Hello Allen Families and Staff,
Keep checking this school blog every Sunday for regular updates and to find some summer extension activities and low-cost opportunities for families.
Our school office closes this week on Wednesday, June 15th at 12 noon. Over the next few days, we are able to support parents and guardians with registration, verification of residency, and zone transfers. You can also update contact information with our friendly office staff. You may also contact us at (619) 479-3662. Our school office will reopen in July, usually a week before school begins. Please check back on this blog for more information.
Don’t forget that the first day of school for students is Wednesday, July 20, 2022 and it is a minimum day for all students in grades K-6.
Did you know that June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month? The Chula Vista Elementary School District is a safe and welcoming district for all students and their families. We would like to offer resources here and here for this month. We are conscious of providing age-appropriate and developmentally-appropriate lessons and activities around identity that meet all of our students’ needs when addressing LGBTQ-visibility and inclusion. Our goal is to work together as one community through this practice. We encourage you to reach out to us or our teachers throughout the year if you have any questions or would like further information as we support our students in this important work.
June 19, 2022 is Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day! Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans. It is also often observed for celebrating African-American and black culture. It has been celebrated annually on June 19 in various parts of the United States since 1865.
Mr. Greenwell’s Message of the Week
Watch Mr. Greenwell’s video update for the Summer Break here:
Please see our revised and updated 2021-2022 Family Handbook here: Link to Handbook
A reminder of our school’s Core Values and Common Courtesies:
The Core Value for the first week of school is Caring. The Common Courtesy for that week is “Please...“
Students may earn an Allen Eagle Ticket for demonstrating the Core Values and Common Courtesies each day. Students can redeem these tickets at the Eagle’s Nest Store at the end of each quarter of the school year. Our staff is always looking for ways to celebrate our students!
Kindness counts! Wondering how to support children if they experience a problem with another student? We suggest using “I feel…” statements, moving away from others, and seeking help from an adult nearby. Our staff prides itself in actively monitoring students at all times. What our staff has noticed is that students are learning how to interact with one another and having some problems or conflict. This is not bullying. It may be due to trauma and other sudden social-emotional issues with a child. What is bullying? Check out this document:
See the helpful graphic below:
If you have a concern about another child’s behaviors impacting your child, we suggest you first contact your child’s teacher. Afterwards, please see this page here.
If you need to conduct business with the school office, please contact the school office between the hours of 8 am and 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday. Please contact the office directly at (619) 479-3662 and we will arrange an appointment with you. Our office typically closes for summer break about a week after the last day of school and reopens typically a week before school starts. Please check this blog for more detailed information.
A Look Ahead:
Wednesday, June 15, 2022 – School office closes at 12 noon
Sunday, June 19, 2022 – Juneteenth 2022
July TBA, 2022 – School office reopens (8 am to 3:30 pm, M-F)
July TBA, 2022 – PTC’s Back to School Night at Allen
Monday, July 4, 2022 – Independence Day (Fourth of July)
Wednesday, July 20, 2022 – School begins; minimum day dismissal for grades K-6
Thursday, July 21, 2022 – Minimum Day for Kindergarten only
Friday, July 22, 2022 – Minimum Day for grades K-6
Saturday, July 23, 2022 – Community Expo at the ESSC (9 am to 1 pm) for families! See below…
USPS Free COVID Tests
Did you know that you may order additional home antigen test kits from the US Postal Service (USPS)? Click here to order yours: https://special.usps.com/testkits.
Class Placement for 2022-2023
Per the Allen Family Handbook, “requests for specific teachers are not permitted. However, parents may provide educational information (in written form) about their child before May 1st, in order to assist teachers and school administration with classroom placement. Once classroom rosters are created, students are not moved to another classroom unless student enrollment numbers dictate the necessity to do so.”
Allen Elementary is a small school that feels like a family for many of our students. Most grade levels consist of two classrooms per grade level and may involve a combination classroom (also called a combo class). It is not possible to honor specific classroom requests for these reasons. Class placement will be shared at PTC’s Back to School Night in July 2022 and also emailed to parents before school starts. For privacy reasons, we cannot post class lists, nor can we share the placement of another child with you.
Free, San Diego County Fair Tickets
The San Diego County Fair offers free admission to all kids aged 12 and younger every Friday of the Fair! For kids aged 6-12, this is a savings of $14 per child. Children aged 5 and younger are always admitted free. The fair runs Wednesday, June 8 through Monday, July 4. For more information, click here.
San Diego County Library
The San Diego County Library system is an amazing resource. Not only can children check out amazing books, but there are also a plethora of online resources and community events held at the public libraries over the summer! Check it out here: https://www.sdcl.org/
Community Expo: July 23, 2022
Join us Saturday, July 23, 9 am to 1 pm for CVESD’s Community Expo! District and community services will be on hand to assist families. This event will be held at the Education Support and Services Center (ESSC), located at 84 East J Street, Chula Vista, CA 91910.
