November News

Dear Repetto Families,

As we welcome November, I am reminded of how grateful I am to be part of the Repetto School community.

Our dedicated teachers and staff, our amazing students, and our supportive families make Repetto a special place to learn and grow. Every day, I am inspired by the curiosity, kindness, and growth I see in our students, and by the partnerships that make our school stronger.

Thank you for your continued support, involvement, and commitment to our school community. Together, we continue to create a place where every student feels valued, supported, and inspired to succeed.

As we approach Thanksgiving, I encourage everyone to take time to recognize the people and moments that make a difference in our lives. A simple thank you, a kind gesture, or a helping hand can go a long way to creating a better world for our students and community.

Wishing all of our Repetto families a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with joy, gratitude, and time with loved ones!

With appreciation,

Jennifer Wright
Principal, Repetto Elementary School

Some of you may be aware that I am currently working on my dissertation for my Ed.D through San Diego State University. My study is looking at the factors that influence parent understanding of the importance of early elementary attendance. As part of my study, I would like to interview 10-15 parents who 1) have at least 1 student in grades TK-3rd and 2) are part of decision-making process to determine if your child attends school or stays home.

AUSD has given me permission to recruit Repetto parents who are interested in participating in this study. If you meet the two criteria above and are interested in volunteering to be interviewed, please complete this Google form.

ParentSquare is the newest communication platform for district and school updates, announcements, and important alerts. Stay connected with your school community all in one place!

AUSD is currently doing a "soft launch" and slow rollout. As school administrators and staff members familiarize themselves with the platform, they will share more information and an invitation for families to join. You can receive messages through text, emails, or the ParentSquare app (recommended and available through Apple Store or Google Play). Learn more by watching the video below.

We’ve created a dedicated ParentSquare resource page to keep families informed as we roll out our new communication platform. Visit it here: ParentSquare Resource Page. We are excited to offer this new communication platform and are looking forward to its full implementation.

Parents will be receiving an email from Repetto with an activation link inviting them to join ParentSquare. Please keep an eye out!

AUSD held 50+ Community Conversations about declining enrollment. Your perspectives and ideas matter, and we are grateful for your time and engagement. Our Enrollment Impact Committee (EIC) is carefully reviewing the feedback gathered throughout this process. Superintendent Dr. Jaramillo encourages everyone to attend the November 17th Board of Education meeting, when members of the EIC will present its findings to the Board. If you cannot attend in person, please watch online via Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/99889929462). We value your input and appreciate your continued partnership as we consider the future of AUSD.

We kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month with PTA's paleta fiesta fundraiser on September 23. Thank you for your support! Repetto continued celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with several other events and activities.

Schoolwide Folklórico Assembly

• On Friday, October 9, students had the opportunity to see Grupo Folklórico de USC perform several traditional dances and educate students on Mexican culture.

Día De Los Muertos Display in the Cafeteria

• Repetto students learned about this tradition that is celebrated in Mexico and other parts of Latin America that honors family and friends who have passed.
• Students and staff were invited to bring a picture of a loved one, including family pets, to put on our ofrenda. Mrs. Hem and Mrs. Canseco's classes also contributed class projects to the school ofrenda.

Door Decorating Contest

Many of our classes participated in our annual door decorating contest, which featured and celebrated important people of Hispanic or Latin American heritage. Congratulations to the winner in each grade-level span:

• ️TK - 2nd Winner: Ms. Ramirez's 1st Grade Class

• ️3rd - 5th Winner: Mrs. Echevarria's 3rd Grade Class

• 6th - 8th Winner: Mrs. Canseco's 7th Grade Class

• Link to view all the participating doors

Piñata Contest

Our schoolwide piñata contest brought in colorful, creative, and beautiful entries from students in all grade levels. Congratulations to the winners, for receiving the highest numbers of votes:

• 1st Place: Theron Ezrah Augusta (First Grader in Ramirez's Class)
• 2nd Place: Stephen Kelsaw (4th Grader in Lew's Class)
• 3rd Place (Tied): Abbie Son (5th Grader in Perez's Class) and Esmeralda Streeter (3rd Grader in Echevarria's Class)

We had an incredible turnout for our Harvest Festival on Friday, October 23. Thank you to all our families who came and joined us, despite a little bit of rain! It was also a mini homecoming for former Repetto students to come back and visit. Harvest Festival serves as our annual schoolwide fundraiser to support field trips for all grade levels. A huge thank you to all of the teachers, students, staff and parent volunteers who worked hard to make this an enjoyable and successful event!

Our goal is always to create fun, memorable experiences for our students and families, and we appreciate the enthusiasm and support our families bring to these special events!

Our students enjoyed walking the parade, showing off their Halloween costumes. ASB handed out awards in various categories: Cutest, Most Creative, Best Group and Funniest. Our talented 3rd graders treated us to an "Addams Family" dance routine. Thank you PTA, for bringing us the coffee and pastry cart.

