Colt Parents,

Thank you for a great first week back. We will be having our annual fall festival next Friday on October 27th. We will have a haunted house, games, food and lots of fun from 4:00-7:00. I hope you are able to join us.

Our students will be taking an Interim Benchmark test in November. Right now is the time to prepare and get ready for it. Please remind your child to take school serious and teach them not to procrastinate when doing school work.

We are planning our Career Day also for this Friday. If you would like to join us and share your career path, please contact our counselors.

Punctuality is a life skill. Please ensure your child is in school ready to learn by 7:45 daily. Breakfast in the classroom is from 7:30-7:45. The tardy bell rings at 7:45. We will begin asking parents to sign their children in when they are late. Having your child in school on time allows them to have a great start to their day. Being late anywhere only brings on stress and the sense of being rushed. Working together and getting things ready the night before is a huge help in getting to school on time.

If we work together we can accomplish many things:

• read 20 minutes daily
• practice addition and subtraction facts
• practice multiplication facts 0-12 (commit to memory)
• check your child's grades
• communicate with your child's teacher frequently
• being in school every day and on time
• completes daily homework
• attends tutorials when invited

Wishing you a great week!

Educationally Yours,

Leticia Terrazas

Proud Principal of Desert Wind PK8 School

School Number: 915-937-7800

Email: lterra01@sisd.net

Twitter: @DW_K8S

#Accountablility=Love

Socorro ISD Referral for Gifted & Talented Services Announcement Referrals for Socorro ISD GT services will be accepted beginning November 1, 2023. Any student in grades K-11 is eligible to be referred by a teacher, parent, or other community member. The process of identification includes the gathering of multiple criteria, both qualitative and quantitative, as required by the Texas Education Agency. A campus committee of at least three educators will review gathered data to make service recommendations. Referrals may be entered at https://tinyurl.com/SocorroGTReferrals or by scanning the QR code below. All referrals must be entered by November 17, 2023. Referrals received after this date will not be accepted. Parents of students who qualify for services will be notified by March 2024. If your student is already receiving GT services, they do not need to be referred again. If you have questions or want more information about Socorro ISD’s GT services, visit our website, https://tinyurl.com/SocorroGT or contact your school’s GT campus coordinator. An information meeting will be held online October 26, 2023, from 6:00 – 7:00 PM. You may join the meeting on Teams using the following link: Click here to join the meeting .

We are very excited to announce that Desert Wind is now a Texas Purple Star Distinction School.

The Purple Star Campus Designation recognizes Texas district and charter schools that show their support and commitment to meeting the unique needs of military-connected students and their families.

This special honor was created by the 86th Texas Legislature through SB 1557 and further described in agency rule (19 TAC, § 61.1063), effective April 9, 2020.

In August 2022, TEA will be awarding the Purple Star Campus designation for campuses that apply and meet the established criteria (see below). Campuses that are selected will receive a special Purple Star recognition to display on campus or on the school website. Campuses selected will also have their designation featured on the TxSchools.gov web page.

Desert Wind School's number one priority is student safety. With that in mind, we follow the Standard Response Protocols, which is a team approach to emergency preparedness. We continuously practice school emergency drills to ensure that students, faculty and staff are well trained in the event of any emergency.

Please talk to your child about taking these drills seriously. Conversations can be about walking quietly, paying attention to details, listening to instructions, and directing any visitors to the main office. You may also talk to them about not opening any exterior doors to any adult.

We will soon have our Shelter in Place (Hazmat) Drill.

Sincerly,

R. Guerrero

Assistant Principal

Campus Behavior Coordinator

Campus Safety

Dear parents,

DWS has experience a high volume of Cyberbullying reporting in the past few weeks. Please talk to your child about posting other students, faculty and/or staff on social media without their consent or permission.

Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation.

We at DWS take every bullying case, including cyberbullying, very serious and involve our local authorities when necessary.

Sincerely,

DWS Administration

Staying ahead of your Average Daily Attendance (ADA)

Our goal each week is to maintain a 98% attendance rate. It is extremely important to remember after 17 absences for yearlong courses, 8 absences for fall semester courses and 9 absences for spring semester courses, a student will lose credit for the class and must make up the time or master a module within the content.

Reporting absences to DWS

Please report your child’s absence to attendancedesertwind@sisd.net.

Include the following information when reporting the absence:

· Child’s name

· ID number

· Grade

· Teacher

· Reason for absence

All notes are collected via email, please include details of when your child will return to school.

This year, the district will not quarantine scholars for COVID, it will be treated like the flu. It is vital to submit any COVID-19 absence and E-SWIPE to help alleviate any chance of losing credit. Remember, a doctor’s note must always be submitted to attendance; however, does not necessarily excuse the absence.

It is extremely important to arrive to school on time. Class begins promptly at 7:45 am. Breakfast in the classroom is from 7:30 am to 7:45 am. Students who arrive late to school will require an adult to sign them in the front office.

