Happy Sunday Allen Eagles!
I hope you are enjoying your summer break. Please be sure to check this blog occasionally for updates regarding our upcoming school year.
Summer Updates
A small group of district employees will be available by email to support parents, staff, and students and provide updates regarding the new school year. Some employees of the school and district will be working over the summer to ensure that new safety measures are put into place so that students can return to school for the 2020-2021 academic year. They may also share additional resources for the summer break including information from our partner organizations, such as the South Bay Family YMCA and the city of Chula Vista. Please continue to check regularly www.cvesd.org and allenelementary.org for the most up-to-date information and know that the health and safety of our students and staff remain at the forefront of all decisions regarding the upcoming school year.
While the school year ended officially this Wednesday, June 3rd, the district will continue to offer students access to online programs and resources such as iReady, Achieve 3000, Smarty Ants, and GoMath over the summer break. In addition, families may print out additional educational packets for students over the summer break here. CVESD’s Distance Learning packets available for download can prevent the loss of learning over the summer break. Curriculum packets may be used with or without technology. Each packet is intended to last two weeks (10 school days).
A friendly reminder that students will not recieve a report card for quarter 4. If you did not receive a digital copy of your child’s 3rd quarter report card, please contact your child’s teacher ASAP. Printed letters and awards for students currently in grades 5 and below will be stored and saved for families for the reopening of the school.
Allen School 2019-2020 Yearbooks
Yearbooks will be shipped directly from the school photographer and yearbook publisher (Chalkboard Photography) on June 10th. You should anticipate it being delivered to the address indicated in your order around June 15th. If you have any questions, please contact them directly at info@chalkboardphotography.com.
Student Belongings Pick-Up
We would like to offer our families the option of coming to school to pick up student personal belongings left in the classroom from March 2020. Parents may choose to come to the front of the school from Monday, June 8th to Thursday, June 11th from 10 am to 12 noon to pick up these materials. Parents will need to knock on the office door and wait outside while staff members retrieve those belongings. Teachers have bagged up student folders, pencil pouches, and other belongings. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, every student will also receive a Brain Quest Activity Book for over the summer (if they did not already receive one).
This is also a time for families to return any materials to the school, such as library books.
Please follow all county and state health guidelines regarding wearing a facial covering or mask and maintain physical distancing if you choose to pick up these items.
Any awards and belongings left over will be held at the school and can be returned to families during the Residency Verification process (date TBD) or at the start of the new academic year.
District Laptop, Wifi Device Update
Any preschool to Grade 6 student who is leaving our District MUST return any district-provided laptops and hotspot devices to the school office before June 10. To arrange this, kindly email the Principal at john.greenwell@cvesd.org.
Any preschool to Grade 5 students who will remain in our District for the upcoming academic year should keep any district-provided laptops and hotspot devices through the summer break. When school begins next year, decisions will be made on the best way to move forward with the utilization of devices.
Current 6th grade students who will be attending our feeder middle schools in CVESD (such as Arroyo Vista, Discovery, or Mueller) or middle schools in Sweetwater Union High School District (such as Rancho Del Rey or Bonita Vista Middle Schools) will keep their district-provided laptops and hotspot devices until our school office opens for the next academic year. Please monitor updates on the blog (allenelementary.org) and on the district’s website (www.cvesd.org) for this information. At that time, our principal will implement the plan for collecting devices that have been borrowed for the summer break by our current 6th grade students.
A friendly reminder that students and/or their families are responsible for any damaged, destroyed, or lost technology devices that have been borrowed from the school or district. Wifi hot spot devices can cost up to and including $325 and laptops can cost up to and including $1,000. Please handle these devices with care. If you wish to return a device early, please email the school’s Principal at john.greenwell@cvesd.org and he will get in touch with you as soon as possible over the summer break.
The Year of Grit: CVESD Superintendent Offers Message of Hope & Gratitude
With the 2019-20 school year winding down, Superintendent Francisco Escobedo, Ed.D., invites you to view an end-of-year tribute to our learning community, a message that is focused on hope, gratitude and grit. To the District’s teachers, staff, community, parents, and students, “Thank You” for showing such determination and compassion, which is seeing us through these most challenging of times. Now, as we head toward the summer break, take comfort in the knowledge that greatness lies ahead of us. Click here to view, or cut and paste the following into your web browser:
We Need Your Feedback: Parent Survey – Distance Learning Plan and Reopening of Schools
With the current school year ending distance learning, plans for the next school year are being developed with a number of possible reopening plans under consideration. We understand that each family has a unique situation, be it the state of health or the level of comfort regarding the reopening of the schools. This short, but important survey will help guide us in considering staffing needs and models for teaching, whether physically in person in a classroom, online in a virtual classroom, or a combination of both. The purpose of this survey is to learn about your experience and the experience of your child/children this 2019-2020 academic year, and to help schools plan for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. Parents/guardians will also be asked about interest in continuing their student’s education at CVESD for grades 7 and 8. The survey takes only a few minutes. Thank you in advance for your help.
