Carrillo Community Update

Happy Sunday Carrillo Families!

I hope you were all able to take advantage of the warm weather and enjoy some time in the sun! Please don't let the warm weekend fool you, the cold weather will be back and we still have well over 50 jackets in the gallery that need to be claimed. Please come take a look to see if a jacket belongs to your student. We will be donating all unclaimed jackets to the TUSD Clothing Bank over Rodeo Break.

February is a packed month full of celebrations. Here are a few.

• Monday starts Love of Reading Month! Please see below to sign up to volunteer to read to a class!
• Monday is also the beginning of Counselor Appreciation Week! Check out the Spirit Week we have planned to honor Ms. Freeman!
• Monday is also the start of Black History Month. Follow our Facebook page to see what classes are up to or come into the library where Ms. Morales has curated artifacts and books to help students learn about the contributions of the African-American community to the world.

Kindergarten has its own set of celebrations and activities as well!

• Tuesday we will host our annual Kinder Kick-Off. This event is for incoming kindergarten students (accepted magnet and neighborhood families) and will let them meet their teachers, tour the building, and register for the 2025-26 school year.
• Friday Kindergarten will host its annual "Star Party." Students will present their research, and engage in astronomy-related activities, and of course, the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will be on site with their telescopes. There will be several planets in the sky on Friday Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars) and the entire community is invited to the event.

It's going to be an action-packed week (and month)! I'm excited!

Sincerely,

Ms. Bittel

THIS WEEK

Monday, February 3

• Counselor Appreciation Week Begins

Tuesday, February 4

• Kinder Kick Off (5:00 - 6:30 pm)

Wednesday, February 5

• PTO Meeting online @ 6:00 pm

Friday, February 7

• Kinder Star Party 6:00 - 7:00 pm

COMING SOON

Thursday, February 13 and Friday, February 14

• Parent Teacher Conferences (11:45 dismissal)

Tuesday, February 18

• Fine Arts Night (5:00 - 7:00 - last entry at 6:30 pm)

Thursday, February 20, and Friday, February 21

• Rodeo Break - No Classes

Monday, February 24

• Benchmark Testing Begins (details to follow)

This week is Counselor Appreciation Week! We have a lot to appreciate in Ms. Freeman!

We are encouraging students to participate in this quarter's counselor-themed spirit week. Each day has a fun theme with a deeper significance. Ms. Freeman has put together a detailed flier explaining each day so open the attachment in your browser to see more. We hope everyone will find at least one day they can participate in to show our gratitude for Ms. Freeman!

• Monday - May The Force Be With You (Dress is Star Wars theme or colors)
• Tuesday - Teamwork Makes the Dream Work (Hawaiian-inspired or Team gear)
• Wednesday - Reach for the Stars Like Buzz Lightyear (Dress as your future career or the counselor)
• Thursday - Inside-Out Day - Express your emotions (Dress in colors representing the Inside-Out characters)
• Friday - Super Counselor Spirit - Be Incredible (Wear School colors or superhero attire)

Monday starts off Love of Reading Month! If you can spare some time, we invite you (or your family members) to sign up to read to one or more classrooms. Teachers have worked with Ms. Stroup to create an easy signup.

Click THIS LINK to sign up to read today and share your love of reading with our students.

Parents, we are asking you to help us spread the word. We are trying to raise $20,000 to fund next year's after-school tutoring program. We work hard to keep tutoring free so that we can continue to ensure that all students make adequate growth and that students are ready for middle school by 5th grade.

Each tax credit donation, no matter how small adds up.

• $400 funds 3 weeks of tutoring for a classroom.
• $150 funds a full week.

To hit our goal, we only need 50 people to donate the full amount. If every family can find 3 people to donate $25, we'll reach that goal! So if you can donate, thank you! If you cannot, can you spread the word to help raise funds for tutoring? Donors can donate online here! See below for how to complete the donation. Thank you for helping us keep tutoring free at Carrillo!

School: Carrillo K-5 Magnet

Item: Extended Day Program

Amount: Whatever they are willing to donate

Memo: Keep Tutoring Free at Carrillo

Attendance is a major factor in a student's success. Absences can add up quickly and have a longer impact than you may realize. Aside from schools losing funding, your students miss important learning opportunities which can cause learning gaps.

