Week 11
October 19 - October 23, 2026

Emergency Practice
Emergency Preparedness: The Great American ShakeOut
Last week, we participated in the Great American ShakeOut earthquake drill. Our students and staff did a great job evacuating quickly, and our search-and-rescue team located students who had been selected to act as injured or distressed victims. We successfully completed the drill in 30 minutes! Afterward, teachers debriefed with their students to discuss our grows and glows—what went well and what we can improve—to help ensure we are prepared in the event of a real emergency.
Important Reminder: Identification Required for Student Check-Out
As required by district policy, all parents and authorized adults must present identification when checking out a student early. This requirement remains in place during an emergency. Please make it a habit to carry your physical ID card with you whenever you visit campus. As an additional precaution, consider keeping a photo of your ID on your cell phone in case you do not have your physical card available. Thank you for helping us keep all our students safe!
Dismissal
Elementary
Elementary students are dismissed at 2:23 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and at 1:23 p.m. on Tuesdays. We need your help with two important reminders:
Please avoid picking up students early unless necessary. Whenever possible, please schedule appointments outside of the school day. Early pickups interrupt classroom instruction and disrupt learning for both your child and their classmates. We appreciate your help in allowing students to remain in class until dismissal.
Please pick up your child on time. We do not have supervision at the gate after 2:30 p.m. Students who have not been picked up will be escorted to the main office to call their families. Elementary students may not wait unsupervised for their middle school siblings to be dismissed. If your elementary student needs to stay on campus until their older sibling is dismissed, please enroll them in the after-school program.
Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us maintain a safe, supervised environment for all our students!
Middle School
Middle school students are dismissed at 3:15 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and at 1:28 p.m. on Tuesdays. We need your help with two important reminders:
Please avoid picking up students early unless necessary. Whenever possible, please schedule doctor’s and dentist appointments outside of the school day. Early pickups interrupt classroom instruction and disrupt learning for both your child and their classmates. Thank you for helping us maximize instructional time.
Please pick up your child on time. We do not have supervision at the gate after 3:30 p.m. Students who have not been picked up will be escorted to the main office to call their families and will remain there until they are picked up. For student safety, middle school students may not wait outside unattended. In the event of an emergency, such as a lockdown, fire, or earthquake, students waiting outside without supervision may not receive timely instructions or assistance from staff. We need to ensure that all students are supervised and can respond appropriately to emergency procedures.
Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us keep all our students safe!
Spelling Bee
1st Annual Spelling Bee! 🐝
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are thrilled to announce that our school is officially enrolling in the Scripps National Spelling Bee program for the current academic year! This prestigious competition helps students in grades 4 through 8 improve their spelling, expand their vocabularies, and develop robust public speaking skills.
Our school-level competition is the first step on a journey that can lead our student champion to regional qualifiers and potentially the National Finals. The school-level competition will be held in the library during the first week of December. To ensure a successful program, please complete this brief interest survey and submit it by October 19th.
Thank you,
Ms. Kopp
Librarian and Spelling Bee Coordinator
Choir
Our music teacher, Ms. Scott has agreed to host choir afterschool on Wednesdays from 2:20-3:20. Students must be picked up promptly at 3:20 at the main gate. She will begin November 4th and have class each Wednesday until Winter Break. If you are interested in joining our after school choir, please complete the interest form and we will send more information to you at a later date.
Attendance Matters!
50th Days
We're celebrating 50 days of school this week! Bring all the Cougar Cash and let's get spending! Lots of new prizes and items per students' recommendations. Thank you to all of our donor families! Please check your child's backpack for our thank you notes.
Attendance Challenge
While we want our scholars to be intrinsically motivated to come to school, we’re going to add a little extra extrinsic motivation to bring some pizzazz to the mix! Each month, we will recognize 3 classes with the highest attendance percentage for their grade level span. Kinder, 1st and 2nd will be competing against each other. 3rd, 4th, 5th is another band. And 6th, 7th, 8th is the final band. For October, we are working towards donuts!
SPSA Needs Survey
Due: October 23rd
It's that time again! We will be having our budget development appointment with the district in a few months. In preparation for this meeting and the writing of our SPSA (School Plan for Student Achievement), we are asking that all parents and staff complete a comprehensive needs assessment survey so that we can make a more informed decision with how to allocate our budget to best meet our school's need. Every year we have to make the difficult decision of what to cut and what we must keep. What do you think is the most important for ASMSM? Your opinion matters.
