DC Echoes: Edition 2, Volume 1
Friday September 2, 2022
Action Items
Order Deer Canyon Spirit Wear
Donate to the Fuel Your Foundation campaign
Search if your employer does donation matching
Select Deer Canyon Foundation as your Amazon Smile Charity
Join the PTA today to be entered into the next raffle!
- Counseling Opt-Out Notification: if you would like to opt-out of counseling services at Deer Canyon, please fill out the attachment and email it to cmacdougall@powayusd.com.
A quick reminder that school and ESS are both closed on the following days:
· Monday 9/5 in observance of the Labor Day Holiday
· Monday 9/19 for Staff Professional Growth
· Friday 11/11 in observance of the Veteran’s Day
Principal's Message
Off and Running!
Our campus is buzzing with energy and learning! As I have been visiting classrooms this year, I have been so impressed with the perseverance and grit of our students and staff. Their hard work and determination is evident in the focused and lively atmosphere across campus.
Mileage Club officially kicks off on Tuesday, September 6th. Each day during morning recess, 2nd through 5th grade feet will be traveling twice around our beautiful running track, 1st graders at least one time for Mileage Club. Students are welcome to walk or run as many laps as they choose during their recess times, and will earn prizes for every level they complete. This year we are excited to introduce a new way of tracking miles. Students will be scanning each lap completed, and our automated tracking system will keep track of their accomplishments. Thank you to our Deer Canyon Foundation for this new purchase! We love to see the excitement of our students as they come to the office after completing the next level. This new automated tracking system will streamline our process and hopefully increase our celebrations! Watch for your child’s name on the posters in the office and celebrate their success in running from one level to the next.
This weekend we honor the American Labor Movement, celebrating the Labor Day holiday. This day represents homage to works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States. On Sunday, September 11, 2022, we will honor Patriot Day in memory of the people killed in the September 11 attacks of the year 2001. These two important dates signify many things. Labor Day traditionally marks the end of summer and beginning of fall. And this year, in 2021, we remember the tragedy of more than 20 years past, remaining thankful for the safety of our friends and families. A reminder that school will be closed on Monday, September 5, 2022 in observance of Labor Day.
We thank you all for your ongoing support and contributions to our school and look forward to all that is to come!
Best,
Terry Worthington
Principal
NEW at Deer Canyon for 2022-2023
Breakfast Gates Open Daily at 8:30am
Playgrounds Open Daily at 8:35am
School Begins Daily at 8:55am
Grades 1-5 and Preschool Dismiss Thursdays at 1:35pm.
Grades 1-5 Dismiss Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday at 3:15pm
Preschoolers Dismiss Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday at 1:55pm
TK Dismisses at 1:25pm Every Day
Kindergarten KID Days Dismiss at 1:25pm until September 23rd.
Starting September 26, 2022, Kindergarten Students Dismiss at 3:15pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and 1:35pm on Thursday.
Breakfast and Lunch are free for all students. Families qualifying for Free and Reduced Lunch should still complete the form for access to additional resources.
DC Foundation
Fuel Your Foundation Update
Thank you to those families who have committed to fueling our students’ education and making Deer Canyon the special place that it is! We are well into our second full week of fundraising and are excited to announce we have raised $11,040, along with $2,750 expected in Company Matching. This total of $13,790 helps us meet 15% of our annual goal of $92,600! Keep the generosity coming, DC! A public education is free, but an enriched education is not. Our students deserve it!
We invite all families to donate at our “Champion” level of $200 total per student for the year. However, donations of all sizes are sincerely appreciated and are critical to help fill the significant funding gaps left by our District and State. We encourage ALL families to participate in any way they can. Any amount per student can be a big help if everyone contributes. Please see our flyer below and the DCF website for more information.
Please take a moment to invest in our students through the following link: Fuel Your Foundation
All donors will be entered into a live opportunity drawing on September 12th at 6:00pm at the DC Foundation virtual meeting! Check out our new prize offerings! Thank you in advance for your support!
• Two "Del Mar Date Night" packages - $50 to Davanti Enoteca and $50 to Cinépolis
• Two SDSU Spirit Packages
• Two Sets of 4 Vouchers for Free Panda Express Cub Meals
• Two Sets of 4 Vouchers for Baskin Robbins BOGO for 99 cents
• One Set of 4 Vouchers for Free Frozen Yogurt at Yogurt Lounge 4S Ranch
• One Set of 2 Gift Cards to In n Out Burger
• One Set of 4 Free Passes to Pelly's Mini Golf
• Three Remote Control Cars from Geppetto's
• Two Sets of Various Toys from Geppetto's
• Two Sets of Funko Pop Collectible Characters
Mileage Club Update
Foundation used $400 to purchase new technology and printed ID cards & lanyards for students in 1st-5th grade for mileage club. We are looking forward to seeing students earn those laps!
Jenell Bukky Lanski
President 2021-2023
Deer Canyon Elementary Foundation
Email: deercanyonfoundation@gmail.com
Website: http://www.deercanyonfoundation.org
Fuel Your Foundation Fundraiser
Two Ways to Fuel Your Foundation!
