Bobcat Tales
March 9, 2026
Women's History Month and
Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
Mark Your Calendar
March 9th-March 27th: Parent Survey Open~please complete
March 13th: Teacher Professional Development Day~No school for students
March 16th: 5:00-6:00 pm SLVE Library: Childcare available
March 26th: Fun Run Day
April 16th or May 7th: SLVE TK Kick off
April 30th: Open House 5:30-7:00pm
May 6th: Kindergarten Round Up
May 4th-15th: CAASPP Testing Grades 3-5
May 18th-22nd: CAST Testing Grade 5
Friday, March 13th Teacher Professional Development Day
Just a reminder that there is no school on Friday. Teachers will be participating in a professional development day. This is the last teacher professional development day of the school year.
Message from Principal Ponza
Our annual Parent Survey is now open. Please take a moment to complete this very important survey. Parent input and feedback is so important in keeping SLVE strong. There is a participation incentive which helps our school as well!! The Parent Survey will be open from March 9th-March 27th. Please read details below.
SLVUSD ANNUAL FAMILY SURVEYS – OPEN UNTIL MARCH 27th.
SLVUSD is looking to gather feedback from our families regarding our Academic, Communication, and Learning Environment goals. We anticipate the survey will take from five to seven minutes to complete. The valuable feedback that you submit will provide the District and the site with important information as we plan for the 2026-2027 school year.
The surveys will be available through Friday, March 27th.
As a little incentive, the schools will receive additional site funds for student/teacher resources based on the percentage of families that complete the survey for their site.
SLVE Annual Family Survey English Link
SLVE Annual Family Survey Spanish Link
The breakdown for the incentive is as follows (percentage represents participation):
10% = $1,000, 20% = $2,000, 30% = $3,000, 40% = $4,000, 50% = $5,000
In addition, the site with the highest percentage of completed surveys will receive an additional $5,000.
We are excited to engage in a little fun competition. Each site is ready for the challenge and believes that it will be their families that will achieve the highest percentage of completed surveys. Thank you in advance for taking the time to provide your input.
Get Ready for our SLVE Fun Run Fundraiser!
We’re thrilled for this year’s main fundraiser — SLVE Fun Run! Our goal is to raise $40,000 for the Life Lab, art, ceramics, and campus improvements to benefit our students at SLVE.
Why are we excited?
✅ Easy-to-use fundraising platform
✅ Character-building program
✅ Fitness celebration event for every student!
Families will gather donations through MyBooster.com by simply sharing your student’s page with friends and family. Every share makes a difference!
Students will also enjoy 'Star Quest 5,' an exciting character-building adventure where they'll learn important values through space-themed figures and activities.
⭐ Key Dates:
💻 Sign up opens at MyBooster.com – 03/03/2026
🎉 Kickoff in school – 03/17/2026
👟 Event Day – 03/26/2026
Stay tuned for more details and follow us on social media for updates!
San Lorenzo Valley Elementary Intent to Return Form~Please complete today!
It is hard to believe but it is time for us to start thinking about next year. We ask that EVERY SLVE family complete the Intent to Return form. We need to know about each and every student so we can plan classes and staffing for next year. Please click on this link: SLVE Intent to Return Form to complete the form.
March PBIS Update from Ms. Alves, Dean of Students
March PBIS Theme: Resilience
Our PBIS theme for March is Resilience. Students will be reading books about resilience and learning about resilience through others stories of perseverance.
Throughout the month, teachers will nominate students who demonstrate the ability to persist through difficult situations to receive the Resilience Award. Families of award recipients will be invited to attend our assembly on March 25th to help us honor and celebrate their students.
School Store Update
Our next school store will be on Friday, April 17th during recess. Thank you so much for all of your generous donations to the school store. Students are enjoying new items in the school store, including food and larger prizes. If you would like to donate to the school store, please visit this link: SLVE Bobcat Store Wishlist.
