October Principal's Corner

This year, as part of our Culture of Contribution, we want to look beyond the walls of our school and find meaningful ways to make a difference in our community. We want to be a campus that reaches out, serves others, and becomes a force of good and love throughout the West Valley!

During the month of October, we are excited for the opportunity to show our love of animals and support the Arizona Human Society. Please read more below on what you can do to help. Any donations can be dropped off in the front office during the month of October. Thank you!

Each month, our Goodyear Campus will highlight and support different local causes and organizations. We would love for our Odyssey families to partner with us as we work together to serve those around us.

Please don't feel obligated to participate in every monthly project—unless, of course, you'd like to! 😊 Instead, we encourage you to be on the lookout for the causes and organizations that speak to your heart and find opportunities for your family to get involved.

Together, let's show what a true Culture of Contribution can do and make a meaningful difference in the West Valley! 💚

On the last Thursday of each month, our school community comes together for our Kudos Assembly—a special time to celebrate the accomplishments, growth, and contributions of our scholars and staff!

During our monthly assemblies, we celebrate scholars who have earned IB bands for demonstrating one of the IB Learner Profile Traits. We also recognize scholars who have achieved their monthly academic goals, as well as homeroom classes in each grade level that have met their monthly goals in their Specials classes. It is always exciting to see our scholars’ hard work recognized and celebrated by their peers!

We also take time to recognize our amazing teachers and staff members who have gone above and beyond to support our scholars and contribute to our school community. We are so grateful for the people who make our school such a special place!

One of the highlights of our Kudos Assembly is our grade-level presentations. Each month, a different grade level has the opportunity to share an encouraging message, lesson, or presentation with our entire school community.

This month, our 6th graders kicked off our grade-level presentations with an overview of the IB Learner Profile Traits. They did an amazing job sharing what it means to be Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-Takers, Balanced, and Reflective members of our school community.

A special shout-out to our Student Government Officers, who helped lead this month’s presentation:

⭐ President: Ms. Lily Cline
⭐ Vice President: Mr. Kana'i Myers
⭐ Secretary: Ms. Brynn Robinson
⭐ Treasurer: Mr. Luke Otis
⭐ Event Ambassador: Ms. Aubrianna Sanchez

We are so proud of our 6th graders and all of the scholars and staff members we get to celebrate each month. Kudos is one of our favorite opportunities to pause, recognize the good happening on our campus, and remind our scholars that their hard work, character, and contributions matter! 💚

As a school community we are so lucky to have a staff that is made up of caring, committed, effective, and intentional educators who make a difference in the lives of our scholars every single day. Whether through instruction, relationships, encouragement, or simply showing up for our scholars and one another, each staff member plays an important role in creating a strong and supportive school community.

We are especially grateful for our teacher leaders who step beyond their own classrooms to support colleagues across our campus and throughout the district as a whole. Through Professional Learning, collaboration, data conversations, and sharing their expertise, these educators are helping strengthen teaching and learning far beyond their own classrooms.

We also want to celebrate the teachers who are stepping outside their comfort zones and sharing their passions with scholars through after-school clubs. From academics to athletics, the arts, and everything in between, these opportunities give our scholars additional ways to explore interests, build relationships, and discover new passions.

We are so grateful for the many ways our staff members contribute to growing a strong, supportive, and connected school community! 💚

Now that our school year is in full swing, our scholars are working hard and taking ownership of their learning! Each month, scholars in every grade level set academic goals in both ELA and Math and track their progress toward those goals. When scholars meet their goals, we celebrate their hard work and growth at our monthly Kudos Assembly! 🎉

For scholars who need a little extra support, Round 1 of our ELA and Math interventions is up and running. Teachers will collect a mid-point data check at the beginning of October to see how scholars are progressing. Intervention will continue through the end of October, when teachers will collect another round of data. Teachers will then meet with Mrs. Woods to review the data, celebrate progress, and discuss recommendations for the next round of intervention. Families will receive an update on their scholar's progress during the first week of November.

How Can Families Help?

One of the best ways you can support your scholar at home is by building in a little time each day for learning:

📚 Read daily — Encourage your child to read books they enjoy and talk with them about what they are reading.

