Dr. Green Elem Family Newsletter

May 24, 2026

Dear Dr. Green Elementary Families,

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful three-day weekend as we take time to honor and remember those who served our country on Memorial Day.

We are approaching the end of another wonderful school year, with only nine days of school remaining. During these final days, we will continue providing strong instruction while also creating meaningful memories through engaging educational projects and fun classroom activities. We will celebrate our fifth-grade students with a special completion ceremony and continue encouraging our Pre-Kinder and Kindergarten students with a small but meaningful symbolic ceremony.

Before sharing our upcoming end-of-year events, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the following individuals and groups:

1. To every parent and grandparent who helps ensure our students arrive at school ready to learn each day — thank you. The partnership between home and school is essential to student success, and our school would not be complete without your support. We appreciate your daily efforts to keep things running smoothly at home while still finding time to volunteer and support Dr. Green Elementary.

2. A special thank you to our PTA Board members, who have faithfully served our school community over the past two years:

• Divya Mulukutla, PTA President
• Sal Nieto
• Sandy Olivas
• Leah Ramirez
• Laura Ramos
• Sergio Gonzalez
• Mrs. Lindsey Sims

3. Congratulations and best wishes to Mrs. Dora Sarellano, our Math and Science Instructional Coach, who is retiring after 30 years of service with EPISD. Although Mrs. Sarellano joined Dr. Green only this year, she quickly made a tremendous impact by supporting our teachers, students, and instructional programs in math and science. Her legacy will continue to inspire our campus. We will miss you dearly and wish you all the best in your retirement and future endeavors.

4.Thank you to Mrs. Jimenez and our Gifted and Talented students for an outstanding year. Mrs. Jimenez took on the important responsibility of testing many students for GT identification, and she concluded the year with an incredible Geometrocity project. Our GT students worked extremely hard to design and build their part of Honolulu City, the final presentations were truly impressive. Congratulations!

5. Thank you Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Downey and Mrs. Hughes for a fantastic Fine Arts program. Our choir students, our orchestra students and our artistic students led by our amazing teachers created a magical program for parents and our community to enjoy. Congratulations for a job well done!

6. A big round of applause to our student participants in the El Paso Electric Artwork Contest! We are proud to announce that Gael Bencomo was selected and awarded as the winner of this city-wide competition.

• Liam Barraza
• Fia Lopez
• Gianna Lopez
• Judith Rodriguez
• Luciano Sanchez
• Anahi Turbides
• Ilany Turbides
• Gael Velazquez
• Leonardo Velazquez

Congratulations to all participants for representing Dr. Green Elementary with creativity and pride.

Summer School:

We will be offering full day -Summer School the week of June 8 through 12, per invite and remedial instructional only. Summer school will be hosted at Murphree School on Mesa and Mesa Hills for our students. If your child is required to attend summer school, your child's teacher will be providing you with a permission slip for your signature. Also, we are awaiting STAAR test results this Friday, May 29th. After analyzing the data and based on students scores, we might contact some of you for additional summer school requirements.

Student Registration Update:
We kindly ask all families to register their children for the upcoming school year as soon as possible. Timely registration helps our district plan appropriately for staffing, classroom capacity, and resources. Please do not delay — our office staff is ready and happy to assist you.

Current Registration Rates:

• District: 77%
• Coronado Feeder: 69%
• Dr. Green Elementary: 59%

PreKinder for 3 year old children:

This upcoming school year, Dr. Green Elementary will be opening a new All-Day Pre-Kindergarten program for 3-year-old children. This expansion will allow us to better support our youngest learners. Children must be 3 years old by September 1, 2026, to qualify. Please contact our office for more information.

Upcoming Events:

1. Fifth Grade Completion Ceremony- Wednesday, May 27 at 9:00 a.m. in the school cafeteria. Parents are welcome to attend. Paper invitations have already been sent home, and an electronic announcement was also shared with all fifth-grade families. We are extremely proud of our fifth graders, and each student will receive a completion certificate, with some students also receiving special recognition awards. Parents are welcome to bring flowers and gifts. Balloons are permitted; however, they may not be brought inside the building because they can trigger the fire alarm system. Balloons may be left outside near the front entrance doors. Please note that students will not be allowed to leave early after the ceremony, as it is still a regular school day. That afternoon, our fifth grade students will also enjoy a special End-of-Year Celebration Party.

