Carrillo Community Update
September 24 - 30
Message from Ms. Bittel
I hope you had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the cool morning air! It's a nice change from the summer heat.
Over the next two weeks, Carrillo students will take their Quarter 1 Benchmark exams. We are so proud of how hard our cougars have worked all quarter long and we cannot wait for them to show off all they have learned. Here are a few test-taking tips to help your cougar perform their best on their test days.
- Get plenty of sleep (8-11 hours)
- Have a healthy breakfast before school (fruits, protein, and whole grains)
- Get to school on time (ideally by 8:15)
- Stay in school the whole day (so your cougar doesn't feel rushed)
- Bring a water bottle filled with water
Thank you for helping your cougar rock the test!
-Ms. Bittel
Save the Date
Upcoming Events
- Thursday, September 28 - PTO Appreciation Day
- Monday, October 2 - Custodial Appreciation Day
- Monday, October - Walk and Roll to School Week Begins
- Friday, October 6 - Grading Day (No Classes)
- Monday, October 16 - Quarter 2 begins (see you at 8:30!)
Kind Campus Weekly Activity
Kindness in Action: Just Like Me
Remind your student that every person...
- Has a body and a mind, just like me.
- Has feelings, emotions, and thoughts, just like me.
- Has experienced physical and emotional pain and suffering, just like me.
What other "just like me" statements can your cougar think up?
School News and Updates
Nominate a Teacher Who "Goes the Extra Yard!"
The Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl has teamed up with the College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation to celebrate "Big Day for Teachers" on Tuesday. This nationwide initiative aims to recognize and appreciate educators. The Bowl plans to gift $1,000 each to nineteen more Southern Arizona teachers, totaling $20,000 in support. Nominations for outstanding teachers are open until Monday, Oct. 15 at the Arizona Bowl website.
Nominate a Carrillo teacher who "goes the extra yard" today!
Participate in "Walk and Roll to School" Week
Next week, Carrillo will join thousands of other schools in Pima County to encourage walking and rolling throughout the school year in celebration of National Walk to School Week. Students from participating schools in Pima County who walk or roll to school during the week receive colorful gifts, including bike safety reflective decals, Walk 'N' Roll stickers, and Pima County Bicycle & Pedestrian Program mood pencils.
Carrillo will raffle off a scooter to a lucky student who participates in the event. All students have to do to get a daily entry ticket is to get to school one of the following ways.
- Walk to school
- Ride your bike/scooter to school
- Take the school bus
- Carpool with another family to reduce road congestion
Please check out the attached fliers from Pima County for more information.
Ballet Tucson Partnership
Carrillo has a new partnership with Ballet Tucson! In the spring, dancers from Ballet Tucson will work with students from select grades to learn some of the basics of ballet. To help generate excitement for this opportunity, Ballet Tucson is making tickets available to Carrillo families free of charge.
The first opportunity to see one of these shows is Thursday, September 28th at 7:00 p.m. at the Fox Theatre when they present "Footprints at the Fox." Tickets are first come, first served and are available through Ballet Tucson's Outreach Ticket page.
For more information about the show, visit the Ballet Tucson webpage.
Kindergarten Wishes
Ms. Castro and Ms. Morales have discovered an amazing tool to help our kindergarten students learn to cut correctly. If you are able to help, this item is available on Amazon and would make a difference in their students' ability to master writing. Thank you to the generous donor who ordered the writing tools!
The kinder wish list is available on their Amazon Wish List page.
Improving Reading and Math at Home
All students at Carrillo have access to a wonderful resource to support their continued growth in Reading and Math. That resource is IXL. Research shows that doing just 1 extra session a day can have a tremendous impact on student learning.
Our younger students also have access to RAZ-Plus to support literacy.
To access IXL or RAZ Plus students just log into their Clever accounts and select the icons. Please contact your student's teacher if they have any trouble.
Parent-Teacher Meetings
The teaching staff is quite busy preparing for daily instruction in the morning. Thank you for emailing to schedule a meeting time with them rather than just dropping in. Teacher email addresses can be found on our staff webpage. Thank you for your help!
Volunteers / Visitors
We encourage all parents to register as volunteers on the TUSD website as the process takes a few weeks to complete. Parents cannot volunteer on field trips without completing this in advance.
We ask non-parental volunteers (grandparents, aunts, uncles, community members, etc.) to contact the office before registering as a volunteer so we can explain the process and help identify volunteer opportunities.
Cafeteria Offerings
We are encouraging every family to apply for Free/Reduced Lunch. The number of accepted applications directly impacts our Title I funding, so thank you for taking a moment to complete it, even if your student doesn't plan to eat school lunch. The application is located on the TUSD Meals website.
The Food Services website also has a page dedicated to this month's breakfast offerings as well as this month's lunch offerings. You can even even get a mobile app for your phone online.
