Mission: The community of Sunset Valley will educate our students to achieve their highest standards of performance by engaging them in exceptional opportunities.

Vision: To create an optimal learning experience that promotes ongoing collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and communication with students, teachers, parents, and community members for the success of all students.

If asked, could you tell someone what our mission and vision is????

• February 5th - Progress Reports on Parent Portal
  
• February 12th - Student Holiday/Teacher Planning Day
• February 15th - Student/Teacher Holiday
• February 19th - SVES PTA meeting @ 6:00 pm (Zoom link will be shared)
• February 23rd - Spring Pictures
• February 25th - Taste of Sunset during class time
• February 26th - Remote Learning for ALL students
• March 12th - End of the 3rd 9 weeks
• March 15th - March 19th - Spring Break/No School

Since the first day the doors of our brand new school opened in 2016, I have had the privilege of being a part of this amazing Sunset Valley Elementary School community. Together, we have seen so many successes, overcome challenges, and shared laughs with one another. As you know I announced that I will be resigning from my position as Principal of Sunset Valley Elementary School effective February 26. This newsletter will be my final newsletter to you.

I cannot begin to explain the feelings I have in my heart. I have loved being your Principal and cannot put into words my thanks and gratitude of the support you have always given to me. The picture of me jumping was the first picture I ever took in the building. As you can tell, we were still under construction. That joy you see in that picture is the joy I will carry with me always when I think of Sunset Valley. The other collection of photos are other proud moments as your principal.

I will miss you and I will never forget you. I will always cherish every moment that I have had with you whether it was in the car line, on campus, off campus, over the phone, and/or via social media, etc. I wish you all the very best! Hugs to you all!

Bobcat and Panther Proud!

Kristen Eriksen

It has been exciting to see so many of our students working on DreamBox! We have been announcing the names of the classes that have had the highest average number of minutes spent on DreamBox and the most lessons completed on DreamBox. We have also recognized the student who had the most lessons completed by grade for the weeks of January 11 and January 18. Students have been given a certificate too.

Please help support your child's love of Math by encouraging them to log on to DreamBox! It is a fun and interactive way for your child to practice their math skills.

Valentine's Day is Sunday, February 14th. Friday, February 12th and Monday, February 15th are student holidays. I wanted to share how our grade levels will be celebrating differently this year.

As a campus, we will be celebrating Valentine's Day with a special community writing project. Every grade level is going to choose a special group of individuals in the community and write notes of appreciation and thanks. We want to show our love for these community members and what better holiday to do that than Valentine's Day.

We ask for your support with this special activity and kindly request that students not bring the traditional Valentine's Day cards or candy/gifts for students or teachers.

The Special Education Department is offering a free parent workshop that offers tips on supporting a struggling child. This workshop is open to all families; however, registration is required in order to receive the Zoom link. *Any parent is welcome to attend.

Please use the following link to register. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfe1EtpHiTj654GHrf-2wP-yi6sgr9ccPq0Ey_hkk4s30ICGw/viewform

We wanted to share our Remote Student & Parent Expectations again that were developed by our administrative and grade level teams. We would ask that all remote families review the Google Slide presentation with their remote student to ensure that we can provide your child the very best educational experience.

Attendance and enrollment information for the 2020-2021 school year per the Texas Education Agency allows a public school district to request a remote student to return to in-person instruction if the student is struggling academically, with attendance, or in any other way. If your student would benefit from in-person learning, we strongly suggest you contact the school and we will make arrangements to welcome your child back to campus.

The district has updated the Remote@KISD Family Checklist to share with all of our remote families for the 3rd nine weeks. https://docs.google.com/document/d/13I0_OePRCEUy-7mpZoOKB1ybCGOuQz2I1MJ53lE9iUU/edit?ts=5fd79f5a

The Aeries Student/Parent Portal is an online platform that allows parents, guardians, and students to log in and view student information, including contact information, attendance, class schedules, grades, transcripts, and more.

Aeries access is provided for the express use of parents and guardians of Keller ISD students to assist in effectively communicating with teachers, staff, and administrators about your student and his or her educational experience.

Click here to visit the Aeries Student/Parent Portal!

NEW SCHOOL HOURS

• 7:40 am ~ Doors Open

• 7:40-7:55 Breakfast Students may receive a Grab & Go Bag if they arrive on/after 7:55

• 7:25-7:55 Classrooms for Social Emotional Learning and/or Academic Interventions

• 7:55-3:25 Classroom Instruction

• 3:25 pm ~ Dismissal

• 7:25 am-3:40 pm~ Front Office Hours

For all of our families whose students are returning to in person learning, please review our SVES Arrival and Dismissal Procedures and our NEW Arrival/Dismissal maps (attached below) for the 2020-2021 school year. We have made several changes. Here are some highlights:

Gym Pickup is no longer an option at dismissal.

