Rolling Hills Elementary Newsletter

Welcome Back RHES Families,

We cannot believe our 2026-2027 school year will be starting in 11 days. We hope that you are still enjoying your summer break and that it is full of great memories with family and friends. This is the first newsletter of the 2026-2027 school year. For our new families, this newsletter goes out every Sunday usually by 4:00pm. In this newsletter, there will be updates with our enrollment, our New Staff to the RHES Community, school lunch info, and our RHES Student/Parent Handbook.

For the new families to Rolling Hills Elementary, Home of the Pumas, I am Mr. Takeshita aka "Mr. T." and this is my second year as the principal for RHES and my 20th year as an elementary principal. I have been the principal for two schools in PUSD and two schools in SDUSD. I have a son (24 years old) that lives in Scottsdale, Arizona and a daughter (22 years old) that lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. My wife is a first grade teacher in PUSD and we have two small dogs named Sadie and Emmitt.

I feel honored to be the principal at RHES, which we refer to as the "hidden gem in PUSD." The staff and the school community love being part of Rolling Hills and you will see this represented by their actions and caring energy. I am very fortunate to have a wonderful shared assistant principal, Ms. Sara McAninley, who will be starting her third year at RHES. We both view our roles very similarly and strongly believe in relational leadership.

During my two week break in July, we (my wife and our two dogs) did a road trip to the state of Washington. We both love the Pacific Northwest! We wanted to see the areas that surround Seattle and get a feel for the possibility of having a property in Washington when it comes time to retirement. Don't worry this is not anytime soon. The trip was relaxing even for our two dogs that championed the car rides and various stops. We plan to visit again during the winter to see if being a native San Diegan will have an impact during times of limited sun light and constant rain or mist.

Lost and Found Reminder:

At the end of each month Mr. Joel (our new custodian) will bag up the lost-and-found to be donated to a local charity. Parents/guardians, please check the lost-and-found prior to the end of the month for any missing student items.

Mr. Takeshita/Mr. T.

Principal

We would like to welcome some of the new members to our Rolling Hills Community.

• Ms. Nicole Stowell (Education Specialist 3 days/week/Room 24)
• Ms. Prescilla Alvarado (4/5 Structured Supports Teacher/Room 12)
• Ms. Myrna Filoteo (Instructional Assistant Structured Supports)
• Ms. Janine Olejniczak (TK Teacher/Room 2)
• Ms. Stephanie Standley (5th Grade Teacher/Room 35)
• Ms. Kylene Rodiles (K/1 Teacher/Room 6)
• Ms. Anabelle Gjestvang (Speech Pathologist Full Time)
• Ms. Sarah Bochan (Speech Pathologist Full Time)
• Ms. Rachel Isteepho (Speech Pathologist 1 day/week)
• Ms. Yuri Erickson (SPED Instructional Assistant)
• Ms. Laura Renick (SPED BIIA)
• Mr. Joel Mendoza (Lead Custodian)

Before the first day of school on Thursday, August 13, we may have a few more staff that will be part of the next RHES newsletter.

For each newsletter, we will share some highlights of what we are doing at RHES to help our students and staff have a sense of belonging to the school environment.

For the 2026-2027 school year, we will be having all teaching staff show the First 14 Days slides that will introduce key staff, reinforce our 3 Behavior Expectations (Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible) and our school motto (Work Hard/Be Kind), and discuss what it means to be a Digital Citizen.

For any families that are brand new to RHES, the admin team will be having a brief school visit for you on Friday, August 7 at 10:00am in our MPR. You will hear from the admin team and then get a chance to walk the school with them.

We are so fortunate that our student enrollment is staying similar to last school year. This school year some slight changes with our enrollment in some grade levels caused the need to have a K/1 class and a 3/4 class. In making these classrooms, we were very thoughtful about the placement of students to help narrow the grade level range for both social and academic development.

All of the teaching staff at RHES are qualified in their role and responsibilities as an educator. Class placement info for families will be provided on Wednesday, August 12 by all schools in PUSD. The admin team at RHES will not meet about classroom placement until the third full week of school. A sign up will be located in the main office beginning on Thursday, August 13.

We are excited to welcome back Ms. Alpa and Ms. Ritzel that our our lunch service providers ar RHES.

We will still be serving breakfast 20 minutes before school starts (7:20 to 7:40). Each student is entitled to one free breakfast and one free lunch daily. The Food and Nutrition Department is excited to offer fresh farm produce from local farmers again this year; the students really enjoy the fresh produce we feature each month.

Although school meals are available at no cost to all enrolled PUSD students, the Universal Meals Program still requires the district to process applications to determine household eligibility for free and reduced-price meals. Federal and state reimbursements for meals depend on individual student eligibility criteria. Completing an application may also qualify for a household for other benefits, such as free or reduced-price after-school care, discounts on SAT and AP testing fees, reduced internet and utility bills, and food assistance during summer breaks. Meal applications also help ensure our school receives its fair share of state funding.
Families are strongly encouraged to apply online at MySchoolApps.com. Additionally, paper applications are available upon request and will be delivered to your school.

Although meals are free for all enrolled students, some students request to purchase a second meal or a second beverage. We are a cashless department, but parents can add money to their students' accounts at MySchoolBucks.com or bring a check to the cashier.

