Bulldog News

Good Evening Vista Academy Families,

What a beautiful representation of student creativity and performance at this year's Festival of the Arts. Our students showed up and impressed the audiences. So extremely proud of our students' confidence and ability to show their talents. Huge Shout Out to our specialty teachers, Catherine Caldwell, Mark Hughes, Ruben Hassman, Monica Sanders, our teachers who organized the booth and art project, and our Vista Academy Foundation for all of their support. Way to represent!!!!!

Thanks to everyone who signed up for the Fall Fundraiser Spooktacular Stroll-a-thon already. If you have not, please do. This is our biggest fundraiser fo the year and it funds our conservatories, family events, classroom needs, assemblies, t-shirts, Winternational Festival, Dia de Los Ninos, and many other special events each year. If every child raises at least $35 we will meet our goal of $25,000. We need your help!!!!

Our kindergarten family luncheon is this Friday from 10:50 - 11:15 AM. We will open the gates at 10:45. Please join us and have a special lunch with your child in the cafeteria. You can bring outside food or have a cafeteria lunch. It is special time and you will not want to miss this once a year lunch with your child. Other siblings in other grade may not be checked out to attend as they will have their own luncheon on a different date/month.

Please see below for important dates and events.

Por teléfono celular haga clic en el círculo con la persona de manos extendidas.

Por computadora haga clic en "Translate Newsletter" en el cuadro negro en el lado derecho de la pantalla y luego seleccione su idioma.

October 22: Spooky Stories with Mr DeLeon @6:00PM

October 23: Kindergarten Bulldog Family Luncheon

October 26- October 30: Red Ribbon Week

October 29: Dia De Los Muertos Festival

October 30: Spooktacular Stroll-A-Thon

Every Monday is a Minimum Day- Dismissal is at 1:00PM

2026/2027 School Year Calendar -- Calendario Escolar

With Halloween approaching, we are seeing an increase in students bringing candy to school, eating it throughout the day, and sharing it with others. Please remind your students that candy should be left at home and do not allow students to bring candy to school. Thank you for your help in keeping our school day focused on learning!

We need volunteers! Please consider volunteering at the Festival of the Arts to run the arts and crafts at the booth on October 17th in Vista Village. Sign up here!

Come Cheer on Our Dance Conservatory at the San Diego Clippers Game!

We are excited to share that our Dance Conservatory groups — PACK Pups, Spirit Squad, and The PACK — will be performing at the San Diego Clippers game on November 6 at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside!

Our dancers have been working hard and are so excited for this opportunity to perform. We would love to have our school community come out and cheer them on!

Grab your family and friends, enjoy a SD Clippers game, and help us fill the stands with support for our dancers!

Purchase your tickets using our link: VISTA ACADEMY LINK

Purchasing through our group link supports our Dance Conservatory program by helping us cover the cost of our dancers’ tickets. It’s a fun way to enjoy the game while supporting our dancers and their opportunities to perform!

We hope to see lots of Vista Academy families, students, staff, and friends in the stands on November 6! Let’s go, Vista Academy!

Sign Up for Before and/or After School Childcare

If you need before and/or after school childcare at Vista Academy, you MUST fill out an application ASAP. You will need your child's 9-digit student ID, which can be found in parent portal. Please note that this application does not guarantee admission. Please see full flyer for details. Some students may qualify for free care.

English/Spanish Flyer and Application Here

tinyurl.com/AM-PMprogram

All elementary schedules include Minimum Day Mondays.

The schedule will be reflected as follows:

Mondays 8:00AM -1:00PM

Tuesday-Friday: 8:00AM- 2:18PM

2026-2027 School Calendar linked HERE

*Gates open at 7:30 AM for breakfast. Students may not be dropped off before 7:30 AM for safety since we do not provide supervision before 7:30.

Breakfast and lunch is free for all students at Vista Academy. You do not need to fill out an application.

Fruit and salad bar is also available.

Students are not to use a smartphone or other electronic signaling device (including cell phone, smartwatch and personal tablet) on campus. Specifically, such devices must be turned off during instructional time and kept by the teacher in a secure location while on school property.

Students who violate any school rules related to the use and possession of personal technology may have the following consequences:

• 1st and 2nd Offense: Device is taken away, student picks it up from Administration after school.
• 3rd Offense or Above: Device is taken away, parent/guardian picks it up in the office after school.
• Continued offenses will result in the student being placed on the Loss of Privilege list and a parent/guardian conference with Administration.

