Robins K-8
November Newsletter
A Message from our Principal
Hello Families of Robins K-8 students,
If you have not heard the NEWS! We are a “A” school. We are immensely proud of our students and teachers, and we could not have done it without YOU our parent/family support. Congratulations to us all! We do not want to stop here; we want to REMAIN at the TOP and our eyes are on KEEPING the “A.” We will be hosting informative parent meetings to discuss our action plan and to recruit your support in our endeavors. We are always looking for parents to work with our students in reading and math in a small group or with one or two students. If you are interested in providing this type of tutoring/academic support, please send me an email, stop by the office, or give me a call.
We are in the last month of autumn! It is a very quick month of school as we have three days in which there will be no school, they are November 11th for Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving Break on November 24th and 25th. A special “Thank YOU” to our veterans for your service for our country and communities!
Our next exciting school wide K-8 event is our Book Fair the week of December 5th-8th.
Did you know that November is National American Indian Heritage Month? Our school will be celebrating and learning about this culture during the month of November. We will also begin by including land acknowledgements during our Monday morning announcements. We have partnered with our district’s Native American Student Services (NASS) department and their director, Roxanne Begay-James. Her department will be providing enriching cultural lessons during this month. Our teachers will continue featuring this culture all month long just as we have done with our other cultural celebrations (Hispanic Heritage Month, Italian American Heritage Month, and Filipino American Heritage Month).
November is a short and quick month, but ACTION packed, so please check our website for any updates and changes so that you do not miss a thing!
Lastly, November 16th is the designated day worldwide for International World Tolerance Day! This day became an annual event, sponsored by the UNESCO (United Nations; Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Our school participates in “Teaching Tolerance” by hosting a “Mix It Up” day at lunch. Mix It Up at Lunch Day is an international campaign that encourages students to sit with someone new and get to know other students. We will be holding one of these Mix It Up at lunch days this month.
NO SCHOOL ON THE FOLLOWING DAYS
November 11th
November 24th
November 25th
ATHLETICS ANNOUNCEMENT
Middle School Volleyball and Basketball Practices are in full swing! Games begin the Week of November 7!
Elementary Basketball is starting soon! Sign up today in the front office!
If you are interested in participating, or coaching, sign up in the front office! You will pick up a permission slip packet, and submit a physical if you haven’t already turned one in this year. Questions? Contact Ms. Chew at felicia.chew@tusd1.org or by Text/Cell at 520.909.3888
Thank you!
Ms. Chew
Robins K-8 Athletics Coordinator Felicia.chew@tusd1.org
Cell/Text 520.909.388
Counselor Corner
Hello Roadrunner Families,
· In October, Robins K-8 celebrated National Bully Prevention Month. October 3rd was the kick-off, and students watched an Anti-Bullying video in their classroom, followed by a discussion facilitated by the teacher. After Fall Break, we held a Unity Assembly with guest speakers, and an awesome performance by our student Folklorico dancers. After the assembly, every student signed their name on a canvas Unity poster, made by Mr. Hebl’s art students. Signing the poster was a proclamation that Robins K-8 will stand in Unity against bullying.
· Thank you for supporting Student Council Halloween Grams sale! Look for other activities from Robins K-8 STUCO.
· Cognitive Abilities Testing (CogAT) will be administered for every 7th grade student in November. Any new 8th grade TUSD students will also be testing. This is one of the qualifying tools used for admission to University High School. There will be a letter going home that includes an Opt-Out option if you do not want your student tested.
· The first session of small groups has concluded, and the next 5-week session of small groups will start in November. If your student was on the waitlist, we will send you a note letting you know that your child will be in this next session. Stress Busters is full until next semester, however, there are openings for Changing Families, and Grief & Loss. If you would like your students to participate in either of those groups, please call or email me.
· The holidays should be joyful and restorative, but they’re often demanding. And this season, we’ll need to give ourselves and others some grace—a lot of it. Make no mistake: Stressful events will happen. But here’s the exciting thing: We get to choose how we respond to those events. Refusing to let stress run your life is a daily choice. To help you along your journey, here are some ways you can reduce the holiday stress (before it comes) so you can spend your time on what really matters to you.
1. Set boundaries and expectations.
2. Avoid family conflict.
3. Focus on what you can control.
4. Don’t take on too much.
5. Say no.
6. Limit your time on social media.
7. Make a holiday budget.
8. Don’t overdo it on the sugar.
9. Get plenty of sleep and stay healthy.
10. Protect your downtime.
As always, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Rachael M. Walters, M. Ed.
520.908.4300
News from the Library
The month of October has been a very active month in the library. We circulated 1405 books this month, even though we had a week off for Fall Break. I continue to be very proud and encouraged by the students’ commitment to finding interesting and challenging books to read.
The students are continuing to learn and to access the Robins K-8 Online Catalog to find books of interest at www.tusdlibrary.tusd1.org. It is a lifelong skill that they will appreciate long after their days at Robins.
This month we celebrated National Italian Heritage Month and Filipino American History Month. I had the pleasure of reading a book to each class that was written by a former Robins K-8 parent. The title of the book is Nakikita: More Than a Month by Dr. Daisy Rodriguez Pitel. The students loved learning about the Filipino culture. I also read All the Way to America, The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel to the students. We discussed our individual cultures and heritage and how we share many values, foods, languages, and traditions. It is delightful to become better acquainted with the children.
We are excited to announce that we will be holding our Fall Scholastic Book Fair on December 5 – December 9 in our library. You will be receiving more information this month about how to set up your eWallet, what books will be available and the hours of the Book Fair. Please remember to save the dates for our upcoming Book Fair in December. A percentage of the book sales is used to buy new books for our library.
I am grateful to be able to work with your children. Remember, keep reading!
Mrs. Wick
Library Assistant
From the Dean's Office
From the Dean’s Office
Coaching Focus: Bullying - Empowering Targets
We have been talking about bullying and ways to break the cycle. One way is to empower targets of bullying. How can we do that? We can create and use a process that is consistent with the goal of ending the cycle of bullying. Here is the process at Robins:
1. Either the student, or another individual tells the alleged bully to stop with the unwanted behavior/contact.
2. Report to (1) Teacher or Monitors and (2) Dean of Students (Ms. Chew) for documentation.
3. If there continues to be unwanted behaviors/contact, report immediately to the Teacher or Monitors and (2) Dean of Students (Ms, Chew).
4. The Dean of Students (Ms. Chew) will meet with the students. Sometimes, the finding is that it is not a case of bullying; it is a case of mutual conflict or miscommunication. If the conclusion is that bullying has occurred, the student will be consequenced at Level 3.
For more information about breaking the cycle of bullying, please connect with the Bully Prevention Team Leader Ms. Walters.
See you next month for our next Coaching Focus!
Ms. Chew
Robins K-8 Dean of Students Felicia.chew@tusd1.org
Cell/Text 520.909.3888
CURRICULUM
November is Native American Heritage Month. Robins will be celebrating by inviting Native American Services to our school to teach our students about the traditions and cultures of the people native to the Tucson area. This is a tradition at Robins that was started before the pandemic, and we are very excited to see returning to our school!
Robins has also begun starting each professional meeting with a land acknowledgement. “A Land Acknowledgment is a formal statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories.” - Northwestern Education. Tucson Unified School District acknowledges that the land where Tucson now sits was the ancestral home of Indigenous Peoples of the many nations in Arizona, including the Tohono O’Odham and Pascua Yaqui reservations that are within TUSD’s boundaries. If you would like to learn more about the native lands map, please click here.