Saratoga Elementary School

Dear Saratoga Elementary Families,

The school year is now in full swing and I hope your student's year has gotten off to a great start. You've probably noticed that our eNews has taken on a different format and I'd like to share a little bit about our new layout.

The purpose of our eNews is to give SES families a regular weekly resource for important information about our school. The Community News section highlights important SES-specific events and bits of info for families. The PTA News and District News highlight information directly from PTA and SUSD. Finally, If you are viewing this message on a mobile phone, please know that tapping anywhere on this message should open a mobile-optimized version in your browser. We hope to maximize this new layout to provide parents with timely and well-organized information throughout the year

Please see below for important information about Back to School Night and I look forward to seeing you this Thursday!

Brian

Brian White

Principal, Saratoga Elementary School

Instagram: @saratogaelementary

Important Traffic Update

For the 2018-19 school year, kindergarten is dismissing at 12:10 p.m. on Wednesdays and on minimum days. Beginning Monday, September 17, kindergarten will dismiss at 2:10 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

Parents of students in first through fifth grades, please make a note of the new kinder dismissal times before arriving to pick up your student. Parents of older students who arrive in the queue during kinder dismissal may be asked to cycle through and exit the parking lot and reenter the queue on Oak St. so kinder parents can access the parking lot to pick up their students.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation on this important safety matter!

Nominations For School Site Council

We are putting the call out for any parents interested in serving on SES's School Site Council (SSC)!

SSC is a group consisting of parents, teachers, and the principal and it meets about once a month and additionally when special meetings are called. The responsibility of the council is to oversee the Local Control and Accountability Plan and the Single Plan for Student Achievement that focus on the school’s curriculum program.

Our by-laws allow for parent volunteers and then an election if there are more volunteers than open positions. Parent members of SSC serve 2 two-year terms to stagger to ensure continuity within the council. We have one position available for the 2018-19 school year.

Participating in the council is a wonderful opportunity to have input and be informed about all the programs at SES! You do not have to be an elected member to attend meetings. However, you do need to be an elected member to vote on any decision.

For more information or to express interest, please contact Mr. White at bwhite@saratogausd.org.

Student Pictures
You may order and view school pictures online through Sutterbug Studio. Online ordering and viewing is now available by using the below link. In order to receive pictures in a timely manner you must order by August 31st. After that date there will be an additional $3.00 charge.
Go To: Order and View Link Password: summerisover Order Form click LINK

Coming Soon - Saratoga Elementary's new Makerspace!
As part of this exciting new educational space, students will recycle, reuse and repurpose everyday items as they learn, tinker and explore. Have extra fabric or yarn you will never use? Stuck with an assortment of leftover dinosaur, princess and superhero paper plates, bowls and cups from parties? Have a collection of old small electronics and hard drives that are collecting dust? Now is your chance to free up room in your closets, cabinets and garage by donating these items and more for our Maker Space!!! Please see the attached list for items needed.

If you have an item to donate that is not on the list, please email Melissa Stanis at melissastanis@gmail.com to see if it can be used in the Makerspace.

We are collecting donations of items you already have - please do not purchase any new items! We will have Makerspace donation bins at the PTA Family Picnic on 9/14 and can collect your donation then.

More information about Makerspace coming soon!
https://tinyurl.com/y86asls6

Noon Duty Help Needed: If you're looking for an opportunity to volunteer at SES, why not get paid for it? We have multiple openings for noon duty supervisors. Noon duties help our students to have a fun and safe afternoon recess by assisting in student supervision during lunchtime. If you are already a cleared volunteer, SUSD may be able to reimburse you the cost of your fingerprinting clearance. Noon duties work from 12:10 to 1:00 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. For more information email Mr. White or visit the application on EdJoin.org.

All Volunteers & Visitors: Please note that all volunteers and visitors must sign in to the school office. If you are a volunteer, please make sure that you are cleared and wear your badge. If you want more information on how to be cleared as a volunteer, click here.

