Quail Run News
July 2022 - Back to School Edition!
From the Desk of Mrs. Raymond:
July 25, 2022
Dear Quail Run Families,
Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! I hope you had a fun and relaxing summer.
Quail Run is proud to be a fully authorized International Baccalaureate World School. In our IB program, we strive to actively engage students, while encouraging them to think deeply and take action in their own lives. We help students develop a love for learning by nurturing students’ natural curiosity. We also work to instill the ten attributes of the IB Learner Profile in our students to positively build their character and support them in achieving their academic goals. Before your students return to school, all of our certified staff will be engaging in two full days of IB training from a national IB trainer to help us prepare for the school year. I am excited to join them in deepening our knowledge of inquiry-based learning and IB philosophy.
We are looking forward to having a more normal return to school this year while continuing to prioritize student safety on our campus. Please look for my monthly newsletters throughout the school year packed with information for the upcoming month as well as sharing happenings around our school.
PVSchools has worked this summer to launch a new website system to create a better experience for our families. Please be patient as we navigate the new site and provide us with feedback as you explore the new site. We hope that it provides you with more information and easier access to school communication.
By working together, we will continue the tradition of excellence that has been established at Quail Run Elementary School. In closing, please enjoy the remaining days of summer. I look forward to seeing many new and familiar faces on August 5th at the Class List Reveal Party!
Your Partner in Education,
Vicky Raymond
Quail Run Staffing Changes
Quail Run has an excellent reputation for excellence and student achievement. This year, we welcome back staff members who have been integral to the establishment of this excellence and we welcome new members who are sure to play an important role in the continued success of our students. There have been some staffing changes since we last announced new staff to the community in May.
Please join me in welcoming:
Maya Kohli, Third-Grade Teacher
Mark Pitcher, Fouth-Grade Teacher
Ashley Schrader, Fifth-Grade Teacher
Jennifer Shetlar, Sixth-Grade Teacher
Robin Hall, PE Teacher
Staci Bryant-Liang, Building Substitute
Roy Semmens, Instructional Assistant/Duty Aide
Arinn Kocherhans, Duty Aide
The following staff will be taking on new roles in addition to being Duty Aides:
April Mayo, Media Technician
Nina Rihan, Campus Assistant
Amy Newton-McConnel, Instructional Assistant
We have also hired a new Spanish teacher for this school year. He is an international applicant from La Paz, Mexico and will be joining our team shortly after the school year starts as he transitions to working and living in Phoenix. We will have a substitute teacher to fill in until he is able to begin work officially.
We will also be beginning the year with a vacant General Music Teacher position due to a lack of applicants. We are working to ensure this staffing shortage will have as minimal impact as possible on our community. We will be removing Music from our Special Area classes for the time being and it will be replaced by Spanish in the four-day rotation instead of having Spanish as a stand-alone class. We are working with our district Fine Arts department about ideas to incorporate music into Quail Run in other ways. Although we will no longer have general music as a special area class, we will still have musical opportunities at our school. We invite all 4-6 students to register for Band or Strings. We will communicate more information shortly about our plans for music. If you know of anyone who may be interested in this position, please reach out. We will continue to post the position and recruit applicants throughout the school year.
Calendar of Upcoming Events
Aug. 5: Class Reveal at Peter Piper Pizza, 4:00 - 8:00 pm (see flyer below)
- Aug. 8: Meet the Teacher
- Aug. 9: First Day of School, Early Release for Kinder only at 1:00 pm
- Aug. 9: Kindergarten Parent Orientation & BooHoo WooHoo Breakfast at 8:45 am
- Aug. 10: Early Release for Kinder only at 1:00 pm
- Aug. 17: Curriculum Night for 1st - 3rd Grades
- Aug. 18: Curriculum Night for 4th - 6th Grades & Honors
Class Placements
A significant amount of time, effort, and thought has gone into the process of student placement for the 2022-2023 school year.
Careful consideration was given to input from teachers and families, as well as student learning styles. Classrooms have been created to be balanced academically and socially. Moving students is difficult and can cause imbalances and inequities.
Thank you so much for supporting our balanced classrooms and helping children understand that it is impossible to place all students with a particular friend or teacher. ALL of our staff works hard to make school a positive experience for ALL students. Thank you for understanding it may take a few weeks for a child to acclimate to a new grade, peer group, and teacher.
Class rosters will be posted outside the front doors of Quail Run on August 8, 2022 by 8:00 AM.
Class List Reveal Party
Meet the Teacher
School Supply Lists
School Lunch
Lunch Reminders:
If your child forgets their lunch, you may bring it to the front office before 10:30 am.
There is no hot fast food allowed for lunch. Please refrain from bringing soda. Subway, Jimmy Johns, and Jersey Mikes are all good options for a special lunch.
