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Newsletter | March 2023
Dear Dragon Family~

Please see the VERY IMPORTANT handout above noting the importance of arriving to school on time. Talk with your families and make a plan to ensure scholars are arriving to school with enough time to eat breakfast and have some recess time before school starts at 7:55am. If you arrive after 8:04, you will be required to go into the front office to sign your scholar in and provide the reason for their tardy.

The months of March and April are particularly important for attendance. Just as college basketball has March Madness, Dragon scholars in grades 3-8 have March Madness as we prepare-much like athletes do-for our upcoming championship, the AASA.

AASA is Arizona Academic Standards Assessment, it's the statewide achievement test for students in grades 3-8 in English Language Arts (reading and writing), and Mathematics. During this Championship season, we must make every minute count. Please do your best to avoid absences during the month of March and the first two weeks of April. We need every minute to move that needle of student learning and positively impact our scholars’ success.  

Students in grades 3-8 at AMS Desert Sky will take the tests during the first two weeks in April. Attendance for AASA is mandatory! If your scholar becomes ill, they will make it up upon their return to campus.

Here are some tips to ensure your student is successful during March Madness and AASA Testing:
  • Make sure attendance is a priority and do not schedule any appointments during school.
  • Make sure your student is up early and either has breakfast before arriving to school, or gets to school with enough time to get breakfast.
  • Be sure to get your student to school on time DAILY (or even a little early), especially on testing days.
  • It is important for your scholar to get a good night's sleep (research says no later than 9:00pm bedtime for school age children).
  • Read communication from your child's teacher and school.
 
Talk to your student about testing and offer encouragement-a little goes a long way!

Lots of great happenings on the horizon. For now, we must work hard and push through the next month. Scholars in grades 3-8 are working on daily chunks of learning via a strategy called Mastery Machine. Teachers, students, and administrators are putting in extra time and effort as we build stamina and capacity leading up to testing days.
#MasteryMachineMarchMadness

Be sure to follow along with Facebook Page (link above) and with our daily morning announcements so you are in the loop on all things Desert Sky. Many members of the admin team have been taking turns with facilitating the morning announcements. It has been great fun to see their energy radiate on to our campus! Here is the link: MeLisa Thalacker - YouTube

It is hard to believe we are almost to Spring break. Please take time to read over this newsletter with your scholar(s). We value our Dragon families and truly believe in the importance of our home school partnership!

Thank you for choosing to be a Desert Sky Dragon,
#DragonsROCK #ShowFIRE #MasteryMachineMarchMadness #AMSpride

Principal  (Do Whatever it Takes ~ Act with Honor ~ Be Vulnerable, Candid, and Kind)
Academy of Math & Science | Desert Sky
5701 W. McDowell Rd., AZ 85035
O: (623) 242-2597 ext. 11504  
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Donate & Receive TAX Credit
Did you know you can use this to pay for field trips?

What is the School Tax Credit? 
The School Tax Credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your Arizona income tax liability. In other words, you subtract the amount of your contribution to your child's school as a direct credit against the amount of you tax liability. 
 
How much can I contribute? 
Coaches' Corner
Hello Dragon Families,

March is here! We are now entering what we call "Championship" season. What does that mean? Over the next several weeks leading up to AASA, we are engaged in "Mastery Machine". We are breathing that FIRE daily and owning our data. What is Mastery Machine? It's a proven system for dramatically increasing results in a short period of time. Our scholars are focusing on Standards of Focus in order to close learning gaps identified in Interim Assessment data. Our purpose is to capture best practices, CELEBRATE growth, and provide small group instruction to meet individual scholar needs.

How can you support?

  1. Prioritize attendance and homework
  2. Communicate with your teachers
  3. Create incentives at home

Thank you for all your support and commitment to finishing strong.

