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Desert Mountain Hawk's Eye View
Apr '24: Communication for our wonderful Blackhawk community
Students in Grades 3-8 Get Fired Up for the AASA!!!
March 28th Flagpole AASA Kick Off Assembly a HUGE hit!
Students in grades 3-8 participated in a special flagpole assembly on March 28th to kick off the testing season. Ms. Brunk led the grade levels in a "song competition", with lyrics about testing set to popular songs. The grade levels battled it out for who could sing the new lyrics the loudest, with 4th and 5th grade taking home the title and pizza parties for their grade. The students then participated in a "test questions" trivia challenge with the 8th graders winning the popsicle party and even the coveted Teal and Black Spirit Stick for the grade level that could scream "Blackhawk Strong" the loudest to close out the pep assembly. What a fun way to get fired up for state testing!
April is Arizona State Testing Time!
AASA is the statewide achievement test for Arizona students in grades 3-8. All Arizona public school students in grades 3-8 will take the grade level AASA assessments in English Language Arts and Mathematics. AASA is a valuable assessment tool used to determine overall proficiency and to measure the growth our students have made in the 2022-23 school year. Not only do we use the date to set school improvement goals, but the State of Arizona uses the data to award school letter grades. We want to make sure our scores accurately represent what our students have learned!
Parents often ask, "How can I help my student better prepare for the AASA tests?" Here are some simple strategies to ensure that your students feel supported and ready to do their best!
- Write an encouraging letter to your child: nothing is as powerful in preparing your child for their day than your support and love. Write a quick note telling them how hard they've worked and how proud you are of their achievements!
- Make sure your child gets a good nights rest the night before the test: turn off all electronic devices an hour before bedtime and make sure to set their alarm for the morning.
- Prepare a healthy breakfast: make sure that you include protein, dairy and other "brain foods" in your child's morning meal.
- Arrive at school on time: give yourself plenty of time in the morning and avoid situations that can cause stress for your child.
- Finally, schedule all doctors, dentists and other important provider appointments after the school day. Once a student starts their test, they need to finish the assessment in one sitting. All interrupted tests will be left incomplete.
With your support, we know our students will do their very best!
*Make sure to mark your calendars! No early release days during testing.
You Get a Job, And You Get a Job!
7th and 8th Grade Leadership Students Participate in Mock Interviews
Desert Mountain School partnered with local business leaders from The Translational Genomics Research Institute (T-Gen), a life sciences company, to provide our 7th and 8th grade students in Leadership the opportunity to participate in mock interviews. Students spent time leading up to the mock interviews learning about servant leadership and preparing their necessary soft skills for effective interviewing. The interviewers conducted one-on-one mock interviews with each student and scored them on a rubric while providing instant feedback in real-time. Students were so excited about the opportunity to showcase their newly acquired skills and the interviews were the buzz of student discussions all afternoon! Thank you to T-Gen for providing our students with this meaningful opportunity to further refine their 21st century soft skills that are essential to future success.
Mrs. Price's 1st Grade Students Publish Their First Book!
The students in Mrs. Price's first grade class worked very hard following the writing process to create their very own book! These young authors wrote encouraging stories of times when they overcame obstacles and achieved success by doing hard things. They created an amazing book filled with their inspiring stories and beautiful illustrations. What a fun experience and a great keepsake for families!
Students pictured presenting a special copy to Mrs. Gillett
Mrs. Faraci Wins The Bravo-cado Award for Excellence in Special Education
Mrs. Faraci was nominated for the award for the exceptional work that she does at Desert Mountain. She not only supports the students, but she also supports staff and admin as our unofficial team leader. DVUSD Special Education Director Melissa McCusker arrived on campus dressed as an avocado to recognize Mrs. Faraci for her service to the students in our community.
Change To Chromebook Charger Rentals
Parents, please be aware that Desert Mountain will no longer be loaning out Chromebook chargers to students who forget their charger at home. Due to an extremely high number of chargers not being returned, we will no longer be able to loan out additional chargers. Please make sure that your student charges their Chromebook each night and that they bring their charger to school in case they forget to charge overnight. We appreciate your help in reminding students to come prepared for school with all necessary technology.
PTO's Read-A-Thon Winners!
Thank you everyone for helping our students raise over $2700. These funds were raised to purchase prizes for the student PBIS store, field trip scholarships, and teacher academic requests. We're so excited to announce the winners Friday at the Awards Assembly! Check back here for names after the assembly.
6th Grade Anti-Bullying and Positive Culture Campaign
Our fantastic Counselor Mrs. Tite is working with our 6th grade students and our very talented art teacher, Mrs. Priniski to create an Anti-Bullying Positive Campus Campaign. Student will design posters to spread the positive messages on campus. The winning student will have their poster featured on a DMS class shirt. All students participating in the contest will receive a tee shirt with the winning design. What a great idea Mrs. Tite and Mrs. Priniski!
When We Learn, We Grow
Kindergarten's Garden
Mrs. Jeffer's Kindergarten students helped clear an area for a learning garden. The students were gifted some planter boxes and seeds to grow vegetables and flowers as part of their science curriculum. Students are also learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. How fun!
Have You Taken Advantage Of The Public School Tax Credit? It's Not Too Late To Donate!
