P r i n c i pa l ’s M e s s a g e

Dear Families of Sunset Hills,

It is hard to believe that it is already December and that we have nearly completed an entire semester of school! I would like to take a moment to reflect on the past five months and all of the accomplishments of the Sunset Hills learning community.

Sunset Hills hosted the fourth annual Veteran’s Day Breakfast to honor our veterans. Our middle level learners also submitted essays in the VFW Patriot’s Pen’s Essay Contest. We are happy to announce that Maia W., Kaitlyn B., and Abigail T. were the top 3 finalists at Sunset Hills! We also had three students who placed in the district art contest. Congratulations to Emma Jane A., Trinity S., and Abigail D. on this accomplishment! Congratulations to Ms. Putman, Ms. Gierish, and Ms. Joy who were recognized as Dysart and Sunset Hills Heartbeat winners for the first semester! We look forward to recognizing more accomplishments of our staff and students in the second semester!

Our after school activities at Sunset Hills continue to grow. Student Council, National Junior Honor Society, Friends of Rachel, Choir and Bobcat Singers, Art, Drama, Yearbook, and Recycling continue to accomplish amazing things! Our softball, baseball and soccer teams played hard and accomplished so much during their season! These activities all provide students with an opportunity to be involved and give back to our community.

Our Parent Teacher Organization continues to build upon their previous success. The Fall Festival, BINGO Night, Movie Night, Mother/Son Olympics, and Cookie Dough Fundraiser all had a great turnout and were a success! PTO is gearing up for our school fun run. They will continue to raise money for the goal of purchasing additional technology, items for the classrooms, and playground equipment for our students. Thank you all for your support of the PTO!!

To celebrate further, we held our first quarter awards assembly. We recognized students who earned Principal’s Honor Roll, Honor Roll, Perfect Attendance, Exceptional Effort, and Outstanding Character. We are looking forward to celebrating our accomplishments during our second quarter assemblies in January!

Students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade will be taking benchmarks the week of December 11. Your child’s teacher will communicate the day(s) they will be testing with you through email blasts. Please support your child by ensuring they get a good night’s rest the night before, a healthy breakfast, and encourage them to do their best! Your child’s teacher will use the data from the assessment to measure mastery and to set goals with your child.

I am so proud of our school community of learners and devoted members and all that we have accomplished so far! Thank you again for your continued support. We are on this amazing journey together!

I wish you all a wonderful winter break! We look forward to seeing everyone in the new year!

Sincerely,

Joey Tokhi

Principal

Sunset Hills Vision, Mission,

Values STATEMENT

Together we

believe that all students can

achieve!

We are committed to developing every

member of our learning

community to ensure that all

students succeed.

The students of Sunset Hills

Strive for academic

excellence, Honor the pillars

of character, Exceed

expectations, and Show pride in all

we do!

THE BOBCAT BRIEF BOBCAT MONTHLY

Sunset Hills Elementary School

December 2017

January 2018

Office Hours:

7:15 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.

623-523-8700

School Hours:

Monday & Early Release:

8:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Tuesday - Friday:

8:15 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

School Attendance For the best learning, your child should attend class every day. If however, your child is sick, please be sure to call the attendance line to let us know. Additionally, if your child is late to school, please be sure to come in to sign in for an excused tardy. Attendance Line: (623) 523-8703

Read the rest of THE BOBCAT BRIEF at www.dysart.org/Sunset Hills

Sunset Hills Elementary School 17825 W Sierra Montana Loop

Surprise, AZ 85388 623.523.8700

DECEMBER 2017

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2

Bobcat Singer

Sing for Santa–

Coyotes Arena

3 4

Holiday Shop

opens

5

6

7

Club Group

Pictures

NJHS Meeting–

3:15pm

8

Holiday Shop

closes

9

10 11

8th Grade

Parent Night–

5:00pm– Library

12 13

Band Concert–

6:30pm– SRHS

14

Site Council-

3:30pm

15 16

17 18

Cheer Tryouts-

6:45am

19

Cheer Tryouts-

6:45am

20

Cheer Tryouts-

6:45am

Kinder Holiday

Performance–

5:00pm

21

Cheer Tryouts-

3:15pm

22

Winter

Break–

NO SCHOOL!

