In this issue...

January 25, 2008

Scottsdale Named as One of the Best Communities for Young People

For the third consecutive year, the City of Scottsdale is being honored for helping young people succeed, and the Scottsdale Unified School District is proud to be part of that recognition.

The City has been named one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People by America’s Promise – The Alliance for Youth. The quality of education in Scottsdale’s schools was cited as a key factor in the ranking.

More than 1,000 communities nationwide vied for the organization's recognition.

Criteria for selecting the top 100 included community support of children and youth; resources children and youth receive; children and youth outcomes; community innovations in the areas of policy; practice and resources; progress to date and plans for the coming year and broad diversity of American life.

The initiative is sponsored by Colin Powell. For more information about America's Promise, please visit www.americaspromise.org.

back to top

Arcadia Teacher Wins Outstanding Teacher of American History Award

Heather Demmons, a teacher at Arcadia High School, has won the Outstanding Teacher of American History award for the state of Arizona. She was nominated by retired Arcadia teacher Paulette Lollar, a member of the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The national award winner will be announced in July.

Heather is an outstanding teacher who bristles at the thought that some consider history a boring subject. She brings great enthusiasm into her classroom and uses a variety of strategies to help students develop critical thinking skills which will serve them well the rest of their lives. Heather is also the sponsor of Club STAND (Students Taking Action Now - Darfur). STAND has raised more than $20,000 to provide relief to the displaced victims of the turmoil in Sudan.

back to top

Scottsdale All City Athletic Awards Banquet

Scottsdale All City Athletic Awards Banquet is at 6 p.m. on Monday, January 28 at Chaparral Suites, 5001 N. Scottsdale Road.

This new, tri-annual banquet is a way for Scottsdale citizens and businesses to recognize and honor the accomplishments — both academic and athletic — of athletes within SUSD’s sports programs. More than 40 athletes will be honored and scholarships totaling several thousand dollars will be handed out by the Scottsdale Charros and Scottsdale Healthcare. Fall sports will be honored during this banquet. These sports include: football, swimming and diving, cross-country, badminton, golf and volleyball.

The next two banquets will take place later in the spring:

• March 24, 2008 for winter sports (basketball, wrestling, soccer)
• May 19, 2008 for spring sports (track, baseball, softball, tennis)

back to top

SUSD Seeks Input

If you have ideas about how SUSD can best utilize our school facilities, please send those suggestions to neighborhoodschools@susd.org. We look forward to hearing from you.

back to top

Scottsdale Republic to Feature SUSD Teachers

Do you know an outstanding teacher in the Scottsdale Unified School District? Would you like that teacher to be recognized in the newspaper? The Scottsdale Republic is running a new weekly feature highlighting a different SUSD teacher each week. To nominate a teacher for this feature, simply fill out the online Teacher Nomination Form.

*Please note that a high resolution photo must be submitted to be considered for publication.

To view Hohokam Elementary School teacher Pam Barbosa's nomination that ran in the Scottsdale Republic, please visit: www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/0122sr-teacher0123barbosa-ON.html

back to top

Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Round-Ups

Schools throughout the District will be hosting tours and open houses in preparation for enrolling children in Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten for the 2008-2009 school year. Come visit us to meet teachers and principals and learn about great features offered by schools in the Scottsdale Unified School District.

For more information, please view the schedule for Pre-Kindergarten Round-Up and Kindergarten Round-Up at a school in your area.

back to top

"The Myth and Magic" — Middle School Road Shows

"The Myth and Magic" — Middle School Road Shows are a great way to learn about what to expect during the transition from elementary school to middle school. To help make that transition smooth, parents are invited to attend Myth and Magic — the Middle School Road Show.