There is a definite need to address students who consistently arrive late to school. Please help us make the learning process a top priority by recognizing and adhering to a start time of 7:45 am. Tardies are being documented and will be carried over to a progressive discipline plan our instructional leaders follow within their classrooms.

• PK/K-Red Polo with uniform bottoms
• 1st-8th Blue/White Polo with uniform bottom
• ONLY Desert Wind Hoodies Allowed
• Zip up sweaters allowed
• Spirit Shirts may be worn Friday ONLY! (NO JEANS!!)

Socorro ISD teams up with Care Solace for mental health care coordination services

The Socorro Independent School District has partnered with Care Solace, an organization determined to calm the chaos of mental health care coordination, to expand access to community mental health and substance use treatment providers for students, staff, and their families.

Care Solace provides a Care Companion™ team who can quickly and confidentially find available providers in the community. Care Solace also equips SISD with a customized online tool that gives community members a way to anonymously search for community-based providers matched to their needs.

“Socorro ISD provides endless opportunities for students and staff to succeed. We are proud to partner with Care Solace to give our students, staff, and their families even more support, especially in times of need,” said SISD Superintendent Nate Carman, Ed.D. “This is a great resource that will enable us to enhance the care and support that our dedicated SISD leadership team strives to deliver daily for all students and staff.”

SISD will use Care Solace to support its mission of optimizing each student’s academic, artistic, athletic, career and interpersonal opportunities and to provide another layer of assistance for each student’s social and emotional well-being.

With Care Solace, families and staff gain access to a dedicated Care Companion™ to navigate the mental health care system on their behalf, calling providers to find the right fit and availability. They help families with private insurance, Medicaid, and no insurance, and are available 24/7/365 in any language.

Care Solace’s care navigation system uses proprietary technology and a vast database of behavioral and mental health care resources to find carefully verified therapists and programs in minutes.

"The effects of loss, isolation, uncertainty, and fatigue brought on by the pandemic continue to pose new challenges for students, staff, and their families," said Chad Castruita, Founder and CEO of Care Solace. "We are proud to support Socorro Independent School District in prioritizing the well-being of its school community by providing timely access into mental health care and substance use treatment services.”

The Care Solace service is now available at no cost to Socorro Independent School District students, staff, and their families. For more information about Care Solace, please visit https://www.caresolace.org

Our Read-a-thon is still going on through November 3rd!

Help us spread the word and raise money for our library!

Friendly Note: Grandparents are a huge part of our children's lives, and they can be a fantastic support in reaching those reading goals. During our Read-A-Thon, they can help encourage your child by donating to your child's reading goal.

To help them get involved, below is a link you can use to easily email them about supporting our fundraiser:

https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/tool/3537393931/1

Together let's encourage a lifelong passion for reading!

Desert Wind Library Read-a-Thon Homepage

Our Bluebonnet Club will NOT meet this Tuesday, October 31st.

We hope all our readers have a Spooktacular day!

Check out our Technology News this week,

Reminders:

1. Update student devices at LEAST once a week.
2. Skyward is replacing TylerSIS (Access to students' grades, schedules, etc.).
3. Parents, sign up with MySchoolBucks for easy access to school fees and payments.
4. Review Laptop expectations to avoid additional school repair fees.

Parents,

Add the MackinVia App to your phones to access thousands of ebooks.

Dear 8th Grade Parents,

DWS will be hosting an HB5 night where parents and students will be informed about Endorsements, district academies and high school requirements on Wednesday, November 8th. This is a MANDATORY meeting in order to transition to high school. Please make arrangements to attend a Full session. We will be offering two sessions, 5pm and 6pm.

Dear (PK-8) Parents,

The DWS Counseling Department will be giving a presentation on Human Trafficking on Wednesday, November 8th. We ask that you please attend one FULL session to prepare yourself and your family of the dangers and risk factors of Human Trafficking. Please make arrangements to attend a Full session. We will be offering two sessions, 5pm and 6pm.

Dear 8th grade Parents,

All 8th grade students will be attending an Eastlake High School Tour on Thursday, November 9th from 9am-12pm. Permissions slips will be distributed through 5th period Super School on Monday, Oct. 30th. Please sign and return to 5th period teacher promptly to ensure your child attends the high school tour.

Ms. L. Terrazas: Principal

Email: lterra01@sisd.net

Assistant Principals

Mr. Guerrero: rguerr09@isd.net

Mrs. Valverde: hvalve@sisd.net

Principal Intern

Andrea Carrasco acarra02@sisd.net

Counselors

Natalia Schwarz: nschwa@sisd.net

Ms. Judith Huizar: jhuiza@sisd.net

Campus Librarian and Media Specialist

Desiree Avila: davila414@sisd.net

Parent Liaison

Ms. Morales: bmoral15@sisd.net

Community in Schools

Janeth Guzman: janeth.guzman@sisd.net