The Silverhawk's Nest

Silverhawk families,

We are still in desperate in need of a Crossing Guard. If you, or someone you know, are interested please fill out an application online at www.dvusd.org. The position is only needed for a few hours a day.

We have a lot of events happening on our campus in this short November month. The teachers and I will make sure to keep you updated through Dojo and Blackboard Messenger. Please reach out to us if you have any questions about them.

As we head into Thanksgiving break, I want to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude for each of you. Your continued support, hard work, and positive energy help make our school community a truly special place.

I hope this break gives you time to relax, recharge, and enjoy the company of family and friends. May your holiday be filled with warmth, laughter, and meaningful moments.

If you ever have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to email me at christine.fitzsimmons@dvusd.org or you can catch me in the front parking lot at drop-off and pick-up.

Have a great November and restful Thanksgiving!!

Sincerely,

Principal Fitzsimmons

Sixth grade will be hosting a food drive for St. Mary's Food Bank. We will be gathering food donations to stock the food bank's pantry for the Thanksgiving holiday.

When:

⌚November 3rd -November 14th

How:

Bring your non-perishable items to school on the above dates, and place them in your grade level's box. There will also be a box in the front office for parents to drop off items. Please write the grade level on the bag so the grade level can receive credit for the donation.

Goal:

500 items

Most Needed Items:

peanut butter, rice and beans, canned soup, canned protein, canned vegetables, canned fruit, cereal, pasta

The grade level with the most donations will be rewarded with popsicles!

Thank you for your service! Please join us for a continental breakfast on Friday, November 7th, 2025 at 8:00 am in our cafeteria. Following the breakfast will be a short ceremony in the Gym. Please let us know that you will be attending by signing up on the link below.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVRsRCU7fVHVBAxHBONpaCRZC47gwfeQxsWJA1Yec9yF2TaA/viewform?usp=header

Preschool is continuing our study of trees during the month of November. Last month we explored the topic by discussing what we know, what we want to learn, and all the trees we see around our homes and school campus. We learned a catchy new song that tells us about the different parts of trees, and enjoyed some new stories that taught us rhymes and how people engage with trees in all aspects of everyday life. Next we will explore how trees grow and change, what lives and grows in trees, and what products can be made from them. So far I would say our favorite books have been Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and Our Tree Named Steve. We even found our own tree on campus that we named Steve too, he lives behind the music room! By the time we go on our next holiday break we will have learned all of our letters and sounds, though more review will be in order to master it all. This year is moving right along, and although we have said goodbye to some friends this year, we have more that wish to join us on our learning adventure!

Happy November, SPARK/Sage families!

1st Grade Gifted Testing

Blanket gifted testing is upcoming for 1st grade! Ms. Pinney and I hope to complete testing by the second week of November. This universal testing ensures ALL students have access to gifted and talented services that meet their needs, among other reasons. When we do this testing, this may disrupt some of our SPARK/Sage classes, but will resume as soon as we're finished.

As mentioned last month, In SPARK & Sage, we continue using our new district resources from William & Mary and Jr. Great Books for grades 4 - 6. In grades 2 & 3, after our "Morning" or "Afternoon" meetings, we have been doing some fun SPARK challenges completing the STEM design process and learning to work together in groups. It is my plan to continue this throughout the school year

More details…

In the future, I won't be providing as many details, but wanted all to be aware of what's happening as we continue to build upon our learning here in our gifted corner!

SPARK

Grades 2&3 - We read and learned about spiders and their webs. We've completed a "woven" web to take home along with handmade, friendly spiders if students chose to make one. Next up is planning and designing a catapult in November. I'm not sure if this is the best idea, but here we go! 😉

As mentioned last month: When students are finished early with any challenge, I give them time for brain builders and/or brain flakes. Furthermore, I am trying to incorporate reading into our "Morning/Afternoon Meeting" time to help develop their (reading) skills.

In 3rd grade students learned how to play the thinking puzzle game, Set, which they absolutely loved! This game is available online or as a physical card game. So far, we've done the online version in class.

Sage Reading:

Grade 4 - We've been enjoying a literature study of the book, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Bail E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg, and will continue to read until December, most likely. On top of our shared inquiry, vocabulary development, and enriched reading strategies, we are going to plan and create a "mini museum" based on the Metropolitan Museum of Art as described in the book. Each student got to pick a topic of interest to study for their space in the museum. More to come as we develop this enjoyable hands-on activity while we make progress through the book.

Grade 5 - We've been reading some narrative nonfiction, past the fictional stories we read in September, in our Jr. Great Books series. Most recently, we completed Lightening by Alma Flor Ada. Students have been learning close reading strategies along with shared inquiry and are making great progress in both. Students are getting better with asking questions from themselves and from each other. As I said before, it's a process, but we are getting in some good learning during our limited time together for Tier II instruction. We also took a break from Jr. Great Books with Stories with Holes and now they’re asking to do this all the time! "Stories with Holes" are logic puzzles or riddles presented as short, mysterious narratives with missing information that require the audience (students) to ask yes/no questions to figure out the complete story. The technique is used to promote critical and creative thinking and is popularized by a series of books and activities by Nathan Levy. This interactive method encourages active participation rather than passive listening.

*The attached picture is of the 5th graders preparing for shared inquiry

Grade 6 - We have moved on from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett to a book of choice, which is The Wednesday Warsby Gary D. Schmidt. We have taken the approach of enriching our multiple reading strategies in a "book club" at the end of the school day with this book. Students are also going to be required to complete a research hands-on project for this novel. It is quite extensive, so will most likely take until winter break or even into January. More to come while we chunk this task as we read!

It does look a bit different as we've ALL been reading more and enriching our reading skills during our time together! My hope is to make this a positive experience as we move from SPARK to Sage in our upper grades.

• The Thanksgiving feast will be on Thursday 11/20.
• Any parents that want to come eat with their students will eat the feast food from the student serving line.
• You will need to bring exact change for their meal. ($4.50) This price includes a bottled water or milk with your meal.
• Any visiting parents/family who plan on attending that day to eat with us should provide an RSVP so I can make sure and order enough food for everyone. Please RSVP below.

Families are invited to come join us on our "Turkey Trot" this school year!! Please make sure that you sign-in at the Front Office and wear your Visitor sticker while on campus. The Turkey Trot will be on our backfield by the gym from 9:15-10:15.

2nd Quarter Awards Assembly for 3rd-6th graders will be on Friday, January 9th @9:00 in the gym. Your child's teacher will reach out to you to let you know if your child will be receiving an award for the 2nd Quarter.

If you would like to volunteer in your child's classroom, or go on any field trips, you must go through Volunteer Training. We will be having Volunteer Training in room 608.

• August 19th @4pm
• November 4th @4pm
• January 13th @4pm
• March 10th @4pm

• August - 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th
• September - 12th, 19th and 26th
• October - 10th, 24th and 31st
• November - 7th, 14th and 21st
• December - 5th and 12th
• January - 16th, 23rd and 30th
• February - 6th, 20th and 27th
• March - 6th, 13th and 27th
• April - 24th
• May - 1st, 8th and 15th

Our new PBIS Acronym is S.O.A.R. Silverhawks show Safety, Ownership, Achievement and Respect. Please help us to instill these behaviors at home, so we can all "S.O.A.R. to #Extraordinary Heights Together!"

Email: christine.fitzsimmons@dvusd.org
Website: https://www.dvusd.org/traditional
Location: 4701 West Grovers Avenue, Glendale, AZ, USA
Phone: 602-467-5700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Traditional-Academy-at-Bellair-109175091218455
Twitter: @Trad_Bellair