Lost and found

Our Lost and Found is overflowing. We have all items displayed in the Commons area. We will donate any items left, on December 21st, to charity.

Happy Holidays to all! 

In years past, DeMiguel has provided holiday gifts to our most needy families and we would like to continue the tradition.  This year grade levels are adopting families rather than placing gift ideas on our Angel Tree as we have done before.  Rather than having you shop for gifts and needed items, we are asking for gifts cards from department stores (Kohls, JC Penney, Sears), WalMart, Target and grocery stores, in any amount you are comfortable with, and volunteers will purchase and wrap the gifts. 

If you wish to help make a DeMiguel family’s holiday a little brighter, send your gift cards to school in an envelope with your child.  Please mark the grade level/teacher’s name with “Brighter Holiday” on the envelope.   If you would prefer to purchase a gift item rather than send a gift card, or you would like to volunteer to shop for the family, contact Jamie Smith at 773-4003 or email jasmith@fusd1.org.  We are asking for receipt of gift cards or gifts by December 14^th so we have time to shop! 

 We appreciate anything you can do to help out this holiday season! 

Arizona Tax Credit

Where do you want your tax dollars to go?

Arizona allows individual state income taxpayers to receive a tax credit of up to $200 and married couples filing jointly up to $400 for contributions made to public schools to support extracurricular activities.

 

For a tax credit to be claimed for 2011 the donation must be postmarked or delivered by December 31st. Credit card transactions must also be done by December 31st.

 

You have a choice. You can send all your tax dollars to the State or have some of them used directly to improve education in Flagstaff.

Masterpiece Art
We are in need of parents who are interested in volunteering in their child's classroom for one hour a month. Training, artwork and supplies are provided. The next training is on Thursday, September 27th at the public library at 7pm. If interested please let us know.

August 13, 2012

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students:

Welcome to the 2012-2013 school year!  I hope this letter finds you healthy, happy, and ready to get back to school. I hope you all had a wonderful summer filled with family, friends, and of course- FUN! If you are new to DeMiguel—Welcome! You are now an official LOBO! Spirit Day is every Friday.  Our students and staff wear black, teal, or grey.

You will notice some exciting changes on our athletic field! Our solar panels are up and running and our track is available for our students and families ;)

We have had a few staffing changes over the summer! Please welcome….. 

Marci Sanocki  is joining our Kindergarten team (previously at Thomas),

Jennifer Cernohous is joining our First Grade team (previously at Kinsey),

Heidi Maillet is joining our Second Grade team (previously at Kinsey),

Suzanne Scheid will be returning to our Second Grade team,

Kristen Doughman will be joining our Fourth Grade team (previously at SMS),

 We have many school goals; this one you can help us with! One of our school goals is to build “community” with families and community members. We have many “DeMIguel Community” events. Please sign up to help out if you can! We communicate with our families a variety of ways:  emails, our DeMiguel Blog, Facebook, DeMiguel website , Connect Ed phone calls, and teachers’ letters home. If you have a specific question, please email me.

We are working on creating a climate that educates all students and allows for flexibility of different learning styles and maximizing potential of every student. There are certain expectations for every grade level--so stay tuned for exciting happenings in your child’s classroom. If you are interested in getting more involved; please attend our PTO meetings.

The DeMiguel team encourages families to become involved in all aspects of their child’s educational experience. Research has demonstrated that students achieve a higher level of academic achievement if their parents are actively involved. At DeMiguel, we believe that families and staff working together create an environment that enables students’ success.  As your DeMiguel faculty we are committed to creating the best educational experience for your child. Let the learning begin! Our classrooms –K-5^th will be using Harcourt Reading, Envision Math, TCI for Social Studies, FOSS Kits for Science,  and our newly purchased Engineering is Elementary(1st - 5th),  Rocket Math (1^st-5^th), and AR reading (1^st-5^th). To read more about our programs go to our DeMiguel homepage.

2012-2013

** Drop off and Pick up**

Morning Drop Off- Is just that, be ready to have your child(ren)unload quickly. Please do not have long discussions at our drop-off. This will enable the traffic to move quickly and smoothly. Drop off is at the flag pole in the front, at 8:15. We do not have supervision until 8:15.

Afternoon Pick-up-  Please help us keep all children safe by following the following procedures.

ENTERING DEMIGUEL FROM GILLENWATER

There are two one way lanes that enter the school on S. Gillenwater. The left lane is the one that goes to our EAST entrance where Kindergarten and first graders are picked up. This is also the lane used for emergency vehicles, buses, handicapped parking, and people wishing to park and come in the building.  The right lane (going down Gillenwater) is for individuals picking up students at the flag pole or for individuals who wish to park and come inside.

