Dear Parents, This week is a short week because of Fall Break. There is no school on Thursday or Friday. This Wednesday is a full day with dismissal at 3:15 as normal. Monday is a Teacher Preparation Day. There will be no school for students that day. Student Shadow Activity. I am excited to share that we are embarking on a new initiative—student shadowing. This practice involves stepping into the shoes of our students to experience a day in their lives, from the classroom to the lunchroom. The purpose behind this is simple, yet profound: we want to ground ourselves in the student experience to better inform our school improvement efforts. By shadowing, we aim to gain a deeper understanding of our students’ needs and empathize with the challenges they face. This firsthand experience allows us to record valuable insights that can help us improve learning experiences for all students. We believe that approaching this with a beginner’s lens will allow us to truly see the school through the eyes of our students. Student shadowing will involve 5-8 adults from our Building Leadership Team fully immersing themselves in the daily experience of a student. Each adult will be paired with a student and will follow them throughout the entire school day, participating in the same activities, attending the same classes, and even sharing lunch together if possible. This hands-on approach allows our leadership team to experience firsthand what it’s like to be a student in our school, helping us gain valuable insights into their day-to-day challenges and successes. By doing this, we aim to better understand and ultimately enhance the learning environment for all of our students. Your child may be shadowed, or in a classroom with a student who is being shadowed. If your child is selected to be shadowed, you will receive a request for parent permission prior to the date of the shadow experience. I look forward to working together to make our school an even better place for every student. Thank you for your ongoing support and dedication to our students’ success. Choose Kindness We are on the lookout for any acts of kindness at Altara. Here are some examples of kindness happening at our school these past couple of weeks. We have the best students! Laveen Bahjat (kindergarten) Laveen chose to play with someone who needed a friend. She changed her plan when she saw a student who was sad and didn’t have anyone to play with. Said Aleman (1st grade) Said helped a friend who was hurt. Maxwell Baird (5th grade) Max shows kindness by being a great helper to his classmates and teachers. He’s always willing to support others in every way! Ethan Griffin (4th grade) For showing kindness to Mrs. Fielding, the office staff and teachers by delivering yummy homemade bread. Isaac Griffin (2nd grade) For showing kindness to Mrs. Fielding, the office staff and teachers by delivering yummy homemade bread. Brooklyn Vogeler (2nd grade) Brooklyn was kind by helping others clean up and put away their headphones and chromebooks. Micaela Frias (4th grade) She is kind and often helps her classmates in Spanish class. Truman Tice (4th grade) Tice showed kindness by helping many students with their bird reports. Harper Dickison (kindergarten) Harper is always looking for ways to help others. She often helps her friends clean up their art supplies. 😉 Isaac Doty (kindergarten) You always help me clean up the classroom. I appreciate you. Eliana Bevan (kindergarten) Eliana is the best at cleaning up stations at the end of the day. She is a great helper to her teacher. Bella Braga (kindergarten) Bella is always thinking about others. She makes sure her friends know she cares about them. PTA News. Special thank you to the volunteers that helped with the Hearing Screening this morning. It went very quickly and was much appreciated. We are excited to share that the free T-Shirts for the Altara students and staff, provided by the PTA, have arrived! Please watch for them to be sent home this week. We are proud to support our school community and hope your children enjoy wearing them. Thank you for your continued involvement and support! Next week is Red Ribbon Week, and we’ve planned a fun lineup of spirit days to help raise awareness about the importance of staying drug-free. This year’s theme is ” Life is like a movie, film drug free”. Each day, students will have the opportunity to dress up and show their school spirit. Look for a flyer to come home this week. Tuesday: Pajama Day Wednesday: Mustache Day Thursday: Crazy Hair Day Friday: Wear your Spirit Shirt Day We encourage all students to participate as we come together to promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. If you would like to volunteer to help with a few of the activities the PTA has planned, please use this link. Red Ribbon Week Volunteer Sign Up Box Top Stats: $322.10 raised to date with Ms. Erb’s class in the lead! Download the app and start scanning your receipts! Box Tops App Join Team Bravo to show your support for our Teachers and Staff! Sign Up Here!Join PTA and help support the many activities we provide throughout the year. https://altara.givebacks.com/store?limit=21&live=true Join our Volunteer List and help the magic happen! https://docs.google.com/file/d/1inPT2pGvJ-etzYoRZGQsToQz01L0FrRl/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msexcel School Website: https://altara.canyonsdistrict.org/ Instagram: altaraelementary Parent Volunteer application link: https://www.canyonsdistrict.org/depts/external-relations/volunteer/ Upcoming Dates Oct. 14th-16th—Digital Citizenship Week Oct. 14th—Hearing Screening Oct. 17th-18th—Fall Break; No school Oct. 21st—Teacher Professional Day; No school Oct. 22nd-25th—Red Ribbon Week Oct. 24th—Picture Make up Day Oct. 25th—Assembly for the school to celebrate Red Ribbon Week Oct. 31st—Halloween Parade will be outside starting at 8:45; Classroom parties will be throughout the day determined by each grade level Nov. 21st—PTA Spirit Night; Pier 49 Pizza; 11-9 all day Have a great day! Julie Fielding, Principal Altara Elementary |