Escondido News 8-30-2019
Friends Around the World
Escondido Vision Statement
Minimum Day Today - Friday, August 30th
1st - 5th Grade dismissal at 1:30 PM
All elementary schools will have an early release today, August 30th.
Please make sure to pick up your student on time.
Our school closes when students are released.
Have a great four-day weekend! See everyone back on Tuesday, September 3rd.
Coffee with the Principal - Topic: International Trip for SI Program
Friday, September 6th
MP Room, 8:10 AM to 9:00 AM
You are all invited to attend a special Friday coffee meeting in the MP room next week on Friday. Ms. Anne Brown, Assistant Superintendent Ed Services, Elementary is our special guest. This meeting is an opportunity for me to share more information related to International trips for elementary-aged students and address questions you might have.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Responsive Classroom at Escondido
At the parent coffee last week Friday, I shared the work we will do this year to align our practices around Social Emotional Learning. I reviewed both the Responsive Classroom framework and Second Step recognition tickets.
This week at our staff meeting teachers shared the work they are doing to build strong and positive classroom communities with their students. It is great to see how excited students are about learning new things and making new friends! Take a look at the PPT shared with families who attended the coffee last week. We hope you enjoy the recently added classroom artifacts.
More Improvements on the Way! Walk in Safe Places
As many of you know, our front drop off and pick up zone has improved quite a bit since last year, but we are still in the process of more improvements. Here are a few details of the improvements in the works:
Realign the second parking lane so that we can add a crosswalk at the end of the driveway, making pedestrian traffic more visible.
Addition of a green bike lane to support of bike-riding families.
Widening parts of the sidewalk by pushing back our front fence line adding a gravel path and a few more bike racks.
In the meantime, as we wait for the completion of our improvement project, please be extra careful walking along our narrow sidewalks. Share the space. Be especially aware of the bus that takes wide turns. The bus side view mirrors and open doors protrude into our sidewalk. We have had several close calls this year.
Below are a few safety video clips and tips that you may find as a helpful resource.
Video Clips
“Walk This Way”: Pedestrian Safety for Young Children
City of Palo Alto Safe Routes to School
Tips:
Walk in Safe Places
Use crosswalks when crossing the street. If a crosswalk is unavailable, be sure to find the most well-lit spot on the road to cross and wait for a long enough gap in traffic to make it safely across the street.
Stay on sidewalks whenever possible. If a sidewalk is not available, be sure to walk on the far side of the road facing traffic. This will help increase your visibility to drivers.
Stay Alert – Avoid Distractions
Distractions are everywhere today and becoming more and more difficult to avoid. Remember that, as a pedestrian, your eyes and ears are your best tools for keeping safe. Stay alert and watch out.
Put down your phone. Smartphones and handheld electronic devices are a daily part of life, but they take your eyes off of the road and distract your attention.
Don’t wear headphones. Your ears will tell you a lot about what is happening around you – be sure to use them.
Follow the Rules
Know and follow all traffic rules, signs and signals. You need to be aware of the rules vehicles around you must follow to properly anticipate what drivers will do. This will help increase your safety.
Never assume a driver will give you the right of way. Make every effort to make eye contact with the driver of a stopped or approaching vehicle before entering the roadway.
Retrieved from https://exchange.aaa.com/safety/pedestrian-safety/tips-pedestrian-safety/#.XWlBP5NKjm0
Highlights for the Week
First Monthly Fire Drill
Thursday 8/29 at 11:00 AM
This morning we held our first monthly fire drill at Escondido. Teachers discussed the procedures and expectations with their students prior to this first drill.
We had two goals today:
1. Classes exit classrooms quickly, safely, and quietly. Today's time established our baseline.
2. Take attendance quickly once assembles on the field.
Our time to beat next month is 3 min 8 sec.
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Below are the procedures we follow to practice the fire drills. Please familiarize yourself with our safety procedures in case you are ever on campus volunteering. Please make sure to always sign in with the office since we use the registrar to account for individuals on our campus in case of an emergency.
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Fire Drill Procedures
- Fire Alarm sounds
- Exit your room with students in an orderly and quiet manner
- Follow exit routes (Refer to Map)
- CLOSE the door behind you – the last person out your door closes the door (no need to lock)
- Assemble by class and grade level on the backfield
- Do not spread out on the grass field – move in close to one another so you can hear me on the bullhorn (try to not pass the imaginary pink line on map)
- Take attendance and deliver to Command Center
Reminders...
Attendance
If Your Child is Absent…
Please call the attendance line at 650-856-1337 x1. If the office staff does not answer you will be prompted to press 1 and leave a message. Please provide your child’s name, relationship to student, and reason for absence. You may also send us an email message escondidoattendance@pausd.org
What’s an Excused vs Not Excused absence? Illness, doctor’s appointments, bereavement, and certain religious exercises are excused absences. Please see PAUSD board policy for the full list. All other reasons are not considered excused.
Are Vacations / Travel Excused? Unfortunately, family vacations or travel is not excused – even when you inform your teacher or the office. This comes to a surprise for parents. We appreciate you letting us know so that you will not receive a call from the auto-dialer asking you to verify the absence.
Parking Lot Safety
Please adhere to the following rules during drop off and pick up times:
Use the right lane to drop off children and adults
Pull up as far as possible and close to the red curb
No parking or long-term waiting along the red curb
Drivers stay in the vehicle and let kids get out of the car on their own (let one of us in a vest know if you need help)
Drive slowly approaching the driveway and through the parking lot
Be VERY careful of pedestrians and bicycles – EVERYONE please make eye contact with pedestrians and drivers
No Student Drop Off at the Back Lot
We are seeing a lot of dangerous situations in the back parking lot! Please do not use the back parking until after 4:00 PM and tell your children to not ride behind parked cars!
Pets at School
Please Leave Your Dogs at Home During School Hours (8:00-3:30)
This is a PAUSD policy and is part of our School Safety Plan. The policy is in effect all year through May 31, 2019. We realize that there are many friendly pets that join the family for the morning or afternoon walk to/from school. Unfortunately, there were several instances in the recent past of just such "friendly pets" biting Palo Alto School District students/adults. These were animals that had not previously exhibited hostile behavior.
Veterinarians tell us that the most socialized dogs can become aggressive when stressed by crowds, such as 500+ students before or after school. We ask for your understanding and full cooperation from day one. Again, this is for the safety of all our children. Please DO NOT bring your dog on campus during school hours.
If your family is one that enjoys walking to or from school with your pet, we would like to suggest that you pick a spot outside of campus, perhaps a nearby corner, where parent and dog bid children goodbye and the student/s enter the campus without the dog. Please do not tether your pet on the school borders.
Escondido Elementary School
Website: www.escondido.pausd.org
Location: 890 Escondido Road, Stanford, CA, USA
Phone: (650) 856-1337
Facebook: facebook.com/none
Twitter: @EscondidoElem