Cheetah Spotlight

Hello, Cheetah Family!

I hope everyone is soaking up this beautiful spring weather and starting to dream up some fun summer plans as we begin wrapping up our school year. It’s hard to believe how quickly this year has flown by!

This week, we’re celebrating Teacher and School Nurse Appreciation Week — a time to shower our incredible staff with love and gratitude for all they do. I couldn’t be more thankful to work alongside such a devoted, passionate, and loving team. Our teachers and Nurse Natasha give their hearts to our students every day, and it’s truly inspiring to witness.

Our amazing PTA, caregivers, and administrative team are going all out this week with yummy meals, treats, and special incentives for our staff every day. Let’s make sure to show them just how much they mean to us!

We’re also kicking off our MAP Growth testing this week, with students taking two tests over the next few days and one more next week. Thank you to our teachers for supporting our students through this important milestone.

And Friday is packed with extra fun! I’m thrilled to host a student as Principal for ½ a Day, and that afternoon we’ll enjoy our Birds of Prey event — a favorite for our students as they get an up-close look at some incredible feathered friends. Then we’ll wrap up the day by showering our wonderful Nurse Natasha Gosek with love as she prepares to welcome her baby girl! 💕 If you’d like to send a gift or card her way, feel free to bring it by Friday so we can spoil her together.

It’s going to be an EPIC week, Cheetahs! Thank you all for your positivity, teamwork, and the way you care for our students and one another. This school shines because of you.

With gratitude,
Elaine Navarro
Proud Principal of SVE 🐆✨

🍎 5/05 - 5/09 – 📚 Teacher and School Nurse Appreciation Week – Let’s Show Our Educators the Love!

🦅 5/09 – Birds of Prey Event at 2:15 PM

🗣️ 5/12 - 5/16 – 💬 Speech Pathologists Appreciation Week: Kate Badowski & Eunice Padron
🧠 5/06 - 5/16 – 📝 EOY MAP GROWTH Testing

🔁 5/19 - 5/23 – 📊 MAP Growth Make-Ups

🏅 5/15 - Cheetah Relays by Coach Mtz

🏅 5/16 – 🎽 Cheetah Olympics

🎓 5/22 – 🎉 Kinder Graduation
🎓 5/23 – 🎉 5th Grade Graduation

🇺🇸 5/26 – Memorial Day Holiday – No School

🎤 5/27 – 🌟 Cheetah’s Got Talent Show
(AM session for students & PM session for caregivers)

💙🐆 Let’s make May amazing, SVE family! #WeAreSVE

Hello Sunset Valley families!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and enjoying this beautiful spring weather. This week, we’re celebrating the completion of STAAR testing and getting ready for MAP Growth testing in the coming weeks. Thank you for the way you’ve supported your children, reminding them that testing is about showing growth and helping us better support their learning journey.

On the staffing front, Ms. Navarro has been working tirelessly to build our team for next year — and I’m thrilled to share we are just one vacancy away from being fully staffed! We’ve also selected an Assistant Principal and look forward to sharing more news soon.

A huge shout-out to our registrar, Melissa, who’s been working hard to process enrollment and get PK3, PK4, and Kinder offers out as quickly as possible.

And most exciting of all — this Friday, May 2nd, we’ll be celebrating our amazing volunteers! 🎉 Our staff is so excited to honor you with a special potluck breakfast and surprise performances from our students. It’s a small way for us to say thank you for the endless love and support you show our little school family.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

Once a Cheetah, always a Cheetah! 🐆💛

Warmly,
Elaine

📣 Cheetah Families! 🐆✨

The Sunset Valley Yearbook Store is open for pre-sales now through this Saturday, 5/3! Don’t miss your chance to order your copy of this year’s memories! 📸🎉

👉 Order here

¡La tienda del anuario está abierta para preventas hasta el sábado 3 de mayo! 📖✨

👉 Ordene aquí

Get yours before the window closes! 💛

Dear Cheetah Families,

Beginning next school year, Sunset Valley will transition to having one after-school care program on campus — CDC Crew.

Over the past year, we’ve seen a significant decline in enrollment in the Extend-A-Care program. Additionally, hosting the program in our academic PODs has proven to be inconvenient and limiting for our campus needs.

