W.W. 04.12.19
April 11-Choir Concert, 6:00
April 12- 12:55 Dismissal
April 15 – 19 Spring Break!
April 27-Foundation Community Event, Koi Zen 5-8 PM
April 29 – May 15, CAASPP Testing 3rd – 5th Grade
May 17-Pro Grow Time, 12:55 Dismissal
SPRING BREAK
School will not be in session the week of April 15-19. As is our Sundance tradition, we will dismiss at 2:35 on Thursday, April 11 and at 12:55 on Friday, April 12. Please be sure to alert caregivers and afterschool programs of the change in schedule.
Free Foundation Community Event! –
April 27 5:00 – 8:00 PM
Good news!! Thanks to your generosity during our Capitol Campaign and very successful Fun Run, we’ve reached our annual fundraising goal! Let’s celebrate!! Koi Zen has been gracious to accommodate us for the evening. Although, they will remain open to the public. They have a guitarist scheduled for the evening, and we will provide appetizers. All you need to do is BYOW (Buy your own wine!).
No outside alcohol is allowed at this venue.
We know there are traditional items that many of you have been waiting to bid on, such as:
* Front row seats for this year’s 5th grade promotion
* A full year of reserved parking for next year
* A Principal for a day experience for one lucky child
* Disneyland tickets already earned from community volunteering events
* 2 tickets Padres v. Giants game on 7/28. Great seats front row of terrace level
* A stunning quilt made and signed by all our Sundance 5th graders
* An amazing collection of rocks from the Gemological Institute of America.
So, we will still enjoy the fun of a
LIVE AUCTION for these items! The auction will be held around 6:30 PM.
You do not need a ticket or RSVP for this event!
We look forward to seeing you at Koi Zen Cellars, 12225 World Trade Drive, Suite P San Diego 858-381-CORK
wine@koizencellars.com
BIRDING PROGRAM RAFFLE
Students in grade 3-5, who participate in Monday birding, will be receiving raffle tickets for drawings. This will start the Monday after spring break. Winners will be announced during morning announcements.
We will be raffling off 5 bird feeders with 2-3 pounds of seed from Wild Birds Unlimited,
Bird photographs from Krisztina Chef, and three binoculars donated from Palomar Audubon and Mrs. Holmes. We would love to have our
2nd grade students join in as well, but to do so we need
more volunteers! You do not need to be able to identify birds, just be enthusiastic about helping students see birds with the naked eye and then with binoculars. If you are interested contact Alice at
greenheron@sbcglobal.net
BUY A YEARBOOK
This year's yearbook is colorful, fun, and filled of pictures of students in all grades! Buy it now and let your kids remember this wonderful school year. Go to
http://www.treering.com/validate, and plug in the Sundance code: 1014697386031160. Yearbooks cost $19.95, and even includes the option of two personal pages to fill with your own additional pictures. Order it by April 26 to have it arrive on time!
CAASPP TESTING
An important part of your student’s academic program is measuring progress through the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) assessments.
Smarter Balanced English Language Arts and Mathematics Assessments – grades 3 -8 and 11.
Students across California will take assessments each spring to gauge each student’s performance in English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics. This year your child will take the following test(s), depending on his or her grade level:
Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment in English language arts/literacy and mathematics in grades three to eight and eleven
These tests measure the skills called for by the California academic standards, which focus on a student’s ability to write clearly, think critically, and solve problems.
Because CAASPP tests are given statewide, they provide an opportunity to measure the skills of all students against the same academic standards. Given online, the tests are computer-adaptive, allowing more precise measurement of individual skills. Parents can use their student’s ELA or mathematics results as one of many indicators of their child’s performance. Our teachers and principals also use these results to compare their schools’ performance toward achieving our state standards.
California Science Test (CAST) – grades 5, 8, and 12
California’s state standards for science call for students to think and work like scientists and engineers—asking questions and learning through hands-on investigation and discovery. Working with science teachers, California has developed a new assessment that emphasizes scientific thinking and reasoning. This year students in grade 5, 8 and 12 will take the CAST assessment. This test is designed to measure how students are performing in relationship to the California science standards.
