Bobcat Tales
August 16, 2024
Principal Ponza's Message
It has been a busy week! It was so nice to see so many parents at Back to School Night. It's such an important night to gain insight and information regarding your student's learning this year. Thank you for being an active participant in your student's learning journey this year!
PBIS Rotation Stations
K-5th grade students participated in our PBIS rotation stations this week. Students visited several stations around campus to review rules/procedures/ and practices for being Safe, Responsible and Respectful at SLVE. PBIS Rotation Stations is an annual back to school activity and a great "Reboot" of our school wide expectations and an important tradition for launching our school year. We will be doing another round of Rotation Stations in January.
Emergency Response Updated procedures/protocols
As part of our beginning of the year classroom/school procedures and protocols rollout, teachers have been reviewing emergency response procedures/protocols with students. Teachers are using varied resources to help their students be comfortable and familiar with some updated vocabulary and language used around emergency response procedures. We will be practicing throughout the year with drills including fire, earthquake and lockdown. Student safety is our top priority at SLE.
IReady
K-5th grade students have started their iReady diagnostic testing this week. This is a program our school uses to help close gaps, move students forward in key learning targets, and provide extra practice in ELA and Math. The diagnostic testing is an important part of the program. This first round will set our baseline and help us see where students may need additional support. Our students will take the diagnostic two more times this year so we can see progress and where to celebrate growth. Please read the information below to learn more about the IReady program.
What is iReady?
i-Ready is an online program that will help us determine your child’s strengths and areas for growth, personalize their learning, and monitor their progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows us to meet your child where they are and provides us with data to inform instruction.
The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions based on student responses. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade but to determine how to best support their learning.
i-Ready Instruction provides students with lessons based on their individual strengths and areas for growth. These lessons are interactive and provide strategic supports to keep your child engaged as they learn.
5th Grade Band Information from Mr.G.
When: SLE band meets Thursdays from 3:00pm-4:30pm
Students will need to be picked up because there is no bus service at 4:30pm
Where: SLE: Rm 5 portable by basketball court
Instrument Choices:
Flute, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone, Mallet Bells
Students will need to acquire their own instruments. The schools do have a limited inventory of instruments to borrow.
SLE Try Instruments Days
Wednesday August 21st 1:30pm
Wednesday August 28th 1:30pm
Any further questions? Contact Mr. Gonzalez - ngonzalez@slvusd.org
Professional Development Day Friday, August 30th No School for Students
Friday, August 30th is a Professional Development Day for teachers/staff and a school holiday for students. Teachers and staff will be working on a number of professional training opportunities which will help to strengthen the work they do with students everyday.
Bus and School Lunch Information
We will continue to provide free lunch to all students this year. We do ask that you complete the application on the district webpage. It is very important that ALL families complete this form, as it helps us with funding in several different areas.
If your child will be riding the bus this year and will need a bus pass, please make sure you purchase your bus pass online here. Once you log in to LinqConnect you will see "School Store" on the bottom right hand corn. Click that to buy your pass. Any questions contact the Transportation department at 831-336-2223 Please also complete the Transportation Registration Form for all students riding the bus.
Student Drop Off and Pick Up
It is VERY important that all cars have the student placard in the front windshield when picking up your student. It allows staff on duty to see the name and call the student so they can be standing and ready to get in your car quickly. Thank you for following this very important pick up protocol
We are really needing to focus on safety during our pick up time each day. As a reminder, the far right lane is the ONLY lane that you may idle in to pick up your student. The middle lane is a drive thru lane only for parents who are driving up to park. If cars stop in the middle lane, buses CANNOT get up the hill to pass without going into the far left lane which is the exiting lane. There have been some close calls and unsafe situations where cars are stopped in the middle lane when buses are making the wide turn to go down the driveway to head out onto Highway 9. We would also like to remind you that the parking lot in front of the school office is reserved for teachers/staff only. Please do not stop there to drop off or pick up your student. We appreciate your role in helping to ensure the safety of our SLVE students and families.
Attendance Matters
We are so happy to welcome our students back to school after the summer break. Now that we are all back, we'd like to emphasize the importance of daily attendance for your student.
We know people get sick, people get injured, and there can be family or life responsibilities and other issues that are reasonable and excused. But if your student can attend, they need to be in school.
If your student is out for three or more consecutive days, we may request a doctor’s note to continue excusing the absences. Students who miss 3-5 days will receive a Chronic Absence letter. We will then meet with those families to attempt to support the student attending school. On the second Chronic Absence Letter, families may be required to meet at the District Office to put a plan in place for the student’s attendance. On the third Chronic Absence Letter, families may be required to meet with the County Office Student Attendance Review Board for truancy. Our goal is that nobody ever gets that far along with truancy. We are here to help and support, but it does start at home with the expectation that your student will attend school regularly.
Please remember that students who are absent 3 days or more should complete an independent study contract. Lisa Ghelardi, at lblairghelardi@slvusd.org our SLVE Registrar, will work with families to get the paperwork and the missed classwork assignments needed to complete the contract.