DVUSD - Around Our Schools - March 21-25, 2011

Around Our Schools

March 21-25, 2011

Deer Valley Elementary Schools

Author Frank Monahan came to speak to kindergarten, 1^st and 2^nd graders at Canyon Springs on March 2. He read his books written about his basset hounds to the group and talked about writing. Students were captivated by his illustrations that were shown on the screen as he told his stories. His three children’s books are illustrated by Deborah Fitzgerald.

The National Junior Honor Society of Canyon Springs, under the direction of Britney Dueling, collected G. I. care packages of gratitude for our troops. Students donated an assortment of food, fun and personal items to be shipped to our troops. In addition to the goods, many students wrote letters of gratitude with pictures that will brighten up someone’s day.

Congratulations to the Canyon Springs Character Counts winners for the month of January.  The following students were nominated for exhibiting the trait of caring when dealing with their fellow students and staff:

Kindergarten: Makayla Harden, Uranik Samarxhiu, Wesley Lambert, Lejla Kadich, Brady Couturier, Arjola Lako, Emily Diaz, Samantha Jacobsen, Paige Melton, Rohan ChinthamCooper Wisener, Christopher Helfer 

First Grade: Dylan Tluczek, Kailyn Pahnke, Madison Prado, Nolan Dacasin, Chloe Bradley, Ethan Steele, Kimber Cox, Brock Larson. 

Second Grade: Lindsey Schnell, Jacob Kastelic, Kaley Adelman, Zachary Peters, Ryan Stento, Gabrielle Baer, Grace Petty, Mark Soerheide 

Third Grade: Taylor Adams, Ibraheem Khanfar, Xzavier Buckland, Nicole Frankel, Seth MacDougall, Devyn Macias, Bailey Hamel, Cody Brake, Elizabeth Cave, Kenan Kadich

Fourth Grade: Quentin Buckland, Jordanne Brinkmann, Dallin Beck, Linda Chapman,Alyssa Broumley, Jonathan Sanchez, Zeana Lopez, Harrison Wheeler. 

Fifth Grade: Katelyn O’Nele,     Logan Scholz, Lillian LeBlanc, Amy Haverkate, Yazmine Diaz, Justin Luecker, Setkije Ollomani, Joel Bejar

 Sixth Grade:  Arleth Montoya, Jeremy Guerrero, Cara Chiappetta, Alycia Phillippi, Naphia Morris, Max Lewis, Sierra Koci, Colby Lambert.

Seventh Grade: Adam Hall, Parker Morris, Max Lewis, Alexandria Oliveri, Armir Lako, Keeli Poulos, Cody Reimer, Jordan Toon

 Eighth Grade: Taylar Kelly, Andrew Norcia, Jordan Peralta, Jacob Anderson, Kyle Reimer, Destiny Horton, Megan Rother, Riley McWilliams.

The following Constitution staff members were awarded Pride Awards at the March 8 DVUSD Board Meeting:

Classified:  Teresa Garcia

Certified:  Karla Gutierrez-Whitmire

Business Partner:  Jeanne Getz

Volunteer:  Jon Leithmann

This month Constitution students went on the following field trips:

Kindergarten: Phoenix Zoo

2^nd Grade:  Halle Heart Museum

3^rd Grade:  Arizona Science Center

4^th Grade:  Arizona State Capital

6^th Grade:  Desert Outdoor Center

Author, C.A. Goody visited Constitution students earlier this month to discuss the writing process, what it’s like to be an author, and how our students can add zip to their creative writing.

Congratulations to students Hannah Hafalia, Megan Pallad, and Ben Sterbach for representing Copper Creek at the AZ All State Honor Band Concert this past Saturday.

With the help of Deer Valley Rock Center the Desert Mountain specials teachers have created a Sonoran Desert activity, the Desert Mountain Tribe Trek, for 1st through 8th graders which will take place April 21. Blackhawk, a desert jackrabbit is traveling with his tribe called the Desert Mountain Tribe through the desert in search of water. Students will stop at four stations along their trek, each station mimicking different skills and arts. Students will be creating clay disk petroglyphs, play flutes, use agave fibers to make cordage, and practice ancient spear throwing. Each grade level will be tracked via Google Maps as they “travel” across the desert.

Desert Sage recently held their annual Field Day and students participated in multiple events.  Individual and team events included tug of war, 60 yard dash, drip, drip, splash, mile run, and many more.  Students who finished in the top siz in each event received awards at a special assembly.  This event was coordinated by Mrs. Douglass and Mr. Dempsey.

