Bobcat Tales
February 13, 2026
SLVE Mission Statement
“We are a supportive team of educators, collaborating with our community, dedicated to nurturing critical thinking, social-emotional growth, and a lifelong love of learning. Rooted in equity and inclusion, we strive to educate and prepare responsible, compassionate citizens through strong partnerships and engaging learning experiences.”
Black History Month
February is Black History Month, a time when we learn about and celebrate the important contributions, achievements, and stories of Black Americans. At SLVE, students will explore these topics through books, discussions, and activities. We connect this learning to our school values of kindness and respect by helping students appreciate differences, show empathy, and honor the positive impact people from all backgrounds have made in our communities and country.
Happy February Break
This is a reminder that school will be closed Monday, February 16th-Friday, February 20th. School will resume Monday, February 23rd. Have a wonderful week off!
Mark Your Calendar
February 13th: SLVE Intent to Return Form due~please fill out and submit today!
February 16th-20th: February Break
February 24th: CSA Food Box Distribution
February 26th: SLV Elementary STEAM Expo
March 5th: Vigilant Parent Initiative Session 5-7 SLVE
April 16th or May 7th: SLVE TK Kick off
May 6th: Kindergarten Round Up
San Lorenzo Valley Elementary Intent to Return Form~Please complete by Friday, February 13th
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. All forms need to be submitted no later than Friday, 2/13.
February PBIS Theme: Respect
Our PBIS theme for February is Respect. Students will be learning what respect looks like in the classroom and across different school settings. Respect is one of our three PBIS pillars: Be Safe, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible.
Throughout the month, teachers will nominate students who demonstrate respect to receive the Respect Award. Families of award recipients will be invited to attend our assembly on February 25th to help us honor and celebrate their students.
School Store Update
Our next school store will be on Friday, February 27th 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!
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!
Free Family Movie Night February 27th– Don’t Miss It!
Join us for a cozy Free Family Movie Night! Bring your blankets and enjoy the show with friend!
Popcorn, drinks, pizza & snacks will be for sale
February 27
6 pm
SLVE MU Room
Parents must attend — let’s make it a fun night together!
Please RSVP, and if you can volunteer!
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
February 23: Read-a-Thon
February 27: Free Family Movie Night
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
Cradle to Career Update
Cradle to Career will distribute free CSA boxes to families within the district—no eligibility requirements apply. Anyone, regardless of income, is welcome to take a box. Each box is filled with fresh fruits and vegetables from Live Earth Farm. Students riding the bus can also take home a box in an easy-to-carry grocery bag. If you would like your student to take home a bag, please remind them to grab one at the bus line.
Thank you!
Claudia Coblea@c2cscc.org or call/text at 831-325-2390.
The next CSA Food Box distribution is coming up on Tuesday, February 24th from 2:00-3:30. Please see the fliers below for details.
DistribLa próxima distribución de la caja de alimentos CSA se acerca, el martes 24 de febrero de 2:00 a 3:30. Por favor, consulte los volantes a continuación para más detalles.
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’!