ONCE YOU HAVE PASSED THE CIRCLE DRIVE

Once you pass the circle drive there are another  two lanes. The left lane is if you want to park (in the front of the building) and come inside. The right lane is for pick-up of students 2^nd-5^th  by the flag pole.

I am thankful and honored to have served the DeMiguel learners and community for four years. Each year I learn so many things from our littlest lobos. I enjoy each day that I am here!

Respectfully,

Ninon Wilson

nwilson@fusd1.org

www.fusd1.org/demiguel

928-773-4001

All visitors need to stop by the office to obtain a Visitor’s Pass. There will be a reminder on all classroom doors. We will check ID of individuals coming in to pick up students early. Except for the front door, the doors will remain locked during the day.

Updates

**Sad news! Anna from the cafeteria has sold her house and moving to PHX ;( I don’t know who her replacement is. We will miss her terribly!
**Class lists will be posted August 6th on our front door
**First day of school is Monday August 13th (Kindergarten students will be dismissed at 12:25)
**Thursday August 9th 3:30-4:30 students drop off supplies and say hello to the teachers
**Kinder Open House is at 5:00 on August 9th
** Open House is August 30th for grades 1-5  (5:30-6:30 grades 1, 2, and 3. 6:30-7:30 grades 4 and 5)
**I am looking to start the Chess Club again—let me know if you are interested in helping out.
**If you filled out an application on our FUSD website---please make sure you have been verified.

Observatory

DeMiguel Elementary is proud to be the home of Walker Observatory, which houses a permanently mounted 16" Newtonian telescope which was built and donated by retired educator and avid amateur astronomer Kenneth Walker.  Walker Observatory also houses a variety of portable telescopes.  Walker is available to FUSD classes for nighttime star parties and daytime solar observing.  We invite you and your family to join us at a DeMiguel Star Party.  Dates will be announced soon!

supply lists

Hey everyone!!! The supply lists for next year are posted on our DeMiguel homepage. Have a wonderful summer!

July 4th

FUSD's application for the 4th of July parade has been submitted and approved! The parade will begin at 9 am on Wednesday July 4th with the staging for our group at 7:45. We will meet at the park behind City Hall (in front of the library) no later than 7:45. All schools, groups, clubs, academies, magnets, teams, bands, etc. are encouraged to join us. We will feature our students, programs, an...d 40 years of Camp Colton - the 2012 Organization of the Year! It would be great if each group participating could wear their representative shirts (looking like skittles). I will order banners for any group that lets me know by Friday if you will be participating.
This is the first time that FUSD has done this as one entity that I know of and it will be great to show our pride to the community.

Come join us May 19 from 9 to 12, and help us beautify DeMiguel School~

nurse

Happy Nurse's Day--May 9th! Thank you Mrs. Miller! You take great care of all of us!!!!!

TEACHER APPRECIATION

HAPPY TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK---MAY 7-11

WE LOVE OUR TEACHERS!!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENDLESS DEDICATION!

A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart.  ~Author Unknown

Talent Show

Talent Show information:
Dress rehearsal--3-5 graders, Tuesday, May 1st--3:30-5:00/Gym
Dress rehearsal--K-2 graders, Wed., May 2nd, 3:30-4:30/Gym

Talent Show Evening Performance--Thursday May 3rd
K-2 be here at 4:45, show starts at 5:00.
3-5 be here at at 6:15, show starts at 6:30
We have such talented lobos!

Upcoming Events

Talent Show, May 3rd

DARE graduation, May 8th

School BBQ, May 9th

PTO and Site Council meeting, May 15th at 6pm

Multicultural Day, May 17th

Make A Difference Day, May 19th 9am-12

Volunteer Breakfast,  May 23rd, at 7:30am

Choir performance May 31st at  6:00pm

NO SCHOOL, May 11, 14, 25, 28

Last Day of School is June 7th, dismissal at 12:25

Summer Attire :)

****Appropriate Summer Attire

With the warm weather approaching, please remember to check that your child is wearing appropriate clothing.  Shorts are permitted as long as they are not “short shorts”.  They need to be at least halfway to the knee and not tight fitting. 

NO :

·         Hats worn in the building

·         Flip flops—too many toes get hurt

·         Tank tops, bare bellies, spaghetti straps, or see-through shirts/dresses—straps need to be two finger tips in width

  Students who dress inappropriately will be asked to put on something to cover them from our spare clothes bin, OR they can call home and have parents bring them a change of clothes. 

