Angela Mitchell, a 7th and 8th grade Honors Science teacher at Shea Middle School, was selected as the 2017 Middle School Science Teacher of the Year by the Arizona Science Teachers Association (ASTA).

The Science Teacher of the Year Awards are presented by the ASTA to recognize and honor our colleagues who exemplify quality science teaching. The award is presented to one teacher from the elementary level, middle school/junior high level, and the high school level at the annual ASTA convention. Nominees must be certified, full-time classroom teachers and current members of ASTA.

Ms. Mitchell will receive the award at the at the annual conference on Oct. 27th-28th.

Share this story

Vista Verde Middle School and North Canyon High School will host an Informational Presentation about the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. in the Media Center at Vista Verde Middle School. Interested 6th graders and their parents should attend this informational meeting.

The IB programme focuses on each student as a whole person and addresses, not only the cognitive development but social, emotional and physical well-being. The IB programme develops inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people with adaptable skills to tackle society's complex challenges and who will help make it a better, more peaceful world. IB students develop a sense of the world around them and their responsibility to it.

PVSchools offers a K-12 IB programme, which is available at Quail Run Elementary School, Vista Verde Middle School and North Canyon High School.

Share this story

It's never too early to start researching school options that will best meet your child's learning style. Since Arizona is an Open Enrollment state, parents can choose the school their child attends.

Whether you're considering enrolling your child(ren) into a school that is not your assigned or neighborhood school for the 2018-2019 school year, or if you reside outside of the Paradise Valley Unified School District boundaries, and are interested in making a change, there's never been a better time to consider PVSchools in your school selection process. From preschool through 12th grade, PVSchools recognizes the value of early education and provides a model of learning to meet the needs of all children. We offer a full-range of engaging hands-on learning opportunities to cultivate world-class thinkers.

To coincide with the Open Enrollment period, which is currently underway through Jan.21, 2018, PVSchools elementary schools will host Open House events.

We invite you to learn more about our elementary schools by attending one of our Open House events.

• Oct. 13th at Desert Springs Preparatory Elementary School from 4:30-5:30. Tour the school and enjoy student presentations. Stay for family movie night.
  
  
• Nov. 18th at Liberty Elementary School from 12-4 p.m. The Liberty Annual Carnival will have something for everyone, including rides, games and a silent auction.
  
  
• Dec. 11th at Aire Libre Elementary School from 6:30-8 p.m. Tour the school and enjoy performances from the school’s choir, band and strings students.

If you're considering making a change, please visit www.pvschools.net/open to learn more about our options.

Share this story

Kellie Merril, a 6th grade teacher at Indian Bend Elementary School, along with many other PVSchools teachers will be participating in the very first Global Math Week taking place this fall. Beginning October 10, 2017, one million students around the globe will experience Exploding Dots, a popular topic developed by Global Math Project founding team member James Tanton.

The Global Math Projects ultimate goal is bold and audacious. They want to generate a fundamental paradigm shift as to how the world perceives and enjoys mathematics. They want every person on this planet to see mathematics as human, relevant, meaningful, creative, uplifting, joyful, and accessible as well as show how the play and wonder of mathematics transcend borders and unites communities.

During Global Math Week itself, teachers and other math leaders are asked to commit to spending the equivalent of one class period on Exploding Dots and to share their students’ experience with the Global Math Project community through social media (#gmw2017 and #explodingdots). Teachers can choose a low-technology presentation format by using downloadable pdf lesson plans as a guide. Alternatively, they can opt for a technology-intensive experience, developed by the Canadian education technology company Scolab, which will consist of a collection of visually appealing “islands” representing Exploding Dots topics.

For those who wish to delve deeper, additional materials will be freely available on the Global Math Project website to support further exploration of place value, arithmetic algorithms, negative numbers, alternative bases, polynomials, formal infinite series, and more.

More details and free lesson plans can be found at theglobalmathproject.org.

