A Note From The Principal,

Every year Stapley is fortunate to have parents and community members donate money to our school in the form of a tax credit called the Extra-Curricular Activi-ties or ECA fund. The purpose of this article is to share a breakdown of the mon-ey donated to the Stapley ECA fund and the many worthwhile uses we have found for the funds. Here is a quick breakdown of how the use of ECA money is utilized. ECA money must be used to directly impact and benefit students at Stapley and it cannot re-place or supplant anything the district already pays for to reach regular curriculum goals (hence the name extra-curricular activities). Here is an example; a school cannot use the money to pay for teacher training but it can pay a teacher to tutor students or sponsor an after school club. We have two accounts that are ‘school wide use’ type accounts, the 8000 general and 8002 general. Examples of these two account uses are: to support student activity clubs after school, purchase tech-nology to support video production and computer lab acquisition, before and after school tutoring, etc. Those two accounts total $5,315.84 The 8002 account re-quires that our School Improvement Advisory Council (SIAC) team approve all expenditures. A majority of this money is earmarked to pay for club sponsors to work directly with students in an activity

We understand the tough economic times parents and community members are liv-ing through now. Please know that we are squeezing all the value we can out of your donations. Thank you for your generous ECA donations to keep our school programs working for our students.

Ken EricKen EricKen EricKen Erickson, Principal

February-March 2012-13

AIMS Testing

April 15 - 19th

All students will be testing during the week of April 15th-19th. Tests will be taken in the morning, with shortened classes the remainder of each day. Testing will be completed by 11:30 each day. Please try NOT to schedule appointments before 11:30 on these

dates.

Testing Week Tips

• Encourage your child to take pride in his/her performance, without creating excessive anxiety or frustration.

• Discuss the value of the test: to assess strengths and weak-nesses as well as appropriate class placement.

• Stick to regular sleeping and eating schedules making sure to include a healthy breakfast.

Show Off Stapley Open House

Thursday, February 7th, 2013 5:30-7:00

All incoming 7th graders, current Stapley students and parents are cordially invited to attend “Show Off Stapley” on February 7, 2013 from 5:30-7:00 pm. Come and check out the excellent student work and exciting performances that make Stapley Junior High an A+ school!

In addition, an informational presentation regarding pre-

registration will be held in the Stapley Auditorium from 6:00-

6:30 for incoming 7th graders. An informal question answer

session will take place for incoming 8th graders from 6:35-

6:50. Our counselors will be available during this time to an-

swer questions.

This is a special night; please plan to attend with your Stapley student. It is with great pleasure that we “Show Off Stapley.”

