Deer Canyon Echoes

Good evening, Deer Canyon Families!

It was wonderful to see so many family members and loved ones at Family Picnic today! We were happy to provide the space, and thank our special guests for bringing the joy (but who brought the rain?!). For those who were able to make it, I hope you enjoyed your time on campus as much as our students and staff did!

As we close out the first trimester and embrace a spirit of gratitude, it’s the perfect moment to reflect on all the things we appreciate. When I think about each student, family, staff member, and day spent on our unique campus, I am filled with immense gratitude. It’s the small moments—the laughter, the hugs, the smiles, and the waves—that mean the most to me. Thank you for entrusting your wonderful students to our care. Before we embark on our week off from school, let’s take a moment to recap the highlights of this past week.

On Friday, the PSO hosted Family Art Night, and it was certainly an event that I’m sad I missed! The photos showed evidence of tons of fun, creativity, and core memories. Check our @deercanyonpusd Instagram account for photos!

On Tuesday, I had the honor of attending PUSD’s annual Starstruck ceremony, where we celebrated resoundingly impactful staff and parents from across the district. There, I cheered loudly for Deer Canyon’s 2023-24 Teacher, Classified Staff, and Volunteer of the Year: Ms. Sue Rodriguez, Mrs. Rayleen Montesi, and Heather Hall! Please join me in congratulating our three superstars for their nomination and thanking them for their endless support of each student and family.

This week was Upstander Week at Deer Canyon. We learned a ton from Mr. Higgins, various read alouds, instructional resources, and our Westview Ambassador visitors during lunch yesterday. Students learned what it looks and sounds like to be kind to others, celebrate differences, and be an upstander.

Conference Week is Here

Next week (November 18-22) is Parent Teacher Conference Week at Deer Canyon. Our schedule for the week can be found HERE. Teachers look forward to meeting with parents/guardians to share and celebrate student progress.

Synergy ParentVUE online access to progress reports will be available Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 5 pm. Click on these links — English Spanish — to access progress reports in Synergy ParentVUE. Parents can access the Trimester 1 Parent-Friendly page 3 through the PUSD website (Parent Resources) by clicking HERE.

When we return from Fall Break, it will already be December! In preparation for the fast and furious winter season, we're already looking for parent volunteers to lead a lunchtime craft or activity in recognition of any December cultural celebration recognized in your home.

As an educational institution, we are committed to finding regular opportunities to teach our students about the beauty in various cultures and celebrations, recognizing and highlighting our school’s diverse community. Please contact Maha (melmeniawy@powayusd.com) if you’re interested in volunteering. Please provide her with the event/celebration you would like to recognize and your ideas! We will work with teams of parents to develop school-appropriate, educationally-based activities and determine the best date(s) for these activities.

Please be sure to bookmark the Deer Canyon school calendar and follow us on Instagram (@DeerCanyonPUSD) for event information, reminders, and celebrations!

Have a wonderful weekend, Deer Canyon!

Katie Bendix

Principal

Be an Upstander! That was the theme of this past week’s anti-bullying campaign.

Students learned about the common forms of bullying and the various ways we can prevent them at Deer Canyon. Instead of just standing by if they see someone being bullied, they can take a stand by being a buddy to the victim, distracting the aggressor, speaking out themselves, or telling an adult. We had a visit from the Westview Ambassadors on Thursday, who played with the kids during lunch recess, focusing on two messages, the importance of mutual respect and, simply put, it’s super uncool to be a bully. Thank you to our DC Leaders for their artwork and creating the Be a Buddy skit presented to the school.

This week’s Second Step lessons were focused on bullying prevention, as well. We watched some videos posing various age-appropriate bullying scenarios and discussed the possible options for each situation. I also chose to highlight the Bystander Effect—that a person is less likely to help someone in need as the number of bystanders increases. Typically, when an individual sees a person needing help, he or she is quick to lend a hand. Sadly, however, as the crowd size grows, so does that person’s belief that someone else will step in and save the day...Well, that someone might be them today!

Our friendship and new student groups are wrapping up until after the Thanksgiving break. Whether we’ll meet between then and Winter Break will vary by group, depending on the availability of each classroom and their holiday schedules. We will begin with new groups in January, as well as another Spring session starting in March.

Remember, PUSD’s Caring Connections Parent Education website has new and exciting courses being offered this Fall. Each term they have different parenting education courses. We recommend periodically checking the website for the new courses offered to parents, families, and our school community. Click HERE to view the CCC Parent Education Fall Courses.