SOMOS SABE Noticias familiares

Dear SABE Families,

Welcome to February! As we step into the second month of the year, we are excited to share some important updates and upcoming events with you. Here's what you can expect:

Black History Month Celebrations: Throughout February, we will be celebrating Black History Month with various activities and educational initiatives. We encourage you to engage in discussions at home about the significant contributions of African Americans to our society.

Kindness Month:

We're excited to announce that February is Kindness Month at SABE! Kindness Month is a special time when we focus on teaching and practicing acts of kindness with our students. We believe that fostering kindness is not only essential for building a supportive school community but also for shaping our children into empathetic and compassionate individuals.

During Kindness Month, we'll be introducing various activities and initiatives aimed at promoting kindness among our students. Here's what you can expect:

1. Classroom Activities: Our teachers will incorporate lessons and activities that emphasize the importance of kindness, empathy, and compassion into their curriculum. These activities will encourage students to understand the impact of their actions on others and inspire them to practice kindness in their daily interactions.

2. Kindness Challenges: We'll be organizing fun and engaging kindness challenges for students and families to participate in. These challenges will encourage them to perform acts of kindness both within the school community and at home. We encourage you to join in these challenges with your child and share your experiences with us!

Reminders from the Health Office: With flu season still upon us, please remember to reinforce healthy habits at home, such as proper hand washing and staying home when feeling unwell. Additionally, ensure that your child's immunizations are up to date.

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership in your child's education journey. Together, we can make this month a successful and memorable one for our students.

Warm regards,

Felicitas Reyes

Principal

• February 1-29: Kindness Month
• February 5: ACCESS testing starts/ Staff Meeting (3:30-4:30 p.m.)
• February 5-16: iStation Progress Monitoring Window (K-3)
• February 13: PTA Meeting @ 5:30 p.m.
• February 15:NAEP Testing (4th Grade only)/ ¡SOMOS SABE!
• February 19: Presidents' Day/ NO SCHOOL
• February 29: End of 2nd Trimester/ Kindness Bingo Due
• March 1: Kindness Bingo Prize Drawing
• March 5: SABE Bring a Friend Open House 5:30-6:30 p.m.
• March 11: Enrollment Lottery Opens
• March 12: SABE Bring a Friend Open House 5:30-6:30 p.m.
• March 22: SABE Returning Enrollment & Sibling forms due by 5:30 p.m.
• May 8: Lottery closes
• May 9: Lottery takes place virtually. (More information as the day approaches.)

It's that time of year when families interested in SABE may schedule tours, visit our Open House events and enter the enrollment lottery for the 2024-2025 school year. Share your experience with friends, family, and neighbors and invite them to any of our school events. Below are some frequently asked questions. Please also see below how you can help with our student recruitment efforts for the 2024-2025 school year!

Who participates in the lottery?

Students new to SABE in all grades for the 2024-2025 school year.

If my child(ren) already attends SABE do they need to be in the lottery?

No. If your child already attends SABE, they do not need to enter into the lottery. They will have a secure spot for the 2024-2025 school year.

What students need to be in the lottery to attend SABE?

• New kindergarten students that do not have siblings at the school during the current school year.
• New students in 1st through 8th grade.

Does my child need to know Spanish to attend SABE?

Students new to SABE do not need to know Spanish to attend our school.

Important Dates to Remember

• March 5: SABE Bring a Friend Open House 5:30-6:30 p.m.
• March 11: Enrollment Lottery Opens
• March 12: SABE Bring a Friend Open House 5:30-6:30 p.m.
• March 22: SABE Returning Enrollment & Sibling forms due by 5:30 p.m.
• May 8: Lottery enrollment closes
• May 9: Lottery is held. More information to come as the date gets closer.

The SABE Student Ambassadors are challenging all of our students to perform different acts of kindness. Teachers will receive a calendar with a list of different acts of kindness. When students are "caught" doing an act of kindness they will receive a strip of paper where they will write their name and what they did. At the end of the day, Student Ambassadors will go around collecting the paper strips and make a Kindness Paper Chain to display in the school.

Student Ambassadors will be selling Kindness Grams through out the month of February. The cost of each Kindness Gram will be $1. The funds raised will support the different activities of the Student Ambassadors.

Click on the link below to place your child's Kindness Gram order. Place your order online and send the payment of $1 per gram ordered with your student. Send the exact amount. Our Student Ambassadors will go around to the classrooms to collect the money the day after the order is placed. Deliveries of Kindness Grams will be made each Friday. Sales begin on February 5 and end on February 29.

NOTE:

• Student Ambassadors will not be able to make change. Please send the exact amount.
• Complete one form for each gram ordered.
• All sales are final.

Student Ambassadors are inviting families to play the Kindness Bingo at home. Students will receive a Kindess Bingo Card to take home. Bingo cards are due back to school no later than February 29th to participate in a Kindness Month drawing on March 1st.

Our next family engagement event is on Thursday, February 15th. The theme for this month's ¡SOMOS SABE! is "KINDNESS" and we will be hosting a family dance. Please look for more information about this coming soon!

SABE will be hosting it's first school dance since Covid. The dance will take place on Thursday, February 15th during ¡SOMOS SABE!.

If you would like to donate decorations for the dance, please send them to the school with your child or drop them off at the school office. More details will be posted on ClassDojo.

