Welcome to Jack W. Harmon Elementary School! Our school is located in San Tan Valley, Arizona, and serves students in grades K-5. We are part of the J.O. Combs Unified School District, one of the faster growing areas in the state.

Our Web site provides parents, students, and community members with helpful information on a variety of topics and we hope you'll take some time to learn more about all we have to offer. You'll want to meet our staff, learn more about our school procedures on the FAQ page, keep current with News & Events and our School Calendar, and then be sure to check out our many Helpful Links to other informative Web sites. And, if you still have questions about Jack W. Harmon Elementary, we hope you'll contact us.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We have gotten off to a running start in 2012, and the Harmon faculty and staff are looking forward to a fantastic second semester. Since returning from winter break our third through fifth grade students have taken the practice AIMS test, and our younger students have done their middle of the year DIBELS benchmark testing. The purpose of administering these types of formal assessments is so that we can determine the academic progress of our students and their readiness to be successful on the AIMS test and for the next grade level. Our teachers continue to do a tremendous job of providing core instruction and support for all students.

I encourage the parents and guardians of all third through fifth grade students to spend time at home reviewing and practicing sample AIMS questions. Sample AIMS materials can be found on the Arizona Department of Education website. Once you reach the website go to the Department tab for Standards and Assessment and then click on AIMS Sample Tests. The students have already have taken these tests but the (PDF) test guides can be an excellent reference to discuss how to answer difficult questions and solve difficult math problems with your children.

I would like to thank all of the parents and family members who attended our second quarter awards celebration on January 20, 2012. The attendance at this event clearly shows that amount of support for the students and the school that we are so fortunate to have here at Harmon. The proud looks on the faces of both the students and their parents is a great indicator of how important these types of celebrations are to the culture of our school. We have scheduled the third quarter celebration for Friday, March 30, 2012.

Congratulations to all of our third through fifth grade students who participated in the Harmon Spelling Bee. The school held classrooms competitions followed up by a campus wide Bee on January 12, 2012. Our campus finalists Ricky Salvarria (1st Place), Tynan Cameron (2nd Place), and Matteson Dowdy (3rd Place) all advanced to the District Competition held at Combs Middle School on January 24, 2012. Finalist from this level will compete at the Pinal County Bee.

This year many of our fifth grade students have been participating in an academic competition called Battle of the Books. For each competition teams made up of one to three students answer questions related to information from four different books that they have read. Students earn points based on their answers and their ability to state the name of the author. There are three battles throughout the year and the winning team, based on total points from the three battles, will compete in a district battle against students from other schools.

This year the J.O. Combs Parent Survey is being offered on-line at the district’s homepage. If you haven’t completed the survey, please take a few minutes to do so. The Information you provide is helpful to assist us with our continuous school and district improvement. All surveys need to be completed by February 3, 2012.

Lizzie Dunlop is Harmon’s Elementary Student of the Month. Way to go Lizzie!

Please refer to the monthly calendar section of the newsletter for a list of all upcoming events. I want to thank all of our parents and other family members for your ongoing support of Harmon Elementary. Believe it. Achieve It!

Together in Education,


Ames Singley
Principal