2. Pre-Kinder and Kindergarten Symbolic Completion Ceremony- Thursday, May 28 at 9:00 a.m. in the school library.

Although most of our Pre-Kinder and Kindergarten students will continue attending Dr. Green Elementary next year, it is customary to celebrate their accomplishments with a symbolic end-of-year ceremony.

Parents are welcome to attend. Students will receive a certificate of completion from their teachers. Parents may bring flowers or gifts. Balloons are allowed but must remain outside the building near the front entrance.

Students will not be permitted to leave early following the ceremony, as it remains a regular instructional day. Thank you for your understanding and support.

3. Field Day- Wednesday, June 3

All students will participate in Field Day activities organized by our teachers and PE coaches. We encourage room parents and parent volunteers to coordinate with your child’s teacher regarding schedules, volunteer assignments, and snack or drink donations for the event. We want this day to be fun, safe, and memorable for all of our students. Parents, thank you once again for your continued support and involvement.

4. Last Day of School: Friday, June 5

The students' last day of school will be on Friday, June 5th. This day will be an early release day. Children, teachers and staff will be leaving at 12:00 pm. We urge you to arrange pick up on time. We understand that this day is only in the morning and many may think that not sending your children to school on this day being half day is not as critical. However, I would like to emphasize that every day matters, including this one. One this day, the final report cards will be issued and send home, the children will have their End of the Year classroom party (they have been looking for and worked for it) please don't let them miss it. Additionally, each teacher will be recognizing their students in their classroom with certificates of completion. Please send your children to school.

On behalf of our teachers, nurse, counselor, librarian, instructional coaches, interventionists, custodians, cafeteria staff, office personnel, Mrs. Bencomo, our Assistant Principal, and myself, we would like to wish you a wonderful summer filled with special memories with your children and family.

Safe travels to those who will be traveling out of town, and for those staying local, we hope you enjoy the beauty of our city and surrounding areas.

Thank you for your partnership in making Dr. Green Elementary a wonderful place for children to learn and grow. Please feel free to reach out with any ideas, suggestions, or concerns.

Warm regards,

Guadalupe Pineda

Dr. Green Elementary, Principal

gpineda@episd.org

We Are Hawks, Watch Us SOAR!

Please access our district online registration here: https://www.episd.org/o/episd/page/online-registration

Dear Families,

A friendly reminder that instruction begins at 8:15 am. Please ensure your children get to school before 8:15 am.

Attendance and Safety matters. Please see the information below. We appreciate your support.

Happy Summer!

As we enter these final weeks, it’s hard to believe we are almost done with the school year. This is a special time to reflect on how much our students have grown in both reading and math. Thank you for your continued support at home—working together helps our students finish the year strong and confident.

🌸 Spring Reading Activities at Home

• Daily Reading Time: Encourage your child to read for 15–20 minutes each day (books, magazines, or online articles they enjoy).

• Talk About the Story: Ask questions like Who was your favorite character? What happened first, next, and last?

• Spring Word Hunt: Look for new words while reading or around the house and practice using them in sentences.

• Read Aloud Together: Take turns reading pages or paragraphs to build fluency and confidence.

🌼 Spring Math Activities at Home

• Math in Real Life: Practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division while cooking, Shopping, or setting the table.

• Number Games: Play card games, dice games, or board games that involve counting, adding, or problem‑solving.

• Fact Practice: Spend a few minutes reviewing math facts using flashcards or fun apps.

• Outdoor Math: Count steps, measure distances, or collect and sort objects like leaves, rocks, or flowers.

Together, we can make these last weeks meaningful and productive. Thank you for helping your child continue learning and growing all the way to the end of the year!

Families, thank you for having your children dress up for our campus-wide Asian American/Pacific Islander History Month! Students learned about different cultures, traditions and places that make Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders so unique! The dress up week was fun and productive.

https://www.episd.org/page/non-cep-meal-application-cep-information-copy

Great Opportunity for Families,

I’m excited to share some great news—Summer Camp enrollment is now open! We are looking forward to a fun and engaging summer filled with activities and opportunities for our students with an amazing adventure through space!!