Pizza AVAILABLE

for a nominal fee from 5:30-7:00

Adams,MasonLane

Alder,Brandon

Almaguer,KellieMarie

Anderson,AdamChristian

Anderson,BaylorScot

Anderson,ClaytonAllen

Anderson,NoahMichael

Ange,HanleyElizabeth

Arnett,AbigailSydney

Arnett,DavidJohnJr

Aslamy,HadiaSultana

Austin,MeganIrene

Axtell,HoldenIan

Ayala,KassandraRashel

Backlund,MichaelMasau

Bahn,ErickVincent

Baird,EmilyColeen

Baird,MacKenziePeterson

Barney,BrettMichael

Barney,HunterLewis

Barney,KennethClark

Barney,KylieAnn

Beaty,LacieLynne

Beeman,MichelleAudrey

Berry,CyndaNicole

Beshey,ChristianJames

Beus,Morgan

Black,RebekahLynn

Bourdon,Grif+inCharles

Bowers,RobertNathan

Breinholt,SeraAshton

Bridges,JaredRay

Broderick,MakennaLynn

Brown,BethanyLayne

Brown,Maci

Buatte,BrooklynLeann

Burk,JosiahRobert

Burke,RyanMichael

Campbell,AshleyShalyse

Campbell,BrookeA

Candland,BonnieKate

Cardon,RebeccaAnne

Carter,LaurenMichelle

Carver,RachaelLorraine

Chaffanjon,MaxenceLucien

Christensen,JohnSteven

Clark,AubreyAna

Collier,Emma

Cornwell,JordanRiley

Crandall,Jillian

Davalos,Sebastian

Davis,AnnaJean

DeLaCruz,PerlamarinaBeltran

Decker,DavidBryce

Denler,Aspen

DePaula,HannahRaquelDeSouza

Dike,RachelMarie

Doctor,DominicElijah

Duncan,HunterBrock

Durfee,DaysonKeith

Durnell,NormanRobert

Durrant,BenjaminCharles

Edmondson,Harry

Egbert,JosephSheldon

Egnatoff,AlexanderJames

Ellsworth,CadeAllen

Ellsworth,ColbyPaul

Espinoza,JaimeRafael

Evans,JohnathanBrian

Everett,DaisyRaelynn

Faherty,BriannaMarie

Fahnholz,Devin

Faraoni,CalebMelvin

Fitzgerald,BrockRiley

Flake,ChantryAnne

Flake,DallinBae

Fleischer,JustinEdward

Fletcher,AllisonGrace

Fletcher,RebekahAnn

Foster,CarterSamuel

Frost,ColtenLee

Funk,KelsiShae

GarciaCamacho,MelaniePaulina

Gaspar,AnaYennifer

Giles,KayleyMarie

Greenly,JoshuaTodd

Grief,DustinKade

Groberg,EthanJoseph

Grover,BradleySmith

Hakes,CodyWayne

Hampton,BrookeNicole

Harper,CalvinChristopher

Harvison,AllenEmery

Haycock,DestrieEloise

Heinz,HeidiMadison

Heninger,JakeJustin

Hernandez,SebastianMora

Herrera,CristianEmmanuel

Herron,Ariana

Huber,DeanJoel

Hutchinson,CorinneNicole

Irvine,KathrynAnne

Jacobson,LukeCharles

James,AlexandriaSamantha

Jennings,BrisaBella

Johnson,ColtonChristopher

Johnson,SadieLynn

Jones,CassidyCecile

Jones,DanaRenee

Jones,RebekahNadine

Jordan,AsaRobert

Kerr,Madelyn

Kerr,VictoriaJean

King,TateAndrew

Kleese,Chandler

Klein,AshleyElizabeth

Knight,JonathanLogan

Knight,TalmageJohn

Kuhse,TatumMarie

7th

Grade

Lambson,EastonHinckley

Lancucki,ChadEugene

Larsen,SophiaBlair

Larson,PrestonDylan

Lawson,AlyssaKay

Lerew,BaileyA

Luevano,ElisandraMia

Lunt,BrantSteven

Macdonald,RachelJayne

Mack,TannerAndrew

MadridBustamante,Andrea

Mai,Emily

Manning,KalebJames

Markle,MarinaMellin

Markle,MikelleShalon

Mason,Elise

Mason,MaxDoyle

Matheson,LaneDonovan

McCarey,HunterWoods

McCullough,TaylorLeigh

McGee,JakeMitchell

McMillen,JamesEdward

McWhorter,BriannaAnnette

Meyer,SarahNicole

Miller,Grace

Mintz,AbigailJuneLijiang

Mix,JaredDaniel

Mize,RichardC

Molina,AngelinaPacheco

Monks,ShelbyRyan

Montiel,RaymondAnthony

Mooney,TimothyRichard

Motley,TaylorDawn

Musgrave,RaceAnthony

Neagle,EdenNicole

Nelson,SamuelWade

Nichols,DallinRay

Nigh,NatalieKay

Norton,KendallNorman

Oar,KaitlynNicole

Oldroyd,DavidHoward

