District Dialogue Bi-weekly news from the Laveen Elementary School District Kids eat free all summer Several Laveen schools will be offering free breakfast and lunch over the summer as part of the Summer Food Service Program. Children 18 years and younger may receive breakfast and lunch, free of charge, at any of the designated sites. There are no income requirements and children do not need to be enrolled in Laveen schools to participate. Breakfast will be served from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Lunch will be served from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Adult meals are available for $2.00 for breakfast and $2.50 for lunch. All meals meet the federal nutrition guidelines and are provided on a drop-in basis. Location
Dates
Schedule
Desert Meadows
May 23 to August 3
Monday – Friday
M.C. Cash
May 23 to July 28
Monday – Thursday
Trailside Point
May 23 to July 28
Monday – Thursday
Rogers Ranch
May 23 to July 28
Monday – Thursday
May 13, 2016
Laveen’s District Dialogue, public relations recognized The Laveen District was honored with six awards by the Arizona School Public Relations Association recognizing specific school public relations programs. Laveen won the following awards: Overall Excellence in Public Relations for the Promotional Video Series and “Creating Bright Futures” Brand Development; Excellence with a Specific Program for the Special Needs Resource Fair; and Excellence in Publications and Electronic Media for the District Dialogue E-Newsletter, Website Design, and Video Production.
Cheatham takes 2nd in Academic Pentathlon Cheatham’s Academic Pentathlon team took 2nd Place at the recent state competition. Several students also received individual awards in their divisions. Academic Pentathlon is a scholastic competition consisting of five events surrounding this year’s theme, India. All competitions were done online.
Vista engineering team takes 1st at MESA Day Several teams from Laveen schools competed in this year’s MESA (Math, Engineering, Science, Achievement) Day state competition held on the campus of ASU. In addition to Vista taking 2nd Place Overall in the middle school division, their Solar Car Challenge team took the 1st Place Gold Medal. Vista picked up several other recognitions also. Trailside Point had a team place second in the Prosthetic Arm event. Thirty-nine middle schools across the state participated this year. .
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Drenth, Yonan are April’s Employees of the Month
Drenth
Yonan
Employees of the month for April are Andrew Drenth, M.C. Cash 7th grade teacher, and Raheeq Yonan, Vista del Sur instructional associate. Drenth is an extremely dedicated classroom teacher and team member. He has initiative, drive, and compassion. His classroom serves as a model for excellent instruction as he utilizes solid instructional practices that encourage his students to think critically and make real-world connections. He is able to relate to students in a way that makes them feel they are part of a larger community. Drenth also leads the “Cash Crew,” teaching middle school boys leadership skills and relationship building. Yonan is adored by her students. As an instructional coach, she works with teachers to identify learning gaps then creates activities to assist students in mastering the standards. Not only does she provide individualized attention, but a sense of success in her students. She gives her time, attention, and compassion to staff and students alike. She is the first to volunteer to help with additional tasks and shares in the joy students feel when they cross a hurdle.
May is Better Speech and Hearing Month
District holds rock climbing tournament
Speech/language disorder is one of the most common childhood disorders, affecting approximately 6% of children. Deficits in the development of speech and language can lead to academic difficulties. In fact, language deficits in young children are considered to be one of the most accurate predictors of long term problems with academic achievement. Children with speech language deficits may have difficulties in any one or more of the following: articulation (accurate production of speech sounds, difficulty with producing intelligible speech) understanding spoken language (difficulty understanding directions, needing visual cues to understand) grammar/syntax (using appropriate parts of speech such as verb tenses, difficulty producing organized sentences, decreased sentence length) semantics (vocabulary development, such as: word meanings, analogies, synonym/antonyms, figurative language) pragmatics (social use of language, making inferences, nonverbal communication, topic maintenance, eye contact) fluency (fluency deficits are what is commonly known to be “stuttering”) Voice (differences in pitch, quality, or volume of voice) Early identification is important. If you have a student who you suspect may have a speech or language disorder, contact your school’s speech language pathologist.
The Laveen District held its first Rock Climbing Tournament. Students from each school competed in a number of obstacles across the Rogers Ranch rock wall. The three students that performed the best each received a trophy. They are: Marcos Bryant, Rogers Ranch; Felipe Espinoza, Trailside Point; and Devin Crawford, Laveen.
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Vista girls prepare food packages Vista del Sur’s two Girls on the Run teams helped out at the Feed my Starving Children organization which prepares meals for malnourished children all over the world. The students packed 67 boxes comprised of 14,472 meals. Their efforts will feed 39 children for an entire year. May 13, 2016