We hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving as well as time to reflect on all there is to be thankful for. These next few weeks are always filled with fun and busyness. We all look forward to enjoying this festive time while practicing the daily hard work that goes in to building successful students. We would love to see you this Wednesday at our Skate City event from 4:30-6:30pm. Please watch for additional communications that will be sent out in the next few weeks letting you know of special activities in classrooms as well as our building-wide event.

This year we will be continuing a Mesa tradition of our Holiday Night for Mesa students, families, and the community. We would love to see all of you there on December 13th from 4:00-6:00pm! This event will give you the chance to see our amazing staff, play some games, collect fun treats, and enjoy a hot cup of cocoa while decorating a festive treat. As the date gets closer, more information will be sent out to all families. We will also be celebrating the upcoming holiday season with dress-up themes for the '12 Days of the Holidays' running from December 5th-December 20th.

In order to be sure all of our students have a chance to receive their birthday book during the school year, we are also adding on half-birthdays for our June and July birthdays to be celebrated. On a student's birthday, or half-birthday, their name is called on morning announcements and they are invited to come to the office to pick out a brand new book for their birthday. Don't be surprised if your student with a June or July birthday comes home with a brand new book in the next two months.

As the temperature gets colder, Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 will follow the same closure and delay procedures for inclement weather days that have been used previously. During a closure, neither teaching staff nor students will be expected to engage in remote or virtual learning. During a delayed start, all school and bus schedules will be delayed by two hours for all schools. All notifications for a delay or closure will be sent directly to families via text, phone, and email – based on information in the student information system, Infinite Campus. It is highly recommended that families log into the Infinite Campus/Parent Portal to ensure the contact information in the database is current. Any updates will also be posted on district social media (Twitter and Facebook at @FFC8schools) and on the district website at www.ffc8.org. We have many coats in our lost-and-found (located in our cafetorium). Please encourage your son/daughter to check for any missing coats - they will be needed in the upcoming weeks.

Throughout the year, students will practice our Mesa PRIDE (persevere, show respect, be independent, be dedicated to keeping Mesa safe, and empathize with others) expectations as well as essential organizational skills across all settings of the school building, playground, and entry/exit areas. Our emphasis for the month of December will focus on empathy, being prepared and on-task, and working well with others. Please feel free to share the ways you and your family are practicing these essential skills with your student's teacher. We love to hear from you and to see our Mesa students practicing these skills outside of school. Throughout the week, we give 'shout outs' to students who exemplify these characteristics in their actions across the building and with one another.

Mesa staff utilize the REMIND app as the main tool of communication with families. You are welcome to reach out to teachers via REMIND or email at any time. Please watch for weekly newsletters and updates from each grade level team throughout the school year.

Please be sure to contact us with any needs or questions. We look forward to opportunity to work with each of you to help our students to Dream BIG, Work Hard and Make it Happen!!

Megan Oleson

***Please let your son/daughter's teacher know your plan for after school pick-up.***

Car Riders (drop-off/pick-up)

Car drop-off/pick-up will take place in the north parking lot in front of our main entry doors. The west lot is not a drop-off/pick-up option for car riders. We ask that parents keep traffic moving as quickly as possible by remaining in their vehicles while students exit. If there is a need for a parent to assist with a student exiting, please park in a visitor spot in the north lot. In the AM, parents should pull as far east (closest to the gym) as possible in the lot. Mesa staff members will be there to open doors and welcome students. Students will then enter the building. In the PM, students will be with their grade level (as indicated in the photo). Parents should still pull as far east as possible. A staff member will check in with you as you pull through the line and will call for your student(s) to come to your vehicle.

If you are using Monterey Way and turning onto Camino Del Rey, please be mindful to not block the entry/exit to the west parking lot (on Monterey Way) as buses will be using this lot and will need enough space to get in and out of the parking lot.

Please reference the photo below for guidance on our drop-off/pick-up procedures this year.

Walkers

Any students who are walking home with a parent will meet on the east playground. Students will be separated by grade level. Parents may approach teachers to pick-up their student(s). Students are also able to walk home without being picked up by a parent. Students walking alone and needing to head west out of the building will be allowed to leave in this direction with the grade-level staff member walking kids out in that direction. Students heading east at the end of the day will be able to access the paved walkway out to Camino Del Rey to then head east towards Fountain Mesa.

Front Office Access:

Our main office is located on the north side of the building. Parents needing to enter the building should do so at our main-entry located at the north doors with a large Mesa paw print.

Essential Skill Focus: Relationship Skills

Dec. 4: Skate City Night 4:30-6:30pm

Dec. 5-20th: 12 Days of the Holidays Dress-Up Days

Save the Date:

Dec. 13: Holiday Night 4-6pm

Dec. 16: PTO at 3pm in the cafe

Dec. 20: Early release at 11:30am (breakfast and lunch served to all K-5 students)

Dec. 21-Jan 7: Winter Break

Jan. 8: Students return - first day of 3rd quarter

Jan. 9: 1st semester report cards sent home with all K-5 students

All students have access to free breakfast and lunch at Mesa. (Students pick-up breakfast and return to their classrooms to eat when they arrive.) Only if students request a second helping of breakfast and/or lunch will their account be charged.

Email: moleson@ffc8.org
Website: https://www.ffc8.org/Mesa
Location: 400 Camino Del Rey, Fountain, CO, USA
Phone: 719-382-1370
Facebook: facebook.com/MesaElementaryFFC8
Twitter: @MesaElemFFC8

What an amazing start to our 2024-2025 school year! Thank you for helping me keep our kids safe! It has been awesome to watch the patience and kindness shown to each other as we process procedures at arrival and dismissal.

Quick reminders:

• we have almost 700 kids now and there is so much traffic. Treat our long lines like a sporting event or concert and take turns, allowing every other car in-we are all going to the same place
• one lane drop off in the morning, two lane pick up in the afternoon
• please remember basic traffic laws - 20 mph in the school zone!!
• remember, if you are close to late or running late, speeding is dangerous, there will be tickets issued
• speed limit is 10mph in a parking lot, even a long parking lot!
• cross walks, driveways and intersections are not to be blocked; If you cannot completely clear those areas....wait
• GOING INTO ONCOMING LANE OF TRAFFIC IS COMPLETELY ILLEGAL AND UNSAFE-DO NOT DO THIS FOR ANY REASON

Thank you for working together to be great role models for our kids.

MEDICATION: All medication must be brought into the building and picked up from the building by an adult- students are not allowed to bring medication into the building. All medication must be approved by a prescribing physician with the appropriate forms signed. These forms can be found on the district website or by contacting your school nurse.

FEVER: Fever is defined as a temperature of 100.4 or higher. Students who have a fever should stay home and rest until they have gone 48 hours fever free without the aid of medication such as ibuprofen or Tylenol. If your child has a fever that lasts longer than 48 hours, please reach out to your school nurse to help problem solve what your next steps might be.

COVID Testing: * If anyone in your home has symptoms and is being tested for COVID, please keep all D8 students home from school until the results from the person being tested are received. Please notify your school nurse if you are keeping a student home while waiting for a household member to get results for COVID testing.

Keep up the good work! Our goal is to keep our Mesa community healthy and safe… and in person learning!