Oliver,LexieRae

Olson,SuzanneMargaret

Oltman,AnthonyJamesLogan

Osborn,HarrisonThomas

Ostler,CalebCreg

OtanezMurrieta,MidoryFernanda

Pace,JaredK

Parks,BrookeKelli

Pennell,EmilyKatherine

Perkinson,RobertMarsh

Perry,NicholasEdward

Petersen,DallenBrent

Peterson,ElijahBenjamin

Peterson,GrantClark

Phillips,MatthewMonish

Pierce,AdamJoseph

Pike,JamesChristopher

Pineda,DanielAlfonso

Pitts,JasmineCrystal

Preston,EmmaJanise

Prock,KamrynHill

Ramirez,KevinBrandon

Randall,TalonWrigley

Richeson,CooperJoe

Rivera,AliciaSabryn

Robertson,JadenNoel

RodriguezGarcia,MarcoValentin

Ronk,HaileyMae

Rosenbaum,ConnorMichael

Rush,SydneyOlivia

Ryan,KevinAustin

Sakauye,ChristopherNicholas

SanJuan,ErickBautista

Saunders,DavidKent

Sciarro,JacobRyan

Scott,ErinNicole

Siegel,BrittanyJade

Slade,TayaDolores

Smith,HannahRose

Smith,MasonRush

Smith,TiffanyJon

Smith,WayneBriggden

Soelberg,CalebThomas

Sorenson,KatieKathleen

Spiliotis,AthanasiosA

Stapley,SeanAllen

Stevens,KassidySuezanne

Storey,JasonBradford

Stout,JacobA

Stratford,PeterRyan

Stuart,CadeAdam

Sunderland,RachelElisabeth

Sutherlin,ThomasMichael

Taylor,BrighamTodd

Tesarek,ChristinaAlicia

Tetlow,CourtneyDanell

Thomas,EmmyElizabeth

Thomas,EricHeywood

Timothy,JosephEvan

Trego,JeffreyLaMar

Trendler,BriggHolyoak

Tucker,KylinnNoelle

Turley,AnnaElizabeth

Turley,RyanCardon

Udall,JarenBrock

Ulrich,MasonClark

Viscardi,BrittanyMae

Walker,ColtonJohn

Wallis,HarmonyJoy

Webster,BrodyRhett

Whiting,StetsonFarr

Wilbrink,ScottIsaac

Wilfert,CadenWilliam

Williams,JacquelineMarie

Williams,JordanBroderick

Wilson,HunterMelvin

Wilson,MitchellBrad

Woelfel,PrestonJames

Wright,EllieSheaZimmerle,TaylorNicole

Zur+luh,BriannaL

7th Grade continued...

Allen,ScottEthan

Allred,BrandonCalvert

Amann,JasonLee

Anderson,KatyNicole

Andrews,PeterMichael

Arnett,Annie

Arnett,ReidThomas

Atha,JonathonRay

Austin,AbigailJane

Baehr,LaurynAnn

Baird,RebekahKatherine

Beckstead,BryanKeith

Beeney,AmberPaige

Bell,MollyJane

Blackledge,AmberKaitlyn

Borquez,Te'aPauline

Brackney,RachelElizabeth

Branham,NoahThomas

Brown,BarrettAlly

Brown,KaliLyn

Buckhannon,DavisBaker

Burley,NatalieBelle

Campbell,Dallas

Campbell,SabrinaVictoria

Cannon,MarisaMae

Carpio,YeseniaAurora

Castro,VictorManuel

Choules,JessicaNicole

Clark,NatalieCash

Condon,BrennaMarieHopkins

Connolly,TangeeA

Cook,CameronRichard

Costello,JulieAnne

Crockett,MeganMackenzie

Curtis,KaileyNicole

Dallas,LucciannoGiovanni

Dana,CooperJeffrey

Davis,JacksonKenney

DiGiro,TaylorJenae

Dike,JacobChad

Driscoll,MichaelJames

Duchrow,BenjaminKarl

Dutton,ElizabethHarris

Eberson,ColeYoungerJames

Ellsworth,VictoriaLynn

Epstein,DallinYale

Ferrin,Shantel

Ferro,Tre

Finkenkeller,JaredTell

Fischbeck,TannerJoseph

Fitzgerald,IsaacKade

Fletcher,NathanGregory

Freeman,LindseySarah

Funk,WyattScott

Garcia,MikaelaDeanne

Garner,Amy

Garner,NathanPaul

Gerard,MerriganElise

Gilbert,RachaelKatherine

Glauser,Rachel

Glenn,BrittanyAnne

Godfrey,McKinzi

Gory,ArienneDarlBalida

Guthrie,LoganMitchell

Hackmann,EmilAndrew

Hansen,Cosette

Hartke,ChristopherAllen

Henrie,ArzaDylan

Hill,RyanMatthew

Holloman,StarRey

Hooper,DallinCarl

Hutsko,MathewJoseph

Jackson,JaredYoung

Jaramillo,CarlosChristopher

Johnson,KalleeAnn

Johnson,RobertEdgar

Jones,CodyAllen

Jones,CypressRainB.