➗ Practice basic math skills — Number sense, place value, math facts, and real-world story problems are great skills to practice at home.

⛽ Use Fuel Up Friday resources — These resources are a great way to partner with us and give your scholar additional opportunities to practice skills from home.

🎯 Ask about academic goals — Regularly ask your scholar how they are progressing toward their ELA and Math goals. Celebrating their effort and progress at home helps motivate scholars to keep working hard at school!

Thank you for partnering with us to help our scholars become confident, independent learners. We love seeing them take ownership of their learning and celebrate their growth along the way!

Every day of school matters! Our school day is packed with learning from the moment announcements begin at 7:30 a.m. through dismissal, and every minute provides an opportunity for scholars to learn, connect, and grow.

Because we have a four-day school week, missing even a few days can mean missing a significant percentage of instruction each month. For scholars to be successful, regular attendance is essential. Just as importantly, because instruction happens bell to bell, arriving on time and staying for the entire school day makes a big difference. Please help us by limiting missed school days, late arrivals and early check-outs whenever possible.

So much of what happens in our classrooms cannot simply be made up at home. Our scholars engage in discovery-based, hands-on learning, collaborative activities, and peer discussions that are important not only for academic growth but also for social development. When scholars are absent, arrive late, or leave early, they can miss important pieces of the learning experience that cannot be replicated outside of the classroom.

Our teachers and staff will do everything we can to help your child grow, learn, and achieve when they are on campus—but we need your partnership! Helping your scholar attend school every day, arrive on time, and remain at school for the full day is one of the most important ways you can support your child's success.

💚 Every day. Every minute. Every scholar. 💚

Please don't limit your child's success by allowing excessive absences, tardies, or early check-outs.

We’ve noticed an increase in scholars bringing toys and personal belongings from home to school, and we could use your help! While we understand that a favorite toy or special item can be exciting to share with friends, these items can create more distractions and disruptions than we may realize.

Personal belongings can:

• 🧸 Become a distraction during lessons, making it harder for scholars to stay focused and engaged.

• 🔎 Get lost, misplaced, or damaged.
• 🤝 Create disagreements between friends about who can play with an item, who gets to use it, or whether a trade can be undone.
• ⏰ Take valuable instructional time away from teachers and scholars when staff need to stop and address problems involving personal belongings.

How Can You Help?

A few simple steps at home can make a big difference:

🎒 Do a quick backpack scan! Sometimes toys seem to mysteriously find their way into backpacks. Take a quick peek before your scholar heads out the door.

🏠 Encourage scholars to leave toys and personal belongings at home. School is a place for learning, and our classrooms are filled with plenty of materials and activities to keep scholars busy!

💭 Remind scholars that bringing personal items to school comes with a risk. If a scholar chooses to bring something from home, they are taking the chance that it could be lost, damaged, or stolen.

**The school is not responsible for personal belongings that are lost or damaged on campus.

If teachers see toys or other personal belongings being used during the school day, they will confiscate the item and hold it until the end of the school day. If a scholar repeatedly brings personal belongings after being reminded to leave them at home, items may be held for a longer period of time or may need to be picked up by a parent from the front office.

💚 Thank you for partnering with us to support our teachers, protect valuable learning time, and keep our classrooms focused and distraction-free! We appreciate your help! 💚

On Monday, 10/5, scholars are encouraged to wear blue to show their commitment to treating others with kindness, compassion, and respect. Our campus stands together to ensure a positive school community for all scholars.

Retakes are scheduled for Wednesday, October 7th. If your scholar needs a retake, please email your homeroom teacher or Jessica Allaire @jallaire@topamail.com to get your scholar on the retake list.

If you have already received pictures and want a retake, please send the pictures back with your scholar.

Each teacher has sent out Parent/Teacher Conference information to their homeroom classes. Please use the SignUpGenius link to sign up for conferences with your child's teacher.

***If you have any quesitons - Please email your child's teacher directly.***

There will be no school for scholars the week of October 12-15th. During this week, teachers participate in a professional learning conference, meeting with teachers across the district to learn, share, and grow as educators. We will see everyone back on campus on Monday, October 19th!