About the author:

Betsy Mays is the Curriculum Math Specialist at PVSchools.

Share this story

The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) released preliminary school A-F Letter grades based on data from the 2016-17 school year.

This year, in accordance to A.R.S. 15-241, a new A-F accountability system has been implemented. The new A-F letter grade system uses a variety of measures to rank schools such as AzMERIT growth and proficiency, high school graduation rates, and student readiness for college and career. The ADE hasn’t released school letter grades since 2014.

How grades are calculated

The K-8 plan provides for multiple indicators weighted as follows:

• Student proficiency in English Language Arts, Math and Science at 30 percent.
• Student growth in English Language Arts and Math at 50 percent.
• English Language Learners’ growth and proficiency at 10 percent.
• Acceleration/readiness at 10 percent.

The 9-12 plan provides for multiple indicators weighted as follows:

• Student proficiency in English Language Arts, Math and Science at 30 percent.
• Student growth in English Language Arts and Math at 20 percent.
• English Language Learners’ growth and proficiency at 10 percent.
• Graduation rate at 20 percent.
• College and career readiness at 20 percent.

It’s important to know that the A-F letter grade system does not measure a school’s culture or climate, show the impact of a caring and dedicated staff, or take into account our schools’ many other accomplishments. In PVSchools, we value the whole story of each of our schools, and letter grades from the state are only one measurement of a school’s success. We encourage our parents and community to take the time to invest in these stories and learn what their home school has to offer.

What each letter grade means

A - Excellent
*“A” schools may not meet each of these descriptors

• Distinguished performance on the statewide assessment.
• Significant student growth.
• High 4 year graduation rates.
• Students are on track to proficiency.
• Overall performance is significantly higher than state average.

B - Highly Performing

• High performance on statewide assessment; and/or
• Significant student growth; and/or
• Higher 4 year graduation rates; and/or
• Moving students to proficiency at a higher rate than state average.

C - Performing

• Adequate performance but needs improvement on some indicators including proficiency, growth or graduation rate.

D - Minimally Performing

• Inadequate performance in proficiency, growth and/or 4 year graduation rate relative to the state average

F - Failing

• Systematic failures in proficiency, growth and graduation rates (below 67%).
• Performance is in bottom 5% of the state

Preliminary A-rated schools:

• Boulder Creek Elementary School
• Copper Canyon Elementary School
• Desert Shadows Elementary School
• Desert Springs Preparatory Elementary School
• Desert Trails Elementary School
• Explorer Middle School
• Fireside Elementary School
• Grayhawk Elementary School
• Mercury Mine Elementary School
• Pinnacle Peak Preparatory School
• Quail Run Elementary School
• Sandpiper Elementary School
• Sonoran Sky Elementary School
• Wildfire Elementary School

Preliminary B-rated schools:

• Cactus View Elementary School
• Campo Bello Elementary School
• Desert Shadows Middle School
• Hidden Hills Elementary School
• Liberty Elementary School
• Paradise Valley High School
• Shadow Mountain High School
• Sunset Canyon Elementary School
• Whispering Wind Academy

Preliminary C-rated schools:

• Arrowhead Elementary School
• Desert Cove Elementary School
• Eagle Ridge Elementary School
• Echo Mountain Intermediate School
• Larkspur Elementary School
• North Canyon High School
• Palomino Intermediate School
• Sunrise Middle School

Preliminary D-rated schools

• Greenway Middle School

Letter Grades Under Review:

• Aire Libre Elementary School
• Horizon High School
• Indian Bend Elementary School
• Mountain Trail Middle School
• North Ranch Elementary School
• Pinnacle High School
• Shea Middle School
• Vista Verde Middle School

More specific information regarding the new system on the Arizona State Board Education web site.

