Santa Margarita School Newsletter

Dear Santa Margarita Parents,

As we complete our second full week of the school year, I am pleased with how things are progressing. Our primary focus remains on providing an exceptional school experience for our students and families, enhancing academic outcomes, and ensuring a safe and supportive environment, both physically and emotionally.

We are proud of our designation as a Purple Star School. This prestigious recognition is awarded to schools that excel in supporting military-connected students and their families. Our students often face numerous transitions, changing schools between six and nine times from kindergarten through high school, far more frequently than their non-military-connected peers. As they navigate these transitions, often across different states and countries, they encounter diverse cultures, populations, curricula, and graduation requirements. The Purple Star Program is designed to address these challenges by establishing criteria for and publicly recognizing military-friendly schools.

I am also excited to invite you to our Back-to-School Night, where teachers will have the opportunity to share their wonderful plans for the year and discuss how parents can get involved on campus. We greatly value and encourage parent volunteers and support, and I will be providing more information soon on how you can contribute to our school community. Additionally, I am pleased to announce the launch of "Coffee with the Principal," starting on September 6th at 8:15 in the cafeteria. This will be a wonderful opportunity for us to meet, discuss your thoughts, and explore ways we can ensure the best possible school experience for our students.

Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to seeing you at these upcoming events.

Warm regards,

Daniel J. Jarvis

Principal

Just a reminder that there is no school on Monday, September 2nd in observance of Labor Day. Have a wonderful 3 day weekend and we will see everyone next Tuesday.

We're excited to announce the launch of our monthly "Coffee with the Principal," starting on Friday, September 6th at 8:15 until 9:00 AM in the cafeteria. After the instructional day begins, the cafeteria's outside door will be opened, and parents are warmly invited to join our school Principal for coffee. This is a great opportunity to connect, share your thoughts, and explore ways to enhance the school experience for all our students. We look forward to seeing you there!

This year we will be holding two Back to School Nights, one for elementary and one for middle school.

• Elementary Back to School Night, Wednesday, September 11
• Middle School Back to School Night, Wednesday, September 18

• 4:30 Meet the Principal/Parent Information Meeting in the MPR
• 5:00-6:00 Classroom Sessions

If you have not completed your child's data confirmation in Aeries. Please use this link to do so.

As you know, good attendance is essential to academic success. We expect and encourage parents to make sure their child arrives on time and attends regularly.

If your child is absent from school, please call School Office 760-901-7900 and provide the following information:

(information can be left on the message machine after office hours)

Your Child's Name - First Last (legal last name please)

Teacher's Name

Specific Reason for Absence (illness, doctors/dentist appointments and or personal)

Anticipated Length of Absence

Absences must be cleared with the office within 5 days of the absence. Those absences not cleared within 5 days will remain Unexcused.

***Every student is allowed 3 personal excused absences in a school year.

If your child is sick for three or more days due to illness, please bring a doctors note to the office.***

Your child’s attendance is important to their success in school. When students have 3 or more absences that are unexcused, parents will receive a letter indicating the attendance concern. This is the first step of the School Attendance Review Team process. A second letter will be sent out if absences or tardies continue to be a concern, and the school will be following up with the family to find ways the school can help or provide resources to the family to support school attendance.

If a student exceeds 10 absences (unexcused or excused) in a school year, the Administration will be

notified and a school attendance contract may need to be signed by parent, student, and administration. If attendance continues to be a concern, the Administration will submit the student to School Attendance Review Team. The School Attendance Review Team is designed to intervene when a school district identifies students who have problems with school attendance or school behavior. When a student develops a pattern of irregular attendance, including truancies, excessive tardies, early releases, and/or excessive excused absences, a school administrator may refer a student and the student's family to SART.

A student attending Santa Margarita on “School of Choice” or an Inter-district transfer who has attendance concerns including habitual absences, tardies, and/or late pick-ups may result in this approval being revoked.

In order to ensure safety and accountability of our visitors on campus, all visitors must sign-in/out at the office, provide a government I.D., and wear a visitor's badge while on campus. This allows us to keep track of who is on campus, should an emergency occur. All visitors on campus must be pre-approved.