Welcome Back from PTA
A Big THANK YOU to all of the staff and volunteers who made our
Back-to-School Night such a success.
Special thanks to Yard Duties Irene and Annabelle for working late to provide a fun, safe movie night to our students. And we appreciate all of our volunteers too. We couldn’t have done it without the help of Kristin O’Bannon, Courtney & Tyler Huff, and Amit and Binta Patel. And finally, thanks to our Mesa Verde Middle School & ASB students, Brooke L, Sam F, Lylia Z, and Lindsey for helping out too.
Please join us for our first PTA Association meeting of the school year on Friday, September 9th at 9:00 AM. Our meetings for this year will be held in person and will also have a virtual option as well. It’s a great way to find out what is going on in school and find out how you can get involved.
Friday September 9th at 9am
In person: Meet at 8:55 in Room 14
Virtual:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86566304614?pwd=TWxwdk83VzRGZ0p2NVk5eEsxc3lSUT09
Meeting ID: 865 6630 4614
Passcode: DCESPTA
By Phone: 1 669 900 6833
Questions? Contact Heather Hall, PTA President at president@deercanyonpta.org
Heather Hall
President, Deer Canyon PTA
Volunteering at DC
What makes Deer Canyon such a special place are the teachers, staff, and family volunteers.
Volunteering comes in many forms: chaperoning a field trip, attending meetings, helping at class events, serving as a room parent or art docent, or being a chair or committee member for a student or family program. Sometimes it can be an hour a week or an hour a month. Identifying one hour to give back to your student’s school makes a difference. During Back to School Night, you'll learn even more ways to volunteer in your student's classroom and for campus wide efforts.
Volunteers are welcome on campus and in classrooms. New for 2022-2023 is volunteers will not need to turn in a verification of COVID Vaccine or Negative COVID test to the school office in order to volunteer. As always, if someone is not feeling well or has symptoms, they should remain at home.
The volunteer website is up to date with necessary requirements: https://www.powayusd.com/en-US/Community/Volunteer
It only takes 3 forms to complete and a negative TB test to become a volunteer on campus. Copies of necessary volunteer forms are in the front office. Volunteer paperwork can be submitted to Michelle Boeckman (mboeckman@powayusd.com).
Learn more here: https://www.powayusd.com/en-US/Community/Volunteer.
PTA Membership
We are only two weeks into the school year and we are already at 70% of our membership goal!! But, we are not done yet!!
Not a member yet? There is still time to join! Click here to register!
Julie Inman is the winner of our first membership drawing for a Broken Yolk prize pack ($40 gift card and Broken Yolk wear!). Congratulations to the Inman family! There are still two more chances to win. Our next drawing will be on September 19th!! All of the entries from our first drawing roll over into the next drawing.
We now have a tie between Ms. Hobb's 4/5 class and Mrs. Katsiapis' 2/3 class for the most memberships! Remember, the class with the most PTA memberships will win a popsicle party!
Thank you for all of your support!!
Courtney Huff
Deer Canyon PTA Membership VP
membership@deercanyonpta.org
Call for Character Coaches
Mrs. MacDougall is looking for parent volunteers to help teach Character in the classroom! Lessons should take place on the First Friday dates listed below. Parent volunteers will work directly with the classroom teacher to schedule a time and should last no longer than 30 minutes. All lesson plans and materials are provided and emailed to volunteers 1 week before their scheduled lesson. Please let Mrs. MacDougall know if you are interested! cmacdougall@powayusd.com
PTA Fall Fundraiser Kick-Off
It's that time of year again! Our students will be attending a Kick-Off Assembly for our Annual Fall Fundraiser next Friday, September 9th at 2:30 pm. They'll be given their Fundraiser packets with all of the information they need to start raising money to support our PTA-funded events and activities. There will also be great incentive prizes again! Thank you ALL for your support!!!
Rachel Pack
DC Leaders
Apply for DC Leaders NOW!
DC LEADERS is a leadership opportunity for 4th and 5th graders only! DC LEADERS will promote positivity, good character, and kindness around Deer Canyon throughout this 2022-2023 school year.
Mrs. MacDougall is looking for a team of motivated, helpful, do-gooders. Leaders must be hard-working, responsible, and a role model for peers academically and behaviorally. See below for some of the responsibilities DC LEADERS will tackle this year.
Planning and attending Meetings
Positivity Announcements and Messaging
Character Counts support and activities
No Place for Hate support and activities
Red Ribbon Week, Start with Hello Week, and Random Acts of Kindness week support
Recycling pick up
Gate Greeting
Facilitating the recess Game Cart
Spirit Day selection and promotion
Parking patrol duties
And so much more!!
Electronic applications are available at the link below.
Paper copy applications will be available for pickup and return outside of Room 22. Your child may choose to apply electronically OR by paper. The deadline to apply is September 2nd at 3pm.
