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Desert Willow Roadrunner Review September 14, 2022

Desert Willow Families,

One of the many characteristics that I admire about Desert Willow is the sense of community among the staff, students and families. I see many families working together at pick up/drop off, parents organizing times for school projects, and volunteers sharing information about the override to our community. It is wonderful to see you being supportive, respectful, and kind towards one other. Every day we proactively strive to maintain and keep our community vibe by speaking respectfully, dressing appropriately while on school property, and maintaining happiness on our campus. Having a positive environment takes all of us making the choice to be kind, even in moments of frustration. Thank you for making this conscience decision for our school- for our students. This allows for Desert Willow to be a safe place and haven for our students. We care and it shows! Check out our CCUSD video here.

Just a couple of things to share with you for our first quarter conferences this month:

  • Report cards will NOT be printed; it is imperative that you have access to parent portal (and completed your annual updates)
  • During conferences, we will be focusing on student progress. Learning for for life-loving to learn

Roadrunner Ready, Brandie Baca-Dunlap

CCUSD Parent Portal

Please remember to update your information in PowerSchool. Please note that this process will need to be completed via a web browser, as the PowerSchool Parent Mobile app does NOT currently support this functionality. If you experience any difficulties with this process, please contact the Educational Technology Department for assistance, at (480) 575-2005.

STATE ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

4th - 6th grade families: Please stop by the front office and pick up your child’s 2022 AASA scores. Thank you!

STUDENT ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL PROCEDURES AT DESERT WILLOW

  • The safest way to pick up your child is the school bus or carline pick up.
  • It is very important NOT to cut in the lines, as your child(ren) will not be ready for pick up. Your specific number tells us to get your child(ren) ready for pick up.
  • Use marked crosswalks (Please do not wave students across the street)
  • Please stay in your car during dismissal.
  • Please do not park in the neighborhood and tell your child to walk to your car without supervision.
  • If your child is a “walker,” they should be walking directly to their house. We cannot reasonably supervise our neighborhood streets to ensure your child makes it home safely.
  • For the safety and security of all our students, we will not call students out of class between 3:00-3:30 pm.
  • All dismissal transportation changes need to be communicated to our office prior to 2:30 pm.

For our families utilizing drive up drop off an/or pick up, here are some helpful tips.

  • Line up single file.
  • Do not enter the front driveway until 8:40 AM or 3:25 PM.
  • Drive slowly and cautiously.
  • Our preschool students dismiss earlier than other classrooms and they are allowed to pull into the parking before 3:25pm. This allows our youngest students and our students requiring extra assistance time to safely get into their vehicles and exit campus.
  • At arrival -Thank you for dropping off only in the bus lane, not the parking lot. We greatly appreciate you helping us not have students cross the drop-off lane!
  • At dismissal - Show your car tag number to our staff member. Please have them visible in your car. Sometimes Maestra Bright is not able to see as high as your vehicle dashboard. Pull up to a colored dot. Stay in order.
  • Wait for your child. We will unload and load 10 cars at a time.
  • Please do not get out of the vehicle. One of our staff or Roadrunner Patrol will come and assist your child to the car.
  • We will only allow students to climb into cars on the passenger side of the vehicle.
  • If your child needs assistance buckling their car seat please pull forward and park in the parking lot so that you can assist your child and we can keep the car line moving. Staff and students do not buckle students.
  • Please do not pass other drivers unless directed to do so.
  • If your child is not ready at dismissal, we will ask you to park and we will bring them out when ready.

Please remember that to assist with the safety of our walkers and the efficiency of our car pick up option, the walkers will be dismissed a few minutes later, we are opening the gate by 3:35pm. As we all become more familiar with the procedures, the quicker every dismissal option will become. Thank you for your understanding and help with this.

A few reminders from the local Phoenix Police Department to follow:

  • School zone speed limit of 15mph
  • Use marked crosswalks (please do not wave students across the street)
  • PCC 36-134 (stopping, standing, and parking regulations)
  • ARS 28-815 (blocking bike lanes)

MEET OUR 5th & 6th Grade TEACHERS

CCUSD September Student of the Month

Way to go Harrison, our CCUSD Student of the Month!

Patriot's Day Celebration

We had a fantastic Patriot's Day Celebration with Dr. Monroe and Ms. Quinn grilling for our students, families, and first responders. Our students enjoyed spending lunch with Phoenix Police Officers and Daisy Mountain Fire. Thank you!

Art

Materials needed for our art class:
  • Non-plastic egg cartons

Choir at the Diamondbacks Game

Friday, September 16th @ 6:40pm

Come watch our amazing Roadrunner Choir sing at the Diamondbacks Game! You can sit near your friends if you purchase tickets through this link.

Choir families, be sure to purchase tickets for your singing Roadrunner and your family before they sell out!

Ricky is back and traveling the world! Ask your child(ren) about Ricky throughout the week! They recieve clues every day in the student-created morning announcements.