In the school handbook, we do ask that parents/families do not check-out their children within 15 minutes of dismissal. The last few minutes of the school day are often used for important activities such as wrapping up lessons, making announcements, or distributing homework. Allowing students to leave early can disrupt these activities and affect the learning environment for other students. We appreciate your understanding.

Please review the 24-25 Santa Margarita School Handbook.

Please review the 24-25 OUSD Student/Parent Handbook

This year we are fortunate to be able to provide Art Enrichment for students in grades 1-5 and General Music/Music Education for our 4th and 5th Graders. We will also have Instrumental Music for students wanting to play an instrument.

Having additional Art and Music classes will also allow our General Education teacher to pull small intervention groups to target specific skills to improve academic proficiency in Reading. To ensure that all students get Art/Music enrichment, small groups will rotate every 6-8 weeks through intervention in short time blocks (approx. 15 minutes) and then back to enrichment

We're excited to announce that the enrollment window for the Device Protection Plan for student Chromebooks is now open.

We highly recommend taking advantage of this affordable plan to safeguard your child's Chromebook against accidental damage or theft. The cost of repairs for Chromebooks can range from $40 to $400, but for only $20 per school year, the Device Protection Plan provides coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage or theft.

Purchasing the plan is simple and convenient. You can do so online with a credit card or electronic check through our secure payment portal at www.myschoolbucks.com.

The enrollment window for the Device Protection Plan is limited, so we encourage you to sign up as soon as possible. Invest in your child's learning experience and ensure their Chromebook is protected throughout the school year. More information can be found on the ITS webpage under Student Chromebook Program.

OUSD is excited this year to partner with the Cook Center for Human Connection to offer a variety of resources and opportunities to support student and family mental health, including but not limited to:

• Parent Guidance - ParentGuidance.Org offers parents/guardians/caregivers access to courses, on-demand webinars, and additional resources to support their child's mental health and support needs.
• My Life is Worth Living - My Life is Worth Living™ is the first animated series that models the human connection shown to be protective against suicide. The series tells stories of characters who face some of the most difficult issues that young people deal with and shows their evolution in the key decision: that life is worth living.
• Parent Coaching - Parent/Guardian/Caregiver Coaching is exclusively available to OUSD as a partner and parents/guardians/caregivers can sign up for free to meet individually with a coach or therapist and therapist-created content to help you navigate the ups and downs with confidence. (Flyers in English/Spanish are attached)
• Mental Health Series - The attached calendars provide a host of opportunities for parents/guardians/caregivers to jump on a webinar (some are live) at their convenience with topics ranging from "Your Child's Anxiety" to "Establishing Boundaries" and "Body Positivity - Nurturing Self Image".

Under the district safety guidance along with PMO, the following procedures are in place for the

safety of all students, families, visitors, and employees:

Parking lots are not safe for unaccompanied children. Please do not have your child walk across the parking lot/drop off/pick up area unaccompanied.

To drop off or pick up your children, please do not get out of your car. If your child is not able to exit the vehicle without your assistance, please park your vehicle and walk your student up to the gate. It is dangerous to get out of your car in the drop-off/pick up lane. It also causes a traffic delay for all other families dropping off/picking up students. To drop off/pick up your student, please pull up to the yellow curb. This area is marked as a drop-off/pick-up lane.

Please follow the yellow curb as far forward as possible so that we can optimize the available space and allow room for as many vehicles as possible. It is CRITICAL that drivers DO NOT PARK IN THE DROP-OFF/PICK-UP LANE, as it disrupts the flow of traffic.

Please DO NOT stop any part of your vehicle next to the RED curbs.

Unaccompanied children may NOT be left in an unattended vehicle.

Also, the parking lot near the Kindergarten area is staff parking. This is not a pick up/drop off area.

Please see the updated OUSD’s updated student cell phone use policy. During the Day, Off and Away

Email: dan.jarvis@oside.us
Website: smargarita.oside.us
Location: 1 Carnes Road, Oceanside, CA, USA
Phone: (760) 901-7900
Twitter: @SM_Mustangs