Pawprints

Dear Monte Vista Families,

I would like to welcome you to the 2023-24 school year! I hope you enjoyed your summer break and are excited to start the new school year. I look forward to seeing our returning families as well as meeting our newest members of the Monte Vista community.

First day of school is on August 16, 2023 for all students, kindergarten through 6th grade. Parents are welcome to walk their student(s) onto campus. As students go to class at the 8:05 bell, I invite parents to join me and other Monte Vista parents at the PTA sponsored “Howdy Coffee” in the Auditorium at 8:10 a.m. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet, greet, and visit with other Monte Vista parents. Information about programs and volunteer opportunities will be presented. I know that it will be a very busy morning, but I hope you will be able to join us and say hello. It is a great way to kick off the new year!

Please visit the parent portal at parent.gusd.net to complete your annual student information update. Also, remember to check your emails throughout the year for our newsletter, Pawprints, to stay informed about updates, announcements, and upcoming events.

Here’s to a rewarding and successful new school year! See you on August 16!

Sincerely,

Hury Babayan

Principal

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Tuesday, August 15

10:00 AM New Family School Orientation/Tour

10:30 AM Kindergarten Sneak Peek

Wednesday, August 16

1st Day of School - school starts at 8:10 AM.

8:10 AM PTA Howdy Coffee for parents

Banking Dismissal: Kinder 12:20; 1st-3rd 1:15; 4th-6th 1:35

Friday, August 18

9:00 AM PTA Room Rep Meeting, Room 5101

Thursday, August 24

5:30-7:30 PM Back to School Night (Parents only)

Friday, August 25

Minimum Day Dismissal – Kinder 12:20; 1st-3rd 11:54; 4th-6th 12:14

SCHOOL SCHEDULE

CAR SIGNS

Help the process during Monty Lane pickup by printing the linked car sign (pdf or Word) and adding your child’s grade and teacher’s name. Then, place the sign on your dashboard on the passenger side of your car during pick up.

NUTRITION SERVICES

This year, one FREE Breakfast & Lunch will be available daily to all students. Breakfast will be served from 7:30-8:00.

MEAL APPLICATIONS

Even though school meals are free this year, we need all families to fill out a meal application online whether or not you feel you would qualify. We need 100% participation. This helps our school receive funding and so much more. Apply at mealapp.gusd.net. Thank you.

TRAFFIC DELAYS:

The water main line project on Orange Ave, which began immediately after school closed in June, is approximately 55% complete. The portion directly in front of Monte Vista Elementary was completed tis past Friday. The contractor will continue into September 2023 working west towards La Crescenta Ave. They anticipate being finished with the job by mid-October 2023. They are currently paving between Rosemont Ave and Cecilville Avenue. Temporary traffic control, traffic delays and minor delays are expected to continue during working hours for the remaining stretch of Orange Ave between Cecilville Avenue and La Crescenta Avenue.

As the project moves forward, the work crews may need to close the street for a few hours during which time they will be working expeditiously to install pipes and reopen the street. The CV Water District developed a detour map which will navigate through the construction zone. See the link below for an explanation of the project and the detour map.

Detour map

ANNUAL STUDENT INFORMATION UPDATE:

It's time to complete your annual student information update to get ready for the new school year! Update includes:

• Parent/guardian contact information

• Emergency contacts

• Electronically sign Parent/Student Handbook forms

• Complete your Household Income Survey

Instructions to Complete Student Information Update:

1. Visit the Parent Communication portal at parent.gusd.net

2. Log in using your PIN # and password.

3. Click “Annual Student Information Update” in red at the top of the page.

4. Update your student and parent/guardian information for each section (note: each parent/guardian will need to update their own information using their individual login).

5. Complete the Household Income Survey (only one per household) and initial all parent handbook forms.

What if I don't know my ParentConnection PIN/password?

• If your email address is already on file: Visit parent.gusd.net and click “Need Your Login Information?” An email with your personal PIN and TEMPORARY PASSWORD will be sent to the email address we have on file.
  

• If we do not have your email address: Visit your school office or the Glendale Unified district office during regular business hours to register your email address and receive your personal PIN and TEMPORARY PASSWORD. For security purposes, you must verify your identity in person before registering your email address.
  

VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS: All volunteers who work directly with students, will need to obtain the following clearance in order to do so:

• TB Clearance

• Proof of COVID vaccination

• Registration on our RAPTOR system

• *Fingerprinting - for more than 15 hours per year (obtained through the district’s Human Resources Department)

PARENTSQUARE

Remember to register in ParentSquare and download the app to receive communication such as Pawprints, phone calls and other forms of communication from Monte Vista. Check your inbox for an email from the district with your ParentSquare registration link. Here are a few helpful documents to familiarize yourself with ParentSquare:
ParentSquare Overview Video
ParentSquare training videos for parents/guardians
Answers to common questions
QR codes to download the ParentSquare app for IOS and Android

MOVED?