PreK & Kinder students (see attachments below for more details)

• Drop off and pick up are now at the back of the school off of Aubrac Way. Car traffic stays to the right. Bus/Day Care traffic stays to the left. PreK & Kindergarten enters through the Kindergarten doors. Older siblings may be dropped off to walk in with their younger siblings. Turning left into the back parking lot will be blocked during arrival/dismissal.

1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade (see attachments below for more details)

• 2nd & 5th graders enter at the west entrance off of Canchim Street. 3rd grade enters through the main doors and 1st & 4th grade enter at the east entrance.
• At dismissal, 2nd & 5th grade cars enter at Canchim Street and stay in the lane marked with a BLACK PAW. 1st, 3rd & 4th grade cars also enter at Canchim Street and stay in the lane marked with the GOLD PAW. Turning left into the front parking lot will be blocked during arrival/dismissal.

Aubrac Way walkers & bikers and Canchim Street walkers & bikes will follow the same processes. (see attachments below for more details)

To help all of our students safely leave the building in the afternoon. We have created a staggered schedule. Students will begin packing up at 3:00. At 3:05 pm students who ride a Bus/Day Care and students enrolled in Clayton are escorted out. At 3:10 pm our Walkers/Bikers are led outside and at 3:20 pm all of our Car Riders move to the front or back of the building. The final dismissal bell rings at 3:25 pm.

We have changed our lunch schedule this year to allow one grade level at a time to be in the cafeteria for lunch. Our cafeteria tables have been spaced 6 feet apart and we've created a dedicated path for entry and exit. The lunch schedule MAY be adjusted in order to ensure there is plenty of space in the cafeteria. For now the schedule will remain the same. If anything changes, your child's teacher will share the new times.

• Pre-Kindergarten - 11:40 - 12:10
• Kindergarten - 10:30 - 11:00
• 1st grade - 11:40 - 12:10
• 2nd grade - 11:05 - 11:35
• 3rd grade - 12:55 - 1:25
• 4th grade - 12:20 - 12:50
• 5th grade - 12:15 - 12:45

To help all of our students have an active (and fun) time at recess, Coach Dunson, PE teacher has created recess zones. Students will be able to rotate to at least two zones a day. Because of the safety guidelines in place, we are unable to use any of our playground equipment (slides, swings,etc..)

In an effort to keep our students healthy, I wanted to remind you of the importance of continuing to follow our prevention protocols. I wanted to give a brief overview of a few important points.

1. If your student is not feeling well, do NOT send them to school.
2. If any member of your household or a close contact has fever or COVID symptom/s, do NOT send your student to school.
   
3. If any member of your household or a close contact is waiting on results of a COVID-19 test, do NOT send your student to school.

***If one of these situations apply, immediately notify school officials***

Students who need to stay home due to sickness OR when quarantined can complete assignments given to them by their teacher. If completed work is submitted to your child's teacher before 11:59 pm of that same day, your child will be counted present.

Criteria for COVID-19 includes 2 or more new or worsening symptoms of:

• Temperature greater than 100.0 degrees F (No other symptoms required)
• Cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Muscle pain/headache
• Sore throat, runny nose, congestion
• Loss of taste or smell
• Vomiting Diarrhea
• Fatigue

*Any individual with symptoms should immediately notify their doctor and seek medical attention

Please keep your child home until ALL 3 COVID 19 Exclusion re-entry criteria are met:

• 48 hours have passed without fever or the use of fever-reducing medication
• Improvement in symptoms
• At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared

OR

• Submit a medical professional’s written clearance to return to school

Please visit our Back-to-School Safety Response page or view the flowchart to review the Student COVID-19 Reporting Process. Additionally, information about active and inactive COVID-19 cases in Keller ISD can be found on the COVID-19 Case Dashboard on our Back-to-School Data page.

Please consider signing your student, as well as family, relatives, and anyone important in your life up! PTA isn't just about fundraising, I know that's what most end up being known for, but your $10 membership pays for many other things! $5.50 is kept at our local school, while the rest is sent off to our Texas State and National PTA, who advocate for our children and teachers all throughout the year!

To join:

• Go to www.joinpta.org Click JOIN
• Enter Keller ISD for the School District and Sunset Valley Elementary for the PTA and click NEXT
• If you have any questions please comment below or email us at sunsetpta23@gmail.com
  

Also due to COVID we will only being accepting online memberships, no cash or check this year, we apologize.

We Value:

• Care for our teachers because the impact of their work prepares students for their future.
• Passionate teaching dedicated to content and craft that inspires others.
• Relationships as the foundation for how we teach, learn, work, and play together in a safe, engaging, and caring way.
• Exploration and the pursuit of one’s passion that leads to personal growth.
• Communication and collaboration that strengthens our unity.
• Respect for the diversity of our school community through a culture of understanding and personalized learning opportunities.