Jones,JohnPaul

Kamp,DysartAntanina

Karren,DakotaTaft

Katen,HunterTaylor

Kiener,BlakeAlan

Kiener,CatherineAnne

Knowles,ErikEdmon

Kolb,JulianaMargarita

Laura,RyanJacob

LeSueur,JamieKathryn

Long,MatthewThomas

Lord-Cliburn,CzariaDawnave

Lybbert,AustinTodd

Mabb,JonathonChase

Masker,AngelaRose

Matsukawa,Alex

Matty,AlyssaBreann

Mayhew,BrenanJacob

McAllister,LaurenPaige

McLean,SydneyTaylor

Meli,MichaelVincent

Mennenga,DevynJanelle

Mennetti,JennaSue

MezaZubieta,DanielEduardo

Mikel,AshleyClaire

Misner,TaylorMackenzie

Mix,JohnRichardIII

Morgan,TylerJames

Mosher,CaitlynMarie

Mosley,LillianaBelle

Motley,LexingtonLynn

Murphy,LaurenSierra

Nansel,Taylor

Nelson,ScottTracy

Nguyen,Christy

Nielson,CarliNicole

Nielson,ElizabethAiko

Norton,McKennaNicole

Nudell,GraceMeredith

Ordyna,JerryckJoseph

Ortiz,RavinMarie

OtanezMurrieta,DanielFederico

Owens,Ellese

Page,AmandaMarie

8th

Grade

Pohlen,RoseAnnette

Prof+itt,PrestonDean

Ramesh,FrankincenseGraciella

Ramos,StephanieKassandra

Reeb,JacobLevi

Reed,SarahElizabeth

Reese,HaleyElizabeth

Richardson,BriggsDaniel

Robison,CadenGarrett

Romney,HunterWayne

Ruben,KristenNicole

Sanchez,IrisAlexani

Sanford,EmilyLacey

Sarlo,BrookeAshley

Sato,MadisonMalia

Schoonmaker,MatthewAlbert

Sessions,NicholasLee

Shults,BrynnLeeAnn

Shurtz,ClaireYoon-Bo

Smith,BenjaminWilliam

Smith,SadieLorilyn

Smith,SummerMichelle

Soderblom,KerstynTrisha

Stapley,TaggartJohn

Stebbins,BrooklynOlivette

Stinnett,AlexLane

Stout,VictoriaVirginia

Sumakud,SamanthaFaith

Theobald,ChristianWayne

Tipton,KendallKalea

Tonn,LaurenElizabeth

Trujillo,AislynnJade

Udall,BenjaminStewart

Verhaaren,AnselRobert

Vickman,JenniferLeAnn

Viegel,BryceCharles

Wagner,TravisReece

Webb,CarolineE.J.

Webb,JaxAllen

Weser,ChristopherJohn

Whipple,MalloryElizabeth

Wilcox,KevinJordan

Will,ShaylaA

Williams,HyrumFielding

Williams,SaraEvelyn

Zaharis,ZoeKatherine

8th Grade continued...

National Junior Honor Society

Applications will be available in the coun-seling department beginning Tuesday, February 19th. Completed applications are due to the counseling office no later than 4 pm on Friday, March 1st. New Member Induction Ceremony will be Thursday, April 18th, at 6 pm in the au-ditorium. Eligible students must earn a 3.5 GPA for the first three quarters of the current school year.

Congratulations to Jacqueline Williams who placed 3rd in Mesa’s dis-trict spelling bee. She will be participating in the regional spelling bee on February 9th, at 9 am. Please join us at Franklin at Brimhall to support Jacqueline and

her family!

Does your child love to learn, to question, to create?