For the month of January, we had 57 students with perfect attendance! Parents, with your help we can increase this to at least 76 students.

Our top 3 classes are...

#3 - Ms. Maldonado's class with 29% of students with perfect attendance.

#2 - Ms. Lujan's class with 33% of students with perfect attendance.

#1 - Ms. Torre's class with 35% of students with perfect attendance.

Attendance HEROS are Here Every day and Ready On-time! Thank you for bringing your cougar to school on time each day and for allowing them to complete their academic day each day. Our goal is 95% attendance this quarter. Last quarter, we fell short of the mark with only 92.5% attendance. We appreciate your help in reaching this mark this quarter.

Absences can add up quickly.

• Missing a day a month means over 12 years a student will miss 3/4 of a school year.
• Missing a day a month means over 12 years a student will miss 2.5 years of school.
• Missing 2 days a week over 12 years a student will miss 5 years of schooling.

Tardies (and early withdrawals) add up as well.

• Arriving 10 minutes late each day is equal to missing a full week of school each year.
• Arriving 30 minutes late each day is equal to missing 3 full weeks of school.
• Arriving an hour late each day is equal to missing almost 2 months of school.

Thank you for helping us meet our school goal of 95% and helping your students learn all they can by being present and engaged.

Registration for the 2025-26 school year is now open. The competition is on and the the first class to be completely registered for next year will win a pizza party! All classes that reach 100% registered by Rodeo Break will earn a popcorn party!

Here are the current top 5.

• #5 - Ms. Mills - 71.42%
• #4 - Ms. Morales - 76.19%
• #3 - Ms. Torres - 90.47% registered
• #2 - Ms. Barraza - 100% registered! Great job!
• #1 - Ms. Peralta - 100% registered! Great job!

** Students cannot be placed in a class for the 2025-26 school year, or have requests considered, without a completed registration.

As a school, we are 78% registered. Here are the number of registrations missing by grade-level.

Kindergarten - > 1st grade: missing 7 registrations

1st Grade -> 2nd Grade: missing 7 registrations

2nd Grade -> 3rd Grade: missing 9 registrations

3rd Grade -> 4th Grade: missing 10 registrations

4th Grade -> 5th Grade: missing 8 registrations

For returning students...

• Please go to your ParentVUE account, and confirm or update your student’s information.
• Add a current proof of residency
• Please NOTE: Online registration is required for all students every school year.

For incoming kindergarteners...

• Visit the Carrillo Registration Page.
• Verify your address to see if you are within the Carrillo boundary.
• If you are in the boundary, submit your registrations and be sure to upload the following documents with your registration.
• Student birth certificate
• Proof of Address
• Student Vaccination Record
• Parent Identification
• If you live outside the neighborhood boundary, please submit a magnet application
• Please NOTE: Siblings of current students are required to submit a magnet application they are not automatically enrolled at Carrillo.

* Please call the front office at 520-225-1200 if you need assistance.

We are excited to begin our 2025 Track and Field Season!

Monday, February 2, 2025, is our mandatory parent meeting, where I will discuss any new information, and expectations and answer any questions. Please turn in physicals by Monday, February 2nd before the first practice (February 3rd ) or your student will not be allowed to participate until the paperwork is received.

Please email Coach Freeman if you have any questions.

Pueblo High School will be hosting an event to brings students, families, and the community together.

Pueblo’s Spring Encuentro: LEARN ACROSS THE BARRIO!

It will take place on Wednesday, March 19, from 3:30-7:00pm. The theme of this event is literacy! In addition to giving out free books to the community, we will also highlight all forms of literacy, while having a celebration of music, food, and culture.

Humans experience the world as social creatures and rely on each other to survive and thrive. Knowing we’re part of a larger community gives us a sense of belonging that in turn provides motivation to actively participate in behavior that benefits the group, and therefore ourselves. Need-to-belong theory claims that the motivation to form and sustain at least a minimum amount of social connections is one of the most powerful, universal, and influential human drives. It shapes emotion, cognition, and behavior. The more we consider these needs in everything we do, the more we feel motivated to share, learn, and practice intentional kindness. Our sense of belonging helps us receive kindness from others, practice kindness towards ourselves, and share kindness every day.

