Coyote Connection

• December 3: PTO Meeting at 4:30
• December 6: Family Engagement Meeting
• December 18: Popcorn Money Due
• December 20: Krispy Kreme Dozens of Donut Delivery (PTO) (Money Pickup Dec 4, 6, 10 and 13)
• December 20: Popcorn Friday
• December 20: Last day of Quarter 2
• December 20: Snowball Reading for Winter Break (PTO)
• December 21: Desert Sage Steelheads Fundraiser
• December 23 - January 3: Winter Break
• January 6: No School (Teacher Preparation)
• January 7: School resumes
• January 7: PTO Meeting at 4:30
• January 7 - 9: Snowball Return for Prize Draw
• January 20: No School (MLK Day)
• January 27: PTO Texas Roadhouse Fundraiser
• January 28: Popcorn Money Due
• January 29: No School (Professional Development)
• January 31: Popcorn Friday

Happy December!

This month crept up on us, just like the cold! This month, our focus is on kindness. We will be modeling what this behavior looks like in the school setting. If you would like to talk with your students about how to use this skill at home and in the community, that would be helpful to make sure our coyotes are well rounded. One way we are defining it is "intentionally doing something to make someone else's day better."

As the holidays come up, please don't hesitate to reach out to the school if you need any support. We are a part of the community we serve and want to help it thrive. We are here to support our you and our coyotes. Reach out to Mrs. Rainbow our community liaison, Mrs. Mepham our school counselor, or the front office if you need any assistance at this time.

Finally, during these breaks from school we have coming up, we rely on you to maintain our mantra of high levels of learning for all. To help with this, our PTO has some snowball reading going home to encourage a lot of reading over the break. Thank you for the part you play in that activity.

Stay warm and happy holidays,

Mr. Dahlgren

Are you looking for our assistant principal, Mrs. Carbajal? On Mondays and Wednesdays, Mrs. Carbajal will be working at Hillsdale Elementary School, but you can find her at Desert Sage on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. You can also reach her via email at carbajal.sylvie@westada.org or call the office and leave her a message.

We want to inform you of a new procedure regarding student check-outs at the end of the school day:

Starting this week, we will not be able to check out students after 3:45 PM due to the busy nature of the last few minutes of the school day. If you need to pick up your student early, please arrive before 3:40 PM. After 3:45 PM, checking ID, calling the teacher, and preparing the student for departure will take as much time as waiting for the last bell.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us maintain an orderly dismissal process and for your continued support and understanding.

New Episode Alert!

It's been a while since our last Pulse episode of the West Ada Podcast, and we've got some exciting updates to share! This week, we're thrilled to announce that the district has secured a grant to cover the salary and benefits of an additional School Resource Officer (SRO) for our schools!

Joining us on this episode are two leaders in safety: Geoff Stands, Director of Safety and Behavior for West Ada, and Sgt. Morgan Carter, South Team Supervisor of the Meridian Police Department - Idaho. Tune in as they dive into the role of SROs, the process of threat assessments, and the essential work they do daily to keep our students safe and secure.

Listen now to learn more about how West Ada is committed to fostering a safe learning environment for all - https://www.westada.org/page/podcast.

Time to order your yearbooks! Early bird price of $20 is active until 12-20.

PTO Thanks to You...

Thanks to everyone that was able to visit Off the Grid Pizza Truck.

Thanks to everyone for purchasing their new Spirit wear. We can't wait to see you wearing them around school.

The money from fundraisers like this help support our activities for students and staff during the year.

Please come join us...

We are looking forward to a year of fun for students and staff. We are looking to hear from parents with ideas of what they would like to see this year. We are needing help to make our ideas of fun for students and staff come to life. Our meetings are for an hour each month. We would love to have people join us. We understand if the time does not meet everyone's schedules and would still love any extra help that we can have for our events and planning. Our next meeting is December 3rd at 4:30 PM. If you have any questions, please email us at desertsagepto25@gmail.com

Looking Forward...

Krispy Kreme Dozens of Donuts Fundraiser:

We will be selling dozens of glazed or assorted donuts in December. Look for the order forms to come home. Order forms and money will be collected on December 4th, 6th, 10th and 13th. Donuts will be delivered to students for taking home on December 20th. Join us in kicking off your holiday break with something yummy for you or you and the family that will be coming to town.

See order form below, or click here for a printable link.

Snowball Reading

Your students will have the opportunity to participate in Snowball Reading over the December Holiday break again this year. Their reading participation will earn them the opportunity for a chance at some prizes after the Holiday Break. Snowballs will be coming home with your students this month. When your student reads the amount of minutes needed for their grade they earn a snowball to return for a chance to win a prize. If you need more snowballs during break, you can print more off from the website by clicking here. Snowballs will be turned in January 7th-9th during their lunch break. Some of the great prizes are a Scooter, board games, lunch with Mr. Dahlgren and pieing some of the staff.

Popcorn Friday:

December 20th is Popcorn Friday. Money will be due back Wednesday, December 18th. Each bag of popcorn is $0.50 with a limit of 2 per student. Keep an eye out for the form to come home for payment and ordering. You can also click here to access the order form: https://www.westada.org/o/desertsage/page/pto-parent-teacher-organization

Donations for Jog-A-Thon

We are beginning our planning for prizes for our third annual Jog-A-Thon that is scheduled for April. We heard from many families last year that they or a business they work for would like to offer a donation. If you or someone you work for would like to donate a prize for Jog-A-Thon, please reach out to us at desertsagepto25@gmail.com

Another Way to Donate

If you would like to donate funds to the PTO to be used for activities such as Snowball Reading, Spring Break Bingo Prizes, or other student and staff activities for the school year but are unsure of how to; we have Venmo.

