On Friday, we had the opportunity to practice two important drills. Thank you for everyone's patience as we implemented our early release procedures for the first time since COVID. We were able to learn from that experience to create better protocols moving forward.

There is no school tomorrow, Sept. 5th in observance of Labor Day.

Do you know a family interested in attending Sierra Madre Elementary school? Tuesday, is our first school tour of the year. This will be an in-person tour and we will meet in the front of the school at 8:00 am.

We will be having a volunteer orientation on Wednesday at 8:05 am in the SME Auditorium. Anyone interested in volunteering must complete the orientation.

This week, 3rd grade classes will be visiting Creative Arts group. If you have not returned a walking field trip form to your teacher, please be sure to do so on Tuesday.

Friday, September 9th is the AFB General Meeting at 8:30 am.

Our Read It Forward program will be starting on Monday, August 29th! Students can help us “Read It Forward” by donating new or gently used K-5 books. All books will be donated to the students of our sister school, Madison Elementary. Students can bring books to the Front Office from August 29-Sept 9 and drop them into one of the donation boxes. To personalize the books and share a few of their favorite things, students can also fill out one of the Read It Forward cards in the Front Office and place it in the book for the receiving students.

SEED is excited to continue the work of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at SME. SEED works for every student and family to feel respected, supported and represented at Sierra Madre Elementary School. Join us this year as we plan diverse heritage and history months, support our library, work with PTA and create space to share and learn about diverse experiences. SEED is highlighting National Hispanic Heritage Month! Please check out the September SEED resource guide for great resources on Hispanic Heritage. Learn about Sal Castro, the Los Angeles teacher who helped Latino students fight for their educational rights in the 1960’s. As a bonus, SEED has included information about the upcoming CSU San Bernardino Pow wow, in recognition of Native American Day on September 23rd. If you value diversity, equity, and inclusion and want to get involved with the planning of diverse monthly celebrations please join a SEED meeting and catch our monthly resource guides in the Wednesday folder and Sunday Smore. For email updates, email us at smeseedinfo@gmail.com.

Your donation to AFB supports students' visual arts education!

Art is taught in the Arts Discovery Room by art teachers, and students get "Spanish Through the Arts" as part of Eagle Time enrichment which begins this week.

Students also create Visual Art pieces that align with the Spotlight theme which are displayed in the auditorium. Watch for the first piece to be debuted during the 5th grade Spotlight assembly on Friday, Oct. 7th!

Please support AFB's "All In For Fall" effort where we encourage 100% family participation at a level that is meaningful to your family. To make the $220,000 goal needed for the next school year, AFB needs $400/student (or $40/month per student). Please donate now at https://bit.ly/2LzqUOL to ensure we have the staff and programs we need!

You can also find SME AFB on Facebook @SierraMadreAnnualFund and Instagram @SierraMadreElementaryAFB.

After receiving my degree in Biology, I worked at Bear Country, U.S.A. in Rapid City, South Dakota. My job was to take care of and provide education on a variety of North American animals such as bears, wolves, mountain lions and bobcats. Another reason I feel at home at SME!