August

8/4 Counselors Training for CharacterStrong

8/8 TK and K Park Playdate 9 to 10:00am @ Rolling Hills Community Park

8/10

• Teachers/Staff Return (Breakfast at 7:30am and Business Meeting from 8 to 10:00am in the MPR) |

• Meet & Greet for Identified Students (10:30 to 11:00)

8/11

• PUSD Kick Off at Del Norte High from 8:00am-9:00am

• Staff Luncheon 11:30 to 1:30

• TK Meet and Greet 2:00 PM

8/12 District Site ProGrow (CharacterStrong Training)

8/12 Kinder BTSN 5:30pm

8/13 First Day of School

8/20 Back to School Night 4th/5th 5:00 to 5:45 and 1st-3rd 6:30 to 7:15pm

8/21 Fire Drill

8/26 School Site Council/SSC Remote Meeting using Microsoft Teams

8/27 VAPA Day and Staff Meeting 2:00pm

8/29 Cheers to the Olympics-Backyard Bash

Minimum Days

Minimum Days School dismisses at 12:00 PM for all TK-5 students

5/12/27 and 6/3/27

Rolling Hills Attendance Message:

Throughout the school year, each school site is required to send out notification letters for Chronic Absenteeism and Tardiness. It is important to know that Chronic Absenteeism counts any absence from school whether it is excused or unexcused, they all count. If you receive a notification letter, please know that we recognize the need to keep your child home when they are sick or have a health-related need. We also want to remind parents/guardians that other than illness or a health-related need, we encourage students to be at school every day and on time.

Should your child need to be absent, please call our 24-hour attendance hotline 858-672-0857 or send an email to kscott@powayusd.com. To assist with attendance, please review the PUSD District Calendar and plan vacation and travel accordingly.

Throughout the course of the school year, you will have questions about various things happening at Rolling Hills Elementary. Everything about RHES is located in our Parent/Student Handbook. Please take the time to read this over before the school year starts and keep it handy as a reference to a lot of questions that may come up throughout this school year. Please click on the link below to access the Parent/Student Handbook.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JYsMFAcefGvJrft747PC--YuYHszSgRDlsEscjkE91w/edit?usp=sharing

Get ready to light the torch for our Second Annual Cheers to the Olympics - taking place on Saturday, August 29th at Rolling Hills Park! It’s the perfect chance to hang out with fellow Rolling Hills families and kick off the new school year.

Bring your A-game or your loudest cheer - this event is all about fun! Take your shot at the games or relax with friends and family while cheering from the sidelines. Enjoy a full day of competitive games, live music, tasty snacks, and refreshing drinks. Want some grown-up time? Sign the kids up for the Mr. Jimmy Kid Zone with our much-loved PE teacher.

Whether you’re chasing gold or just chasing laughs, you’ll leave with memories worthy of the winner’s podium. REGISTER HERE

Event Details:

📅 Date & Time: Saturday, August 29th, 3:00 - 6.30 PM

📍Location: Rolling Hills Park, 11165 Almazon Street

⏳ Team Check-In: 2.30 PM

🔞 Age Requirement: 21+ to participate in games

-OLYMPIC GAME DETAILS-

Get ready for some fun and competitive games, including Puma Pong, Flip Cup Relay, Cornhole, Potato Sack Race, and more exciting challenges that will keep you on your toes! You can sign up as a team of four or register solo - solo players will be grouped into teams so everyone can join the fun. We’re excited to get together for some good ’ole friendly competition and laughs!

🔥 Show off your team spirit! Costumes or matching team outfits are highly encouraged.

ENTRY FEES:

• Team of 4: $100 (must register together)

• Individual: $25 (we’ll match you with a team)

• Early Bird Discount: $80 per team & $20 per person if you register in June

Space is limited - don’t wait and secure your spot today! Registration closes on August 25th, or once we reach capacity.

Note: Teams must have at least 3 players, but the full team fee applies regardless of team size.

PRIZES & GIVEAWAYS

🏅Champions’ Glory - the top 3 teams will win Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals plus a full year of ultimate bragging rights!

👕 Best Outfit Award - get creative! The team with the most fun, unique, or outrageous outfits will win a special prize.

🎟️ Raffle Prizes All Day - each registered player gets one free raffle ticket (4 per team). Want better odds? Extra tickets will be available for purchase during registration and at the event - don’t miss out on some amazing prizes!

ENTERTAINMENT & REFRESHMENTS

Enjoy live music from our DJ throughout the event, keeping the energy high and the vibes flowing! Snacks and drinks will be available for purchase, but feel free to bring your own refreshments to enjoy while you mingle and compete!

- KID ZONE -

Need childcare while you’re competing in the games? We’ve got you covered! Mr. Jimmy will be hosting “Kid Zone in the MPR” for kids ages 4 and up.

• Cost: $20 per child (must be potty trained).

• Limited spots available - add your child during registration!

• Sign-in/out is required at the MPR.

• Pizza & water provided.

REGISTER NOW!

Don’t miss out on the fun & sign up today! All of the proceeds go directly back to our kids and the programs provided by the Rolling Hills Foundation.

Not Competing, But Still Want to Join the Fun?
If you’re not registering to play but still want to come hang out, cheer on your friends, and support the cause - grab some raffle tickets and get in on the action!

Questions? Contact us at cheerstotheolympics@gmail.com