The sky’s the limit for student achievement in Mesa Public Schools. Consider our Gifted and Talented Program. MPS focuses on students' intellectual, emotional and creative needs from kindergarten through 12th grade. Please visit www.mpsaz.org/elp for program and eligibility information. Current seventh-graders As your child gets ready for eighth grade, note that the Junior High Course Description Catalog includes gifted and talented classes. Visit www.mpsaz.org/curriculum/course_catalog. Other classes are open to high achievers, without regard to gifted and talented status:

honors, advanced and accelerated courses in required and elective subject areas Advancement Via Individual Determination International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program

Current eighth-graders As your child gets ready for ninth grade, note that gifted and talented classes are featured in the High School Course Description Catalog at www.mpsaz.org/curriculum/course_catalog. Options include:

concurrent courses for high school and college credit dual enrollment college courses Advanced Placement courses honors and accelerated courses weighted course grades Advancement Via Individual Determination International Baccalaureate Middle Years and Diploma Programs

High achievement in a challenging environment MPS encourages students to learn in the most challenging environment that best meets their needs. We invite all parents to join us as advocates for their children's highest achievement and for unprecedented excellence in education. If you have questions about qualifications and placement in higher-level courses, contact your child’s counseling office. Or call Cris Barnett, MPS gifted and talented director, (480) 472-7248. More resources Mesa Supporters of the Gifted and Talented: www.msgt.org Arizona Association for Gifted and Talented: www.arizonagifted.org National Association for Gifted Children: www.nagc.org

STAPLEY STREET FAIRSTAPLEY STREET FAIRSTAPLEY STREET FAIRSTAPLEY STREET FAIR

On Friday, March 1, 2012, from 4:30-6:30 PM, Stapley Jr. High will host its 2222ndndndnd

annual “Stapley Street Fair.” This will be a fun night for families to come and

enjoy great music, food, and activities. Outback Steakhouse will be on the patio

cooking. Meal tickets will be available for pre-purchase at the Stapley Junior

High front office.

The Stapley Choir, Orchestra, Band and Drama will be performing at various

times throughout the evening; art students will display work and demonstrate

clay making; various vendors will be there selling fun and original items. Booth

space is still available if you have items you would like to advertise or sell. We

are looking for crafts, candles, books, treats, etc. The options are endless! Booth

space costs $40, which will be used for Stapley activities. You keep whatever

money you make that evening. You will need to provide your own table, chairs,

and “easy-up” (if you want one). A limited number of booths will have access to

electricity and will be given on a first-come first-served basis. If you are inter-

ested in having a booth, please contact Angie Wagner at rwagsclan@cox.net.

Booth rental can be paid at the Stapley front office. Checks should be made to

Stapley Booster Club.

Dinner and booth information:

The Outback Dinner will cost $12.00 for Adults and $7.00 per child 12 and under

if pre-purchased at the Stapley office. If purchased at the fair the cost will be

$14.00 and $9.00 respectively. The choices for the adult meal includes steak or

vegetarian pasta with salad, roll and green beans. The kid’s meal will include

chicken fingers and french fries. Drinks will include lemonade, and iced tea.

Water bottles will be available for $1.00.

You must pre-purchase your meal tickets by February 15th. If you would like to

volunteer at the fair, please contact Angie Wagner rwagnerclan@cox.net

FROM THE HEALTH OFFICE: The control of communicable (catching) disease through the school year can be a difficult problem and an important responsibility. Especially, as we start into the flu season, it is important to know that the implementation of simple, protective measures are important to help control the spread of disease in the school setting. Some very common problems we see in school that are easily spread are flu, colds, conjunctivitis (pink eye), chicken pox, ringworm and impetigo. More serious com-municable diseases include MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) and streptococcal (strep) diseases. Since parents know the “normal” appearance of their children and should be the first to detect signs of illness, the first responsibility to prevent the spread of diseases rest in the home. Please keep the following in mind:

1) Your child should remain at home if he/she exhibits any signs of illness (such as fever, diar-rhea, severe sore throat, draining wound or vomiting). Also, any student with a fever (100.0°F or higher) needs to remain at home until they are “fever-free” without the aid of fever-reducing medication (such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen, etc).

