Desert Sky Community School

It's not too late to enjoy some delicious pizza for a good cause! Help our school raise funds while enjoying Barro's Pizza. Visit anytime before 10:00pm TODAY and mention our fundraiser to have your purchase help raise money for student programming and supplies.

Thank you!!

Garden plans! Playground plans! Campus plans! Oh my!

As we get ready to celebrate 20 years of providing free, arts-integrated, community-focused education in Tucson, we think it's time to spruce the place up a bit. Come this Friday to learn what plans are already in the works, and add your voice and your vote to help decide what we tackle next. All community members are welcome!

Weather permitting, our meeting will start at 3pm in the Kindergarten yard. Please make sure you're ready to supervise any children who are playing on campus while we meet. We're excited to see you there!

It's finally here! Today is Weihnachtsmarkt at Desert Sky Community School -- and that means Winter Concert Day! Come early and stay after to enjoy all that our winter market has to offer.

➡️ Student musicians must be dropped off by the craft area at 1pm. The concert starts at 1:30pm. ⬅️

Join us at 5pm this Friday for our school's annual Lantern Walk festival for an evening of community, connection, and bringing our light forth into the darkness.

We'll meet at 5pm to share a spaghetti dinner and get ready for our walk. Attendees are invited to bring outgrown coats and shelf-stable food items to donate as part of bringing the light of our community's love to the families that need it. Students will be carrying the lanterns they're making at school; all are invited to bring their own lanterns to add to the magic.

Our walk will begin as soon as the sun sets, when we head out into our neighborhood to find the darkest places and fill them with light. Families are invited to join their children in singing the lantern songs they've been practicing during festival class, or to simply walk along and enjoy the beautiful sight of our "little stars that swing."

We look forward to seeing you there!

Cookies for a cause! Come out to the Pinecrest Neighborhood Association's annual yard sale TOMORROW Saturday 11/8 anytime between 8am and 2pm, and grab yourself something tasty to eat while you browse.

It's not too late to add your own baked goods to sell or help run the bake sale, either -- bring individually wrapped servings of your homemade goodies to add to the table, or sign up for a shift by either contacting [email protected] or dropping by in-person.

We're excited to see you there!

All are invited to join us for a day of Community, Food, and Celebration in memory of those who have passed on. We will be sharing space and stories about all our loved ones who are no longer earthside with us.

If you wish to add photos of your loved ones to our community offrenda, please email them to Ms. Suzy in the front office: [email protected]. We will print them out and add them for you.

Something delightful this way comes...

Make sure you mark your calendars for this year's Weihnachtsmarkt at DSCS!

RSVP here: https://bit.ly/FBWeihnachtsmarkt25

The DSCS Weekend Warriors Proudly Present:

🐉🖌️🎨 How To Fix Our Dragon! 🎨🖌️🐉

Our Festival of Strength and Courage is coming up next week, and we want to make sure that this gorgeous beast is ready for its close-up. Let the papier mâché commence! 💪🏾

⚾ Take DSCS out to the ball game! ⚾

Join our school as we head to Phoenix and cheer on the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Tuesday, September 16th as they face off against the San Francisco Giants. A portion of all tickets sold through our Fevo fundraiser link will benefit the school, and each ticket purchase comes with some cool D-backs swag!

Buy your tickets and help support our school today. Thank you! http://bit.ly/HomeRun4DSCS

✨ Why Open-Ended Play Matters ✨

In our classroom, we focus a lot on open-ended play. These are play opportunities where children can use their imagination and creativity freely—where the toy or material doesn’t decide the story, but the child does.

Think of it this way:
• A toy phone can really only be a phone.
• A toy firetruck can really only be a firetruck.
• A puzzle only fits together in one way.

These toys can be fun, but they’re limited to a single purpose.

Now compare that to open-ended materials:
• A stick can be a magic wand, a fishing pole, a flag, or even a horse.
• A rock can become a pretend cookie, a mountain for tiny animals, or a treasure to hide and find.
• A block can transform into a house, a rocket ship, a castle wall, or a road.

🌱 With open-ended play, children’s imaginations set the limits—not the toy itself. This helps them practice problem-solving, collaboration, creativity, and flexible thinking, all while having fun.

We love seeing what your children create when they are given the freedom to explore in this way! They always leave us with a bit of awe… ok, a lot!

- Krista Retes, Kindergarten Teacher, Desert Sky Community School