March 9, 2007
SUSD has First School Bus Operation to Earn VPP "Star" Status in OSHA Program
 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) presented Dan Shearer, director of transporters of learners, and the First Vehicle Service team with the prestigious Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) “Star” status. SUSD’s San Salvador Bus Maintenance Location is the first school bus repair facility to achieve the Star status as a result of its participation in the VPP OSHA Challenge Pilot. The SUSD bus garage is managed by David Kline and operated by First Vehicle Services (FVS), an international general fleet services contractor.
"We are proud of this noteworthy achievement–it's truly a milestone–and we look forward to continued improvement in our safety and health management systems,” says Shearer. “This goes hand-in-hand with SUSD goals and is especially important to a District that prides itself on being one of Arizona’s most excelling school districts.”
The OSHA VPP recognizes the outstanding efforts of employers and employees who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and health. The VVP Challenge Pilot was designed to help companies take a more proactive approach to occupational safety and health by providing a detailed roadmap that guides them to improve their safety and health management systems and meet VPP recognition criteria. VPP companies achieve average injury and illness rates that are 50 percent lower than other companies in their industry.
In qualifying for "Star" status, First Vehicle Services verified that they had implemented programs and procedures beyond those required under OSHA standards. The requirements for application to VPP include a high degree of management support and employee involvement, high quality worksite hazard analysis protocols, prevention and control programs, and comprehensive safety and health training for all employees.
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Desert Mountain Wins State Championship
The Desert Mountain Boys’ Basketball team defeated Paradise Valley High School for the State 5A Division II Title Tuesday night at the Jobbing.com Arena.
This is the first time a DMHS basketball team has won a state championship. The final score of the game was 65-55.
Congratulations to the team members and Coach Todd Fazio!
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Planting the Seeds of Friendship
Gardens are blossoming at several campuses this spring. Many of our students, faculty, staff and community members are working together to spruce up their schools.
 Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center celebrated the renewal of their garden with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Thursday. The ANLC garden has been an exciting place of growth and discovery for students. This fall the garden was completely redesigned with generous donations of both time and money. The students are so excited to begin spring planting and to release ladybugs, which will take place throughout the day on March 21st .
 Building friendships is the theme of Desert Canyon Middle School’s new Friendship garden. By working together, students in the Self-Contained Autism class, the student government and Bob Heidenric, custodian, created an opportunity for students in the regular classroom to interact with students in a Self-Contained Autism classroom. The idea of a garden originated when students in the Self-Contained Autism class showed great interest in their indoor planting Science lessons. The “Friends Program” is adapted from the Friend program developed by the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) which focuses on Autism awareness.
Navajo Elementary School is creating the Navajo Community Butterfly Garden. Parents, students, teachers and staff assisted in selecting and placing plants that will attract and retain butterfly populations. Lowe’s Home Improvement, Basha’s and other neighborhood businesses and individuals provided gardening tools, soil and plants.
Yavapai Elementary School’s Garden Club will be creating a Children’s Tranquility Garden this spring. The club is hoping to team with Arizona State University landscape architecture students to design the garden. The school recently received a $1,000 grant from Lowe’s Home Improvement store.
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Chaparral Student Organizes Book Drive
Do you have new or used children's books that you'd like to donate? Brad Schell, a junior at Chaparral High School, in conjunction with Cochise Elementary School and Cocopah Middle School is collecting children's books for distribution to disadvantaged children in the Valley. Books will be collected through March 23 for distribution after spring break. Books can be dropped off at the APT room at Cochise or at the library at Cocopah.
Brad got the idea of a book drive because he was constantly dropping off donated books at the Mustang Library for his family. He decided it would be better to give the children's books directly to less fortunate children who may never get to a library. Brad's parents suggested he try and collect more books from family, friends and neighbors. His initial goal was to collect 1,000 books.
"I am nearly there with just the books I have managed to round up myself. The Cochise APT President heard about the book drive and wanted to get involved. Coincidentally, I had planned on going over and talking to them the following day. I was the school president at Cochise when I was in 5th grade. I then contacted Cocopah, my former middle school, and they agreed to help, also," he said.
For more information about the book drive, please e-mail Brad .
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News From the SUSD Foundation The Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) Foundation is an emerging advocate and funding 501(c)3 organization. Its mission is to enhance our children’s educational experiences in the areas of science, technology and creativity. Read more about the the SUSD Foundation, including information about the 1st Annual Stroke of Genius Golf Classic on April 19 and more, in the March newsletter .
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SPC Seeks New Board Members
Scottsdale Parent Council (SPC) has formed a Nominating Committee for next year and is looking for parents that are interested in serving on the Executive Board. In order to have equal representation across the District, SPC's Board consists of two Executive Board members from each of the Five Complexes.
If you are interested in serving on the SPC Executive Board for the 2007-2008 school year, please contact Jeff Winkler, nominating committee chair, for further information.
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Comprehensive Gifted Self-Contained School Tours
Gifted Services is hosting Comprehensive Gifted Program Tours at the following schools:
- Pima Elementary School — May 9 from 1-3 p.m., 8330 E. Osborn Road
- Zuni Elementary School — March 7 and May 16 from 1-3 p.m., 9181 E. Redfield Road
- Mohave Middle School — March 21 and April 10 from 2-4 p.m., 5520 N. 86th St.
- Desert Canyon Middle School — April 11 from 2-4 p.m., 10203 E. McDowell Mountain Ranch Road
Reserve your seat today by e-mailing your name, address and phone number to Robin Madison. Also, indicate the location and date you plan to attend. Click here to view the informational flyer.
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The first graders in Mrs. Tancos’ class at Navajo Elementary School celebrated Read Across America with a read-a-thon. They set a goal to collectively read 100 books in 1 hour. Not only did they meet the goal, but passed the goal with a grand total of 107 books. Way to go Buffaloes!
Second grade students at Sequoya Elementary School put on their Patriotic Performance called “Let’s Hear It For America” on March 2nd. All second graders have been working very hard this past month learning songs about patriotism.
Anna He, Joe Spiro, Liat Spiro, Garrett Buzzard and Max Ullman from Chaparral High School were on the winning team at the Arizona Regional Science Bowl Competition that was held on March 3 at Glendale Community College. They will travel with their coaches, Pete Williams and Ann Hammersly, to Washington, D.C. to compete in the National Science Bowl April 26-30. Science Bowl is a "quiz show" format in which teams of students are challenged to answer questions from all areas of science. The competition is sponsored by the Department of Energy.
Desert Mountain High School International Baccalaureate students Alex Marty, team captain, Bret Fogel and Sam Lipman participated in a taping of Brainstorm on March 3rd.
The following Anasazi Elementary School students proudly won awards in the Coalition for Smoke-free Air contest