Good morning Stinger Families,
Good luck to our cheer and pom teams who will be in California for Nationals. These girls have worked so hard ALL YEAR LONG! Good luck also to our swimmers who have regionals this weekend. We believe in you and know you will be great, Stingers! Go get 'em!
FINAL DAYS to Purchase! Stinger Families, let’s have a great night Together with our Phoenix Suns and raise some money for STMS PTO! Lower Level under $120 & Upper under $60. All ticket holders, purchased through our link, will arrive at 5pm to have access to sit courtside while the Phoenix Suns warm up! 15 of our Stingers will be on the court during the National Anthem! 12 have already been chosen, and we have 3 spots left!! Our Anthem Buddy winners so far are: Blake Oestreich, Jaimin Shah, Allison Reamer, Alyssa Bowerman, Zoey Wood, Ryan Glodowski, Adriana Sylvester, Isaac, Nolte, Karter Hirsch, Cameron Kotula, Collin Peters & Jacob DiLello Let’s show the Suns the Stinger Spirit! Purchase Deadline is Feb 28th!
Our ELA and Math Benchmarks are next Thursday and Friday. This is our last final ungraded assessment to review data and decipher what we need to teach and reteach prior to the big state testing in April. Please make sure that your children are at school next week so we can gather this data and have it for the upcoming PLC's.
Finally, if you ever come to campus and need to wait for your child to meet you in the front office, please take a minute to fill out a blank card showing appreciation for one staff member. Those kind words go so far in our world! They will be sitting by the couches in our waiting area.
Together We Are One,
Jill Sarraino, Principal
PRACTICE ASSESSMENT LINK
Please use the below link to start practicing for the upcoming state assessment, AASA, which will be in April.
A Note from Mr. Boggs
Good morning friends,
I would love to use the time you have generously given me this week to discuss the value of open and honest communication.
So often in this job (and in others I am sure, but I’ve never really done anything outside of education) wires get crossed and misunderstandings occur simply because the parties involved don’t communicate directly and honestly with one another.
I am reminded of the Sitcom “Three’s Company” (Yes I am dating myself with that reference). This was a tragically silly show that often had all kinds of shenanigans and unlikely scenarios that caused a lot of noise and kerfuffle but was ridiculous in the extreme because every mess could have been so easily resolved IF the people involved were simply in the same room at the same time! Even the ten year old me could see that. This is probably when I first started yelling at the television.
In our shared world, communication is more important than desks and classrooms. It is the vehicle that allows us to constantly reaffirm that we are on the same page, rowing in the same direction, reduce those mountains to molehills and other apropos platitudes.
Simply put, it allows us to constantly affirm a truth that often eludes us: That we are all working toward the same goal with respect to the success of our shared students. Our methods vary depending upon our role, but the vision remains the same.
As always, thank you for all you do for us and for our shared students!
ATTENDANCE INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
ATTENDANCE LINE PHONE NUMBER: 480-272-8604
Important STMS numbers
Office Line: 480-272-8600
Health Office Line: 480-272-8602
Upcoming Dates
February 28th: 3:00: Site Council
March 2nd and March 3rd: ELA and Math Benchmarks
March 2: 6:00 pm Science Night
March 3rd: Theme Day: Everything BASEBALL
March 3rd: 7:30: PTO Meeting
March 5th-11th: National Social Worker Appreciation Week (Thanks Mrs. DeMeo)
March 9th: Parent Teacher Conferences (information will be forthcoming from each teacher). See below flyer.
March 9th and March 10th: Early Release at 11:35
March 13th-17th: Spring Break
Parent Academy Spring Presentations
Parent Academy Spring Presentations: Please join us virtually for a series of speakers to inform our parent community about special topics related to today’s youth. To register and see our spring line-up, please visit our website:
Outstanding StAR Students
We talk so much at STMS about what we teach students at school should be practiced out in our community. There are students out there who continue to do the right thing, at school and outside of school and don't always get recognized for their efforts, or just might need a little pick me up.