The State of Arizona has extended the special provision for Public School Tax Credits that allows schools to use the donated funds for capital items, like playground equipment, computers and shade structures. An individual may claim a nonrefundable tax credit for making contributions or paying fees directly to a public school in this state for support of eligible activities, programs or purposes as defined by statute. The public school tax credit is claimed by the individual taxpayer on Form 322. The maximum credit allowed is $400 for married filing joint filers and $200 for single heads of household and married filing separate filers. This is an amazing opportunity to donate. Taxpayers can still claim the credit on the 2022 income tax return if you file after April 18, but the donation must be made on or before April 18, 2023.
We're HIRING in Food Service!
Have you ever wondered who makes the delicious school meals at Desert Mountain? Mrs. Karen, Mrs. Shannon and Mrs. Cindy are some of the best chefs in the business! And they're looking for the next amazing chef to join their Desert Mountain team. Would you or someone you know be interested in serving lunch to the students of Desert Mountain from 10am-1pm each day? If so, please CLICK HERE for the Food and Nutrition II position. For all other Desert Mountain openings, please CLICK HERE for the DVUSD HR website.
📅 Mark Your Calendars 📅
April 4 District Battle of the Books
April 5 Quarter 3 Awards Assembly
April 2-12 AASA State Testing
April 10-11 5th and 6th Grade Camp Surf Final Parent Meetings
April 16 Librarian Appreciation-Thank you Ms. Rachael
April 16 PTO BINGO Night 5:30-7:00pm
April 17 Duets and Desserts
April 26 Early Release - MSCT
April 5th: Quarter 3 Awards Assembly
Students in grade K-2 will be recognized with HAWK Awards while students in grades 3-8 will be recognized with HAWK, Athletic, Arts and Achievement Awards. Parents, please check your email to see if your child will be recognized at the assemblies.
8:30-9:00 K-2 Assembly
9:00-9:45 3-8 Assembly
April 10th and 11th: Final Camp Surf Field Trip Parent Meeting
Parents of 5th or 6th grade students, please plan to attend one of the two final parent meetings for our Camp Surf field trip on April 24th-26th. Reminder that final payments were due in March.
April 10th: Camp Surf Parent Meeting at Desert Mountain 5:00-6:00pm
April 11th: Camp Surf Parent Meeting at New River School 5:00-6:00pm
April 16th: PTO BINGO Night from 5:30-7:00pm
Come join our PTO for a fun family night of BINGO in the cafe. PTO will be holding a General PTO Meeting at 5:00 and then doors open for BINGO at 5:30pm. Bingo cards at the door are 5 for $5, 10 for $10 and 25 for $20. Cash and card accepted. PTO will be selling their fan favorite $5 meal bundle with pizza, chips and a drink. We hope to see everyone there!
April 17th: 5th and 6th Grade Band Fundraiser
Our amazing 5th and 6th grade band students will be hosting a concert to fundraise for instrument repairs. On April 17th students will perform duets in concert while desserts are available for purchase. Our fundraising goal is $2000.
Parent Information Night Coming in May: Dangers of Social Media
Through our DVUSD partnership with BARK online safety for students, we've invited a guest speaker to educate families on the dangers of social media and the importance of supervising students' online activity. With children having unprecedented access to the internet, now more than ever, it's important that parents understand the risks to unsupervised access and know what to look for when your student goes on the internet. Please join us for an educational evening hosted by our Counselor Mrs. Julie Tite and our Assistant Principal Ms. Jessica Brunk.
📣 🏀 Middle School Athletics 🏀 📣
Girls Basketball
4/2 Norterra @ DMS
4/4 BYE
4/9 DMS @ Paseo Hills
4/11 Union Park @ DMS
4/16 DMS @ Anthem
4/18 Sunset Ridge @ DMS
Playoffs: Girls 4/23 and 4/25
Boys Basketball
4/2 Norterra @ DMS
4/4 BYE
4/9 DMS @ Paseo Hills
4/11 Union Park @ DMS
4/16 DMS @ Anthem
4/18 Sunset Ridge @ DMS
Playoffs: Boys 4/22 and 4/24
Spirit Line
4/2 Norterra @ DMS
4/4 BYE
4/9 DMS @ Paseo Hills
4/11 Union Park @ DMS
4/16 DMS @ Anthem
4/18 Sunset Ridge @ DMS
Desert Mountain PTO Needs YOU!
Desert Mountain PTO is inviting all families to join the team! This year we are hosting our first membership drive since 2018. We need your support! To accommodate all families, we have two membership options this year.
- The "No Fuss" membership for $15: I do not plan on volunteering but I'll be attending PTO events. I'd also like to vote on how fundraising dollars are spent.
- The "Volunteer Membership" for $10: I plan to volunteer at a PTO event and I'd also like to vote in how dollars are spent.
Click HERE to follow the Desert Mountain PTO on Facebook.
Click HERE to Join the Desert Mountain PTO.
Next Meeting:
April 16th 5:00pm
Upcoming Events:
April 16th BINGO Night 5:30-7:00 pm
Principal
Mrs. Molly Gillett
Assistant Principal
Ms. Jessica Brunk
Administrative Secretary
Mrs. Patti Atchley