Students are not allowed to share food.
We will have a special table for students with food allergies. Your student may be invited to join a friend at this table. If your child is invited to sit at this table, peanut butter is not allowed.
When packing your student´s lunch, please be mindful that they are able to open the food or containers themselves. No glass containers.
Lunch Visitors:
We will go back to allowing lunch visitors this year. You must sign into the front office and get a visitor sticker.
You may bring lunch for your child, but hot fast food is not allowed.
You may not bring lunch for any student other than your own.
You may not pass out treats to any students due to allergies.
Purchasing a School Lunch:
The Nutrition & Wellness Department will return to charging students for their meals based on their free, reduced, and paid meal application status during the 2022-2023 SY.The 2022-2023 Free & Reduced Meal Application is now available for parents to complete at EZMealApp.com. This paperless option is encouraged because online applications can be processed within 24 hours of their submission. Paper meal applications are available in our front office or can be printed from the Nutrition & Wellness website to be submitted to the department. All families are encouraged to apply.
It is extremely important for families to complete and submit the 22-23 SY meal application in order to avoid potential negative account balance charges.
Visit the Lunch Menu section of our website for more information about menus, meal prices, and to load money into your student´s lunch account.
Curriculum Nights - Save the Date!
Annual Update for ALL Returning Students
The Annual Update process is completed by parents or guardians online within Infinite Campus. This allows you to update information that may have changed in your household. This replaces the earlier versions of paper forms we called Emergency Cards. We request that this information is verified/updated yearly.
For additional information please click the Annual Update Smart Card or view this presentation for step-by-step instructions. There is also a short video on the process to assist you.
New PVSchools Family/Student Handbook
Student Drop off Information
School gates will open at 8:15 a.m. for optional morning recess. The first bell rings at 8:43 a.m. for students to line up by their classroom. School begins for everyone at 8:45 a.m.
As a reminder when dropping off your students, parents are not allowed past the gates or on the playground.
Breakfast will be served in the cafeteria starting at 8:15 a.m. Please drop off all students eating breakfast at the 3-6 Drop off by 8:30 a.m. so they have ample time to eat before instruction begins at 8:45 a.m.
We strongly encourage students to arrive on time. If a student is tardy to school, they need to be dropped off at the front door. The student will receive a tardy pass and either be escorted or sent to class. Please try to avoid unnecessary tardies.
To accommodate families with students in multiple grades, both K-2 students and their siblings may be dropped off at the gate on Utopia Rd. and may enter through that gate and walk to the big playground.
K-2 walkers will enter through the gate on Utopia Rd. Only students will be allowed to enter the gates.
3-6 grade students will be dropped off in the main front parking lot.
Student Dismissal Procedures
Please remember to be patient for the first few weeks of school, especially with car pickup in the back of the school. Traffic lines will move quicker as everyone gets used to the routine. As 50% of our school enrollment is open enrollment, car pickup is the most popular dismissal option.
If you are parking in the neighborhood, do not block any driveways or block intersections. Parking is not allowed on street corners as it blocks other drivers´ views. We appreciate you being respectful of our neighbors.
If a student needs to be picked up early, the front office staff will notify the teacher. The student will be responsible for gathering their belongings before heading to the front office. Parents will need to allow extra time for this process when picking up students for doctor appointments and early dismissal. At least 15 minutes is recommended.
Fire lane gates will open at 2:30 pm. for afternoon dismissal.
We will be using the fire line at the back of the school for all car pickup.
We will be dismissing K students at 3:10 pm. We will also be allowing siblings of K students to join them for 3:10 pm pick up. Please discuss this as a family if you have multiple children. The older children should join the youngest sibling and will leave the classroom ahead of their peers.
All other students will be dismissed at 3:15 pm.
All cars will enter the fire lane off of 34th Street and drive around to the back of the school, where duty aides will assist in getting students in their vehicles. There will be two pickup areas in the fire lane. First, you will see the 3-6 pickup, near the outdoor restroom building. Next will be K-2 pickup near the middle of the building.
All cars will enter the drive at the far south side of the campus off of 34th Street. As vehicles drive down the fire lane to the gate, cars will form two lines. If you are picking up a 3-6 grade student, please line up on the right side and if you are picking up K-2 and siblings, please line up on the left side of the lane.
Parents walking to pick up K-2 students will meet them at the gate at the front of campus, north of the flagpole. Parents walking to pick up 3-6 students will meet them at the gate near the main parking lot.
If you are driving through the pick-up line, please post this valet card on your passenger’s side windshield with the name(s) and grade level(s) of your students clearly printed in bold marker. This will help our staff to quickly get your student(s) to your car. We will also have these available for you at Meet the Teacher.
