Hello Mesa Families!

This week continues a celebration of books and reading! For the next two weeks, our building will focus on a specific theme for teachers and students to learn about throughout the day and will include a dress-up theme each Friday. Please see the flyer below for more information. Additionally, March is Youth Art Month. We announced the winners of our second weekly contest on Friday and we look forward to many more student artists to celebrate for the rest of the month.

We are excited to welcome you into the building for two events this week. Tomorrow, we will host our first Family Literacy Day. Parents are welcome to come in to see a portion of reading instruction in classrooms. Directly following, we will host a question and answer session with building administrators and a student panel. On Friday, we welcome you to join in Mesa's annual St. Patrick's Day Pancake Breakfast sponsored by our PTO! We invite you to come in and share some free breakfast pancakes with your students between 6:30-7:15am.

Next week, we are hosting our third Community Day. On Monday, March 20th from 1:00-2:15pm, you are invited to join in your son/daughter's class for an art-based activity on kindness and empathy. To close out the month of celebrating our student artists, we welcome you to our art show on March 23 from 4:30-6pm. Stop in and walk through our hallway galleries with a spotlight on each grade level.

The Mesa 22-23 yearbook is also in process. If you are interested in ordering a yearbook, please see the flyer below to order online. The books will arrive mid-May.

During this week, students will continue to practice PRIDE (persevere, show respect, be independent, be dedicated to keeping Mesa safe, and empathize with others) expectations throughout the building. Our emphasis for the month March focuses on independence, staying on task, completing tasks, and being prepared. Please feel free to share the ways you and your family are practicing independence and work habits with your student's teacher. We love to hear from you and to see our Mesa students practicing these skills outside of school. Throughout the week, we give 'shout outs' to students who exemplify these characteristics in their actions across the building and with one another.

Mesa staff utilize the REMIND app as the main tool of communication with families. You are welcome to reach out to teachers via REMIND or email at any time. Please watch for weekly newsletters and updates from each grade level team throughout the school year.

Please be sure to contact us with any needs or questions. We look forward to the rest of this second semester and to the opportunity to work with each of you to help our students to Dream BIG, Work Hard and Make it Happen!!

Megan Oleson

***Please let your son/daughter's teacher know your plan for after school pick-up.***

Car Riders (drop-off/pick-up)

**Our visor badges were sent home to each Mesa family. We encourage you to use these in order to help our PM pick-up line move as quickly as possible. If there are any errors on your tag, please reach out to the front office.**

Car drop-off/pick-up will take place in the north parking lot in front of our main entry doors. The west lot is not a drop-off/pick-up option for car riders. We ask that parents keep traffic moving as quickly as possible by remaining in their vehicles while students exit. If there is a need for a parent to assist with a student exiting, please park in a visitor spot in the north lot. In the AM, parents should pull as far east (closest to the gym) as possible in the lot. Mesa staff members will be there to open doors and welcome students. Students will then enter the building. We only use ONE LANE in the morning - please do not drop students off in the center lanes of the parking lot. In the PM, students will be with their grade level (as indicated in the photo). Parents should still pull as far east as possible. A staff member will check in with you as you pull through either of our two lanes and will call for your student(s) to come to your vehicle.

If you are using Monterey Way and turning onto Camino Del Rey, please be mindful to not block the entry/exit to the west parking lot (on Monterey Way) as buses will be using this lot and will need enough space to get in and out of the parking lot.

Please reference the photo below for guidance on our drop-off/pick-up procedures this year.

Walkers

Any students who are walking home with a parent will meet on the east playground. Students will be separated by grade level. Parents may approach teachers to pick-up their student(s). Students are also able to walk home without being picked up by a parent. Students walking alone and needing to head west out of the building will be allowed to leave in this direction with the grade-level staff member walking kids out in that direction. Students heading east at the end of the day will be able to access the paved walkway out to Camino Del Rey to then head east towards Fountain Mesa.

Front Office Access:

Our main office is located on the north side of the building. Parents needing to enter the building should do so at our main-entry located at the north doors with a large Mesa paw print.

Feb. 27-Mar. 24: Read Across America Month

Mar. 1-24: Youth Art Month

Mar. 13: Family Literacy Day in the classroom 8:15-9:45am (families may begin to check-in at 8:05)

Mar. 17: Dress as your future self

Mar. 17: St. Patrick's Day pancake breakfast 6:30-7:15am

Mar. 17: End of 3rd Quarter

Save the Date:

Mar. 20: Community Day 1:00-2:15pm

Mar. 23: Art Show 4:30-6pm

Mar. 26-April 1: Spring Break

What an amazing start to our 2022-2023 school year. It’s so great to be back with my MESA families!! Thank you for helping me keep our kids safe! It has been awesome to watch the patience and kindness shown to each other as we process new procedures at arrival and dismissal.

Quick reminders:

• we have over 600 kids now and there is so much traffic. Treat our long lines like a sporting event or concert and take turns, allowing every other car in-we are all going to the same place
• one lane drop off in the morning, two lane pick up in the afternoon
• please remember basic traffic laws - 20 mph in the school zone!!
• remember, if you are close to late or running late, speeding is dangerous, there will be tickets issued
• speed limit is 10mph in a parking lot, even a long parking lot!
• cross walks, driveways and intersections are not to be blocked; If you cannot completely clear those areas....wait
• GOING INTO ONCOMING LANE OF TRAFFIC IS COMPLETELY ILLEGAL AND UNSAFE-DO NOT DO THIS FOR ANY REASON
  

Thank you for working together to be great role models for our kids.

MEDICATION: All medication must be brought into the building and picked up from the building by an adult- students are not allowed to bring medication into the building. All medication must be approved by a prescribing physician with the appropriate forms signed. These forms can be found on the district website or by contacting your school nurse.

FACE MASKS: At this time, masks are not required but certainly allowed. At any time you can choose to send your child to school wearing a mask.

FEVER: Fever is defined as a temperature of 100.4 or higher. Students who have a fever should stay home and rest until they have gone 48 hours fever free without the aid of medication such as ibuprofen or Tylenol. If your child has a fever that lasts longer than 48 hours, please reach out to your school nurse to help problem solve what your next steps might be.