Page Unified School District Newsletter, January, 2018.

PAG E

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER // JANUARY, 2018

roviding

rizona’s

reatest

Visit us online at www.pageud.org

A look inside...

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“friday food” program PHS wrestling gallery choir and orchestra gallery

ducation

monthly newsletter // january, 2018

PAGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT providing arizona’s greatest education

January, 2018

Monthly Newsletter // Issue 4 Page Unified School District is... urposeful:

contents

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

back to the basics

Decisions will be made that are thoughtful and sustainable.

a look at the friday food program

ntentional: Our conversations with students and staff are always

about improving that person and leading them to be more successful. Teachers are encouraged to be innovative and “risk-takers” to push student achievement.

isionary:

Short and long term goals are SMART and selective. Our goals are known by staff, students, parents and the community.

meet your PHS unified sports team

recap of PUSD basketball

sand devil wrestling multi gallery

pportunistic: Providing opportunities for students and staff that will move the academic needle within our schools.

rusting and transparent: This is the foundation of everything we do.

VISION

a time for giving...

// 2017

choir and orchestra gallery

students and employees of the month

employment opportunities

2018

calendar of events

“Providing Arizona’s Greatest Education by Working Together to Improve Student Achievement.”

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monthly newsletter // january, 2018

PAGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT providing arizona’s greatest education

District Voice: perspectives from district staff and representatives Back to the basics: Sleep and academics Are you struggling in math? Often cited as the most difficult subject according to students themselves, you may just think you don’t have a knack for mathematics, but it could be you’re daily routine is lacking in a key area: Sleep.

Sleep has always been a struggle for students, especially since some schools have early start times. Here at PUSD, we are in a particularly unique situation given the geographic size of our district and the distances our students often travel to get to class.

Though we’ve long since known that sleep (or a lack thereof) affects our ability to perform in the classroom, it can be useful to know what subjects are more greatly impacted by insufficient sleep and why, especially when those subjects are those which students often struggle with the most.

The researchers at McGill University and the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Mon-

treal found that a poor night’s sleep could result in an up to 14 percent variance in test scores in math. Beyond just math, if you find yourself struggling to keep up in your language classes, the same study found that English and French scores had a variance of 7 and 8 percent accordingly.

According to the lead researcher of the study, the reason these two subjects are the most impacted by sleep deprivation is because math and languages require skills called “executive functions”, which involves working memory, planning and keeping yourself from being distracted.

How much sleep is adequate? The National Sleep Foundation recommends for children between the ages of five to 12 should get 10-11 hours of sleep and teens need about nine hours (though studies show only 15 percent of teens get that much).

Want to get a better score on that math test? Do yourself a favor and get testready by giving that brain a well needed rest.

PAGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

MISSION “Our schools are passionate about the learning-for-all mission and understand that every student matters.

We are responsible and accountable for the education of every student that walks through our doors every day.”

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monthly newsletter // january, 2018

PAGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT providing arizona’s greatest education

“Friday food” program helps fulfill students’ most basic need When you first enter the Student Services office at Page High School, you might notice the sizable pile of non-perishable foods on the counter. What you may not notice is that behind nearly every cupboard door lay row up on row of canned food and other non-perishables.

Even if you were to open some of the file cabinets, rather than a rack of neatly organized folders, you’d find them stuffed with toothbrushes, toothpaste and other hygiene products.

For the uninformed, it may seem strange to see the Student Services doubling as a miniature food-bank, but when you consider its Friday Food Program, it only reveals how seriously this department takes “student service” with even the most basic of needs.

The Friday Food Program has been running for a few years now in Page and is a way to ensure disadvantaged students have the sustenance they need to keep up with their studies by sending them home with backpacks filled with non-perishable foods on Fridays.

For the holidays, the program delivers boxes including the food they need for a festive dinner. For Thanksgiving, the boxes included turkeys, stuffing, pumpkin pie, eggs and bags of potatoes.

The program is headed by Tashina Williams, who started in her position as Student Services Director last April. She has a history of working with children and worked as a Youth Case Manager at Encompass before assuming her new role.