Sixth grade students from Desert Sage recently attended the Renaissance Festival as part of their study of the Renaissance period.  The students were able to explore a variety of sights, sounds and experiences, bringing to life the ambiance of an early European village celebration.  Students were able to view a live jousting match, and experience music and dancing from that period.   

The Desert Sage students and community collected shoes for WAMMS (Walk-A-Mile-in-My-Shoes), and over the course of one month donated 425 pairs of shoes. These shoes will be sent to children in need in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

The Renaissance Gifted academy has been awarded $5,900 from Honeywell Aerospace Honeywell Hometown Solutions for a robotics program for students in

grades 4-6.

Gavilan Peak School would like to invite everyone to come out and support "We Care of Anthem" events in honor of student Avian Allen.  Avian was a student who attended Gavilan Peak and died tragically due to an asthma event.  She was an outstanding student/athlete who is missed by the community. 

Date: Friday, March 25th, 2011
Time:  4:30 p.m. Carnival, 6:15 p.m. Staff vs. Students Basketball Games
Location:  Boulder Creek High School

The students will be designing booths that will include games and activities for all ages.  Other activities include live music, a bounce house, raffles and more.  Don't forget to bring an appetite.  Streets of New York will be catering our evening.  Pizza, sandwiches/chips, soft drinks, coffee and tea will be sold.  Streets of New York will donate a significant portion of the proceeds back to us.  Snacks will also be sold at our concession stand for a minimal cost.

Admission to the event is $2.00. For more information, contact Jeff Kalk at Gavilan Peak School (623) 445-7440 jeff.kalk@dvusd.org.

Throughout February and March Greenbrier student council sponsored a fund raiser for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – Desert Mountain States Chapter.  The projects name was “Pennies for Patients” so students were encouraged to bring in any loose change to help support the cause.  The Greenbrier students and community raised $1,386.56 in change, which will be donated to help fund research and patient care for those suffering from various blood cancers.

Greenbrier 6^th graders have been learning about ancient China.  The students have completed many artistic and beautiful projects and models which will be on display in the foyer area outside of the classrooms throughout the week for parents and students to view.

Through the students’ hard work and enthusiasm, Highland Lakes was able to raise $1,816 from their 3^rd Annual Read-A-Thon last month which will be used to purchase more leveled reading materials for students in grades K-6. 

The teachers in grades K-6 set aside a 2 ½ hour block of time during the day and the students were encouraged to bring in their blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, and favorite books to read.  The students collected pledges from family and friends. 

As an incentive, the students who brought in the most pledges for their grade level (K-6) were able to select a $25 gift card to either Harkins theater, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Toys R Us, Cold Stone Creamery, or Jump Street.  The top pledge winner received a Canon Powershot camera.  Highland Lakes’ PTA provided the gift cards and camera.

New River sponsored a Hoedown as a part of Read Across America Week. This fun family event was attended by over 200 people.  The activities included line dancing, two steps, games, food and performances by grade levels. 

The students at New River participated in the 2011 Field Day. The day began with everyone on the basketball courts for the Pledge of Allegiance and the Star Spangled Banner led by Paraprofessional, Tina Algier. Students in 4^th through 6^th grades participated in a traditional field day.  Their activities included the mile run, high jump, discus, shot put, 4x100 relay, hurdles, long jump, and 50 yard dash. 

The students in kindergarten through 3^rd grade had a noncompetitive field day.  Their activities included Water Relay, Tug of War, Obstacle Course, Parachute, Scooter Pacman, and Splish Splash.  The children were able to enjoy the outside while listening to music while eating their special barbecue lunch. PE teacher Cathy Dudzinski coordinated the event.

As part of Park Meadows, “Stung in Action” the following students were chosen from a weekly drawing in support of Positive Behavior Intervention to attend a Suns basketball game:

Chandler Miller, Miranda Rogers, Madilyn Mills, Andi Musliu, Samantha Coco,  Jillian Ping, Zackery Mahaffy, Robert Breese, Bryce Hainline, Noah Ackeman, Dayzon Dunn, Billy Rogers, and Irann Jereza.

Two students were chosen to not only attend the basketball game but meet and have their photos taken with Suns players on the basketball court during halftime. Congratulations to 5^th grader Lorik Musliu in Diane Fox’s class and 4^th grader Jordan Miller in Shelly Coco’s class.