I want to take this opportunity to clarify the purpose behind our designated parent viewing area. This practice was implemented last year in alignment with district expectations, and while I understand that some families may prefer the way we have done things in the past, we will continue to follow the designated viewing area procedure moving forward.

There are several important reasons for this expectation:

1. Student and Staff Comfort: Not all students or staff are comfortable with unfamiliar adults standing among or alongside classroom groups. Having a designated viewing area helps maintain appropriate boundaries and creates a comfortable environment for everyone.
2. Campus Safety and Supervision: The number of parents attending the parade makes it difficult for visitors to be checked into Raptor and for school staff to monitor every adult who may be moving alongside classes throughout the event.
3. Minimizing Potential Conflicts: Unfortunately, we have experienced situations involving custody concerns and conflicts between adults in the community. Keeping students with their classes and parents in the designated viewing area helps minimize the possibility of these situations impacting our students.
4. District Expectations: Most importantly, this is a district procedure that we are expected to follow. Our responsibility is to ensure that we are implementing procedures that prioritize the safety and well-being of all students and staff.

We are excited to share that Repetto has signed up to participate in the Scripps Spelling Bee program this year! Thank you to Repetto PTA for sponsoring the registration fee! Mrs. Vu, our instructional coach, has volunteered to assist with planning and organizing.

We will be starting with voluntary participation in classroom spelling bees. The winners from the classes will then go on to participate in a schoolwide Repetto Spelling Bee. The winner of the Repetto Spelling Bee will advance to participate in the AUSD Spelling Bee.

If you are interested in resources for your student, please visit the parent resource page for Scripps Spelling Bee. There you will find practice lists, suggested reading, and more!

Our Repetto schoolwide Spelling Bee is tentatively scheduled for the evening of January 19, 2027. We will have a grades 1-3 group, a grades 4-6 group, and a grades 7-8 group. The winner of the grades 1-3 group will be recognized here at Repetto. The finalists for the grades 4-6 and grades 7-8 groups will go on to participate in the AUSD Spelling Bee!

We are happy to announce that Repetto has started a math club for 5th through 8th grade students. Our goal is to participate in the AUSD Middle School Math Field Day in February and start preparing our 5th graders for next year's competition.

If you are interested in having your grade 5-8 student participate, please fill out the permission slip and have your student return it to the office or email it to Mr. Tran at tran_david@ausd.us.

We invite parents and guardians to join our School Safety Committee! This committee brings families and school staff together to discuss ways we can prepare our school for emergency situations and create a school environment where every student feels welcomed and included.

As a committee member, you will have an opportunity to:

• Discuss emergency preparedness and school safety procedures

• Help promote an inclusive and welcoming school community

• Work together with school staff to identify ways to better support all students

We value your voice and partnership! Your ideas and perspective can help us continue to strengthen our school's safety and sense of belonging.

Interested in joining? Please complete the GOOGLE FORM.

Student attendance has a positive and significant effect on student performance. When students miss school, they miss interactions with friends, development of relationships, making memories and most of all, valuable learning! Our goal is to have 98% attendance rate for our students. However, we want students to be healthy and they should stay home if they are sick.

• Missing 1 day every two weeks adds up to 20 days per school year!
• Arriving 10 minutes late each day adds up to 50 minutes per week and 1.5 weeks per year!

Short Term Independent Study Program is available from September 1 to April 17 of each school year. It is not available the months of August and May. For more information about ISP, please contact the Repetto's school office to complete an ISP master agreement.

ISP may be taken for the following reasons:

• Travel
• Athletic competitions
• Work/Film/Entertainment Industry (requires a work permit)

If a student has an IEP or 504, a meeting must be held before an ISP master agreement can be prepared.

A student on ISP is assigned academic work from the district or the teacher. Work must be submitted upon the student's return to school. The assignments will be reviewed for completion before credit will be given and before student's attendance can be updated.

In partnership with the California State Library, students in kindergarten through grade twelve can access free, unlimited homework help, drop-off review services, test prep, and other resources through HomeworkCA. Tutoring is provided in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese with a live, qualified tutor. All services can be accessed from a California public library, from your home computer, or from your mobile device. A library card is not required to connect. For questions, email catutoring@library.ca.gov.

Every month, our school focuses on a character trait. Teachers select 1-2 students from their homeroom class to recognize for displaying the monthly trait. On October 29, students, families, teachers and PTA members joined us in the auditorium before school to applaud our Good Citizens of the Month for October's monthly character trait Responsibility. Students and their family then enjoyed a reception in the cafeteria following the ceremony.

Gratitude is one of three traits students will focus on throughout the year that helps students Be Well.

Stay up to date with PTA information and events by bookmarking the PTA website (https://www.repettoelementarypta.org/home)

Upcoming events:

• Wednesday, December 16 PTA Association meeting (4pm) followed by "Snow Much Fun!" family event (5-7pm)