Stallion Stampede

Dear Stallion Families,

We are thrilled to share some exciting news—Stetson Hills has been awarded the A+ School of Excellence designation by the Arizona Educational Foundation! This prestigious recognition is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and commitment of our students, staff, and families. Thank you for being part of the Stallion community and helping us create a school where excellence thrives!

As we step into March, we have even more reasons to celebrate. We invite you to join us for The Stallion Showcase on Thursday, March 13th, from 5:00–7:30 PM. This special evening will highlight our students’ incredible talents through art displays, musical performances, grade-level exhibits, a PTSA silent auction, and delicious food from local food trucks. It’s a wonderful opportunity to come together as a school community and cheer on our students as they shine!

We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

With Stallion Pride,
Brittany Dyer-Hurdon

Principal

The following dates are 2:00 release:

March 7

March 14

March 28

Spring Break - No School - March 17-21

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 benchmark assessment data and determine instructional strategies for intervention groups. During professional development, teachers will be receiving required training for upcoming state assessments.

At Stetson Hills, we are committed to providing first, best instruction to every student, every day. One of the most important factors in student success is consistent attendance. When students are present, they have the opportunity to engage in high-quality instruction, participate in meaningful discussions, collaborate with their peers, and receive immediate feedback from their teachers. These essential learning experiences are difficult to replicate when a student is absent.

Arizona state law reinforces the importance of attendance by requiring that students do not miss more than 10% of the school year, which equates to 18 total absences—excused or unexcused. Exceeding this limit may result in students being classified as having excessive absenteeism, which can impact academic progress and even lead to interventions.

While we understand that illness and emergencies arise, we encourage families to prioritize school attendance whenever possible. If your child must miss school, please work closely with their teacher to ensure they stay on track with their learning. Every day counts, and together, we can help our Stallions excel by being present and engaged in their education!

Thank you for your partnership in fostering student success!

We have seen an increase recently with students bringing Starbucks drinks and energy drinks onto campus in the mornings. Only water is allowed in classrooms, so students will be asked to throw these types of drinks away. Please make sure that any drinks, aside from water, are consumed before students are dropped off in the morning!

State testing is coming soon! Below you will find the dates of testing for each grade level, 3rd through 8th grade. Please try not to schedule appointments or planned absences during this time. If appointments are necessary, afternoon times are preferrable, as most testing occurs in the morning each day. On testing days, please make sure your child gets a good night's sleep, eats a healthy breakfast, and is to school on time. If a student is too late to school, they may be held in the office if the testing session has already begun in their classroom. We appreciate your help in this matter in order to ensure all of our students are tested in a timely manner.

Please note our campus will be closed to all visitors and volunteers for the duration of testing, as well as for make-up testing sessions. Closed campus will begin upon our return from Spring Break.

March 26, 27, 28 - 3rd Grade Oral Reading Fluency

April 1 - Grades 3-8 Writing

April 2, 3, 4 - Grades 5 and 8 Science

April 7 - Grades 3-8 ELA Part 1

April 8 - Grades 3-8 ELA Part 2

April 9 - Grades 3-8 Math Part 1

April 10 - Grades 3-8 Math Part 2

DVUSD is excited to announce the K-8 Heritage Mandarin Speech Competition, taking place from March 31 – April 3, 2025. This competition is designed for native Mandarin speakers, providing a meaningful opportunity to celebrate and honor students’ home language and culture while promoting bilingualism and literacy development.

Please visit the following links for more information: flyer, parent letter, and rubric. Students will compete in grade bands: primary, intermediate, and middle school.

Registration deadline: March 10, 2025.

5:15 5th & 6th Grade Band

5:30 3rd Grade Recorder

5:45 4th Grade Music

6:00 2nd Grade Music

6:15 Middle School Band

6:35 1st Grade/Kinder Music

7:00 Middle School Choir

Art GLOW Room (art on display for all students K-6 and middle school art)

Athletics Awards

Gifted Showcase

STEM Showcase

Grade level showcases

Photobooth

PTSA Silent Auction

Food Trucks

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!

March 3-7 - Read Across America Week

March 6 - Kinder Preview Night 4:30-5:30

March 10 - Field Day Grades 3-6

March 11 - Field Day Grades K-2

March 11 - PTSA General Meeting 3:45 in Stetson Library

March 11 - Governing Board Meeting 7PM

March 13 - Stallion Showcase 5-7:30 PM

March 17-21 - Spring Break - No School

March 25 - Governing Board Meeting 7PM

Spring is buzzing with excitement at Stetson Hills, and it's time to celebrate! We are thrilled to announce that our school has earned an A+ School of Excellence award from the Arizona Educational Foundation! This incredible achievement is a true testament to the dedication and hard work of our amazing teachers and staff. While the families of Stetson Hills have always known we have something special, now the whole community recognizes it too!

But that's not all - spring break is just around the corner! Before we dive into vacation mode, don't miss the thrilling Stallion Showcase on March 13th from 5-7:30PM, where you can see just how talented our Stallions really are! And mark your calendars for our very first Literacy Night on March 3 from 4-7 PMin the MPR! It's an event you won't want to miss! Let's make this spring unforgettable!

Click below to read the full PTSA Newsletter for March!

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