Upcoming Dates:

• Mohave at 5 p.m. on January 29 in the Cafeteria at Navajo Elementary, 4525 N. Granite Reef Road, Scottsdale.
• Supai at 6 p.m. on January 29 in the Media Center at Yavapai Elementary, 701 N. Miller Road, Scottsdale.
  • At 6 p.m. on February 7 in the Cafeteria at Tonalea Elementary, 6801 E. Oak St., Scottsdale.
• Desert Canyon Middle at 6 p.m. on January 29 in the Cafeteria, 10203 E. McDowell Mountain Ranch Road, Scottsdale.
• Cocopah Middle at 6:30 p.m. on February 19 in the Cafeteria at Sequoya Elementary, 11808 N. 64th St., Scottsdale.
  • At 6:30 p.m. on February 21 in the Library at Cochise Elementary, 9451 N. 84th St., Scottsdale.
  • At 6:30 p.m. on February 27 in the at Cafeteria at Cherokee Elementary, 8801 N. 56th St., Paradise Valley.

back to top

Comprehensive Gifted Self-Contained School Tours

Gifted Services is hosting Comprehensive Gifted Program Tours at the following schools:

• Pima Elementary, 8330 E. Osborn Road, Scottsdale, from 1-3 p.m. on February 20^th, April 2^nd, and April 30^th
• Zuni Elementary, 9181 Redfield Road, Scottsdale, from 1-3 p.m. on March 5^th, April 16^th, and May 14^th
• Mohave Middle, 5520 N. 86th St., Scottsdale, from 11 a.m.-12:30p.m. on February 27^th, April 9^th and May 7^th
• Desert Canyon Middle, 10203 E. McDowell Mountain Ranch Road, Scottsdale, from 2-4 p.m. on January 23^rd, March 26^th, April 23^rd and May 21^st

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.

You may view frequently asked questions, the criteria for acceptance into the program and download the application at www.susd.org/district/gifted/Comprehensive.cfm.

back to top

Upcoming Events

• Scottsdale Unified School District and Kaplan are offering SAT Classes at Arcadia, Chaparral and Desert Mountain High Schools in the spring. For dates and times, please view the flyer.
   
• Copper Ridge Math & Science Academy is hosting its 2008-2009 Open House for 9^th, 10^th and 11^th graders from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. on January 26 at the school, 10101 E. Thompson Peak Parkway, Scottsdale 85255. For more information or to open enroll, please call 480-484-1560.
   
• A Scottsdale Police Department representative will be the guest speaker at Saguaro High School's PTO meeting at 6:30 p.m. on January 28 in the media Center at Saguaro, 6250 N. 82nd St., Scottsdale. "Youth and the Law" will include information that is important for parents to know while raising their teens and young adults. This event is open to all SUSD complexes.
   
• The Arizona Association for Gifted and Talented will hold its annual conference on February 6, 7 and 8 at the Black Canyon Conference Center in Phoenix. This conference attracts more than 600 participants a day from around Arizona including K-12 classroom teachers, administrators, specialists in gifted and talented education and parents. Session topics include gifted characteristics and identification, program design, curriculum and instruction, social and emotional issues and parents and community involvement. Register for 3, 2, or 1 day attendance at www.aagtconference.org. More information on the conference and AAGT is available at www.arizonagifted.org or by calling 602-882-1848.
   
• Scottsdale Unified School District will host the Regional II Spelling Bee at 8 a.m. on February 11 in the Performing Arts Theater at Scottsdale Community College, 9000 E. Chaparral Road, Scottsdale.
   
• The next Governing Board meeting is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. on February 12 at the Education Center, 3811 N. 44th St., Scottsdale.
   
• Phoenix Coyotes February specials. For more information, please view the flyer.

back to top

Excellence in the Classroom

Saguaro High School students proudly exhibited their graphite self-portraits, digital photography, still life and figure drawings at the Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration that featured key note speaker Louis Gossett, Jr.

Several other DCMS students who entered the competition achieved outstanding results. The outstanding students are Mahan Abbasian, Adam Offidani, Matthew Frankel, Alexandra Stockdell, Tyler Kalucki and Victoria Comeaux. The schools’ students were coached in preparation for the Challenge by Jonna Wallis.

The WordMasters Challenge is an exercise in critical thinking that first encourages students to become familiar with a set of interesting new words (considerably harder than grade level), and then challenges them to use those words to complete analogies that express various kinds of logical relationships. Working to solve the Challenge analogies helps students learn to think both analytically and metaphorically. Although most vocabulary-boosting and analogy-solving activities have been created for high school students, the WordMasters materials have been specifically designed for younger students.

The students will participate in two more meets during the upcoming months. Medals and certificates will be awarded in June to those who have achieved and/or improved the most in the course of the year.

back to top