Dear Parents and Guardians,

Can you believe that there is less than a month of school left?  Where has the year gone?  I am hopeful that all of our students and parents feel that this school year has been successful.  I have seen our students make significant growth in many areas.  At Harmon, we do place an emphasis on academics but we also want to be sure and help students develop in many other areas as well.  As each year winds down I  always like to reflect back on the year and I am always amazed by the amount of learning that has taken place.  Your children have been excellent to work with this year.

By now you most likely have heard about the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. While Newtown is far away, Newtown families are near to our hearts. Early reports, not at all surprisingly, indicate that teachers and staff performed remarkably, putting themselves in harm’s way to protect their children, saving many young lives with their actions.

Although we cannot help but feel emotionally connected, there is no indication that this is anything but an isolated incident in a state far from Arizona, Even so, it is only natural that we look now at the security of those who are dearest to us. 

This is Dana Hawman, Director of Public Relations at Florence USD, calling with an alert about an early outbreak of the flu at Skyline Ranch.

In consultation with the CDC, we are relatively certain that this is an outbreak of Norovirus. Symptoms are diarrhea, throwing up, nausea and stomach pain. Fever is NOT a symptom of Norovirus.

Congratulations to the Battle of the Books team from Harmon Elementary, Ms. Carrie Forst-Sponsor, students Chesley Udall, Rachel Alger and Brian Bishop as they secured the “win” at the Regional Championship. The competition took place at the Chandler Center for Performing Arts on May 14.

Harmon beat out all of the top three teams from each of the six East Valley School Districts competing. The team from Harmon did not miss a single question throughout the entire year and did a phenomenal job! Kudos to the other two teams from the Combs District who had great performances, Ranch Elementary and Combs Traditional Academy who also competed at the Regional Championship.

For Immediate Release from the J.O. Combs Unified School District:

The J.O. Combs Unified School District is hosting a Community Budget Meeting/Forum on Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at the Combs High School Cafeteria from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm located at 2505 E. Germann Road, San Tan Valley.

Some upcoming J.O. Combs USD Adult Education Courses:

J.O. Combs Unified School District continues to partner with Banner Ironwood Medical Center in a Student of the Month program which recognizes one student every month from each of our schools.

There is a selection process in place where students are recognized for the various pillars of the Character Counts Program which include Responsibility, Trustworthiness, Citizenship, Caring, Respect and Fairness.

This presentation takes place each month at our Regular Governing Board Meeting where a representative from Banner Ironwood Hospital attends and assists in presenting each student with a Certificate of Special Recognition.  

The J.O. Combs Unified School District continues to partner with Banner Ironwood in their Student of the Month program which recognizes one student every month from each of our schools.

There is a selection process in place where students get recognized for the various pillars of the Character Counts Program which include Responsibility, Trustworthiness, Citizenship, Caring, Respect and Fairness.

This month, these students were recognized for demonstrating the character trait of Caring.

Cirrus Group LLC, based in Rochester Hills, Michigan, is pleased to announce a new client partnership with the J.O. Combs Unified School District of San Tan Valley, AZ. Through this new partnership, J.O. Combs will begin using Cirrus Group’s Daycare Works web-based school management platform to offer online class registrations, secure web payments and integrated facility management for the J.O. Combs Before and After School Care, Summer School, Community Preschool and Enrichment Programs.

The J.O. Combs Unified School District will hold a Community Budget Meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 29, 2013.

The meeting will be held at the Combs High School Library located at 2505 E. Germann Road in San Tan Valley.

The Coolidge Unified School District held a special governing board meeting last night, Wednesday, February 4th to discuss and vote on the consolidation of Mountain Vista Middle School.  

Mountain Vista Middle School will be holding their 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 1:30 p.m.

The ceremony will take place in the gymnasium at San Tan Foothills High School, located at 1255 W. Silverdale Road in San Tan Valley.

On Tuesday May 10, 2011 at approximately 12:30 PM the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office responded to a suspicious person/possible burglary in progress occurring in the 3500 block of Allen’s Peak Rd. in San Tan Valley. Patrol officers responded to a call from a 15 year old girl who reported “some” men were trying to break in to her home while she was home alone from school. Deputies responded immediately and were subsequently engaged in a foot pursuit when they observed three male subjects in the area. PCSO deputies immediately apprehended 19 year old Charles James but lost sight of the other two suspects.

Congratulations to the following students from Mountain Vista Middle School who were awarded Honor Roll.