Wildwood Weekly

Homework at Wildwood

We are thankful when members of our school community share questions and concerns about our protocols, systems, and processes. Your feedback allows us to reflect on what we are doing well, identify areas for improvement, and strengthen our communication with families. One topic that has come up often is homework - particularly the amount of time it takes at home. We recognize that homework can sometimes feel like a struggle, and that every child’s experience is unique depending on their learning style, pace, and level of independence.

Here at Wildwood, we follow CVUSD’s Board Policy 6154 as a guide: About 10 minutes per grade level per night (for example, 20 minutes in 2nd grade, 30 minutes in 3rd grade).This time includes all subjects combined, not per assignment. This time does not include independent and recreational reading, practicing musical instruments, and practice for extracurricular activities which we understand are also essential for improving student performance. These types of activities are generally expected to be completed in addition to study skill and content homework.

The purpose of homework is to help students practice skills, build responsibility, and share their learning with families. That said, we also know:

Some students work quickly and independently, while others may need extra support.
Homework should not regularly feel overwhelming, lead to tears, or take an excessive amount of time.

If homework is taking longer than expected, please reach out to your child’s teacher. Our teachers want to hear from you so they can better understand your child’s needs and adjust when appropriate. Many parents who have taken this step report that communication with the teacher has led to noticeable improvements with homework. We also understand that for some families, starting that conversation may feel difficult, but your advocacy is important, and our teachers welcome it.

Together, we can ensure homework is a useful and balanced part of your child’s learning.

Warmly,

Mr. Lynch

September, 2025

16: PTA Food Night - Tarantula Hill from 12:00 - 8:00PM

17: GATE Parent Meeting from 5:00-5:30 on ZOOM

23: No School - Rosh Hashanah

30: School Site Council Meeting from 4-5pm

October, 2025

2: No School: Yom Kippur

3: Back-to-School Picnic and Movie Night: 6:00pm-8:30pm

8: PTA Food Night - Cronies 8am-9pm

8: PTA Executive Board Meeting at 6:00pm

10: Fall Picture Make-Up Day

13-17: Parent/Teacher Conference Week - 12:15pm dismissal for ALL TK-5th Grade students

16: Great American Shakeout Earthquake Drill at 10:35am

22: Unity Day - Wear ORANGE

24: Pep Rally at 8:15am & Lunch with the Principal

24: Fall Festival: 5:00pm-8:30pm

27-31: Wellness Week - Daily activities at school to encourage healthy practices

28: School Site Council Meeting from 4-5pm

31: All-School Costume Parade from 8:15am-9:00am

Helpful LINKS

Wildwood Important Dates and Events 2025-2026

Wildwood Bell Schedule

Wildwood Website Home Page

CVUSD School Year Calendar
CVUSD website

STEAM Team Job Opportunity

A huge thank you to Sarah Casey for her incredible support in launching and running our STEAM program over the past two years. We are very grateful for the time, energy, and creativity she has brought to this program and shared with our students! We’re also excited to welcome Ellen Portilla and Sarah Buchanan to the STEAM Team this year.

We are currently looking for one more person to join the team and help every other week on Tuesdays (9:30am–12:00pm) and Thursdays (9:30am–1:30pm). If you’re interested in learning more about this this paid position or joining our team, please reach out to Mr. Lynch at klynch@conejousd.org.

Back to School Tips from our Counseling Team

The Wildwood Elementary School PTA is YOU – the amazing parents, teachers and staff members who all wish to create a strong Wildwood community and to provide students with the best educational experience possible. Our PTA works to organize fun family events and educational assemblies throughout the year. We also fundraise to help support programs and specialist teachers for STEAM Lab, PE, Academic Intervention, Art Masters and so much more! Please click here to join today.

Wildwood PTA Website

🎉 Fall Fest Committee Volunteers Needed 🎃

Fall fest planning is underway and we need lots of help! Specifically a silent auction chair person. Last year it raised over $8K!! It has a huge impact on the funds that help with all the wonderful enrichment opportunities for your kiddos! Please consider joining with a friend to help run it. We already have parents who have stepped up to help with outreach to donors. Next meeting is Friday September 19th at 8:10 AM in the STEAM Room. Come be part of one of the most loved events of the year! 🍁🍂

Enter Reflections’ Theme-Based Art Contest!