Related content:

• The Arizona A-F Accountability System PowerPoint
• FAQ
• K-8 and 9-12 A-F School Accountability Plans

Share this story

Paradise Valley Unified School District has participated in the National School Lunch Program since 1985.  The program covers breakfast, lunch, and afterschool snacks.  Approximately 36 percent of the students enrolled in PVSchools qualify for the subsidized meal program.  Applications for Free & Reduced meals are available at www.EZMealApp.com or at the school’s front office.

School lunch menus are written by the school nutrition specialist with input from students grades K-12.  Every year food tastings (grades K-6) and food focus groups (grades 7-12) provide valuable student feedback.  Our goal is to meet with students at each school every year; we are always looking for new menu ideas that meet the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines, but also have the taste approval of PVSchools’ students.  If your child would like to participate in the tastings or focus groups, please contact Camille Soule, SNS, at 602-449-2276.

Serving 15,000 meals per day requires a staff of 130 people in 44 locations. Annual food costs exceed $4,000,000.  Milk and dairy products account for 25 percent of food expenses; the five high schools alone go through 7,800 cartons of low-fat and fat-free milk per week!  We have five central kitchens, which serve as commissaries to grades K-8 schools.  District refrigerated tricks are used to transport food from the central kitchens to the feeder schools.  Per the annual food tastings and focus groups, pizza and the Asian chicken rice bowl are two of our most popular entrées served. 

The USDA requires all schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to have a Food Service Disaster Plan. During the recent hurricane season, we saw school districts in Texas and Florida serve as relocation shelters.  At any given time, PVSchools Nutrition & Wellness Department is prepared to meet the emergency needs of students and community members.

The Nutrition & Wellness Department is dedicated to serving students.  A hungry child will have difficulty concentrating and miss important learning opportunities.  The National School Lunch Program provides the framework and resources to make sure students are fed and ready to learn!

About the author:

Kathy Glindmeier is a registered dietitian and has been the Director of Nutrition and Wellness for 30 years. Prior to working for PVSchools, she was a hospital food service director. She graduated from Arizona State University, interned at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and has a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.  

A team of three PVSchools’ students will face competition from entrepreneurs, innovators and businesses as the finalists vie for the winning title of the Smart City Hack 2017 competition.

The Smart City Hack competition empowers citizens around the world to create their smart cities. Their aim is to help local residents build and showcase technology solutions that answer the most pressing urban challenges facing us all.

The PVSchools team is the only school in the competition. PVSchools was asked to consider a student team applying to the competition through LoLa, Internet 2, and Arizona Sun Corridor Network relationships. The IT Department worked with high school staff to find students who were an appropriate fit. They needed to be tech savvy, have musical talents and of course be interested and available to put in the time required. The students selected for the team included Susan Addison, a student at Pinnacle High School; Giselle Coll, a student at Shadow Mountain High School; and Hayden Araza, a student at Paradise Valley High School. The team worked together under the direction of teacher chaperones, Karen Mensing, IT integration specialist; and Norm Pratt, director of Fine Arts; to develop and create the World Symphony app.

The World Symphony app connects musicians and artists from around the world the opportunity to interact with one another. The app utilizes low latency audio and video transmissions (LoLa node) with the goal of connecting artists and performers so they can share ideas, practice together, teach each other or simply play music. Users are encouraged to go to a location such as a public community center, arts center or school where there is a LoLa node accessibility and use it to communicate and connect with others who are available and online.

The World Symphony app addresses the challenge of empowering the City of Phoenix to become a smarter, better, more sustainable city by helping to connect and educate the community through the use of music and technology. It encourages Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM), which is ideal for fostering young minds to become more creative.

“By combining the arts with technology, we are opening doors for users of various skill levels. The World Symphony app will allow for guest speakers in schools across the globe to work collaboratively with teachers, as well as allowing users to learn and create music together. By learning about a variety of music, students will gain new perspectives about different cultures, thus immersing them in new ideas and concepts that will spark creativity and higher level thinking. Not only will our project unite artistic and tech-minded individuals, but it will also help with the challenge of transportation,” said Ms. Mensing.

