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Welcome to Adobe GoLive 6
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Welcome to Adobe GoLive 6
3625 West Second Street
Thatcher, AZ 85552
Phone: 928-348-7200
Fax: 928-348-7220
Click here for staff information.
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Welcome to Adobe GoLive 6
Welcome to the Future Web Page for Curriculum/Instruction.
Please check back at a later time when the site has been updated...
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Welcome to Adobe GoLive 6
Finding Students Who Need Special Help.....
Ten percent of the general population has some form of disability or learning disorder. Thatcher Unified School District is looking for any children (birth to 22 years of age) who might have difficulties resulting from a disability who might need special education services in order to succeed in school. If you know of a student who has major difficulty with organizational skills, learning or understanding, speaking or writing, getting along with others, making adjustments in different situations or completing tasks, please contact Suzanne Menges at 348-7206 to have his/her progress checked. Free special education services are available to eligible children. For more information, call Child Find at (602) 364-4015 or visit the Child Find website at http://www.ade.az.gov/ess/childfind
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AIMS Testing Schedule
Thatcher USD has established a master testing schedule for AIMS testing through the spring of 2013. To view that schedule click on the link below.
Click here for more information.
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ROAD CREW MEMBERS
High School: Mr. Ramon Morales, Mrs. Dawn Wood
Middle School: Mrs. Jessica Medlin, Mrs. Elaina Estrada, Mrs. Terri Shupe, Mrs. Marie Simmons
Elementary School: Ms. Ora Allred
Primary School: Mrs. Ruth Vining, Mrs. Terri Moore
Administrators: Dr. Suzanne Menges, Mr. Matt Petersen
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Information For Parents......
Special Education and State Mandated Achievement Testing
State mandated testing will remain the same for this year. Kindergarten and first grade students will be taking part in district assessments, known as Benchmarks, in the areas of reading, writing, and math. Students in grade 2 and grade 9 will take the Terra Nova test in the spring. The Terra Nova is a standardized achievement test somewhat like the Stanford Achievement Test that has been given in the past. Students in grades 3 through 8 will take the Dual Purpose Assessment Test (DPA) in the spring. The DPA combines elements of the Terra Nova and the former AIMS test into one test. Students in grade 10 will take the AIMS test in the spring semester. Students who do not pass the AIMS test on the first testing will have two opportunities in grade 11 and two opportunities in grade 12 to take any portions of the AIMS test not passed on previous testings.
At present the Arizona Department of Education is requiring special education students to take the yearly required test at each student's grade level. For example, a 5th grade special education students will take the 5th grade test, a 10th grade student will take the AIMS test which is only given at the 10th, 11th, and 12th grade levels. If the federal governnment gives an exemption to Arizona and allows schools to administer off-grade-level testing, you will be notified of the change and on what grade level(s) your child will take the test in reading, writing, and math. The AIMS requirement for high school graduation for Special Education students will be determined in each student's Indidividual Education Plan (IEP).
Certain students in the district qualify for a yearly Alternative Assessment which is completed by student's Special Education teacher. Those students are identified during their IEP development and will not be affected by any decision made concerning grade level testing.
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Sample AIMS Tests......
The Arizona Department of Education has made sample tests, by grade level, available for math, reading, and language arts. If you would like to see the type of questions and some of the possible material covered on the AIMS test click below and you will access the website.
Click here for more information.
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Child Find Policy
Thatcher School's Child Find Policy.
Click here for more information.
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SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
The Special Education Department at Thatcher Unified Schools includes:
Mrs. Melissa Price, Grades K-5
Mrs. Becky Pruszynski, Grades 6-8
Mrs. Ashlee Griffin, Grades 9-12
Mrs. Sandy Hatfield, Speech Therapist
Ms. Kris Marciniak, Occupational Therapist
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Thatcher Achieves Full Compliance!
On May 3, 2012, Thatcher schools received a designation of "Full Compliance" with state and federal statutes related to services to students with disabilities. Quoting Diane Mignella, Director of Program Support and Monitoring of the Arizona Department of Education, "The level of compliance reached by your agency requires dedication and hard work by every staff member." We appreciate all of our teachers who are committed to helping ALL students be successful!
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Touring the Cotton Gin
Students braved the COLD weather on December 12 to tour the Glenbar Cotton Gin and learn all about this important commodity to the Graham County communities.
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PARENTS CAN HELP......
Tips for Parents To Help With AIMS TESTING
GOOD ATTENDANCE IS KEY
We live in an era of high-stakes testing. To obtain diplomas, students will have to pass the AIMS test. In Massachusetts, the students were given five chances to pass, as they will be in Arizona; 90% passed. When the records of the other 10% were examined, almost all of them had poor attendance. Because the test questions measure only materials that were covered in class, students who attend should pass the test, but the teachers cannot teach students who are not there.
