Carrillo Community Update

Happy Sunday Carrillo Families!

Thank you all for a great first month of school. With a school-wide focus on "Growing Together" this first month we have really been working on attendance, trying to get every class to at least 95% attendance. I am proud to report that 6 classes achieved that goal in August! Thank you families for getting your students to school on time and having them stay the full day so that we can meet our annual attendance goal for the state. Checking students out early can result in them only getting partial attendance from the state so it is important that students are present every minute. Not only does this impact our funding, but it impacts your student's ability to achieve their full potential.

As we move into September, it is time to look at student's entry-level skills and set goals for the year. For students that are at or above grade level, we expect students to make a full year's growth. For students that are behind, we expect students to make a year and a half or years of growth. At parent-teacher conferences, we will discuss with you what we can do as a team to support students in meeting these academic goals on top of the attendance goals.

Enjoy tomorrow's holiday and we'll see you all bright and early on Tuesday, September 2nd!

Sincerely,

Ms. Bittel

THIS WEEK

• Monday, September 2nd
• Labor Day - No Classes
• Wednesday, September 4
• PTO Meeting @ 6:00 in the Carrillo MPR

COMING SOON

• Wednesday, September 18 - Friday, September 20
• 1/2 days for Parent Teacher Conferences
• Tuesday, September 24
• Literacy Night - 5:00 - 6:30 pm
• Monday, September 30 - Friday Oct 4
• Walk and Roll to School Week. Help our air (and pickup) by carpooling this week.

Attendance is an important goal for us this year. Based on the attendance data from last year, we anticipate losing the attendance points awarded to the school when calculating our school letter grade. In August, Carrillo had 80 students with perfect attendance! We'd like to see this be above 100 students in September. Help us get there!

Here are the top 3 classes when we look at perfect attendance.

#3 - Ms. Mills 33% perfect attendance

#2 - Ms. Peralta - 42% perfect attendance

#1 - Ms. Morales - 43% perfect attendance

Students who are chronically absent from school may be less likely to reach early learning milestones and may have lower achievement in reading, math, and general knowledge. Thank you for helping your student maintain 95% attendance or better this year.

Every student in TUSD has access to IXL to reinforce the key learning from their classroom. Students use IXL at home a few times a week to support their ELA and math learning remember what they have learned better and do better in school and on their district and state assessments. Here's a shout-out to the classes who had the most at-home practice this month.

#3 - Ms. Lujan with 1:37 minutes at home

#2 - Ms. Vasquez with 5:47 minutes of practice

#1 - Ms. Peralta with 5:48 minutes of practice

This year, we are focused on growth, so here is a shout-out to the classes that averaged over a month's growth on IXL in August.

#3 - Ms. John 1.6 month's growth

#2 Ms. Matsushino and Ms. Vasquez with 1.8 month's growth each

#1 - Ms. Peralta with 2.5 month's growth

To access IXL from home, students can navigate to the Carrillo School Links page and select Clever from the Application Links column. This will take them to their Clever Page with links to all the applications we use at school to support learning. Mastering 1-2 skills in ELA and Math at home can help our Cougars stay sharp as we grow together this year.

There is a lot of amazing work going on in the Carrillo Art Studio. Ms. Dal PRa would like to encourage students to participate in the Youth Art Month National Flag Contest. This is an "at-home" project for interested students, but Ms. Dal Pra will package and enter all student work.

By visiting the website, or coming to the office if students do not have a printer at home, students will need to complete their 3x5 drawing on the official form. This year's competition asks students to create a flag or banner that addresses the theme "Healing Through Color" and incorporates the phrase "Youth Art Month." Carrillo can only submit 2 entries, so thank you for turning in your submission by September 20th in the event we need to vote for the top 2.

Parents, there is a page we will need you to complete if your students enter as well. Please be sure to send both pages in if your student chooses to participate.

** From the Office of the State Treasurer**

Kids are the future, and we want to hear their ideas for changing the world for the better.

