Hawk Updates

September

30th: Professional Growth Day. NO SCHOOL.

October

1st: Kindergarten starts full day

2nd: Start of Fitness Club

4th: Movie Night! SAVE THE DATE! See flyer below.

4th - 11th: Scholastic Book Fair

7th: School Site Council. 3:45 pm

14th: VAPA Vision

15th: Minimum Day for all students. Release at 12:45 pm

17th: Dining 4 Dollars at Mendocino Farms

18th: CHES School Dance. SAVE THE DATE! See flyer below.

21st - 25th: Green Envelope Week

25th: Community Gathering

28th: VAPA Vision

31st: Halloween.

November

4th: School Site Council. 3:45 pm

11th: VETERAN'S DAY. NO SCHOOL

14th: PUSD Board Meeting

18th: CHES NON-STUDENT DAY (Parent/Teacher Conferences)

19th - 22nd: Minimum Day for all students (Parent/Teacher Conferences). Release at 12:45 pm

25th - 29th: THANKSGIVING BREAK. NO SCHOOL.

Click HERE for the School Calendar.

We are excited to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month which starts on September 15th.

You may be thinking to yourself, "why does Hispanic Heritage month start on September 15th and not Sept. 1st?"

The day of September 15th is significant because it is the anniversary of independence of Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively.

If you are looking for some fun resources to use with your kids, here is a good website: https://www.pbs.org/parents/hispanic-heritage-month

Evelyn Cisneros made history for being the first Latina prima ballerina in the U.S. The Mexican American has played Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, The Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, and countless other roles.

Cisneros is an especially good role model for kids because "there's not a lot of Latinas in ballet, and they're 'hidden figures,' so to speak," says Reynoso.

A reminder to all of our NON-Kindergarten parents, this week is when our Kinder students transition to full day. As a result, we are adding a little more than 100 students to our end of day dismissal. This will most certainly increase the amount of traffic. We thank everyone in advance for your patience during this time. Traditionally after about a week, traffic tends to return to normal once everyone gets used to this new normal.

Thank you!

To our Kindergarten parents, KID days are now officially over.

Starting on this Tuesday, October 1st, our Kinders will transition to being dismissed at 2:55 pm. This time is 10 minutes before the rest of the school is dismissed.

A few things to think about...

1. Do you have a plan? Talk to your student about pick up at the end of the day. You will need to walk up and pick them up at the gate. While this may be what has happened already, it's good to frontload our students of even the smallest changes.

2. Older Siblings. If your Kinder student has an older sibling at CHES, the older sibling can "pick them up" at our "Bench Warmer" bench in the TK/K playground area. Once they pick them up they can then walk them to front of the school for a regular pick up or they can walk them to the back gate, if that is where you normally pick up your students.

3. Traffic. Starting on October 1st, we should anticipate an increase in traffic as a result of Kinder students dismissing at the later time. Once everyone gets the hang of the new pickup time, you can anticipate traffic to return to our normal level of busy.

We thank you in advance for your patience.

We kindly ask that families bring a ream of paper as a voluntary donation when they attend Movie Night. Thank you!

September is Attendance Awareness Month

Help your child be an Attendance H.E.R.O.:

Here. Everyday. Ready. On-time.

Parent partnership is crucial to ensuring our students are receiving the full advantage of consistent school attendance. Students who attend school regularly are significantly more likely to achieve proficient academic levels in reading and math, do better on tests, as well as likelier to graduate and be successful in future endeavors. Help us accomplish this by:

• Establishing consistent bed times and wake up times

• Planning ahead to avoid scheduling appointments and vacations during school

• Communicating with teachers regarding illnesses or religious/cultural holidays

• Staying engaged and regularly checking in with your children about their experiences

• Emphasizing the importance of attendance with your children

• Reaching out to us for help to address any barriers to attendance

Thank you for your support and partnership! For more attendance tips and resources go to bit.ly/attendancehero

A quick reminder to everyone that the front and back gates open at 8:25am each morning. There is no supervision for students who may get dropped off earlier than that. We want to encourage families to avoid dropping off before that time. Thank you.

Parent Ambassadors are parent volunteers and mentors who support and enlighten fellow parents of students with IEP and those seeking directions as they consider special education. Their contribution to schools and community is important to help all students learn and grow to reach their full potential.

Your contribution matters. Please lend a hand and spread the sunshine. Your involvement will make the world a bit brighter for those around you.

To apply to become a Parent Ambassador, please click here or the link on the flyer. Watch the video to meet some of our Parent Ambassadors. Visit the website for more information.

Flyer: https://4.files.edl.io/e73b/06/13/24/163945-728eb2e0-902b-4ca2-b178-996164cd61a1.pdf

It takes a lot to ensure our kids are getting the best experiences and education. If you or someone you know wishes to donate to a teacher's classroom or the overall school, one way you can do so is through the follow site: CLASSROOM SUPPLIES - ONLINE DONATION PROGRAM

As a parent or guardian, we often need your help to pull off some of the great field trips we have planned for your student. If you are interested in chaperoning a field trip it is required for you to be a Level 2 volunteer. This is a process that does take some time as finger printing is eventually required. If you think there is a chance that you want to chaperone a field trip sometime this year, we encourage you to begin your volunteer paperwork TODAY.

