BOBCAT TALES
September 11, 2026
Mark your Calendar:
October 9th: District Holiday~No School
October 12th-16th: Fire Prevention Week
October 19th-23rd: Parent teacher conferences: Minimum Day Dismissal (12:00 dismissal TK, K, 4th, 5th Grades. 12:10 dismissal 1st, 2nd, 3rd)
November 6th: Report cards sent home
November 23rd-27th: Fall Break
A Message from Ms. Ponza
5th Grade Bike Rodeo
SLVE 5th graders participated in the Bike Rodeo today! The BikeSmart program, facilitated by Ecology Action, helps students become safe, confident, and skillful cyclists.
With the help of volunteers, students practiced important bike safety skills while navigating a fun bicycle obstacle course. Volunteers helped set up the course, provided bikes for students to ride, fitted helmets, and guided students through the different safety stations. Students were also encouraged to bring and use their own bikes. It was a fun, interactive outdoor activity filled with lots of learning, riding, and laughter! Thank you to the 5th grade teachers for organizing such a special event.
Friendship Assembly: Wednesday, September 23rd
Our Schoolwide friendship assemblies will be on Wednesday, September 23rd. Students who have exhibited the characteristics of a good friend, will be nominated by their classroom teachers and presented with a Friendship award at this assembly. Families of students nominated will be contacted so that they can attend the assembly.
DEIB Committee – Member Interest Form:
San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District is starting the third year of our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Committee. The committee represents a wide spectrum of SLVUSD stakeholders, including but not limited to district and school leadership, board members, school staff, parents/guardians, etc. We are looking for 5 to 7 new members, and if you are interested and would like to be considered for this committee, please complete the DEIB Interest Form by Friday, September 18, 2026.
The committee meets on the following Monday’s: September 28 (in-person), October 26 (virtual), November 30 (in-person), February 8 (virtual), March 22, (in-person), April 19, (in-person). The in-person meetings will be held from 5:00 – 6:30 pm at the District Office - Board Room located at 325 Marion Avenue, Ben Lomond, 95005. To know more about the committee, such as our Purpose and Charter, please visit our DEIB page or if you have additional questions, please contact Amy Chruchill, Student Services Coordinator at achurchill@slvusd.org or (831) 335-1753.
Dear SLVE Volunteers,
Due to changes in a state bill, all volunteers have updates that require training to be able to volunteer this 2026-2027 school year. Please click on the Mandated Reporter Memo link from our Human Resources Department to know the changes and how to complete the mandated training (by September 16th).
We appreciate all our volunteers and want to make sure to get the word out so people know the changes in a timely manner.
Bobcat Club News
What an AMAZING Read-A-Thon!
We are so excited to celebrate the incredible success of this year’s Read-A-Thon!
This year, our Bobcats:
Read 76,777 minutes
Raised $23,933
48% of students participated
That’s 24,334 more minutes read, $9,939 more raised, and a huge jump in participation from 34% last year to 48% this year!
What an incredible difference our Bobcat readers and families made. This was our biggest Read-A-Thon ever! Thank you to everyone who picked up a book, logged minutes, collected donations, and encouraged our students to keep reading.
Top Fundraising Classes
A huge congratulations to our two top fundraising classes!
Arroyo Class: $2,865 raised
Gale Class: $1,775 raised
And Arroyo had an especially impressive Read-A-Thon because they also took the top spot for minutes read, with an incredible 9,447 minutes! Way to go, Arroyo!
Individual Read-A-Thon Winners
And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Congratulations to our top readers in each grade:
TK
First Place: Arlo Keller, 731 minutes
Second Place: Taj Kennedy, 570 minutes
Kindergarten
First Place: Darren Van der Steen, 840 minutes
Second Place: Paxton Bustichi, 765 minutes
1st Grade
First Place: Beau Derendinger, 919 minutes
Second Place: Makayla Van der Steen, 915 minutes
2nd Grade
First Place: Isla Kennedy, 1,830 minutes
Second Place: Ezra Hofschneider, 1,740 minutes
3rd Grade
First Place: Lila Bassoni, 1,836 minutes
Second Place: Paxton Lower, 1,410 minutes
4th Grade
First Place: Sam Bodge, 1,387 minutes
Second Place: Tomás Leathem Cordero, 1,131 minutes
5th Grade
First Place: Tenaya Hudson, 2,424 minutes
Second Place: Merritt Troxell, 2,018 minutes
Congratulations to all of our winners, and an enormous thank-you to every Bobcat who helped make this Read-A-Thon such a success!
Thank You for Sharing Your Feedback!
A huge thank-you to everyone who took the time to complete our Bobcat Family Survey! We loved hearing from so many of our Bobcat families and appreciate you sharing your thoughts and ideas with us.
Congratulations to Arroyo's Class, who had the most survey responses! Mrs. Arroyo won a $50 Amazon gift card, and the class celebrated their win with a Popsicle Party on Wednesday!
And congratulations to Stephanie Underwood, who was randomly selected as our $50 Amazon gift card winner!
Thank you to everyone who participated and helped us learn more about what matters to our Bobcat families!
Family Dance Is Next Friday!
Get ready to dance, Bobcats! Our Family Dance is next Friday, September 18!
Friday, September 18
7:00–8:30 p.m.
SLVE Basketball Blacktop
Bring the whole family for a fun night together! We’ll have music, dancing, and snacks available for purchase. Snack sales will support 5th Grade Science Camp scholarships.
Please remember, this is a family event, so no drop-offs.
We can’t wait to see you there!
Drive for Schools
Our Drive for Schools fundraiser is starting!
This is our only fundraiser where 100% of the money raised goes directly back to our classrooms. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk does not charge schools any fees to participate, so every dollar raised will be split evenly among all of our classroom teachers to use for their classroom needs.
Tickets are $5 each or 6 for $25.
There are lots of great prizes up for grabs, and local friends, family, and neighbors are often excited to participate too!
View the Drive for Schools Prize List
More information and raffle tickets will be coming home soon. We hope you’ll help us make this year’s Drive for Schools a success and put 100% of the money raised directly into our classrooms!
Save the Dates
September 15–October 16 — Drive for Schools
September 18 — Family Dance, 7:00–8:30 p.m.
October — Square 1 Art Fundraiser
October 19–23 — Book Fair
November 6 — Family Science Night
November 10 — Bobcat Club Meeting
November 14 — Bands for Bobcats at The Crepe Place
Bus and School Lunch Information
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.
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.