BOBCAT TALES

Professional Development Day on Monday, November 2nd~NO School for Students

There will be no school for students on Monday, November 2nd, as our teachers participate in a Professional Development Day. This is a valuable opportunity for teachers to receive curriculum training, collaborate with colleagues, and strengthen instructional practices to better support student learning.

Mark your Calendar:

November 2nd: Teacher Professional Development Day~No school for students

November 6th: Report cards sent home/Family Science Night

November 11th: Veterans Day Holiday~No School

November 14th: Bands for Bobcats Boogie at The Crepe Place

November 23rd-27th: Fall Break

A Message from Mrs. Ponza

PBIS Honesty Assembly

On Wednesday, October 28th, we held our monthly PBIS assembly, focusing on the character trait of honesty. Students shared their thoughts about what it means to be honest, and Mr. Muchmore shared a video highlighting the importance of honesty in our everyday lives. We also celebrated students from each classroom who demonstrated honesty throughout the month. Congratulations to our Bobcats for being great examples of this important character trait!

"The Spider's Web" Mini Art Show

A big thank you to our amazing art teacher, Kelli Reynolds, for all of her creativity and hard work in putting together the Spider's Web Mini Art Show! What a wonderful opportunity to showcase our students' artistic talents and creativity!

Halloween Parade

Our annual SLVE Halloween Parade was a fun-filled celebration! Students, teachers, and staff showed off their creative costumes and came together for our traditional Monster Mash dance! A big thank you to all of our families and caregivers who joined us and enthusiastically cheered on our Bobcats. It was a wonderful way to celebrate Halloween together as a school community!

Join the SLVE Bike Bus!

This Biketober, SLVE families are riding to school together! Every school day in October, parents can join the Bike Bus with their kids riding along as passengers.

Where & when: Meet at Cooper & Farmer in Felton at 8:00 a.m. We’ll cross the Fall Creek bridge, take Fall Creek Drive to Hwy 9, and arrive at SLVE around 8:10 a.m. (we've cleared our route with Caltrans).

Our big kickoff is Monday, October 5! Come for one ride or join us every day.

Learn more at www.slvbikebus.org/sle. Every ride you log also earns an entry in Biketober’s countywide prize drawings, with prizes up to $1,000.

Questions? Email Ben Ruggeberg at hello@slvbikebus.org.

Bikes can be parked along the SLVE perimeter gate, facing the SLVE Cafeteria.This is a parent sponsored activity.

Community Opportunities Website

The "Community Opportunities" website link is provided as a courtesy to parents and students, by the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District, to enable you to receive information of current local events and opportunities for adults and/or children.

Triple P Parenting Classes

Triple P Positive Parenting topical workshop flyers for October/November.

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.

If your child will be riding the bus this year and will need a bus pass, please make sure you purchase your bus pass. Once you log in to LinqConnect you will see "School Store" on the bottom right hand corn. Click that to buy your pass. Any questions contact the Transportation department at 831-336-2223 Please also complete the Bus Registration Form 26-27.for all students riding the bus.

SLVE Mobile Device Policy

Electronic devices must be turned off and kept in the student's backpack during school hours, including breaks and lunch. If the devices are used during the school day, the District employee will confiscate the device and return it to the student's caretaker at the end of the school day. If a student needs to contact a family member during school hours, they can request permission from a district employee, and the office can facilitate the communication. We ask all families to support this new legal requirement and our staff by reviewing our updated policy and helping ensure your child(ren) understands and follows these guidelines. Together, we can support their focus on academics, healthy social development, and the meaningful, positive interactions happening around them every day.

Electronic devices also apply to, but are not limited to, headphones, AirPods, earbuds, portable speakers, smartwatches, and tablets.

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.

SLVE Drop Off and Pick Up Protocols

• 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.
• 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!

• New TK Pickup Procedure: Due to the construction along Highway 9, the TK classes are implementing a new pickup procedure this year. Upon TK dismissal, TK students, who are being picked up by a vehicle other than Bus transportation, will be picked up near the SLV Middle School parking area. For vehicle pickup, drivers will drive up El Soyo Heights off of Highway 9, make a left onto Hacienda Way, and drive through the parking area to pick up their student. Students will be waiting, with their teacher, under the awning facing the Middle School staff parking lot until the teacher releases the student to the caregiver indicated to the teacher by the student's family. Parents who typically walk in to meet their TK student, will be meeting their student at the Middle School pick up area as well.

  TK will only be using the Middle School parking lot (this is the area right in front of the Middle School) FOR PICK UP ONLY!

• A quick reminder about campus access during drop off. Because our elementary and middle school campuses are connected, we want to make sure everyone is helping us keep both campuses safe and secure.Please do not walk, bike, or cut through the Middle School campus when traveling to or from SLVE between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The Middle School is in session during this time, and students and families should use designated routes to access the elementary school rather than traveling through the Middle School quad or other campus areas. We appreciate your help in respecting our neighboring campus and supporting a safe school environment for all students and staff.

Attendance Matters

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.