For the fifth year, Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee and the AZ529 Education Savings Plan are hosting an essay contest for kids. The 2024 Essay Writing Contest invites Arizona 5th and 6th graders to submit essays explaining their dream job and the steps they’ll take to reach it. Winners will receive $529 toward an AZ529 Education Savings Plan to fund their future educational aspirations!

Open to all current 5th and 6th grade students in Arizona’s district, charter, private schools, homeschools, and tribal schools.

Answer the question, “What is your dream job and how do you plan on achieving it in the future?” (350 words or less).

Entries accepted through October 6, 2024 at 11:59 PM (MST). Limit one entry per student.

Twenty (20) prizes, each in the amount of $529, will be awarded towards a new or existing AZ529 Education Savings Plan. Winners will be selected from each of Arizona’s 15 counties and there will also be winners representing all types of schools, including district, charter, private schools, homeschools, and tribal schools. We’re excited to help 20 young writers start saving for their educational plans beyond high school!

Upload entries at: AZ529.gov/EssayContestAccepted file types: Microsoft Word, PDF, JPG and JPEG)

To enter and see full contest rules,visit AZ529.gov/EssayContest.

Entries will be accepted August 26 through October 6, 2024.

Carrillo's Kindergarten and First Graders are learning about the importance of community. Teachers are looking for guest speakers to come and talk about their jobs. We are looking for fora large variety of jobs from cashiers to custodians and firefighters to pharmacists. Our students know communities are successful because of the contributions of EVERYONE. Thank you for coming to share your role in the community. To sign up, use this link.

To better understand kindness, it’s helpful to think about the difference between “kind” and “nice,” terms people often use interchangeably. Being “nice” emphasizes being agreeable and polite—not rocking the boat, avoiding difficult conversations, and keeping things on a superficial level. But being “kind” is about the greater good. It’s a powerful skill set that requires great courage and careful thought. Kindness is about taking care of ourselves and one another. It’s intentional and it’s something we can do daily that encourages connections and reduces fears. So, whereas being nice can increase stress, being kind relieves stress and empowers us to act with intention, and to be deliberate and thoughtful in how we communicate. Kindness isn’t always easy—sometimes it’s incredibly difficult to be kind! But kindness is something we can do better with practice. Have a conversation with students about the difference between “kind” and “nice.

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.

The Menlo Park Family Resource Center is offering, a five-week program (called STEP) for parents and caregivers with children aged 9-14. You will learn to promote healthy habits, set guidelines, manage conflicts, and strengthen family bonds. Attendance is important, as each week builds on the lessons from the previous week. Program materials and incentives valued at over $75 will be offered.

Menlo FRC | Tuesdays | 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. | Start: 8/27/24 | End: 9/24/24

please contact Becky Jo to register at 520-225-2172 or by email.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Congratulations to the new PTO Board for the 2024-25 school year. Please check this section of the update for regular meeting dates as well as other opportunities to support Carrillo.

PtO's first meeting this year will be Wednesday, September 4th at 6:00 in the Carrillo MPR.

• President - Aaron Valencia
• VP - open (Yvette Rodriguez will serve as interim until August)
• Secretary - Margaret Zuniga
• Treasurer - Angelina Celix

Please email PTO if you have any questions.

Thank you to everyone who supported our "Box Tops for Education" fundraiser this year! As of Sunday, August 11th, Carrillo had already topped last year's earnings with an astounding $99.70! Be sure to keep checking out the Bonus offers and monthly challenges for ways to earn extra box tops.

This year we hope to have more families involved so that we can see even more rewards come back to the school to benefit the students directly. Please encourage friends and family members to download the app from the Box Tops website, select "Carrillo K-5 Magnet School" as their school, and scan their grocery receipts weekly.

LEADERBOARD

1st Place - Kindergarten (257 box tops)

2nd Place - 1st Grade (70 box tops)

3rd Place - 4th Grade (70 box tops)

4th Place - 2nd Grade (5 box tops)

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:
Visit Our Website:
Location: 440 South Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone: (520) 225-1200
Like Us On Facebook:

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.