As a reminder, STAR stands for- Safety, Trustworthy, Accountable, Respectful. Keep doing great things at STMS! If you or your child would like to recognize someone, the link is below. This will take you 30 seconds to complete. If you prefer to remain anonymous, we will make sure that happens.
Congratulations to our february Stingers of the Month!!!
Stinger Shining Staff
If you have 30-seconds and would like to recognize a staff member, please click on the link below. We appreciate these recognitions so much at STMS!
Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent Teacher conferences at Sonoran Trails are on March 9th.
Please consider the following before deciding if a teacher conference is needed:
Is your student failing any classes?
Is your student struggling with tests and quizzes?
Is your student struggling with study skills and organization?
Have you noticed a change in the social/emotional health of your student?
While we would love to have each and every parent attend parent/teacher conferences, we know that during these two days of conferences, there may not be enough time to have thorough conversations. Please know that our STMS staff is available to meet at any point; you do not need to wait until conference time to reach out to staff if you have concerns. Continue to check in using the PowerSchool parent portal, Google Classroom and the Google Calendar.
If your child has missed any school, s/he has two days for each missed day to make up that assignment. Every teacher offers Office Hours (office hours schedule can be found on our school website and below) for students to make up any and all work and we encourage students to attend so they can get extra support if they need it. If you see an "M" on their grade report in Parent Portal, students need to meet with their teacher. Again, we will work with you and your child, but your child must initiate that conversation. If your child has a lower grade due to missing school or struggling with the content, teachers may reach out to you as a priority for a parent teacher conference.
Teachers will be in contact with you in the next couple of weeks regarding times and availability.
Community partnerships
CCUSD has partnered with "The Study Coaches" and we will be offering tutoring through ECS for grades 7-12. Please see the below flyer and link for more information.
Academics
After-School Tutoring
As you know, STMS is offering after-school homework help for students who are in need of additional Math and Reading support, outside of office hours. This support will be offered on Mondays. If you are interested, please use the below google form to sign up. Once the tutoring is full, you will not be able to complete it for that week. It will be cleared out each Tuesday. Students will be enrolled based on their grades of either a C, D, or F and this will be cross-checked at school upon receipt of the registration.
Clubs
Clubs are here! Be sure your child listens to announcements so they too can be a part of what students have built on our campus. There is something for EVERYONE!
social work corner
This past Wednesday we had the second of our four-series Parent Presentations. February's topic is Growth Mindset Parenting. In a nutshell, having a growth mindset means we focus on praising the effort, not the outcome. It's the belief that intelligence and achievement can be changed by effort and practice. It involves a core component of "grit" which can be thought of as the combining of passion + perseverance.
If you weren't able to make it, the slides from the presentation are included below. As is a handout that was offered to attendees. I suggest printing it off, keeping it somewhere you'll see it (the fridge, bathroom mirror, etc). A lot of adults grew up in an outcome oriented household, meaning that effort wasn't valuable unless it led to success. Rewiring our brains to value effort takes work, and these visuals are often helpful in doing just that.
Please consider joining our next presentation, March 22nd at 10am in Room 420. The topic will be "Stress and Anxiety in Teens: How to Recognize It and What to Do".
counseling corner
Mrs. Love continues to be in all ELA classrooms to work on goal-setting for the future. Please take a moment to speak to your child about what they have learned from this and possibly any ideas your child may have for future goals in high school and beyond.
Athletics
YEARBOOKS
PTO
Upcoming PTO meetings:
March 31
May 5
PTO Board:
Sucheta Shah, President
Mollie Sutherland, Secretary
Virginia Sierra, Treasurer
Molly Oestreich and Meridith Kenney, Fun Shine Chairs
Shalee Crudo and JB Guadagnolo, Snack Shack Chairs
Kelly Harkins, Web and Technology
Jessica Spencer, Social and Site Council
STMS 2022-2023 Bell Schedules
Follow STMS on Social Media
Credits:
Created with images by geralt - "people google polaroid" • Wokandapix - "vote word letters"