Carrillo Community Update
October 15-21
Message from Ms. Bittel
Welcome back from Fall Break! I hope you were able to enjoy some quality time together as families before we return to the second quarter. Our benchmark cut scores and school rankings should be out this week and we'll share those results with you in the next update.
This Thursday, October 19th, is Fall Picture Day. Students will take their class and individual pictures in the morning, starting with our kindergarteners. We can't wait to see how amazing they look!
Finally, as we return back to school, we need your help with afternoon pickup. Our neighbors to the south are reporting that their driveways are being blocked during Carrillo's dismissal. If you want to park and walk up to the gate, thank you for parking past the school in front of the Tucson Water buildings. Otherwise, thank you for waiting in your car on the 17th. One of the Carrillo staff will come by and we will call your student to your car.
Thank you and again, welcome back!
-Ms. Bittel
Save the Date
Upcoming Events
- Monday, October 16 - Quarter 2 begins (see you at 8:30!)
- Wednesday, October 18 - GAT ETesting (Ms. Leyva's class)
- Thursday, October 19 - GATE testing (Ms. Mills class)
- Wednesday, October 25 - Professional Learning Day - NO CLASSES for students
- Wednesday, October 25 - PTO Meeting online (6:00 pm)
- Friday, October 27 - Fall Festival
- Tuesday, October 31 - Student costume parade (8:30 am)
Kind Campus Weekly Activity
Kindness in Action: Kind Notes to Self
School News and Updates
Nominate a Teacher Who "Goes the Extra Yard!"
The Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl has teamed up with the College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation to celebrate "Big Day for Teachers" on Tuesday. This nationwide initiative aims to recognize and appreciate educators. The Bowl plans to gift $1,000 each to nineteen more Southern Arizona teachers, totaling $20,000 in support. Nominations for outstanding teachers are open until Sunday, Oct. 15 at the Arizona Bowl website.
Nominate a Carrillo teacher who "goes the extra yard" today! You have a few hours left.
The Book Fair is Coming!
Get ready! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming our way (YAY!). Choosing their own books empowers kids and inspires them on their journey to becoming lifelong readers. and—as always—every purchase at the Fair benefits our school.
Here’s what you need to know about the big event, which will occur from October 23 through October 27 in the Carrillo Library.
Say goodbye to cash and hello to eWallet—your child’s digital payment account. Before the Fair, set up eWallet for worry-free, cash-free purchases. Anyone can contribute! Share each child’s eWallet so friends and family can add funds and give your kids more books to enjoy.
If you can’t attend the Fair, shop at our school’s Book Fair online. All orders ship directly to your home, and shipping is free for book orders over $25. Every online purchase will also benefit our school.
Visit our Book Fair homepage (coming soon) to learn more and get started with eWallet and online shopping.
The countdown to more Bookjoy is on! Catch you at the Fair!
Improving Reading and Math at Home
All students at Carrillo have access to a wonderful resource to support their continued growth in Reading and Math. That resource is IXL. Research shows that doing just 1 extra session a day can have a tremendous impact on student learning.
Our younger students also have access to RAZ-Plus to support literacy.
To access IXL or RAZ Plus students just log into their Clever accounts and select the icons. Please contact your student's teacher if they have any trouble.
Social Media
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.
Parent-Teacher Meetings
The teaching staff is quite busy preparing for daily instruction in the morning. Thank you for emailing to schedule a meeting time with them rather than just dropping in. Teacher email addresses can be found on our staff webpage. Thank you for your help!
Cafeteria Offerings
We are encouraging every family to apply for Free/Reduced Lunch. The number of accepted applications directly impacts our Title I funding, so thank you for taking a moment to complete it, even if your student doesn't plan to eat school lunch. The application is located on the TUSD Meals website.
The Food Services website also has a page dedicated to this month's breakfast offerings as well as this month's lunch offerings. You can even even get a mobile app for your phone online.
Carrillo Online Spirit Store
Looking for Carrillo spirit gear? Adrian from Big Frog has set up this year's online store. You can purchase this year's "Success Across the Eduverse" shirt as well as classic Carrillo spirit gear.
