Bobcat Pride
Sunset Valley Elementary - week of January 8 - 12
The Principal's Den
We are thrilled to have all of your kids back at school. 2018 is going to be GREAT! We hope your Winter break was very relaxing and joyful. We look forward to a great start to the 4th 6 weeks and ultimately a great finish to 2018. We are truly honored to be part of your child's life and to witness their amazing talents.
In the coming weeks I am going to trying something a little new with my Principal's Den message. I am going to invite some students to join me in the Principal's Den, i.e. my office and share what they have learned in their classroom that week and why they think it was important to learn. I'll send a video each week of all the responses. Keep a close eye out for more information about this fun addition to the newsletter.
Please also keep an eye out for another opportunity for you to join ME for
Coffee with Kristen. The dates are being finalized soon and I hope to invite parents to stop by once a month to talk about our wonderful school and answer any questions about our work in our classrooms that support our Bobcat Vision, "to create an optimal learning experience that promotes ongoing collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication with students, teachers, parents, and community members for the success of all students."
The campus has just purchased 7 new iPads! We will have a total of 26 iPads once they arrive. Remember, our fundraising goal for this year was to purchase additional iPads and/or Chromebooks for our classroom as well. Our SVES PTA will be sharing the total money raised VERY soon and then we will be ordering these additional pieces of technology.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Kristen Eriksen
Our Campus Webpage
Important Dates to Remember in December & January
Monday, January 8
- Bobcat Bash (by invitation only)
Thursday, January 11
- Fire Drill
Saturday, January 13
- Elementary Theater Showcase 11:00 am @ Timbercreek High School ($5.00 charge)
Monday, January 15
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, January 17
- Make up Picture Day & Club Pictures
Friday, January 19
- SVES Western Day (more information to come)
Monday, January 29 - February 2
- Scholastic Book Fair
Wednesday, January 31
- 100th Day of School - Dress up day (more information to come)
Thursday, February 1
- SVES Open House
Grant Winners
Mrs. Kaczmarski's grant, Full STEAM Ahead, was worth $3,929.16. She will be able to purchase items to use in all four classrooms that will give kids the opportunity to build and explore. Mrs. Baxter's grant, Backpack Artists, was worth $407.12. She will be able to purchase backpacks to hold all of the resources/tools needed to learn about a famous artist, his/her work and then tools to recreate the work of art.
Congratulations to both of these teachers!
Enrollment & Attendance
I wanted to share a little data as well about our attendance rates. We always strive to have ALL students in school each and every day. But we do understand when fever/sickness hits and we want you to help your child get well. Here are our attendance rates by six weeks so far for the 2017-18 school year:
- 1st 6 weeks - 96.8%
- 2nd 6 weeks - 96.4%
- 3rd 6 weeks - 96.6%
During the 3rd 6 weeks, the grade level that had THE best attendance was 4th grade at 97.52%. second place was 2nd grade at 96.89%, third place was 1st grade at 96.76%, fourth place was Kindergarten at 96.43% and fifth place was 3rd grade at 95.27%
For the 4th 6 weeks, let's make our goal to be at or above 97% for ALL grade levels.
In the coming weeks, Miss Michaels, our Assistant Principal, will be sharing some more information about attendance and tardies. We've noticed that MANY students are arriving at school after the 7:55 am bell and are being marked as "tardy". We need your help! Please help your child get up and get moving 5 minutes earlier so that all of our students arrive ON TIME and ready to learn.
We are also noticing more and more families are asking to sign their students out on or after 2:45 pm. We do understand that many times it is for a doctor's appointment that has been scheduled right after school but we've also noticed many families are doing this to avoid traffic out front. If you need a quicker way to pick up your child, you may want to consider changing your pick up to GYM PICKUP. Call the front office and/or email your child's teacher in advance if you wish to make this change. You will see some more information about this in the coming weeks specifically stating that we will be trying to avoid calling down any students for early dismissal after 2:45 pm unless it is for a specific appointment. School is in session from 7:55 am- 3:10 pm
Please do not park on Canchim Street and walk up to the school to drop off or pick up your child.
A Message from Theater!
We invite you to come see some talented 3rd graders perform and help our theater earn money! The KISD Elementary Theater Showcase is a fundraiser for all elementary theater programs. It will be Saturday, January 13th at 11:00 a.m. at Timber Creek High School in the auditorium. Tickets will be $5.00 and must be in cash! Please come to help us provide more opportunities in our theater programs!
Thank you!
