Canyon Valley Connect

• Parent Feedback Survey: Watch for this to be shared from the district the week of January 26th.
• Monday, February 16th, President's Day, No School
• Spring Break: March 9th -20th
• Save the Date! Spring Intersession Grade Enhancement Program
• March 16th-20th @ Gilbert High School
• Offered for English, Math, Biology, and Chemistry classes only
• For students to be eligible, they must have a grade of at least 50% in the class.
• Sign up for district bus transportation with this link.
• High School: Gates open at 7:15 AM, class starts at 7:30 AM
• Junior High: Gates open at 8:15 AM, class starts at 8:30 AM
• 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

Dear Parent/Guardian,

As part of our commitment to prevention education and supporting the whole child, Gilbert Public Schools is offering life skills opportunities as part of Erika’s Lighthouse programming. Programming is focused on mental health awareness, and suicide prevention. The online platform provides skills based learning opportunities for students, staff and families with lessons and activities that support each student.

Erika’s Lighthouse is used as a supplement to our suicide prevention programming for students in grades 7-12. Our school social workers and mental health counselors have been trained to support facilitation of this programming, and are responsible for conducting the presentations to students alongside classroom teachers during specified times as determined by each school site.

Grade 7 - 8

Program goals include:

• Raising awareness of good mental health.

• Raising awareness of signs of depression and risk and warning signs of suicide.

• Reducing the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

• Encouraging help-seeking skills and if necessary, additional support services.

Further information regarding programming, and lesson content and information can be found on the Gilbert Public Schools website, Erika’s Lighthouse, as well as your student’s school website Canyon Valley, Erika’s Lighthouse.

If you do not wish for your student to participate in the programming, please complete the parent permission slip below and return to your student’s school or Christine DeSherlia by February 6th, 2026. If we do not hear from you, we will assume your child has permission to participate in this program.

Please contact Christine DeSherlia at 480-507-0519 or christine.desherlia@gilbertschools.net if you have any questions or would like further information regarding the program. Thank you for your support as we work to build a safe and supportive school community. We look forward to working together to better inform students of these important issues, and provide the tools students need to navigate challenging times.

Sincerely,

Christine DeSherlia, Mental Health Counselor, Canyon Valley School.

Presentations will take place on February 10th and 12th, 2026.

Dear Parent/Guardian,

As part of our commitment to prevention education and supporting the whole child, Gilbert Public Schools is offering life skills opportunities as part of Erika’s Lighthouse programming. Programming is focused on mental health awareness, and suicide prevention. The online platform provides skills based learning opportunities for students, staff and families with lessons and activities that support each student.

Erika’s Lighthouse is used as a supplement to our suicide prevention programming for students in grades 7-12. Our school social workers and mental health counselors have been trained to support facilitation of this programming, and are responsible for conducting the presentations to students alongside classroom teachers during specified times as determined by each school site.

Grade 9-12

Program goals include:

• Raising awareness of good mental health.

• Raising awareness of signs of depression and risk and warning signs of suicide.

• Reducing the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

• Encouraging help-seeking skills and if necessary, additional support services.

• 
  

Further information regarding programming, and lesson content and information can be found on the Gilbert Public Schools website, Erika’s Lighthouse, as well as your student’s school website Canyon Valley, Erika’s Lighthouse.

If you do not wish for your student to participate in the programming, please complete the parent permission slip below and return to your student’s school or Christine DeSherlia by February 3rd, 2026 If we do not hear from you, we will assume your child has permission to participate in this program.

Please contact Christine DeSherlia at 480-509-0519 or christine.desherlia@gilbertschools.net if you have any questions or would like further information regarding the program. Thank you for your support as we work to build a safe and supportive school community. We look forward to working together to better inform students of these important issues, and provide the tools students need to navigate challenging times.

Sincerely,

Christine DeSherlia, Mental Health Counselor, Canyon Valley School.

Presentations will start February 3rd, 2026.

Please find below campus specific information for our senior students who are planning to participate in senior activities and graduation with their home high school campus.

Campo Verde High School

Desert Ridge High School: Contact Veronica Passmore for questions and see attachment below

Gilbert High School

Highland High School

Mesquite High School

Gates open for high school students at 7:15 AM. First hour begins at 7:30 AM.

Gates open for junior high school students at 8:15 AM. First hour begins at 8:30 AM.

Students may not enter through the front office.

The student drop off entrance is indicated on the map below with the GREEN X.

The student bus entrance is indicated on the map below with the ORANGE X.

Weapons screening will be in process at both entrances.

For students who drive, the student parking lot is indicated in BLUE.

The faculty parking lot is indicated in RED.

The parent drop-off and pick-up flow is indicated in YELLOW.

Student drop-off and pick-up is always a little crazy the first few days. Please be patient as it will improve as families learn and become comfortable with the new processes and routines.

Students who arrive late to school will need to enter through the front office, sign-in, and get a pass to class. Weapons screening will be in effect within the office entrance.

All visitors to campus must check in through the front office and must present a valid ID card (drivers license or state issued ID card). Please be aware that Canyon Valley utilizes the Raptor Background Check system for guests needing to access campus. All guests must also pass through the weapons detector security checkpoint. These processes are standard at all GPS high schools.

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.

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 week 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 will not be allowed to ride the bus without an ID badge.
• Students use the barcode on their ID badges to access nutrition services (cafeteria).
• Junior High and High School teachers use 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.

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

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

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.

Have you created your parent portal account? If not click here for directions on how to. The parent portal gives you access to your child's grades and attendance, as well as teacher contact information. Click here for directions on how to download the Infinite Campus Parent Portal app to your smart phone.

Email: canyonvalleyinfo@gilbertschools.net
Website: https://canyonvalleyhigh.gilbertschools.net/
Location: 7007 E Guadalupe Rd, Mesa, AZ 85212
Phone: 480.507.0519