SABE is in it's ninth year as the first Kindergarten - 8th grade dual language free, state authorized public charter school. We will be completing our renewal for the NM Public Education Department and the Public Education Commission next year. Along our journey, we have had hurdles we have overcome and have seen immense success! We continue to strive to continue celebrating and succeeding! We have started the process of moving forward with a potential Lease Purchase Agreement to move into a newly renovated school during the 2025 school year. This does require many steps to get done and comes with a large expense. Unfortunately, unlike the traditional schools, we do not have access to the same funds to build a new school. Because we have fewer options, we have to be creative in our pursuit for a new building. Much like households have to plan for a new house purchase, we have saved funds and will be working on a very tight budget to operate the school for the remainder of this year and the next years as we move into our new facility. We will be seeking our school community support in supporting SABE during this time and appreciate any support that can be offered. Please see the ares below where we do need our parent cheerleaders to offer support our continued growth.

As I write this message, we are awaiting the approval from the NMPED department to move forward with the Lease Purchase Agreement. Once that approval has been provided by the NMPED, we will disclose more details about our new facility and planning.

All charter schools, like all traditional school districts, are funded based on student enrollment. Because we did not meet our projection for this school year, our budget was decreased. Since we will be planning very soon for our 2024-2025 school year, we need your help! In our new digital era, we know how important social media and online outlets are for getting the word out about our school. We have worked very hard on these efforts but we are coming short in getting the word out about SABE to our local community based on our enrollment. This is the first year that we have seen a very small increase to our student numbers. We usually have 20+ students each year. This year we only have 8.

We are seeking your help to pass out flyers and attending to informational tables. We will asking our PTA to assist us in organizing some of this work and ask that if you are interested in helping, please complete the following form. Also, if you have ideas for recruitment, please add that to the form! THANK YOU!

Our state budget is developed by our state government. If you have the ear of your senator and/or legislator, please tell them about our school and importance that it is in our community. Any support of charter schools and SABE in particular helps with the perception of charter schools and brings an awareness to our challenges, needs and success. If you have any particular questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact Mrs. Rodriguez by calling the school.

If you or your business is interested in supporting SABE by sponsoring any recruitment events and mailings, please contact Mrs. Rodriguez at the school. As a state agency, any monetary donations can be used for tax purposes. Any amount, or any stamps you are willing to share would be greatly appreciated!

Congratulations to the students that participated in the classroom Spanish Spelling Bee. Each class had two winners. Both class bee winners will go on to the SABE School Spelling Bee that will take place on March 1st.

Spelling Bee Winners

4th Grade: Landen Puente and Sebastian Nevarez

5th Grade: London Nealey and Emma Snodgrass

6th Grade: Nicole Terrazas and Adelina Nevarez

7th Grade: Laila Martinez and Rayne Sarracino

8th Grade: Pending

Our English Language Learners will be taking the ACCESS for ELLs assessment during the month of February. This assessment evaluates the proficiency of students in Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking in English.

Our fourth-grade students will be taking the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment on February 15. This assessment shows what students in public and private schools in the United States know and are able to do in various subjects. Some students will be assessed in Reading, while others will be assessed in Math. All of our staff members will be supporting the fourth graders on February 15!

Our student and staff wellness and safety are important! We have staff, families, and students who have underlying conditions that make them more susceptible to major illness. For that reason, we ask that we all keep each other safe and healthy.

If your child is ill, please keep them home. Have your child return after their symptoms subside and they do not have a fever for 24+ hours.

Should they have COVID symptoms, while we do not require a COVID negative test, we highly recommend that you have your child tested. At-home tests are acceptable. If you are in need of COVID tests, please order your free tests at https://www.covid.gov/tests. We do have free tests at SABE. Please contact Mrs. Almanza if you are in need of one.

If your child tests COVID positive, please inform Mrs. Almanza. SABE has a COVID Positive 5+5 protocol. They are to remain in quarantine at home for 5 days and wear a mask at school for 5 additional days. Day 1 is the day after symptoms begin. For example, if I had a fever on Monday and then developed a cough on Tuesday and I tested on Tuesday, Tuesday would be considered day 1. I would remain home all week and return on Monday and wear a mask for Monday-Friday.

If you have questions, please contact our health assistant, Mrs. Almanza at the school.

Interested families must submit an application to the school or send it to Mr. Cole at careprogram@nmsabe.org.

Program Hours:

• Before School 6:45 - 7:30 a.m.
• After School Program is from 3:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Starting this year there will be a fee for the program. If your family is experiencing financial difficulty and you would like to be considered for a scholarship, please contact Mrs. Rodriguez at jrodriguez@nmsabe.org.

If you need information or have any questions please email our Operations Coordinator, Mr. Esteban Cole at careprogram@nmsabe.org.

February PTA Meeting

The February PTA meeting will be on February 13 at 5:30 via Zoom.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89797046806?pwd=98tMq8O6BCVSyUgzKwLbOY0zYShmoG.1

Meeting ID: 897 9704 6806

Passcode: SABE

● When: February 8- March 8

● What's it for?: All proceeds will go towards a free movie morning at Premiere Cinemas for SABE students on Saturday, March 16 @ 9 am. The movie will be Kung Fu Panda 4.

*Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian (cost for non-student ticket $5.40)*

● How to purchase (Link will be live on Feb. 8):

https://www.groupraise.com/offer-campaigns/38456-sabe-pta-krispy-kreme-digital-dozens

TITLE IX NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT

Sandoval Academy of Bilingual Education is committed to maintaining a safe school environment free from harassment and discrimination. SABE prohibits discrimination based on sex and sexual harassment of students by other students, employees or other persons, at school or school sponsored or school related activities. No student will be excluded from participation in or denied the benefit of any educational program or activity operated by SABE as a consequence of sexual discrimination or sexual harassment or retaliation for making complaints of sexual discrimination or sexual harassment as defined by Title IX.

Title IX Coordinator: Jackie Rodriguez, jrodriguez@nmsabe.org, 505-771-0555