2) When questioning illness, your family physician is the appropriate person to contact to de-

termine whether or not your child should be in school. Please stress the following simple precautions with your children and the spread of many communi-cable diseases can be averted:

1) AVOID CLOSE CONTACT: Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick, too.

2) STAY HOME WHEN YOU ARE SICK: Stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. Keep sick children at home. You will help prevent others from catching the illness.

3) WASH YOUR HANDS OFTEN!!! This cannot be stressed enough! Washing your hands will help protect you from germs.

4) AVOID TOUCHING YOUR EYES, NOSE OR MOUTH: Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.

5) PRACTICE OTHER GOOD HEALTH HABITS: Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.

Alma Woods, RN Diane Hunt, Health Assistant Stapley Health Office 480-472-2798

Medications All medications must be kept and administered in the health office. When necessary, provisions may be made for stu-dents to carry asthma inhalers or topical medications. Whether a prescription drug or an over-the-counter drug, the medication must come in the original container and be la-beled for that particular student. Parents must provide writ-ten and signed direction to the school for any administration of medication. If your student needs to take medication dur-ing the school day, have the pharmacy provide you with a school bottle correctly labeled. This will make it easier for you to send only the amount to be administered at school.

(Stapley Library Advisory Club)

The SLAC’r’S began a fundraiser called “Pennies for Pets.” The club collected coins, dollars, dog and cat food for three weeks. The Sabercats were very generous in their donations for such a worthy cause. All proceeds are being donated to Desert Paws Rescue. The SLAC’r’S would like to thank everyone who participated in this very successful event. THE TOTAL AMOUNT DONATED, which includes the food, is: $1,932.55 First Place went to Mrs. Schroeder’s class with a donation of $411.89 Second place went to Mrs. Stiles class with a donation of $257.46 Third place went to Miss Brazier’s class with a donation of $237.24 There was a collection jar on the front office counter which collected $37.57

Greetings from Sandy Fortner: If anyone knows of an engineer, medical professional, or anyone else with a strong science background who is NOT a relative of any of our students, would you ask them if they would judge for our sci-ence fair? We have twice as many students as last year so need at least twice as many judges!! The judging will be Wednesday, Feb-ruary 6th, right after school until ??? If they can not get here until later due to work, that will be fine too. We will take any help we can get. AND - we are feeding them - before and after! Please let me know. (480) 472-2763

The Mesa Police Department will appreciate your assistance in providing the following information to MPS junior high and high school students. Please consider publication on your website and/or in your student newspaper and parent newsletter: Teen Connection is a new section of the Mesa Police Department’s website. You can read and download educational brochures, submit a tip, sign up to receive police alerts or submit a question to a crime prevention officer. Check it out at: http://www.mesaaz.gov/police/teen-connection/default.aspx. Teen Connection es una sección nueva del sitio de internet del Departamento de Policía de Mesa. Puede leer o imprimir folletos educativos, compartir información, registrarse para recibir alertas de la Policía o someter preguntas a un oficial de prevención de crimen. Visítanos al: http://www.mesaaz.gov/police/teen-connection/default.aspx. Contact: Patty Gallagher, crime prevention officer Mesa Police Department 130 N. Robson Mesa AZ 85201-6697 (480) 644-2033 The district's silent witness program, Take a Stand, is available 24 hours a day to report campus con-cerns anonymously to the MPS Security Department: (480) 472-STOP or (480) 472-7867.

Emergency Communications Mesa Public Schools wants to keep communication open between home and school. In the event of an emergency during the school day, there are two new tools to provide you with information about lockdowns, utility problems or stranger danger incidents. Visit the district Web site at www.mpsaz.org and click the “Alert” button or dial the Parent Infor-mation phone line for a recorded message at (480) 472-1175

Research confirms that when parents are involved in the education of their child, that child is more focused, comfortable, trusting and excels in both aca-demics and social behavior. Parent University offers sessions that provide opportunities to learn more about child development and effective guidance. Please check out the classes available at www.mpsaz.org/parentu.