Know someone who should be getting our emails but hasn't signed up yet? Send them this link: https://forms.gle/6b7B4s85wbN4B7AB6

• K-5 (M/T/Th/F): 8:45-9:05am*
• Wednesday K-5: 9:00-9:20am*
• AM Preschool (M-Th): 9:00am
• PM Preschool (M-Th): 12:55pm

*There is no adult supervision outside of these drop-off times. Please do not drop off students before the indicated times. Students are to go to the playground and line-up when the bell rings. If a student arrives after the drop-off times, they will need to enter through the office.

Breakfast is served starting at 8:45am every day except for Wednesdays when it is served starting at 9:00am.

All West Ada elementary schools are closed campuses, meaning parents and community members are not allowed to enter campus without checking in at the front office when students are present. Parents are asked not to access classrooms and hallways for the first two weeks of school as we build routines for students. Therefore, please be sure to drop off your child outside of the campus gates that access the playground or in front of the school.

For the elementary school bell schedule, click here: Bell schedule

Thank you for bearing with us and being patient as we work to cleanup our after-school procedures to ensure students are exiting campus safely, and are finding the appropriate adult! As you have likely noticed we have made some shifts to the parent waiting areas and have adjusted where older students exit the playground area to reduce the amount of foot traffic going through one gate. This has already helped us do a better job ensuring that our younger students are getting to their adult.

• 5th Grade will continue to exit through the West doors. They should then be walking outside to their destination (bus, bike racks, all the way around the back to parent pick-up etc.).

• 4th Grade will continue to exit through the side hallway doors (north and south) to get to where they need to be (bus, bike racks, all the way around the back to parent pickup).

• 3rd Grade will continue to walk around the back of the school to access the bike racks and bus. If they need to go to parent pick-up, they will exit through the back daycare gate.

• 2nd Grade will continue exit the East/West Hallway doors unless they need to go to the bus. They will walk through the center of the hallway to the bus doors.

• PreK-1st will continue transitioning to parent pick-up, bus, etc. with a teacher escort.

• Any older siblings will wait for/gather their younger siblings by the portables. They will then exit through the daycare gate, or back around to the other side.

• Parents of Kindergarteners and 1st Graders will wait in the designated areas by the barriers as shown in the attached picture. Parents of Preschool students will wait off to the West Side of the gate to gather your students.

Again, we thank you for your patience as we iron out this system. I know that it slows down the process of getting students to adults, but it increases the our ability to make sure students get to where they need to be safely, and safety is our priority over speed.

• All roads surrounding Desert Sage are 20 mph speed limit.
• On school grounds, speed limit is 10 mph or slower as traffic allows.
• Use the loop at the front of the school for drop-off and pick-up of students. The back of the school building is reserved for staff parking and school buses only.
• There is no double-parking or double drop-off/pick-up. Students must be dropped off and picked up at the curb. All drivers need to stay in the line and continuously pull forward so as not to leave any gaps in the line. Other cars will follow in line and move forward as the line moves.
• Do not pass other cars in drop-off/pick-up area. Please wait patiently in the line until the car ahead of you moves.
• Do not block crosswalks.
• Have student ready to exit the car immediately.
• If you need to get out of your vehicle, please park in the marked spaces in the parking lot. Do not park in the loop or in the daycare line.
• Unless your vehicle is clearly defined as being qualified to use the handicap parking, please be aware and refrain from parking or sitting in your car in these spots. Signs are posted as a reminder.
• Keep the area directly in front of the gate at parent pick-up clear so students can exit the gate and navigate to their parent/guardian.
• Please cross at the crosswalks.
• When conditions are wet/snowy/icy, please slow down and plan on additional time.
• Please refrain from using/checking your cell phone while in the drop-off/pick-up line.

We appreciate your help in keeping our students safe!

If you are visiting the school during school hours (including the playground), volunteering in a classroom, or picking up your child before the school day ends, you must enter through the front doors and check in with the office. When checking in, you will be required to show photo identification (Driver's License or state-issued photo id). As part of our visitor check-in procedures, office staff will need to scan your id.

We also want to make all of our families aware that pets are not allowed on campus when students are present.

Thank you for helping us keep our students safe!

Before volunteering, we kindly ask that you read the volunteer handbook and complete all forms. Even if you have completed this process last year, volunteer forms need to be updated every school year. You can stop by the office to complete the forms or download the forms below and submit them to the office once completed. Thank you for your patience and cooperation!

• 23-24 Volunteer Handbook Just need to read
• Volunteer Application Requires signature
• Volunteer Disclosure Statement Requires Signature
• Volunteer Acknowledgment Statement Requires signature

If your child will be absent from school, we ask that you please call our attendance line at (208) 350-4021 by 9:30am and leave a message with your child's name, date(s) of absence, and reason for absence.

If, on a particular day, there is a change from how your child typically gets home, please notify the office before 3:00pm at (208) 350-4020. We will make sure to get a message/reminder to your child before the day ends. Please don't only notify the teacher.

Website: https://www.westada.org/desertsage
Location: 9325 West Mossywood Drive, Boise, ID, USA
Phone: (208) 350-4020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/desertsageelementary/