The Terrapin Times #26

Dear Families,

We want to take a minute to thank all of our amazing Foundation volunteers and supporters! We had a wonderful Latin Sabrosas Assembly this week and the kids LOVED it! Thank you parents for your donations, which make things like the music assembly possible.

As we continue into the second half of the school year, we want to take a moment to celebrate the importance of regular attendance in your child's education. Research shows that consistent attendance leads to stronger academic performance, greater social development, and a higher likelihood of graduating on time. Every day your child is present, they benefit from valuable learning experiences, engage in classroom activities, and form positive relationships with their peers and teachers. When students attend school regularly, they stay connected to the curriculum and build a strong foundation for success in the future.

Starting after February break, we will be launching an exciting school-wide initiative to further highlight the importance of daily attendance. Our goal is to highlight the classrooms with the highest attendance at the end of each week and bring awareness to the importance of attendance. We are committed to supporting families in this effort, and we encourage you to continue fostering a strong school-attendance routine at home. Thank you for your partnership in helping make this year a successful one for all of our students.

Important Upcoming Dates:

📅 February 17 – 21: "Ski Week" – No school for students or staff

📅 February 26: School Site Council Meeting and Special Education Luncheon hosted by Foundation

📅 February 28 : End of Trimester 2

📅 March 7 : Friday Flag and Awards

📅 March 14 : Lunch with a Loved One

📅 March 24-28: Book Fair

📅 March 25: Multicultural Family Event

Check out our Spirit Wear store! They are extending the free shipping deadline till Monday. So place your orders today.

We hope you all have a wonderful week and we will see everyone back at Turtleback on February 24th!

Lisa Maguire

lmaguire@powayusd.com

Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood is about listening carefully to others before sharing your own thoughts. When children learn to truly listen, they build stronger relationships and communicate more effectively. At home, you can teach this habit by practicing active listening—making eye contact, nodding, and summarizing what your child says before responding. Encourage kids to pause and think about what someone else might be feeling before jumping in with their own opinion. Reading books with characters who listen and understand others can also help reinforce this skill. A great book that exemplifies this habit is The Rabbit Listened, by Cori Doerrfield. By modeling patience and empathy, we can help children become thoughtful and respectful communicators.

• TBK Spirit Wear Store

  The TBK Spirit Wear Store is Open

  • 25% of all sales come back to TBK
  • Order by Feb 14th Monday, Feb 17th (deadline extended!) and receive free shipping to TBK on your order!

  https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/iJdzC8Xr8OTBnAvgTnfmSypHa4?domain=rgbcommerce.com

  • When ordering please put the student name in “Company Name” field or in the “add order notes” field
  • All funds raised support campus beautification at Turtleback Elementary

  Thank you Ms. Kelley Hills and team for initiating this effort!

  
  

  Trekkers Running Club Volunteers Needed!

  Trekkers Running Club meets during morning recess on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We are in need of volunteers to help pass out sticks to students running laps. If you can help or need more info, please email Archana Balasubramanian -- archana.balasub@gmail.com.

  
  

  Book Fair: March 24th - March 27th:

  The annual Book Fair will be from Monday, March 24th through Thursday, March 27th. The book fair helps us raise funds for the school library and supports events like the Finding Gobi Author Visit. It takes a village, and we need as many volunteers as possible to help us fill the slots and make the event a success.

  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4BACA82FA5FE3-48608956-book#/

  
  

  Yearbook Photos:

  The yearbook team is seeking pictures for the yearbook! Please email any photos you may have from spirit days, field trips, class parties, or movie days that have occurred in the 2024-2025 school year to the yearbook team --tbkyearbook@gmail.com. Also, please

  let us know whose class the pics are for.

  
  

  SpED Luncheon - Wednesday, February 26th

  Our Special Education Department is OUT OF THIS WORLD and the Turtleback Education Foundation will be hosting a luncheon for the team on Wednesday, February 26th.

  
  

  5th Grade Yearbook Baby Photos:

  Submit your 5th grader's baby photo to tbkyearbook@gmail.com

  • DEADLINE: February 28th
  • Email: tbkyearbook@gmail.com
  • FREE

  
  

  5th Grade Recognition Ads:

  Celebrate your 5th grader with their own 1/8 page yearbook recognition ad

  • DEADLINE: February 28th
  • Email: tbkyearbook@gmail.com
  • Cost = $10
  • https://web.treering.com/school/237122/2024/school-content/recognition-ads

Parents of English Learners: Today through Friday, February 28th, Poway Unified will be conducting our Family Engagement and Accountability survey to gather input from all families of English Learner students. This survey helps shape the District’s goals and guide priorities for the 2025-2026 school year. Your feedback is extremely helpful as we continue to seek ways to better our English Learner program. Please click HERE to complete the survey.

Learning Support Services is pleased to announce that our Middle and High School teams have recommended new instructional materials for adoption. Our Middle Schools are recommending Amplify for English Language Arts in grades 6-8, and our High School team is recommending McGraw Hill’s Economics for economics courses. Both teams conducted thorough reviews to ensure alignment with state standards. ELA materials were evaluated using the CA ELA/ELD Framework and CA Common Core Standards, and the Economics materials were assessed based on the CA History-Social Science Content Standards and Framework. Poway Unified School District invites you to review these materials and provide feedback. The links below will take you to the pages where you can log in, review materials, and provide input (through March 10th).

• Middle School English Language Arts, Amplify

• High School Economics, McGraw Hill

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

The Poway Unified School District (PUSD) is an equal opportunity employer/program and is committed to an active Nondiscrimination Program. PUSD prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, national origin, nationality, immigration status, ethnicity, ethnic group identification, age, religion, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression or association with a person or a group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. For more information, please contact: Title IX/Equity Compliance Officer, James Jimenez, Associate Superintendent of Personnel support Services, Poway Unified School District, 15250 Avenue of Science, San Diego, CA 92128, 1-858-521-2800, extension 2121, jjimenez@powayusd.com. For students, you may contact Title IX Coordinator/504 Coordinator Jamie Dayhoff, Director of Attendance and Discipline, Poway Unified School District, 1-858-521-2840, jdayhoff@powayusd.com.

Turtleback Mission: We empower each other to create, communicate, collaborate, and think critically in a community where character counts.

Email: lmaguire@powayusd.com
Website: https://turtleback.powayusd.com/
Location: 15855 Turtleback Road, San Diego, CA 92127
Phone: 858-673-5514