Tiger Cub Weekly
Cypress Elementary School
Week of April 29th- May 3
Upcoming Important Dates:
April
- 19- Disney Dress Day
- 22- Earth Day
- 22- Restaurant Night- West of Orleans (4-7pm)
- 26- House Assembly- wear your house colors!
- 27-28- family photos fundraiser (See more information below)
May
- 3-Recognition Assembly
- 3- Principal Coffee Talk
- 3-Talent Show
- 6-10-Teacher Appreciation Week
- 13-30 CAASP testing Window
- 17- Hawaiian Dress Day
- 20-23- Book Fair
- 24-27 No School
- 30- Open House
Are you interested in taking family pictures this Spring?? Cypress PTA has teamed up with local photographer Mary Anselmo at Lyfe Photo Studio for an opportunity available to Cypress families! For $150, Mary is offering 25 minute sessions IN HER STUDIO on April 27, 2024 and OUTSIDE (location TBD) on April 28, 2024. Half of the proceeds ($75) will go towards our Cypress PTA.
The cost will include 3 high resolution digital images to families participating with an option to purchase extended album options. Watermarked galleries from all sessions will be provided to families within 1 week of their session from which they choose their 3 images or extended album option. Once families decide on their images, their final photos will be provided within 2 weeks from that day.
TO FULLY CONFIRM YOUR TIMESLOT, YOU MUST PURCHASE THE $150 SPRING FAMILY PHOTO FUNDRAISER ITEM ON THE cypresselementarypta.org STORE AND SELECT YOUR TIMESLOT ON THIS Sign Up Genius.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Cypress PTA at cypresselementarypta@gmail.com.
April Music Update
TK/K:
During April, T.K. and K. students focused on the transdisciplinary theme of “Who We Are.” Students were read, A. Johnson’s, “Violet’s Music.” We talked about how music can tell a story.
They sang “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. He played the cornet in his jazz music. Students listened to and recognized the distinctions and instrumentations in Reggae, Blues, Hip-Hop, Rock and Roll, Disco, and Pop music genres. They danced to several.
This school year, our youngest Cubs learned about the ten styles of music displayed on the posters in the music classroom. We reinforced our spring rhythms from Sunshine and Music with clapping and rhythm sticks. The children loved playing the new rain stick and new thunder stick instruments. They sang Earth Day songs. Our young learners identified styles of dance in G. Andreae’s “Giraffes Can’t Dance,” then did the dance steps from six different genres from the story.
1-5th: First and second grade students are almost at the end of our Peter and the Wolf/Instruments of the Orchestra unit. Students have finished with their listening maps and are almost ready to get into character and move to the music!
Grades 3-5 are entering into actual instrument units ( recorders for 3rd grade and ukuleles for grades 4 and 5). All three grade level classes have had discussions about the learner profile attributes and how they can apply to learning a new instrument. I am stressing the importance of staying focused on the foundational learning pieces of the instruments. So often, kids just want to jump ahead and then they get frustrated when they aren't successful. We are also making connections with personal responsibility, the science of sound, and how music can be used as a form of expression.
Principal Coffee Talks
Principal coffee talk: May 3rd. Please join me in the MPR following the morning assembly for the following topic discussions:
May 3rd: Preview to the 2024-2025 School year. Next year is Cypress' 50th year as a school! Come learn about all the different events that are tentatively planned throughout the school year. (Not only events to celebrate the 50th, but all PTA tentative events will be shared.
**Parking lot construction/sidewalk detour**
A backup battery is being installed at Cypress for emergency purposes. Unfortunately, it will need to be installed in our parking lot taking up some of our spots. During construction, starting March 11th, the green section indicated in the image above will be blocked off. A temporary 'sidewalk' will be designated by the yellow lines on the map above. Once construction is complete, we will get some of the parking spots back. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
New Attendance Email for Cypress!
Parents/Guardians are required to contact the front office any time that their student will be absent. There are a few different ways to reach us:
Front office (805) 498-6683
24-hour Attendance Line (805) 498-6203
Email: : CYP-Attendance@conejousd.org (Now working!)
California Education Code section 48205 and CVUSD board policies state that absences for the following reasons may be excused:
- Personal Illness
- Quarantine
- Medical, dental, optometrically, or chiropractic services
- Funeral services of an immediate family member
Click on the image below to learn more about Tk/K enrollment!
Morning Goodbyes
Our goal is to begin our school day in the classroom at 8:15am. When the warning bell ring at 8:12, parents are asked to leave campus at that time as students line up.
International Baccalaureate Learner Profile Traits
Cypress Monthly Student Recognitions
Our awards schedule is as follows:
January 12th
February 2
March 1
April 12
May 3
We look forward to celebrating your child!