Carrillo Online Spirit Store
Looking for Carrillo spirit gear? Adrian from Big Frog is creating a new store this year which will feature shirts from the past two years, as well as this year's "Sucess Across the Edu-Verse" Shirt. All clothing is available to order in the Big Frog Carrillo storefront.
Transportation and Parent Pick Up and Drop Off Reminders
TUSD Buses
For more information, visit Transportation's website to see if your student qualifies for FREE transportation and to begin routing.
Morning Drop Off Reminders
Just a friendly reminder that the earliest students can be dropped off is 7:35 a.m. at 17th Street. The office does not open until 8:00 and while Ms. Bittel is usually on campus well before 8:00, she is often in meetings or other parts of the building and unable to hear the doorbell. From 7:35 - 8:00 the only safe drop off is 17th Street. Thank you for helping us to keep all our cougars safe in the morning.
Affter school Pick-Up Updates and Request
We know that the 17th Street area can get a bit congested at pickup. To help alleviate the situation, the City of Tucson has installed new signs to direct traffic and changed the direction of Samaniego Street.
The City of Tucson is requesting that families picking up on 17th Street exit the neighborhood using the following route.
- Travel west on 17th Street
- Turn south on 11th Avenue
- Turn west to access the frontage road or turn east to return to Main Avenue and 22nd Street.
Our neighbors kindly ask that you leave the driveways and corners open when you park so they can enter and exit their homes safely. If you do wait in your car along Samaniego, thank you for waiting at the bottom of the hill on the east side of the street so the roadway is clear for all vehicles and families crossing the street.
We are also asking families to arrive no earlier than 2:35 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and no earlier than 1:35 on Wednesdays. Parents of intermediate students, if you plan to arrive at 2:50 or 1:50, that will give the primary students time to load up and reduce your wait time.
Thank you also for being patient, driving slowly, and watching the road carefully. The streets behind Carrillo are narrow and we want to avoid any further accidents. Thank you for helping us keep our Cougars and our community safe.
Follow these signs.
Thank you for exiting via S. 11th Ave.
Attendance and Absence Reporting
Attendance Reporting Made Easy
- Log into ParentVue from App or Computer
- Click the "Attendance" tab on the left column on the computer or on the App as soon as you log in the blue "report absence" with a small bell icon is there.
- On the top right corner of the page it will have a blue link that says "Report Absence" click on this
- Use the calendar to select dates and the drop-down for the reason for the absence.
- You may also add notes or upload a doctor's note and hit "save".
Of course, you may still give Ms. Diane Quiroz a ring at (520) 225-1200 if you prefer. Thank you for reporting all absences!
Attendance Matters
Missing a day of school here and there may not seem like much, but it adds up.
When a student misses 2 days a month they will miss...
- 20 days a year (the equivalent of a month of instruction)
- 30 hours of math instruction
- 60 hours of reading and writing instruction
- Over a 1 year of instruction by graduation
When a student misses 4 days a month they will miss...
- 40 days a year (the equivalent of two months of instruction)
- 60 hours of math instruction
- 120 hours of reading and writing instruction
- Over a 2 year of instruction by graduation
PTO News and Volunteering Opportunities
PTO Meeting this week.
Box Tops for Education
The Top Classes are...
- #1 - Grade 4 with 50 box tops
- #2 - Grade 2 with 18 box tops
Calling all Art Volunteers!
Hello all art volunteers,
Ms. Dal Pra has the first art installation ready to hang. If you are available on Wednesday, please let her know. She'd love some help displaying our Cougar art! If you have any questions send her an email or stop in the room in the morning before 9 am.
Community Events
Please check back here to learn about upcoming community events of interest to Carrillo families.
Discovery Nights at the Children's Museum
Join us for Free Discovery Nights
from 5-7 pm every Thursday
at Children’s Museum Tucson!
Enjoy free admission, bilingual programming, and extended hours every Thursday! Reserve your tickets on the Discovery Nights webpage.
Art After Dark
Every Second Saturday, come learn about Tucson's vibrant arts community!
- Guest artists each month
- Hands-on activities
- Free museum admission 5:30 - 7:30 pm
- First 400 people receive a free return-visit pass.
Stay in Touch!
Stay current on our events by visiting our Facebook Page as well as the school website. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns please reach out. It is our mission to provide all students with a first-rate education in a kind and respectful environment.
Email the Principal:
Visit Our Website:
Location: 440 South Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone: (520) 225-1200
Like Us On Facebook:
Mission Statement
Carrillo K-5 Communication and Creative Arts Magnet School engages children's minds, bodies, and senses using multiple modes of learning, thought, and self-expression.
Vision Statement
At Carrillo K-5 Communication and Creative Arts Magnet School, students become 21st Century leaders in a diverse world, through the development of a strong academic core, communication skills and creative arts abilities.