Mesquite Elementary

Dear Mesquite Elementary Families,

Thank you to all who have joined in Glow P.E. this week and Halloween activities today! This week I would like to highlight those teaching our youngest learners at Mesquite Elementary! Ms. Desimone leads our Building Blocks Preschool 3 Program, Mrs. Myers leads our Building Blocks Preschool 4 Program, and Mrs. Powers teaches our Advantage Preschool Program. In addition to our wonderful teachers we are grateful for our wonderful instructional assistants, Ms. Hernandez, Ms. panda, Ms. Mathusamy, and Mr. Bracamontes! We are thankful to have these programs offered at Mesquite Elementary and for a staff that leads our earliest learners so well!

In addition as you start thinking about junior highs for next year, please know that we feed into Greenfield Junior High School, South Valley Junior High School, and students have the option to apply to Gilbert Accelerated Middle School at Gilbert High School, Gilbert Classical Academy, and/or Gilbert, Talented, and Creative Program at Highland Junior High School.

Sincerely,

Wendy Norburg

Thankful for these three who prepared a speech and asked if they could draw and celebrate our Character Ticket winners! Thank you Millie, Penelope, and Payten for leading the way and celebrating others along the way!

Mesquite Mountain Lions, this year we would love to see your pride colors! We look forward to seeing our Mountain Lions wearing their favorite school shirt or school colors on Fridays this year!

Good news Mesquite families, the spirit wear online store is back open. PTSO will leave the link open until Friday, November 22nd with anticipated delivery of items to students the first week of December. Please visit the Mesquite PTSO website at this link to view and order.

On Friday, October 25th, 2024, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) released the 2023-24 School Letter Grades. The state’s ‘Accountability System’ of letter grades is designed to empower schools to achieve and increase student success by providing districts and schools with feedback on areas of strength and those that may need additional focus and enrichment.

Schools earn a letter grade based on various metrics, including proficiency and growth in critical subject areas, graduation rates, subgroup proficiency improvement, acceleration and readiness measures, and college and career readiness indicators.

For the 2023-24 school year, Gilbert Public Schools has achieved an ‘A’ letter grade for our school district. 82% of GPS schools have been rated as A schools representing excellence, and the remaining 18% achieved a B rating representing highly performing, according to the Arizona Department of Education. The majority of GPS schools increased their scores from last year, and many moved up a letter grade.

Battle of the Books is a competitive reading club for 5th and 6th graders. Students read 12 books throughout the school year and compete in groups of three in a battle about details of the stories. After three battles, the winning team moves on to the district battle where they will compete against other Gilbert schools. Proud of our students who commit to Battle of the Books! Thank you Mrs. Pardy for leading this so well!

Thank you to all who attended the Sixth Grade Spooktacular Concert! The concert was impressive and we enjoyed all the fun costumes! Proud of our musicians! Thank you Dr. Sanchez and Mrs. Seagraves for leading our band and strings so well!

An exciting pickleball match took place during sixth grade recess. Spencer and Ryland challenged Mrs. Pardy and Mrs. Eldridge to a pickleball game! Each team won one game, so as it stands now they are tied! Thank you for being great role models of true sportsmanship!

Thank you to all who joined us for Glow P.E. this week for Grown Ups with P.E. Week! Thank you Mrs. Pardy for hosting such an amazing event!

A huge thank you to our PTSO who continues to go above and beyond, spoiling us on our early dismissal Professional Development days! Thank you for the delicious snacks! We appreciate the time you spend supporting our staff!

Thai Chili 2go is our Spirit Event on Tuesday, November 5th from 11am to 9pm at both the Higley and Baseline location and the San Tan location. It is available for pickup, in-store and delivery. Thank you for your support of our PTSO!

Thank you to all who joined us at our first PTSO Meeting! PTSO shared information about committee and volunteer opportunities throughout the year! The greatest need at this time is for volunteers to help prepare for and volunteer at the Fall Festival on Friday, November 15, 2024. The next PTSO meeting will be on Thursday, November 7, 2024 at 3:15 p.m. in the Library and we would love to have you join us!

PTSO is currently seeking volunteers to help at the Fall Festival! Please use this link to sign up for at time to help support PTSO and all the amazing work they do on our campus!