This app will allow users to practice their art together even if they live on opposite sides of the world. While there are other apps such as Facetime or Skype that allow for video conferencing, none of these platforms allow for the low-latency, high-quality audio and video conferencing that the LoLa makes possible. LoLa nodes will be placed in venues like schools, public community centers, libraries and performing art centers. This will eliminate travel time and costs.The World Symphony app will help make Phoenix a smarter, better city by helping to unify the community, by bringing unique experiences into classrooms and eliminating transportation and location as an obstacle.

The winning app will be announced on Oct. 13th at Galvanize in downtown Phoenix. Anyone is welcome to attend; however, you must register for the free tickets. The City Finale Grand Champion of the Smart City Hack will get $3,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Barcelona, Spain in November for the international competition. The first place winner will receive $1,000 and the second runner-up will receive $500.

For more information about Smart City Hack, please visit https://smartcityhack.com/phoenix/.

Share this story

Is your child passionate about dance, theater, creative musicianship and music technology or visual arts? PVSchools offers an outlet for your child to express his or her creative passions, with a seamless continuation from elementary school through high school.

Join us at the PVSchools North Valley Arts Academies (NVAA) Information Night on Wednesday, Nov. 8th from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Shadow Mountain High School.

Some of the highlights of the event will include:

• An overview of the NVAA program.
• Principals from Desert Cove Elementary School, Shea Middle School and Shadow Mountain High School will speak about the NVAA programs at their schools.
• NVAA teachers will provide tours of their classrooms and will answer questions about the program.

There is no cost to attend, and the event is open to parents and community members.

Share this story

The National Merit® Scholarship Corporation has released the names of the 2018 National Merit® Commended Students. PVSchools is proud to have 26 students from Horizon High School, North Canyon High School, Paradise Valley High School, Pinnacle High School and Shadow Mountain High School qualify for this honor.

The National Merit® Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the 2017 National Merit® Scholarship  Program by taking the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).

More than two-thirds (about 34,000) of the approximately 50,000 high scorers on the PSAT/NMSQT® receive Letters of Commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise. Although Commended Students do not continue in the competition for National Merit® Scholarships, some of these students do become candidates for Special Scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.

PVSchools National Merit® Commended Students are:

Horizon High School
Kathryn Dziszuk, Viktoria Kirschnerova, Abrianna Lawrence, Preston Saunders, Nicole Scaringelli, Rajan Vivek and Ellie Wentz

North Canyon High School
Gurneet Dhaliwal

Paradise Valley High School
Morgan Fox, Noah Fox, Danyon Gedris, Kesav Kadalazhi, Paolo Porto, Hayden Rheinfelder and Zachary Rolfness

Pinnacle High School
Courtney Arnold, Dean Drake, Emily Dunlop, William Exley, Brandon Pasternak, Jack Pleskovitch and Ansh Rao

Shadow Mountain High School
Cole Chivers, Emma Prejs, Own Prince, Kalyani Weiss

Learn more about the National Merit® Scholarship Corporation.

Share this story

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month and PVSchools is participating again as an Academic Alliance partner. Cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility, no matter what device you use or where you are. As you know, recently a large data breach occurred with Equifax that may have exposed personal information from millions of Americans. Closer to home, PVSchools continues their march toward managed services, devices and accounts.

So what can you do? StaySafeOnline has created an Online Cybersecurity Advice for All Digital Citizens tip sheet with 7 simple things you can do to stay safe online. Tips include lock down your login, back it up, and own your online presence.

What is PVSchools doing to help you stay safe online?  The Digital Citizenship Initiative began four years ago to bring awareness to our district about responsible online usage and how to be good digital citizens.  We have developed resources for students, staff, and community to help manage our online life. And, our students recently coined a powerfully simple phrase; without a doubt, always log out!

“The Internet is a shared resource, and securing it is Our Shared Global Responsibility,”  StaySafeOnline.org.

Share this story