Transportation and Parent Pick Up and Drop Off Reminders
TUSD Buses
For more information, visit Transportation's website to see if your student qualifies for FREE transportation and to begin routing.
Morning Drop Off Reminders
Just a friendly reminder that the earliest students can be dropped off is 7:35 a.m. 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.
Affter school Pick-Up Updates and Request
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 further accidents. Thank you for helping us keep our Cougars and our community safe.
Follow these signs.
Thank you for exiting via S. 11th Ave.
Attendance and Absence Reporting
Attendance Reporting Made Easy
- Log into ParentVue from App or Computer
- 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.
- On the top right corner of the page it will have a blue link that says "Report Absence" click on this
- Use the calendar to select dates and the drop-down for the reason for the absence.
- 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!
Attendance Matters
Missing a day of school here and there may not seem like much, but it adds up.
When a student misses 2 days a month they will miss...
- 20 days a year (the equivalent of a month of instruction)
- 30 hours of math instruction
- 60 hours of reading and writing instruction
- Over a 1 year of instruction by graduation
When a student misses 4 days a month they will miss...
- 40 days a year (the equivalent of two months of instruction)
- 60 hours of math instruction
- 120 hours of reading and writing instruction
- Over a 2 year of instruction by graduation
PTO News and Volunteering Opportunities
PTO Meeting this week.
Carrillo PTO Annual READ-A-THON InformationWe hope everyone got their read-a-thon fundraising sheets! Individual prizes for $ raised and the student who raises the most $ from each class wins a special experience as a prize. Also, the class that raises the most $ will earn a special experience prize. Please do not forget that your sheets and money raised is due 10/18/23! Please email PTO if you have any questions.
Carrillo's Fall Festival is also coming up on Oct. 27th. PTO will be there selling tickets for use at all booths for food and games. Tickets will be $0.50 each. PTO will also be doing our very popular Cake Walk. Donations of cake and other store-bought baked goods can be made to the office starting Wednesday, Oct. 25th. Our Pumpkin Decorating contest will return as well. To sign up to help with these PTO booths please click on this link.
Lastly, PTO would like to thank all of the students and staff for showing their appreciation on Thursday, Sept 28th. We received many sweet cards, letters, Kindness Notes, and a lovely poster signed by 2nd grade! Carrillo's PTO loves their Cougars xoxoxo
Our next meeting is October 18th on Zoom at 6 pm. See you there!
Art Volunteers
Ms. Dal Pra is seeking First Grade art volunteers on Thursdays from 12:35-2:35. You can help students build a mini-town. The art classroom needs two or three volunteers to help students during the “construction” process. Students will be house painters and landscapers as they create their own parcel of land within “Cougar Town.” Contact the art room via email or just stop by after signing in at the front office.
Volunteers / Visitors
We encourage all parents to register as volunteers on the TUSD website as the process takes a few weeks to complete. Parents cannot volunteer on field trips without completing this in advance.
We ask non-parental volunteers (grandparents, aunts, uncles, community members, etc.) to contact the office before registering as a volunteer so we can explain the process and help identify volunteer opportunities.
Box Tops for Education
The Top Classes are...
- #1 - Grade 4 with 50 box tops
- #2 - Kindergarten with 21 box tops
- #3 - Grade 1 with 18 box tops
Community Events
Please check back here to learn about upcoming community events of interest to Carrillo families.
Discovery Nights at the Children's Museum
Join us for Free Discovery Nights
from 5-7 pm every Thursday
at Children’s Museum Tucson!
Enjoy free admission, bilingual programming, and extended hours every Thursday! Reserve your tickets on the Discovery Nights webpage.
Art After Dark
Every Second Saturday, come learn about Tucson's vibrant arts community!
- Guest artists each month
- Hands-on activities
- Free museum admission 5:30 - 7:30 pm
- First 400 people receive a free return-visit pass.
Hola! A Tucson Block Party
¡Hola! A Tucson Block Party celebrates the diversity of our local community with musical performances, great food, and fun activities! For more details, visit the event page.
Meet your neighbors and make new friends at this cultural celebration where all are welcome! Museum admission is “Pay What You Wish” all day for kids and families.
- When: Saturday, October 28
- Time: 9 am - 1 pm
Stay in Touch!
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.