Principal’s Corner Coyote Chat Dear Parents/Guardians: What a privilege it is being the principal of your community. Working together as parents, staff and community members the first month of school has started our new school year off great! I was extremely happy to see so many parents attend our Meet The Teacher/Ice Cream Social, which kicked off our school year in our new Multipurpose/Cafeteria. This type of parent involvement is so important as we work together to develop a meaningful partnership. Thank you to HASA in helping to make that evening a success. Construction is coming to an end and I am sure you can agree with me that the new additions, fencing, landscaping and parking are a wonderful addition to our school community. With that in mind, please remember that the new “front” of the school is off of Grovers. When coming to volunteer, eat lunch with your child, or check them in or out of school, please come in that entrance; as it is the new front office. This is where you sign-in and get a visitor badge. Thank you in advance for you cooperation in this matter. Once again, I am excited to have you as a part of the Echo Mountain Primary family and look forward to working with you. Sincerely, Cindy Daniels NEW STAFF MEMBERS! We welcome the following new staff members to Echo Mountain Primary: Mrs. Mary Chandler Kindergarten Ms. Katie Riffle 1st Grade Ms. Devra Barr 1st Grade Ms. Amanda Hayden 1st/2nd Grade ELD Mrs. Christine McNeal Honors Specialist Mr. Kevin Weigand Physical Education Mrs. MaryCruz Ruiz Parent Liaison Mrs. T.J. Jordan 21stCentury Coordinator FULFILLING THE PROMISE: The governing Board, district administrators, and the teachers of Echo Mountain Primary School believe we are fulfilling the promise of improving student achievement. Over the summer, the district took the bold step of adopting the Fulfilling the Promise for Individual Excellence Guarantee, which appears on the inside cover of the new Parent/Student Handbook. In a nutshell, the Guarantee tells parents and students that, if they fulfill certain commitments and the school fulfills |
certain commitments, the
district can guarantee achievement for every student. If a student does not, at the minimum, Meet the Standards or achieve one year’s growth in math, reading and writing on the state AIMS test, the district will offer free, additional extended learning opportunities to reach AIMS proficiency. NUTRITION AND WELLNESS UPDATE: For the 2008-09 school year, the PVUSD will again offer EZSchoolPay at all district schools. EZSchoolPay is an online meal payment service. Parents will be able to enter payments on their child’s school meal account using VISA or MasterCard. Parents can access this service at EZSchoolPay.com. There is also a link on the Nutrition & Wellness webpage. Parents will need to know the zip code of their child’s school (85022) and their child’s student ID number to set up an account. A 4.5% transaction fee is added to the online account credit. Once again elementary lunches are $1.75, with breakfast being free. SUMMER READING – A Hit at Echo Mountain This year Mr. Pegany sent home three different ways to read in the summer along with a pair of sunglasses to remind our K-3 students to read over the summer!!! Indeed we had a record number of readers this summer. We also added a new program called “Chad Tracey’s Cover to Cover Reading Program.” We drew 25 names from the summer readers, who then were able to go to a Diamondbacks Baseball Game. They were driven by a Charter Bus to the game, were fed the famous “Diamond Dog and chips”, walked down on the field and were congratulated by Chad Tracey himself. Yes, we were on the Jumbotron!! Truly a night to remember, and all because they read during the summer! What a better treat for continuing your education all summer. We will again be doing this for the summer of 09!! By Mrs.Daniels Upcoming dates to remember: Sept 11 Site Based Council Sept 11 Headstart Parent Night Sept 15 Reachout Dental Van Sept 16 Early Release 12:30 Sept 18 Governing Board Meeting Sept 25 MacRo Parent Night Sept 30 No School Oct 02 Governing Board Meeting Governing Board: President, Anne Greenberg; Members: Nancy Case, Jill Hoogendyk, Tom Ohmart, Sue Skidmore |