We’re excited to host up to 100 TOPA scholars for our first-ever Arizona Cardinals Kids Camp! This one‑hour experience is free to attend and designed exclusively for Odyssey scholars — participation will be verified upon arrival.

Scholars ages 6–14 are invited to learn new plays, build teamwork skills, and enjoy an engaging, confidence‑boosting camp led by the Arizona Cardinals.

***When registering your scholar, in the comments, please include your scholar’s campus, homeroom teacher, and date of birth. (This information is only visible to our event coordinator who is facilitating the event.)

Our event/volunteer coordinator, Katelyn Smith, will be your contact for all campus-wide volunteer opportunities. Some opportunities available:

• Recess & Lunch Supervision
• Large campus events
• Fundraising Opportunities (Cookie Dough, Fun Run...)
• Staff Appreciation (Hand written notes, surprise treats, appreciation week...)
• Classroom Support - Contact your child'd teacher(s) directly for specific info

If you have any questions for Katelyn or have additional ideas to support our campus needs, please email her at gyevents@topamail.com.

**All volunteers must read and sign the Parent Volunteer Guidelines and Agreement in order to be approved to volunteer on campus.

Any scholar dropped off at school between 6AM and 7AM will be supervised in the before care program and charged the fee. If you wish to avoid the fee, drop your scholar off after 7AM.

Any scholar not picked up by 4:15 will be checked into the Aftercare program and supervised for a fee.

Any questions regarding transportation should be directed to Matt Caraway, mcaraway@topamail.com, Cell: (623) 251-1651.

ParentVUE is the online portal our school uses to help families stay informed and engaged in their child’s education. By logging in, parents and guardians can view real-time information about grades, attendance, assignments, discipline records and health visits.

"Teachers, staff, parents and the Goodyear community are all team members."

There are many meaningful ways to support your child’s success—both at home and on campus. You can get involved by reinforcing academic skills at home, encouraging independence to support social and emotional growth, or volunteering on campus in the classroom, during recess, or at school events. Your partnership makes a difference!

One of the main contributors to academic success is empowering scholars to take ownership of their learning. To do so, scholars set goals, track their progress and celebrate growth. As a parent, you play a crucial role in your child's education, understanding grade level targets can help you identify where your child is in the progression of learning. When teachers, parents and scholars are working together towards achieving academic goals, scholars have the best opportunity for success.

Understanding where students are developmentally - what their growth patterns and typical capacities are at each age - will help teachers and parents nurture and support them as they grow.

Purchase Here

Wood, Chip. Yardsticks, Child and Adolescent Development Ages 4-14. 2017 by Center for Responsive Schools, Inc.

• Providing a safe environment for our scholars is a priority at Odyssey. Our teachers work tirelessly to build and foster a classroom community where all children feel safe to learn, make mistakes and grow.
• We have campus policies, procedures and expectations for scholars, staff, parents and guests that are created to maintain a safe environment for all.
• We work closely with the Goodyear Police Department to implement, and routinely practice our Safety Response Protocol, following the protocol provided by iloveyouguys.org.
• All doors accessing the building remain locked. Front office door and door leading to campus opens with remote access only.
• Parents or guests are welcome on campus with a previously scheduled appointment.
• In order to be permitted access to campus, beyond the front office, you must have a scheduled appointment and provide a government issued ID for a background check.
• Campus is monitored by cameras at all times.

There are five specific actions that can be performed during an incident. Execution of the action is performed by active participants, including scholars, staff, teachers and first responders. The SRP is based on the following actions: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter.

We work closely with our school resource officers from the Goodyear Police Department when implementing, and practicing these actions.

Office Hours: Monday-Thursday 7AM - 4:30PM

Attendance

attendancegoodyear@topamail.com

Front Office Team:

• Campus & Family Services Manager: Anne Krofcheck - topagoodyear@topamail.com
• Front Office Manager: Elizabeth Mitchell - topagoodyear@topamail.com
• Manager of Student Services & Operations: Jessica Allaire - jallaire@topamail.com

Principal

Nicole Woods: nwoods@topamail.com

Email: TOPAGOODYEAR@TOPAMAIL.COM
Website: www.odyprep.com
Location: 17532 West Harrison Street, Goodyear, AZ, USA
Phone: (623) 882-1140