DC Leaders 2022-2023 Application
Carla MacDougall
School Counselor
FREE AND REDUCED-PRICE MEAL APPLICATION
Although school breakfast and lunch are now free for all students, the California Universal Meals Program still requires districts to process applications for free and reduced-price meals. This ensures the State maximizes the portion of meal reimbursement that comes from the Federal government (USDA), and minimizes the amount paid by the State of California. Free and reduced-price meal eligibility also continues to be a key factor in Unduplicated Pupil Count, which helps determine District funding. Please apply for free and reduced-price meal eligibility at MySchoolApps.com, or by completing a paper application (available in all school offices).
- From Food and Nutrition
PANDEMIC-EBT BENEFITS
The CDE recently announced that another round of Pandemic-EBT benefits will be distributed starting in November, to assist eligible families in purchasing groceries. Students will receive P-EBT benefits if they meet criteria related to free and reduced-price meal eligibility. To ensure benefit cards go to the correct households, the CDE requests that schools ensure student addresses are correct in Synergy prior to October 1, 2022.
- From Food and Nutrition
PTA Reflections Art Contest
“Show Your Voice!”
That’s the theme for the 2022-2023 Reflections Art Program:
Unleash creative talents and be inspired
Express themselves imaginatively in their artwork
Experience the fun and joy of making art
Tap into critical thinking skills to create art inspired by the annual theme
Receive positive recognition for their original works of art.
The six categories are: Dance Choreography, Film Production,
Literature, Music Composition, Photography, and Visual Arts
Rules and regulations please visit this link:
https://capta.org/resource/reflections-materials-for-ptas/
Due Date: October 7, 2022
Digital Submission Process: TBA
If you have any questions, please email:
Ashley Park
PTA Reflections Chair
First Lego League Jr: Grades 1-3
Super Powered: Information Meeting
Wednesday, September 7
7:00 pm, Zoom Link to Follow
Does your child like building with Lego? What about working with other kids to solve problems? Are they interested in learning simple programming? Come check out First Lego League Jr. at Deer Canyon!
First Lego League Jr. is a parent-run extracurricular activity for 1st – 3rd grade students. This year is SUPERPOWERED season where children will learn about different types of energy sources, storage, distribution methods, and ways in which energy is consumed. Working together in teams of 4-6, students will design a solution to the challenge and create a presentation about it.
No specialized knowledge is required to participate in or lead a team.
Please reach out to Preeti Chopra (LegoLeague@deercanyonpta.org) to join this year’s Jr. FLL program. Join the parent information meeting on Sep 7th to learn more.
More information about First Lego League Jr:
https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/flljr/challenge-and-season
DC Math Club
Do you love good math puzzles? How about challenging math word problems? The PTA is proud to sponsor the Deer Canyon Math Club. Deer Canyon students entering 3rd-5th grade are invited to join the DC Math Club. The club is run by parent volunteers, and we all need to help. There are weekly coaching sessions and frequent contests. Math Club students will participate in 3 national or international math contests throughout the year. We celebrate effort, improvement, and success! Use this link to sign up for volunteer slots to teach weekly classes for beginners and experienced students. Parents are required to sign up for two time slots.
Registration link will be sent to your email upon your signup! Signup genius opens now, and Registration opens Thursday, Sept. 1!
Lesson plans/slides for each class are prepared by previous head coach Sarah Sagi and are ready for your use. Coaching sessions begin September 26th. Due to COVID-19, we will continue with virtual sessions taught live on ZOOM. If you want to start early with some practice scrimmages (once a week,) please email the head coach at dcesmathclub@gmail.com
~Jing Zhang,
DCPTA Math Club Coach
Health Office Supplies Needed
The health office is in need of fresh supplies! If possible, please donate:
1) Gel Ice packs
2) Bandages Large and small (only)
3) Baggies all sizes
4) Skittles candy
5) Kleenex
Thank you!
Judy Andrews
Health Technician
Bike Policy
Students in 3rd through 5th grade may ride their bikes to school with parent permission. Children must wear a helmet, provide a lock for the bicycle, and follow safety rules/laws. Bikes must be walked once on school grounds. No rollerblades, razors, scooters, or skateboards are allowed on campus.
Please click here to complete a permission form. This form must be completed and on file with the office for students who wish to ride their bikes to school.
Upcoming Foundation Events
Art Adventures
Art Adventures is funded and coordinated by your Deer Canyon Foundation. Art docents are parent & family volunteers who donate their time to bring art monthly to the classrooms. Training and supplies all provided. Want to volunteer in your student’s class this year? Consider being an art docent! Email deercanyonart@gmail.com to share your interest.
Choir
To the parents and guardians of all 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, is your student interested in joining the Deer Canyon Choir?
Choir is an optional vocal and musical theatre program open to all 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. Rehearsals are Thursdays after school from 1.40pm-2.30pm in the MPR, starting September 1st.
Please click here to complete and submit a signup sheet or use the QR Code in the flyer below.
DC Spirit Wear
Wear Your Deer Canyon Spirit Wear Every Friday!
Order your Deer Canyon spirit wear today! Variety of options for youth and adults & can be delivered FREE to your student’s class!