UPC brings parents from across the district together to enhance the PVSchools experience! 

*UPC is independent from PVUSD and information posted in this newsletter does not represent the views of the Paradise Valley Unified School District.*

Please join us for the monthly UPC meeting on Wednesday, November 15th. We will begin with a brief Q&A with Dr. Bales and then continue with the UPC meeting. Beginning at 10:00am, we will begin the program "Student Mental Health" presented by Not MY Kid.

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

9:00am UPC General Meeting

10:00am "Student Mental Health" Presented by Not MY Kid

This meeting will be held both in person and online.

To attend in person, please join us in DAC East/West at the District Office: 15002 N 32nd St Or, please register in advance HERE to receive the Zoom link.

View the UPC Facebook Event HERE and click "Going"

Meeting Agenda

Budget

View the October 18, 2023 Meeting Minutes

Welcome to all the new 23-24 UPC Reps! It is wonderful to see new parents getting involved and working to connect their school communities to the district and the resources provided by UPC. Our goal is always to have at least one UPC Rep from each school. If you do not see your school listed below, reach out to your parent group or principal and find out if a parent volunteer is needed to be the UPC Rep this year.

Click here to learn WHAT IS UPC AND HOW CAN I BE A PART OF IT?

In an effort to streamline a safe and easy membership registration process, please use the online 2023-2024 UPC Membership Registration Form to complete your annual registration. ALL UPC Representatives/Alternates/Community Members must complete a new membership form each school year. And to make it easy, we are providing an invoice option to pay your Annual Membership Dues. Just select "BILL ME" as your payment option and a PayPal invoice will be sent directly to your school's parent group leadership (as applicable). Community Members can select this payment option too!

New this year, you can optionally include donations to UPC activities in your registration. Thank you for considering supporting our district-wide programs.

Questions about membership? Please email Andrea Convey, UPC's VP of Membership, at [email protected].

A big THANK YOU to all the voters that voted

YES for PV Students and approved the bond.

Perfectionism is a challenge that the National Association for Gifted Children estimates impacts 20% of the gifted population.

In this presentation you will hear from a former perfectionist with over a decade of experience working with gifted students. Learn about the general characteristics of gifted learners that contribute to perfectionism, the role identity and asynchronous development play in this experience, and strategies for supporting students to understand mistakes are not just part of life, but how we grow. This will be presented by DJ Graham, Principal of the Gary K. Herberger Young Scholars Academy, a middle and high school for highly and profoundly gifted learners.

Click HERE to register in advance to receive the zoom link.

View the flyer HERE.



Save the date for this presentation in January! Join Dr. Beth Richter and Dr. Laura Wingers as they discuss - The journey of parenting and teaching young gifted learners poses a unique dilemma, requiring balance: providing appropriate enrichment and challenge while making time and space for the development of the child as a whole. Discover specific strategies and supports for a "whole child" approach to the early years.

This event will be in person as well as on Zoom. Sign up HERE to receive the Zoom link.

View the flyer HERE.

Learn about Special Education in PVSchools! Watch the recording HERE.

Visit the district's Special Education webpage HERE for more information.

Schools are hosting their open houses and information sessions in the coming weeks. Make sure you check out any schools that might be a good fit for your student.

Watch the Gifted Middle School Program Presentation HERE.

Shadow Mountain High School "Shadow Showcase" November 13th Flyer

Pinnacle High School Showcase, November 13th at 6pm

Shea Middle School Showcase, November 15th Flyer

Explorer Middle School Trailblazers Showcase, November 15th Flyer

Desert Shadows Middle School Open House: November 28th Flyer

North Valley Arts Academy, November 30th Flyer

Pinnacle Peak Prep Middle School Showcase, December 4th Flyer

Sandpiper Elementary's Spanish Immersion Program, December 6th Flyer

23-24 Transportation Breakfast!

Last week, UPC's Outreach Committee had the pleasure of bringing breakfast to the Transportation Department! This is one of UPC's favorite events because the bus drivers, bus aides, mechanics, dispatchers and the whole Transportation Department is so positive and take pride in contributing to PVSchools.

Thank you for supporting UPC's Outreach Committee and making this event possible!

UPC has once again partnered with the Arizona Cardinals to offer discounted Cardinals tickets to the PV community! Also, a portion of ticket sales will be donated to the UPC Outreach Committee so they can continue their efforts to support PV though events like Bus Driver Breakfast, Instructional Assistant Appreciation and holiday support for families.

Please use this LINK to purchase tickets!

Anyone can use this link to support the Outreach Committee, so please share it with your friends and family!

Project Search is a national organization that partnered with PVSchools and the Mayo Clinic to provide job training to students with developmental and intellectual disabilities. This program provides amazing opportunities to PV students!

The Class of 2023 had a job placement rate of 100%! This means that all students that participated in the Project Search Program last year, are now ALL employees of Mayo or surrounding businesses. This is a testament to the value and success of the program. CLICK HERE to learn more about the success of the 2023 graduates and where they are working now!

While participating in Project Search, students have an internship at Mayo and rotate through the different departments to gain job skills. They are expected to dress professionally each day. If you have professional clothes that are just collecting dust in your closet, our students would love to put them to good use! This is the list of sizes for each student. If you have any items to donate, please email [email protected].

Please bring any hygiene donations to the UPC meeting this week! We will have a box to collect items.

Here is the link for the Amazon Wish List.

Thank you to Quail Run and Desert Shadows Elementary for your donations to the hygiene closet!

Planning has begun for the 2024 School Vendor Showcase!

More information to follow, but mark your calendars now and plan to attend the evening of February 28th!

Would you like to be added to the contact list for future volunteer opportunities on district committees?

Just complete THIS GOOGLE FORM and

UPC President, Jessica Crain, will add you to the contact list.

Mark your calendars for the January 24, 2024 UPC meeting!

UPC does not have a meeting.

Career and Technical Education

(CTE) Programs

PVSchools offers a wide variety of Career and Technical Education different programs at all five high schools. You can view a list of CTE Programs available at each school HERE. This presentation includes videos of many of the CTE programs and would be great to watch with your student!

Watch the recording HERE.

Positive Behavior Support

Jon Bowen, PVUSD District SEL Specialist, & Erin Smith, PV Special Education Department, will discuss Positive Behavior strategies at home and school. Families will receive easy to implement strategies to use at home, as well as, learn what strategies are used in PVSchools. 

Watch the recording HERE.

The Gifted Committee and PVSchools' Gifted Education Department have been working together to bring parents information about the variety of gifted programs available in the district.

You can watch videos of all the recent presentations on UPC's YouTube Channel:



CREST Program, click HERE!

Digital Learning Center (DLC at Sunrise Middle School), click HERE!

Journey at Mountain Trail Middle School, click HERE!

North Valley Arts Academy (NVAA), click HERE!

Early Childhood Programs, click HERE!

Learn more about the many Gifted Programs available in PVSchools HERE! .

PVSchools Resources for Families:

HERE is UPC's List of Health and Wellness Resources 

View the District's list of Resources for Families: English and Español

PVSchools is hiring! Check out career opportunities HERE! 

Your participation is vital to the success of UPC and to supporting our students and PVSchools. 

If you have any questions or suggestions, please email [email protected]. 

With gratitude for all you do,

The 2023-24 UPC Exec Team 

PV United Parent Council