Hello Allen Families and Staff,
Welcome to the first week of September! We are very excited for our annual PTC Ultra Fun Run this Friday!
Some friendly reminders:
- School starts at 8:50 am everyday. On time, excellent attendance is a key indicator of future success! Students need to be on the blacktop at this time and teachers will walk them to class. We ask all parents to exit at the front office promptly so that we can secure the campus and lock the gates after the bell.
- Keep the safety of our children as our #1 priority! Use caution when crossing the street as a pedestrian and please use designated crosswalks. Help us model safe habits for all students…
- Please use the traffic loop if dropping off or picking up your child while staying in your car. It is a safety violation to drop off a child or pick them up at the intersection in front of the school. CVPD or the San Diego County Sheriff may issue a citation to drivers who fail to comply with safety rules. Right turn only onto Allen School Lane when exiting the traffic loop in your vehicle. Please do not parked in spaces designated for persons with disabilities unless you have a placard. Do not park in spaces marked “Staff” (the entire front of the school is staff parking only).
If you have questions for our staff or need assistance, please call at at (619) 479-3662. Office hours are 8 am to 3:30 pm, M-F.
Have you downloaded the Family Handbook for 2022-2023? Kindly review this with your child.
https://allenelementary.org/family-handbook/
Mr. Greenwell’s Message of the Week
Please watch Mr. Greenwell’s Sunday Update for today, August 28 at the YouTube link below:
Teachers will be sending home information within the next two weeks regarding our upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences. We would like to meet with every parent/legal guardian during this time.
Please see our updated 2022-2023 Family Handbook here: Link to Family Handbook
A reminder of our school’s Core Values and Common Courtesies:
The Core Value for this week of school is Honesty. The Common Courtesy for that week is “Thank you.“
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!
Want to know more about our Eagle’s Nest Store? See a video here:
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?
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, at (619) 479-3662 and we will arrange an appointment with you.
A Look Ahead:
August 29 and 30th – Fifth Grade students visit the Hydro Station
Thursday, September 1, 2022 – Parent Training: Behavior Strategies That Work online at 5 pm
Friday, September 2, 2022
- Family First Friday 8 am to 9 am
- PTC Ultra Fun Run in AM
Monday, September 5, 2022 – NO SCHOOL (Labor Day Holiday)
Tuesday, September 6, 2022 – Students begin to visit the Eagle’s Nest Store
Monday, September 12, 2022
- ELAC at 3 pm in the MPR and online here
- SSC at 3:30 pm in the MPR and online here
- PTC at 6 pm in the MPR and online here
Tuesday, September 13, 2022 – DAC/DELAC at 12 noon at the ESSC
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 – CVESD Board of Education meeting at 6 pm
Thursday, September 15, 2022
- Fall Conferences Begin – 2 pm dismissal every day until Fall Break
- Hispanic Heritage Month begins
Friday, September 23, 2022 – Dismiss for Fall Break at 2 pm
Monday, October 10, 2022 – Indigenous Peoples’ Day (NO SCHOOL)
Tuesday, October 11, 2022 – Students return from Fall Break (2 pm dismissal)
Wednesday, October 12, 2022 – CVESD Board of Education meeting at 6 pm
Friday, October 14, 2022 – Family First Friday 8 am to 9 am
Monday, October 17, 2022 – ELAC at 3 pm, SSC at 3:30 pm, PTC at 6 pm
PTC Ultra Fun Run
Our annual Fun Run is this Friday! Please encourage children to wear sunscreen or hats this day and bring a reusable, refillable water bottle with the child’s first and last name in permanent marker. Children may also drink from any of the drinking fountains on our campus (indoors and outdoors).
Parents and legal guardians may come to campus to cheer on children. Please have a government-issued photo ID card and come at least 15-30 minutes early to allow time to scan and sign in.
Here is the anticipated schedule for the scheduled Fun Run:
8:30 to 9 am – AM Preschool
9 am to 10 am – Loop 1 (Kinder and First Grade); Loop 2 (Second and Third)
10 am to 11 am – Loop 1 (4th and 5th); Loop 2 (Sixth and SDC)
1:00 to 1:30 pm – PM Preschool
Safety Newsletter
Our school is currently updating its Safety Plan. If you would like to be a part of this optional committee, please contact the school office at (619) 479-3662. Kindly read the “Let’s Talk Safety” newsletter below to learn more about the efforts our district takes to ensure student safety!
Sing and Speak Spanish – After School Program
Sing and Speak Spanish is the most popular Spanish enrichment program in San Diego. The group has been doing it for 23 years and served over 100 schools. Rather than a short 6 week club experience, they have an annual curriculum that meets once per week after school. Your kids can have the potential to advance through 7 levels of Spanish which is the only way to improve oral Spanish skills. The curriculum is driven by 40 wonderful teachers that having extensive training and background checks. They love what they do because they make Spanish learning fun through games, humor, puppets, role play, and songs. To see why they are so popular with families, take a look at their 2min program video to see how students are engaged in a productive and fun way. More information and pricing for this after school, optional class will be available soon!
Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Information
We are excited to announce that an all-day Transitional Kindergarten (TK) classroom will be added to our school after Fall Break. Please see our district’s Early Childhood Education department page for more information and help spread the word!
For additional information or to enroll, kindly contact the Early Childhood Education Department (619) 425-2362 or (619) 425-9600 Ext.181725.
CVESD Fall Sports Updates
CVESD Student Intramural 2022 Volleyball, Kickball, and Flag Football Season is coming up: October 13- December 14, 2022.