ATTENTION DRIVERS

We ask that you drive slowly through the parking lot when dropping off students. THIS HAS BECOME A SAFETY ISSUE.

Builders Club The Builders Club is currently working on a Valentine’s Day project for February.

In December, the members went to Montecito Care and Rehabilitation Center to

distribute handmade cards and sing holiday songs. The club also sponsored two

Christmas Angel families, buying new clothes and toys for each family.

On Saturday, January 12th, two of our officers, Taylor Motley and Tom Sutherlin,

attended an all-day leadership training held by the Superstition Kiwanis Club. They

were joined by officers from other schools in the district. Way to go Taylor and

Tom!

Box Tops update….Our second hour classes donated almost 1,400 box tops last

semester. That is $140.00 that is deposited into our account which helps the club

with all of its community service projects and supplies. Mrs. Stiles’ 2nd hour class

won a treat for collecting the most box tops for the quarter. Builders Club will

continue collecting box tops each quarter. Thank you for your support.

Builders Club members continue to recycle paper for the school each week. Stu-

dents collect paper from teachers each week. All proceeds go directly into the

Builders Club fund. Parents, you can help us too! Please drop off your recyclable

paper into the yellow and green bin, on the west side of the north parking lot. All

paper, magazines and flattened cardboard are accepted. We thank you in advance

for making the conscious effort in helping us improve our paper recycling program.

News From Social Studies

♦ Congrats to the SS08 and the SS20 students and teachers. Both levels achieved the highest scores in the district on semester final exams.

♦ SS08 students scored 14% above the district average while SS20 students scored 13% above their GT peers. Way to go!!!

♦ Mrs. Notarpole will be traveling to Richmond, VA in March to present lessons on Nazi Germany at the National conference for history education. (NCHE) She will be attending with AP/IB teachers from Westwood and Skyline High Schools.

♦ FYI - Mrs. Marinella has changed rooms...She is now located in room 157. Her phone number will re-main the same. 472-2753.

WE NEED YOUR HELP Problem: Special Education Buses transporting our disabled students morn-ing and afternoons have experienced great difficulty entering the south parking lot. This hazard has been created by parents dropping off and picking up students in front of the school rather than in the back. If an emergency arose, emergency vehicles would not be able to enter the park-ing lot. Solution: Please drop off and pick up your students in the north parking lot, in the back of the school. It is designated as the drop-off and pick-up area for students. Red fire lanes and cross walks have been painted to make the area safe and accessible. Vehicles should not be entering the BUSES ON-LY area.

Service Learning Silver Service Award

Current 7th and 8th grade students can start working on their college application re‐quirements by getting involved in the community through service. More and more col‐leges are requiring that students demonstrate not only good grades and good SAT scores, but also service to their community in some capacity.

The Silver Service Award will be awarded to students for their completion of 50 hours of unpaid service during their 7th and 8th grade years of junior high. Those hours in‐clude preparation, action, and reflection. Students may earn hours from the first day of 7th grade through 8th grade. Students may earn hours from a combination of curricu‐lum‐based and extracurricular service.

If your son or daughter works as a volunteer at a hospital, church, zoo, school or does any service activity where there is not pay, he or she can receive credit for his/her time by filling out an application, keeping track of the hours on a timecard and completing a reflection activitiy in April. Applications must be completed PRIOR to the activity to receive credit. If your child would like to pick up an application or wants to be involved in an activity but doesn’t know how, please encourage them to contact Mrs. LeRoy in room 119, or call (480) 472‐2279.

Media Center Information

* Stapley library is open every-day from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm. * Students must have an ID to check out books. * Books are checked out for two weeks and may be renewed once. * A limit of two items may be checked out at one time. * Drinks and food are not al-lowed in the media center.

The Stapley Junior High “Parents News Feed”

is now available!

In an effort to improve school-home communications we are encouraging parents to sign up for our News Feed. This will deliver updated important information to you automati-cally via email.

Congratulations to Brynn Shults who placed 1st in the 7-8 grade division of Mesa’s Martin Lu-ther King, Jr. Writing Contest. Brynn is an eighth grader in Mrs. Julie Miller’s English class.