23

24 25

Winter

Break–

NO SCHOOL!

26

Winter

Break–

NO SCHOOL!

27

Winter

Break–

NO SCHOOL!

28

Winter

Break–

NO SCHOOL!

29

Winter

Break–

NO SCHOOL!

30

31

Tax Credit Your Tax Credit donations are greatly appreciated. Parents and community members can donate up to $400 in tax credit annually. Our school funds many extra curricular activities and student-centered learning experiences beyond the school day. Since a contribution is entirely tax deductible, a tax credit is a dollar for dollar reduction of your state income tax liability. To make a tax credit donation to Sunset Hills Elementary School, follow these easy steps: Fill out the Arizona Tax Credit Contribution Form. You can pick one up in our front office or print one off from www.dysart.org. Attach your check for up to $400.00 and designate where you want your money spent at Sunset Hills. School Designate Athletics - Softball, Baseball, Soccer, Cheer, Flag Football, Basketball & Volleyball Fine Arts - Bobcat Singers, Art, Yearbook, Drama Enrichment Remember you can donate as little as $20.00 and up to $400.00. Every donation counts!!! Bring your contribution and completed form to the Sunset Hills office or mail it to the Dysart Unified School District. You can also make an On-Line Tax Credit Contribution. Please do not forget to mark your application and check the memo line as Sunset Hills.

Congratulations to

Ms. Joy, December

Dysart and

Sunset Hills’ Heartbeat

Winner!!

Read the rest of THE BOBCAT BRIEF at www.dysart.org/Sunset Hills

Sunset Hills Elementary School 17825 W Sierra Montana Loop

Surprise, AZ 85388 623.523.8700

JANUARY 2018

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

Winter

Break–

NO SCHOOL!

2

Winter

Break–

NO SCHOOL!

3

Winter

Break–

NO SCHOOL!

4

Winter

Break–

NO SCHOOL!

5

Winter

Break–

NO SCHOOL!

6

7 8

SCHOOL

RESUMES!

9 10

11

NJHS Meeting–

3:15pm

PTO Meeting-

3:30pm-Library

12 13

14 15

Martin Luther

King, Jr. Day–

NO SCHOOL!

16

17 18

Awards Assemblies

6th: 8:30 am

5th: 9:15 am

4th: 10:00 am

19

Awards Assemblies

7th: 8:30 am

8th: 9:15 am

20

21 22 23 24 25

Site Council-

3:30pm

26 27

28 29 30

31

Annual Bear Drive

We are proud to be hosting our fourth annual bear drive to benefit the Team Emery Bear Drive for Phoenix Children’s Hospital during the holiday season. We are collecting NEW teddy bears and other stuffed animals so

each child at Phoenix Children’s Hospital (and 26 other children’s hospitals around the country) can have a cuddly buddy for the holiday sea-son. Please be sure that all donations are brand new from the store. We are

unable to accept used animals because of health concerns.

Choir

The Bobcat Singers will represent Sunset Hills at the annual AZ Coyotes “Sing for Santa” event as they take on the NJ Devils at Gila River Arena on 12/2. Over 100 friends and family of our Singers will be at the game to cheer us on...and the Coyotes, too!

The Fine Arts Department will showcase the Sunset Hills Chorus and Bobcat

Singers at the annual Winter Serenade Concert, a free event, on Monday 12/18 at the Shadow Ridge High School Performing Arts Center (10909 North Perryville Road). Call time for members is 5:45pm, audience seating will begin at 6:20, and the concert will begin promptly at 6:30. Please note the change in venue from previous years!

Band and String

December 13th is the band and string concert at Shadow Ridge High School in the

auditorium. The address is 10909 North Perryville Road, 85388. The program starts at

6:30 PM. Students should be there at 6:00 PM for roll call. The program should last

around forty minutes.