After thoughtful consideration and conversations with both programs, we’re excited to share that Crew is able to fully absorb all Extend-A-Care students and provide a more streamlined and enriching after-school experience for our families. This shift also comes with a variety of campus-wide benefits, including:

✨ A second lunch monitor to support daily operations
✨ Incentives and major discounts for families with financial needs
✨ Free child care for teachers’ children on in-service days
✨ Additional incentives for SVE teachers who have children enrolled
✨ Continued high-quality enrichment activities for students

Currently, Crew charges $300/month, but offers generous discounts (50% or more) for students who qualify for free or reduced lunch.

We are grateful to Extend-A-Care for their many years of wonderful service and partnership at SVE. At this time, we believe that consolidating into one after-school program will help us create a more cohesive and supportive experience for students and families.

📬 More information and enrollment details will be coming soon.

Thank you for your continued trust and partnership! 💙🐆
—Elaine Navarro, Principal

Congrats to Mrs. Leatherberry and our Music Memory Competition teams—all 3 teams got perfect scores and first place trophies!

The yearbook store is open for pre-sales until this Saturday, May 3. Preorder your yearbook now.

The yearbook team is looking for clearly labeled photos from the spelling bee (preferably group photo of competitors), science fair, school musical performances and other events where SVE has been represented. Submit via the webpage or email Natalia ASAP if you have a photo from other competitions and you aren’t sure if we already have them.

PTA is planning a full teacher appreciation week from May 5-9, including tacos, soda bar, potluck and grilling. Sign up if you can contribute time or food.

Your room parents will reach out about planning special class efforts as well—teachers most want to feel the love from their students. The PTA keeps a list of teacher/staff favorites if you're looking for gift ideas.

Can you help in the office while Melissa is out recovering? You can bring your laptop and do your own work when it's quiet. Sign up for a slot.

We're still looking for a few good parents to help guide the PTA. You'll get a lot of support, and a chance to directly impact our community. Read the descriptions for our open positions.

To stay up to date with PTA news, please sign up for our weekly newsletter.

🙏 Thank you all for the love and support you've shown this librarian — it truly means the world to me!

📅 Important Dates to Remember:
🔍 Last day of UT Seek program: April 21
📖 Last day to check out books: May 14
📦 Last day to return all library books: May 16

🎁 Incentive Alert:
Students who clear their library account in May will get to choose a fun reward from the library treasure trove! 🏆🎉

🧶 If your child comes home with a yarn “bracelet” on their wrist, it’s a friendly reminder to search for and return their library book 📚➡️🎒

📬 Reminders for missing or overdue books will start going out to students, caregivers, and staff in late April and early May — thank you for helping us keep our collection complete! 💌

Let’s finish the year strong, readers! 🌟📖

Join the parent community in a few ways:

• Sign up for the weekly PTA newsletter
• Join the SVE WhatsApp community (with groups for grades and clubs)
• Join the SVE Facebook group
• And of course, join the PTA

We're excited to share that PEAS (Partners for Education, Agriculture, and Sustainability) will be offering two summer camp locations this year:

🌱 Cunningham Elementary (South Austin)
🌱 Winn Montessori (Northeast Austin)

These hands-on, nature-based camps are a wonderful way for students to stay active, curious, and connected to the outdoors during the summer. Plus, participation in these camps helps support the sustainability of PEAS programming during the school year!

• Camps are open to 25 students per week at each location.

• Partial scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

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Please help us spread the word by sharing the flyer below (available in both English and Spanish) with families. Feel free to include it in your class newsletters or social media updates.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. Thank you for helping us connect families to this enriching summer opportunity!

🎈 5/01 – 🍎 Dora Monsivais – Kinder Teacher

🎈 5/03 – 💫 Eva Molina – PK Teaching Assistant

Help us wish them a fabulous birthday month! 🎁🎊💐

Our incredible teachers work tirelessly to provide your students with the best education. This time of year can feel busy and tiring, and a little boost in morale can go a long way

A simple note of gratitude or encouragement can make them feel truly valued. Send a RAVE today and brighten their day!

Thank you for supporting our amazing educators!

Email: elaine.navarro@austinisd.org
Website: https://sunsetvalley.austinschools.org/
Location: 3000 Jones Rd, Austin, TX 78745
Phone: (512) 414-2392

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SunsetValleyElementary

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