Jenna Ortega and Christopher Jaime
Desert Sky Instructional Coaches
Assistant Principal of Academics Updates

Testing Information

Hello Desert Sky Families,

Happy March! Thank you for supporting our scholars throughout Interim Assessment #3 last month. For March, we are focusing on state testing preparation for our 3rd-8th grade scholars. The Arizona's Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) will take place in April, so we are working hard to ensure that scholars have multiple opportunities to master standards. We will also be finishing up AZELLA testing for our English Learners. Here are important March testing dates:

  • January 30, 2023-March 17, 2023: AZELLA Spring Reassessment Window
Kinder through 8th grade scholars that are identified as English Learners will be assessed on their English proficiency skills.

Grades

Have you been keeping up with your scholar's grades? We want families to be involved and aware of their scholar's progress, as well as ask the teachers questions that you may have about assignments. Parents/guardians have access to view scholar grades through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. If you haven't accessed the Parent Portal yet, please reach out to the front office staff and they will print out instructions to assist you.

Always feel free to reach out to your scholars' teachers or Ms. Jenkins about any academic questions you may have!

With Gratitude,
Stephanie Jenkins
Desert Sky Assistant Principal of Academics
Assistant Principal of Scholars
Grade Level Updates
Happy March Dragon Families! (St. Patrick’s Day is Mrs. Colby’s 2nd Favorite Holidays!)
K-2nd: The First Grade Zoo Field Trip was a HUGE success! YAY! The upcoming Kindergarten field trip will be super fun on the FARM! More information to come from you Kindergarten teachers so be on the lookout! 

3rd-8th: Scholars-while you might be working on ways to catch a leprechaun, make sure you are also working on ways to make sure you are ready to be kind every day, be ready to learn every day (GRIT) and be ready breath that dragon fire every day!

3 Ways to be KIND:
  1. Hold the door for a stranger
  2. Offer to be someone’s friend or invite someone into a game you are playing
  3. Compliment someone or help them if they ask

3 Ways to show GRIT: (Get Really Intentional and Tenacious-about your Dragon progress)
  1. Make sure to eat healthy and drink water every day
  2. Pay attention in every class
  3. Work through your Mastery Machine practice to the best of your ability every day! 

Finally, it was awesome to see the tryouts going on in the soccer field and courts this week! Great Job to everyone who came out!


Warmest Regards,
Brittany Colby
Desert Sky Assistant Principal of Scholars
Deans' Corner
F.I.R.E. Breathing Families,

We would like to thank all the families who have donated to the F.I.R.E. store thus far. Please continue to support our scholars by encouraging them to follow the tenets of our F.I.R.E. motto. Here are some strategies you can do at home with your scholar:

Focus - Have your scholar read a book to you for 10 minutes with no interruptions.
Integrity - When a situation arises where honesty is an issue, talk to your scholar about doing the right thing when no one is looking.
Respect - Give your scholar praise when you see them showing respect to their siblings, friends, or members of the community.
Excellence - When your scholar does chores, praise or reward them for a job well done.

The Deans' Office would also like to use this space to celebrate the Deans' Dragon Award Winners for the month of February: Garret N. , James M., London L., Eddie R., Danyelle V., Allison A., and Julian F. Congratulations, you earned it!

Thank you to our Dragon Families for all you do!

Daniel Bremer and Robin Young
Desert Sky Deans of Scholars
Head of Operations
Dragon Families,

Have you heard of our referral program? Refer a family to any of our AMS schools and receive a $100 credit added towards your account! See flyer BELOW for details! 

Please join us for our 1st annual Easter Egg Hunt on April 8th, 12:00pm to 2:00pm. RSVP using QR Code in flyer on the left of this message.

Karla Espinoza
Head of Operations

AMS Desert Sky Data
In an effort to be transparent about our school's priorities, we are posting the following data to ensure that our Dragon Family is aware of the state of affairs at Desert Sky. You can find this data in our front lobby, as well as in our monthly newsletters.

Student Enrollment: How many scholars are currently enrolled at Desert Sky.

