Terramar Times
2023-2024 School Year
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Our Parking Challenges
If you are entering the parking lot and drop off in front of the school, please follow the following procedures.
*enter on the correct side of the concrete drive break. One side is for RIGHT hand turns, the other is for LEFT only. Peoria Police will issue tickets for drivers who jump the right lane and turn in where the left hand entrance is located.
*pull forward along the blue curb to pick up students. Don't leave big gaps.
*student exit is along the BLUE curb only.
*no drop off in parking lot spaces
*if there is no parking in the parking lot spaces, park at CCV or swing back around to enter again.
Cafeteria Information
No outside food deliveries (no uber eats, grub hub).
If you visit your student during lunch, please understand the following procedures.
*We have two lunch schedules. One is for heat advisory/rainy day and the second is normal.https://www.dvusd.org/Domain/5834 They differ in times. Please call the office to find out which schedule we are on before you arrive.
*Lunch visits are in the cafe only. Not on the playground.
*Take note of the grade level lunch times.
*Sit at spot in the cafe marked "lunch with loved ones" with your student ONLY
*Food brought during lunch is for your student only.
*No sharing of home brought or store bought food at all.
*If you are staying for lunch for multiple children in your family and the times are not back to back, please come to the office to wait.
Fall Sports for baseball/softball tryouts starting August 14th
Dress Code for Students
Need to pay for Device Coverage or Sports or Field Trips?
If you need to pay for sports or field trips use this link https://az-deervalley.intouchreceipting.com/
Calendar Link
Terramar Website Link
Register My Athlete Link
Important Dates- August
Important Dates:
8/10: Paperwork due for baseball/softball
8/14: Baseball/Softball tryouts at 3:15pm
8/15: Volunteer Training at 3:30pm in the Media Center
8/17: PTSA Great Skate Night from 5pm to 8pm
8/30: Fall Individual Pictures
Birthday Treats
No Balloons at Terramar
Birthday treats are to be a cookie treat that is a small snack for students. Drinks are not permitted (only water in the classroom) Pizza is not allowed.
There are two options for treats.
Option 1- Purchase the "Birthday Bucket" (TWO WEEKS IN ADVANCE) from the cafe using the following link https://www.dvusd.org/Page/65635
Option 2- Bring in small store bought peanut free item.
Birthday Items are not allowed to be shared during lunch time.
Check with teacher for additional allergy concerns.
Bullying or Peer Conflict?
WHAT IS NOT BULLYING? Adults must realize that not every unkind thing a child does constitutes bullying. For example:
Being left out is not always bullying. It’s natural for kids to have a select group of friends. Although they should be kind towards everyone, it’s unrealistic to expect them to be close friends with every child they know, and be invited to every function or event.
Experiencing conflict is not bullying. Learning to deal with conflict is a normal part of growing up. The key is for children to learn how to solve their problems peacefully and respectfully.
Not playing fair is not bullying. Wanting a game to be played a certain way is not bullying. Children understand the concept of sharing, and should take turns being in charge of the game.
When observing the unkind behaviors your child experiences, be sure to label them correctly. This will help you know how to handle the situation appropriately so that your child can learn and grow from it.
(Ref. Policy JICK, JICK-R, JICK-EA, JICK-EB)
Bullying may occur when a student or group of students engages in any form of behavior that includes such acts as intimidation and/or harassment that:
has the effect of physically harming a student, damaging a student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm or damage to property,
is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that the action, behavior, or threat creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive environment,
occurs when there is a real or perceived imbalance of power or strength, or
may constitute a violation of law
SRR handbook 2022-2023 (pages 2-4)
Terramar PTSA Information
The Terramar PTSA needs your support. Many of you were PTSA members last year. Each year is a new year. We need your membership again. Being a Terramar PTSA Member does not mean you are a volunteer (although we love volunteers). It means you support our programs and you get benefits on most PTSA sponsored initiatives. Please support the Terramar PTSA. There are several ways you can support us:
- Become a member here
- Get Titan Spirit Wear through August 15th - Click here to purchase new gear.
- Save the dates:
- August 17th: Thursday - Great Skate 5-8 PM (See Flyer)
- August 7th - 18th - Classroom Penny War
- September 15th - Food Truck and Movie Night - The Greatest Showman
- October 16th: Step it up Fundraiser kick off
- October 26th Trunk & Treat
- Donate: Donations can be made online or brought into the Terramar Office.
