1510 W. 14th Street, Eugene, Ore. 97402

School Office Hours 7:30 am-3:00 pm

541-790-5300

carey_k@4j.lane.edu

http://chavez.4j.lane.edu

facebook.com/CesarChavezCheetahs

Dear Chávez Families,

December has arrived! As always, school calendars fill up with special events, families become busy with shopping and family gatherings, and then there is the excitement of the holidays that goes along with everything. And in the midst of all of that, we expect that we will continue learning at school.

We have just completed a month of learning about gratitude. Teachers and staff led students in exploring creative and fun ways to consider things for which we are grateful. We witnessed loads of gratitude expressed through artwork, notes, letters, and projects. Featured in the picture above is the 5th Grade Thankful Tree. Thanks to our students and their teachers for a wonderful month.

We continue the positivity with a focus on giving for this month. Students are encouraged to bring in non-perishable food for our annual Canned Food Drive. Before we leave for Winter Break, we will take all of the donated food across the street to the neighborhood Food Pantry. The staff there is so appreciative, and they let us know what a difference we are making. All students get to participate in this meaningful act of giving. It is a very special event that is always a highlight of the year.

Best to you and yours,

Ms. Deirdre Pearson, Principal

Monday, Dec 13: Pajama day😴

Tuesday, Dec 14: Rainbow day🏳️‍🌈

Wednesday, Dec 15: Wacky Wednesday

Thursday, Dec 16: Hat Day 🎩👒🧢

Friday, Dec 17: Cheetah Print or School Colors Day 💚💜

Every day counts!!! Only 17% of students considered chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade were reading proficiently in the 3rd grade, compared to 64% of those students with good attendance.

Ms. Amanda's class raised $126.93 for #TEAMSEAS! This is an organization that cleans up our oceans by removing plastic waste.

We donated this amount on behalf of César Chávez Elementary and the B4 fifth graders. Special shoutout to Coda Skinner, our student who came up with the idea. You can see our donation on the #teamseas website. If you have a student who participated, make sure to thank them from all of us fifth graders and the ocean!

Go #TEAMSEAS and TEAM CHAVEZ!!!!

Dear Chávez Families,

César Chávez Elementary strives to provide the best possible learning environment that we can. Partnering with families is a very important part of making sure all of our students receive the best possible opportunities to learn. At parent/teacher conferences your child's teacher shared a link with you inviting you to read over and sign a Family/Student/School agreement with your child.

If you have not yet had the opportunity to sign the agreement, please click on the link below so you can participate in this important opportunity to partner with us. Once you have read over the agreement with your child we invite you to type your child's name and your name before submitting the form to help us know which families have had this opportunity.

If your child's teacher has already sent you this link and you have already looked it over and signed it, you DO NOT have to do it again.

Here is the link to the agreement in English: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeX3P0q1NAMnu_AV4c2a-o9h_SwobjrlZok-S1i8u09KaRO1Q/viewform?usp=sf_link

Aqui es el enlace in Español: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScsAYyx0SUqiIfcExL6brwgFDxgQyvqbHJoaJkHZLa9YxQhnA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this with your child.

Warmly,

Alice Williamson and Debra McIntosh

Title One Coordinators

Your very own Cheetah PACK is hosting an open forum on Dec. 14th via Zoom. The conversation will focus on the Bike Path and Westmoreland Park. Please click on the flyer below for more information.

Welcome to Betsy Arreloa, our newest Site Council Parent Representative!

Three big takeaways from our November Site Council meeting:

1. Chávez teachers were the recipients of over $6,000 in Eugene Education Foundation grants this fall. These grant-funded projects directly benefit students.

2. Our school enrollment is lower this year than projected. Especially small is our Kinder group, which was staffed with four teachers in anticipation of a large number of students. As a result, we have smaller class sizes. This year, we have two sections in 4th grade instead of three.

3. Fall ECBM test scores are lower than normal, especially in first grade. Students are showing growth in reading across grade levels now that we are in person.

Once again, it's been wonderful to work with all of your students! In November, I continued Kindergarten classroom lessons focusing on school skills, 1st and 2nd grade lessons on mindfulness, and began Sources of Strength lessons with grades 3-5. It's been so uplifting! Feel free to reach out if you are interested in learning more about any of these.

It has also been my privilege to support students as they navigate challenging situations, including with peers. Their ability to show empathy and engage in supported solution-focused conversations continues to be impressive!

Small group permission slips have been sent home with invited participants. Thank you to parents and guardians who have signed and returned those. If you've not yet had a chance to do so, please return your child's slip as soon as possible so we can get our groups started!

Across the building, teachers are continuing to deliver our SEL (Social Emotional Learning) curriculum, SecondStep, as well as shifting into the Child Protective Units this month. Recess supervisors and other staff have also been supporting students in applying their problem-solving skills learned during SEL and reinforcing all those skills for learning and empathy.

On the horizon: look for Conscious Discipline parent nights starting in January. Here is an approximately 5 minute video providing an overview of what Conscious Discipline is all about. I hope you'll join me on this exciting journey! Stay tuned for details.

As previously mentioned, I'll continue to update my virtual office where you'll find a variety of resources, especially in the caregiver corner. Please feel free to reach out to me if you would like to discuss your student or family's needs. I'm available via email: sell_s@4j.lane.edu or by phone at 541-790-5383 (direct office line).

Wishing you well,

Ms. Shannon

Shannon Sell, LCSW (she/her – why pronouns matter)

School Social Worker I Chávez Elementary School
Eugene School District 4J
sell_s@4j.lane.edu I 541.790.5383

One of our AVID priorities for the 2021/22 school year is writing. Check out these ideas for writing at home with your primary student.

In 4J, elementary and middle school students will need parent/guardian permission to receive a student transit pass. To get a free LTD student transit pass, fill out the permission form at this link https://forms.gle/XLysqH3JjgCaEXHv6. The student transit pass can be used to get anywhere within the LTD service area, including on weekends and after school.