Notice for parents of children in kindergarten
Kinder Parents/Guardians,
We will be opening the Kinder Gate (on the west side by the Kinder playground) at 7:50 each morning. If your child is not eating breakfast please take them directly there. Kinder students who are eating breakfast will continue to be dropped off at the cafeteria.
Thank you for your feedback and help with developing our morning procedures.
David Diokno, Principal
Verna Lueck, Assistant Principal
Starting off with a great first week
Greetings Parents,
We wanted to welcome you back and debrief after the first full week of school. It was a great week here at Scales Technology Academy as we began instruction on day one. It is so good to see you and our children smiling, on campus, and ready to learn. In teaching, as in life, we often have challenges to deal with and we wanted to share with you (and clarify) some school procedures.
1) The first bell rings @ 8:20, late bell at 8:25. Students who are eating breakfast in the cafeteria must leave promptly at 8:20 so they will not be tardy. Instruction begins at 8:25.
2) Breakfast is served @ 7:50. Parents that walk their students should drop them off at the cafeteria door. Our cafeteria is small and gets crowded when parents enter with their children (we serve over 600 students in a cafeteria with seats for 200). We have duty teachers in front of the school, in the bus pick-up area, and cafeteria who will help direct and guide students.
3) Our student drop-off and pick-up is directly in front of the school. Parents cannot leave their cars in the loading zone, so we ask for your help to keep the traffic flow moving. Students exit the cars and walk down the east side of the building and into the cafeteria. All students enter the building through the cafeteria. If a student is not eating breakfast they go through the cafeteria to the playground.
4) We do realize that there is not enough parking and we apologize for this. Parents must not park in the drive through or in the East parking lot (Bus/and staff lot). We ask that you use the drive through area in front of the school during the A.M. & P.M. If you need to park please use the north parking lot (directly in front of the school). Please be respectful of our neighbors and respect the private property of the apartment complexes and businesses surrounding Scales. Police will ticket (and/or tow) parents who park in the loading zones or housing/businesses next to the school.
5) For afternoon pick-up, all students will exit out of the bus loading zone gate and come to the front of the school (this includes kindergarten). Kindergartners will wait at the end, while other students will walk to find their rides. Staff will be posted along the breaks in the fence to help with loading. Please help keep the traffic flowing and your children safe.
6) Our S.H.A.C. (Scales Homework Accountability Club) will start on Monday, August 18th. Watch for a letter regarding this program. This program is for students grades 2nd through 5th.
7) Please ensure that your children are adhering to the dress code policy so that all of our attention is on the learning.
We appreciate your support and love working with you and your children!!
Warm Regards,
David Diokno, Principal
Verna Lueck, Assistant Principal
Welcome to the new school year and a brand-new school!
Dear Scales Technology Academy Parents and Students,
I would like to welcome each of you back to Scales Technology Academy: A School for Innovative Learning. I hope that your summer break allowed you time to rest, exercise, read, enjoy family, and prepare for our coming year. We are entering into a very challenging, yet exciting time. Our challenges are many, as we open up our new school, infuse technology into all that we do, continue to meet each child’s needs and dramatically increase student achievement.
This is a learning and growing year for each of us (staff and students alike). We are in a new building with different routines, new programs which include technology, English Language Development, expansion of MaCRO Math *Grades 1 -5* and Language Arts *Grade 3*, many other opportunities, and a much bigger student population and staff. All of these things can be very daunting, yet invigorating at the same time. We are setting sail on a great educational adventure that will take all of us into uncharted waters. We are forging ahead and creating new avenues of success for our children, those in the district, and countless others across the state and nation. The staff has worked on many projects over the summer which will help move us forward (data/Assessment binders, finalizing curriculum maps, schedules, policies/procedures, and grant applications--- not to mention preparing our new building). As our year evolves, we will live our district goals of:
- Increased student achievement
- Exceptional customer service
- Providing an environment for risk taking
- Outstanding facilities and innovative technology
This will be a year of many new endeavors that will benefit our whole school community. I know that with family support and parental involvement we will see unparalleled success.