Students create art based on their interpretation of: “I Belong”. Create art in any of these categories: visual arts, photography film, music, dance or literature. Students then write their statement on how their art relates to the theme, and turn in! Students' work will be judged and displayed at our gallery show. You could win awards and move on through the National PTA Shows! Click here for more information, or email: ReflectionsWildwood@gmail.com

ENTRY FORM
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u8UCciFipKAQy_RMilmf7Q_Zc6jfpwuG/view

REFLECTIONS VIDEO:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vnbLfExBkvg&feature=youtu.be

Thanks,

Ellen Portilla

Wildwood's GATE Program

Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) provides qualitatively differentiated learning experiences for students with unique abilities, interests and talents with the expectation that students will be successful learners capable of performing at high levels of ability. Research has shown that specialized instructional strategies, along with opportunities for gifted students to interact with each other on a regular basis, yield higher academic performance, as well as improved social and emotional well-being.

To learn more about CVUSD's GATE program and offerings, click HERE. To learn more about Wildwood's process of GATE identification and school offerings, please join us on Zoom for an informational meeting from 5:00-5:30pm on Monday, September 23. You may use this ZOOM link to access the virtual meeting.

Make a Difference - Become a DAC Representative

The purpose of the School Site Council (SSC) is to encourage improvements to meet the educational, personal, and career needs of ALL the students at the school through a collaborative decision-making process. No experience is needed - just a genuine desire to learn more about our school and help shape our future course.

Currently, we have openings for the following positions on our 2025-26 SSC team:

District Advisory Council (DAC) Representatives (several openings)

The commitment is usually just 1-2 hours per month, but the impact is significant!

To learn more about the open DAC positions, click HERE.
To see the CVUSD 2025-26 DAC meeting schedules and see when these meetings are held, click HERE.
To submit a self-nomination form, click HERE.

Warmly,

Your Wildwood School Site Council

2025-26 School Plan for Student Achievement

Thank you to our staff and School Site Council members who contributed to this year’s School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA)! The draft version of our school’s SPSA is available now at this LINK. This plan will be provided to our community and Board of Education on 9/17/25 for discussion and again on 10/8/25 for approval.

Follow Us on Social Media

Wildwood Elementary has an official presence on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Click on each image below to access Wildwood's social media accounts. Be sure to like and follow to get an inside peek into daily happenings at Wildwood through videos, images, and reminders which are posted weekly by our Wildwood social media manager.

Visitors & Volunteers

My mother always told me "Many hands make light work", and that's certainly true in education. We want you on campus with us! All adults entering the campus during school hours must sign in electronically with their picture ID in the front office and obtain a visitor or volunteer badge/sticker to be worn at all times while on campus. All volunteers who work with students must have a current TB test or a Risk Assessment Questionnaire on file as well. If you would like to volunteer on campus, and we hope you do, please complete and return the Volunteer Registration Authorization Packet that will be sent home with students on the first day of school. Attach a copy of your license/ID to the packet, or we will make a copy for you in the office on your first visit.

Attendance

If your child will be absent or arriving late for any reason, please remember to call our office or leave a message on our attendance line at (805) 492-3531 before 8:30am. Be sure to state the date and reason for your child’s absence or late arrival, and your child’s teacher or room number. Any unexcused absence is counted as a truancy. Students are allowed only three truancies per year before action is taken. Planning ahead with your child will also help to avoid unnecessary tardiness. Students who arrive on time feel better about themselves and perform better in the classroom.

Wildwood Online Spirit Wear Store

Click HERE to Register for this FREE Event

Stay Connected with "Five Key Takeaways" from Our Advisory Councils/Committees

Family participation and engagement is a key priority of the Conejo Valley Unified School District. Our seven Advisory Councils and Committees meet regularly for vibrant discussions, informative presentations, relationship-building activities and more. These meetings are open to all members of our CVUSD community to attend. However, we understand that attending meetings in-person is not always possible. Visit THIS CVUSD WEBPAGE to stay informed on updates and actions from each Advisory Council and Committee, with "Five Key Takeaways" from each meeting.

Student Accident Insurance Parent Letter (English)

Student Accident Insurance Brochure (English)

Student Accident Insurance Parent Letter (Spanish)

Student Accident Insurance Brochure (Spanish)

Please click the "Digital Backpack" image to check if any new community fliers have been posted recently. Not all fliers will appear as images in our Wildwood Weekly newsletter, and we don't want you to miss out on community events, classes, or opportunities that are of interest to you. Fliers are organized under three tabs:

School-Connected Organizations and Governmental Agencies
Non-Profit Groups
All Other Groups

From time to time, individuals or groups in the community will distribute information and advertisements to parents/guardians on the public sidewalks during school arrival or dismissal. This information is not affiliated or endorsed by Wildwood Elementary and CVUSD. Any approved communications (i.e. announcements, fliers) from Wildwood Elementary and CVUSD will be provided directly from the school to you via email, or given to your students to take home. If you ever are unsure whether or not materials are from Wildwood Elementary and CVUSD, please do not hesitate to contact the front office.