Please let us know if you have moved out of the Monte Vista attendance area by calling the Front Office 818-248-2617 or emailing hbabayan@gusd.net. We are creating classes and accurate numbers are essential in this process! Thank you.

FLINTRIDGE BOOKSTORE READERS GROUPS

The Flintridge Bookstore is offering Junior Fiction (5th & 6th grade) Advanced Readers Groups – book clubs of sorts. These monthly programs are open to La Canada Flintridge/La Crescenta students interested in being the first in town to read books provided by publishers that are not yet available to the public. At each meeting, members can borrow up to 2 books from a generous selection of titles. At the subsequent meeting, they share their reviews and opinions, which often leads to lively discussions. Besides encouraging active reading, this group also assists the bookstore in determining which titles to order for our shelves.

There is a nominal fee for participation, and a minimum of 6 registrants is needed. If they have sufficient interest, the program will also be offered for the spring semester. For your information, click on this link for the registration form. Please contact Gail Mishkin at gailm@flintridgebooks.com if you have any questions.

JOIN THE PTA

We need your help to reach our 100% Membership goal! We can accomplish this goal by getting one PTA Member per student at Monte Vista. Each $10 membership positively impacts ALL students through advocacy at local, state, and national levels.

There are other perks to being a PTA member! PTA members can save money on everyday purchases thanks to these National PTA Member offers. PTA Benefits

EACH CLASS that receives 100% membership, which is one PTA member per student, will receive popsicles! The deadline for classrooms to earn this incentive is September 29, 2023.

Please look for the Membership Flyer in next week’s Thursday Folder or on our Monte Vista website. You also join online Totem ~ Mary Klausner

DOLLAR-A-DAY CAMPAIGN

Unfortunately tax dollars simply don’t fund all of the enrichment programs and events that our school provides for our students. Our PTA Dollar-A-Day contributions are what make these programs possible:

• Primary Music Program

• PE for Primary Grade students

• Monty’s Science Night

• Assemblies

• Carnival

• Red Ribbons Week

• and SO much more!

None of this could happen if not for your generous donations. How can you help? We suggest a contribution of $1 for each day of the school year, for a total of $180 per student. BUT ANY AMOUNT MAKES A DIFFERENCE! 100% of your contribution is tax-deductible and goes directly toward enriching our children’s education.

• Each student who turns in $180 will receive a pair of custom Monte Vista socks.

• Each family that contributes $180 or more will be recognized on the Monte Vista website.

Please look for the Dollar-A-Day Campaign Flyer in next week’s Thursday Folder. To qualify for these incentives, please remember to remit your donation by Friday, September 29, 2023. – Brenda Sullivan

SPIRIT WEAR

We will be selling Spirit Wear during New Family Orientation & Kinder Sneak Peak on Tuesday, August 15th from 9:30 -11:30 am. We can only accept cash or check, payable to "Monte Vista PTA." Electronic payments are not accepted.

FIRST PTA ASSOCIATION MEETING | Thursday, Sept 6 @ 7 pm

Our first Association meeting will be held on Thursday, September 6th at 7 pm. Please join us as we discuss PTA’s outstanding programs and events this year, as well as getting updates on construction at Monte Vista. We will have Porto’s treats available for all attendees. Look forward to seeing everyone there!

HOWDY COFFEE

On the first day of school, join us at 8:10 am after you drop off the kids for some coffee and breakfast treats to learn about how you can get involved and connect with our families, staff and PTA members!

BACK TO SCHOOL PICNIC

Please join other families and friends at Monte Vista’s Back to School Picnic on Tuesday, September 19th from 5:30 -7:30 pm! We will have IN-N-OUT and KONA ICE Food Trucks available. Please look out for the Back to School Picnic Flyer in next week’s Thursday folder for additional details.

REWARD PROGRAMS

Did you know that our PTA can earn money when you grocery shop at Ralphs? Learn more here

MONTE VISTA PTA INSTAGRAM

Follow our PTA on Instagram @monte_vista_pta and get updates on what is happening with our PTA in real time! #instagram #pta #weloveMV

Monte Vista Elementary serves students in grades K-6. We are a National Blue Ribbon School offering one of GUSD's FLAG dual immersion programs in Korean. Recently, Monte Vista has been selected as a 2022 California Pivotal Practice (CAPP) Award Program winner!

Website: https://www.gusd.net/montevista
Location: 2620 Orange Avenue, La Crescenta, CA, 91214
Phone: (818) 248-2617
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/montevistagusd

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/montevistagusd