Carrillo Community Update

Happy Sunday Carrillo Families!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. This week is short, but there is a lot of learning planned, so we thank you all for making sure that your students attend each day fully.

Over the past few weeks, we have noticed an increase in eh number of students who are being dropped in the front of the school by cars that are not parking. We ask you to please make sure that if you are indeed coming in the front, that you stop and park in the lot in front of the school or in the auxiliary lot across Main Avenue and walk over. Dropping students off from the traffic or turn lanes of Main Avenue is not only against traffic laws, it is extremely dangerous for students. We have seen frustrated cars move around cars standing still on the road endangering students and other drivers. If you need to drop your student off without parking, we kindly ask that you use the 17th Street drop-off. Ms. Vivian is there to greet students, and the walk into the cafeteria is safe. Thank you!

Finally, I want to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving asks us to stop and express gratitude for our blessings. So as I wrap up this week's message, I want to express my gratitude to our community for your support of Carrillo. Through your partnership, you have helped us to carry out our mission of making sure that our students are fully engaged in learning and are supported in making high levels of growth both academically and socially. Again, thank you! Happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Ms. Bittel

THIS WEEK

Thursday, November 28

• Thanksgiving Break begins

COMING SOON

Tuesday, December 3

• Writing Benchmark - Grades 4 and 5

Wednesday, December 4

• Writing Benchmark - Grades 2 and 3

Thursday, December 5

• ELA Benchmark - Grades 4 and 5

Friday, December 6

• ELA Benchmark - Grades 2 and 3

Thursday, December 12

• Math Benchmark - Grades 4 and 5

Friday, December 13

• Math Benchmark - Grades 4 and 5
• 🪅 88th Annual Las Posadas (5:00 - 7:45 pm)

As you know, earlier this year, Carrillo was one of 75 schools in Arizona that were invited to apply for the ESEA Distinguished Schools award. This program recognizes qualifying federally-funded schools for positive educational advances and the outstanding academic achievement of their students. Established in 1996, the program showcases hundreds of schools identified by the State Education Agency for their success in one of three categories...

• CATEGORY 1: Schools exhibiting exceptional student performance and academic growth
• CATEGORY 2: Schools that have closed the achievement gap between student groups
• CATEGORY 3: Schools that show excellence in serving special populations of students

Carrillo applied under all three categories and we were selected for a site visit. While ultimately we were not one of the two schools to move to the national competition, the state considers Carrillo one of its finalists and we received a phone call this week where the committee spoke about all the wonderful academic opportunities and achievements of the students.

To be considered one of the top 12 Title I schools in eh state of Arizona is a tremendous honor and I am so proud of the dedication and commitment to learning of our amazing teachers and staff. I am thankful for the support of our parents and our community, and I continue to be inspired by the perseverance and efforts of our students as they continue to show themselves as some of the hardest-working and consequently some of the most talented students in the state. Keep it up Cougars!

With Thanksgiving here, Las Posadas is just around the corner. Please mark your calendars and join us for the 88th annual Las Posadas here at Carrillo.

Dining and entertainment will begin at 5:00 pm in the Cafeteria and MPR.

In order for the event to be a success, the students performing the Posadas are asking for your help. Funds generated at the Posadas are needed to pay for the barricades and permits required to host this annual event. If you can donate any of the supplies from the linked list, the students would greatly appreciate it. Every little bit helps to support his long-standing tradition.

Donate here!

SWAT and the Student Council want to thank families for their support of the annual Walk-A-Thon. Students earned $4,800 for field trips, agendas, homework folders, and other student events. Thank you all we appreciate your support of our young Cougars!

Basketball tryouts continue this week from 3:00 - 4:10 on Monday the 25th and Tuesday the 26th.

Thank you for making sure that both a student physical and permission slip have been turned in at the front office. Please contact Coach Ponder if you have any questions.

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 lose out on important opportunities to learn.

Attendance HEROS are Here Every day and Ready On-time! Here are the classes with the most students with perfect attendance in November. There are 68 students at CArrillo with perfect attendance this month! Great job!

#3 - Ms. Morales with 33%

#2 - Ms. Torres with 36%

#1 - Ms. Peralta with 42%

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.

We encourage our students to log on to IXL at home to help them fill in gaps and stay sharp in ELA and Math. Here are the top three classes overall this year. Logging in and mastering 2 skills per subject during the week can make a tremendous impact on student learning! Thank you for encouraging your student to work on their personal growth at home each week!

IXL Leaderboards

#3 - Ms. Maldonado's with 12 hours and 53 minutes of at-home practice.

#2 - Ms. Peralta's class with 16 hours and 18 minutes of at-home practice.