1. Complete the following forms
   1. Level I Application (Megan’s Law)
      • English: Megan's Law Level II (pdf)
      
      
   2. Volunteer Code of Conduct
      • ​​English: Volunteer Code of Conduct (pdf)
      • Spanish: Código de Conducta del Voluntario (pdf)
   3. Volunteer Code of Confidentiality
      • English: Volunteer Code of Confidentiality (pdf)
      • Spanish: CODIGO DE PRIVACIDAD DE LOS VOLUNTARIOS
   4. Proof of identification/driver’s license [proof of identification/driver’s license to be shown at school site]
2. Applicant will turn in completed forms plus proof of a TB clearance to the school site where they plan to volunteer.
3. Request a Level 2 Approval form from the school site. The form must be signed by the school site and then brought to the District Office on:
   • Tuesday 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
   • Thursday 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
4. Please be prepared to show a picture ID when you pick up the form.
5. This form will be exchanged for an application and Livescan Fingerprinting Form. Please be prepared to show picture ID when you pick up the form.
   1. Livescan runs fingerprints through databases of the CA DOJ (CA Department of Justice) and FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations). There is a $20 cost for the applicant. This is a mandatory requirement for Level II volunteers.
6. The school site will notify applicant once they are approved.

The start of Fitness Club this year will be October 2nd. Grades 1 - 5 will run the track during their lunch recess on Wednesdays and Fridays, in addition to the 2nd Tuesday of the month for incentive day.

See the flyers below for more information and if you are interested in being a volunteer!

• October 2024 Parent Education Courses:

  • Gender Identity and Expression Part II – All Grades In Person

  Please note, scholarships are available to parents who may be in need. Parent can contact the Caring Connections Center for more information.

We are looking for any parent who may be interested in helping with the 24-25 Yearbook!

If you are interested, please reach out to Will Smith at chaparralcapes@gmail.com.

Thank you!

2024/2025 School Year Birthday Marquee Signups are now open!

Complete the form from the link provided below if you would like your child's name (first name and last initial) to appear on the Chaparral Marquees during the week of his/her birthday. To secure your marquee reservation, please make a $25 donation to CAPES after submitting the form. Donations may be received via Paypal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ChaparralCAPES). Include this note with your donation: "Birthday Marquee for [Child's first name and last initial]".

Note--Each marquee has only two (2) available sign-ups per week. If a week is not listed, it has reached the maximum capacity of reservations. Holiday weeks have not been included. This form is ONLY for the 2024/2025 school year. Please do not submit a response for a future school year.

Your child's birthday message (ex. Happy Birthday Lizzie B.) will appear at some point during the week and will stay up for a minimum of 1 day.

Please note that our CAPES volunteers may need at least one (1) week of advance notice to honor birthday marquee reservations.

Google signup sheet link: https://forms.gle/qsiBngvtxDDcAh8YA

PUSD provides breakfast and lunch to all students free of charge pursuant to the California Universal Meals Program. Free meals are available to all families, regardless of their free or reduced-price meal eligibility status. Breakfast service will begin at 8:25 am and end at 8:40 am. Students will report directly to the playground after eating breakfast. Students not eating breakfast need to arrive when the playground opens at 8:25 am.

Meal program details are provided on the Food and Nutrition Department website at PUSD Food and Nutrition. Families are still encouraged to submit a school meal application for free and reduced-priced meal benefits because this information may be used for other programs such as Federal and State funding for your school, reduced registration fees for academic tests, free or discounted fees for bus passes, ESS childcare, and athletic programs, discounted rates for internet service and many more! The application can be found online at https://www.myschoolapps.com/ . Applications must be submitted on an annual basis.

In order to Volunteer on campus, PUSD's Volunteer Requirements must be met and the following documentation needs to be submitted to the office:

1) Volunteer Application & Megan's Law clearance form + picture ID (signed annually)

2) TB clearance/negative result from a health care provider (Good for 4 years)

3) Code of Conduct form (signed annually)

4) Code of Confidentiality (signed annually)

Note--the district office needs at least 2 weeks to process and clear volunteers once all forms/documents are submitted; therefore, please submit the volunteer paperwork as soon as you are able.

Please help us keep the parking lot safe and the drop off and pick up in our front lot running smoothly.

We ask of everyone:

1. Do not park in the parking lot. You may see open spots, especially in the morning, but those are reserved for our staff. If parents fill those spots our staff has a hard time getting onto campus and getting prepared for your students.

2. Please pull forward. Whenever possible, before picking up or dropping off always pull as far forward as possible.

3. Stay in your cars. To keep everything running smoothly, please stay in your cars while in line for the drop off and pick up. If your child needs help, please just roll the passenger side window down and ask one of our staff and they will assist.

4. Stay back from the gates if you are picking up your students in person. It is very helpful if parents stay back from all gates before they open. Additionally, we ask they all parents, even those in grades 1-5, who use the front gates to not go beyond the TK/K gate. Your students will meet you there.

Thank you in advance for helping us keep drop off and dismissal running smoothly by following these guidelines. We are a large school and we need everyone's help in keep kids safe.

Obviously, the best environment for any student to learn is the school environment. Whenever possible, families are strongly encouraged to avoid taking vacations and other trips that results in their students missing extended periods of time from school.

However, when these trips are unavoidable, parents can request an OCIS contract. Details of OCIS contracts can be found below.

Off Campus Independent Study (OCIS) Contracts

This contract allows the student to complete work that he/she would be doing if they were in class and helps the school to continue to receive funding from the state. The student needs to work with his/her teachers closely to submit the assignments.

The threshold for implementing an OCIS contract is limited to a minimum of 3 days through a maximum of 14 school days. The 14-school day limit for OCIS contracts is cumulative for the entire school year.

At least 5 school days of notice is required to set up an OCIS Contract.

*A family who plans to keep their student out of school beyond the 20 days must enroll their child in Poway Home Education Program (PHEP: TK through 8th grade)

Please refer to the PUSD website for more information and contact the student’s counselor.