I am also currently enrolling for the upcoming academic year 2026-2027, so this is a great time to secure your child’s spot in the program for both summer and the next school year.

Please review the attached flyer for more details about Summer Camp. We will be at two convenient locations: CORONADO HS and CHAPIN HS. If you are interested in enrolling or have any questions, feel free to reach out. Our Dr. Green ES Extended Day team will be at Coronado!

I kindly ask that you share with your families! Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to another great season with our families.

P.S. We have some great and exciting news and we can't wait to share with our kiddos and families! In the mean time....STAY TUNED!

EPISD offers the Extended Daycare Learning Center at Dr. Green for a weekly fee.

Daycare Manager: Grace Gonzalez

Hours of Operation:

Monday-Friday

6:00 am to 7:30 am

3:30 pm to 6:00 pm

Please access the EPISD webpage for more information. https://www.episd.org/o/episd/page/extended-day-learning

Dear Families,

Happy summer, enjoy your children at home and set aside time for fun reading! See you next school year.

Link to Dr. Green Library:

https://hawkslibrary915.weebly.com/

If you would like current information about banned books in the US, visit the American Library Association site. https://www.ala.org/bbooks

The Core Value for May is- Perseverance- Refusing to give up when life gets hard.

SAY IT:

Perseverance: Refusing to give up when life gets hard.

KNOW IT:

ASK A GROWN-UP:

• Tell me about a time in your life when you showed perseverance.

• When has it been hard for you to persevere?

ASK A KID:

• Can you think of some ways you can show perseverance at home or school?

• What is the toughest thing about showing perseverance?

SEE IT:

We can all admit that sometimes life gets hard. It is difficult to keep on working on a goal when we face challenges or setbacks. If you have ever watched the Ice Age movies, you have been entertained by the antics of Scrat, the saber-toothed squirrel who is obsessed with getting an acorn that keeps getting away. Gather the family around and watch Scrat demonstrate amazing perseverance in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAmIHa-Rztg. While it is funny to watch Scrat chasing after his acorn amidst challenge after challenge, we can all agree showing perseverance when things get hard isn’t usually that much fun.

BE IT:

Take some time as a family and write down some goals. These could be fitness goals, educational goals, household projects, saving for a big purchase or vacation, or maybe just a goal to spend more quality time together. Create a poster or vision board to display the goal for the family to see every day. As you are working together to reach this goal, talk about the challenges you are facing and how you can work together to refuse to give up no matter how hard the challenges get. Continue to work together as a family to show perseverance as you encourage each other to keep working hard even when life gets hard.

🦠 Remember that right now we are in FLU season, plus there is some more viruses going around so ensure that your children are washing their hands, covering their mouth when coughing, etc.

🦠If your children are sick please dont sent them, take them to the dr and email me lets help each other in preventing the spread.

🤒If your children have a FEVER PLEASE DON'T GIVE THEM TYLENOL AND SEND THEM TO SCHOOL. They have to be 24 hrs free of fever and NO medicine 💊 .

Guadalupe Pineda-Dr. Green Elementary Principal

Miriam Bencomo-Assistant Principal

Jeannette Moreno-School Counselor

Paola Ramos- Nurse

Savannah Ortega-School Secretary

Elia Hernandez- Attendance Clerk

Grace Gonzalez- Extended Day Manager

Rebecca Sosa- LPAC Paraprofessional

Karen Ramirez-Campus Clerk

Miriam Ramirez- Campus Monitor

Divya Mulukutla-PTA President

PTA WANTS YOU!

If you would like to make a difference in the lives of our students, we invite you to consider running for our PTA Board. We are looking for a PTA President and a few VP positions. Please talk to Mrs. Mulukutla or any other PTA officer for more information.

Please join our PTA

Stay in contact with district, school and classroom events, news and your children teacher by downloading and accessing our new EPISD app. Please follow this link to set up your device.

https://www.episd.org/o/episd/page/episd-app

Follow us in Facebook.... https://www.episd.org/o/gres