Haley Wilborn
Free & Reduced Lunch Application
Volunteer Opportunities at SVES
Are you interested in helping in the office or classroom at SVES on a regular basis? Are you planning to chaperone a group of students on a field trip, help with PTA events, become a WATCH DOG volunteer, or chaperone at a school event? If you answered ‘YES’ to any of the above questions, you must complete a Volunteer Form/Criminal History Background check. To be eligible to volunteer on any of the KISD campuses, this process is completed each school year. To be considered as a KISD Volunteer for 2017-2018 school year, please complete the Volunteer Form. If you have a student at more than one KISD campus, you only need to fill out the application one time this school year. Please submit your Volunteer Application through the following link: Volunteer Application. Sign up TODAY!!
Once under the "Volunteer Form" job listing, click "Apply for this Position" to begin filling out the form. Once your application has been approved, you will receive a confirmation via the email address you provided in the application process. You only need to apply one time each school year. Our PTA is going to be posting specific volunteer opportunities however here are some other options for you:
- Classroom helper - help our teachers with door decorating, bulletin boards, reading to students, organizing notebooks/folders, cutting/laminating, etc.
- Library - help shelve books and with the check out/in process, reading to students, etc.
- Office/School helper - answer phones, using the laminating machine, sort/distribute mail, covering lunch duty for teachers, etc.
- Watch Dog Dad - Fathers, grandfathers, step-fathers, uncles, and other father figures who volunteer to serve at least one day a year in a variety of school activities as assigned by the school principal or counselor.
After-School Clubs
- Mondays (We will begin again in the Spring) - Kinder - 4th grade Running Club 3:15 - 3:50
- Mondays - Cub Scouts- Lion Den 4:45 - 6:00 & Tiger Den 6:00-7:00 in the Library
- Tuesdays - Coding Club for 2nd - 4th grade 7:15 - 7:45 am starting October 3 (Kinder & 1st will also be invited at a later date)
- Tuesdays - Paper Mache' Magic for 3rd & 4th grade - Jan. 9, 16, 23, 30, Feb, 6, 13 from 3:10 - 4:10 pm in the Art Room
- Tuesdays- Girl Scouts Troop 1162 starting at 6:30 pm
- Tuesdays - (starting Sept. 26) Kinder - 4th grade Science Matters from 3:15 - 4:15 in the Library. Register here: www.sciencematters.tv
- Wednesday - Battle of the Books for 3rd & 4th grade 7:15 - 7:45 am (more information to come)
- Thursdays - (starting Sept. 14) Marimba for 4th grade from 7:00 am - 7:30 am in the Music room
- Fridays - Golf Squad for Kinder - 4th grade from September 29 - November 7 and January 26 - March 23. Register here: https://golfsquad.com/school/sunset-valley-elementary/
Other Art Sessions coming up. Applications will be available at least 2 weeks prior to the starting date.
- Shutter Bugs for 2nd - 4th - Feb. 20, 27, Mar 6, 20, 27, Apr 3
- Miscellaneous Madness for Kdg - 4th - Apr 17, 24, 22, May 1, 8
Our Bell Schedule
1st Bell – 7:25 am Students are allowed in the building at designated areas
2nd Bell – 7:40 am – Students are allowed to walk to classrooms. Teachers are present at their door to welcome students.
3rd Bell – 7:55 am – Tardy Bell – Students not in the building at this time will receive a tardy slip.
4th Bell – 3:10 pm – Kindergarten – 4th grade dismissal
text @9bc72 to 81010
Our Facebook Page
SunsetValleyES
https://www.facebook.com/SunsetValleyES/@sunsetvalleyes
The Sunset Valley PTA is Amazing! But I'm sure you already knew that! :)
Join the SVES PTA!
NEW this year! Online memberships! As we start the new PTA year we'd like to offer you the ability to sign up or renew your membership online at http://www.joinpta.org/
For just $10 per membership, you can create a voice for every child! Student memberships will receive a punch card for 1 free concession item at our PTA events (good for 3 events)
- Feel you don't have time? No worries. Being a member of PTA doesn't require your time, however we do have volunteer, chair, and board positions available! Please email us sunsetpta23@gmail.com if you are interested.
- Not a Sunset Valley Elementary parent? That's ok too!! Grandparents, neighbors and friends can join as well! A voice for a child is still a voice for a child...having a community backing our youth is backing our FUTURE! JOIN US!
Please Follow us on Facebook to get the latest SVES PTA news and updates!
Our PTA does so many events and programs to support our students and amazing teachers! Help us reach our goal of 1 voice for every child!!
Click here to see watch the PTA welcome message.
Thank you for your support!
SVES PTA