Zoom PTO Link 5/23/24

https://lcps.zoom.us/j/82493452480

Greetings 8th Grade families!

If you haven't already heard, our celebration will be at Arrowhead Park Early College High School this year on May 30th at 6pm. Students are getting 6 tickets for family members or friends. If your family does not need that many, please send back any tickets that will not be used. Please call or email the school with any questions you may have. (amartos@lcps.net)

Greetings fabulous MVLA Families!

I want to send out a HUGE Thank you to all of the families who participated in our Goosechase Competition! It was so fun to see all the amazing submissions! 😃😃

1. The end of the year is upon us and Spring Fever is in full swing. With that, we see kiddos who are super excited and other super who are super anxious about moving on. Those emotions can get strong so please keep us in the loop if there is anything we need to know.
2. Yearbooks: The online sale is over, but you can still order some from Mrs. Montoya in the front office. Please call or email her to order yours.

May 15th - House Point Competition ends at Midnight.

May 20th - 6th graders take a trip to Burrell College

May 22nd

• 1st & 2nd Place Houses go to Chihuahua's Game

May 22nd - LAST PTO MEETING OF THE YEAR (TENTATIVELY)

May 24th EOY TESTING WINDOW CLOSES

--------------

May 27th - Memorial Day No School

May 28th - Retirement Celebrations

May 29th

• Field/Water Day

May 30th

• National Guard special surprise presentation!!!
• 8th Grade Celebration at APECHS

May 31st - 1/2 day - LAST DAY OF 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR!!!! 😲😲😲😲😁😁😁😁😁

Amanda Gately, a former parent of some incredible MVLA students, invites parents to check out the NM School for the Arts in Santa Fe. Her girls are attending there for High School and it is such a great opportunity that she wanted to make sure more people know about it. Check out their website at https://www.nmschoolforthearts.org/

If you have any questions or want to know about it from the parent perspective, Mrs. Gately welcomes your questions. Her number is 505-717-5702.

MVLA Electronic Communication Device Policy
To keep our focus on academics and to reduce unnecessary distractions, MVLA will adhere to the following: Cell phone and Electronic Device, to include Smart Watch usage, will not be permitted on campus. All cellular phones must be turned off and placed in back packs, not in clothing pockets, during all school hours to include before school, passing periods, restroom breaks, lunch, and class time. Students may take out their phones and use them after the last dismissal. MVLA is not responsible for lost or stolen items; however, we will take extra precautions to make sure classrooms are locked during lunch.

Should there be an emergency, parents may call the office and we will get the message to your student immediately.
If a student needs to make an emergency call during the day, they should come to the office for assistance. For safety purposes, students should ask for permission to leave the classroom.

Please check out this site that helps us to truly understand the ramifications of constant phone use: awayfortheday.orgLinks to an external site. For specific research go to: https://www.awayfortheday.org/research/Links to an external site.

If you need to speak to your child or get a message to your child during the day, please call the front office at 575-527-6059 and we will get the message to your student.

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

As a staff, we try to honor everyone's home time. It is part of our reasoning for not having assigned homework. We really want student's to participate and fully engage in home and family activities. We respectfully ask that you honor our staff home time as well so that we may also fully engage with our own families. Please avoid texting or calling after 5pm if you can. If you must, please know that per District policy, staff has 24 hours to respond. They are not required to respond immediately.

We are proud to announce our partnership with STOPit Solutions, a nationally recognized leader in school safety and wellness.

Through this partnership, everyone in our school community has access to the STOPit anonymous reporting app – a powerful tool designed to deter and promptly address instances of bullying, school violence, self-harm, and inappropriate behaviors.

With the STOPit app, users can anonymously submit tips, attach photo or video evidence, and privately message school leaders with the necessary information to help everyone involved.

In addition, when a student or anyone in our school community needs immediate support, the STOPit app provides direct access to Crisis Text Line. Users can anonymously text with counselors (day or night) until they feel safe and calm.

We encourage everyone in our school community to download the STOPit app.

If you haven’t already done so, we kindly urge parents and guardians to download the STOPit app and become familiar with its features. This will not only enable you to guide your children in using the app but will also demonstrate our collective commitment to the safety and wellbeing of our whole school community. The STOPit app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

LCPS Learners are Critical & Independent Thinkers

Thinking critically and independently means analyzing information, arguments, and perspectives, and making informed decisions based on evidence and reasoning. It requires the use of critical thinking skills, such as evaluation, analysis, and synthesis, to reach informed conclusions and make informed decisions. This skill is essential for success in both academic and real-world situations and helps you become a more effective problem solver and decision maker.

• Please pull straight into the parking lot instead of turning directly after the fence. We have already had damage to our traffic cones and poles.
• During a Hazardous Weather Event (especially for lightening) - please stay in your vehicle. We will release your student to you if you have come to pick them up.

Our school hours are 9am to 3pm this year. In the morning, we will open the gates at 8am but will only have a few staff on duty at that time. Please try not to drop off students prior to that if you can avoid it.

In the afternoons, while our end time is 3:00, we ask that not everyone come right at three.

Please use staggered drop off and pick up times below:

Ideally Morning drop off would be from 8:30 to 8:55 and pick up in the afternoon from 3:00 - 3:20.

In the afternoon, if you are able, please follow the times indicated below. If you last name starts with:

A-G - Please come right at 3:00

G-N - Come at 3:10

O-Z - Pick up at 3:20

To avoid causing a backup to Lohman, please pull up to the last cone in the lane next to the building.

Please see the attached map for more guidance.

Do you have something great to share? A talent, a skill or just flat out your amazing presence?

Please let us know. We can always use -

- Extra eyes for Lunch duty (volunteer or paid opportunities)

- Presentations in our Academic Enrichment classes (volunteer or paid opportunities)

- My Time teachers or assistants (volunteer or paid opportunities)

- After School program teachers (paid position)

These opportunities can be for 1/2 an hour, 1 day, a week, a month or longer. Please email me at amartos@lcps.net if you are interested.

We will serve breakfast from 8:30 - 9:15. If your student comes late, they can still pick up breakfast from the cafeteria.

If your child requires a special diet for any reason, please contact the school nurse Mrs. Johnson. You can call 527-6059 and ask for her and she will help set that up.

Also, please DO NOT have food delivered to campus. If you must bring food on occasion because your student has a special diet and forgot their lunch, that is fine, but please do NOT send deliveries, door dash, etc.

If you have not done so this year, please review our Student handbook here: https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:ec213539-5daa-4419-b824-68cf105362ba

You can also access it on our website mvla.lcps.net. To access it, click Menu, Documents and then Parent Resources.

We are the ONLY school of choice in the LCPS District. Our philosophy is one of high student engagement through hands-on learning and an environment of trust, caring and empathy!

Email: analisa@lcps.net
Website: mvla.lcps.net
Location: 821 East Lohman Avenue, Las Cruces, NM, USA
Phone: 575-527-6059