Gecko Gazette
Desert Sage Elementary Newsletter - September 16, 2021
Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival
A “Mid-Autumn Festival” is also celebrated in many other Asian communities besides China. In China, it's a reunion time for families, just like Thanksgiving, while in Vietnam, it's more like a children's day.
The Mooncake Festival is the second most important festival in China after Chinese New Year. Chinese people celebrate it by gathering for dinners, celebrating the moon, lighting paper lanterns, eating mooncakes, etc.
Mid-Autumn Festival Facts:
- Name in Chinese: 中秋节 Zhōngqiūjié /jong-chyoh-jyeah/ 'Middle Autumn Festival'
- Also called: Mooncake Festival, Moon Festival
- Why it's celebrated: to celebrate the moon and celebrate the harvest
- Must-eat food: mooncake
- Celebrations: family gatherings, admiring the full moon, eating mooncakes, lantern lighting, etc.
- Greetings: The simplest is "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival" (中秋快乐 'Mid-Autumn happy'). Click here for other popular Mid-Autumn Festival greetings.
- Video: The Legend of the Mid-Autumn Festival and How to Celebrate
Fall Picture Day
Order forms will be sent home the week before. Also, be on the lookout for an email providing the access link to place your picture order online.
Goodwill Donation Drive
Saturday, Sep 18, 2021, 10:00 AM
23425 North 39th Drive, Glendale, AZ, USA
Optional Chromebook Protection Plan
Click here for more information about the Optional Device Protection Plan.
Student PLC Early Release Days
Education is a field that continues to change rapidly, and we are dedicated to ensuring that our staff are able to fulfill their commitment to meeting the challenges of today’s educational environment. Supporting this commitment includes providing time for staff to work in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) each week, at a regularly scheduled time, to collect, review and utilize student data to more effectively serve our students’ academic and behavioral needs.
The PLC work for teachers at Desert Sage includes working with their grade level, Special Education, Reading Specialist (K-3), and Gifted Sage teacher (3-6) colleagues to analyze ELA and Math data. They plan the intervention groups (Tier II and Tier III) that students will participate in daily for additional instruction on the learning standards. These intervention groups are fluid, meaning they change frequently based on students' progress towards meeting the standard they are working on. Additionally, during this time, the teachers work to create Common Formative Assessments, aka mini-quizzes on a standard that will be used to determine a student's growth. Finally, throughout all of this collaborative work, teachers determine the most efficient and effective instructional planning for the whole group.
If you would like more information about PLCs, please visit our DVUSD PLC website.
Panda Express Dinner Night
For Desert Sage to receive donation, orders MUST be made through online ordering or the Panda Express App.
28% of all sales will be donated to the Desert Sage PTO. All money raised from the fundraiser goes directly to support Desert Sage students and staff.
Wednesday, Sep 22, 2021, 12:00 AM
Any Panda Express location nationwide.
Attendance
If your child is going to be absent for any period of time within a school day (i.e. full-day, half-day, 1 class period, etc.) please call the Desert Sage attendance line at 623-445-4790.
If your child is absent and you have not called in the absence you will receive an automated voice recorded message notifying you of the absence.
If you have questions regarding your child's attendance, please call the Desert Sage office at 623-445-4700.
Big Kid Book Club - Free Books!
The Big Kid Book Club is here! Click here to enroll your 3-5 year old child to join and begin receiving FREE books NOW!
The Deer Valley Unified School District invites your child to join the Big Kid Book Club! Let us help your child cultivate a love for reading – and get ready for kindergarten.
We will periodically send your child a free book in the mail along with helpful advice for parents of 3-5 year olds.
You do not need to live within the Deer Valley Unified School District to participate. All children between the ages of 3-5, who are not yet attending kindergarten, are eligible to join the Big Kid Book Club.
Nominate a R.A.D. Desert Sage Staff Member
We have Really Awesome Deed (R.A.D.) students at Desert Sage who are recognized for exhibiting one of our Lifelong Guidelines. But did you know we have R.A.D. staff members too? You can nominate any Desert Sage staff member for a R.A.D. when you want to have them recognized for exhibiting one of our Lifelong Guidelines.
You can nominate from the direct link on our school website, the links provided in the teacher's email signatures, or by clicking here: Nominate a R.A.D. Staff Member
Nominated staff members are recognized during our staff meetings with a personalized certificate and are added to our R.A.D. Staff Member Pride bulletin board.
Upcoming Important Dates
- Friday, September 17: Dismissal at 2:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, September 21: Chinese Mid Autumn Festival
- Friday, September 24: Dismissal at 2:00 p.m.
- Friday, October 1: Dismissal at 2:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, October 5: Fall Picture Day
AZ School Tax Credit for Desert Sage
Your school tax credit donations can provide Desert Sage students with opportunities to after school and summer programs, field trips, music and athletic programs or any other extracurricular activity.
- The Arizona tax credit program (A.R.S. 43-1089.01) allows a tax credit of up to $200 for individuals and up to $400 for married couples, filing jointly, in support of extracurricular activities.
- The tax credit reduces your tax burden to the state of Arizona, dollar for dollar.
- This year, AZ tax credit dollars can help us purchase needed capital items as well if donated to the general fund.
Desert Sage Elementary
Email: kristy.gill@dvusd.org
Website: www.dvusd.org/desertsage
Location: 4035 W. Alameda Road, Glendale, AZ, 85310
Phone: (623) 445-4700
Twitter: @DesertSageElem