Sycamore Rocks Newsletter
"If it's to be, it's up to me."
AVUSD Values
Fridays are Spirit Days!
Every Friday is Spirit Day! Wear your Sycamore Rocks spirit wear or our school colors - red, white, & blue.
A Friendly Reminder Regarding Our Furry Friends
We’ve noticed quite a few wagging tails at the Walkers Gate lately! While we truly love our community’s dogs, we want to remind everyone that school policy does not allow pets on school grounds. To keep all our students safe and comfortable, please refrain from bringing dogs onto school property. We appreciate your help in keeping Walkers Gate a smooth and safe transition point for our students!
Back to School Night
Don't Forget Your ID!
Apple Valley Unified School District is pleased to announce that we will continue using the Raptor Visitor Management System in all of our schools to enhance our District’s safety program.
When visitors, volunteers, contractors, or parents come onto campus, they will be asked to present a valid government-issued ID, which will be scanned into the system. The system has the ability to provide alerts on people who are listed in the Megan’s Law database. No other data from the ID is gathered and the information is not shared with any outside agency.
The safety of our students is our highest priority and the Raptor Visitor Management System provides a consistent way to aid in keeping away people who may present a danger to our students; therefore, all visitors to the school must be scanned into the system and obtain a visitor badge. The badge will identify the visitor, the date, and the purpose of the visit and must be worn at all times while on campus.
Thank you, in advance, for your understanding and support of enhancing school safety protocols in our District.
Happening in August at Sycamore Rocks!
8/10/26 - PFO Meeting 3:45 pm
8/14/26 - School Site Council applications due
8/19/26 - Back to School Night 5:30 pm
8/21/26 - Voting closes for School Site Council
9/3/26 - School Site Council Meeting
9/4/26 - Picture Day
9/7/26 - No School - Labor Day
As we begin the school year, we're teaching students that coming to school every day isn't just about academics, it's also about building friendships, routines, and confidence. Kids thrive when they feel connected to their classroom and classmates and showing up helps make that happen!
Here are some quick facts about why attendance matters even in the early grades:
Children who miss just 1–2 days a month can fall behind quickly in reading and math.
Being present helps kids build strong relationships with their teacher and classmates.
Good attendance supports social growth, confidence, and a sense of belonging.
Every day builds on the last — learning is cumulative, and missing school means missing key steps.
Students with strong attendance in early grades are more likely to graduate high school on time.
Even absences that seem small add up:
2 days/month = 20+ days/year = Nearly a full month of learning missed!Showing up every day helps build lifelong habits like responsibility, perseverance, and independence.
Thank you for helping your child build strong academic and social foundations by showing up each day!
If you are struggling with attendance, we would welcome the opportunity to work together to come up with a solution. Please give us a call at 760-240-3332 to get started!
Please send snacks for primary grade students!
Our lunch schedule is as follows:
11:00 - 11:40 6th Grade
11:20 - 12:00 5th Grade + Duarte
11:40 - 12:20 4th Grade
12:00 - 12:40 3rd Grade
12:20 - 1:00 2nd Grade + Tedtaotao
12:40 - 1:20 1st Grade
1:00 - 1:40 Kindergarten
1:20 - TK
Our 4th - 6th grade students do not have a morning snack break, so they get lunch first. This puts the time that our primary students eat later in the day. These little guys get hungry! While we do provide breakfast and lunch, we are unable as a school to provide a morning snack. If your student is in TK through 3rd grade, please consider sending them a healthy morning snack.
Character Counts Corner
As we begin the school year, we will highlight one character pillar each week. Starting in October, we will spend a whole month focusing on a particular pillar. We encourage families to also use these terms at home so that students see that character is important in all settings. Here are the six character pillars:
TRUSTWORTHINESS
- Be honest in communications and actions.
RESPECT
- Treat others with respect and follow the Golden Rule.
RESPONSIBILITY
- Do what you are supposed to do.
FAIRNESS
- Play by the rules.
CARING
- Be kind.
CITIZENSHIP
- Do your share to make your home, school, community, and greater world better.
As a Character Counts school, we like to incorporate these pillars into our lessons as well as our discipline and behavior plans. Sycamore Rocks has a Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS) plan that also incorporates these ideals. Below are our ROCKS behavior expectations. We use the acronym ROCKS to help students remember these expectations.
Sycamore Rocks Elementary School