#1 - Ms. Barraza's class with 16 hours and 35 minutes of at-home practice.

iReady Leaderboards

#3 - Ms. Maldonado's class with 32% of students above 30 minutes of practice.

#2 - Ms. Matsushino with 33% of students above 30 minutes of practice.

#1 - Ms. Leyva with 58% of students above 30 minutes of practice.

Great job Cougars! This dedication is what makes you A+!

Our younger students can use iReady at home. For all student at-home applications, please have your students log into their Clever Accounts to access either IXL or iReady. While iReady doesn't report at-home vs at-school usage, I've seen great growth for students working on 1-2 iReady lessons each week!

For returning students...

• Please go to your ParentVUE account, 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.

**The first class with 100% registered will win a pizza party!

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: Sibling s 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.

Mark your calendars! Join us in celebrating Native American Heritage Month with Native American Student Services on November 20, from 5-6 p.m., at the Southwest Education Center. For questions or more details, feel free to reach out to us at 520-908-3905. We look forward to seeing you there!

Please also come by the Carrillo Library. Ms. Morales has a variety of artifacts and books on display for students and families to learn about the original inhabitants of this land.

Psychologist Tara Cousineau notes that “Kindness is not random. We have to intentionally redirect our energy and attention to noticing what is good, pleasant and beautiful about humanity.” Noticing when others need help is an important form of awareness that highlights our roles as social creatures and allows us to cultivate empathy.

Ask students to share an example of the last time someone helped them without being asked.

• What was the outcome?

The more we practice considering the needs of others, the more we can respond with helping behaviors that communicate kindness and support.

Last week students learned about the difference between tattling and telling. The goal is for students to learn when problems need to be reported to an adult, and when they are small and can be resolved on their own.

To support this at home, you can re-read the supporting story Ms. Freeman shared with students "Don't Squeal Unless It's a Big Deal." The story is available on YouTube for you to enjoy together. You can reinforce students speaking with friends about smaller problems by reminding them about I statements.

• I feel (name the feeling) when you (name the problem) because (name how the action affected you). Next time will you please (make the request).

I statements are a great way for students to express how they are feeling when a classmate cuts in line or says something hurtful. Most of the time, students don't;' realize their actions are hurting their friends, and when they learn how their friends are feeling, Carrillo students are quick to change their ways. Using "I statement" helps students express their feelings and experiences without blaming the other student. When used correctly, this type of conflict resolution helps improve communication between students and builds trust.

Of course, when students see something that is dangerous, please remind them to go to the nearest trusted adult so that can we step in.

Please save the date. Our next PTO meeting is Wednesday, December 4th. It will again be online and we will be finalizing the details of bringing Santa to Carrillo as well as supporting the Las Posadas student group! Please use this link to join the meeting.

PTO Board

• President - Aaron Valencia
• VP - Roy Massani
• Secretary - Margaret Zuniga
• Treasurer - Angelina Celix

The minutes from our October meeting are attached below. Please email PTO if you have any questions.

Thank you to everyone who supported our "Box Tops for Education" fundraiser this year! As of Saturday, November 23rd Carrillo has raised $162.80 with 13 earning moments this month! Be sure to keep checking out the Bonus offers and monthly challenges for ways to earn extra box tops.

This month there are 2 big opportunities for bonus box tops. You can earn 50 bonus tops ($5.00) if f you connect your Walmart account and your Box Tops account. Second, the November Challenge awards 20 bonus box tops ($2.00) if you purchase and scan 10 products this month. See the app for other bonus offers. 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 (299 box tops)

2nd Place - 2nd Grade (102 box tops)

3rd Place - 4th Grade (98 box tops)

4th Place - 1st Grade (75 box tops)

5th Place - 5th Grade (32 box tops)

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

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

Starts: September 7th.

Register by calling 520.232.8566 or by email.

Tucson Community Tennis is starting their FREE fall 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​ September 14 to December 14, 2024

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

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.

Thank you for your patience as we get students dismissed as quickly as possible. We need your help with a few things.

17th STREET PICK UP

1. Please park by Tucson Water, or wait in your car.
2. For those waiting in their cars, a school staff member will come by and radio for your student to come to you.
3. Thank you for keeping your music low and arriving after 2:30 pm. Our neighbors appreciate it.
4. Families with only intermediate students (grades 3-5) your students are generally the last to dismiss, if you can arrive at 2:50 that will allow us to help the kinder and first graders off campus and speed up pickup.

FOR PARENTS WAITING INSIDE

1. If you arrive before 2:30 pm we need you to sign in at the main office and wait in the art gallery on the main floor until 2:45.

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.

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:
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Location: 440 South Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone: (520) 225-1200
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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.