Stallion Stampede

Dear Stallion Families,

We hope you have a safe, joyful, and relaxing holiday season surrounded by loved ones. As we get ready step into 2025, we are excited to welcome our Stallions back to campus on Tuesday, January 7. We look forward to continuing our journey of learning, growth, and celebrating how We Glow Together. Thank you for your ongoing partnership, and here's to a bright and successful second half of the school year!

With Stallion Pride,

Brittany Dyer-Hurdon
Principal

The following dates are 2:00 release:

January 17

January 24

January 31

Winter Break - December 23-January 6

No School January 20 - Martin Luther King Day

What are teachers doing during early release times??

This month during early release Fridays, staff members will participate in collaborative team work through the PLC process, as well as professional development. Teachers will work in both grade level teams and with content area teams across 5 other schools to discuss upcoming units and best teaching practices within the units. During professional development, teachers will be attending specialized sessions on a wide variety of topics for the full day professional development on January 6.

We are very excited to announce that through a grant applied for by Mrs. Dyer, the Arizona Department of Education has awarded Stetson Hills with a School Resource/Safety Officer through the School Safety Program! Once the Phoenix Police Department staffs this position, you will be seeing an officer on campus throughout the school day. We are very excited to welcome the officer(s) to our campus, hopefully in early January! The purpose of the officer is to not only ensure student and staff safety, but to build positive relationships with the students, families, and community.

DVUSD is gathering feedback about priorities for next year's budget. Please take a moment to complete the survey. Click here for survey.

Your school tax credit donations can provide DVUSD students with opportunities to participate in after-school and summer programs, field trips, music, and athletic programs or any other extracurricular activity! The Arizona tax credit program (A.R.S. 43-1089.01) allows a tax credit of up to $200 for individuals and $400 for married couples, filing jointly, in support of extracurricular activities. The tax credit reduces your tax burden to the state of Arizona, dollar for dollar.

For more information on how to make a tax credit donation, click HERE.

Gifted Testing Registration Now Open Through January 10th, 2025

SPRING GIFTED TESTING:

Registration: October 1, 2024 - January 10, 2025

Registration Link

Testing: January 27 - February 21, 2025

• KINDERGARTEN: CogAT (Paper/ Pencil)
• GRADE 1: CogAT (Online)
• Grades 3 - 11: CogAT (Online)

2nd Grade Blanket Gifted Testing (CogAT)

Opt-Out Link Coming Soon on Our Website!

• Opt-Out Available: December 2 - 13, 2024
• Testing: January 13 - 24, 2025

Check out the PACE Newsletter: https://secure.smore.com/n/xkba2

PACE is our school-wide Behavior System at Stetson Hills. To create a culture that inspire minds, cultivates success, and fosters excellence, Stetson’s mission, we expect all staff and students to be responsible, respectful and safe. When students exhibit these characteristics they are given a PACE ticket and are then placed into a weekly drawing to win a visit to the Friday PACE Cart for a prize and recognition in the PACE Smore link on the website. Additionally we have PACE prizes given quarterly, names drawn from the tickets the teacher accumulate as the year progresses. Click this link to see the matrix with our behavior expectations in more detail.

Keep the Pace, the Stallion Way - Be responsible, Be respectful, Be safe!

December 23-January 6 - NO SCHOOL - Winter Break

January 7 - First Day of Quarter 3!

January 14 - PTSA General Meeting 3:45 in Stetson Library

January 14 - Governing Board Meeting 7PM

January 20 - No School - Martin Luther King Day

January 28 - Governing Board Meeting 7PM

February 4 & 5 - Stetson A+ School of Excellence Site Visit

Welcome to 2025, Stallions! With the New Year comes the promise of fresh starts and exciting goals. The Stetson Hills PTSA is on a mission to become one of the largest PTSA units in Arizona, and we need your passion and commitment to make that happen.

If you haven't joined us yet, now is the perfect time. Membership not only grants you discounts to PTSA events but also empowers you to have a voice in your child's education by voting on how PTSA funds are used, ensuring that our students' needs are met.

For our current members, consider gifting a membership to your student. Students aged 10 and older have the privilege of voting within the PTSA. Plus, wearing their PTSA shirt on Fridays comes with the chance to win prizes.

We value our members and eagerly anticipate seeing you at our next meeting on January 14, 2025, at 3:45 PM in the library. Children are always welcome, and childcare will be available. Let's embark on this journey together!

Click below to read the full PTSA Newsletter for January!

Thank you so much for your help in keeping our parking lot running smoothly both before and after school!

A few key reminders:

• For pick up and drop off, you may choose to utilize the blue lane OR you may park in a designated parking space and walk your child across the cross walk. Please do NOT park on the blue line, as this is a moving lane only.
• Reminder that you may not drop off your children in the street in the school zone. The buses are not legally allowed to pass you and it blocks up traffic on the road if you are dropping off within the school zone. Please pick a side street or the front parking lot to drop your children off at instead.
• Once you pick up your child(ren), please either pull all the way forward to merge or pull completely into the other lane to merge. If you cannot fit the entire length of your car into the other lane, please do not block traffic by sitting in both lanes. Please pull all the way up and then merge so that traffic can continue to flow behind you.
• Pull ALL the way forward on the blue line. We will help your students find their car if you are at the top of the line. Your student will walk down to your car. Please do not stop at the ramada for drop off or pick up.
• Please put away your cell phones when entering our parking lot.
• Grades 1-8 parents, please do not enter the parking lot until 3:25. This helps our community to be able to access their homes by not blocking Stetson Hills Loop prior to dismissal.
• School zones are NO passing zones and you may not park in the bike lane within the school zone.

WHAT IS NOT BULLYING? Adults must realize that not every unkind thing a child does constitutes bullying. For example:

• Being left out is not always bullying. It’s natural for kids to have a select group of friends. Although they should be kind towards everyone, it’s unrealistic to expect them to be close friends with every child they know, and be invited to every function or event.

• Experiencing conflict is not bullying. Learning to deal with conflict is a normal part of growing up. The key is for children to learn how to solve their problems peacefully and respectfully.

• Not playing fair is not bullying. Wanting a game to be played a certain way is not bullying. Children understand the concept of sharing, and should take turns being in charge of the game.

When observing the unkind behaviors your child experiences, be sure to label them correctly. This will help you know how to handle the situation appropriately so that your child can learn and grow from it.

(Ref. Policy JICK, JICK-R, JICK-EA, JICK-EB)

Bullying may occur when a student or group of students engages in any form of behavior that includes such acts as intimidation and/or harassment that:

• has the effect of physically harming a student, damaging a student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm or damage to property,

• is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that the action, behavior, or threat creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive environment,

• occurs when there is a real or perceived imbalance of power or strength, or

• may constitute a violation of law

SRR handbook 2023-2024 (pages 2-4)

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see upcoming events, pictures, and things going on at school!

Facebook picture below.

Instagram @ StetsonHillsSchool