August 22, 2021

Dear Carrillo Families,

We had a great first week at Carrillo. It is so wonderful to see students back in school full time! During the first week of school, we focus on teaching students the procedures and routines of the classroom and schoolwide expectations. Students engage in restorative practices to build a sense of community in the classroom, and Mrs. Keeton and I made classroom visits to discuss our schoolwide behavior expectations. If you have a moment, please review some of the essential principles below.

We Strive to be a Campus of Kindness

We teach students that "kindness" isn't just something we say but something we work on daily by having shared community commitments. We teach students to follow the Carrillo Way, "Doing the right thing, because it's the right thing to do, even when no one is watching."

Our three overarching rules are:

  1. Be Respectful
  2. Make Good Choices
  3. Solve problems

We also discussed our monthly character trait focus, "Self-Control." Students are encouraged to control their thoughts, feelings, and actions to align with their long-term goals. We discuss what having self-control means and what it looks like before school, in class, on the playground, etc. It's imperative that students feel safe, welcome, and connected to our community, especially when we are reconnecting after a difficult lockdown and a year of limited school.

We Love Our PTO!!

Huge thank you to our Parent Teacher Organization for their help in creating a positive learning environment at school. Several parents wrote welcoming, uplifting messages in chalk in front of the school, installed a balloon arch for the first day of school, provided staff breakfasts during the prep days and dinners for back-to-school night. The PTO also provided funding for Scholastic News/Storyworks, Reflex Math, BrainPop Jr., intervention aide salaries, and much more. Thank you, PTO, for making our teachers feel appreciated and ensuring the students have engaging resources and support in the classroom!

Movie Night!

We hope you can join us for the first PTO-sponsored event this Saturday! The gates of Carrillo will open at 6:30 pm for the Family Movie Night. This event is free for all Carrillo families. Please bring low-back chairs and/or outdoor blankets and spread out on the Carrillo lawn. 

See the flyer below for more information. 

CarrilloMovieNightColor.pdf 

Pledge Drive Begins

Our Parent Teacher Organization has kicked off our yearly pledge drive to raise vital funds for many school functions. Please see the attached flyer and visit Carrillopto.com to make a donation.  This is optional and greatly appreciated! We have created some fun schoolwide incentives connected to the pledge drive as well. 

PTOPledgeDriveNewColor.pdf 

Room Parents-

Please consider serving as a room parent for your child's teacher. Although we are still waiting for approval to have visitors and volunteers on campus, room parents have a tremendous impact on creating a positive learning environment for students, and better connections between parents and teachers, even from a remote setting. If you're interested, please let your teacher know. You can also direct any questions to Jamie Soltau ([email protected]), our room parent coordinator.

iReady Diagnostic Opens This Week

Although most teachers will wait to begin this process, the iReady Diagnostic window opens tomorrow, August 22, and will close on September 10. All students in grades k-5 will be participating in the first of three diagnostics over the next few weeks.

Please watch this short video to learn more about the test and the personalized learning program (My Path). One of the essential points to remember is that the test is adaptive, meaning the questions will get progressively harder the better they perform. Once your child starts the test in class, please remind your child not to be discouraged if they don't know something because the exam is designed to identify what they do not know "YET" and give them a personalized learning program to move them forward in their knowledge and skills.

For more information, please read the iReady Family Guide. There is nothing you need to do at this time for iReady as your child's teacher will initiate the diagnostic process. I share this information so you can familiarize yourself with the program. Please let me know if you have any questions.

School Picture Day

Time to "dress your best" on Friday, September 3, for school pictures. Gerardy Photography, https://www.gerardyphoto.com/, will be at Carrillo (masks on) to take pictures of all students and provide a link for you to purchase photos. Students will take their masks off briefly for the photographs.

TK, and Kinder Back To School Night

Thursday, September 2

  • If your last name begins with A-K, you will attend an in-person back-to-school night from 5 pm - 5: 25 pm.
  • If your last name starts with L-Z, you will attend an in-person back-to-school night from 5:50 pm - 6:15 pm.

PreK Back to School Night-

Thursday, September 2, Look to your teacher's communication for the times of arrival.

Masks required- Visitors and staff are required to wear masks indoors at all times, regardless of your vaccination status.

Parking Lot Reminders:

  • The main lot will be used for staff only. This includes the spaces on the side of the lot, closest to the kindergarten gate. Please do not park there to drop off or pick up because it causes a delay in the drop-off and pick up line when cars pull out.
  • Visitor Parking: side lot (along Poinsettia) or in the overflow lot.
  • KOC Lot: KOC parents, part-time staff members, volunteers, and health office
  • 2nd-grade and PreK will pick up from the KOC lot. Everyone else will pick up from the main lot.
  • Unless you have a PreK or 2nd-grader, please DO NOT drive straight towards the KOC lot during drop-off and pick-up times. (8:05-8:45 and 3:10-3:45). Everyone else needs to go through the loop to avoid a collision and prevent gridlock in the parking lot.
  • Do not park and leave your car in the pick-up lane or fire lane at any time. If you would like to escort your child to your car during pick-up or drop-off times, please park in the overflow lot and walk along the sidewalk to the front of the school. The overflow lot is accessible by making an immediate right after entering the parking lot.
  • When dropping off and picking up through the loop, please pull all the way forward. There will be signs and staff members there to assist you.
  • When pulling into our lot during busy times, the left turn into the school can be very long. However, the problem is intensified when cars turn right on Paseo Escuela (into the neighborhood) and skip the line. Please wait patiently for the light to turn green and do not turn into the neighborhood to go straight. This blocks traffic and causes delays for all.

Important Dates at a Glance

  • August 28- PTO Sponsored Family Movie Night!- Doors will open at 6:30 pm. "Raya the Last Dragon" will begin at dusk.
  • September 2- PreK, TK, and Kindergarten Back to School Night
  • September 3- School Picture Day
  • September 6- No school, Labor Day
  • Parent-Teacher Conference Week
    • October 11- No School for students.
    • October 12-15- Minimum Day Schedule (K-5 will release at 12:55 pm)

Remind.com- Please click below if you'd like to receive grade-level reminders through remind.com

PreKhttps://www.remind.com/join/7h7k47f

TK/Kindergarten- https://www.remind.com/join/fcf93f

1st-grade- https://www.remind.com/join/h36aa2

2nd-grade- https://www.remind.com/join/e8a7248

3rd- grade- https://www.remind.com/join/k73heeg

4th-gradehttps://www.remind.com/join/gkg37g

5th-grade- https://www.remind.com/join/2477c9

 

Thank you,

 

Gary Pope, Principal

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