Participation
Pursuant to California Education Code Section 60615, parents have the right to opt out of any state assessment. It is recommended parents meet with their child’s school principal if they are considering this option. Our teachers and principals have found many benefits in having our students participate in this assessment, and we want to assure parents that student results from any assessment will not be shared beyond the use of school staff directly involved in your child’s education. Section 852 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations further provides that parents or guardians may annually submit a written request to the school to excuse their child from any or all parts of the CAASPP for the school year. Therefore, if you wish to exempt your student from testing, notification in writing to your school’s principal is required.
How can I help my child get ready for the CAASPP?
You are an important part of your child’s education. Some things you can do to help your child are:
Talk about the test with your child. Make sure they are not scared or anxious.
Tell your child that you and his or her teacher have high expectations and that you are both there to help, every step of the way.
Take a practice test with your child which can be found at
www.caaspp.org
Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep and a nutritious breakfast before testing.
PARKING LOT SAFETY
Please drive slowly and follow the Golden Rule with other drivers and staff members. Remember that you are not the only one in a hurry!
As you enter the parking lot to pick up or drop off your child, please drive along the curb and pull up as far as possible.
Please DO NOT leave your car unoccupied at the curb, or park in the two reserved spots.
TK INTEREST WAIT LIST INFORMATION:
Parents of children with a fifth birthday between June 1st and September 1st, 2019 who wish to enroll their child into a TK class, rather than a Kindergarten class, MUST place their child’s name on a District Interest Wait List. Beginning March 1, 2019, at 8:00 AM, go to the District Website and select "TK Interest Wait List" to put your child's name on the list. District staff will notify parents on the Interest List starting in June, or later in the summer, of an opening in TK. Due to increased numbers of students required to enroll in TK, please note space is very limited and will be determined on a first-come, first served basis. It is critical for all parents to enroll their students in Kindergarten at their home schools when enrollment begins in May.
Sundance will hold an informational meeting for incoming TK and kindergarten parents in June.
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
Our recent State Dashboard Report shows Sundance doing very well academically, but chronically absent students has been flagged as a concern. Please help us to change this designation, by reading the following and the attached flyer about school attendance and doing your best to get your child to school regularly and on-time.
• Studies show that missing just 18 days of school makes it harder to learn to read and constitutes a child being considered chronically absent.
• Even in preschool and kindergarten, make sure your child learns that being in school every day is important
• Being late means your child is missing out on learning
• Missing school just a day or two every few weeks puts children behind
• When teachers are helping children catch up because they were absent, the other children are being impacted
OUT OF SCHOOL 5 OR MORE DAYS?
PUSD provides Off-Campus Independent Study (OCIS) for students away from campus. This is intended to continue your child’s education should there be a need to be off campus for five or more days, NOT due to illness.
This request must be made five school days before your departure to allow our teacher sufficient time to gather the work. Please see the office for this contract and to be made aware of all of rules which apply to an OCIS contract.
SHOP AMAZON -- SUPPORT OUR FOUNDATION!
Shopping at Amazon? Amazon will donate to Twin Trails Education Foundation when you shop! Be sure to shop at
https://smile.amazon.com/?tag=sundance-school-20 to take advantage of this opportunity. NOTE: This is a new link, so please update if you have the other link saved to your favorites. Feel free to share this link with family and friends so that they may also support the Foundation.
NEW INTEGRATED CALENDAR AVAILABLE
Wouldn’t it be great to have ALL of the Sundance events (PAC and Foundation) on your phone and always up-to-date with the latest info? This amazing technology (Google Calendar) can be yours by visiting:
http://www.twintrailsfoundation.org/calendar and clicking the "Add to Google Calendar" button at the bottom of the page. By importing this calendar to your phone you will automatically have the most up-to-date information at your fingertips. Those with iPhones might also be interested in these instructions for “Seeing Google Calendar events on Your Apple Calendar”. This will keep you in the loop, do it now and thank us later!
NEW SUNDANCE INSTAGRAM PAGE
We have a new Instagram Page to go along with our Facebook page it’s: sundanceelementary (all one word.) We have about 35 followers but mostly K parents. We’d love to get some other grades involved. This page will focus more on classroom activities vs. whole school.
SUNDANCE PARENT FACEBOOK PAGE
Some Sundance Parents have created a Facebook Page to help build more community within our school. This group is not administered by the school in any way but provides a chance to connect with other Sundance Parents:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1456800417734747/
SUNDANCE FACEBOOK
Check out our Facebook page through the link on our school website
https://www.powayusd.com/en-US/Schools/ES/SDES
We upload pictures often to let you take a peek at all of the great fun going on at our school