MVLA Parent Newsletter 9/24/21

• Culinary After School program will be starting September 29th.
• Picture Retakes are September 27th at 1pm
• Southern NM State Fair Field Trip is October 1st (See below for more information)

We are so excited to be allowed to go on a field trip this year! This will be our first one since March 2020. If your student has not been to the fair, they are in for a treat. There are all kinds of fun to be had. Students will be in groups and will get to go learn about everything from water conservation to 4H to programs at NMSU.

Here are a few tips that make the day flow smoothly:

• Taking a hat, sunscreen and a water bottle
• Some cash would be great so they can buy some fair treats (The school will provide sack lunches, but obviously cotton candy is more fun.)
• Any food they buy should be eaten at the fair or in a closed container to be allowed back on the bus.
• Remind kiddos that whatever they buy MUST be allowed at school. For example, pocket knives are sold at the fair and would not be allowed at school, so they would NOT be allowed to purchase one there.
• Wear comfortable shoes. No flip flops, slides or heals. Tennis shoes are ideal.
• Bring a small sling backpack. Large backpacks become cumbersome and there is no need to have any tech that day.

The District is asking that we hold our SAC meeting the week after the DAC meeting so that we can have that information to bring back to our school. The next DAC meeting is November 4th, so we are being asked to have the next SAC meeting the following week. At our next PTO meeting in October, we can go over some of the items that were discussed at the first DAC meeting.

On another note, it's great to see our PTO off and running. There is already another fundraiser being discussed. If you haven't yet been able to be a part of our PTO but would like to, please feel free to reach out. We have a lot of active members this year! Thank you wonderful MVLA parents!

By Calvin Chastine

There is a new room in MVLA and it is called the Parent Room. The room is located next to the nurse's office. This room is used for multiple reasons. For example, this room can be used if your family doesn’t have internet access. Parents can come in and use the computer (coming soon) to print stuff or the room can be used to view student grades. There is also a comfortable table with chairs and a phone and even magazines to read while you wait. The room is also used by student support personnel such as speech therapists and counselors. If you have a younger sibling, and they get out of school before you, this room can be used as a quiet place to work on homework.

This is a quiet room for a multitude of uses if you can benefit from this, please call or see Mrs. Montoya at the school office for permission to use this room.

by Leeana Montanez

Did you know that 1 out of 4 children goes to sleep hungry every night in Dona Ana County? Today during Morning Motivation guests from the Lighthouse Pantry visited and told students about food needs in our county. Each student counted off numbers 1-4, and everyone who had the number 4 raised their hand. Those students symbolized 25% of children who go to sleep hungry. MVLA SPARKS and AES students are leading the food drive project which consists of gathering boxes to hold food items like canned food and cereal and making signs to promote the food drive. Each House has a box and will compete for whichever house has the most food collected.

Please encourage your children to bring food items to school to help those in need; the food will support local food banks: the Lighthouse Pantry and the Roadrunner Food Bank.

1. Please, please do not have food delivered to students during lunch. An occasional forgotten lunch is one thing, but please do not make constant lunch deliveries to the building.
2. Please make sure your kiddos have masks that they are willing to wear all day.

Students are only allowed to use their cell phones before school, at lunch and after school. If you need to speak to your child or get a message to your child during the day, please call the front office at 527-6059 and we will get the message to your student.

If your child does not feel well, please tell them they need to come see the nurse and she will contact you if they need to be picked up. Students should not be calling or texting parents during the day unless it is from the office with an adult present.

Mesilla Valley Leadership Academy is a 6-8 school of choice here in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Started by Dr. Toni Hull, we are a RCA inspired project-based school. We have five houses who all compete to win the coveted Title of Champions each year.

Email: amartos@lcps.net
Website: https://sites.google.com/lcpsmail.org/mesillavalleyleadershipacademy/home
Location: 821 East Lohman
Phone: 575-527-6059

Please be sure to check out http://www.lcps.net/ for information about tutoring, meal services and other district initiatives available to the community.