We got our week started this morning by having a modified-lock down practice drill on campus.  This is a safety precaution that students and staff practiced to be prepared in the event that we would need to lock down the campus for any reason.  The students did well with the practice, and we will continue to have emergency procedure practice drills throughout the school year. 

Tomorrow we will be celebrating the Arizona Centennial by wearing red, white, and blue to school.  The classrooms have begun the door decorating contest, and we will post a photo of the winning door online next week.  Also for tomorrow, please remember that even if your family observes Valentine’s Day as a holiday, our school nutrition policy does not permit students to bring sweets on campus for holiday celebrations.  Any sweets sent to school will be collected by teachers and parents will need to pick them up in the front office to be returned home.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation with our nutrition policy.

 A big thank you to all STLC families and staff who participated in our Fresh and Easy fundraising this year.  Our approximate totals raised are as follows:

$1075 for Fresh and Easy receipts turned in dated 9/15/11-12/31/11.

$587 for our 50/50 raffle held during our Shop for Schools night January 26th.  (Our raffle winner was Mr. Santana, a Gilbert resident.  He chose to donate 100% of his $293 winnings back to our school, even though he has no connection to STLC!  Thank you Mr. Santana!!)

$550.37 from our Shop for Schools night cash register totals on Jan 26^th from 4-8 p.m.  Thanks for shopping, everybody!

Our final total of funds raised through Fresh and Easy was over $2212.00!!

Congratulations to Ms. Ullrich’s class, who had the highest participation at Shop for Schools night.  They enjoyed a special treat on Friday Feb 10th sponsored by Fresh and Easy.

We are also approaching the end of the Labels for Education collection to be completed by March 28^th.  We would like to collect 135 more labels before our submission deadline, so please check your pantry to turn in Labels for Education and help STLC provide more great equipment for your children during Physical Education class.

The Nutrition Committee along with Coach Dickerson will be putting a team together to participate in the Phoenix Marathon.  Please see the attached flyer for additional information.

The golf tournament is coming up on April 21^st.  If you are interesting in golfing at the tournament, please view the attached flyer to learn how to get signed up for the event.

And lastly, it is that time of year REGISTRATION!  All registration documents are online and available to print. Registration papers for the 2012-2013 school year, can be found under the appropriate section (Charter, Gifted, Middle School) under the enrollment tab on the website. Current student registration packets are due, completed, by February 29.

Have a great week, San Tan Families!

The Learning Community model will enhance the Common Core curriculum, which district administrators selected after careful analysis of seven standards-based curricula.

Participants in a Learning Community develop a deeper understanding of courses’ subject matter while building relationships and learning together inside and outside of the classroom. This model also incorporates community partnerships and service learning, allowing students to put learning into practice in real-world situations.

“Studies have shown again and again that Learning Community students enjoy greater academic success than students in a traditional middle school environment,” said Dr. Kristofer Sippel, Superintendent, Learning Center Public Schools. “Combined with our small class sizes and personalized attention for each student, our middle school will provide learning experiences often found only in AP or gifted-child programs, but are beneficial for all students.”

San Tan Learning Center opened in Gilbert in 2008 with grades K – 4 and a vision of offering an interactive, inquiry-based learning environment to nurture students’ natural intellectual curiosity and help them achieve their greatest potential. Since that time, the school has grown more than 500 percent and now offers classes in grades K through 8.

San Tan Learning Center’s middle school program continues the school’s tradition of individualizing instruction while providing excellent academics, personal attention for each student, and strong partnerships between parents, teachers, students, staff and the greater Gilbert community.

In addition to core subject areas, San Tan Learning Center’s middle school offers a full array of specialty classes and electives with a focus on communications and entrepreneurship. Moreover, classes are designed to provide active-learning experiences for hands-on discovery and teamwork.

Open enrollment for the 2012/13 school year is now underway. Admissions forms are available at http://www.santanlearningcenter.com/public-charter-middle-school/middle-school-enrollment/ or by calling 480-222-0811.

About San Tan Learning Center

San Tan Learning Center is a public charter school serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Located in Gilbert, Ariz., the school and its staff have received numerous distinguished honors including Top 10 Charter School Teacher 2011, Arizona Outstanding Gifted Educator 2010, and Go Gilbert! Top School 2010 and 2011.