Pre-school students in Ronna Colbert and Kelli Ford’s classes were learning all about rockets, robots and space. Students were thrilled to get a visit from a real life sized robot named Robbie the Robot. Jonathan Starr, owner of Games2U Entertainment, waved his fee of $300 for the use of Robbie the Robot to educate students about robots. 

The book fair will be open from March 22-30 in room 620. The book fair will be open until 8 p.m. on Thursday March 24^th during parent teacher conferences. There will be a wide selection of reading level literature, posters, and other fun items available for purchase.

Sierra Verde’s STEM Spotlight night was held on Thursday, March 10. Students, families, and community members came out to witness STEM in action. Sierra Verde faculty and staff collaborated nicely to organize STEM stations, display science fair projects and create partnerships to make the night a success. Under the leadership of seventh grade science teacher, Hilary Blanchard the night was well organized.  NJHS student ambassadors led district office administrators throughout the campus. Parents were able to enjoy science fair project demonstrations, hands-on math activities and technology utilized at Sierra Verde. The evening ended with a band concert under the stars conducted by Mr. Elliot Speidell.

Many Sierra Verde business and community partnerships attended the event including: APS, Branded Cities, Daktronics, Patterson Dental, Arizona Rattlers, Autoclad, Packaging Corporation, Ganem-Houston Construction, Sardella’s Pizza, Jamba Juice, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Alan Church, and RFID Tagging Technology.  The business partnerships allowed students to see how their STEM curriculum ties into potential future career opportunities.

Sierra Verde students were honored for their hard work third quarter during an awards assembly on Tuesday, March 8. Students Cole Ramsdale and Zachary Cihlar were awarded the Character Counts Award for their outstanding displays of character during the third quarter of school.  

Superintendent Dr. Kriekard presented Sierra Verde with the following awards: Red Carpet Service Award, Student Achievement Award, and A+ in Excellence Award.

Congratulations to Jenna Ames who was Sierra Verde’s Third Quarter Perfect Attendance Bike winner. Thank you to Horace-Mann and Jeanne Getz for donating the bike and recognizing the importance of perfect attendance and student achievement.

Sierra Verde will be hosting their official ribbon cutting event celebrating their WeatherBug installation. Special guests include Ms. Blanca Esparza, an affiliate of Channel 3 News, along with her camera crew.

Congratulations to the following Stetson Hills students who were members of the 2011 Elementary/Jr. High All-State Band: Kelly Anderson--Trumpet  6th grade, Ashley Bonsignore--Clarinet  7th grade, Grahm Kenobbie--Trombone  7th grade, Delaney Kelly--French Horn  8th grade, Trey Newton--Trumpet  8th grade, Alex Dominguez--Trombone  8th grade.

Village Meadows students revently celebrated Spirit Week and Field Day.

West Wing School had their first “one day penny drive” in honor of Presidents' Day last month and students raised $1,261.70 in coins. Midfirst Bank matched $1,000 of the donated monies, bringing the grand total raised in ONE DAY to $2,261.70.  All monies donated will be used to purchase a digital marquee for the school. 

West Wing is proud to announce that Student Council collected a total of 9,931 diapers for Homeward Bound.

Deer Valley High Schools

Deer Valley Crossroads has been awarded a $7,500 Season for Sharing Grant by the Arizona Republic. Funds will be used to purchase a SMART Board for students.  

Congratulations to Barry Goldwater HS student Shantanu Bala who has been awarded the 2011 Flinn Scholarship. He is a 2011 Flinn Scholar Designate.

Barry Goldwater HS Wind Ensemble received a rating of "Superior" at ABODA Area Concert Festival on February 24 at McClintock HS. 

Forty students attended the Arizona DECA Career Development. Goldwater DECA brought home 8 medals:

Gold – Mittal Patel and Marissa Mandigo

Silver – Daniel Yakymenko (Yak eh men ko)

Bronze – Michael Bayne, Rebecca Campbell, Cindy Lyon, Taylor Ryan, and Vince Velez (Veh- lez)

Qualifiers for International  Competition in Orlando, FL this May are:

Mittal  Patel – Principles of Business Administration - #2 Overall in his event

Marissa Mandigo – Retail Management - #2 Overall in her event

Goldwater student Michael Bayne was awarded the Arizona DECA $1,000 scholarship.

