Owls Bulletin

Dear Las Brisas Families,

It has been wonderful seeing our campus come alive with energy, smiles, and active learning over these past few weeks. It was especially fantastic to see so many of our parents and students together last week celebrating at our Quarter 1 WISE Assembly and dancing the night away at our PTSA school dance! Watching our Owls adapt to their daily routines, connect with classmates, and build positive relationships with their teachers points to a fantastic year ahead.

Thank you for your ongoing support in giving your children such a strong start to the school year. Our collaboration with families is vital to creating a supportive environment for our students.

To keep everything running smoothly as we continue to establish our daily habits, I am reaching out to request your help with a critical priority: campus traffic safety during morning drop-off and afternoon dismissal.

It takes all of us working together to keep our Owl community safe. Please help by adhering to the following guidelines:

• Use Designated Crosswalks: Always use marked crosswalks when walking across traffic areas to set a safe example and protect our students and community.

• Follow Traffic Flow: Please strictly observe designated one-way traffic patterns. Do not cross over into opposing traffic lanes during school pickup.

• Pull All the Way Up: Drive as far forward as possible in the pickup and drop-off line. This simple step keeps the line moving smoothly and efficiently for everyone.

• Stay in Line for Pickup: Do not park adjacent to the pickup line, and please wait until your car reaches the designated pickup location before allowing your student to enter the vehicle.

• Observe Campus Arrival Times: Students may not arrive on campus prior to 7:45 AM unless they are enrolled in the All-Stars morning program.

Thank you for your cooperation and for making safety our top priority. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Principal, Las Brisas School 🦉

The safety of Las Brisas is our top priority. As such the District is introducing a new visitor management system, Verkada Guest Management, on all school campuses in the 26-27 school year. Any guest to a DVUSD campus will be asked to present a photo ID and to use this digital system prior to entering all DVUSD campuses.

All Las Brisas visitors including parents, volunteers, and guests must check in through the front office before entering campus. This helps to ensure that our campus is safe and and it helps us know who is in our building at all times. With Verkada, visitors will :

• Present a valid photo ID at check-in. If you do not have a valid photo ID, you will not be allowed to enter campus.
• Be checked in electronically using the kiosk.
• Receive a visitor or volunteer badge that must be worn while on campus.
• Sign out upon leaving the campus.

If you are a volunteer or visit campus often, once entered, your information can be saved for up to 30 days, making the process quick and easy for our frequent visitors. Thank you in advance for your patience and partnership to help keep our campus, students, staff, and guests safe!

Community and parent involvement is a vital piece of student success on campus! DVUSD welcomes volunteers for the 26-27 school year to help support our students, staff and schools. Prior to volunteering all annual requirements must be completed. For more information on the necessary steps for volunteers, visit: dvusd.org/volunteer or contact the school directly.

Birthday Treats

Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, all Arizona public schools are required to follow the new Arizona Healthy Schools Act, a statewide law designed to promote healthier food options for students.

As part of this legislation, schools may no longer serve or distribute foods that contain any of the state's banned ingredients during the school day. This applies to food brought onto campus by parents, visitors, volunteers, and outside vendors—not just food sold by the school.

What Does This Mean for Birthday Treats at Las Brisas?

To ensure we remain in compliance with state law, Las Brisas will no longer be able to accept store-purchased birthday treats such as:

• Cupcakes
• Cookies
• Donuts
• Brownies
• Other individually packaged treats brought from home

We understand that celebrating birthdays is an important tradition, and we're excited to offer a safe, easy, and compliant alternative!

🎉 Celebrate with a DVUSD Birthday Bucket!

Our DVUSD Food & Nutrition Department offers Birthday Buckets, which include approved snack options that meet the new Arizona Healthy Schools Act requirements. Birthday Buckets make celebrating simple while ensuring all treats provided on campus meet the state's nutrition guidelines.

To order:

• Complete the attached Birthday Bucket Order Form here.
• Orders must be placed at least two weeks in advance and coordinated with your child's teacher.
• You may:
• Email the completed form to dawn.trauthwein@dvusd.org
• Send the form to school with your child for the teacher
• Drop it off in the front office

Thank you for your understanding and partnership as we implement this new statewide requirement. We appreciate your support in helping us provide a safe, healthy learning environment while continuing to celebrate our Owls' special days!

For more information on the newly released Healthy Schools Act, visit the Food & Nutrition website.