Average Daily Attendance: The average percentage of scholars who attend school on a daily basis.

Student Persistence: The percentage of scholars who have stayed with Desert Sky since the beginning of the school year.

Staff Retention: The percentage of teachers and staff who have stayed with Desert Sky since the beginning of the school year.

Interim Data: The percentage of how many 3rd-8th grade scholars tested proficient or highly proficient on the interim assessments.

i-Ready Data: The average annual growth for a scholar at this grade and baseline placement level.

Here is AMS Desert Sky's up-to-date data.
Student Enrollment

1,326 Scholars
Average Daily Attendance

92%
Student Persistence

92%

teacher_students.jpg
Staff
Retention

89%

Interim Data

Reading Proficiency
  • Interim #1: 21%
  • Interim #2: 19%
  • Interim #3: 15%


Math Proficiency
  • Interim #1: 24%
  • Interim #2: 14%
  • Interim #3: 15%


Writing Proficiency
  • Interim #1: 32%
  • Interim #2: 29%
  • Interim #3: 40%

Science Proficiency
  • Interim #1: N/A
  • Interim #2: N/A
  • Interim #3: 40%


i-Ready Data

Reading Typical Annual Growth
  • Kindergarten - 22%
  • 1st Grade - 12%
  • 2nd Grade - 26%
  • 3rd Grade - 31%
  • 4th Grade - 45%
  • 5th Grade - 50%
  • 6th Grade - 50%
  • 7th Grade - 33%
  • 8th Grade - 52%

Math Typical Annual Growth
  • Kindergarten - 34%
  • 1st Grade - 18%
  • 2nd Grade - 15%
  • 3rd Grade - 22%
  • 4th Grade - 11%
  • 5th Grade - 36%
  • 6th Grade - 40%
  • 7th Grade - 36%
  • 8th Grade - 46%
Counselor's Corner
AASA Parent Guide English
AASA Parent Guide Spanish
Parent Monthly Meetings
Join us for our next in PERSON meeting on 3/30/23 4:30 to 6:30pm

  • Last month's Parent Meeting focused on testing tips and tricks for state testing. Please see above handouts that we shared at the last meeting; these handouts come directly from the state of AZ.

  • ATTENTION 8th GRADE PARENTS & SCHOLARS: Join us March 30th, 2023, starting at 4:30 for HIGH SCHOOL NIGHT. We will have a variety of local high schools join us to advertise about their programs so you can make an informed decision about your scholar's next steps. This parent meeting will only be in person. This event will run until 6:30pm.

Berenice Alvarez
Desert Sky Counselor
Important
March Dates:
MAR 1: K-2 Dismissal at 12:45pm & 3-8 at 1:10pm
MAR 8:  K-2 Dismissal at 12:45pm & 3-8 at 1:10pm
MAR 13 to MAR 17: SPIRIT WEEK
MAR 14: K-8 Dance Showcase at 5pm
MAR 15: K-2 Dismissal at 12:45pm & 3-8 at 1:10pm
MAR 17: Quarter 3 Ends
MAR 20-24: Spring Recess, No School
MAR 29: K-2 Dismissal at 12:45pm & 3-8 at 1:10pm
MAR 30: High School Night Parent Meeting for 8th Graders 4:30 to 6:30pm
ARR 3: AASA Writing Test for 3 to 8 grades
APR 4-7: 3rd Grade Small Group Reading Fluency State Testing
APR 4, 6, & 7: Grades 5 & 8 AZSci Test
APR 8: Easter Egg Hunt
APR 10 & 11: AASA Math for 3 to 8 grades
APR 13 & 14: AASA Reading for 3 to 8 Grades
APR 17: K-2 DIBELS testing begins
**Every Friday is DRESS DOWN for $1.00**
Proceeds to 8th Grade Promotion Fund
2022-2023 Calendar:
Connect with the AMS Desert Sky Office Team
623-242-2597