In addition to its standards-based curriculum, the school is well-reputed for its self-contained gifted classrooms, its physical education program providing daily PE for all students, and its music program. As a school community, San Tan Learning Center strives for excellence in academic and character education by fostering the curiosity, creativity and imagination born within us all. For more information, visit http://www.santanlearningcenter.com or call 480-222-0811.

It has been a very spirit filled few weeks. As many of you know we are well into enrollment for the next school year; be on the lookout for reminder emails and updates from Mrs. Haughan.

This is typically the time of the year when we get many questions regarding next year; who is returning, what teacher will my kiddos have, will we have this or that. What I can say to this is we are continuing all of the incredible programs that we have this year and look to refine the areas of need, so that San Tan can continue to be the great educational environment that your kiddos have come to enjoy. If you have specific questions please contact my office via phone or email and I would be happy to sit with you and discuss. I firmly believe that a five minute conversation with decision makers can ease a two hour gossip session with misinformation makers, please come right to the source, my door is always open. 

Gilbert Business Woman of the Year

The Corporate Board was asked this last month why San Tan Learning Center sponsored the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce Business Women of the Year Luncheon at the cost of $5,000. One of the saying that we have here at San Tan is that is takes a village to raise a child, and Gilbert is part of our village.

Every year the Corporate Board approves a budget (http://www.santanlearningcenter.com/welcome/governing-board/board-resources/) and one of the areas is marketing. In the past we have used this for door hangers, newspaper articles, post card mailers; all ways to increase school enrollment, many of you may have found San Tan that way. We are now fortunate that most of our new kiddos come from you, our current families sharing your experiences, San Tan use to be known as the best kept secret in Gilbert, because of you the word is getting out!

We are now blessed to turn these funds to areas that grow the school outside of our boundaries and into the community. San Tan selected, through the help of past and current administrative staff to be the title sponsor of Gilbert’s Woman of the year. However, the extra benefits that came from this event are;

·         Golf tournament business sponsors, funding the Growing Brilliance Program and putting money into the teachers’ pockets.

·         Seven new students for the upcoming school year, if they get pulled from the lotteryJ

·         $2,400 in state tax credit monies that help fund our specials program.

·         Name recognition within the business community, allowing us to partner with Gilbert companies to sponsor events for our students and teachers. To date we have had a full catered dinner and free massages for our staff as well as decreased cost in cleaning products and paper products.

So as you can see the current financial outcome from this event has been thousands of dollars back to San Tan.

Middle School Construction

The Construction trucks have arrived and will begin the Middle School building on Monday, February 13^th with a scheduled completion date of April 30^th. These five new classrooms will be equipped with state of the art interactive STAR boards as well as a science lab. If you have an incoming Middle School kiddo and would like to see the construction drawings as well as the Middle School course of study approved by the School Board, please attend our Middle School information night February 17^th at 5:30 in the gym.

Arizona Looking to Pay Schools for Performance

States across the nation are shifting how they fund schools and reward teachers. Here in Arizona, a bill moving through the legislature would reward high performing charter schools.

Senate Bill 1257 (tax credit, charter schools) encourages high quality charter schools to open or replicate in Arizona because it provides access to additional funding for facilities. Under the proposed legislation, a charter school could receive a $500 tax credit from an individual or $1,000 tax credit from a married couple or corporation.

The tax credit may be used to support capital facilities including the acquisition, lease, improvement or debt service of charter school facilities.

This is a seismic change. Arizona is now moving towards aligning school success with additional funding. Charter operators are under contract to improve student achievement and SB1257 allows access to additional funds for charter schools fulfilling their statutory mission.

Federal Government Rolled Out New Lunch Standards

The U.S. Department of Agriculture unveiled new nutrition standards that will require schools to add more fruits and vegetables to lunch while gradually reducing the amount of sodium and trans fat. The rules also set calorie limits for the millions of meals served annually through the National School Lunch Program. The changes, which will be phased in over three years, begin July 1. All public schools in the National School Lunch Program must follow the new guidelines. San Tan Learning Center does not participate in the National School Lunch Program so we are exempt from this law. However, the nutrition committee has the new standards and is looking at ways to implement these healthy changes.

Find out more information here.