Fall Festival presale tickets are available now and go until Tuesday November 12th. Presale is $5 and the price at the door is $10.

• Amy Simon - President
• Stacy Nelson - Vice President
• Kimberly Castro - Secretary
• Mel Van Klaveren - Treasurer
• Heather Foti - Member At Large
• Allison Brumfield - Member At Large

Please check the PTSO website and join the Mesquite Elementary PTSO Facebook group for all the current information from PTSO. This is a great way to connect with other families.

• November 6 - Site Council Meeting at 7:20 am in the Library
• November 7 - PTSO Meeting at 3:15 pm in the Library and Third Grade Veteran's Day Concert at 6:00 pm
• November 11 - Veteran's Day No School
• November 14 - Picture Retakes
  
• November 15 - Fall Festival from 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
• November 26 - Turkey Trot During Specials
• November 27-29 Thanksgiving Holiday No School

It is very important that all families complete the online ‘Annual Update’ to prepare for the new school year. The ‘Annual Update’ in Infinite Campus allows you to tell us of any updates to your contact information, address changes, and updates to emergency contacts. In order to ensure we can communicate with you regarding your student, or in case of emergency, it is essential that we have your up to date contact details. Please log in to your Infinite Campus parent portal and complete your student’s ‘Annual Update’ today. To access the IC portal visit www.gilbertschools.net/IC.

Download the GPS App

The GPS App includes a link to IC, as well as access to your student’s school calendar, meal information, bus routes, and other helpful information for parents and students. Visit www.gilbertschools.net/app for more information.

If you wish to add money to your child's account for this coming year, please use this link. The Free and Reduced Price Meal Online Application is available here as well!

Please use this link to complete a Free and Reduced Lunch Meal application. If you are interested in applying and have questions please don't hesitate to contact the front office or our social worker, Ms. Karina Nyberg.

By becoming a Friendship Club member at Mesquite Elementary, students learn to build awareness and create opportunities in which friendships can grow in a safe and accepting environment. At each club meeting, students will engage with peers before school for 30 minutes for structured fun and peer interaction. There are no costs to join this club.

Thursdays 7:30 am - 8:00am

Quarter 2 - 4th-6th grade

Quarter 3 - Kindergarten-3rd grade

Quarter 4- 4th-6th grade

Email Ms. Kelli at kelli.stark@gilbertschools.net to sign up!

Musical Theater Club will be back starting this November! Registration is now open, please use this link to register!

• November 18 - 4th - 6th Grade Musical Theater Club from 3:00 pm. - 5:00 pm
  
• November 19 - 4th - 6th Grade Musical Theater Club from 3:00 pm. - 5:00 pm
• November 20 - 1st - 3rd Grade Musical Theater Club from 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm and Mandatory Parent Meeting at 6:00 p.m. in the Multi Purpose Room
• November 21 - Video Auditions due by 9:00 am and Musical Theater Club In Person Auditions from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
• November 25 - 4th - 6th Grade Musical Theater Club Receive Scripts

Thank you to those who signed up for Movers Club! Mrs. Pardy sent an email to all families registered! Mesquite. Practices will be on Tuesdays from 3:00-3:30PM. Run Club meets will be in November, December, January and February at a junior high or high school.

• November 12 - Movers Club at 3:00 pm
• November 19 - Movers Club at 3:00 pp
• December 3 - Movers Club at 3:00 pm
• December 10 - Movers Club at 3:00 pm
• December 17 - Movers Club at 3:00 pm
• January 7 - Movers Club at 3:00 pm
• January 14 - Movers Club at 3:00 pm
• January 21 - Movers Club at 3:00 pm
• January 28 - Movers Club at 3:00 pm
• February 4 - Movers Club at 3:00 pm
• February 11 - Mesquite Race at 3:00 pm

Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board approved that in November 2024, voters living within Gilbert Public School boundaries will decide on a proposed 15% budget override continuation. This would be a continuation of the existing budget override approved by voters in November 2019 and in place since the 2020/21 school year. The existing override generates approximately $36 million annually to:

• ensure competitive salaries to recruit and retain high-quality teachers and staff in classrooms,
• maintain programmatic choices for students creating future ready graduates,
• maintain campus safety and security personnel and,
• maintain class sizes with allocation to class size reduction.

For more information please visit our website - www.gilbertschools.net/election