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Digital Learning Day was on February 23. Across the Laveen District, 245 teachers participated. At least 85% of teachers at school participated in the event. A variety of technology tools were used to engage students. Some of the popular choices included Nearpod, SMART Labs, Discovery Education, and Seesaw. View our school’s video.

Vista del Sur Accelerated Academy celebrated their National Blue Ribbon School designation on November 21, 2016. The celebration featured remarks from school and community leaders, the unveiling of the official National Blue Ribbon Banner, and the distribution of hundreds of National Blue Ribbon bracelets to students, staff, parents, and supporters.

The National Blue Ribbon School program recognizes overall academic excellence. Blue Ribbon Schools show outstanding results for all students. They are known for consistent excellence and improving student achievement.

Vista del Sur was one of only four schools in Arizona selected to join this esteemed community this year by the U.S. Department of Education. They were nominated as an Exemplary High Performing School, receiving this distinction for the performance of all students on the AZMERIT assessment in both math and English language arts in addition to other state performance targets.

View the video, What it means to be a National Blue Ribbon School.

Photos from this celebration can be found on the Laveen flickr page.

Vista del Sur Accelerated Academy has been named a 2016 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Secretary John B. King made the announcement today.

The National Blue Ribbon School program recognizes overall academic excellence. Blue Ribbon Schools show outstanding results for all students. They are known for consistent excellence and improving student achievement.

Vista del Sur was one of only four schools in Arizona to join this esteemed community. They were nominated as an Exemplary High Performing School, receiving this distinction for the performance of all students on the AZMERIT assessment in both math and English language arts in addition to other state performance targets.

Kristi Pashley, the school’s principal at the time of nomination, attributed Vista’s success to the integration of technology into the daily instruction and specific math instructional strategies.

“Vista’s extensive technology, from a 1:1 student to device ratio to classroom SMART boards, allows teachers to assess their students in real time, giving our teachers the opportunity to modify instruction and student groupings immediately.”

The school has also seen great success with the implementation of the Mental Math strategy. “Mental Math is a non-negotiable,” Pashley said of the strategy in which students must mentally solve a math problem, explain the solution to their classmates, and share alternative ways of solving the same problem.  “It has improved our students ability to problem solve, become independent thinkers, and articulate their thinking across all content areas.”

Vista del Sur will be recognized at award ceremony next month in Washington, D.C. Here they will receive the coveted National Blue Ribbon flag that will fly at their school as a reminder of their exemplary teaching and learning. “All of us at Vista are honored to serve as an example of quality instruction and learning for schools across the nation,” said Vista’s current principal Jessica Epacs. “This honor affirms the dedication of our students, staff, and parents in making Vista a community of excellence.”

Vista is part of the Laveen Elementary School District. As an accelerated school, students work a grade level ahead in math and English language arts. It is a school of choice and, as such, does not have attendance boundaries.

Nine teams from Vista del Sur competed in this year’s MESA (Math, Science, Engineering, Achievement) Day State Engineering State Competition held on the campus of Arizona State University.

Vista was honored with a trophy for taking 2nd Place Overall in the middle school division. They also took the 1st Place Gold Medal in the middle school Solar Car Challenge. Additional awards are as follows:

Solar Car Challenge -1st Place Tournament Champion Car, 1st Place Fastest Heat Car, 1st Place – Best Design Engineering Notebook

Communication Revolution: 3rd Place bronze medal

Designer of the Day – 4th Place ribbon

Hydropower – 6th Place ribbon

Points from the following teams were added to our school’s overall performance to help us win the 2nd place trophy in the Middle School Division: Prosthetic Arm,Duct Tape Water Bottle Challenge, Change Maker, On-site Design, and Egg Delivery.

Thirty-nine schools from across the state competed in the middle school division.

MESA  is a national program sponsored by Universities across the nation. 

Vista del Sur’s two Girls on the Run teams participated in a community service project at the Feed my Starving Children organization.

Feed my Starving Children prepares meals for malnourished children all over the world which is then delivered by organization partners.

The students packed 67 boxes comprised of 14,472 meals. Their efforts will feed 39 children for an entire year

Vista students, in Grades kindergarten through third, planted their spring garden with the help of the Western Growers Association. The school received a $1,500 Edible Garden Grant from Western Growers last spring. The students have been busy preparing for their garden. Each grade level chose seeds or plants based on the Science standards being taught.  The students were excited to plant their own seeds and will be tasked with watering and maintaining the garden as well as eating the fruits and vegetables of their labor.

Google brought their Expeditions Pioneer Program to Vista del Sur. Students used a cardboard virtual reality viewer to take a virtual field trip. Teachers chose field trips that aligned to their grade level academic stand-ards and guided students through places like the pyramids in Egypt, state and national parks, Roman Ruins, Biomes, etc. Students and teachers had a great time.