Reporting an absence: Please call 623-445-5550 to report your child's absence. This is a 24-hour automated attendance line, so you can leave a message anytime, day or night. We also recommend saving this number in your phone for quick and easy access throughout the year!

With 100+ degree temperatures in September, we may continue to deal with extreme heat for several weeks. Learn about DVUSD student and athlete safety precautions, and get tips to beat the heat from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

We do follow Arizona Department of Health Services guidelines and recommendations for heat advisory days, and thus, students may have modified outdoor recess/no outdoor recess on those days.

The Deer Valley Unified School District is committed to providing the best possible educational environment for every student. As part of this commitment, the District’s Long Range Planning Committee has met regularly to review enrollment trends, school capacities, and community data, with the goal of ensuring that all schools are appropriately utilized and able to best support student learning.

Through this process, the Committee developed recommendations for potential boundary adjustments for the 2026–27 school year. These proposed changes primarily impacted 12 elementary and middle school attendance areas.

The Committee presented its recommendations to the DVUSD Governing Board on February 17 (watch meeting here). At its March 10 meeting, the Governing Board voted not to approve the recommendations for the next school year (watch meeting here). As a result, there will be no changes to DVUSD school boundaries for the 2026–27 school year.

We sincerely appreciate your patience, understanding, and partnership throughout this process. Ensuring balanced enrollment across our schools remains an important priority as we continue working to provide high-quality learning environments for all students, both now and in the future.

September is Suicide Awareness and Attendance Awareness Month

• 9/3: National Physical Therapist Day
• 9/7: LABOR DAY--NO SCHOOL
• 9/8 : Governing Board Meeting at District Office @ 7 pm
• 9/11: Patriots Day; Regular Dismissal at 2:45 pm
• 9/15 : IT Professionals Day; National Hispanic Heritage Month begins
• 9/17: AZ Civics Week Begins
• 9/18: Early Release Friday – Dismissal at 1:15 PM for Staff Professional Development
• 9/21: Fall Break Day – NO SCHOOL
• 9/22: Governing Board Mtg. at District Office @ 7 pm; PTSA General Meeting @ 5:30 pm in Media Center
• 9/23: PTSA Staff Appreciation Day
• 9/24: WISE Wagon
• 9/29: PTSA Restaurant Night @ Sonic 4:00-8:00 pm
• 10/5- 10/9: Parent/Teacher Conferences

Upcoming Early Release Days:

• 9/4, 9/18, 9/25

PLC (Professional Learning Community) 90 minute early release days support planning for student learning, interventions, and targeted support. This time is invaluable to our teachers, and our students, as it gives critical time to our teacher teams to design skill-based instruction and assessments, review student progress data, and design supports and interventions. Learn more about what happens in PLC at DVUSD.org/PLC.

* On Early Release Day dismissal is at 1:15 pm for 1st-6th graders.

* Early Release Day dismissal for Kindergarten students at 1:05 pm.

September is Attendance Awareness Month!

Attending school regularly and arriving on time builds healthy habits, keeps students connected to their peers, and ensures they don't miss out on vital instruction. Every day of learning counts!

To help your Owl start each day prepared and ready to learn, here are a few simple tips for building a successful routine:

• Establish Nightly Routines: Lay out clothes, pack backpacks, and prepare lunches the night before to eliminate morning stress.

• Set Consistent Bedtimes: A good night’s sleep makes waking up easier and helps students stay focused throughout the day.

• Build Buffer Time: Aim to arrive a few minutes before the morning bell (remember, campus opens at 7:45 AM) so your child has time to settle in comfortably before instruction begins.

• Plan Around School Hours: Whenever possible, schedule doctor appointments and family activities outside of school hours or during school breaks.

Thank you for partnering with us to make regular attendance a top priority. Together, we can ensure every student has a successful, engaging school year!

Learn more about how being in class on time every day helps DVUSD students and teachers inspire, learn, and lead at DVUSD.org/everydaycounts.

• Learn more about PTSA membership: https://www.lasbrisasptsa.org/family-membership.html.
• Purchase your Las Brisas spirit wear here: https://www.lasbrisasptsa.org/spiritwear.html.
• Upcoming Events:
• 9/22: PTSA General Meeting @ 5:30 pm in Media Center

• 9/23: PTSA Staff Appreciation Day
• 9/24: WISE Wagon
• 9/29: PTSA Restaurant Night @ Sonic 4:00-8:00 pm

Student Account Payment Options:

When a student is enrolled in school they are given an ID number from the school’s front office that they will keep throughout their time at DVUSD. If you do not know your students ID number, please contact your school. All students key in their ID number on a pin pad when they go through the breakfast and/or lunch line to make a purchase.