STUDENTS WHO DO HOMEWORK ACHIEVE AT A HIGHER LEVEL
Helping children with homework is a wonderful way for parents and children to interact. Here are some ways you can help strengthen your students study habits:
• Designate a quiet place for your child to do homework
• Support the teachers by ensuring homework is completed and turned in on time
• Help your child value the importance of doing homework
DISCIPLINE
“First, we must restore classroom discipline. When teachers are not supported in disciplining disruptive students, some teachers tend to give up. That has lead to anarchy in some public schools across the country. Other teachers keep trying, but valuable time is diverted from teaching the students who want to learn. Restoring classroom discipline is a necessary precondition to creating a learning atmosphere, to facilitate academic excellence. When parents and school work together as a team, student behavior improves. I hope you will work with your school to make this a successful endeavor, which will ultimately raise the academic performance of all our students.”
~Tom Horne, Superintendent of Public Instruction
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Other Related AIMS Testing Materials.....
Click below to see more AIMS test sample questions.
Click here for more information.
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Southeast Regional Cooperative
The Southeast Regional Cooperative (SER) is an organization under the umbrella of Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind. This cooperative provides support services for students with sensory impairments in Graham county school districts, in addition to Cochise, Greenlee, Pima, Santa Cruz and other school districts in Pinal county. Some of the services provided through SER are the assistance in the identification and evaluation of students with sensory impairments; specialized equipment, instruction, and related services for those students; and assistance to the staff in the local school districts. The Southeast Regional Cooperative works in partnership with district staff to provide special education and related services for all sensory impaired students so these students can reach their individual potential in their local school setting.
Click here for more information.
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Look For These Changes In Your Child's Development....
3 Months
•Lifts head regularly when on tummy
•Makes cooing noises
•Quiets when spoken to
•Grasps objects placed in hand
•Begins to bat at objects
6 Months
•Sits with light support
•Babbles when alone or with someone
•Reaches for objects
•Holds objects with either hand
•Turns eyes and head toward sounds or voices
•Begins to crawl (moves around other than on hands and knees)
9 Months
•Sits without support
•Begins creeping (up on hands and knees)
•Imitates cough, bye-bye, hand clap, ma-ma
•Drops and looks for an object
•Can find a toy hidden under cloth
•Likes to dump out and pick up things
1 Year
•Pulls up to a standing position and cruises around furniture
•BEGINS to say ma-ma and da-da to refer to parents
•Finger feeds self solid food
•Follows a simple direction like “bring me the ball”
•Points to objects she knows when asked “where is it”
•Begins to use a spoon and hold a cup
1.5 Years
•Walks well and runs
•Can push, pull, carry and lift objects
•Names SOME objects
•Can point to simple pictures
•Brings you an object he/she knows when asked
2 Years
•Walks up and down stairs, two feet on each step
•Can name more than three body parts
•Scribbles
•Stacks two to four objects
•Uses two-word sentences
•Enjoys doing things for self
•Gets easily frustrated
•Uses objects as they should be used
3 Years
•Uses three to five word sentences
•Sings simple songs
•Can jump in place
•Begins to ask questions
•Enjoys “pretend” play (for instance, pretending to be mom, dad, brothers and sisters)
•Can help brush teeth, wash hands, undress, etc.
4 Years
•Can use the toilet (with few accidents)
•Can balance on one foot, then the other
•Can name up to three colors
•Can retell parts of a familiar story
•Begins to play with other children rather than alongside them
5 Years
•Likes playground challenges
•Dresses self completely, including buttons, beginning to zip and tie
•Can play cooperatively with a small group of children
•Draws people in two parts—head and arms or legs
•Can tell parents about something that happened while they were gone
•Says number words to ten
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Graham County Special Services......
The Dan Hinton School is used by TUSD students with special needs. Dan Hinton School is a recently completed SFB project. The new facilities will be a much needed addition to help our students. For further information about the Dan Hinton School contact either Dr. Suzanne Menges (348-7206) or Mrs. Lisa James (485-2759).
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Office Schedule: April 2 - 27
Monday, April 2nd
Tuesday, April 3rd
Wednesday, April 4th
Thursday, April 5th
Monday, April 9th
Tuesday, April 10th
Wednesday, April 11th
Thursday, April 12th
Monday, April 16th
Tuesday, Aptil 17th
Wednesday, April 18th
Thursday, April 19th
Monday, April 23rd-Field Trip
Tuesday, April 24th
Wednesday, April 25th
Thursday, April 26th
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Road Crew hard at work
The "Road Crew" mapping team leaders meet throughout the year and at a summer session to review all the maps and plan ongoing development of our curriculum
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GATE
To refer the student to be tested for the gifted program, click here.
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Cotton Gin
GATE Students at the Cotton Gin in December 2011.
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Farming Field Trip
Thanks to Mr. Lance Layton for teaching us all about current farming practices in the Gila Valley!
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A Rancher's Life
We had a wonderful time at the Ranch Day in February learning skills like roping and saddle-soaping!
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Soaping saddles
Protecting the leather on saddles is an important task on a ranch.
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Fish Hatchery Field Trip
Learning about different species and habitats at the fish hatchery in Glenwood, New Mexico
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Office hours:
Monday - Thursday
9:00 am - 4:30 pm
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