According to Williams, the program currently serves 38 families in total. Many of the families include students not only from PHS but from other PUSD schools as well. The program sends out backpacks every Friday year-round (aside from summers) and is able

to do so through generous contributions from the community and local businesses.

“We’ve received a lot more donations recently. Which is great,” said Williams. The donations include more than just non-perishable goods, as they’ve started to collect donated clothes, which is particularly helpful given the current season.

“My philosophy is you’re either going to help everyone, or you’re going to help no one.”

- Tashina Williams Student Services Director

In o r der to enroll with the program, Williams says the requirements are minimal and simple - they need to be attending a PUSD school and have to have good attendance. There are no financial or child requirements of any kind.

“Once the families come to our attention, we can work with them with other needs in the home, and on barriers for attendance,” Williams said, pointing out that transportation can be an issue for some of the families being served.

Williams added that by involving themselves in the lives of these families, it lets them know that they care about their families and what’s going on in their lives. “If they’re here and they’re not hungry, they’ll learn better. We try to really making sure that the food is going to families that really

need it,” said Williams.

Meeting the needs of the families is often taken on a case by case basis, in part because some families may not have a fridge or an oven and that needs to be considered when preparing the backpacks and boxes.

For the holiday season, Student Services likewise adopted “Christmas Angels”, taken from a leftover collection of names of children in need of Christmas presents. Now with food, clothing and presents, delivering everything to the families becomes a logistical challenge.

“We can stuff a car. We know how to utilize space,” Williams laughed.

“There’s a four-wheel drive truck that we use to go off-road if we know we need to,” she added.

In order to enroll with the program, Williams says the requirements are minimal and simple – they (the student) need to be attending a PUSD school and have to have good attendance. There are no financial or child requirements of any kind.

“My philosophy is you’re either going to help everyone or you’re going to help no one. If you start making requirements and stipulations on things, you’re going to end up whittling it down to just a few people.”

Thank you for the support!

A special thank you to Faith Bible Chapel, NGS/SRP, Circle of Page, Unity, Stuco, the National Park Service and students/teachers for your generous donations and assistance with the Friday Food Program and canned food drives. Your support helps keep these charitable programs going!

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monthly newsletter // january, 2018

PAGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT providing arizona’s greatest education

Sand Devil Unified Sports

The Page High School Unified Sports team played their first game of the year in December, taking on the Unified Hopi team.

Despite what the scoreboard might suggest, when the game-clock finally ticked its way to zero at the Page High School Unified Sports team’s game against Hopi, there were no losers.

From the start of the game, you could tell that the home crowd wasn’t so much interested in seeing a Sand Devil victory, but rather to watch two groups of students thoroughly enjoy themselves in a game of basketball. This was further made evident by the booming voice of the enthusiastic announcer/commentator, as every basket made was met by cheers.

The Page Unified Sports team had its start at PHS about five years ago and is currently led by head coach Damian Rosas and assistant coach Sue Rhoton. The purpose of the program is to give special education students and those with disabilities the opportunity to take part in the sports they love alongside their non-SPED teammates.

Another way Unified Sports differs from your traditional high school teams is that all events are co-ed.

Aside from time off during the summer, the Page Unified Sports is a year-long program that takes part in a variety of athletic activities, including bocce, bowling, basketball, floor hockey and track and field.

Head coach Rosas, a PHS graduate, was himself a special needs student with a learning disability who was a varsity track athlete and a manager on the soccer team. As a former SPED student and athlete, Rosas has a history of involving himself in programs similar to Unified Sports and before he became coach, he also volunteered with the Special Olympics for seven years and was a photographer for the organization.

This year, the first sporting event for the program was held at the beginning of December in a basketball game against the Unified Hopi team, which the Sand Devils won handedly. Rosas said that part of their success was due to the fact that two of the Sand Devil players have played basketball on the PHS teams and are active participants during practice when it comes to coaching the other

players.

With their current schedule, the Unified Sports team practices every other day during school. The non-SPED students that choose to participate in the program receive P.E. credit for doing so.

