Deer Canyon Echoes

Good evening, Deer Canyon Families:

What a wonderful week; it has felt so great being back together again! I can’t believe it is already December…here we go!

This week, students and staff worked our way back into our school routines. We started the week with class buddy fun, including TK and 5th grade buddy PE (check out photos and a video on Instagram!). The excitement of December and upcoming holidays was sparked by our DCES Winter Wonderland Holiday Shop Tuesday-Thursday. Thank you to our DCPSO and all parent/guardian volunteers for making this gift shop a reality! Students had a blast selecting gifts for family, friends, and themselves and learned (quickly and organically!) about budgeting ;) On Thursday, our School Site Council met to approve our Comprehensive School Safety Plan and, as a staff, we engaged in Inclusive Practices training alongside PUSD Teachers and Classified staff on special assignment. Today, students participated in another XP day, focused on coding! Let me tell you: I was blown away listening to a TK student explain their understanding of coding to their XP teacher! Students of all ages were engaged and excited about coding!

Next week’s happenings:

• Next week, some classes will begin their Global Languages course in Filipino. We are excited for GLES to return to Deer Canyon!

• Tuesday, 12/5: The second PUSD Safety Summit for the 2023-2024 school year will be hosted from 6:30 – 8:00 pm in the PUSD District Office Community Room and will focus on the topic of Social Media & Online Safety. This event will also be live streamed on the PUSD Board of Education YouTube channel. Guest speaker Jamie Nunez, Western Region Manager at Common Sense, will share a practical guide with families focusing on media choice, digital literacy and citizenship, as well as the habits and skills that give young people agency over their digital lives and help them succeed online and in life.

• Wednesday, 12/6: Thanks to the DCPSO, all students will have the opportunity to attend an anti-bullying Drumperks assembly with their grade-alike classmates! Look for photos and videos on Instagram next week!

• Friday, 12/8: FUNky Friday at 9:00am and Coffee with the Principal immediately following. We will continue our focus on the character trait of respect, with a performance from our 3rd grade classes and Westview Ambassadors.

PUSD Equity Advisory Committee

Interested in serving on the PUSD Equity Advisory Committee? CLICK HERE for more information and/or apply HERE.

Drop-off and Pick-Up reminders

Recently, we have noticed an increase in unsafe driving maneuvers and inconsistent adherence to traffic patterns in our drop-off circle. As a reminder, when dropping off and picking up students in the parking circle, please pull completely to the right hand curb to drop off/pick up your child. Do not let your child out of the car until you are stopped at the edge of the right hand curb. The left lane is for drive-through only and cars should not stop and wait or drop-off in this lane. Unsafe practices have been observed when students cross to reach their car in the left lane and enter their car on the passenger side. We care about our students’ safety and appreciate your support and adherence to this practice.

Additionally, please never leave your car unattended in the driveway. If you need to enter the school campus for any reason, please park your car in a designated space in the lot or on the street.

Attendance Reminders
With the holiday season and Winter Break approaching, I wanted to send a reminder about the importance of school attendance. School attendance is one of the most important factors in student academic and social-emotional success. Please be mindful that while some work can be made up after an absence, the classroom learning experience is unable to be replicated. Students (even as young as Kindergarten!) who attend school regularly are significantly more likely to achieve proficient academic levels in reading and math, do better on tests, as well as more likely to graduate and be successful in future endeavors.

Missing just 2 days a month means your child misses 10% of the school year. Over the course of their K-12 education, this amounts to the equivalent of missing one entire school year! Excused or not, these missed learning days matter. Students missing 2 days per month are less likely to read proficiently by third grade, achieve in middle school and graduate from high school..

We care about our students and when they are in school, we know they are healthy, safe, and learning. Chronic absenteeism impacts students, no matter their age or grade.

We understand that some absences are unavoidable and/or related to religious observance. Please communicate all absences with our Attendance line as soon as possible, so we can document excused and verified absences. See the Deer Canyon attendance webpage for more information.

Welcome to our newest Character Coach, Valerie Sundman!

This week, we welcomed the fourth and final member of our Character Coach team: Valerie Sundman! Valerie is a DC parent who served in the Marine Corps for 5 years as an avionics technician. She is already jumping right in, helping support a rainy day schedule, lunchtime Holiday shopping, and more! Nothing like a busy week to welcome Valerie to our team 🙂

Special Education Day: Tomorrow, December 2

Special Education Day is celebrated on December 2 to commemorate the signing of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act into law on this day in 1975 (IDEA). IDEA granted access to children with special needs to free and quality public education. IDEA not only established the rights of children with learning disabilities, but laid the groundwork for teachers and families to work together, and ensure there are services and resources available for support.

Today and always, we recognize and appreciate our Special Education staff team for all that they do individually and collectively for our Deer Canyon students. We also celebrate the strong partnership with our families; with our close connection and collaboration, students receiving special education services are able to learn, thrive, and experience deserved joy and belonging in our learning spaces.

Here’s to a fantastic December! Let’s round out 2023 immersed in fun, joyful learning, and community!

Katie Bendix
Principal