Necesitamos su opinión: Encuesta para padres sobre el plan de educación a distancia y la reapertura de las escuelas
Con el ciclo escolar actual terminando con la educación a distancia, se están desarrollando planes para el próximo ciclo escolar con una serie de posibles planes de reapertura bajo consideración. Entendemos que cada familia tiene una situación única, ya sea el estado de salud o el nivel de comodidad con respecto a la reapertura de los planteles. Esta breve pero importante encuesta nos ayudará a guiarnos al considerar las necesidades de personal y los modelos para enseñar, ya sea físicamente en persona en un salón, en línea en un salón virtual, o una combinación de ambos. El propósito de esta encuesta es saber sobre su experiencia y la experiencia de sus hijos este año académico 2019-2020, y ayudar a las escuelas a planear el ciclo escolar 2020-2021. También se les preguntará a los padres/tutores sobre el interés en continuar la educación de sus estudiantes en el CVESD para los grados 7 y 8. La encuesta toma solo unos minutos. De antemano, gracias por su ayuda.
Distance Learning Parent Survey
As stated above, CVESD would like to share its Distance Learning Survey for Parents in English and Spanish at this link here. Your valuable input is needed! The purpose of this survey is to measure your experience and the experience of your child this 2019-2020 academic year, and to assist schools in planning for the 2020-2021 school year (while adhering to federal, state, and local guidelines). Individual survey responses will be kept confidential. For specific concerns, please contact the school principal, Mr. John Greenwell, by email at john.greenwell@cvesd.org. We appreciate your time in completing this short, 13 question survey. Thank you!
The survey can be accessed by clink this link: https://bit.ly/3ccG9qh. La encuesta está disponible aquí: https://bit.ly/3ccG9qh.
June PTC Meeting
The PTC will be hosting an additional meeting tomorrow – Monday, June 8th at 6 pm. Please email the principal or secretary at michelle.reza@cvesd.org if you wish to receive the link to attend this online meeting.
Online New Student Registration
Please spread the word to share how wonderful Allen Elementary is! Online registration for all new incoming students to Allen remains open at the district’s website! This process is only for families new to Allen Elementary and all incoming kindergarten students. While the school office remains closed to the public, registration is happening online. Questions? Email michelle.reza@cvesd.org.
Click the link here for more information regarding zone transfers (within CVESD) and interdistrict transfers (from outside CVESD). Current Ella B. Allen Elementary students do NOT need to re-register online. They are automatically enrolled for 2020-2021 school year; however, if your child attends Allen on a Zone Transfer or Interdistrict Transfer that must be renewed each year. Residency Verification for returning students will be done at a later time (to be announced later).
If your child will NOT return to Allen Elementary in 2020-2021, please email michelle.reza@cvesd.org or john.greenwell@cvesd.org. Outgoing sixth grade students do not need to notify the office staff that they are attending middle school next year.
Community Resources
We would like to share some additional, online resources for our families.
SDCOE Equity Resources: It’s important that all of our students, especially those who have been historically underserved, have the support and outlets they need to work through their feelings around recent, racially charged events. Parents and educators can access these resources from the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) to support an age-appropriate conversation around recent events and racialized violence here. Parents may wish to scroll down to the section titled “Resources for Parents” once clicking the link.
CVESD Parent Help Line and TEAMS Support: Parents may call the Parent Help Line for Tech Support at (619) 409-6638 Mondays through Fridays from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. This help line offers technical assistance with district programs such as Microsoft TEAMS, iReady, and Achieve 3000. Parents may need to leave a message during peak times, but please be reassured that someone will contact you as soon as possible if you leave your name and phone number on your voice message.
Families Together: Families Together, Inc. keeps updating safety and health resources for the community. It provides COVID-19 information and support to families, including a helpful section called “Helping Your Child Understand COVID-19.”
CVESD Community Resources: This page is updated occasionally to provide families in our district with community services such as food, housing, and internet resources.
SDCOE Connectivity Resources: The San Diego County Office of Education provides links for families in San Diego County to get increased access to wifi resources for families struggling with distance learning.
PBS News Hour: This segment from PBS News Hour discusses the positive impact of classical music on children.
Sesame Street’s Grover Shares a Message with Kids: NPR’s Life Kit reached out to Sesame Street’s beloved monster, Grover, to speak directly to kids. Grover talks with NPR Life Kit hosts Anya Kamenetz and Cory Turner about wearing a mask, missing his friends, and why it’s OK to be sad sometimes.
Sesame Workshop’s Tips for Parents During the Pandemic: A companion piece for adults about using the above resource (Grover speaking to kids).
🦅 Allen Eagles: Together, we SOAR!
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Ella B. Allen Elementary School 