Dear Cragin families,
We are up and running with this new school year. A lot of exciting things are happening at Cragin Elementary. We have wonderful new staff and veteran staff that are working together to provide your student with a rigorous and relevant education. Teachers are working hard in their professional learning communities strategizing how to best teach your student. Our 21st Century program started on Sept. 9th. We have exciting and fun PTO events planned this year. Also, don’t forget to attend one of our Cafecito/Coffee talk this year. Our first one was Sept. 9th at 8:45-9:30am. Our Next Cafecito will be October 14th from 8:45am-9:30am in room 5. Please reach out if you have any questions or ideas.
Principal Rodriguez
Attendance Matters
The regular school attendance of a child of school age is required by state law. Regular school attendance is essential for success in school; therefore, absences shall be excused only for necessary and important reasons. Such reasons include illness, bereavement, other family emergencies, and observance of major religious holidays of the family's faith.
In the event of a necessary absence known in advance, the parent is expected to inform the school; if the absence is caused by emergency, such as illness, the parent is expected to telephone the school office. When a student returns to school following any absence, a note of explanation from the parent is required.
When Absent from School
State law mandates that the school record reasons for all student absences. Therefore, when a student is absent, it will be necessary for the parent to call the school on or before the day of the absence in order to advise the school as to the reason for the absence. When it is impossible to call on the day of the absence, the school should be notified on the morning the student returns, in time for the student to obtain an admission slip prior to the student's first class. All absences not verified by parental or administrative authorization will remain unexcused.
If a parent does not have access to a phone, either at home or at work, a note will be accepted for verification purposes.
Regular participation in classroom activities fosters critical thinking, communication skills, and responsibility, all of which are essential skills for future employment. Good attendance in school is also part of the self-discipline that we try to instill in our students to enable them to act as responsible members of the community.
Definitions:
- Attendance: The presence of each student in scheduled instruction.
- Excessive Absence: 10% or more of the required attendance days (180 days).
- Tardy: Not in the classroom by the time the bell rings.
- Register of Attendance: Any written or electronic record maintained for the purpose of recording the attendance, absence, tardiness, or early departure of a student.
- Scheduled Instruction: Every period that a student is scheduled to attend actual instruction or their designated learning environment of study.
- Truancy: An unexcused absence of a child who is between six and sixteen years of age for at least one class period during the day from compulsory school.
- Truant Child: A child who is between six and sixteen years of age and who is not in attendance at a public or private school during the hours that school is in session, unless excused.
- Habitually Truant: Is a child who is truant for at least five school days within a school year.
- Excused Absence: Absences that the parents/guardians have documented/authorized with time and reason.
- Unexcused Absence: Absence without approval of parents/guardians is considered truancy and unexcused.
As we settle into a new school year, please ensure that your child’s immunization records are up to date as required by state regulations. Additionally, if your child has any allergies or medical conditions kindly inform the health office so we can provide appropriate care. Lastly a friendly reminder to encourage regular handwashing at home. Good hand hygiene greatly reduces the spread of germs.
Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our school community safe and happy.
Riley Volpe BSN, RN
Jackie Freed Health Assistant
Health Office
520-232-6717
Cafecito / Coffee Talk
Cafecito/ Coffee Talks with Mr. Rodriguez is a great way to come and talk about new and exciting ways to help our campus feel safe, fun and welcoming! Please join our Cafecitos/Coffee Talk once a month (Next cafecito Oct 14th)! We had a great first meeting on Sept 9th in which one of the many initiatives was to have a dance party in the morning to bring more excitement and community building! We want to hear your ideas and are looking for Volunteers! Congrats to Kathleen Schooshtari for winning a little something at the cafecito! We will always have a raffle for those in attendance! Please reach out to Karina.Acuna@tusd1.org if you have any questions!
Dance Party Recap!
A huge thank you to all the parents who brought their kids to our Dance Party!
It was a hit!
Special thanks to Ms. Arely, Ms. Karina, and Ms. Karen for leading our morning dance sessions. And a big shoutout to Ms. Leslie for sharing her amazing dance moves!
You’re all incredible!
Join us for more fun every Monday and Friday from 8:15 to 8:30 AM in front of the Kinder Playground—stay tuned for updates on this exciting project!
See you on the dance floor!
EEF Shoe Field Trip Success!
We had a fantastic Shoe Field Trip to Skechers, where students were randomly selected to receive a brand-new pair of shoes. What a wonderful way to kick off the school year!
A big thank you to Ms. Karina for leading this trip, and to our amazing chaperones—Ms. Karen, Ms. Alma, and Ms. Liz N—for keeping our students safe and ensuring everyone had a great time!
A special shoutout to the Education Enrichment Foundation (EEF) for hosting us, and to Citi Bank for sponsoring our students. Your support made this event possible!
Here’s to an exciting school year ahead!
Week 9/2-9/6
Happy September!
This month our focus is responsibility.
As we start the month defining responsibility each grade engaged in an activity in which
students had to demonstrate their responsibility skills.
Kinder: "Grew" pets & spoke about how they would be caring for their new pet.
Ist & 2nd: Decorated bookmarks to keep track of their library books and were able to go
outside to play a game of "Red Light Green Light" where we practiced impulse control and nd
control over our own body.
3rd: Had the opportunity to use their computers appropriately, to share their favorite song
with the class.
4th: Students took part in Charades! Students were responsible for raising their hand, not
shouting, etc.
5th: We took responsibility and focused it in on sports and teamwork.
Week of 9/9-9/13
WHAT A FUN & EVENTFUL WEEK!
Thank you to all the parents that joined us
at our first Cafecito! I look forward to
working with each of you as we move
towards implementing many of the ideas
mentioned
Kinder & 1st: worked on bumble bees that
stated our B's (be safe, be respectful, be
responsible)
2nd, 3rd & 4th: participated in a
competitive game of hangman were the
words were all relating to this month's focus
of responsibility
5th: Split into groups and identified
different areas in which they are responsible
and what that looks like (ex. home, school, environment, self)
Week 9/16-9/20
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR STAFF,
PARENTS/GUARDIANS THAT HELPED MAKE OUR
CONFERENCES A SUCCESS!
We had a short, short week with students so I will keep this
newsletter just as short and sweet.
Kinder-3rd: As we continue talking about responsibility, students
discussed the responsibility each of them have in being a good
friend and what this looks like. Students then were able to create
friendship bracelets/friendship people chains.
4th: created F.R.I.E.N.D.S "photo frames" of them and their
friends demonstrating positive friendships
5th: Took on a different responsibility this week and designed their
idea of the Cragin Cougar. Stay tuned as many of these will be
turned into stickers.
Coupon Book Fundraiser
This is our first fundraiser for the year. Your child might have brought home a packet about this. This starts September 3rd - September 24th. You can start selling starting on the 3rd. These are very similar to the Entertainment books back in the day. They are a small book that has tons of coupons to different restaurants, businesses, and entertainment. These books are $25 each. However, if you sell 5 books, then you get 1 FREE!!! Relatives in other states can even buy one in their area. The whole family can get one. If you need help, just ask PTO President Liz Niemeyer.
Fill out your child's info for online selling here:
Let's see how many we can sell:
Spooky Night Volunteer Sign Up!
We will have a table set up at Movie Night for those parents who want to Volunteer for Spooky Night coming up in October 25th! We have volunteer opportunities available, including helping with setup and decoration, leading activities in the cafeteria, and assisting with cleanup, among other areas where support is needed. We’ll discuss this further at our next PTO meeting on October 15th, as well as in the days leading up to Spooky Night (date to be announced).