AIMS

Happy Spring, so the calendar says-- but maybe it's fall/winter again?    Next week we will begin our AIMS testing for grades 3-5. This is a BIG WEEK for students and teachers! I am proud of how dedicated our students have been this year as they have learned and mastered  the AZ standards. I am proud of all the teachers and how they have collaborated and worked as grade level teams to support all our learners!

 Please avoid any appointments or tardies  April 17- April 24.  Our second graders will be taking the Sat10 April 25th and 26th.  Students being present and on time is of utmost importance. Once the AIMS testing has begun, students cannot enter classrooms. Oftentimes students feel very stressful when they are being tested--AIMS tests not timed and we feel that our students are ready for this state and national test. This is the opportunity that students get to show what they know! Here are some tips that will help your child.
Helpful hints for students! :)
1.  Keep a positive attitude throughout the whole test and try to stay relaxed. If you start to feel nervous take a few deep breaths to relax.
2. Eat breakfast! It is really hard to focus on a test when your stomach is growling.
3. Do what you know first! This is really helpful! You know alot of information, take your time and process through it all.
4. Sleep! Make sure you are well rested--get a good night's sleep!
RELAX!!! We know our students will try their hardest! Good luck!

Parent Survey!

It's SURVEY time! It is very useful for the staff at DeMiguel to have parents let us know how we can be the best school for your child! Please take a few minutes to fill out our Parent Survey. Here is the survey is in English, Parent Survey. Here is the survey in Spanish, Parent Survey. Thank you very much!!!!!

Testing

AIMS/Stanford 10 Testing Schedule

Tue., April 17; 5^th Grade AIMS Science and Writing Wed. & Thur., April 18 & 19; AIMS Reading and Writing Tue., April 24; AIMS Reading and Math Wed. & Thur., April 25 & 26; Standford 10 Tests

headstart

We are collecting new or gently used books for Headstart. The books should be appropriate for children ages 3-5. English/Spanish books are appreciated. We have a box in the office.  We will collect books until the end of March. Thank you!

t-shirts

Hey Lobos!!! Once last chance to order DeMiguel t-shirts! We have order forms in the office and we will have forms available at Science Night, March 29th. We will submit our last orders on April 3rd. Show your LOBO PRIDE!

Thanks

Thank you, Dr. McLaughlin D.D.S., for your generous donation to Mrs. Franklin's class. Your support is very appreciated!

Harkins

Your Harkins Summer Movie Ticket orders are due by this Friday, March 9. (Before spring break) This will be your only chance to get these cheap summer movie tickets.  I know, it seems early, but Harkins wanted everything earlier this year.  There are more order forms available in the office.  Please attach a check (made out to DeMiguel PTO) or cash to your order.

Our school does earn a percentage of the sales of these tickets!

Thanks!

OM

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR ODYSSEY OF THE MIND TEAMS!!!!!Two of our teams will be going on to state!!! Oh, and BTW....they both won first place today at regionals---We are proud of our 4th and 5th graders!!!!!

Join us March 3rd for  Festival of Sights and Sounds from 10am to 6pm. DeMiguel displays will be on the Sears wing by Maurices. At 2:00 our choir will be singing by JCPennys. Please come join us and see all the FUSD happenings! Also, at the Education Building, this Saturday join our OM teams for the Northern Regional Tournament at 11:00, 11:30, 1:00 and 2:00. If you are interested in seeing Odyssey of the Mind in action--here is your chance! What an exciting Saturday for FUSD and DeMiguel!

NO SCHOOL

No School Today, Tuesday, February 28th. Tomorrow, for Love of Reading Week--Beach Day--bring towels, flip flops and read "on the beach".

Math-a-thon

Just a reminder, our math-a-thon will be this Friday, Feb 24th. All DeMiguel students will be taking the "math-a-thon" test whether or not they have collected any pledges. The best way for the kids to prepare is to study their math facts with flash cards or computer apps. The kids have 2 minutes to complete as many problems as possible. All tests will be grade appropriate.

Kindergarten has 20... addition problems
1st grade 50 addition & subtraction
2nd grade 80 addition
3rd grade 80 addition, subtraction and multiplication
4th grade 80 multiplication
5th grade 80 multiplication & division

Please turn in your pledge envelopes by Friday. They will be returned with the graded tests.