Interested in helping host the school store monthly? We are looking for some parent volunteers who would like to help run our school store by setting up, hosting, and cleaning up the school store once a month in the Library or MU room. Please contact Sage Alves malves@slvusd.org if you are interested!
Spirit Week March 30th-April 3rd : Our next spirit week is coming up. Student Council members will be voting on the themes soon but please mark your calendars now!
Read-a-Thon ends today, March 9th. Sign your child up today at https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/lpHJAo?utm=email.
Exciting Rewards!
● The top two classes that raise the most money will win a class party!
1st Place: Pizza Party 2nd Place: Ice Cream Party
● Top Reader from Each Grade: The student in each grade who reads the most will receive a prize bag!
Fun Run is Coming! Students will also enjoy 'Star Quest 5,' an exciting character-building adventure where they'll learn important values through space-themed figures and activities.
Key Dates:
3/03/2026: Sign up opens at MyBooster.com for free! Everyone who signs up will get a keychain
3/17/2026: Kickoff in school
3/26/2026Event Day –
Stay tuned for more details and follow us on social media for updates!
Buy a Yearbook Today!
If you buy a yearbook before April 30, it will ship to school for free. Otherwise, it will ship to your home for a fee. 5th-grade families, don’t forget to buy a dedication for your child! Look at the instructions.
Save the Dates
March 26: Fun Run
April 14: Bobcat Club Meeting
April 24: Spring Auction at Roaring Camp - A Night Under the Stars
April 30: Open House
May 4-8: Staff Appreciation Week
May 12: Bobcat Club Meeting and Elections
Triple P Parenting Classes
Triple P Positive Parenting topical workshop flyers for February.
Información sobre programas en español disponibles en el sitio web.
Each flyer has its own unique link to register for each class, or go to https://www.first5scc.org/triple-p-classes and register on the website. All of these classes are on Zoom!
Workshops are all free, and grant funded by First Five of Santa Cruz.
Individual sessions are also available for free or sliding scale. If you are interested in a 1:1 session, please contact First Five of Santa Cruz at First 5 Santa Cruz County at (831) 465-2217 or
Creating a Safe and Caring School for Everyone at SLVE
At San Lorenzo Valley Elementary, we want to start the school year by sharing something very important: we do not allow any form of hate, bullying, or unkind behavior in our schools. Every student and adult deserves to feel safe, respected, and welcome—always.
We are proud of the many different backgrounds, families, and identities that make up our school community. We believe every student should be treated with kindness, no matter their race, abilities, gender, religion, or family structure.
Here’s how we support a safe and inclusive school:
We take all reports of bullying, body shaming, or hateful actions seriously and follow our rules to keep everyone safe.
We teach students about kindness, respect, and how to treat others through class lessons and school activities.
We provide counseling and support to students and families who need it.
We ask for your help at home, too. Please talk with your children about treating others with empathy and kindness.
Together, we can make sure our schools are places where every student can learn, grow, and feel proud of who they are.
Attendance Matters
We'd like to emphasize the importance of daily attendance for your student.
We know people get sick, people get injured, and there can be family or life responsibilities and other issues that are reasonable and excused. But if your student can attend, they need to be in school.
If your student is out for three or more consecutive days, we may request a doctor’s note to continue excusing the absences. Students who miss 3-5 days will receive a Chronic Absence letter. We will then meet with those families to attempt to support the student attending school. On the second Chronic Absence Letter, families may be required to meet at the District Office to put a plan in place for the student’s attendance. On the third Chronic Absence Letter, families may be required to meet with the County Office Student Attendance Review Board for truancy. Our goal is that nobody ever gets that far along with truancy. We are here to help and support, but it does start at home with the expectation that your student will attend school regularly. For more information please visit our SLVUSD Student Attendance Policy on the SLVUSD website.
Please remember that students who are absent 3 days or more should complete an independent study contract. Lisa Ghelardi, at lblairghelardi@slvusd.org our SLVE Registrar, will work with families to get the paperwork and the missed classwork assignments needed to complete the contract.