Parents can add money to a student’s account in three different ways:

1. Cash: Students may buy meals with cash or add cash to their account in the cafeteria.

2. Check: Students may bring a check with their student ID number and current phone number on it to the cafeteria to be added to their account.
3. Online: Payments can be made at EZSchoolPay.com using Visa, MasterCard, or Discover card for a fee of $3.00 per transaction. Parents can also use EZSchoolPay to view student spending and set up low balance reminders at no cost.

It is the policy of the Deer Valley Unified School District to provide a complete meal for all students. In the event a student’s account has insufficient funds to pay for the meal, the account is charged. Parents/guardians shall be contacted for payment through phone calls and written notification.

• À la carte purchases are not permitted when the account is in a negative balance.
• When a negative account balance exceeds the dollar amount equivalent to ten lunches:
• The Principal, Counselor and/or designated staff member of the Food & Nutrition Department will contact the student's parent(s)/guardian(s) to determine an appropriate resolution of the circumstance. The student's parent(s)/guardian(s) will be provided application materials for the free and reduced-price meal programs.

Meal debt follows all students from year to year, and school to school, until the balance is paid in full.

If it is determined the district is unsuccessful in collecting payment, the debt may be sent to a collection agency.

It is the parent’s responsibility to monitor the student’s account balance. At any time, parents can set up low balance reminders and view spending at no cost using EZSchoolPay.com.

EZSchoolPay is a secure, convenient and friendly way to manage and pay for your child’s school meals via the Internet.

Please visit Food & Nutrition- Deer Valley Unified School District for more information.

ATEQ encourages students to “show up” as their best selves and teaches tools like empathy, communication, and responsible decision-making. It’s been shown to boost engagement, increase well-being, and reduce discipline issues.

Together, we’re helping every Owl feel supported, valued, and ready to soar!

👉 Learn more: https://lasbrisas.dvusd.org/our-school/all-things-eq

👉 All Things E.Q. Parent Letter

Each quarter there will be a theme and a weekly motto and academic/leadership skill that aligns with it.

Quarter 1 Theme: Am I being kind in this moment?

Week of 8/4-8/07 Motto: My day depends on me.

• Skill: Helpful/Caring - Care for and help others. How can I help? vs. What's in it for me?
• Quarter 1 Week 1 Family Letter

Week of 8/10-8/14 Motto: Are my thoughts helping or hurting me?

• Skill: Self-Respect: Be good to yourself. Confidence in knowing you behave with honor and dignity.
• Quarter 1 Week 2 Family Letter

Week of 8/17-8/21 Motto: I am always communicating through my body language.

• Skill: Professional - Bring your best effort; be polite, confident, skillful, and assured.
• Quarter 1 Week 3 Family Letter

Week of 8/24-8/28 Motto: I show up positively for myself and the people around me.

• Skill: Respect - Be good to others; have regard for feelings, wishes, rights, and traditions of others.
• Quarter 1 Week 4 Family Letter

Week of 8/31-9/04 Motto: I am kind to the people I am with right now.

• Skill: Courtesy - Show politeness in one’s attitude and behavior to all people.
• Quarter 1 Week 5 Family Letter

Week of 9/07-9/11 Motto: I am willing to introduce myself & get to know new

people.

• Skill: Communicate- Successfully understand, share, and convey one another’s thoughts & feelings.
• Quarter 1 Week 6 Family Letter

Week of 9/14-9/18 Motto: I am willing to introduce myself & get to know new

people.

• Skill: Prioritize- Do what is most important first. Deal with tasks in order of importance.
• Quarter 1 Week 7 Family Letter

Week of 9/28-10/02 Motto: I am a productive team member.

• Skill: Collaborate- Work well with others. Respectfully work jointly on an activity.
• Quarter 1 Week 8 Family Letter

Week of 10/06-10/10 Motto: I don’t brag because I am happy with myself.

• Skill: Appropriate Attention- Know when to give rather than get attention without distracting others.
• Quarter 1 Week 9 Family Letter