Mrs. Mills August Principal Letter

11/7/2023 2:34 pm

August 13, 2023

Dear DCES families,
 
This week was a fantastic first week of school for our cubbies! Seeing each class review DCES’ ROAR expectations by participating in our passport review was terrific. We ended our week by kicking off the school year with the Be Kind Crew! DCES was very appreciative of our guests that attended our first assembly for the school year. Our guests included Governing Board President Cieniawski, Vice President Werner, Dr. Libby Hart-Wells, Dr. Menzel, our SUSD Superintendent, and District Cabinet Members, including Ms. Serna, the Director of Elementary.
 
Thank you to our fabulous PTO and volunteers for providing teacher treats all week and for providing equipment and games for our high-heat recess rooms. Our cubbies enjoyed visiting the new movement room this week! 
 
Next week our cubbies will be starting their beginning of the year FastBridge assessments for Reading and Math. Please ensure our cubbies sleep well, get breakfast in their tummies, and arrive at school on time. This year we are focusing on student academic excellence with an attendance focus. Below you can read further information regarding the importance of attending school regularly and scheduling student appointments outside the school day. 

Attendance Did you know?   Attendance Matters for our Cubbies! Starting in preschool and kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school. Missing 10%, or about 2 days each month over the course of a school year, can make it harder to learn to read. Students can still fall behind if they miss just 1 or 2 days every few weeks. Being late to school may lead to poor attendance. Absences and tardiness can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up. Communication Desert Canyon Elementary believes its mission is best achieved in a caring community with high expectations for students, faculty, and staff. We strive daily to ensure students are enthusiastic about learning and enjoy school. At DCES, we prioritize promoting a positive school climate and culture with a sense of belonging. Therefore, during the school day, our time will be focused on supporting student learning and instruction and being present for our staff and students. We intend to respond to emails within 24 hours during the business day of the school week. When staff are off campus, we will respond at our earliest convenience upon returning to school. If you need immediate assistance during the school day, please contact DCES’ Administrative Assistant, Shelley Gilbert, at (480) 484-1702 or email sgilbert@susd.org. DCES families can expect to receive communication regularly through teacher newsletters and, in addition, monthly principal newsletters. Additional communication will be shared with time-sensitive information. Communication will be shared through our new communication source, Parent Square.      Message from our fabulous PTO “New and returning families, please be sure you’ve registered at dcespto.org so you can receive PTO emails, stay informed of PTO events and purchase SpiritWear”   PTO auction winner parking spots are reserved parking and have nameplates in place with auction winners. They should not be used for drop-offs or temporary parking by other families. Thank you in advance for keeping these spots open and available for reserved winners.

Noon Aides Needed
DCES is looking to hire noon aides for student lunch times. If you know anyone interested, please share this link SUSD posting site to apply today. Hours for noon aides are 10:45-1:45 Monday-Friday. Thank you in advance for spreading the word!
 
Important Dates SUSD 23-24 Calendar

• Wednesday, August 16th, Curriculum Night
  • Preschool-2nd Grade 4:00-4:45 pm 
  • 3rd-5th Grade 5:00-5:45 pm 
• Thursday, August 24th, Student Picture Day
  • Order forms will go home this week for individual and class group photos.
  • Pictures can be ordered online at www.dorianstudio.com 
• Wednesday, August 30th, Early Release 1:15 pm
• Monday, September 4th, No School, Labor Day

Sincerely,

Mrs. Mills 
DCES Principal