All students in grades 4 through 6 are eligible to tryout for all sports.
Please let Mr. Greenwell (Principal), Ms. Farlow (Site Wellness Coordinator), or Ms. Reza (Secretary) know if you are interested in coaching a first ever Allen Volleyball or Allen Flag Football team. Coaches must have the following complete before hosting tryouts or practice: Live Scan Background Check, TB Clearance, CPR/First-Aid Certification, & Proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
Ms. Farlow is proudly coaching Allen’s Kickball team! Save the date for tryouts for our co-ed kickball team: September 7th and 8th from 3:20-4:30 PM. Students must attend BOTH tryout days and students who were on the team 2021 must tryout again. Games will be Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:00 PM at various school sites in the district. Families are responsible for transporting your child to/from games, as well as all practices. Please see Ms. Farlow for more information.
Parent Online Training – Sept. 1 at 5 pm
Green Lunch Application Forms
Your child should have come home from school with a green Lunch Application. If not, you can download and print the form here:
We are asking for your participation in the lunch application for 2022-2023. This form or application will have a critical impact on your child’s support and services. We are requesting all of our families to submit this form which determines the State and Federal funding that schools receive. This funding provides your child with support and resources for their academic success.
Benefits for your child include:
- Instructional materials
- Classroom technology
- Additional staffing to provide supports for students
- Extended learning opportunities for students
- Before and after school programs
We appreciate your time and support in ensuring your child gets what they need and deserve in CVESD. Please return the form by September 1, 2022. We urge all families to complete this form. While it is true that all students are eligible this year for free meals via our school cafeteria, these forms help provide critical funds to pay for this program and other programs in our school. This helps our school and district a great deal. Please complete these forms and return them ASAP to the school office.
Bonitafest 2022
In this interest of sharing community information, please see the information below regarding Bonitafest 2022.
Free COVID Testing
Families may come to the school office, Monday- Friday, between 8 am and 3:30 pm to receive a free antigen test. The testing is not required. Please report any positive cases to our school office at (619) 479-3662.
Weekly, voluntary COVID-19 testing will continue on our school campus via Campus Clinic each week. Parents and legal guardians must opt-in to the program and no child will be tested without proper consent.
All families should have received an email from register@campusclinic.org with the subject line “Welcome to Campus Clinic.” In this email, there was be a unique PIN and a link to register. This email is important, as this year the email is where registration the registration process begins.
If families would like to watch a video on the registration process, they can visit: https://campusclinic.org/how-to/ .
For this testing, please check your spam folders. If you still did not receive the email, please reach out to: support@campusclinic.org and the team will be able to determine the correct next steps from there. There is not an all-encompassing link at this time because each email contains a unique PIN.
For community testing at the kiosks, individuals will need to register on-site. You only need to register one time for a test through the kiosk.
Parent Volunteers Needed
We need parent volunteers to help monitor student safety on the sidewalks around our school at dismissal time! Our Eagle Eye volunteers work with school staff to serve as an extra set of eyes to keep kids safe. Any interested volunteers should contact Mr. Greenwell or Ms. Reza in the office or call (619) 479-3662.
The State Public Health Officer Order of August 11, 2021 requires that all K-12 workers, including volunteers and contractors, provide proof of full vaccination (completion of the initial vaccination series) or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing. This order is still in effect and the CDPH says there are no plans to change it anytime soon. The requirements to sign in and complete fingerprinting will remain the same. All parent volunteers are allowed to volunteer inside the classroom and buildings after having completed the required training with the school principal and meeting the District’s volunteer requirements. See below for these requirements:
REQUIRED ITEMS:
- Proof of TB
- COVID-19 Evidence: Either a full course of COVID-19 Vaccine OR if not fully vaccinated, a negative test is required within 2 days of the day of volunteering.
- RAPTOR I.D. Scan
- Fingerprint Clearance – DOJ & FBI
Please contact the school office at (619) 479-3662 to be put on the volunteer list.
ZTs, VOR, & 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 is ongoing for those who may be:
- 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
Please contact our office for questions about space availability at (619) 479-3662.
Verification of Residency is required by CA state law for all students to attend Allen Elementary in the upcoming school year. Please contact our friendly office staff for assistance with this.
COVID-19 Corner: Health and Safety
Vaccines for children 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 at this time, 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, September 2, 2022 from 8 am to 9 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 on September 12, 2022 at 3 pm.
The school encourages all legal parent/guardian of students designated as an English Learner to attend these meetings.
School Site Council (SSC)
Ella B. Allen’s next SSC Meeting will be on September 12, 2022 at 3:30 pm.
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.
Please note that if you join early, you’ll be attending the ELAC meeting already in progress.
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 September 12th, 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, Sept. 14 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 on October 18, 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.
The link below contains 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: https://www.cvesd.org/parents/getting-involved/dac-delac
CVESD B-LAC Meeting
District Black Learners Advisory Council (B-LAC)
The B-LAC is composed of parents, staff, and community representatives from around the district. The B-LAC provides and monitors the ongoing support for Black/African American students and families in the Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD) to ensure unbiased practices/policies, equitable educational outcomes, and equal access to a quality education. The group meets regularly during the school year, once a month. Most meetings occur on Thursdays from 6 – 7 pm. The next meeting is August 18th at 6 pm. For more information and to download the schedule of these meetings, clink the link: https://www.cvesd.org/parents/getting-involved/black-learners-advisory-council—b–lac
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. Excellent attendance is important in student success!
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 