With our new building comes much enthusiasm and growth. We anticipate opening our school at full capacity with 600 students. This has prompted the addition of two new kindergarten classrooms, and one fourth grade. Please note that our school hours have changed, 8:20 am to 3:05 pm (1:10 on Fridays). We will continue to have free Universal Breakfast for all students. Children may begin arriving at school at 7:50, but not before. All students will enter the school through the cafeteria (parent drop-off is in the front of the school *the side drop-off is reserved for school busses*).
Those interested in before or after school care should contact the City of Tempe KidZone program. We will have KidZone on our campus starting in January. Prior to that, students enrolled in the KidZone program will drop-off and pick-up their children at Holdeman Elementary School (1326 W. 18th St *Corner of 18th and Priest*). Students may be dropped off as early as 6:30 am, and will be bussed to Scales at approximately 7:30. After school, KidZone students will be transported back to Holdeman and must be picked-up by 6:00 pm. If you are interested in this program, it is essential that you contact the City of Tempe Kidzone and enroll your children (480-350-5400).
I look forward to working with each of you during this school year. We have our first official meeting on Thursday, July 31st, when we kick-off the school year with our Meet the Teacher/Curriculum Night. This will be an opportunity to interact with teachers, learn more about the curriculum and technology, and see the school. We will have several information booths set-up, as well. There will be a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at 4:45, and then continuous presentations by each grade level/area and technology policies. Meet the Teacher/Curriculum Night is from 5:00 - 7:00 pm.
We have so many incredible things happening and I am sure that you are as excited as we are. Please remember that our first day of school is Monday, August 4th. It is imperative that our children are here everyday, on-time, and in school uniform. I promise you that we will provide your children the finest education. When I say that your children are our children, I mean it from the bottom of my heart (my son will also be in kindergarten here). With your support, guidance, and participation we will excel!
I am very excited and honored to work with each of you. I know that through hard work, constant communication, and dedication to our school vision and mission, we will see tremendous growth and success.
Warmest regards for an incredible school year!
Yours in service,
David H. Diokno
Principal - Scales Technology Academy: A School for Innovative Learning
ddiokno@tempeschools.org
The Future of K-12 Education - Where does technology fit in?
If I asked you to think of one word that defines the future, you might say, “technology.” Without a doubt, technology really has had a huge impact on our society. Just a hundred years ago, cars and airplanes were cutting-edge to most people. Today, we have machines that fit in the palms of our hands and allow us to interact in real time with people on the other side of the planet without leaving the comfort of our living rooms. It’s truly amazing what has been accomplished in just a century.
As an educator, my concern – and probably a concern of yours as well – is that our schools are not keeping up with these powerful but commonplace technologies that are being used every day in the real world. Nor are they focusing enough on the skills our children need to live productively in a rapidly changing global economy: skills such as critical thinking, information literacy, communication, collaboration, and self-directed learning.
When the new Scales Technology Academy officially opens its doors in August, East Valley parents will be introduced to a new kind of elementary school: one that teaches the same curriculum as any other K-5 school, but presents that curriculum to students in a way that is relevant to their world, and not to the world as it was 10 or 20 years ago.
To accomplish this, Scales Technology Academy will provide 100% access to technology across the curriculum. Every child, kindergarten through fifth-grade, will be provided with their own laptop. Every classroom will have its own SmartBoard. And, the entire perimeter of the campus will be set up for wireless Internet access. These are just a few of many examples illustrating how Scales Technology Academy will be the model for what a 21st-century elementary school should look like.
But please don’t mistake Scales Technology Academy as a school where students just learn technology for its own sake. Of course, our students will learn how to use various technologies, but our intent is to integrate these technologies as tools for learning math, science, history, and every other subject area. We want laptops and SmartBoards to take their place alongside textbooks, pencils, calculators, and the many other efficient tools students need for learning. At Scales Technology Academy, computers will simply be another tool that can be turned on and off as easily as we open and close textbooks.
Enrollment begins next week, on January 30th. We expect our classes to fill up quickly. So if you intend to register your son or daughter at Scales for the 2008-09 school-year, I urge you to do it this week. See our Enrollment page for details.
My staff and I are excited about Scales Technology Academy and the promise it holds. I believe that the more you know about our “school of the future,” the more excited you’ll be, too. If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call at (480) 929-9909. I'll be happy to talk with you about your child's needs and the opportunity to become a part of Scales Technology Academy.
