MVLA Parent Rocket News
Principal - Anita Martos
Build Trust to Create a Community of Leaders
MVLA PTO Notes
In our last PTO Meeting, we chose dates for a Spring Fling Dance (April 19th) and the 8th grade celebration (May 30th). Both of these wonderful events will be held at Arrowhead Early College.
If you are interested in helping to plan or decorate for the dance, please join us at the next PTO meeting and/or be on the lookout for more details, coming soon.
The PTO has proposed that we start a tradition. Parents of kiddos in 6th and 7th grade are asked to help plan and decorate for the 8th grade celebration.
Next PTO Meeting: March 27, 2024 @ 6pm at the school
Unable to join in person, here's the zoom link: https://lcps.zoom.us/j/89463097022
Gearing up for the Home Stretch!
Greetings fabulous MVLA Families!
As we move into our last term for this year, we have so much to look forward to. The Tell the Story Film Showcase will start us off this very first week back on Wednesday and Thursday at the Cineport 10. Students will be traveling to compete in the state NHD State Competition April 11-12th. Not to mention, the most exciting thing starts this month....testing! π€ͺ
- With that in mind, please remind your students to charge their devices and bring them to school everyday. I have also provided them with a link in canvas for them to give me information on their device. They can let me know there if it needs work. Please remind them to fill that out.
- On a related note, we are constantly striving to teach our students skills that will carry over into the real world; one of those being on time and attending all day. This will be especially important over the next few months as late arrivals and students leaving at random times can disrupt learning and assessments. If students do miss an assessment, they will be pulled from classes when they return to make up it up. (We do still want you to keep them home when they are sick. Coming sick doesn't help anyone.)
- Still, to promote good attendance and being on time, I will be giving conducting an on-going House competition. The House with the most students present at Morning Motivation or in attendance during House Competitions will receive BONUS points....possibly changing the whole competition! --LOOK OUT AUDAZ!! πππ
March Madness
- March 4th - March 15th Spring Break
- March 20th and 21st Tell the Story Film Showcase
- March 22nd - End of Quarter 3
- March 25th -May 3rd - Window for End of Year Assessments
- March 27th - PTO Meeting
- March 29th Spring Holiday
Incredible Opportunities
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.
Friendly Reminder
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.
Calls or Messages after hours.
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.
Check out our standing with NMPED
Stop it App
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 β 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 havenβt 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.
Graduate Profile Competency for this month is Honest
LCPS Learners are Honest
Honesty is a moral and ethical principle that involves truthful and sincere behavior in all aspects of life. It involves being truthful in one's words and actions, avoiding dishonesty and deception, and being transparent and upfront in dealings with others. Honesty contributes to building strong and trustworthy relationships, and it is a foundation of good character and
personal integrity.
For a complete list of Competencies please see:
https://www.lcps.net/o/lcps/page/las-cruces-public-schools-graduate-profile
Parking Lot Reminders
- 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.
Parent Drop off and Pick 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.
Opportunities abound..
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.
Nutrition Services
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.
Continued Opportunities to improve
Is your student bed rotting over the break? Well, guess what. Just because we don't assign homework, does not mean they couldn't be working on their skills. Here are just a few things to suggest or even encourage your kiddo to work on.
- Students have access to Lexia (through clever)
- On Paper (also through Clever), students are now able to use a read aloud feature to record and improve their reading skills.
- Kids could use Kahn Academy, i-ready, prodigy or Mathia to work on any those math skills.
This is another great way for students to earn House Points! π€
Student Handbook
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.
Mesilla Valley Leadership Academy
Email: analisa@lcps.net
Website: mvla.lcps.net
Location: 821 East Lohman Avenue, Las Cruces, NM, USA
Phone: 575-527-6059