Crossing Oak St.: When crossing Oak St. please remember to always use one of the two pedestrian crosswalks, especially when crossing with your children. With limited pedestrian visibility for vehicles on Oak St., the crosswalk helps ensure everyone’s safety.

Back to School Night

August 30th

• 5:30pm - Grades 3-5

• 6:30pm - Staff Introductions, MPR

• 7:00pm - Grades K-2

Family Picnic

Sept. 14th @ 5:00pm

Science Camp Presentation for 5th Grade Parents

Monday, Sept. 17th @ 6:30pm, MPR

Welcome back to school! Saratoga PTA is planning a very fun and exciting year for everyone!

Just Do It! We would like to invite you to join us by donating and becoming a PTA member, because with your support, we will achieve the greatest results for our children. We hope to have 100% parent membership this year!

There will be PTA tables at Back to School Night this Thursday, August 30th. Stop by to get more information! (Don’t forget your checkbook!)

Your donation helps fund programs like the Talent Show, the Pumpkin Walk, the School Garden, Family Picnic, Science Fair, Project Cornerstone and much more. In addition, the PTA gives each teacher funds for classroom supplies, school supplies and playground equipment. All of this is possible by your generous giving! First, join the PTA by paying $15 per family to become a voting PTA member and receive our school’s directory (a must have!). Then, donate $160 per child to the Saratoga PTA (this donation is 100% tax deductible). Here is a graphic to see how your PTA donations are spent. You may also join online through our PTA online store!

Volunteer Fair You’re invited! Friday, September 7th, 8:30-9:30am in the library

Bring a friend and spread the word! Volunteer in your child’s school and become a part of our wonderful school community at Saratoga Elementary! There are many positions available for volunteers at any commitment level, including working parents. Whether you have already signed up or haven't yet, stop by this informal meeting, meet other parents and find out how you can contribute to make SES even better! If you can’t make it to this event, let us know how you can help!

Family Picnic - Mark your calendars, and come and join the fun at the annual Family Picnic, Friday, Sept 14, 2017 from 5-8pm! There will be music, a fire truck, and the 5th grade fundraiser Bake Sale. New this year: we will have food trucks at the event, so no need to pre-order food! It’s a great chance to kick off the school year and mingle with new and old friends. Hope to see you there!

Volunteers at the Family Picnic are needed from each of the classes! Please sign-up here to help out: FAMILY PICNIC VOLUNTEERS And If you have any questions, please email us!

Visit our web page Saratoga PTA for the latest news!

Volunteer Clearance and Badges:
New volunteers who have been cleared will be contacted via email to receive your badge. If you applied to be a school volunteer and have not heard back yet, it means we are missing at least one of the following: completed volunteer authorization form, fingerprint DOJ/FBI clearance, and/or your TB test clearance. As soon as all 3 items received/complete, we will contact you via email. If you have questions, please contact Grace Jens at registration@saratogausd.org.

Saratoga High School Homecoming Game at Levi's Stadium!
SHS is excited to announce that their Homecoming football game will be played at Levi's Stadium on Friday, September 21 at 5:00 p.m. Use the link below to access the ticket promotion, and enter SARATOGA as the promo code to access the ticket ordering. We hope you can attend the game and show your Falcon pride! Wear red!
https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/49ersnew/EN/buy/details/HS0921
Enter promotion code: SARATOGA

Events and Flyers:
Community events and flyers are posted weekly at www.saratogausd.org/flyers
New postings this week include: afterschool enrichment grades K-8, Chinese as a Foreign Language (Kinder and up), Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Soccer, Volleyball, Robotics, Science and Tech classes, and more!

Brian White, Principal

Email: bwhite@saratogausd.org
Website: https://www.saratogausd.org/Domain/10
Location: Saratoga Elementary School, Oak Street, Saratoga, CA, USA
Phone: (408)867-3476