IB Learner Profile Traits are the core of the IB Primary Years Programme!
Now Available - New Website: CVUSD Mental Health Resources and Wellness Services
The CVUSD recognizes the social-emotional and mental health needs of students and families. We are committed to serving our student community in these important areas. Our new Mental Health and Wellness Services web page provides you with information, resources and details on how to access mental health support. Together we can achieve mental wellness in our District and community:
Wednesday Morning Laps with Mrs. Hauser!
Mrs. Hauser, one of our PE teachers, is beginning a Wednesday morning running/ walking group. Students can arrive anytime after 7:50 and track their miles with their own tracker provided by Mrs. Hauser. How many miles can you get by the end of the school year?
Please take note!
A section of the curb near the Cypress parking lot exit has newly been designated no parking. There is new signage to indicate this new change.
Cypress Emergency Preparedness Documents
Emergency parent letter
Emergency release information
Cell Phone and Smart Watches
Please remind students that cell phones are not to be used during the school day. They should remain off and in the students backpack. If they need to contact you during the school day, they need to reach out to their teacher, the health clerk, or the front office staff.
Smart watches may be worn during the school day as long as it is not a distraction to themselves and others. Again, they cannot use Smart watches to contact a parent or guardian. They need to reach out to their teacher, the health clerk, or the front office staff. If a smart watch becomes a distraction or is misused, they will be asked to place it in their backpack.
Thank you for understanding!
Weekly Attendance Announcement
Good attendance is essential for a continuous, uninterrupted program of instruction. As we start the school year, please honor the school calendar when planning vacations and appointments.
Excused Absences:
Personal Illness
Quarantine
Medical, dental, optometrical, or chiropractic services
Funeral services of an immediate family member
Jury duty
For a complete list of excused absences, please use the following link:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC§ionNum=48205
Unexcused Absences:
Family trips
Unforeseen family circumstances
Transportation difficulties
Non-school athletic competitions
Any other reasons not listed above in the excused absence list are “contacted unexcused”, which are considered truancies.
Short Term Independent Study is available for planned absences of 3 days or more, as long as at least 48 hours of notice is given (not including weekends). Please contact the front office for more information on how to begin the independent study process.
For more information on attendance, please click here.
#AttendTodayAchieveTomorrow
Notice to School Community
Cypress School Site Council
4/17/24
5/15/24
Thank you to all of our School Site Council members that contributed to this year’s School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA)! Our school’s SPSA is available now at this link.
We are in need of a GATE Rep. to join SSC. Please reach out to me if interested.
Important Cypress Information
School and CVUSD Calendars
Parking Lot Safety
For Drop-off/ Pick up
-Pull into the second driveway off Kimber. 10 miles per hour max. in parking lot!
-Pull up to the curb for pick-up or drop-off
-Exit/enter only on the passenger/ curb side
**Do not stop in the school bus or red zone area for drop-off or pick-up**
-If you need to assist your child in or out of the car, proceed to a visitor's parking spot. Parents may NOT exit the car in the drop off lane.
-Always walk with your child in the parking lot. Use sidewalks to walk children from parking lot to school campus. Do NOT walk children through the parking lot.
TK and Kindergarten Families
-All TK and Kindergarten students must be escorted to the TK/K playground in the morning and picked up at the exit gate. Those picking up a TK/K students must park.
Please DO NOT park in staff spots. Specialists, paras, support staff, and campus supervisors arrive at school at various times. If you have a quick question for us in the office, you may park along the yellow curb by the front office.
Chromebook Insurance
- Chromebook insurance for the 2023-24 school year is $39 per student for Chromebook coverage and $45 for Chromebook coverage w/charger coverage included. We highly recommend the purchase of insurance for all students.
- Insurance Flyer (English): Conejo Valley USD-English Flyer (conejousd.org)
- Insurance Flyer (Spanish): Conejo Valley USD -Spanish Flyer (conejousd.org)
Cypress Elementary School Facebook Page!
PTA News!
Cypress Digital Backpack of Flyers!
Digital backpack for community Flyers
Cypress Student/ Parent Handbook
The Cypress Handbook has been updated. Please take a moment to look through the information located in this document. This document covers information about attendance policies, safety protocol, discipline procedures, dress code and more. After this week, this document will remain in this Smore for the remainder of the school year.
Cypress Elementary
Email: mmcdonald@conejousd.org
Website: https://www.conejousd.org/cypress
Location: 4200 West Kimber Drive, Newbury Park, CA, USA
Phone: 805-498-6683
Facebook: facebook.com/CypressElementarycvusd
Instagram: cypresscubs