District Dialogue Bi-weekly news from the Laveen Elementary School District
September 6, 2019
Families must reapply for free or reduced meals
Global Studies school coming to Laveen The Laveen School District will be opening its ninth school in August 2020 near 55th Avenue and Carver. The school will feature global studies as it’s signature program. This program will create opportunities for students to think and engage in learning activities that broaden their global perspective. The plans include a Mandarin Chinese foreign language component. As with the other Laveen schools, it will not have a set attendance boundary. The school was designed by EMC2 Architects and is being constructed by S.D. Crane Builders. It is being built using state funding provided by the Arizona School Facilities Board. Groundbreaking is expected to occur in October 2019. Visit www.laveenschools.org/school-9 for updates and to join the school’s interest list. .
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Laveen schools serve free or reduced-price lunches to families that qualify based on income requirements. Families must apply annually or when there is a change to income levels. Families who qualified in the last school year, must reapply before September 16 or they will be moved to paying status. Families may apply online at EZMealApp.com or complete a paper application at the school’s front office or cafeteria. All families are encouraged to apply. Applications are processed year round and are kept confidential. Families that meet federal income levels may qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Lunches are currently priced at $2.40; the reduced price is $.40. Breakfast is served free to all students, regardless of eligibility, before school each day. In addition to receiving a discount, completed applications provide additional funds to the district in the form of grant money. Funding for prevention programs, parent training, and interventions for students in reading and math is often based on the number of students qualifying for free or reduced–price lunch. Visit our Child Nutrition page for more information, www.laveenschools.org/child-nutrition.
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Three schools welcome new assistant principals Three Laveen schools; Desert Meadows, Paseo Pointe, and Cheatham; welcomed new assistant principals this school year. Bill Stewart moved to Desert Meadows School. Stewart has served as an assistant principal in Laveen since 2008 at a number of Laveen schools including Paseo Pointe and Rogers Ranch. Kaitlin Gretkierewicz replaced Stewart Stewart at Paseo Pointe. Gretkierewicz previously served Paseo Pointe as an instructional coach for three years and taught 8th grade at Rogers Ranch School for three years before that. She is fluent in Spanish, offering great support to Paseo’s Gretkierewicz dual language program. Frincine Tait is the new assistant principal at Cheatham School. Tait has served as an instructional coach at Trailside Point for the last three years and taught at Vista del Sur for three years before that.
8,000 more summer meals served Laveen’s Child Nutrition Department served over 14,000 breakfasts and 22,200 lunches through the summer meal program. Additionally, 840 dinners were served at Playa Margarita Community Center in their first year of summer meal service. Altogether, 8,000 more meals we served than last year. Meals are served free of charge to all children throughout the summer. Laveen’s Child Nutrition Department was a recipient of a $4,000 grant from the Dairy Council that went towards summer meal promotions and incentives.
Tait
Wake Up! Clubs have busy first summer The Wake Up! clubs at Trailside Point, M.C. Cash, and Rogers Ranch schools stayed active during their first summer in Laveen. Participating students served the community by helping out at St. Mary’s Food Bank. They welcomed several guest speakers including: Phoenix Police’s K9 unit, a forensic artist, a representative from Phoenix’s water department, 911 operators, and an expert on mental health and concussions from Barrow’s Neurological Institute. Students went on a number of field trips to the Phoenix and Wildlife World zoos and the Phoenix Herpetological Society in Scottsdale. Here, they saw the world’s only alligator with a prosthetic tail along with poisonous snakes that were removed from illegal situations. Club members went roller skating and worked their way out of an escape room. They also enjoyed designing shirts and setting off model rockets. Participants also received law related education in the areas of substance abuse, internet safety, and bullying. Wake Up! is a program organized by the Phoenix Police Department that teaches middle school students social and personal responsibility, community pride, life management skills and conflict resolution. They are led by the schools’ School Resource Officers. PAGE 2
September 6, 2019