Award Winning Staff
We are so excited to share the news that two of our staff members were acknowledged recently by the Chula Vista Elementary School District. It is with great pleasure that we announce the selection of the 2022 CVESD Wellness Champion Award employee winner. The CVESD Wellness Champion Award committee met and selected this year’s recipient of the 2022 CVESD Wellness Champion Award to Ms. Melissa Farlow. Ms. Farlow has been our school’s wellness lead and has fostered many opportunities for athletics and arts on our campus.
We also want to celebrate our Principal, Mr. Greenwell, for being honored with the district’s FOCUS Award. CVESD recognized five principals at a recent District Leadership Meeting for their outstanding work for the 2021-22 school year and selected Mr. Greenwell for this distinction. Congratulations to you both! Thank you to our whole staff for providing chances for our Eagles soar!
VAPA Newsletters for Q4
Allen Eagles were very busy in quarter 4 in their visual art and music classes. Please see the documents below to learn more about what our Eagles learned in their VAPA courses this last quarter!
Variety Show 2022: School of Rock
We invite families to watch our online, 39th annual Variety Show, available via this YouTube link below:
Free, MTS Youth Opportunity Pass
A new program is being launched to help provide free public transit for San Diego’s youth: The SANDAG Youth Opportunity Pass pilot program is designed to make transportation easier for San Diego County children (those 18 years of age and under), as well as encourage ridership.
Free MTS and NCTD rides under the Youth Opportunity Pass program will continue to be available until June 30, 2023.
To take part in the program, children 18 and under will have to sign up for a Youth PRONTO app account or a Youth PRONTO card. Information on PRONTO can be found at https://bit.ly/3rv3ONd.
This program is being funded by $6.13 million from SANDAG, in a partnership with San Diego County.
Zone Transfers & New Student Registration
Please remember that a Zone Transfer or Intradistrict Transfer may be denied if a child’s behavior or attendance require improvement.
NEW STUDENT registration began on March 2 online for the following:
- Kindergartners who will be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2022.
- NEW students in grades 1st through 6th
- All registrations will take place online. There will be no paper packets. To register please visit our district website: www.cvesd.org
Allen Elementary has plenty of space in our Kindergarten class for next year, but has limited openings in our other grades. Please contact our office for questions about space availability at (619) 479-3662.
Verification of Residency began at the end of May 2022 for all students who will continue to attend Allen Elementary in the upcoming school year. A reminder that this yearly process is required by CA state law: please contact our friendly office staff for assistance with this.
If your child will NOT return to Allen Elementary in the 2022-2023 school year, 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.
Free COVID-19 Testing
Testing hours and locations may shift over Summer Break.
*** We recommend that you check www.cvesd.org for the most updated times and locations. At this time, testing locations at the district offices and COVID Clinic are for staff and students only.
Please contact the school office at (619) 479-3662 with questions. Please note that if a child presents with any COVID-19 symptoms, we are required to send that student home until symptoms improve and families provide a negative test result.
Please know that we will communicate with parents on the latest guidance from state, county, and district officials regarding the safety of students on Allen Elementary’s campus as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
Equity and Access for All Students
Learn more about the school and district’s commitment to equity and access for all children! View this page here: https://allenelementary.org/equity-and-access/
COVID-19 Corner: Health and Safety
Vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 are now available. Please understand that the state of California may in the future be requiring children to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 in order to attend a public school, just as they already do for other diseases (polio, mumps, rubella, etc..). This decision is not a school-based or district-based decision, but rather a state government decision.
The CVESD Board of Education encourages the use of masks indoors at all schools within the Chula Vista Elementary School District, regardless of vaccination status. Masks, although not required, are strongly encouraged for all staff, students, parents, and visitors while indoors on campus. There is an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 in any public place where people are present. The school and district strive to reduce this impact to staff, students, and families.
If your child has a chronic health condition, such as allergies or asthma, please contact the school office and download the form below to have your child’s doctor complete and send it back to the school’s nurse. We recommend doing this in advance of a child showing symptoms.
If your child experiences any symptoms of COVID-19, please keep your child home and contact the school office at (619) 479-3662. If any person (regardless of vaccination status) presents with symptoms of COVID-19 while at school, that person will be immediately sent home and may only return with a negative test and no more symptoms. All schools in CVESD must follow the latest County of San Diego COVID-19 Decision Tree (see below) for persons with symptoms associated with COVID-19.
