District

Dialogue

Bi-weekly news from the Laveen Elementary School District May 9, 2014

The District Dialogue is issued on the second and fourth Friday of the month.

Trailside sisters place in

chess tournament Two sisters from Trailside Point com-

peted in the recent Arizona State Scholas-

tic Chess Championship.

Kindergartner Kamila Olson took 1st

Place in the The Bug House Session.

Third grader Kitana Olson took 2nd

Place in the Blitz Tournament.

Students’ artwork featured in book

Five students from across the district had their artwork fea-

tured in the latest Jeremy Jackrabbit book, Jeremy Jackrabbit

Captures the Sun.

The book was authored by two Phoenix residents and stu-

dents from all over the county could submit their artwork to be

published.

Featured Laveen artists include: Celeste Lamadrid, Nathalie

Pol, Stephen Purvis, Sarah Lynd, and Marissa Torres.

The book was provided to all Maricopa County kindergarten

students.

Kamila

Kitana

Laveen School receives grant

Laveen School was awarded a grant from the I am

a Leader Foundation for the 2014-15 school year.

As a recipient, they will receive discounted fees

and free student implementation materials. This is

valued at about $10,000 dollars.

I am a Leader works to provide programs and ser-

vices that build students' character and leadership in

elementary schools around the world.

Meadows students take a trip around the world

Students at Desert Meadows grabbed their passports and attend-

ed the school’s annual culture night May 8.

Students and their families celebrated diversity and learned about

other cultures by participating in games and activities from around

the world.

Over 500 people attended the event and enjoyed refreshments and

music in addition to the many displays.

Liberty Mutual Insurance and the Meadows PTSA sponsored the

event.

Desert Meadows students visit China as part of the school’s annual culture night.

PAGE 2 May 9, 2014

Lebish, Emler are April’s Employees of the Month

Employees of the month for April are Erin Lebish, third grade teacher at Trailside Point, and

Nichole Emler, district nurse.

Lebish was nominated for inspiring both students and teachers to love learning. She always

pushes her students to the next level with various projects such as creating Charlotte’s Web board

games. Her students show immense pride in their work. Lebish is also highly involved in the

Trailside Point community. She has served as head coach of Girls on the Run and attends many

parent nights and other PTA sponsored events. She mentors students and helps tutor them after

school. Ms. Lebish pours enthusiasm into everything she does.

Nurse Nikki was nominated because, despite her enormous caseload, she remains calm, profes-

sional and enthusiastic. She demonstrates a high level of skill and professionalism as she oversees

vision and hearing screenings, seizure and allergy plans, and other school health issues. She works

closely with families to ensure safety procedures are in place and can find a solution to any prob-

lem. Nurse Nikki is dependable, reliable, and truly committed to the well-being and safety of stu-

dents and staff.

Cash to provide more fruits and vegetables through grant M.C. Cash School is the recipient of a $42,500 grant by the United States Department of Agriculture’s

(USDA) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.

This funding will provide fresh fruits and vegetables to Cash students through-

out next school year.

The program was established to expand the variety of fruits and vegetables

children experience; increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption; and cre-

ate healthier eating habits.

Did you know that speech/language disorder is one

of the most common childhood disorders, affecting ap-

proximately 7% of children? This is important, as defi-

cits in the development of speech and language can

lead to academic difficulties. In fact, language deficits

in young children are considered to be one of the most

accurate predictors of long term problems with aca-

demic achievement. Children with speech language

deficits may have difficulties in any one or more of the

following:

articulation (accurate production of speech sounds,

difficulty with producing intelligible speech)

understanding spoken language (difficulty under-

standing directions, needing visual cues to under-

stand)

grammar/syntax (using appropriate parts of speech

such as verb tenses, difficulty producing organized

sentences)

semantics (vocabulary development, such as: word

meanings, analogies, synonym/antonyms, figura-

tive language)

pragmatics (social use of language, making infer-

ences, nonverbal communication, topic mainte-

nance, eye contact)

fluency (fluency deficits are what is commonly

known to be “stuttering”)

voice (differences in pitch, quality, or volume of

voice)

Early identification is important. If you have a child

or student whom you suspect may have a speech or

language disorder, contact your school’s Speech Lan-

guage Pathologist.

— Kim Horack, M.S., CCC-SLP

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month

Lebish

Emler