Consider encouraging your cougar to help strengthen this sense of belonging by noticing and recognizing kindness in others.

Thank you to everyone who attended the January PTO meeting. Please save the date, our next PTO meeting is THIS Wednesday, February 5th. It will again be online. Please use this link to join the meeting.

PTO Board

• President - Matt Swanson
• VP - Roy Massani
• Secretary - Margaret Zuniga
• Treasurer - Angelina Celix

The minutes from our January meeting are attached below. We hope to have the more recent minutes soon. Please email PTO if you have any questions.

Parents volunteers are welcome on campus. Speak with our office manager (Kenia Alvarado-Martinez) or our Magnet Coordinator (Rebecca Stroup) to learn how you can volunteer! We also encourage families to attend PTO meetings to learn about other ways to support our Carrillo Cougars. We encourage all parents to register as volunteers on the TUSD website as the process takes a few weeks. We ask non-parental volunteers to contact the office before registering as a volunteer so we can explain the process and coordinate volunteer opportunities.

Thank you to everyone who supported our "Box Tops for Education" fundraiser this year! As of Sunday, January 26th Carrillo has raised $186.10. Keep checking out the Bonus offers and monthly challenges for ways to earn extra box tops.

This month there are several big opportunities for bonus box tops, including the February challenge which rewards 18 bonus box tops when you purchase 9 products as well as 20 bonus tops for purchasing 4 participating products in a single purchase which is valid through February 14th! Check the app for other bonus offers or ways to combine them to earn even more for Carrillo. And remember, scan even if you don't have a participating item. Last year, we won $20 through the Box Tops Sweepstakes.

LEADERBOARD

1st Place - Kindergarten (302 box tops)

2nd Place - 4th Grade (132 box tops)

3rd Place - 2nd Grade (122 box tops)

4th Place - 1st Grade (91 box tops)

5th Place - 5th Grade (33 box tops)

6th Place - 3rd Grade (3 box tops)

**Reminder please be sure you select "Carrillo K 5 Magnet School" from the app.

Thank you to Adrian at Big Frog! This year, when you purchase Cougar spirit gear, $5 will come back to the school to support students. The store has this year's "Growing Together" shirts for students and parents, as well as our classic shirts and some designs from previous years. Check out the store online.

The TUSD Mexican American Student Services Department is holding FREE Saturday academic tutoring by qualified teachers to help students with reading, writing, and math.

Limited space available for students in grades 3rd to 8th

When: September through May

Register by calling 520.232.8566 or by email.

Tucson Community Tennis Program is starting its FREE spring tennis clinics for students.

Who – ​Children grades 1st through 12th​

How Much - $5 donation for the semester

What – ​Tennis clinic with certified coaches​

Where -​ Pueblo High School Tennis courts​

When -​ Saturdays​, starting January 18th!

Time - 12 and Under - 8 – 9:30 and 18 and Under – 8 - 10*

*Please confirm starting tines with TCTP as they do start late on cold mornings.

Contact – ​If interested email: ​Stacy Renner or call 520-591-8904​

Casa de los Ninos is one of our community partnerships. They offer a variety of community education and outreach classes. Please check out the flyer below to see the dates and topics in September. Email Carol Bolger with questions.

Parents, we are asking for your help with social media. As a reminder, most social media user agreements state that users must be 13 or older to have an account. Please take a moment to discuss the reasons for the age limits with your students.

Most social media sites do not allow attacks or abuse based on race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability or disease. Please encourage students to be socially conscious and report any accounts that violate those policies directly to the social media platform before blocking the account.

Attendance at school is directly correlated to student achievement, so it is extremely important they are in school every single day to be successful. Research shows that missing more than 8 days of school can cause significant gaps in a student’s education. Please try to schedule appointments or family outings around the school schedule and during school holidays. To help track attendance goals, we've created a "Path to Success" attendance tracker you can use at home to help us make our 95% goal. You can download it by opening the attachment on your computer.

