As we approach the month of December and the holidays, it is important to remember that every day counts. We often see a decrease in attendance in our schools in the weeks leading to breaks. When students are not in class, they're missing out. Missing out on assignments. Missing out on influential experiences in our classrooms. Missing out on learning.

We often hear people say that they think that missing just one or two days when their kids are in the early grades, doesn't make that much of a difference. This couldn't be more wrong! Just imagine trying to learn how to read when you miss learning the sound the letter A makes, or think about how hard it would be to catch on to long division, if you missed the introductory days. Missing just 2-3 days each month is classified as chronic absenteeism and can result in substantial gaps in learning. This can cause undo stress for our children that struggle to catch up and may put them in a position where they want to give up because learning seems to become too hard for them.

When students return from winter break, they will be preparing for our annual Smarter Balanced Assessments. To perform on these exams, students are being expected to stretch themselves to limits that exceed years past. It is important that they are in our classrooms, working with their teachers every day, to make sure they are ready for the rigor that is expected of them when they return. Don't let your kids miss out this holiday season; plan ahead and schedule appointments and vacations when your kids are out of school!

Wishing you a Happy Holiday Season,

John Schieche

Superintendent

Throughout the year, employees of the East Valley School District will take photos and videos of students during classroom activities and events, as well as during school-sponsored activities that may occur off-site. These images, examples of student work and the name of any student or staff member may be published for marketing or other purposes, including, but not limited to: district-wide publications, presentations, web pages, Facebook or other social media sites, press releases, newspaper articles and other possible mediums.

It is district recommendation that for pre-planned activities, staff members check out and use a district-issued device. However, we recognize that spur of the moment teaching opportunities can happen when employees don't have a school-issued device handy. In these instances, it is acceptable for staff members to use personal electronic devices. They are encouraged to immediately download the media to their work computer or work Google drive and delete the media from their personal device to ensure the safety of our students and themselves.

As a parent/guardian, you choose how your child’s image and name may be disclosed by the East Valley School District. If you are uncomfortable with your child’s name and/or image being released for use in any of the above-mentioned purposes, you can choose to opt-out. To opt out, please complete the opt-out form and return to your home school.

As a district, we communicate this image disclosure on our website, in our annual district calendar and in our school handbooks. If you have not chosen to opt-out, we assume you have given the East Valley School District permission to release your child’s name/image for the 2018-2019 school year. Please note that school yearbooks are considered internal publications and are not subject to these restrictions. If you do not want your child’s name/photo to be included in these publications, please notify your building principal in writing.

When the decision is made to call a snow day or weather delay, we want to make sure you're getting the information quickly so that you can make plans for the rest of your day.

Here are our steps for communicating:

1. Media channels are contacted to relay information to the public
2. Websites are updated
3. SchoolMessenger (mass messaging service) messages are sent to families & staff. These messages will be sent in all formats to ensure all parties receive the message (email, text, automated phone message) .
4. Social Media pages will be updated to reflect our status
5. If necessary, updates will be provided.

If you don't want to receive our weather notifications as a text, email and phone call you can elect how you do want to receive the message. To do so, we encourage you to download our mobile app and change your preferences. (See flyer below)

A couple of weeks ago we ran a test of our mass-messaging notification service. If you did not receive this test, please make sure that your child's school has current contact information for your family. If you received this message, but you didn't get the text notification and you'd like to receive text messages from us in the future, we can help troubleshoot the issue:

1. Make sure your child's school has your current mobile phone(s) number on file.
2. If they do, and you still aren't getting our texts, text the word HELP to 67587 - This should correct the issue.

To opt-out of receiving text alerts (weather delays, reminders, etc.), text the word STOP to 67587. If you have any questions about how to change your preferences using the mobile app, please contact our communications department at 573-7311.