May is such an emotional month in education. We struggle with balancing the excitement of ending a school year, celebrating with students their promotion to the next grade or transition to a new level of education, and the sadness of losing students we have built positive relationships with. The month of May is also when we all show our appreciation to teachers, administrators, classified staff, and student successes.

We want to thank all of our parents and families for the new role you took with your child’s education this 4th quarter. We can hope that students will have the best teachers, attend the best schools, and have the best opportunities for them as they graduate from high school, but too many of us parents leave it up to chance. Teachers, coaches, and parents can lead the student to the water, but we cannot make them drink it. We need our students to be prepared for the challenges life has in store for them. It is important that we are assisting them but not bailing them out.

It is my hope that your child misses school and the DRJHS staff. Our staff has built relationships with your child and we all miss our students! We also hope that students have learned new ways to communicate with their teachers and peers through Web Ex and Zoom meetings. It is going to be so helpful in the future for students who are home sick from school or miss a class due to a performance, field trip, or event. We appreciate your support and the work you have done to make on-line learning the best it could be for your child.

We have not forgotten that three quarters of the school year happened prior to the school closures. Some of the students from Desert Ridge Junior High earned recognition and we plan to recognize them with certificates. All eighth graders will receive a Promotion certificate, so if they have earned any other recognition, it will be with their promotion certificate. All students who earned a 3.8 GPA through the 3rd Quarter will receive a Golden Scholar certificate. All Spring Sport Athletes will also receive a certificate. All certificates will be handed out from 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM & 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Thursday, May 21st and Friday, May 22nd.

If Teacher Appreciation is something you wanted to participate in, we will have the ability to collect gifts/cards during all drop-off and collection times.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the drop-off and or collection days in the near future. If you have any questions or concerns about certificates after we hand them out, please email the front office at drjhsinfo@gilbertschools.net.

Sincerely,

Mr. Mike Davis

Principal

Email: drjhsinfo@gilbertschools.net
Website: www.gilbertschools.net
Location: Desert Ridge Junior High School, East Madero Avenue, Mesa, AZ, USA
Phone: (480) 635-2025
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DesertRidgeJHRattlers/
Twitter: @drjhs_rattlers