ATTENDANCE REMINDER

If your child will be late or absent, please call the attendance line at 480-575-2800 and leave a message or email for Ms. Jennifer at jdennison@ccusd93.net. If your child arrives late they must be signed in at the front office by an adult. Students are late if they are not in their classrooms when the 9:00 AM bell rings.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR DWES EVENTS

UPCOMING DATES

9/14 - 2:00pm Dismissal

9/20 - Picture Day- SMILE!

9/21 - 8am CCUSD Business Partner Breakfast (please see info below in District News)

9/21 - 2:00pm Dismissal

9/21 8am CCUSD Business Partner Breakfast (see below in District News)

9/21 6pm Governing Board Candidate Forum @ Fine Arts Center

9/21 6pm Parent Academy: Building Resilient Families via Zoom

9/26 No School - September Break

9/27 - 9/30 - Parent Teacher Conference Week

9/28 - 2:00pm Dismissal

9/29 & 9/30 - Half Day - Dismissal @ 12:30pm Parent Teacher Conferences

JOIN AND SUPPORT THE DWES PTO

By joining the PTO you will have a say in future PTO elections and vote on important items to enhance your student’s educational journey at DWES. Register to join on the PTO Website: https://desertwillowpto.org/

PTO OPPORTUNITIES THAT SUPPORT DWES

PTO OPPORTUNITIES THAT SUPPORT DWES

Fry's Community Rewards Program- If you shop at Fry's Food Grocery Store, please link up your Fry's V.I.P. card to Desert Willow or enter organization number WM786. Fry's Community Rewards Program will automatically donate to DWES on your behalf from your purchases! Here is a link to Fry's Community Rewards Program to link your card.

Amazon Smile - Shop on Amazon? Support DWES every time you shop at no cost to you! Select Desert Willow PTO as the charitable organization and every eligible purchase you make on Amazon Smile will result in a donation to our school. Here is a link to shop!

Tuft & Needle - Need a new mattress? Buy one the easy way - online and with FREE shipping! Tuft & Needle has partnered with our school and will donate 25% back to DWES on every purchase. Order through Tuft & Needle Gives Back or on the Tuft & Needle website and enter Desert Willow Elementary School, it's as easy as that!

Click here to see ALL of the unique and easy ways you can immediately help raise funds for DWES while you shop!

PTO SPONSORS

Nina Bella Photography is a local Cave Creek photographer specializing in families, milestones, and newborns. I am passionate about my work and having happy clients who truly treasure what I can do for them.
The Craftsman specializes in traditional, comfort food dishes with a global twist.
M2 Enterprise is a home remodel construction company specializing in bathroom remodels, custom showers, kitchen remodels, flooring, mudrooms, & more. Owned and operated by Mark DiGianfilippo, M2 Enterprise serves Cave Creek, North Scottsdale, North Phoenix, and Paradise Valley. M2 is licensed, bonded, & insured. ROC #311513 #312046. Free consultations. 480-256-8165. Follow us on Instagram at @m2enterpiseaz
Complete Eye Care - Comprehensive eye exams and high quality vision care for the whole family. 33717 N Scottsdale Rd, #110, Scottsdale, AZ 85266. 480-488-7007.

Thank you Christofferson and Legge families

FOLLOW DESERT WILLOW ELEMENTARY ON SOCIAL MEDIA

We love to share all of the great things happening at our school site. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates.

DWES on Facebook

DWES on Instagram

Counselor's corner

Introducing Parent Academy! This year CCUSD is excited to offer a series of professional speakers to inform parents about special topics that may impacct our young people and community. The first presentation is on Internet Safety and is presented by the Arizona Attorney General's office. People, including children, are spending more time online that ever before. Unfortunately, this is also true for criminals and predators that use the internet to exploit children and take advantage of the vulnerable.

Fortunately, there are steps both adults and youth can take to protect themselves. The Online Safety curriculum for K-12, is a valuable resource that includes information on cyber predators, cyber-bullying and other helpful online safety tips.

Please join us for this virtual session on September 21st at 6pm. Register by completing this online form or scan the QR code below, and a session link will be emailed to you the day of the presentation.

Please note that the registration links do not work, but we will be including working QR codes with each flyer. ~Thank you!

News around the district

ECS

ECS has some great classes coming to our campus this year! Check out their website!

CHEER CLINIC

CCUSD BUSINESS PARTNERS BREAKFAST

CAVE CREEK UNIFIED EDUCATION FOUNDATION

HELPFUL LINKS

CCUSD GOVERNING BOARD

REMEMBER TO VOTE- NOVEMBER 8, 2022

Created By
Brandie Baca-Dunlap
Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by dragonstock - "Woman holding earth front of blackboard" • Philip Steury - "Row Of Messy Colorful Paint Brushes And Containers On Isolated White Background - Creativity Concept" • enterlinedesign - "Choir Letterpress Concept on Dark Background" • No-longer-here - "calendar icons calendar icons" • geralt - "people google polaroid" • Rawpixel.com - "Diverse Hands Holding Word Vote Concept"