OPEN ENROLLMENT

Open enrollment allows Arizona students to attend public schools outside their attendance area or district. Mesa Public Schools offers many choices in education and welcomes open-enrollment students from another Mesa school or another district. Applications are available in school offices and at www.mpsaz.org/parents/open_enroll. Solicite la matrícula abierta La matrícula abierta permite a los alumnos de Arizona asistir a escuelas públicas fuera del área o distrito que les corresponde. Las Escuelas Públicas de Mesa ofrecen muchas opciones en educación y da la bienvenida a los alumnos de matrícula abierta de otras escuelas de Mesa o de otro distrito. Las solicitudes están disponibles en las oficinas de las escuelas y en el sitio Web www.mpsaz.org/parents/open_enroll.

Spirit Day is Every Friday

Show Your Spirit and Wear Your Shirt

Cafeteria News

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s meal ac-count, please call us 472-2724. During breakfast and lunch serving times, we operate a special win-dow marked “Problems and Prepayments”, to assist students who have questions or concerns. Students are encouraged to bring prepayments to this window during breakfast.

Attendance at School Attendance at school is very important for your child’s success. Excessive absences often result in poor school work. When an absence is necessary, please call the attendance office by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of the absence. Absence excuses can be left 24 hours a day on the attendance line (472-2785). If a parent is unable to call, a note should be brought to the office on the day the student returns to school. After 24 hours an unexcused absence may be considered a truancy. Teachers may choose not to accept or award credit for work missed because of truancy. It is a students responsibility to request makeup work and make necessary arrangements with teachers when absent. Stapley JHS is a closed campus. Students may only be checked out for

lunch by their own parent.

We appreciate parental support in this matter. Students who live close to the school and prefer to eat lunch at home must obtain a lunch permit from the office. Otherwise, all students are expected to remain on campus. Students will only be released from school to their own parent/guardian. Al-low time to come to the office to sign your student out. In emergency situa-tions, students may be checked out of school by others only with written per-mission from a parent. This procedure is for your child’s protection. The education of your student is extremely important to us. If you have

any questions or concerns, please contact the attendance office at

472-2785 or your student’s counselor at 472-2790.

ON-LINE GRADE CHECK

Welcome to My MPS Parental Portal your school /Home communication tool.

Review and monitor your child’s grades, attendance and other education-related in-formation from your home or work computer. To begin your my MPS account, please visit the school office to pick up your activa-tion key. If you have children at more than one school in the district, you will need to visit only one of the schools; one activation key will give you access to all the children in your family. For further information please visit http://www2.mpsaz.org/mymps or contact

Bus Behavior Expectations

We are constantly examining our rules, regulations and ways of doing things so as to provide students with a safe, healthy place to learn. We are always concerned with the behavior of students on the school buses. It is important that each and every rider behaves in a manner that ensures the safe movement of the bus to and from school. The driver’s energies and attention need to be focused on traffic conditions. When a student misbehaves the lives of others are endangered. Riding a bus is a privilege, not a right. The privilege can and will be taken away when students disobey the rules. Such disobediences could result in one of the following penalties: 1. First Infraction - following the first written infraction, the student may be suspended from all buses for a minimum of one (1) day. 2. Second Infraction - the second written infraction may result in a minimum of a three (3) day suspension from all buses. 3. Third Infraction - the third infraction may result in a five (5) day suspension from all buses. 4. Fourth Infraction - the fourth infraction may result in a suspension from all buses for the remainder of the semester or for one month, whichever is longer. 5. Reasonable Requests - student refusal to give correct name, accept temporary seating assign-

ment or give positive response to reasonable requests will be grounds for suspension of bus privi-lege.

ATTENTION DRIVERS

We ask that you drive slowly through the parking lot when dropping off students. THIS HAS BECOME A SAFETY ISSUE.

Cybercat Cafe Links

For Homework Help and Extra Teaching Tips use the link

below:

http://www2.mpsaz.org/stapley/

parent-info/cybercats_cafe/

The Mesa Public Library will be

offering several teen programs. For more information

please contact Shari Brown

Mesa Public Library (480) 644-4090