Desert Shadows Digest 5/1/23

With May upon us, we are excited for all the JAWSome things to come in the final month of school! On Tuesday, we have our 1st grade Music Play at 6:45pm in our cafeteria. Thursday will be our May the Fourth Be With You spirit day (Star Wars Day). Friday, we have our final Coffee with the Principal.

Next week, we celebrate Staff Appreciation Week to celebrate all the amazing things our staff does on a daily basis. Feel free to reach out to your child's room parent for more information on what they have planned. The final PTA meeting for the year will be Tuesday, May 9th in the library at 3:30pm. Board positions for next year will be voted on during this meeting so make sure to come out for it if you want to vote!

Newer information has been put at the top of this week's Digest as well as some important information from the previous Desert Shadows Digest. You can find the lunch menu for May attached at the bottom of this page. Have a JAWSome week!

PTA Executive Board nominations are live! If interested please fill out the form at the bottom of this newsletter and drop it in the PTA mailbox in the front office. Voting will take place at the next General PTA meeting, May 9th, at 3:30pm.

DEADLINE for nominations is May 5th

We cannot wait to celebrate our entire school. Consider donating an item to stock the lounge or sponsoring a staff member/teacher for coffee or lunch (use link or QR code below). https://checkout.square.site/merchant/YRSMBWEMNWX1N/checkout/PYUJIGYJKOUSGNVUUNKZC22T

Write a note of encouragement and attach it to your donation and we will display it around the school next week. Let’s show our DSES staff/teachers how much we appreciate them!

The Paradise Valley United Parent Council is hosting a Parent Group Leader Workshop for current and future parent leaders at all PVSchools! This will be a fun opportunity to network with parent leaders from other schools, share success stories and solutions to common challenges and get information about planning events, increasing volunteer participation, and best practices for non-profit organizations! There will also be snacks and prizes. We would love to see one representative from each school attend the workshop so they can take the information back to their parent group. Please RSVP here: https://forms.gle/xLnAbtmZ4mShs7ZT8

Please email President@pvupc.org with any questions!

At DSMS we want new 7th grade students to be comfortable and confident in starting off their first days in middle school. For many, Sidewinder Camp has been a successful way to get all set for their new school.

Camp will kick off at 8:00AM with new t shirts, a pep assembly, and staff introductions. We expect more than 300 new students will divide into smaller groups, pair with 8th grade DSMS students, tour campus and learn all the ins and outs of middle school life at DSMS. After a station rotation, students will have a pizza lunch followed by a final assembly. Students will leave at 1:00PM having walked the whole campus, met lots of people, and collected a ton of insight. Click here for more information and how to register!

Feel free to call DSMS's main office with any questions about Sidewinder Camp or next school year (602.449.6800).

Desert Shadows has launched an official online spirit wear store. Choose from hundreds of designs and garments that are delivered to your home in days! https://1stplace.sale/4252.

If you know of any interested parents who would like to attend Desert Shadows Elementary School next year, let them know that registration is open!

https://pvschoolsnet.finalsite.com/enroll

As we continue to search for support for our morning duty, we have had parents signing up and volunteering to greet students at the gate. We have received overwhelming positive feedback about this and want to continue this process while also opening up the option of covering our front of school crosswalk. This would require the volunteer to arrive on campus at 8:18am and open and supervise the gate from 8:20am-8:43am or arrive at 8:18am, grab a stop sign from the front office, and help students and parents cross at the crosswalk right in front of the school from 8:20am-8:45am. If you are interested in this, please sign up for a date and thank you in advance!

Thank you to all of our parents who have already signed up. Your support is amazing!

DATES OPEN IN MAY Sign Up Here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080544A4AC28ABFA7-gate

Please let anyone you know who is interested in becoming a part of our wonderful Desert Shadows staff that we are hiring. They can find our open positions at: https://jobs.pvschools.net/jobs?page_size=50&page_number=1&location_name=Desert%20Shadows%20Elementary&sort_by=headline&sort_order=ASC

Jobs for the '23-'24 school year are now up!

PTA Updates Besides What's Above...

Rita's

5/12

DSES State 48 shirt order link below and we will deliver to the classroom

https://checkout.square.site/buy/WD5YOO6DA5CHSM3U6PCPXYP6?src=sms

Bookmark this link for all things DSES PTA
https://linktr.ee/desert_shadows_elementary_pta

Questions? Email president@dsespta.org

District approved volunteers will be allowed on campus to help support academic interests of students.

More information about volunteering: https://www.pvschools.net/community/volunteer

Ms. Barrale owns a wide range of social and emotional children's books. This is a master list of her personal inventory. She may use an occasional book during small groups or supplemental classroom lessons. She will not be using all of these books, however may pull one in a specific category based on lessons learned (i.e. kindness, self-regulation, etc.).

Book List: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_Jqz7maB7C1SHKmiRshHdqEjDY2x32rOe4nkHsrS9yU/edit?usp=sharing

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Ms. Barrale!

At Desert Shadows, we believe in supporting the whole child- academically, socially, and emotionally. Because of that, we have an open door policy when it comes to supporting your child's social and emotional well being. Our SEL specialist, Ms. Barrale, a licensed social worker, and Mrs. Nelson, a licensed school counselor, are willing to support your child's needs. If you are having concerns about your child and would like Ms. Barrale and/or Mrs. Nelson to meet with them individually, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/HhcWAuKpE9LcnEHY6, and one of them will be able to provide support for your child. She will also be able to provide you with resources and contacts for any long term counseling if desired.

https://988lifeline.org/ - Crisis Lifeline

As a classroom teacher, I found it very beneficial when parents provided me suggestions on how to improve my weekly newsletters. Because of that, I wanted to give everyone an opportunity to provide any suggestions on how we can improve the Desert Shadows Digest. If you have suggestions please click on the following link: https://forms.gle/4UkcWFPtnXqhxt5p9.

5/1: Principal Appreciation Day

5/2: SERT Quarter 4 Meeting

1st Grade Music Play 6:45pm

5/4: May the Fourth Be With You: Star Wars Spirit Day

Governing Board Meeting 7pm-8pm

5/5: Coffee with the Principal 9:30am

5/8-5/12: Staff Appreciation Week

5/8: Orchestra/Strings Concert 6:30pm @DSES Cafeteria

5/9: PTA Meeting 3:30pm-4:30pm @DSES Library

2nd grade Music Play 6:45pm

5/10: Nurse Appreciate Day

5/11-5/12: 4th grade Grand Canyon Field Trip

5/12: Sandshark Spirit Day

Rita's after school

5/15: School Council Meeting 3:30pm-4:30pm

5/16: 3rd Grade Music Play 6:45pm

5/17: 4th-6th Suzuki Strings Concert

5/18: Governing Board Meeting 7pm-8pm

5/19: Dress Like Your Teacher Day

5/23: Choir and Band Concert 6:30pm-7:30pm

5/25: Last Day of School

Early Release

Aloha Spirit Day

5/29: Office Closed- Memorial Day

6/2: Last Day DSES Front Office is Open

6/3: DSES Front Office Closed for summer break

7/17: DSES Front Office Opens up again

Our Vision at Desert Shadows Elementary: Provide a positive and safe school community, where all students obtain higher level, innovative, and career readiness skills through an integrated curricular approach.

Email: brcunningham@pvschools.net
Website: https://desertshadowses.pvschools.net/
Location: Desert Shadows Elementary School, East Sweetwater Avenue, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Phone: 602-449-6900