AIMS Week by Mrs. Westphal (Guest Blogger)

If you asked me how I was doing Monday, chances are I would have replied, “I’m doing pretty well, thanks.” But that was not exactly the whole truth. Last Monday I was a nervous wreck, and I am sure I was not alone.

After months and months of preparing for AIMS it was finally here. And as I stood at the cross walk directing traffic, I couldn’t help but think that it was a true team effort. We rearranged student and teacher schedules, we held Saturday school, we hosted assemblies, opened up the computer labs, made up games, and practiced for this test through and through.  You name it, we did it. It was not just the testing grades though, second grade teachers helped with AIMS school on the weekends, first grade teachers prepared their students for a cheer to encourage the testing grades, and to top things off they presented it flash mob style!

So, you must wonder then, why, if I truly believed we were so prepared, was I so nervous? Well, that’s easy. I was nervous that maybe the students would not have applied the strategies, or they would have forgotten what we’d practiced, or even worse, raced through the test.

That was Monday.

As AIMS concluded on Thursday afternoon, I was so beyond proud of our students. They were unstoppable. They gave 100% all week long. Their attitudes were positive, their work ethic strong, and their confidence radiated. They buzzed about how they applied strategies, and how they doubled checked their work, and when asked, they said it went well!

As a teacher or a parent, what more could you ask for?

I know I’m not alone, just about everyone on campus would agree that we work with a pretty amazing group of kids. …..And just about everyone would agree that we work with a pretty amazing group of adults too!

Nora Westphal

New Human Sexual Health Education Curricululm

The Scottsdale Unified School District is in the process of revising its Human Sexual Health Education curriculum for grades 6, 7, & 8. We will be holding public meetings during the week of April 4, 2011. Community members are invited to attend to review the revised curriculum and provide input to the District.

Wednesday April 6, 2011 Mohave District Annex 8505 E. Valley View Road Scottsdale, AZ 85250 KachinaRoom 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

The Governing Board will vote on the matter on April 12, 2011.

Charros Teacher of the Year

Every year, the Scottsdale Charros recognize outstanding teachers across the Scottsdale Unified School District. It is my pleasure to announce that Jillian Kersten, Hohokam 1^st grade teacher, is our 2011 Charros Teacher of the Year! Mrs. Kersten will be honored at the Charros Banquet on April 29th. If you see Mrs. Kersten, please congratulate her on this great honor.

Kindergarten Round Up

On Tuesday, March 8^th at 6:00 p.m., Hohokam Traditional School will host prospective parents during our annual Kindergarten Round Up. This is a great opportunity for parents to learn about Hohokam and a typical day in Kindergarten.

If you know of parents who might be interested in attending, please pass along this information. We would like to continue to build a strong community and increased enrollment will help provide more opportunities for our school.

Thank you!

Super Size Hohokam

Hopefully, you were able to attend McTeacher Night on Tuesday at McDonald’s. I believe it was a great event for our school and community. We had over 20 staff volunteers and hundreds of parents and students come to support Hohokam. The restaurant was full throughout the evening and it was great to see families interacting with one another. A strong and positive community can do great things together.

It is not official, but we believe that approximately $1000 was raised for our school. That is pretty good for three hours! Thank you for your support of our school and don’t forget that the Hohokam Carnival is on Saturday, February 26^th. We will need your partnership to make this a successful event as well. Go Falcons!

Busy Time of Year!

It is a busy time of year at Hohokam Traditional School. Last week we held our annual Book Fair and we would like to thank Donna Brlobas and all of the families who volunteered their time throughout the week. Tonight we have McTeacher Night at the McDonalds on Scottsdale Rd and Thomas. Many staff members will be serving food and a portion of all proceeds will go to our school! Please join us this evening at McDonald’s.

Parent/Teacher Conferences have begun and will continue through next week. If for some reason you have not been in contact with your child’s teacher, please call the school to make an appointment.

In addition, we are currently, in the midst of our 2^nd PTA fundraiser. Students attended an assembly last week to get things kicked off. The fundraiser runs through Wednesday, February 16^th. In celebration of the students’ effort, we will have a BMX assembly on March 2^nd. We held the same event last year and it was a hit!

Are you curious how the money raised will be spent? The PTA plans to use much of the proceeds from this year’s fundraisers for Student Response Systems. This 21^st Century technology will provide each student with a remote control that they can use to answer questions by the teacher. The data is automatically entered into the computer and teachers can use this information to direct their teaching. It is great for student engagement! We currently have three pilot classrooms and the students and teachers love the new technology!

Looking ahead, we have our PTA Carnival that will take place on Saturday, February 26^th from 11:00 – 2:30. Volunteers are always needed to make this event a success. Please be looking for a volunteer flyer that will be sent home with every child next week.

Parent Involvement

Dear Hohokam Families,

Mr. Caudle was nice enough to allow me to post a quick blog entry on the Hohokam Blog….how fun is that?

Half days come with mixed emotions as I often find myself wishing I could continue teaching instead of going to a meeting. Today though, was such a pleasant surprise! What is it that we do during ½ days you ask…well, today, we had a chance to share some wonderful things Hohokam created and celebrate the ideas of other schools in our complex.

It was a win –win situation really, we exchanged ideas with other schools in our complex on how to up our parent involvement, a whole complex of schools working toward one common goal….love it!

I was so interested to see what other schools are doing to involve the whole family in education, but I was even more proud to be part of Hohokam. As I listed all sorts of events we host, Come Read with Me Night, The Carnival, Technology Tune Up, Movie Nights, and Math Night, it reminded me that I work with such a committed group of people! Now, if we could just get a few more parents involved!!!!!

Wondering what you can attend in the near future? Math Night…it’ll be fun! Mark your calendars for Thursday, February 3.

Hope to see you at math night,

Mrs. Westphal

Parent Survey

Dear Hohokam Family,

Each year it is mandated that school districts across Arizona send out a parent survey rating the quality of their school/district. The feedback that you provide is valued and used to make improvement decisions and highlight positive aspects of each school.

Please take the time to complete the survey online at http://susd.hohokam.schoolfusion.us/. We will also be sending home a hard copy of the survey on Friday, January 7th. If you choose to fill those out, please return them to your child's teacher.

Once again, we value your opinion and partnership. Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey.

Mr. Caudle