Innovation Tips/Updates

Students campus-wide will be participating in the

annual Hour of Code initiative during Computer

Science in Education Week (12/4-12/8). Using

resources provided at Code.org, students will

engage in grade-level appropriate online activities

that teach the basics of coding. The Sunset Hills

Student Tech Team will provide classroom

support throughout the week, as well! Sunset Hills

will also be featured at the Governing Board

Technology Showcase on Wed. 1/24 highlighting

our Personalized Learning experiences in

classrooms from across the school.

Drama Activity

Rehearsals continue on our production of Willy

Wonka Jr., as we begin choreography in December.

We’ll also be starting a holiday Food Drive in

December--more details coming soon. Please

contact Mr. Wallgren if you have any questions at

stephen.wallgren@dysart.org.

Congratulations to our November Character Counts Students of the

Month!

Nijel W., Brooklyn R., Charlotte M., Bella C., Caleb S., Emma T., Janice A., Keegan S., Isabella P., Cody

W., Brady W., Saul R., Rowan K., Conner M., Kelton B., Brenden O., Rosalie L., Audrina L., Nate B., Aiden

W., Johnaya T., Sierra C., Jaxxon O., Mirabelle M., Lucy G., Kyler L., Mackenzie G., Angel G., Molly L.,

Glavan M., Odaly's R., Bradey E., Trinity S., Quoc N., Emily C., Curtis A., Dana H., Kylie G., Abigail K.,

Wyatt S., Brian B., Sisi E.

Art Activity

Art Activity has begun every Tuesday after school in the Art Room. We meet from 3-4 pm. On my teacher website there is a section for Art Club.

Please check it out for important information and see which group is meeting that week.

https://sites.google.com/dysart.org/suzanne-putman/home

Rachel’s Challenge

Rachel’s Challenge, to promote kindness and compassion at Sunset Hills and beyond, has officially begun! This month, we shared with all students how they can spread kindness at home, school, and in

their community to make their world a safer, more kind place. Students took the pledge of kindness by signing their name to a handprint, and our Friends of Rachel members decorated the

hallways with those handprints to remind students to be kind!! This past Friday, Friends of Rachel members officially brought back HIGH-5 Fridays to SHES! Look for us every Friday to get your

HIGH-5!!

Our next meeting, Tues. Nov 28th from 3:15-4:00 p.m., will focus on bringing kindness to our community!! If you would still like to join

Friends of Rachel (FOR), please return your signed permission slip to Mrs. Lynch in room 249!

Student Council

The next student council meeting will meet with

Mrs. Schlinger on Tuesday, December 5th. That will

be our last meeting for this quarter. Meetings will

resume Tuesdays beginning January 9th.

NJHS

The next NJHS meeting is Thursday, December 7th in the library from 3:15-4:00pm. We will be planning

our January blanket drive to benefit the Andre House in Phoenix. We hope to see all NJHS

members there.

Yearbook

Pre-order your yearbook: $30.00 Nov.- Dec. 21

$35.00 Dec. 22- Mar. 16

$40.00 (if available) No online orders

Yearbook orders will not be accepted after March 16, 2018

Only online orders will be taken: http://yearbooks.pixami.com/SunsetHills/home3/

Bookstore.jsp

Yearbook 8th Grade Dedications: ¼ page $15

½ page $20

Full page $25

Use the same link above to place your Dedication order. 8th Grade Dedication space will be sold un-til February 20, 2018, or until all available space is

filled. Please don’t wait!

The next yearbook meetings will be with Mrs. Schlinger on:

Thursday, December 7th

Thursday, December 14th

Recycle Activity

The Recycle Team is in full swing and collects every

Thursday after school. We have started a new re-

cycle program called Crayola Colorcycle. We will be

collecting dried out markers of any brand, dry erase

markers, and even highlighters to send back to

Crayola at the end of the school year.

Girls’ Soccer Team

Congratulations to the girls soccer team for making it to the playoffs! Their first playoff game is Friday, December 1st against Sonoran Heights at Countryside

Elementary. Good luck Bobcats!

Boys’ Soccer Team

Congratulations to the boys soccer team for a great season this year!