SACATON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT № 18

District Newsletter

• A Monthly Publication for Parents & Families of Students in the Sacaton School District •

November (Suam Mashath) 2016

GOVERNING BOARD President, Mrs. Elaine Moyah + Clerk, Ms. Michelle Lyons + Member, Ms. Judy Antone + Member, Mrs. Laurie Thomas + Member, Ms. Jane Johnson

District Superintendent: Dr. Douglas E. Price Website: www.sacatonschools.org

====================================================================================================================================== “Family Astronomy Night”

The District’s signature family event each year, Family Astronomy Night, will be held on Thursday, November 10 starting with a Hamburger, Hot Dog, and Potato Salad dinner at 5:00 pm in the Sacaton Elementary School Cafeteria. Students, parents and family members will then proceed to the ramada area on campus around 6:00 pm to begin viewing the night sky. It should be a great evening for viewing the moon, Venus, Mars, Neptune, Uranus, and even perhaps Saturn. Don’t forget that you will have the opportunity to take a close-up photograph of the moon with your Smartphone through the lens of a high-powered telescope. The “Traveling Stargazing Store” will offer many educational and stargazing items for sale that evening such as books, bookmarks, planispheres, star charts, constellation mugs, “Glow-in-the-Dark” tee shirts, holographic images of astronomical objects, etc.

“Superintendent’s Corner”

Dear Parents and Patrons,

Welcome to November. This month rolls around and we realize that within these next 30 days three important national events take place: Election Day (November 8), Veteran’s Day (November 11), and Thanksgiving (November 24). Add a fourth day for a couple of local events, if you do not mind – Thursday, November 10. On this day our school staff will be honoring veterans with a Veteran’s Day Pancake Breakfast starting at 9:00 a.m. in the Sacaton Elementary School Cafeteria. Later that same day (and into the evening), we will be hosting Family Astronomy Night with our students and their families. Starting at 5:00 p.m., the school district staff will serve dinner and then have our students and their parents join our local astronomers on the Sacaton Elementary School lawn, just south of the elementary school driveway. We will do plenty of stargazing, looking far into the Creator’s heavens using a variety of powerful, computer-guided telescopes that the astronomers are making available that evening.

On Tuesday, November 8, it’s time to vote in your local, state and federal elections. We all know that it is our duty as citizens to vote for those who represent us at the local, state and federal levels. This year we vote for a new President, so this day becomes ever so much more important for us as citizens of the United States of America. Former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once wrote, “The most important political office is that of the private citizen.” He wanted to remind us that the private citizen has the awesome power of his or her vote. Those who take this private citizen role seriously do not leave this duty to others to say who will represent them in matters that affect not only self, but our family, our friends, our culture and heritage, our employment, and our privacy. Everything that our Constitution and Bill of Rights guarantees us can be affected by those who are elected to represent us. Please take the time to vote; it’s the hall mark of our citizenship and this democracy.

On November 11th each year, we honor and salute the men and women who have fought so courageously to defend us and our freedoms. Freedom is not free; it comes at a cost, and we should all take some genuine time to thank our veterans for defending us. Their sacrifices are exceptional and noteworthy. In that vein, the Sacaton Elementary School District staff would like to extend an invitation to Community veterans and their families by inviting them to the celebratory Veteran’s Day Pancake Breakfast that will be held in the Sacaton Elementary School Cafeteria beginning at 9:00 a.m.

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“Superintendent’s Corner” Continued ….

On November 24th, we celebrate Thanksgiving. This day is set aside for a day of thanks and for us to take the time to count our blessings. It’s a time for us to surround ourselves with family and friends. To that end, there will be no school on Thursday and Friday, November 24 and 25.

In closing, I would like to thank those dedicated parents and family members who attended their Parent-Teacher Conferences last month. Community and family involvement is so important to your students’ academic success. We applaud you for your dedication to your students. We can’t thank you enough for your involvement. My best wishes to you all, Dr. Douglas Price

Superintendent

☀ “A Moment in Time in O’odham History” ☀

“Famine and Starvation, 1880-1904 Continued”