Candies/Goodie Bags
No Home-Made Food
If you would like to send treats for your child’s class to share, please make sure everything is packaged and store purchased. Send something your child might like to eat or play with themselves and please make sure there is nothing with nuts.
Teacher will help distribute the treats at the end of the school day; however, students will not be allowed to eat any of it at school, during or after. We are asking that students take treats home and go over the contents with an adult at home and you can make the final approval on what may or may not be consumed. Please support us in reiterating this message to your child. If you would rather your child not bring anything home at all, please communicate this in advance to your child’s teacher.
Storybook Pumpkin
It's that time! Show off your creativity and get in some family time! When you are out shopping this weekend, pick out the perfect pumpkin to decorate for our storybook pumpkin contest. We are looking for 3 winners for elementary and 3 winners for middle school. Voting will happen during the Fall Festival.
Middle School Conferences
During this student-led conference, students take the lead by preparing presentations about their learning, reflecting on their progress, and taking responsibility for understanding their grades and academic growth. With larger class sizes and multiple teachers, this format encourages students to become active participants in their own education.
Families are welcome to come to campus, visit our classrooms, explore their child's work, and say hello to the teachers! We love seeing families and connecting with you! Since many families will be visiting throughout the evening, we ask that you be mindful of everyone's time and keep individual conversations with teachers brief so that we have an opportunity to greet as many families as possible. We also want to be respectful of student privacy, so more detailed conversations about individual student progress are best saved for a separately scheduled meeting.
If you'd like to schedule an individual conference to discuss your child's progress or have specific concerns, leave teachers a note or email to arrange a time to connect.
We look forward to seeing you on Thursday and celebrating the learning our students have been doing!
Parent Volunteer Orientation
Fall Festival
October 30, 2026
🍂 Fall Festival Volunteers Needed! 🎃
Our Arroyo Seco Fall Festival is just around the corner! Join us on Friday, October 30, from 3:00–6:00 PM for an afternoon of fun, food, and community! The PTA needs parent volunteers and older middle school students to help with food sales during the event. Whether you can give a little time or stay for the entire festival, your help makes a big difference!
Please sign up using the volunteer link below.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0E4CAAA62EABFA7-66714281-asmsm
Monday, October 19, 2026
Dance Class (Renteria, Fregeolle, Bañuelos, Rosas, Koneazny)
EnrichLA (Guerrero, Koneazny, Rosas)
Library Time (Fregeolle, Renteria, Muñoz)
- Monday Morning Assembly
- Caught Being Good
- Birthdays
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
- Library Time (Cabral, Almos)
- Parent Volunteer Orientation
- 8:45 am via Zoom (see flyer)
- Early Dismissal
- Elementary @ 1:23 pm
- Middle School @ 1:28 pm
- Chess Wizards (1:30-2:30, room 16)
- Violin Class (1:30-2:30, room 30)
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
- Library Time (Lopez, Ramirez, Bañuelos)
- Afterschool Tutoring
- Elementary 2:30-3:15
- Middle School 3:20-4:05
Thursday, October 22 2026
- Art Class (Banuelos, Guerrero, Koneazy, Rosas)
- Theater Class (Monico, Diaz, Lopez, Ramirez)
- Library Time (Diaz, Guerrero)
- Afterschool Tutoring
- Elementary 2:30-3:15
- Middle School 3:20-4:05
- Middle School Student-Led Conferences
- See flyer above
- 4:00-6:00 pm
Friday, October 23, 2026
- Shortened Day for MS @ 2:03 pm
- Magnet Tours at 8:30 am
- CF Fitness (PE with K-5)
- Needs Survey DUE LINK to Survey
- 50 Days of School Celebration!
- Super Heroes Day! Dress like your favorite superhero!
- Cougar Kiosk OPEN!
- Bring ALL your cougar cash!
- Library Time (Koneazy, Rosas, Gonzalez, Monico)
Mark Your Calendars!
Community Event
Monday, October 26, 2026
- Red Ribbon Week Begins, Wear Red!
- Storybook Pumpkin Entry Drop Off All WEEK
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
- RRW: PJ Day
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
- PTA Meeting
- RRW: Sports Day
Thursday, October 29, 2026
- RRW: Twin Day
Friday, October 30, 2026
- Costume Parade @ 8:30 am
- Storybook Pumpkin Voting
- Fall Festival