Governor Brewer’s State of the State Address

Governor Jan Brewer began this year’s State of the State speech by taking a moment to remember the people that lost their lives in the Tucson shooting. The Governor then focused on such issues as border security and the Arizona’s economy, promoting the fact that Arizona now has a balanced budget and a surplus. She also stated she will end the temporary one-cent sales tax, which has helped fund education for three years, in 2013. “This tax will end on my watch,” she said. Education is one of her top priorities, saying “we must find a way to fund the results we want and reward educators.” She supports school choice and data driven decision making, and wants to ensure students have quality teachers, a safe school environment, and high academic standards. “Let’s continue to lower taxes and cut regulation. Arizona is open for business,” she said. Read an article about the speech here. 

Governor Brewer’s Budget Proposal

On Friday, Governor Jan Brewer introduced her budget proposal, which provides some good news for K-12 public education: $90 million in additional funding. While the budget proposal continues the additional assistance cuts that charter schools have experienced the last several years, it does include some new investments in school districts and charter schools. Find out more information here. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• There are 524 charter schools in the state, serving 133,890 students.
• Arizona has the highest percentage of charter students (about 12 percent) and charter schools (over 23 percent) of any state.
• Arizona has over 12 percent of the nation’s charter schools and about 8 percent of the nation’s charter school students.

Books Are Fun is back beginning Wednesday, February 8th for a week. Check out the new display of unique books and gifts up in the front office or click on http://display.booksarefun.com/sellsheet/  and review the items offered for purchase by typing in the code hofft14 to open the site.

Thank you so much from the Dad’s club to all of the people who made the first Daddy Daughter Dance a success.  The Dad’s club could not have done it without the help from all the moms, dads, and staff.  Because of your help and participation we raised over $1,200 for the upcoming Golf Tournament and Growing Brilliance Campaign, which helps supplement the teachers’ salaries. – Thank You Again, Tony Curry

The Roadrunner Support Committee has plans to host a community garage sale on March 24^th, so keep us in mind as you spring clean.  There will be more information for families closer to the event.

Here are the important dates to keep on your calendars this month.

February 8^th- Half-Day

February 17^th- Middle School Information Night

February 20^th- No School

February 24^th- Jump Rope for Heart Day sponsored by Coach Dickerson and Coach Tina

Week of February 27^th- Third Quarter Benchmark Testing Begins

Also, we have an important announcement for all parents this week.  Please do not approach the gate from the outside to speak with children on the playground before, during, or after school hours.  If your child has left any items at home, we ask that parents come to the front office to drop them off for the child.  This is a safety concern as we teach the children not to talk to anyone walking outside of school grounds, but it is a confusing message for them if parents they know approach the gate to chat.  We appreciate working with such an involved parent community, but for everyone’s safety ask all parents to check in at the front office to come on campus for volunteering or to speak with their children.

K-1^st grades at 5-6:30pm & 2^nd-7^th grades at 6:30-8pm

There will be music, a photographer, punch, snacks and a bake sale.

Dance Tickets available at the front desk for $10, good for Dad and all children.

Please sign up to volunteer during the event or bring a baked good (no nuts please) to sell at the bake sale.

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/805054DAFA96-daddydaughter/323232

Enter the raffle drawing for 4 Phoenix Suns Large Box Suite Tickets, which includes food, drinks and parking.

Raffle tickets available for $5 each or 5 for $20.

We are actively seeking assistance for additional help. The committee is looking for a Participant Liaison and Raffle/Silent auction coordinator. We also will need help with the Event Coordination on the day of the event.

We appreciate your consideration and if you are interested in having a lot of fun with this event and being involved in the planning, please plan to attend tomorrow evening or contact me at 480-694-0187.

Thank you,

Chad Fletcher
STLC Golf Tournament Co-Chairman

This Thursday is Fresh and Easy Shop for Schools Night (with a portion of sales going to San Tan Learning Center). Be sure to check in at the raffle table out front of the F&E store at Higley and Ray to give the student’s and their teacher’s name so we can keep track of the class that has the highest participation because that class will earn a special treat. Also, the kids will get a kick out of the idea that many of the school’s teachers/staff will be on hand to bag groceries and give out yummy samples that night from 4-8pm. Thanks!
Jenny Bailey
STLC’s Fresh and Easy Coordinator (Roadrunner Committee)

This week we begin our second semester clubs and have our first Daddy Daughter Dance on February 4th. Tickets for the dance are available for purchase in the front office through Friday. The Dad’s Club will also be raffling off Phoenix Suns game tickets at the dance!

