District Dialogue Bi-weekly news from the Laveen Elementary School District
April 26, 2019
Governor Ducey visits Paseo Pointe School On April 9, Governor Doug Ducey, along with NAU President Rita Cheng and members of the Arizona Board of Regents toured Paseo Pointe School. They visited several classrooms, including Dual Language Immersion and the media club where the Governor was interviewed as part of the student run newscast. The Governor also read “The Three Little Javelinas” to a first grade class. The tour concluded with a round table discussion centered on the Arizona Teachers Academy – the Governor’s initiative to encourage college students to pursue a teaching degree without student debt being a deterring factor. Students who enter this program agree to commit one year to teaching for each year they receive the scholarship. Laveen has several student teachers/ interns who are part of the academy. Photos from this visit can be found on the district’s flickr page, www.flickr.com/laveenesd
Paseo student competes in cooking challenge Paseo Pointe student Marion Colum was one of four finalists in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona 2019 Walk On! Kids Cooking Challenge. This statewide competition invites kids between the ages of 9 and 12 to submit ideas for healthy side dish recipes. Recipes had to be original, include at least one fruit or vegetable, and be able to be prepared in 20 minutes or less. Finalists presented their dishes for a public taste test at a Phoenix Suns game. Marion’s dish was his “Healthy Salad” that was filled with broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, and carrots. .
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Laveen class wins Phoenix Suns “Grow to Go Challenge” Fourth grade students in Logan Wasie's classroom at Laveen School won the "Phoenix Suns Grow to Go Challenge.” They showed the most growth schoolwide on the Galileo assessments from Benchmark 1 to Benchmark 3. Everyone in the class received two tickets to a Suns game on March 27. The ten students that showed the most growth received a basketball and had the opportunity to meet players and get autographs after the game. .
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Several Laveen teams place at MESA Day Several student teams placed at the recent Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) Day state competition held at the University of Arizona. Rogers Ranch took 1st Place in the national category and will continue to the national competition held in Tucson this summer. This is the same team that took 1st Place in last year’s national category and competed in Philadelphia. Vista del Sur took 2 nd Place for the Most Overall Points and 3rd Place in three other categories. Laveen School took 3rd and 4th Place in two categories. Additionally, Laveen School sixth grade student Haden Morales was named MESA Day Student of the Year.
Exceptional Service Awards honor classified staff Ten classified staff members from across the district were recognized with the district’s Exceptional Service Award, the highest recognition Laveen has for its Classified Employees. Each of these employees was nominated by their supervisor based on their quality and quantity of work, expertise, initiative, teamwork, customer service, and attendance. Recipients were: Brandy Seechoma, Desert Meadows secretary; Chris Seay, Cheatham Computer Technician; Christina Vasquez, M.C. Cash Health Associate; Esperanza Canales, Vista del Sur Behavior Monitor; Leticia Preciado, Paseo Pointe Attendance Clerk; Miriam Montufar, Trailside Point Cafeteria Manager; Nyeshua Miller, Rogers Ranch Behavior Monitor; Ramon De La O, Business Department SAIS Specialist; Silvia Cortez, Laveen School Attendance Clerk; and Stephanie Niehus, Human Resources technician.
Lynch, Gudino Ruiz are March’s Employees of the Month Employees of the month for March were Cleo Lynch, Vista del Sur music teacher, and Yolanda Gudino Ruiz, Vista del Sur cafeteria worker. Lynch is not only Vista’s music teacher, but devotes much of her time to her school’s Fine Arts Club. She has made it a point to include students from nearly all grade levels. This club puts on plays complete with costumes and music. One class even wrote their own musical. She never lets them quit and always has a positive word for them to help them feel as if they are in charge of their success. Across her campus, she is always willing to help wherever she is needed and never asks for anything in return. Gudino Ruiz is a team player and is always willing to help anyone in need of assistance without hesitation. She takes time to listen to students and ensure they are taken care of. She arrives each day ready to work with a smile on her face. She has a positive attitude and is always professional. Lynch Gudino Ruiz
District Science Fair is May 1 at 5:00 p.m. Laveen Education Center PAGE 2
April 26, 2019
TAKE OUR SURVEY The Laveen School District wants to hear from you! We are conducting a community engagement survey to gain insight on parent and community perceptions of Laveen’s schools. Please visit
www.laveeneld.org/community-survey for details and to take the survey.
The survey will close on May 3.