Sandia Vista Elementary

Hello Sandia Vista Families,

We hope this newsletter finds you well and enjoying the arrival of spring or winter/spring as Friday showed us! Please see the following reminders for upcoming deadlines and events.

1. **PowerSchool Registration:**

It's that time of the year again! We kindly remind all parents to log in to PowerSchool and complete the registration process for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year. Your active participation ensures that we have accurate and up-to-date information for your child, accurate enrollment for the next school year and that we are able to hire the best qualified candidates before the school year begins.

2. **Transfer Students:**

For families with students who are transfer students, either out of zone or out of district, please be aware that a transfer request must be submitted. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the transfer process, feel free to contact our school office for assistance.

3. **Kindergarten Roundup - Save the Date:**

We are excited to announce that our Kindergarten Roundup will be held on April 29th. This event is a wonderful opportunity for incoming Kindergarten students and their parents to familiarize themselves with our school community. More details will follow, so stay tuned!

4. **State Mandated Assessments:**

- **NM-ASR (5th Grade ONLY):** April 3rd & 4th

- **NM-MSSA ELA (3, 4, 5):** April 9th & 10th

- **NM-MSSA Math (3, 4, 5):** April 16th & 17th

Please mark these dates on your calendar, and ensure that your child is well-rested and prepared for these assessments. We appreciate your support in helping our students succeed.

5. **Spring Break Reminder:**

Thank you for your ongoing cooperation and commitment to your child's education. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact the school office.

Wishing you a wonderful March and a successful remainder of the school year!

Sincerely,

Mr. DeSoto

March is a month that is known for reading challenges. Every year, schools follow suit by organizing a reading challenge to encourage students to read more at home. According to a study published in ScienceDaily, children who are read five children's books a day at home hear over one million more words than those who are not read to at home. This million-word gap can have a significant impact on a child's ability to comprehend and understand vocabulary words, which can be evident in classrooms and affect their academic performance. As a parent, I understand that it can be challenging to read a book every night, let alone five books. However, the Children's Lighthouse Early Learning School suggests reading one book a night, making it exciting, asking questions, and reading things that spark your child's interest. Trying one of these strategies throughout March can help improve your child's vocabulary and academic performance. Students at school engage in daily reading, vocabulary practice, and conversations to deepen understanding. Thank you for partnering with us to help your students succeed.

Please see the registration flyer for the Montessori Program.

Library

Sandia Vista Elementary will be celebrating Read Across America with new reading challenges!

Intel is again sponsoring the Reading for Miles Challenge for second grade. Second-grade grown-ups will electronically log the minutes their student has read each night. Links to the logs will be sent home by classroom teachers soon! Each student will receive a prize for every week that they read. The top three second-grade students will win bicycles!

All other grade levels will be participating in a BINGO reading challenge. Each student will receive their BINGO card. Pre-K - 1st grade students will cross off squares to complete 4 in a row while 3rd - 5th grade students will connect 5 in a row. Students who return completed BINGO cards to the library will be entered into a drawing to win amazing prizes, including a grand prize winner in each grade level!

More information will be coming home soon

Happy Reading!!

ART

Greetings from the Art Room!

The SVE student Art Show at the UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center opened this week! The hospital has over 40 of our artists on display in two different locations. One gallery is on the 3rd floor just off the main elevator to the right and the other gallery is located in the Orthopedic Bldg on the first floor in the lobby. We had an amazing turn out for the reception with the President of the hospital and many families and artists in attendance! Artworks will be on display through the month of April.

The RRPS Elementary District Art Show is also coming in March and students/families will be notified and invited to the reception for that show as well. Amazing things are happening so be sure to ask your student what they have been working on! If you are spring cleaning, art materials donations can be placed in the box that is in the school foyer. We enjoy donations of buttons, ribbons, fabrics, stamps, fancy papers, and other unique items. We do not need old markers, paints or anything like that as we have plenty of those items!

STEAM

Students across all grade levels are learning about life science. In 4th and 5th grade, students

are working on creating insect life cycle stop motion animations. They are mostly complete, and

they are really amazing! I am very proud of their perseverance on this project. 2nd and 5th

graders will be building a 3D paper insect habitat using paper folding techniques in the coming

weeks at differentiated levels. Kindergarten and 1st grade students have learned about the

parts of an insect. They have learned through song and dance that all insects have six legs, two

antennae, a head, a thorax and an abdomen. They are building their own insect from shapes

they have colored and cut out. We will also build 3D bugs in kinder and first grade, and then

students will have bug races once they are completed.

We are completing our lesson on Perseverance on March 1st. The importance of this trait is for students to understand that they need to “pushing through challenges and obstacles.” because it will help them to grow in those moments instead of giving up.

Beginning March 12th through April 23rd our focus is Honesty. One way to think about Honesty is “being truthful in what you say and do.” Practicing Honesty helps strengthen our relationships and even reduces stress. Honesty is 1 of 3 traits we will focus on throughout the year that helps students Be Well. Across grade levels, students will be developing skills like emotion regulation, positive self-talk, and stress-management. Managing stress in healthy ways is critical to our well-being. This month, students will focus on stress management. This work includes the following:

● Noticing the body’s reaction to stress

● Creating plans and practicing strategies to manage or prevent stress and we will continue to use the Emotion Elements to identify the emotions related to stress.

Hello Parents! Happy March!

Please be advised that we are seeing large amounts of pink eye around the school. Please remind your children not to rub their eyes and wash their hands often. Pink eye (conjunctivitis) is highly contagious and often needs to be treated with antibiotics.

Also we are running very low on pants in size 5T-8. Any donations you may have for pants in these sizes are greatly appreciated! If your child is in kindergarten through 3rd grade it is recommended you keep spare clothing in your child's backpack.

--

Only two more weeks til Spring Break!!

1. Attendance: After 3 excused or 3 unexcused, consecutive absences, we require a doctor’s note or a conversation with the administration about the absences. *4th "Ill" absence will be marked Unexcused.
2. Vacation: Upon parent/guardian's request, the student's absence record will be reviewed. If a student(s) has less than 5% accumulated absences, up to 3 days can be excused. If the student has 6% or higher accumulated absences, all requested days will be unexcused.
3. Funeral Leave: For immediate family only. 3 days can be excused. If travel out of state is necessary,
up to 5 may be excused.

Definitions:
1. ABSENT means not in attendance for a class or school day for any reason, whether
excused or not; provided that "absent" does not apply to participation in interscholastic
extracurricular activities;
2. EXCUSED ABSENCE means absence from a class or school day for a death in
the family, medical absence, religious instruction or tribal obligations or any other
allowable excuse pursuant to the policies of the local school board;
3. MEDICAL ABSENCE means that a student is not in attendance for a class or a
school day for a parent- or doctor-authorized medical reason or the student is a
pregnant or parenting student;
4. UNEXCUSED ABSENCE means an absence from a class or school day for which
the student does not have an allowable excuse pursuant to the Attendance for
Success Act or policies of the local school board.

Early pick-up: Students will not be released during the last 50 minutes of the day (3:00pm) without permission from the school administration.

A valid ID must be shown before a child will be dismissed.

Email: kirk.desoto@rrps.net
Location: Sandia Vista Elementary School, Franklin Road Northeast, Rio Rancho, NM, USA
Phone: 505-338-2526