The team’s game against Hopi was dedicated to Dominic Bravo, who passed away last summer and was a part of Unified Sports at Page Middle School. Rosas says that when he told him about the program and offered him the chance to join, Bravo was excited about it because he had never played on a team before. Bravo took part in both the floor hockey and track and field teams.

As a former SPED athlete, when asked why he wanted to head this program, Rosas said, “I’m just paying it forward,” adding that he wanted to offer the kids the opportunity to do things now that he couldn’t do when he was a student athlete due to a lack of funding.

“I tell them: ‘You (SPED athletes) are doing things that I couldn’t do, so enjoy it,’” he said. “I’m opening the door and telling them, ‘Hey, here’s the door, let’s go out and explore and have fun.’”

Fun has always been the focus of the Unified Sports team, with winning always just being an added bonus. “I’m trying to get them in the habit to think that win or lose, we’re still champions,” said Rosas.

That’s not to say that Rosas doesn’t want them to perform, and he points out that practice is still taken seriously.

“Yeah I can get upset when they aren’t doing the rights plays or the right things, but then they learn to correct themselves because they know coach is not going to let them play,” he said.

Helping build discipline with the incentive of being able to play in the games has proven to be very effective. In one such case, Rosas said that one of their athletes who had been skipping practice saw that new uniforms were being handed out his teammates. Asking Rosas whether he would be getting one too, Rosas said only if he would stop skipping practice. Sure enough, tempted with the opportunity to have fun while looking good doing it, the student was ready to go the very next day at practice.

Head Coach Damian Rosas

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monthly newsletter // january, 2018

PAGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT providing arizona’s greatest education

Upcoming Games Jan. 5: HS Girls Bball vs Many Farms @ Home Jan. 5: HS Boys Bball vs Many Farms @ Home Jan. 5: MS Wrestling @ Thunderbird Classic Jan. 6: HS Girls Bball vs Holbrook @ Home Jan. 6: HS Boys Bball vs Holbrook @ Home Jan. 9: HS Boys Bball vs Tuba City @ Home Jan. 9: HS Girls Bball vs Tuba City @ Home Jan. 10: HS Wrestling @ Chino Valley Multi Jan. 10: MS Bball vs Shonto Prep @ Home Jan. 11: MS Basketball vs Rock Pointe @ Home Jan. 12: HS Wrestling @ Doc Wright Invitational Jan. 12: HS Boys Bball vs El Capitan Jan. 13: MS Wrestling @ Falcons JH Tournament

PHS basketball teams trade wins with Ganado With the PHS basketball season well underway, the Sand Devils have had their share of victories and nail-biting narrow losses.

In their most recent set of games on January 2nd, the varsity boys’ basketball team made short work of the Ganado Hornets (4-8), scoring 85 to Ganado’s 38. Two weeks prior to their January game, the two teams faced off and in a similar fashion, Page won with a score of 62 to 32.

After securing this win, the boys’ Sand Devils sit at a 9-3 record with only one loss in the 3A North region.

The girls’ basketball team faced a sturdier Ganado (currently with a 15-2 record), just narrowly missing their shot at an upset with a 34 to 39 loss.

Their mid-December game against Ganado was an even closer game, with the Sand Devils coming within four points of winning the game.

Overall, the girls’ team are 6-7 so far this season with three 3A North region losses.

This week, both the boys and girls basket-

ball teams will have back-to-back home games against Many Farms on Friday (January 5th) and Holbrook on Saturday (January 6th).

On Friday, the girls’ junior varsity squad will play first at 4:30 p.m., followed by the varsity team at 6 p.m. and the freshmen at 7:30 p.m.

The boys’ junior varsity also plays at 4:30 p.m., followed by the freshmen at 6 p.m. and varsity at 7:30 p.m.