People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19 and should stay home:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
*** Please see the latest COVID-19 Decision Tree here: LINK to Newest Decision Tree
Parent-Teacher Club (PTC) Corner
Visit the PTC website at AllenPTC.org to become a member of the PTC and make a donation to support the latest initiative at the school. Allen’s PTC is a 501(c)(3) organization that supports the school’s educational mission through funding programs and initiatives.
Please help support Allen’s PTC by shopping at smile.amazon.com! AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of all eligible purchases to the Allen Elementary PTC when you shop on smile.amazon.com and choose Allen Elementary School Parents Teachers Club Inc as your charity.
Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations.
- Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device
- Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into ‘Settings’
- Tap ‘AmazonSmile’ and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process
Please choose Allen Elementary School Parents Teachers Club Inc by clicking this link for your Amazon purchases: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/95-4403426
Meetings for Families & Staff
Allen School needs parents and legal guardians to support our school through important parent groups, such as the PTC (Parent Teacher Club), the School Site Council (often referred to as SSC), and the English Language Advisory Committee (often referred to as ELAC). The site-based groups work with the Principal, staff, and other community members to ensure that community voice is part of the shared decision making process of a public school.
Family First Friday Meeting
The first Friday of every month is reserved for our Family First Friday, Allen’s version of Coffee with the Principal. Our next Family First Friday will be on Friday, August 5th, 2022 at 8 am. This meeting will be in person at school with a coffee cart available in front of the school.
We encourage parents and legal guardians to join this meeting with a cup of hot coffee or a cold cup of cold brew on nitro and listen to Mr. Greenwell give an update on the school year and meet other amazing Allen families.
English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC)
Ella B. Allen’s next ELAC Meeting will be in August 2022. Check back here for more information in July 2022.
The school encourages all legal parent/guardian of students designated as an English Learner to attend both of these meetings.
School Site Council (SSC)
Ella B. Allen’s next SSC Meeting will be in August 2022. Check back here for more information in July 2022.
All SSC members are welcome to attend ELAC meetings for additional information.
SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL (SSC) is composed of five elected parent/community representatives and five elected staff/teacher representatives. The role of the SSC is to develop, approve, and monitor the School Plan for Student Achievement.
With a few exceptions, meetings are held the second Monday of every month. Until further notice, meetings will be held online. All parents and staff are welcome to attend. Council members serve for two year terms.
Parent Teacher Club (PTC) Meeting
Allen’s PTC usually meets the second Monday of every month at 6pm. Until further notice, all meetings will be held online via this link. The next PTC meeting is August 8th, online at 6 pm. Please also check out the new PTC website to become a member and make a donation: AllenPTC.org
CVESD Board of Education Meeting
The district’s Board of Education meetings are also being held online and generally occur the second Wednesday of each month. The next regularly scheduled CVESD Board of Education meeting is Wednesday, June 15th at 6 pm. Limited in-person access is permitted, but check the district’s website for more information on this.
To access these public meetings, please click the link here: https://www.cvesd.org/board_of_education/board_meetings
CVESD DAC/DELAC Meeting
District Advisory Council (DAC)
The DAC is composed of parent and staff representatives from each School Site Council. It meets regularly during the school year in open public forum to share information, study instructional issues, approve school planning schedules, and make recommendations to the Board of Education on specific items. District meetings take place once a month, mid-afternoon. Most meetings occur on Tuesdays from 12 – 2 pm, with a parent training beforehand. This is an elected position to serve a one-year term.
District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC)
The district will continue to conduct all meetings online until further notice, including all DAC/DELAC meetings. DAC is the District Advisory Committee. DELAC is the District English Learner Advisory Committee. Both of these groups are designed to support and inform parents in a shared communication setting with the district. Parents learn with other parents and district leadership at the DAC/DELAC meetings.
The next DAC/DELAC Meeting will be in August 2022 at 12 noon. This meeting will be in person at the CVESD Education Services and Support Center (ESSC) in room C. The address is 84 East J Street, Chula Vista, CA. 91910.
Below is a schedule of all DAC/DELAC meetings for the upcoming school year. I recommend all parents download this schedule if they are interested in learning more about theses district meetings.
Calendar for the 2022-2023 School Year
The 2022-2023 School Calendar is available online! Click this link to download it. Please reference this when planning vacations or scheduling appointments with your children that may require them to miss school.
Students in our District are scheduled to start the 2022-2023 school year on Wednesday, July 20, 2022 and end the school year on Friday, June 2, 2023.
Key breaks include:
- Fall Break: September 26 – October 7, 2022
- Thanksgiving Break: November 21 – November 25, 2022
- Winter Break: December 19, 2022 – January 6, 2023
- Spring Break: March 20 – March 31, 2023
Be well Eagles! Stay safe: As a California public school, we encourage everyone to get the COVID-19 vaccine and to test regularly. The health and safety of our students, staff, and community is our number 1 concern!
Ella B. Allen Elementary School 