Bobcat Strong Tracker

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April 7 - Color Run at lunch- Parents are welcome to join and help out!

April 10-14 - No School- Spring Break

April 17- May 6 - CAASPP Testing

April 21 - STEM Challenge at lunch

April 22- Junior Olympics 4-6th Grade at Los Altos High School

May 7 - LASD Community Festival at Covington - All schools participating - SR booth with Airplane STEM challenge

May 12 - Bobcat Bash Auction

May 15 - Spring Music Concert for 4th-6th grade

Tomorrow, we will hold our 2nd Annual Color Fun Run at lunch on our upper field. It is very casual event that students can choose to join in at lunch. Parents, if you would like to come help spread color, please volunteer! No sign up needed, just come and have fun.

• 11:00-11:30 set up
• 11:45-12:00 TK and K
• 12:10-12:40 1st-6th grades
• 12:45-1:00 Clean up

Hope to see you there and hope you have a wonderful and relaxing Spring Break! So no school next week!

Stay Bobcat Strong!

Kelly Rafferty

Principal

With Spring Break next week, it is important for everyone to take a covid test before returning to school on Monday, April 17. We are providing each student with a covid test kit on Friday, April 7, prior to the upcoming break.

The window for the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) testing is April 17-May 5, with make ups scheduled the week of May 8-12.

The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, also known as CAASPP testing, is scheduled to take place between April 17th through May 12th. This state mandated, annual test is given to all 3rd through 6th grade students. The tests are in the areas of English/Language Arts and Mathematics. 5th graders also take a test in Science.

Please keep in mind the following regarding the CAASPPs:

• Our grade level teams build a testing schedule that utilizes the morning hours- when students are most rested and cognitively awake. For this reason, we ask that your family schedule appointments outside of the testing window, or at the very least, towards the end of the day.

• There is no “prep” that students need to do for these tests. Historically, Santa Rita students do very well on these tests and, in essence, our students “prep” by their daily learning experiences at school.

• As a staff, we de-emphasize any pressure on the students in taking these tests. We want them to do their best, to put forth their best effort- but that’s really the extent of the messaging we give the kids. These tests are a way to show what Santa Rita students know and can be able to do- as a whole. The results are used by our staff to determine changes to our instruction across the grade levels. The results do not factor into your child’s report card marks. They are simply one measure of progress; we view the day-to-day performance of our students as a much better, and accurate, metric of success.

On behalf of the Santa Rita Elementary School’s PTA, we are very excited for our annual Bobcat Bash on Friday, May 12! This is a evening, parents-only event and tickets will be on-sale soon so stay tuned!

This event cannot happen without your support! We are currently looking for donations and in the past we have always had families host fun parties or events. Hosting a party is a great way to gather friends together while supporting our Bobcats.

Here are some ideas for the types of parties that have been popular in the past. They can be adult only or grade/class specific for kids!

• Cocktail or dinner parties: ie, Moms and Margaritas or Brewing & BBQ Night
• Themed parties (such as a Murder Mystery or Poker Night)
• Sports or fitness events (cycling or yoga class)
• Host a cooking class or drop dinner off for a family
• Grade level pool party or pizza and movie night

We are also collecting items for the silent auction. Below or some ideas, but ANYTHING you can contribute goes directly to help our school!

• Gift certificates to your business or services
• Experiences, such as tickets to sporting events or concerts
• Use of a vacation home
• Artwork, handmade items or crafts
• Personalized consultations or services (such as photography session or personal training)

If you are interested in hosting a party or event, or have something you’d be willing to donate, please contact Stephanie at steph.hansen1@gmail.com by April 20.

Thank you for supporting our Santa Rita Bobcats!

Mark your calendar and join us at the LASD Community Festival on Sunday, May 7th, at 4 pm on the Covington blacktop and play area. Enjoy food trucks, games, and activities – good food and fun things to do for your family, friends, and neighbors.

Watch this video from LASD Superintendent Sandra McGonagle to learn more about the festival, and visit LAEFonline.org/Festival.

Can you help our team coordinate festival volunteers? To learn more, email LAEF at admin@laefonline.org or call (650) 559-0445.

We still need to raise $235K to support LASD in providing key programs to every student this school year. Donate today. Your gift of any amount would be appreciated. Thank you to those who have already given this year!

In the event of a major earthquake or windstorm or even more rain..... we can assume that electricity and wifi may go down as it did a few weeks ago. Therefore, we will use our SMS system to communicate with the community. Essentially a text messaging system that goes directly to your cell phone, SMS requires parents to opt into it to receive texts from the school. We also use the SMS system to send occasional reminders (like on minimum-day dismissals).

You can participate in this free service (standard message and data rates may apply) just by sending a text message of “Y” or “Yes” to our school’s short code number, 67587. You can also opt out of these messages at any time by simply replying to one of our messages with “Stop”.

Our new Universal Meals program will be available for a Grab and Go breakfast between 8:10-8:25, from our new Servery Window (By the lunch tables near the Multi) and eat at the tables. If they do not finish, they can save it until recess time.

• Monthly Menus will be published on the Santa Rita school website

If you have a special diet please email santaritasecretary@lasdschools.org and ask for a form to fill out. Please review the menu with your student. NUTRITION SERVICES FAQ - If you have questions, please add them to this document.

Email: krafferty@lasdschools.org
Website: https://www.santaritaschool.org
Location: 700 Los Altos Avenue, Los Altos, CA, USA
Phone: (650)559-1600
Facebook: santaritaPTA
Twitter: @BobcatsSR