymond@pvschools.net
Quail Run Website
Location: 3303 E. Utopia Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85050
Phone: 602-449-4400

Assistant Principal, Quail Run Elementary School

Email: jsanborn@pvschools.net

Quail Run Website

Location: 3303 E. Utopia Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85050
Phone: 602-449-4400