- Penny War: Bring your coins in. Pennies add to your class total; silver coins subtract; Highest class total wins.
- You can also make a tax credit donation to our Drama program since it is an after school event.
- Volunteer: We need Classroom Parents (example: Fuzi, Kindergarten) and Activity Parents. Sign up for either.
- Visit us at https://www.terramarptsa.org/
- If you have any questions, email us at ptsaterramar@gmail.com
Information on the K5 Math Adoption- Public Review
DVUSD is in the process of adopting a new mathematics resource to support content and instructional practice for grades K-5. The goal of the Public Review is to gather feedback from all DVUSD stakeholders about the resource finalists up for adoption consideration.
The K-5 Math Adoption Committee narrowed the pool of resources to Eureka Math2 and i-Ready Classroom Mathematics. Videos highlighting the print and digital content, access to demo accounts, pros/cons for each resource, and the K-5 Math Adoption Feedback Form are linked HERE.
Friday Early Release (Professional Learning Community PLC time)- Why do we have it? What do the teachers do once the students leave?
School ends early on most Fridays so that Terramar teachers can collaborate with other teachers at other schools who teach the same subject/grade on best teaching practices to meet the needs of all learners. Our teachers will compare student data with teachers at other schools to discuss best teaching practices.
A Professional Learning Community AKA PLC is the formal name for teachers meeting to share/compare data to make sure that all students receive the best teaching practices to master the standards.
There are four guiding questions that are answered in each PLC as standards are taught. They are:
1. What do you we want students to know and be able to do?
2. How will we know students have learned?
2a. What instructional practices will produce our best results?
3. What do we do if students have not learned?
4. What do we do when students have already shown mastery?
Please visit this website for more information on what is a PLC https://www.dvusd.org/Page/76959
Watch this video for more information:
Link for District Calendar
What is Top 20- Terramar's Social Emotional Learning Program
What is TOP 20?
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Top 20 Training provides effective strategies and practices to develop potential, eliminate negativity, address challenges, and enhance the culture in schools, at home, and in the workplace through one-of-a-kind, live and on-line trainings, books, journals, and curriculum.
This month in class during our Top 20 time we have been focusing on “Creating a Culture for Learning”. Within the topic your students has had discussions about how we create a culture of learning. For middle school your student should be talking about inside vs outside job and goals to bettering your best. For Kindergarten through 6th grade your child should be aware of communicating “you matter”, helping others succeed, and names are sacred. Below are a few Dinner discussions questions you can have with your child to bring Top20 home and help your child use it in all aspects of their day.
Be A Titan-- Positive Behavior Intervention System
Titan Passport
The Titan Passport was designed to represent a structured behavior program designed for students in Kindergarten through 8th grade. The Titan Passport is a communication tool between school and home that shares positive interactions and infractions on students’ behavior while on campus. Students have the opportunity to earn monthly rewards based on their positive behavior at school.
The Titan passport will be utilized during all classes, to give students the reinforcement of positive behaviors and reminders of school expectations. The passports are designed to travel between home and school, to give parents an idea on how students are performing behaviorally. Each teacher/administrator has the right to use his/her professional judgment to modify this plan for individual students as needed.
Titan Passports are utilized on a monthly basis, students will have the opportunity to restart each month earning positives and infractions. For the first few months students will be given grace and patience with lost and/or damaged cards. After the 1st quarter, students will be charged $0.50 for each replacement card and will also receive an infraction for not being prepared. For every 3 infractions students will receive a lunch detention. If teachers are seeing that students are earning more infractions than positives, they will work with administration to determine if the Passport is right for the student.
At the end of every month, students will have the opportunity to turn their passports points into prizes at the Titan Store. Identifiable points are Positives - Infractions = Final Points. In addition to the Titan Store, some grade levels have identified “extra rewards” for those students who meet a specific point value. The school will also hold random days to celebrate students’ positive achievements.
The Passports will be collected by the school to review any trends, analyze the data, and determine outcomes that can help identify necessary positive interventions for the campus.
Physical/verbal aggression, theft, vandalism, threatening acts, fighting, or any other major infraction listed in the DVUSD Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook will warrant bypassing the Titan Passport guidelines and will result in immediate consequences.