PMS Panthers vs Red Mesa

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monthly newsletter // january, 2018

PAGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT providing arizona’s greatest education

Snapshots from the Page Multi

PHS Athletes of the Week for the month of december Week One: Myron Bryant, PHS Wrestling Week Two: Amy Yellowman, PHS Girls Basketball Week Three: Justin Salabiye, PHS Boys Basketball

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monthly newsletter // january, 2018

PAGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT providing arizona’s greatest education

the most wonderful time of year...

The schools of PUSD made sure to take part in the Christmas season, making sure their halls were decorated for the occasion (as seen with the adornments above from Page High School and Lake View Primary). The PHS girls basketball team took it a step further (upper photos), taking on the role of Santa’s helper by wrapping presents donated to disadvantaged children by teachers and employees within the district.

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monthly newsletter // january, 2018

PAGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PUSD Choirs and Orchestras

providing arizona’s greatest education

Spreading Christmas Cheer!

The various music programs of PUSD put on a number of musical performances and programs over the month of December in celebration of the holidays. Mary Hesse’s Page Middle School Orchestra (pictured top left and bottom right) held their performance on December 11th. The Page Middle School Choir (pictured on the top right) likewise performed on the 11th at the Cultural Arts Building. Led by Janine Federowicz, the students at Lake View Primary (three photos above) performed a number of classic tunes and recited Christmas stories for their audience.

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monthly newsletter // january, 2018

PAGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

STUDENTS &

EMPLOYEES of the month of December

providing arizona’s greatest education

In recognition of academic and professional excellence...

Students and employees of Page Unified School District were recognized for their achievements and contributions at the December 19th board meeting. Lake View Primary student Walker Tappan was nominated by his teacher Ms. Bunting. Desert View Intermediate student Dana Hatathli was nominated by her teacher Ms. Super. Page Middle School student Jaylean Spencer was nominated by her teacher Ms. Hesse. Page High School student Anthony Smith was nominated by his teacher Mrs. Campbell and student Samantha Cattleman won representing Manson Mesa High School. PHS social studies teacher was nominated by Jordan Peterson and PHS Attendance Clerk was nominated

by Kendra Childs, Kris Worley and Anne Martin.

Desert View Intermediate students donate thousands of cans After organizing a canned food drive at Desert View Intermediate, the student council, with the help of student donations, collected over 2,000 cans for the food bank.

Photos contributed by Jerod Viers

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monthly newsletter // january, 2018

PAGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT providing arizona’s greatest education

Employment Opportunities at Page Unified School District Interested in working for the school district? Here are just some of the positions available now!

We’re Hiring!

Certified and Classified position openings:

Coaching/athletics position openings:

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Elementary Teacher (Desert View Intermediate): Grade 3-5.

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Track and Field (Page High School): Head Coach.

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Elementary Teacher (Lake View Primary): Grade 2.

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Track and Field (Page High School): Assistant Coach.

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Elementary Teacher (Lake View Primary): Grades K, 1, 2.

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Baseball (Page High School): Boys JV Head Coach.

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High School Teacher (Page High School): Special Education English Teacher.

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Baseball (Page High School): Boys Varsity Assistant Coach.

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High School Teacher (Page High School): Self Contained Classroom Teacher.

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Middle School Teacher (Page Middle School): Language Arts Teacher.

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Custodial/Grounds: Substitute Custodian.

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Page Middle School SPED: Special Education Resource.

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Teacher (Page Middle School): English/Language Arts/Social Studies.

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Students Support Services: Certified Nurse Assistant.

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Special Education Services: Certified Speech Language Pathologist.

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Guest/Substitute Teacher: Grades K-12.

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Guest/Substitute Teacher Aide.

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Transportation: Bus Driver.

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Transportation: Crossing Guard/Substitute Crossing Guard.

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Tutor (Page High School): AVID Tutor.

We’re a tight-knit school district comprised of Page Preschool, Lake View Primary, Desert View Intermediate, Page Middle School, Page High School and Manson Mesa Alternative High School. We have 2,600 bright young students in our schools and are looking for talented teachers and staff who are passionate about furthering education in the town of Page.

