Dear Parents,
Welcome to Desert Foothills Junior High School! We are looking forward to a great 2017-2018 school
year with you and your child.
If you have moved over the summer and your child
will not be attending Desert
Foothills, please notify the school office at 602-896-5500 at your earliest
convenience. Also, please let us know
which school they will be attending so records can be forwarded.
Walk-through Orientation Wednesday, August 2 and Thursday, August 3
School Begins - Monday,
August 7, 2017
School Hours - 8:45 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
PLC Wednesdays - Dismissal
at 2:30 p.m. every Wednesday
WALK-THROUGH ORIENTATION FOR REGISTERED STUDENTS
Walk-through Orientation gives you and your child
the opportunity to pick up their class schedule and tour our beautiful campus
to find your student’s classrooms and alleviate the nervousness and uncertainty
of where to go on our first day of school, August 7, 2017. All Desert Foothills students are advised to
come to orientation on either one of the days designated prior to the opening
of school to receive their class schedule and other important school-opening
information. You will also have the
opportunity to purchase P.E. uniforms, the yearbook, DF tee shirts and get
information about our parent group, B.E.S.T. and bus transportation.
Walk-through
Orientation will be held in our gym and for your convenience, we have multiple
opportunities scheduled for you to attend with your child. Please see the scheduled times below.
Walk-through
Orientation will be held in the gym:
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, August 3, 2017
from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
*If
you are purchasing items with cash on the day of orientation, no bills over
$20.00 will be accepted. Checks are
accepted and payable to Desert Foothills Junior High School.
General Information:
Students
are not assigned lockers. Classroom
teachers will have textbooks available for students to use in their
classes. Since students do not have
books to carry between classes, backpacks
are not allowed. Students should only bring a 3-ring binder to
school with dividers or folders, pencils, pens and paper.
Students are
not allowed to ride their bike nor walk to school if they live across a major
street,
i.e. 35th Ave., Greenway Rd., Thunderbird Rd. Students who live in the Acacia attendance
area and ride their bike to Desert Foothills will need to bring their own bike
lock to secure their bike in the bike rack.
They may bring their binder in a backpack, but the backpack will need to
be locked to their bike during the day. Only
students who ride a bike can bring a backpack to school. Girls may have a purse that is small enough
that a textbook could not fit in it.
;)
Our PTO, B.E.S.T. (Boosters of Education, Students and Teachers), will be selling Activity
Cards to students for $10.00. For two
students in the same family, the cost is $18.00, and for three students in the
same family, the cost is $26.00. This
card provides admission to all regular season sporting events as well as to two
BEST-sponsored dances at school. The
Student Council/Leadership also sponsors other dances during the year. There is a $5.00 charge for Student Council
dances, but no Activity Card is needed.
There is a $2.00 replacement fee if a student’s Activity Card is lost or
destroyed.
Listed below is an approximate breakdown of the value of the Activity
Card:
Home
Games $ 1.00 per game (20) $ 20.00
Away
Games 1.00
per game (20) 20.00
B.E.S.T.
Dance 5.00 per
dance (2) 10.00
B.E.S.T.
Membership 4.00 per family 4.00
$ 54.00
The Activity Card is the B.E.S.T./PTO’s major
fund-raiser for the year and is offered in place of many candy, cheese and gift
fundraisers that would otherwise be necessary.
The money raised helps to fund a variety of after-school activities for
all students, and also helps to purchase much needed supplies and equipment to
benefit our students and the school as a whole.
Please help to support the PTO
with your purchase of the Activity Card.
Forms to purchase an Activity Card will be available at the
walk-through orientation. Please make checks payable to BEST. We are also in need of volunteers to work with the school during the year and at
Walk-through Orientation. If you have an
interest in helping out, please call the office at 602-896-5500, or fill out a
volunteer form and leave it at the PTO table.
We love parent volunteers!
Students enrolled in P.E. are required to wear t-shirts, athletic
shorts and shoes during P.E. class.
Desert Foothills P.E. t-shirts can be purchased for $10.00 and P.E.
shorts can be purchased for $12.00. PE Uniforms are optional. If preferred, students can furnish their own
plain white or grey t-shirts and athletic shorts instead of purchasing them
through the school.
Students can also pre-order a yearbook if they choose. The cost for the yearbook is $25.00.
Free Meals – Breakfast and Lunch at Desert Foothills! Desert Foothills is a recipient of the
Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) through USDA to provide free meals,
breakfast and lunch, to all students for the 2017-2018 school year.
We will no longer be requiring meal applications to be completed by the
families. Students will still be
required to use their ID cards in the cafeteria line. If for some reason they do not have their ID,
they will be asked to go to the end of the line, and we will count them
manually at that time.
Student Pickup Procedures for WESD
Parents must call the front office or write a note giving permission
for anyone other than the parent to pick up a student from school during the
school day. Please note this includes
the people indicated on your child’s emergency contact information.
When you are
shopping for school clothes this summer, please be aware of our dress code.
Dress Code
Students at DF should dress in
a way that reflects pride in themselves and their school. The dress code is
based on Washington School Board Policy.
Students
are expected to have their student IDs at all times for safety purposes.
Replacement IDs must be purchased from the office for $5. All students will be issued a WESD
sticker to be applied to their ID as a bus pass to be worn with their student
ID card.
Shirts/blouses must have sleeves that cover the
entire shoulder. No cleavage may be
exposed. Sheer fabric and/ or lace may not be worn.
Extra shirts may not be worn around the neck or
draped over a shoulder.
Pajamas, sleepwear, loungewear and slippers are
not allowed.
Clothing may not contain profane symbols or
vulgar language or contain language or symbols relating to sex, drugs, alcohol,
tobacco, gambling, weapons or violent behavior in English or Spanish. The
language or pictures cannot interfere with the normal educational process,
create disorder, or disrupt the educational program. Whether the condition
exists shall be left up to the reasonable discretion of the administration
Jewelry/accessories may not display profanity,
provocative or suggestive statements, obscenities, advertising for drugs,
alcohol, gang identifications, or weapons. Pierced jewelry must not be spikes
and must conform to District guidelines.
Sunglasses may only be worn outside of
buildings.
Belts may not hang down from the waist.
Shoes must be worn at all times.
Hats and head coverings are not allowed anywhere
on campus unless for religious or medical purposes.
SchoolMessenger
The
Washington Elementary School District has implemented a parent notification
system called SchoolMessenger. This program
allows us to communicate with parents via phone message, e-mail and text – all
in a matter minutes! The SchoolMessenger
system is designed to automatically notify parents regarding issues that impact
the safety and academic performance of students. SchoolMessenger will extend the District and
school’s existing community outreach efforts and emergency preparedness
procedures, as well as inform parents of upcoming school events such as
statewide testing and parent meetings.
We look
forward to a wonderful school year with you and your child.
Sincerely,
Susie Smith Steve Whynott
Principal Assistant Principal