A student is considered "chronically absent" if they miss more than 10% of the school year. Students who miss more than 5 days a quarter are considered at risk for chronic absenteeism. If your student reaches this number, we will be reaching out to see how we can support you in getting your students to school on time.

State law requires parents to call in to report student absences. Parents, you can now immediately report an absence from school using ParentVue. This reduces the calls in our attendance office and allows you to directly enter the reason students are absent. To self-report simply follow the steps below.

1. Log into ParentVue from App or Computer
2. Click the "Attendance" tab on the left column on the computer or on the App as soon as you log in the blue "report absence" with a small bell icon is there.
3. On the top right corner of the page it will have a blue link that says "Report Absence" click on this
4. Use the calendar to select dates and the drop-down for the reason for the absence.
5. You may also add notes or upload a doctor's note and hit "save".

Of course, you may still give Ms. Diane Quiroz a ring at (520) 225-1200 if you prefer. Thank you for reporting all absences!

**Students who attend Carrillo as Magnet students may be asked to return to their home school if they accumulate excessive absences and/or tardies.**

Did you know that all TUSD elementary magnet students are eligible for transportation if they live more than 1.5 miles from the school?

For more information, visit Transportation's website to see if your student qualifies for FREE transportation and to begin routing. We strongly encourage families to consider this option for this school year. It's a great way to help your student develop independence and responsibility. You can also call them at 520-225-6262.

Due to some budget changes, the earliest students can be dropped off is 7:35 am at 17th Street. The office does not open until 8:00 and while Ms. Bittel is usually on campus well before 8:00, she is often in meetings or other parts of the building and unable to hear the doorbell. From 7:35 - 8:00 the only safe drop off is 17th Street. Thank you for helping us to keep all our cougars safe in the morning.

Parent Pickup will continue to be at 17th street. Thank you for remaining in your car. We’ll be using radios and a loudspeaker to call for students this year in hopes of speeding up the process. Please note that the city has redefined some fire lanes that must be kept open along Samaniego with bright red paint. Thank you for not parking or stopping in those spaces. Thank you also for keeping the neighborhood driveways and mailboxes open as a courtesy to our neighbors. Thank you for your help!

We know that the 17th Street area can get a bit congested at pickup. To help alleviate the situation, the City of Tucson has installed new signs to direct traffic and changed the direction of Samaniego Street. The City of Tucson is requesting that families picking up on 17th Street exit the neighborhood using the following route.

• Travel west on 17th Street
• Turn south on 11th Avenue
• Turn west to access the frontage road or turn east to return to Main Avenue and 22nd Street.

Our neighbors kindly ask that you leave the driveways and corners open when you park so they can enter and exit their homes safely. If you do wait in your car along Samaniego, thank you for waiting at the bottom of the hill on the east side of the street so the roadway is clear for all vehicles and families crossing the street.

We are also asking families to arrive no earlier than 2:35 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and no earlier than 1:35 on Wednesdays. Parents of intermediate students, if you plan to arrive at 2:50 or 1:50, that will give the primary students time to load up and reduce your wait time.

Thank you also for being patient, driving slowly, and watching the road carefully. The streets behind Carrillo are narrow and we want to avoid any accidents. Our neighbors kindly request that everyone drive like they live in the neighborhood, and many of our cougars do. Thank you for helping us keep our Cougars and our community safe.

If your child is walking/riding home, thank you for ensuring the office has a note giving permission at the beginning of every school year. Thank you for making any pickup arrangements with your student prior to your student coming to school.

Stay current on our events by visiting our Facebook Page as well as the school website. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns please reach out. It is our mission to provide all students with a first-rate education in a kind and respectful environment.

Email the Principal:
Visit Our Website:
Location: 440 South Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone: (520) 225-1200
Like Us On Facebook:

Mission Statement

Carrillo K-5 Communication and Creative Arts Magnet School engages children's minds, bodies, and senses using multiple modes of learning, thought, and self-expression.

Vision Statement

At Carrillo K-5 Communication and Creative Arts Magnet School, students become 21st Century leaders in a diverse world, through the development of a strong academic core, communication skills and creative arts abilities.