State Tax Credit

Did you know that Arizona allows state income taxpayers to receive a tax credit of up to $400* for contributions made to public schools to support extracurricular activities? The tax credit is available to all taxpayers whether or not they have children in a PUSD school. For more information and to fill out the tax credit brochure, go to www.pageud.org/taxcredit. *Those filing single may claim $200. Married couples may claim $400.

In order to see all available positions and to apply, please visit the Page Unified School District job opportunities page at www.pageud.org/Employment for more information.

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monthly newsletter // january, 2018

PAGE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT providing arizona’s greatest education

2018 Sunday

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Monday

Christmas Break

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Christmas Break

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14 21

15 MLK Day

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22 29

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Tuesday

HS Girls Basketball vs Ganado HS Boys Basketball vs Ganado Christmas Break

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PUSD Board Meeting HS Girls Basketball vs Tuba City @ Home HS Boys Basketball vs Tuba City @ Home

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HS Girls Basketball vs Monument Valley HS Boys Basketball vs Monument Valley MS Wrestling - Page Multi @ Home MS Basketball vs Kayenta MS @ Home

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MS Basketball vs Tuba City Boarding @ Home

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HS Girls Basketball vs Chinle @ Home HS Boys Basketball vs Chinle @ Home HS Wrestling @ 3A North Regions

In case you missed it...

Phone: (928) 608-4100 Fax: (928) 645-2805 Physical/Mailing Address Page Unified School District #8 P.O. Box 1927 500 South Navajo Drive Page, AZ 86040 www.pageud.org

Follow us on social media!

facebook.com/pageunifiedschooldistrict twitter.com/PageUSD

Our website address has changed!

Our new site can be found at...

www.pageud.org

Wednesday

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Christmas Break

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HS Wrestling @ Chino Valley Multi MS Basketball vs Shonto Prep @ Home

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MS Basketball vs Tuba City JH @ Home

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HS Boys and Girls Basketball vs Payson HS Wrestling @ Holbrook Multi

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Upcoming events for Page Unified School District...

Thursday

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Christmas Break

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MS Basketball vs Rock Pointe @ Home

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05

Friday MS Wrestling @ Thunderbird Classic HS Girls Basketball vs Many Farms @ Home HS Boys Basketball vs Many Farms @ Home Christmas Break

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Saturday

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MS Wrestling @ Thunderbird Classic HS Girls Basketball vs Holbrook @ Home HS Boys Basketball vs Holbrook @ Home

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HS Wrestling @ Doc Wright Invitational HS Wrestling @ Doc HS Wrestling @ PinnaWright Invitational cle JV Invitational HS Boys Basketball vs El MS Wrestling @ Falcons Capitan Wrestling Dual Tourney

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Winter Wonderland @ CAB MS Basketball vs Kaibe- HS Wrestling hosts to Boarding Sand Devil Classic

MS Basketball vs Kayenta MS HS Boys and Girls Basketball vs Holbrook Winter Wonderland @ CAB HS Wrestling hosts Sand Devil Classic

HS Boys and Girls Basketball vs Winslow @ Home

HS Girls Basketball vs Window Rock HS Boys Basketball vs Window Rock HS Wrestling @ Fight Scouts Wrestling Invite MS Wrestling @ Kayenta MS Multi

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Desert View Intermediate Winter Program MS Basketball @ NAIC Semis

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PHS Yearbook - Senior Ads

Reserve a senior ad in the PHS Yearbook with the form @ www.tinyurl.com/2018phsseniorads.

Rates can be found @ phs.pageud.org/seniorads After completing the form, please send it to SandDevilNews@gmail.com

Parents and guardians of PUSD students: The Page Unified School District is pleased to notify you that in accordance with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), you have the right to request information regarding the professional qualifications of your child’s teacher. Specifically, you may request the following: - Whether the teacher has met State qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction.

- Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional

status through which State qualification or licensing criteria has been waived.

- Whether the teacher is teaching in the field of discipline of the certification of the teacher.

- Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

If you would like to receive this information, or if you have any questions, feel free to contact the district’s HR Director, Dr. Terry L. Maurer, at (928) 6084101 and he will be happy to assist you.

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