Goldwater DECA also received the Chapter Award – Diamond Level.

Boulder Creek DECA participated in the Arizona DECA State Competition this week. Students earned high scores and the following students received medals for their performance:

For the Hospitality Cluster Exam, Zachary Charnell (senior) received a GOLD Medal and Pascual Santiago (senior) received a Bronze Medal. For the Principles of Business Exam, Laura Giselle Melendez (sophomore) received a Bronze Medal. For the Marketing Cluster Exam, Connor Mullins (junior) and Brian Singer (senior) received Bronze Medals.

Brian Singer was the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship from Arizona DECA and presided as an Arizona DECA state officer. In the Food Marketing event, Brian placed top 5 in both role plays and 2^nd place overall; qualifying to represent Arizona DECA in competition at the international level.

The 2011 international competition will be held in Orlando, Florida this April. At the international competition, Brian will compete in Food Marketing and additional Boulder Creek DECA students will participate in leadership development activities.

Eight Boulder Creek band students auditioned for the All-State Band on March 12 and two were selected as well as an alternate:  

Adam Soper - 1st chair Tuba player in the state

Jeoffri Englis - 4th chair Alto Saxophone in the state

Michael Gregoire - 1st Alternate Alto Saxophone in the state

These are the first students in the school's history to make it into the All-State Band.

Boulder Creek had four students who auditioned for the All-State Honor Choir. Congratulations to Jordan Woods who placed in the choir as 15^th chair tenor and Steven Langenhorst who placed as 6^th alternate for the Bass section.

Boulder Creek High School choir and band competed in the Anaheim Heritage Festival. The Bella Voce Honor Choir, Concert Choir, Women's Show, Bel Canto Singers, Symphonic Band, and Percussion Ensemble all qualified for a silver award. This is graded on a national standard achievement.

Other Heritage Festival achievements included:

-       The Concert Choir received 2^nd place amongst the concert choirs that performed in the 3A division.

-       The Honor Choir received 3^rd place amongst the Women's Choirs that performed in the 3A division.

-       In the show choir portion, the Bel Canto Singers received 2^nd place in the 3A division and the Women's Show earned 3^rd place in the same category.

-       The band earned 3^rd place amongst the bands in the 3A division.

-       Senior Samantha Sidoti was recognized amongst the thousands of students that participated from the various schools by Disney and the Heritage Festival for a student that goes above and beyond in the community.

Congratulations to State Academic Decathlon winner Brendan McNicholas for earning the Gold Medal in Music Competition and Bronze Medal in Super Quiz Competition.

Congratulations to the following DVHS DECA members who will be attending this year's International Career Development Conference and competition in Orlando Florida:  Makayla Moosman, Abby Mleynek, Cameron Kaiser and Elyana Hoskyns who placed 2nd at state and Brittany Lucero, Kyle Kaiser and Phil Special who placed 5th at state.  Also Congratulations to Brittany Lucero for being elected to the 2011-2012 State Action Team. 

Congratulations to the DVHS Performance Dancers for receiving a Superior rating on their performance at the Arizona High School Dance Festival.

The following DVHS students were selected to the 2011 All State Band: 

Steven Cheatham   Tuba

Brianna Dahlquist    Alto Sax

Richard Williford      Trombone

Members of the Wind Ensemble and Performance Jazz were rated Superior With Distinction at the Area Concert and Jazz Festivals. This is the highest rating possible.

Congratulations to State Academic Decathlon winners:

Speech Competition (Gold Medal) - Andrew Warren     

Super Quiz Competition (Silver Medal) - Jordan Spualding

Mountain Ridge High School Band directed by George Hattendorf had 11 students make All-State including one freshman. Students are: Alex Brooks (11), Gabe Berry (12), Ha Neul Han (12), Martin Duarte (9), Samantha Fay (11), Jameson Berry (11), Matthew Loehr (12), Alex Guyton (12), Desmond Ng (12) - four year member! Michael Skidmore (12), Brian Cater (12).

MRHS Winter Guard came in second place in the WGI Phoenix Regional held at Highland HS. WGI (Winter Guard International) is the NFL of this activity. In two weeks students will participate in a Super Regional bringing groups together from around the country.

Congratulations to State Academic Decathlon winner Sathya Venkatesh earning a Bronze Medal in the Interview Competition.

Congratulations to State Academic Decathlon winner Patrick Martin for earning a Silver Medal in the Math Competition.