Shark News

August 19, 2022

PTC Corner

Ever wonder where the monthly messages on Sierra’s marquee come from? Authoring a message is a bid item at the spring auction. BUT there are currently 3 months still available for this school year! Follow us on Facebook for your chance to buy the October, January, and/or March message. Remember, all proceeds directly support Sierra.

VOLUNTEER OPENINGS

(1) Co-Treasurer: Join the PTC Board as our co-Treasurer. We are looking for someone with a financial/accounting background.

(2) FUNd Run Chair: Planning is in full swing for the September 23 FUNd Run – volunteer to lead the effort (you will have lots of help and support from the Board). The time commitment is around 1-2 hours/week. Fundraising from this event finances Sierra’s Spanish program (for all grades).

Contact us for more information on these and other volunteer opportunities.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

9/14: PTC general meeting, 6:00pm via Zoom (meeting id: 871 0135 9489, pw: sharks). Add to your calendar: PTC Calendar Invite

9/23: FUNd Run

10/28: Family Fall Carnival

Have a great weekend,

Your Sierra PTC

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for news on upcoming events and opportunities to get involved

Reminder to Parents

Please slow down, stop fully at stop signs and look both ways when driving in the school neighborhood. There are a lot of children and parents walking and crossing the street and we want to keep everyone safe.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Attendance

Rocklin Unified School District

2615 Sierra Meadows Drive ∙ Rocklin, CA 95677

Phone ∙ (916) 624-2428 Fax ∙ (916) 624-7246

Roger Stock, Superintendent

Barbara Patterson, Deputy Superintendent Business & Operations

Tony Limoges, Associate Superintendent, Human Resources

Marty Flowers, Associate Superintendent, Secondary Education

Bill MacDonald, Associate Superintendent, Elementary Education

Dear Parents and Students,

The staff at Sierra Elementary school are excited to welcome you to a new school year filled with opportunities to learn and engage! We are looking forward to seeing all of you this coming school year.

Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves. Building this habit at the beginning of the school year has a huge impact on student success. We realize some absences are for health or other reasons. But, when students are absent 2 or more days a month (or 18 days over the school year) they can fall far behind in what they learn. Excused and unexcused absences both mean missing classroom learning time. Let’s work together to increase attendance rates at our school to ensure all of our students are on the right path for success.

Some Attendance Tips:

Make sure your students keep a regular bedtime and establish a morning routine.
Turn off all electronics including TVs, phones and tablets at bedtime.
Make sure clothes and pack backpacks are ready the night before.
Check with our school nurse or office staff if you are not sure about when to keep your child at home due to illness.
Avoid scheduling vacations or doctor’s appointments when school is in session.
Talk to teachers and counselors for advice if your student feels anxious about going to school.
Request a Short Term Independent Study contract if your child will be absent for 3 or more days, this will allow your child to keep up with their academics while they are away. Additionally, based on completion of work, your child will be considered in attendance.
Develop back up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, neighbor, or another parent to take your student to school.
View additional resources from AttendanceWorks

Please let us know how we can best support you and your student so that they can show up for school on time every day.

Sincerely,

Principal Westberg

Student Safety is our Priority

Rocklin Unified School District is committed to student and staff safety. We implement a variety of protocols in preparation for a variety of emergency situations. Each and every year, we review our safety plans and determine areas for improvement. With changes in first responder training, we identified the need to have a comprehensive plan for active violence response. Since its inception in 2018, we have worked cooperatively with local law enforcement and fire to create a multi-year plan to address this need.

To prepare for an active violence situation, RUSD has implemented the Run, Hide, Fight protocol in addition to our fire, evacuation, shelter-in-place, duck & cover, and lockdown & barricade protocols. Staff will review the training with students during the first month of school. Below you will find the presentation that will be shared with your child(ren). There are five presentations based on developmental readiness/grade level. You will also find a few links for parents/guardians to help you navigate the conversations and follow-up discussions at home.

Why Run, Hide, Fight?

The United States Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, California Office Of Emergency Services, and local law enforcement agencies recommend the Run, Hide, Fight protocol in response to an active shooter situation.

What does Run, Hide, Fight Mean?

(source:https://www.ready.gov/active-shooter)

RESOURCES:

Parent Helpful Links:

Helping Children Cope

How to Talk to Your Kids about School Lockdown Drills without Scaring Them

Lockdown Anxiety: Teachers Talk About How to Explain Drills and Calm Kids’ Fears

How To Talk With Kids About Terrible Things

Anxiety Over School Shootings

Thank you so much for being part of our school district. If you have any further questions, please speak to your site administrator.

Are you cleared to volunteer or chaperone a field trip?

To ensure compliance with RUSD and the state of California's volunteer policies, parents who wish to volunteer on campus during the school day must have:

RUSD Policy:

Fingerprinting completed for RUSD specifically. Prior fingerprinting done for any agency or organization other than RUSD will not be accepted. Fingerprinting takes approximately 72 hours to clear.
Current Tuberculosis Test (TB). TB tests expire every 4 years and must be renewed in order to volunteer. TB Tests take approximately 48-72 hours for results and results must be brought to the office.

State of California Policy:

Vaccination status or proof of a current negative COVID test uploaded to the link included in the email from Informed K12. If you have not received this email, please let the office know. Details about this are included in the Informed K12 email.

To check your volunteer status, please call the office or email our Secretary, Kimberly Ervin, at kervin@rocklinusd.org.