District Dialogue Bi-weekly news from the Laveen Elementary School District
August 17, 2018
Welcome Back message from President Barragan Welcome back to another incredible year in the Laveen Elementary School District. It’s hard to believe another summer has passed and we are engaged in a new year of learning. Our wonderful teachers have Barragan spent hours planning and preparing to engage our students. We also have support staff throughout the district here to support through technology, food service, maintaining safe and clean campuses, as well as many other important aspects that make a school district operate successfully. In Laveen, we strive every day to do our part in creating bright futures for your children. The mission of our district is to develop in our children the knowledge, skills and character to achieve academic excellence, personal growth and success in a safe, positive environment. Here are just a few examples of our academic excellence and personal growth from last
year: 96 students received perfect scores in AzMERIT in at least one subject area the district was above the state average for the third year in a row on 8thgrade math we increased the percentage of students across the district who scored Highly Proficient on the AzMERIT English language arts assessment As our district continues to grow, the administration and staff keep the mission at the forefront so we don’t lose site of what’s important for our kids. We will continue to see these types of academic successes and personal growth. I am honored to be the Governing Board president of this amazing district and, in speaking on behalf of the whole Governing Board, we are so incredibly proud of our students and staff! -Jill Barragan, Governing Board President
Rogers Ranch team places 4th in national competition A team of four students from Rogers Ranch competed in the national Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) competition in Philadelphia this summer. Students Thomas Beltran, Ana Fritts, Isabel Cardenas, and Brenan Wesolek were 5th graders last school year when they won the state competition for the middle school division in Arizona. The teams were judged on four areas — a 10-page report, a detailed poster, a technical interview with the judges, and a “pitch” presentation. The Rogers Ranch team came in 2nd place in the poster category for the middle school division. The team also scored 4th place overall when the scores were averaged for all categories. Eleven states were represented at the national competition. .
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Child Nutrition Department awarded $8,000 in grants Laveen’s Child Nutrition Department received four $2,000 grant awards from the Dairy Council of Arizona for the Summer Meal Program. Recipients of the grant are Paseo Pointe, Desert Meadows, Rogers Ranch, and M.C. Cash. The funds were used to provide summer meal bucks to children who visited Laveen’s cafeterias for breakfast and lunch this summer. Students could cash the bucks in for a variety of prizes. Breakfast and lunch are served free to all children throughout summer at select locations.
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Vista student attends Camp O’Connor Vista del Sur 7th grade student Angelina Baca was selected to participate in this summer’s Camp O’Connor hosted by the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute. The five day camp provided an educational civics experience blended with leadership development. Camp O'Connor helps to prepare future leaders for greater participation in our democracy and strengthens their potential for lifelong success.
Three Laveen schools start Wake Up! clubs The Laveen School District has been awarded over $22,000 in grants to provide Wake Up! clubs at three of our schools. Sponsored by the City of Phoenix, Wake Up! clubs are designed to teach middle school students social and personal responsibility, community pride, life management skills, and conflict resolution. Led by School Resource Officers, the clubs offer field trips and guest speakers while emphasizing leadership skills, substance abuse prevention, and violence reduction. The grants were provided to the neighborhood block watches serving Trailside Point, Rogers Ranch, and M.C. Cash.
Vista student honored with Scholar Award
Students attend STEM Camp
Vista del Sur student Angel Molina is a recipient of the Gila River Indian Community's Chief Azul Scholar Award. The award is given to students based on grade point average, attendance, behavior, accomplishments, and extracurricular activities. Angel was honored at the annual banquet held at the Vee Quiva Hotel & Casino Event Center.
Sixty students from across the Laveen District participated in a free summer camp at Phoenix College. Participants in Grades 4-7 spent four days learning coding, computeraided design (CAD), and circuitry. The camp was sponsored by the Phoenix Suns.
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Desert Meadows welcomes new assistant principal Desert Meadows welcomed their new assistant principal, Laurie Richards, to the administrative team this year. Richards most recently served as an assistant principal in the Union Elementary School District. She also taught junior high social studies for seven years in the Washington Elementary School District before becoming a student services specialist and dean of students, a role she held for nine years. Richards replaced Steve Gerace who moved out of state.
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Hundreds of school uniforms collected Members of CrossWalk Church collected 1,400 pieces of gently-used school uniforms and personal hygiene items as part of their 7th annual clothing and hygiene drive to benefit Laveen students Over 100 volunteers cleaned, sorted, and delivered 25 boxes of the uniforms to Laveen schools. The clothing and items were distributed to our health offices where they will be given to students as needed.
Welcome Back Laveen Families!
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