Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! We hope this letter finds you and your family well and that you had a wonderful summer filled with rest, adventure, and quality time together.

As we embark on a new academic year, we are filled with excitement and optimism for the journey ahead. Our dedicated staff has been hard at work preparing for a year filled with engaging learning experiences, innovative programs, and opportunities for growth in a supportive and nurturing environment.

Communication and collaboration between home and school are crucial for student success. We encourage you to stay involved and engaged in your child’s education. Our doors are always open for any questions, concerns, or ideas you may have. Please keep an eye out for our monthly newsletters, updates on our school website, and information sent home with your child.

We are also excited to welcome new families to our school community and look forward to seeing familiar faces. Together, we can create a positive and enriching environment where every child feels valued, supported, and inspired to reach their full potential.

This year we will be sending newsletters monthly. Each month you will receive a link to the monthly newsletter by text or email through Parent Square. We will continue to send/post any additional information through parent square throughout the year, including weekly calendar updates. Please create an account in Parent Square and download the Parent Square app on your phone for easy access. This is the best way to receive and send communication between home and school. More information on Parent Square is available in this newsletter.

We are really excited about our new staff additions this year:

Assistant Principal: Stephanie Ariza (Monday, Thursday, every other Friday)

SDC TK/Kindergarten: Stephanie Gordon

AM Kindergarten: Mrs. Norman (Benevides)

PM Kindergarten: Mrs. Garrett

First grade: Ms. Price

First grade: Mrs. Martin/Mrs. Ruiz

Third grade: Peggy George

Third grade: Lauren Krugman(Soest)

Fifth grade: Mrs. Hammarstrom

Sixth grade: Ms. Jones(Th)

K-2 PERL: Emily Mosier

Response to Intervention(RtI): Joy Alden

Mental Health Clinician: Joey Colonel

Speech: Ms. Grace

Psychologist: Ms. Theus

Health Clerk: Shanna Peters

Student Monitor: Tim Eddy

Thank you for entrusting us with the education and well-being of your children. Here’s to a fantastic school year ahead!

Warmest regards,

Anne Silva

Stephanie Ariza

For the first two days of school we understand that families may want to walk their student onto campus at 8:15 and we welcome you to do so. Please have your children walk. You can walk with them. We just kindly ask that you are off campus at the start of school so that we can lock gates and ensure the safety of all students.

Beginning August 19th we will be enforcing all pick up and drop off procedures. We greatly appreciate your adherence to these procedures and helping us create a safe, learning environment for all!

TK and Kindergarten

Regular Day M, T, W, Th-

• AM 8:15-11:35
• PM 11:30-2:50

Early Release Friday- 8:15- 11:35

Minimum Day-8:15- 11:35

1st- 3rd Grade

Regular Day M, T, W, Th- 8:30-2:45

Early Release Friday- 8:30- 12:45

Minimum Day- 8:30-12:45

4th-5th Grade

Regular Day M, T, W, Th- 8:30-2:50

Early Release Friday- 8:30- 12:50

Minimum Day- 8:30-12:50

On Monday, August 12, parents will have the opportunity to go onto the Parent Portal, update your child's information (emergency contacts, phone number/address changes, etc), and you can then get your child's class assignment.

If you don't access the Parent Portal, you will receive a ParentSquare message from the school Monday afternoon with your child's class assignment. This will come via text, email, and voice message. If you don't receive these messages, contact the Orchard office on Wednesday the 16th and we'll figure out why you aren't getting our messages and get you that information...of course, if you are getting this newsletter, you are getting our messages...

All meals are still free to ALL STUDENTS! Though meals are not reimbursed for all students federally, the State has permitted all schools in California to continue offering free meals to all students. Since meals are free, we encourage all students to come try our meals. Breakfast or snack is free, too! This is a great way to save money at home and have your students try something new. Breakfast starts at 8:00 AM.

We are required to track each student’s meal for reimbursement. This means that every student will be given their PIN to enter when they receive a meal. Teachers and staff will work with the elementary students to make this process fast and easy. Older students will have no problem with this method since the PIN is part of their student ID which they use to log in to their school computers.

We are continuing our walking exercise routine this year! When the gates open at 8:15 AM, students in grades 1-2 will be walking on the lower playground. The 4th-6th grade students will be walking on the walking path in the upper grade playground. TK and Kindergarten students will wait with their families by the TK/Kindergarten gate for their teachers to pick them up at 8:15.

After School Program- Right at School

This extended day program is a partnership between Vacaville Unified School District (VUSD) and Right at School. They will provide the staffing, and a daily program focused on academic support and enrichment, interventions, social-emotional wellness and support, and more.

Please see the link below for registration.