Helpful School Reminders
If you need to relay a message to your student during school hours, you can call the office or leave a message directly on our Voicelink account at (602) 449-5465. The office staff will NOT transfer calls to classrooms, as this will interrupt important instructional time.
If your child forgets their lunch, you may bring it to the front office before 10:00 am.
Students are also not allowed to bring Starbucks drinks, smoothies, etc. on campus in the morning.
Be sure to communicate end-of-day arrangements with your student in the morning, prior to coming to school. We want to ensure all students get home safely. If there are any changes in how students get home, please notify the office and the teacher.
School hours are from 8:45 am -3:15 pm. If you are picking up a student early, please be aware that every minute counts and minutes missed accumulate throughout the school year. Also, be aware that students cannot be called to the office early for an appointment. Students will be called from class at the time you arrive to check them out.
Birthday treats must be store-bought and easy to pass out for the teacher. No cakes that need cutting, please. Cupcakes are allowed this year. Balloons are not allowed on campus.
You will need your ID every time you pick up students prior to dismissal.
Your student will not be released if the person picking her/him up is not on the contact list. If you need to add a friend or family member to the contact list you will need to go to Infinite Campus to update Emergency Contact information through your annual update.
You can check your child's grades by downloading the Infinite Campus app or logging on online. Click here for directions.
Register for Band - 4-6 Students Only
Strings registration will take place after the school year begins.
Here are the links for band registration:
4th grade exploratory band information: https://bit.ly/expbandSalter22-23
4th grade exploratory band: https://bit.ly/EBQRSS22-23
5th & 6th grade band information: https://bit.ly/QRSSbandinfo2223
5th & 6th grade band registration: https://bit.ly/bandQRSS22-23
Site Volunteers/Chaperones
Site volunteers must be parents, guardians, or grandparents of a current student.
School chaperones perform an invaluable service, helping to ensure the safety of students attending events and field trips. Parents, guardians, grandparents, or relatives are eligible to be a school chaperone after completing a background screening. Chaperones are fingerprinted and must agree to a background check.
Apply to be a Site Volunteer or Chaperone
- Visit the PVSchools job search page.
- Search for "Volunteer" or "Chaperone."
- Select the opportunity that best fits your interest.
- Click on the "Apply Online" button.
- Create a login and password.
- Complete the application process.
Please be aware that this application can take up to 12 weeks to clear, so be sure to get it in early. Please contact our front office if you have any questions.
Enroll at Quail Run
If you or anyone you know needs to enroll a student for the 2022-2023 school year, please know we are still accepting applications for students both inside and outside of our school enrollment boundaries. Open enrollment enables Arizona students to attend public schools outside their district attendance areas or outside their district of residence. It is open to all Arizona-based students. All open enrollment questions may be directed to tsorenson@pvschools.net.
Click here to enroll for the 2022-2023 school year.
Required Documents for Enrollment
A certified copy of your child's birth certificate
Your child's immunization records
Proof of Arizona residency (e.g., utility bill, house payment, lease/purchase agreement)
IEP/504 forms (if applicable)
Please note, to register for kindergarten, your student must be 5 years old PRIOR to September 1st, 2022.
You will also be required to complete an Annual Update on Infinite Campus. Please visit the PV Assist website for links and more information.
QUAIL RUN PTA
We look forward to meeting our new Quail families and talking about volunteer opportunities. A great way to get an early start to support our school is by signing up for the Fry's Community Awards and Amazon Smile program below.
The Class List Reveal Party is a great way to meet other new Quail Run parents and mingle a bit with the PTA and hear about what we do and the upcoming school year's activities.
To keep up to date and get involved, please follow Quail Run PTA on Facebook and Instagram!
Enjoy the rest of the summer!
Amanda Bunney
Quail Run PTA President
Fry´s Food Community Rewards
Smile.Amazon.com
AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to support Quail Run Elementary every time you shop, at no cost to you. AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.com on your web browser and can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones.
On your first visit to smile.amazon.com, you will be prompted to select a charitable organization. Select Quail Run PTA (make sure it is the one that says Phoenix, AZ. There is also a QR in CA! Every time you shop on Amazon simply start at smile.amazon.com and the school earns 0.5% of every purchase. It's that easy to make a difference! Ask your friends, family, and co-workers to participate too! As always, Thank you for your support!
United Parent Council
Important Phone Numbers
Front Office: 602-449-4400
Attendance Line: 602-449-4401
School Nurse: 602-449-4403
School Cafeteria: 602-449-4407
Connect with Mrs. Raymond
Email: vraymond@pvschools.net
Website: https://www.pvschools.net/schools/quail-run-elementary/home
Location: Quail Run Elementary School, East Utopia Road, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phone: 602-449-4400