Community Youth

Flagstaff’s 100 Best Community Youth Celebration

February 25, 2012

Join the Fun!

The celebration begins with a FREE Pancake Breakfast!

Where: Flagstaff High School Commons

400 W. Elm Flagstaff, Arizona

When: February 25^th, 2012

Time:  8:30 to 10:30

Coconino Coalition for Children and Youth (CCC&Y), a leading advocacy and child abuse prevention agency, has recently led the effort to gain national recognition for Flagstaff as a 100 Best Community for Young People.

CCC&Y and Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) are co-sponsoring a community wide youth celebration event to highlight this award and to honor our children and youth and those who serve and support them.

Passports are available for FREE entrance to events and activities for children and youth throughout the day.  Pick them up at the pancake breakfast or at participating venues.

For updates on participating venues and agencies visit www.coconinokids.org

Questions?  Contact CCC&Y at

928-679-7318 or coalition@coconinokids.org

Math-A-Thon

On February 24th, your child will be participating in a Math-A-Thon.  The Math-A-Thon will be a fundraiser.   The money raised during the fundraiser will benefit DeMiguel Elementary.  Not only will we raise money for our school but our children will learn something in the process.

The Math-A-Thon will be conducted in the same style that “Rocket Math” is currently given to the children in their classrooms.  Each child will have 2 minutes to work as many “Math Fact” based problems that they can.  Basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division math facts are the building blocks for all higher level math problems.  The math facts will be grade appropriate.   In order to prepare, the kids just need to practice their math facts with flash cards or computer games/apps.  The Kindergarten test will be based basic number recognition.

Your child was sent home with a pledge envelope on Friday or Monday.  Please have your child ask family and friends to make pledges based on the number of problems your child may solve correctly.  You may also make a flat rate pledge.

Every child will take the test whether or not they collect any pledges.  The classroom with the highest percentage of “Math Facts” completed correctly will receive a party sponsored by the PTO.

Pledge envelopes are due back to your child’s classroom on Thurs, Feb 23 and the test will be administered on Fri, Feb 24^th.  The tests and pledge envelopes will be returned to you the following week. 

January Safe and Caring Schools

The Safe and Caring Schools topic for the month of January was "bullying" - a topic you can never talk about too much.  The 1st and 2nd graders viewed a website called "Out On A Limb:  A Guide To Getting Along".  Please visit this site with your kids as it has great information on how to get along with friends, teachers, siblings...!  You can access this website at:  http://urbanext.illinois.edu/conflict/index.html

The 3rd and 4th graders viewed a website called "Kids Against Bullying".  This is a great website for older children and there is a link to information for teens about bullying.  You can access this website at:  http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/

The 5th graders did not hear about bullying rather we viewed a website called "It's My Life" which can be found at:  http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/school/index.html.  This website has great stuff for older students.  Topics range from home, friends, family, emotions, body, and the topic we discussed, school.  Specifically, we viewed the middle school information in preparation for the visit from the middle school counselors on January 26th. 

In February our topic will be "Cooperation".

Welcome Back

Welcome back, lobos! Happy January! I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful and restful winter break! We are working in our collaborative teams, weekly, to discuss the needs of all students. Please let us know how we are doing! Our weekly team  meetings  allow us time to analyze data and make informed decisions for instruction in our classrooms.

I am so happy to announce that our iPads and cart have arrived! We are working with our technology folks at the district office to get them set up for class use and to help train our teachers for use in the classroom. We could NOT have purchased these without our Fun Run fundraiser. So I need to thank you all again for your participation!

Next week, we are implementing our "Hall Monitors". This allows our upper grade students to be student leaders in our building. I am excited that many students are interested in helping in our building! We have so many responsible students!

We had our "Spelling Bee" on Thursday January 12th! Congratulations to our first place winner:
Chloe in Ms. Paluszak's fourth grade classroom--WAY TO GO, CHLOE!!!!!
2nd place--Bennett in Mrs. Wheeler's third grade classroom
3rd place--Sophie in Mrs. Griffin's fourth grade classroom
4th place--Ryan in Ms. Jones' third grade classroom
5th place--Caleb in Ms. Jones' third grade classroom
It was great to see!

If you are looking for lost lunch boxes, we now have them upstairs in the common's area. We are keeping the food away from the clothing in our Lost and Found boxes.

Mrs. Smith and I will be having our grade level meeting next Thursday, January 19th. Our focus will be on bullying again. We are going to review what it is, and what to do if it is happening to a student or others.

This year is sure flying by quickly. There are exciting things happening in our classrooms!