Lion Country News

Hello Canyon Valley Students and Families,

The first couple of weeks at Canyon Valley have been a fantastic start to our school year! Our students have impressed me greatly with their dedication and focus. I want to put a special shout out to our student leadership team and their teacher, Mrs. Ciccarone! These students have gone above and beyond to directly impact the culture and energy of our school. From inspirational posters around campus, to designing and working to create our Giving Closet, to creating student led video announcements, they have truly taken ownership of Canyon Valley as their school and are dedicated to creating a culture and community they are proud of. They have lots more planned this year as well (stay tuned for some exciting announcements in the near future!) and I can't wait to see the impact they have for all of our students!

Canyon Valley truly belongs to our students and I'm proud to be able to serve alongside them.

This week's newsletter contains a lot of important information and reminders. Please take some to read through the newsletter and reach out if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Adam Strock

Principal

Open House/Curriculum Night: Thursday, August 7th

6:00-7:30 PM

Make-up Picture Day, Tuesday, October 14, Link to purchase pictures.
Sign up for district bus transportation with this link.
Free & Reduced Lunches application and adding money to a lunch account
Gilbert Public Schools- district Health Dashboard
To stay up to date, please be sure to read District emails (link to all district emails here)
Calendar for the 25-26 school year, 26-27 school year

On Thursday we will host our open house meet the teacher and curriculum overview night from 6:00-7:30 PM. We will follow a shortened bell schedule where families can "attend" their student's classes, meet the teacher, and get a brief overview of the expectations and curriculum for the year. We will also have our nurse's office open for families that have medical related questions or needs for their student. We look forward to seeing you Thursday night!

Bell Schedule for Curriculum Night

Gates Open: 5:50 PM

1st hour: 6:00-6:10 PM

2nd hour: 6:15-6:25 PM

3rd Hour: 6:30-6:40 PM

4th Hour: 6:50-7:00 PM

5th Hour: 7:00-7:15 PM

Per Gilbert Public School (GPS) Policy JHCA, all GPS schools are closed campuses. Students are to remain on campus during the school day, including lunch, unless they are signed out by a parent/guardian in person or have approved release time. Students found to have been off campus (including being in the parking lot) during school hours may be subject to a search by school personnel and face disciplinary consequences including suspension.

Canyon Valley does not accept food deliveries from delivery services such as DoorDash, Uber Eats, or from restaurants. Students may purchase lunch from the school cafeteria or bring their own lunch from home. See the link below for information about cafeteria services.

NUTRITION SERVICES

Visit gilbertschools.net/meals for lunch account information and free/reduced meal applications.

This past Wednesday students took their fall pictures and got their permanent ID card. If your student is brand new to Canyon Valley (or missed picture day), we will be having a make-up day in October after Fall Break. Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to that time.

Students and families may order pictures using this link.

Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board approved policies regarding student use of cell phones during the school day to promote student learning and well-being by reducing distractions and improving focus during the school day. All elementary schools and some of our junior highs have already been operating ‘Away for the Day,’ and our high schools have been operating ‘No Cell Bell to Bell’ during the 2024/25 school year. The policy will simply formalize these approaches.

Away for the Day Grades K-8: Once the school day begins, cell phones and wireless communication devices must be turned off or set to silent and stored out of sight (for example, in a backpack) for the entire school day, unless instructed otherwise by a staff member for educational purposes. This restriction includes earbuds and headphones as well.

No Cell Bell to Bell Grades 9-12: During instructional time, cell phones must be turned off or set to silent and stored out of sight (for example, in a backpack), unless instructed otherwise by a staff member for educational purposes. This restriction includes earbuds and headphones as well.

Please visit gilbertschools.net/families for more details.

To enhance safety measures that protect our students, staff, families, and the broader community, we continue to add to our wide range of safety and security tools, processes, and strategies. At the end of last school year, we implemented the use of weapons detectors at all of our high school campuses, and for the new school year, we will also be implementing a clear bag policy for athletic and other large events on our high school campuses.

Additionally, at Canyon Valley we will continue to utilize security cameras in all common areas and classrooms as well as the use of vape sensors in all bathrooms.

If your student is attending a GPS high school for a school event (i.e. sports, carnivals, etc.), please visit gilbertschools.net/safety for more information about expectations and processes.

Students are expected to wear their student ID badges. Students are provided with their badge and lanyard during the first few weeks of school.

Please work with your students to ensure they bring their ID badge with them to school every day.
Bus riders will use the barcode on their ID badge to get on and off the bus once they have received their ID badge from the school.
Students use the barcode on their ID badges to access nutrition services (cafeteria), the library, and the bookstore.
Junior High and High School teachers will now be using ID badges to take attendance each period. Students are required to wear their ID badge in a visible location that can easily be scanned on their way into each classroom.

If you haven’t already, please take a moment to complete the online ‘Annual Update’ for your student(s). In order to ensure we can communicate with you regarding your student, or in case of an emergency, it is important that we have your up-to-date contact details. Even if there are no changes, we ask you to please complete to confirm the information we have is accurate for this school year. Please log in to your Infinite Campus parent portal and complete your student’s Annual Update today.

For more details, visit gilbertschools.net/annualupdate.

As we begin the new school year, please review the updated bell schedule for 2025-2026 below. This bell schedule is significantly different than last year to accommodate state requirements for instructional minutes for each course each quarter.

Canyon Valley is excited to share that, over the summer, we added food services to our facility and will be serving lunch daily on campus. Students will have the choice between a hot lunch or cold lunch with a bi-weekly rotating menu (see below). With the addition of a cafeteria and served lunch this does mean a couple of logistical changes for Canyon Valley students:

1. Food deliveries (i.e. DoorDash, Uber Eats, etc.) will no longer be accepted and will be turned away. Lunch is a busy time for our front office and organizing and delivering student food orders is not something our office staff can manage during that time.

2. All students have a student lunch account. You can apply for free and reduced lunches and or add funds to your student's account by credit card through the LinQ app or by bringing in a check or cash to the front office at the beginning of the school day. Credit cards and Apple pay, etc. are not accepted to purchase lunch. Instructions for adding funds to your student's LinQ meal account can be found below.

3. Canyon Valley will remain a closed-campus. Students are not permitted to leave campus during the instructional day unless they have an early release on their schedule and are finished with their academics for the day. Students who leave campus are subject to disciplinary action including the search of both their personal belongings and their vehicle.

Adding money to your student's lunch account?

Every student has a lunch account, it is up to the parent to add funds to the lunch account or to complete the free and reduced application. If you would like to add money to your child's lunch account you can do so one of two ways: Adding funds via the LinQ Connect App, or by bringing in cash or a check to the office. If you would like to add money via the app you will create an account (you will need your child's student id number). By creating an account you can choose to be notified when your child is low on funds and you have the ability to see which days they purchased a meal.

Apply for free & reduce meals

To check your student's balance go online to www.gilbertschools.net/meals

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Meal Account Online Instructions with QR Code.pdf

Meal Account Online Instruction (Spanish) with QR code.pdf

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Sign up for district bus transportation

If your child needs to utilize district transportation please complete this Google Form in order for them to be registered.

Download the Here Comes the Bus App

Does your student ride the bus? if so, be sure to download the "Here Comes the Bus" App. This app will notify you when the bus is arriving, when your child has scanned on the bus and when they scan off the bus. ALL STUDENTS MUST HAVE THEIR STUDENT ID'S TO SCAN TO GET ON THE BUS.