SLVE Reminders
- Please be sure to review the SLVE Bell Schedule which highlights start/end times throughout the day.
- Please be sure to send all students to school with a snack, even if they are getting a school lunch.
- The students are very hungry by morning recess. A snack helps to keep them focused and engaged until lunch time.
- Label all jackets, backpacks, water bottles and lunch bags.
- Make sure to communicate pick up plans with your student's teacher.
- Our perimeter gates will be closed from 8:30 am-2:00 pm each day. All visitors should enter the school through the front office and sign in.
- TK Pick Up Protocols
- Car Pick-Up: You may pick up your TK child through the car pick-up line at the flagpole between 12:15–12:20 p.m. (Wednesday pick-up begins at 12:15 p.m.).
- Please note: On Wednesdays, our buses need extra time to complete TK pick-up and return for upper-grade dismissal, so we appreciate your timeliness
- Classroom Door Pick-Up: If you prefer to pick up your child at the classroom door, please stop by the front office first to sign in and get a visitor pass. To help maintain campus security and minimize disruption to other classrooms still in session, we ask that you do not enter campus before 12:10 p.m.
- A lanyard for TK pick up will be distributed at Back to School Night. TK teachers will be discussing this protocol at that time.
- K-3rd Pick Up Protocols:
- Perimeter gates will open at 2:00 pm
- Car pick up:Teachers will walk classes out to the pick up area for both car and bus pick up.
- Classroom door pick up: if you would like to walk in to pick up your child, please do not come before 2:00 when gates open.
- In an effort to minimize noise and distractions for our 4th and 5th grade classrooms the SLVE Playstructure and Field of Dreams playground areas will be closed from 2:15-3:00 pm
- If you plan to remain on campus while waiting to pick up an upper-grade sibling between 2:15 and 3:00 p.m., we kindly ask that you wait at the picnic tables located under the shade structure on the basketball court playground. Your cooperation helps us maintain a quiet, focused and safe learning environment for all students through the end of the school day. Thank you for your continued support!
- 4th-5th Pick Up Protocols:
- Car pick up: Students will be walked to the pick up areas by their teachers at 3:00 pm
- Classroom Door pick up: If you are walking in to meet your student, please be sure to wait until 2:55.
Student Pick up Drop off
We are really needing to focus on safety during our pick up time each day. As a reminder, the far right lane is the ONLY lane that you may idle in to pick up your student. The middle lane is a drive thru lane only for parents who are driving up to park. If cars stop in the middle lane, buses CANNOT get up the hill to pass without going into the far left lane which is the exiting lane. There have been some close calls and unsafe situations where cars are stopped in the middle lane when buses are making the wide turn to go down the driveway to head out onto Highway 9. We would also like to remind you that the parking lot in front of the school office is reserved for teachers/staff only. Please do not stop there to drop off or pick up your student. We appreciate your role in helping to ensure the safety of our SLVE students and families.
Hello from the SLVUSD Transportation Department,
To register your student to ride the bus, there are two options:
1) Online on the Transportation Department’s page located on the SLVUSD.org website. Under Registration Information there is a clickable link to our Google Doc which will automatically update our department on your student’s registration.
2) At our office in the school bus yard located at 315 Marion Ave, Ben Lomond, half-way down the driveway to the District Office. For the safety of our mechanics and drivers, we ask that you park at the District Office and walk up the driveway to our office.
Information about payments for an annual or single semester bus pass for your student is also located on the Transportation Department’s page. To pay by card, please use LINQ Connect, just as you would for student lunches. To pay by cash/check, come to our office at the transportation yard. If your student receives government assistance and you would like to see about free or reduced-price bus passes, or if you have any questions at all, please call our office at 831-336-2223.
Thank you so much for your continued support for the safe transportation of students, and remember:
If the red lights are flashing, you shouldn’t be passin’!