Dear Robert H. Down School Community,
What a fantastic start to the school year! We've had a wonderful first few days seeing our students engaged in learning, playing, and making new friends.
A huge thank you to our teachers and staff for their hard work getting our campus ready. We also want to give a special shout-out to our PTA, especially Amie Miller, for the fun "First Day of School" display at the front of the school!
Yesterday, we had our first Assembly where we reviewed our school rules, expectations around attendance, procedures on the playground and lunch, and introduced our Toolbox Tools, which is our social emotional learning curriculum.
Important Information and Upcoming Events
Back to School Night: Thursday, August 14th
Join us for our annual Back to School Night! The PTA will have food trucks on campus starting at 5:00 PM, so come early for dinner and to connect with other families.
5:00 PM: Food trucks (Dinner available for purchase)
6:15 PM: Principal’s Address in the Ottertorium
6:30 PM: Session 1
7:00 PM: Session 2 (for families with more than one student)
Welcoming Our New Staff
We are thrilled to introduce these new members of the Robert Down community:
Julia Triplett, Itinerant Mental Health Therapist
Jenna Williams, District Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Brittany Diaz, Instructional Assistant
Mikayla Nolte, Paraprofessional
Yuri Dorantes, Paraprofessional
Jonathan Fordham, IT Specialist
Building Our "Culture of We"
We believe that a strong school community is a team effort. Thank you to everyone who has already joined the PTA or completed our survey! If you haven't yet, we encourage you to get involved.
Join the PTA: Sign up here to become a member and support our school.
Volunteer: Complete this survey to let us know how you'd like to contribute. We have opportunities ranging from the School Site Council to classroom volunteering and lunch supervision.
Safety and School Procedures
Drop-off and Attendance: Please ensure your child arrives at school on time. We recommend dropping students off at 8:30 AM to allow for some extra play and connection time with friends.
Traffic and Parking: To ease traffic, please use the recommended pick-up gates listed below and see the attached map.
Gate A: TK Rm A2, K Rms A1 & A3, 2nd Gr Rms 13 & 15, Rm 18 - SDC
Gate B: K Rm C1, 1st Gr Rms B1, B2, B3, Rm 17 - SDC
Field Gate: 3rd Gr Rm 8, 4th Gr Rm 10, 5th Gr Rms 6, 7, & 9
Gate D: TK Rm E1, 3rd Gr Rms 3 & 5, 4th Gr Rms 2 & 4
Of course, if there is a gate more convenient for your family, please be sure to communicate with your child(ren) your plan. Older siblings are encouraged to pick up their younger siblings before proceeding to a gate.
Safety Reminders: For everyone's safety, please do not park in drop-off zones, avoid U-turns and double-parking, and remember to slow down and stop at all crosswalks. We want all of our children to arrive at school and leave school safely.
If you prefer to walk your child(ren) to the gate, please consider parking a block or two away and enjoy the walk with your child(ren). Carmel Avenue is a wider street and typically has plenty of parking available.
Upcoming Dates to Remember
August 14th: Back to School Night (Food Trucks @ 5:00 PM, Program @ 6:15 PM - 7:30 PM)
August 19th: School Site Council @ 3:30 PM
August 26th: Social & Emotional Learning Parent Event @ 6:00 PM
With joy,
Emily Tsai Brownfield, Principal