Families are welcome to tour/visit the Orchard campus. We invite you to walk our campus, find your student's classroom, classroom number on the back top where your student will line up in the mornings, and meet the administration. Please make sure your student has a clear understanding about where they are to go after school for the first few days. Feel free to practice this to reduce student stress and anxiety for your student. Teachers will not be available at this time but office staff and administration will be available to answer any questions you may have.

A Visitor is a parent, relative, or other adult with permission of the child’s parent or guardian who visits the school for a specific event or reason, or attends an off-campus school-sponsored event. There is no reasonable expectation that a visitor would be alone with a child other than their own.

A Visitor checks in at the front office, presents their identification and wears a “Visitor” sticker at all times while in the building, at an off-campus school event during school hours.

Screened Volunteers are adults who assist teachers, administrators, or other staff in public school classrooms, schools, or school district programs and who do not receive compensation for their work.

Screened Volunteers serve under the guidance and direction of district personnel. Volunteers have submitted a Volunteer Application to the school district, have cleared a background check, and will wear identifying stickers or badges at all times while on school grounds or at school-sponsored events. All Volunteers, like all adults entering our school buildings, must check in at the front desk and present their identification.

If your scholar needs to be absent, please verify the absence with Ms. Hilary

1. Call Ms. Hilary at 707-453-6255 or email her at hgex@vacavilleusd.org .

2. Send a written note justifying you scholar's reason for absence.

3. Send a doctor's note to verify the scholars absence.

Orchard Elementary serves a diverse population of students with varied needs. We support some of Vacaville Unified School District’s earliest learners all the way to our upper elementary classmen to ensure that they access their education to be successful students and achieve high levels of success.

Transitional Kindergarten: This is new to Orchard this year. Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is part of the K-12 public school system and is the first year of a two-year kindergarten program that uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate.

Special Day Class Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten: Special Day Class provides intensive specialized instruction and services to pupils.

Resource Program: Smaller academic setting to support with building foundational skills and reducing academic stress for students.

Program for Effective Relationships and Learning: One of the programs unique to Orchard Elementary is our Program for Effective Relationships and Learning (PERL). This program supports students and families in addressing mental and behavioral health needs of our students while at school. As a parent of a student at Orchard, you may receive reports of student behavior or see students on campus exhibit behaviors that you would not necessarily expect at school. Orchard has specialized staff that are trained in behavior and mental health responses to students in crisis. Should any concerns arise throughout the year please reach out to our office staff so we can support all of our Orchard students and families.

Independent Study: Independent study is a form of educational activity undertaken by an individual student with their family. They meet weekly with a certificated teacher who provides educational guidance and materials.

Cell phones are becoming more of a distraction for our children, which is disrupting the learning environment at school. Cell phones are recognized as a safety precaution for parents and children before and after school. Cell phones and other personal electronic items may not disrupt the educational program, school activities or violates the rights of others. During the school day, bell to bell, all cell phones must be turned off and remain out of sight. Teachers may allow students to use their cell phones for instructional purposes under their supervision. If a school employee finds it necessary to confiscate an electronic device, the item will be secured and recorded in the Confiscated Item Log in the office. Cell phone violation consequences: 1st violation- warning & confiscation, return to the student at the end of the day, 2nd violation- confiscation & parent pick up, 3rd violation- confiscation, parent pick up and administrative detention. 4th violation- confiscation, parent pick up and behavior contract.

We are excited to announce that we adopted a new form of school-to-home communication at Vacaville Unified School District called ParentSquare. This unified communications platform is designed to keep parents and guardians informed and encourage greater engagement and connection with VUSD. It provides a safe way for district administrators, school principals, teachers, staff, and parents to:

• Send and receive school and class information

• Share pictures and files

• See calendar items

• Sign up to volunteer

• Schedule parent-teacher conferences

• and much more . . . all in one centralized place!

Parents—Getting Started Video

All district and school, grade level and classroom information will now be sent to your computer or phone via email and/or text. For even more convenience, download the ParentSquare app (available for free for iOS and Android devices).

Have questions? Click the question mark in the top right corner of the desktop version or the Help tab on the app (tap the triple bar icon at the top left) to find answers to most of your questions.

It is important that the parent(s) of each student create and update their Parent Portal information as this serves as the "emergency card" for VUSD students. The parent portal offers a secure and convenient way to access and update your child’s information online.

The parent portal allows parents to:

• View your student's teacher for the school year
• View and update their child’s emergency contact information
• Update student medical information
• View standardized test scores and elementary report cards
• View attendance information in real time
• View the VUSD Annual Parent Notification
• Complete the annual release acknowledgement and permission requirements

To set up your portal, click here with the following information (your email will include your unique log-in needs):

• A valid email address
• Your student's ID number
• Your primary telephone number registered with the school
• A verification code

Contact the office if you need your child's verification code.