In this edition of the District Newsletter and in subsequent publications, the intolerable and devastating time period commonly known as “The Starvation Period” in O’odham history will be chronicled. This month we learn that as bad as conditions were, they grew worse in 1900. S.M. McCowan, Superintendent of Phoenix Indian School, visited the reservation in May, describing many Pima families having “nothing to eat now but mescal and old mesquite beans.” The Pima were in a “deplorable condition.” Never before in the history of the tribe had they been so destitute nor the prospects for immediate improvement more discouraging.” Just one-fifth of the Pima grain crop was harvested with their cattle “dying in large numbers.” The Chicago Tribune reported: “This statement of the pitiable condition of the friendly and industrious Pimas is old news to western readers, and the case is one of the most shameful and outrageous instances of neglect and betrayal on the part of the United States of an ally, worthy and true. That 6,000 Pima Indians, always the consistent and active friends of the white man, should be reduced from a condition of wealth and great prosperity to actual starvation through neglect of the federal government.” On July 21, 1900, the Florence Tribune reported the Pima were busy “hauling away their dead cattle and horses.” More than 150,000 pounds of wheat and 5,000 pounds of beans were distributed that summer and Indian Agent Elwood Hadley continued to distribute to “the needy and helpless.” To survive the crisis, the Pima began cutting large quantities of mesquite wood to sell as a cash crop. More than 19,000 cords of mesquite were cut and sold in 1900. The Pima had been cutting and selling mesquite since 1892 when drought first began. In the span of a few years, what had once been a dense mesquite bosque stretching more than sixty-five miles along the Gila River and its tributaries was nearly destroyed. By the summer of 1900, the Arizona Gazette reported more than thirty thousand cords of firewood, “cut and piled between Maricopa Junction and Phoenix,” were waiting to be transported to towns north of the reservation.

8A Group at Middle School Hottest Readers

Congratulations are certainly in order for students in the “8A Group” in Ms. Davina Lyons English language arts class for reading an amazing 65 books during the first quarter of this school year! Students are given an independent time period to read chapter books after which they take a quiz. The books are age-appropriate and reflective of each individual student’s reading level. This reading initiative is part of the Read 180 program used in the District. Assisting Ms. Lyons in this reading endeavor is Mr. Jessie Valdez, a Reading Interventionist at Sacaton Middle School. According to Ms. Lyons, she hopes to double the number of books read by students during the second quarter of the year. But for right now, the “8A Group” represent the hottest readers in The Lyons Den!

Sacaton Middle School Wins Film Festival Award

Special congratulations are in order for students at Sacaton Middle School for winning the 2016 PBISaz Film Festival Award. The school submitted a video showcasing the PBIS Behavior Program being implemented at the school that featured a great deal of creativity and a strong message of support. The film was featured at the annual Behavior Education Technology Conference for PBIS during the last week of October in Phoenix. If you would like to see the video, it may be accessed on YouTube on the link below.

goo.gl/nbqEZU

Points of Interest from Parent Survey

Recently the Sacaton School District had parents complete a Parent Survey in which the objective was to compile parent and Community snapshots in a number of areas for both schools as well as relating to policies and procedures. The District was genuinely interested in learning if the schools are operating effectively in meeting Community expectations in such key areas as academic standards, ancillary services for parents and families, etc. The data will also be used to develop points in the District’s Continuous Improvement Plans for both schools and for the District as a whole. Here are some key points of interest on what the results of the Parent Survey reflected.

► 85% of those surveyed felt the District provided activities and programs for families and the

Community that are helpful in nature

► 80% of those surveyed believed that all ethnic backgrounds were respected in the school district – supporting the fact the District does a good job teaching ethnic diversity

► 93% of those surveyed asserted the District has discipline policies and procedures in place that are effective

► 98% of those surveyed believed the District provides a safe environment for learning

► 83% of those surveyed maintained the District has high standards for all students

Developing a Strong Relationship with Your Child’s Teacher

Though this school year is well underway, it is not too late to begin building a positive relationship with your child’s teacher. It’s a good idea to let your child’s educator know you want to partner with him or her, and share the responsibility for your child’s academic growth. Here are some tips to bear in mind:

◘ Keep in touch! Make sure your child’s teacher has multiple ways and times of day to contact you

◘ Ask your child’s teacher about the best ways and times to contact him or her. After or before school may be the best time to call or to make an appointment for a meeting

◘ Stay informed! Feel free to contact your child’s teacher to see if he/she needs any assistance in one or more subject areas

◘ Remember, you and the teacher have the exact same goals. You’re both working to ensure the academic development and progress of your child

Quote of the Month

“A child without education, is like a bird without wings” Tibetan Proverb

Calendar on Back Side → → → →