Stallion News

We had MANY athletic celebrations during the month of February. Congratulations to our girls volleyball team for being Regional Runner Up! Congratulations to our boys volleyball team for achieving DVUSD 2A Runner Up! Our Cross Country team also had a fantastic season. 7th/8th girls took 1st place at the district championship! 7th/8th boys took 2nd place and 5/6th boys took 3rd!

Our fine arts department also accomplished amazing things in February! Our 5th and 6th grade Choir preformed at the AzMEA conference. They were the first elementary choir to ever be invited to perform at this event! Our band also had a wonderful performance at the side by side feeder night with O'Connor High School. We also had MANY students audition for and make the honor band, which had a beautiful performance in February as well.

Thank you for everyone who attended parent/teacher conferences in February! We love seeing all of you on campus and sharing the amazing things your children are accomplishing each day at school. Also a big thank you to all of the parent volunteers who helped with Valentine's Day parties this month! We couldn't do it without you!

It is hard to believe we are almost in the 4th quarter of the school year! 3rd quarter will be wrapping up next week. You can check your child's final grades for quarter 3 in PowerSchool after grades close on Friday, March 8th. We are then off to spring break the week of March 11-15th. I hope everyone has a safe, fun, and relaxing break.

With Stallion Pride,

Mrs. Dyer-Hurdon

Principal

We are quickly approaching spring and state testing! Below you will find important testing dates for the Arizona State Assessments for the 2023-2024 school year. All 3rd-8th grade students will be tested in the areas of writing, reading, and math. Students in grades 5th and 8th will also be assessed in science. 3rd graders also take an additional assessment for oral reading fluency.

A few important reminders:

• Please try not schedule doctor's appointments during this time.
• Please do not sign your student out for lunch during testing days.
• If your child comes in late on a testing day and testing has already started, they will be held in an alternate classroom and may not be able to test that day.
• Please ensure your child eats a healthy, nutritious breakfast each morning.
• Students will take all of their assessments on their school-issued Chromebooks. Please ensure their Chromebook is fully charged for school each day.
• Students will use corded headphones for each assessment. If you have headphones, please send them with your child each day. They need to be corded, not wireless ear buds.

Testing Dates:

• Tuesday, April 2nd: 5th and 8th Grade AzSCI Part 1
• Wednesday, April 3rd: 5th and 8th Grade AzSCI Part 2
• Thursday, April 4th: 5th and 8th Grade AzSCI Part 3
• Monday, April 8th: 3rd-8th Grade Writing Assessment
• Wednesday, April 10th: 3rd Grade Oral Reading Fluency
• Thursday, April 11th: 3rd Grade Oral Reading Fluency
• Monday, April 15th: 3rd-8th Grade Math Part 1
• Tuesday, April 16th: 3rd-8th Grade Math Part 2
• Wednesday, April 17th: 3rd-8th Grade ELA Part 1
• Thursday, April 18th: 3rd-8th Grade ELA Part 2

Due to state testing, our campus will be CLOSED to all visitors and volunteers during the month of April. State testing does require secure testing environments with adults on campus being properly trained for test security procedures. Due to this, we are unable to have volunteers or visitors on campus during the school day. We will welcome our visitors and volunteers back the first day of May!

The following dates are 2:00 release:

March 1

March 8

March 22

No school March 11-15 for Spring Break.

No School March 29 for Spring Break Day.

This month during early release Fridays, staff members will engage in professional development for training for upcoming Arizona Achievement tests. During professional learning community release times, staff members will be collaborating both on campus and with other schools in the district to review benchmark data and determine intervention groups. Teachers will then develop targeted intervention lessons and enrichment lessons for students based on data.

March 6 & 7 - Field Days!

March 7 - Kindergarten Preview Night 4:30-5:30 PM

March 11-15 - Spring Break! No School

March 19 - Governing Board Meeting 7PM

March 27 - Evening of the Arts 5-7 PM

March 29 - Spring Break Day - No School

April 2 - Governing Board Meeting 7PM

April 9 - Governing Board Meeting 7PM

Students are not allowed to carry any medications on their person (or backpacks).

All medications, prescription and over the counter (OTC), must be brought to the Health Center by a parent, in the original container, and must complete paperwork providing authorization for the nurse to administer the medication.

Examples include: cough drops, ibuprofen, cold medications, allergy medications, anti-itch creams, Neosporin, antacids etc. ALL medication must be brought to the Health Center and signed in by a parent.

Please reach out to Nurse Carol at carol.schoonover@dvusd.org with any questions.

Our board has open positions for next school year! We will be in need of a President, Secretary, and Treasurer! If you are interested in running for a board position, please email the current PTSA at ptsastetsonhills@outlook.com.

https://stetsonhillsptsa.memberhub.com

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

A few key reminders:

• 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.

Impact the Lives of DVUSD Students

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 up to $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.

2 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR TAX CREDIT DONATION:

ONLINE at: K-8 & High School Online Donations

MAIL or DROP OFF to the School of Your Choice: DVUSD 2023-24 School Address List

Forms can be downloaded here, and checks can be mailed to the school of your choice. Your tax credit receipt will be mailed back to you. Your tax credit goes directly to the school you choose, not to the state or district.

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