Misuse of personal technology resources on or near school property, in school vehicles and buses, at school-sponsored activities may result in disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from the District. Examples of misuse include, but are not limited:

• Taking photos or recording of any person at school without specific permission from a teacher or administrator (see notification below, Electronic Listening or Recording Device)

• Accessing, posting, displaying, or otherwise using material that is discriminatory, libelous, defamatory, obscene, sexually explicit, disruptive or without permission

• Bullying, harassing, intimidating, embarrassing or threatening others (“cyberbullying”)

• Disclosing, using, or sharing other people’s personal identification information (such as name, address, telephone number, email, or other personal information) with the intent to threaten, intimidate, harass, or ridicule that person

The school assumes no liability for personal technology, including computers, cell phones, smartphones, network access devices, or other electronic signaling devices, if such devices are damaged, lost or stolen.

We love our volunteers and cannot wait to welcome you on campus!

In order for volunteers to help in classrooms or outdoor spaces, here are the requirements:

• Must complete the VUSD Volunteer Application
• Review the Code of Conduct (images below)
• Must complete a TB questionnaire. If you have not had a history of TB, then you do the lab test. Please email our school nurse, Brenda VanDerPol, with any questions at brendavanderpol@vistausd.org.

If you are interested in being an Essential Volunteer, please

1. Submit your paperwork to Ms. AnaKaren in the office.
   
2. Reach out to your teacher for volunteer opportunities OR any of our specialty teachers. Must pre-arrange to volunteer. Thank you!

We look forward to welcoming back all of our volunteers. Thank you for your cooperation!

Please bring your ID when coming into the office. An ID is needed to check students out and all visitors must scan their ID to enter school. Thank you for your help.

Please contact the school at 760-941-0880 or complete this form to resolve this absence. Report absence:

Please email medical notes to anakarengarcia@vistausd.org to excuse the absense.

The office will be open to assist families from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns. We are here to help in any way we can.

Phone: 760-941-0880

Email:

General Information: priscilavaldovinos@vistausd.org

Registration/Health/Attendance Concerns: anakarengarcia@vistausd.org

Registration/General Information: rosysimmonds@vistausd.org

Parent Liaison: daliamendezmendez@vistausd.org

Principal: benjiewalker@vistausd.org

Please contact Mrs. Dalia if you are interested in classes for parents or need assistance.

daliamendezmendez@vistausd.org

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out to support our VAPA students at the Festival of the Arts! And a special thank-you to everyone who supported our PTO during our Panda Express Dine-Out! Your support means so much to our students and helps us continue creating fun opportunities and experiences for our VAPA community. We loved seeing so many of our VAPA families and appreciate your continued support. We also want to thank everyone who has already registered their student for our Spooktacular Stroll-A-Thon! If you missed registration, don’t worry—you can still sign up! Simply log in through the Fund Hub webpage and register your student. https://www.getmovinfundhub.com/login

Our fundraiser has officially started! Register. Share. Stroll. Let’s reach $25,000!

Now it’s time to get the word out! Help your student reach their fundraising goals by sharing their fundraising page with family, friends, neighbors, and even your coworkers or boss! Every share and every donation helps bring us one step closer to our $25,000 school-wide goal! We can’t reach this goal without the support of our amazing VAPA families, so REGISTER, SHARE, and HELP US MAKE IT HAPPEN!

PTO is also in need of volunteers to help make our Spooktacular Stroll-A-Thon on Friday, October 30 a huge success! If you’re available to lend a hand, please sign up to volunteer. We would love to have you join us and help make this a fun and memorable day for our students! Below is the registration link and QR code for volunteering. Thank you again for supporting our students, our school, and our PTO! Let’s get fundraising, VAPA!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4CAAAD2CA0FDC61-50795609-spooktacular

Vista Academy's School Accountability Report Card is now available for review on our website (link at the bottom of the page). A hard copy will be made available upon request at our front office.

• School Parent Compact

• Parent and Family Engagement Policy

Email: vistaacademyes@vistausd.org
Website: vapa.vistausd.org
Location: 600 North Santa Fe Avenue, Vista, CA, USA
Phone: 760-941-0880
Twitter: @VistaAVPA