Preschool enrollment for current families ends this Friday and next week open enrollment for preschool begins. Form can be found online at http://www.santanlearningcenter.com/montessori-private-preschool/montessori-admission/.

Elementary and middle school enrollment packets for current families were sent home yesterday and are due back February 29th. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the office at 480.222.0811.

On February 17th, we are hosting a middle school parent information night in the gym beginning at 5:30 p.m. Parents are welcome to come and learn about the recently approved middle school course of study beginning next school year.

Please remember to put your pick-up cards in your car window on the right hand side, so that staff can quickly identify your vehicles at dismissal time. This greatly helps us in moving through the dismissal line in a timely manner.

The due date for Yearbook orders is quickly approaching. Please read the attachment for information on the final round of yearbook orders.

Lastly, thank you to all the families that came to shopping at San Tan Fresh & Easy night! The staff had a busy night of bagging your groceries, and we raised almost $600 with the 50/50 raffle alone! The Roadrunner Support Committee will post the final totals on their webpage once the results are finalized.

Please have checks prefilled to STLC- EXCEPT for the cost (in the case a club is not available).

Cash, Credit Card and Check are acceptable forms of payment. Payment is due upon registration.

All clubs are filled on a first come, first serve basis. Please view all clubs, costs and forms on the website at: http://www.santanlearningcenter.com/families/clubs/

This week we are overflowing with an abundance of clothes, lunch boxes, and water bottles!  It is time to check the Lost & Found bin again since we will be making another donation to charity with the items at the end of the week.  If you think your child is missing an item, please be sure that you have your child check it out, or better yet, stop in and check with your child after school.

Club offerings are available to preview online and registration begins on Jan. 23^rd.  It is first come first serve, and a line does form on the first day, so please come with your patience as our staff works tirelessly to process your club requests as quickly as possible. http://www.santanlearningcenter.com/families/clubs/

The proposed curriculum for Middle School Mathematics is currently available for parents to view in the district office.  Parents are welcome to come in and view the material before the board votes on selecting a mathematics program at the next board meeting.

Thank you to all the parents that attended our Parent Math Night this week.  Parental involvement plays an integral role in student achievement, and we are grateful for all your efforts to support your child in their math progress at home.

It is already the time of year when parents starting thinking about enrollment for the 2012-2013 school year.  We have begun preschool enrollment and the due date is February 3^rd for enrollment packets to be returned.  The packet and forms are also available in the front office and are posted on our website at www.santanlc.com under the Montessori and Admissions.  I have also attached the forms to this email for your convenience.

Elementary and Middle School Enrollment Packets will go out at the end of January and will be due back to the front office by February 29^th.

Other FEC Highlights

Fresh & Easy- We need to collect all Fresh and Easy receipts dated September 15, 2011 through December 31, 2011 by the end of this week.  Please turn them in by Friday after school.  Also, our Fresh & Easy Shop for Schools night is on January 26^th from 4-8.  If you are interested in volunteering at this event, please use the sign-up genius to come help support our team.  We will receive a portion of the sales, so remember to grocery shop at Fresh & Easy and come see the teachers, administration, and parents of your school community helping to bag your groceries!

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0D4AAEA829A20-fresh/323232

Please turn in, as soon as possible, any Labels for Education that you have saved at home.

We are thrilled that Art Masterpiece is starting in the classrooms this month!  Be sure to ask your child what they learned during their art lessons. Please check with your classroom coordinator if you are interested in helping with this program.

Tickets are still available in the front office for the Daddy Daughter Dance on February 4^th, so stop in anytime and get a ticket for your family!

If you have not had a chance, be sure to take a look at our updated thermometers outside.  We are well on our way for the Tax Credit and Growing Brilliance campaigns!  The staff is forever grateful to our wonderful group of parents that make specials and teacher bonuses possible.  We were thrilled to see how many parents contributed to tax credit in December to make the cut-off for their 2011 taxes.  We cannot thank you enough for your support in making our school community a great place for students.