Tigershark Tidings Principal’s Corner The function

Tovashal Elementary
Tigershark
Tidings
Principal’s Corner
Tovashal Tigersharks,
Welcome Back!! I hope you enjoyed your summer. We are off to
a fantastic start! Students are working hard, persevering and
having a growth mindset. This month is national School Attendance Month! Studies show that a student’s attendance
directly correlates to their academic achievement. We want all
of our Tigersharks to achieve at high levels so we are focusing
on all students being at school daily and on time. Watch for
special events we have planned for the classes with the highest
attendance
Marcie Kea
Principal
Welcome to Tovashal
Welcome to Tovashal and the start of a new year. On New Year’s
Day, we remember the past and celebrate the upcoming new
year. Even though it is not January, it is the start of the new
school year, so we should celebrate! 2015 –2016 will be an exciting and challenging time for all. Academic rigor continues to
be the hallmark of Tovashal, but so does the strong sense of
community. We are fortunate to have parents and staff all focused on providing the best environment for your Tigersharks.
This will be my first full year at Tovashal and I am thrilled to be
a part of the Tovashal family.
Stop by, say hello. I’ll be the one with the Mickey Mouse hands!
Eva Evans, Assistant Principal
Volume 1, Issue 1
September 2015
The function
of education
is to teach
one to think
intensively
and to think
critically.
Intelligence
plus
character—
that is the
goal of true
education.
Martin
Luther
King, Jr.
Want to be “In the Know”?
Sound interesting? Follow the direcTovashal is implementing a text message service for tions below and get ready to be
parents. By signing up for Remind, you can receive “reminded”.
a text message reminder specific to your child’s
Remind is a free, safe, easy-to-use communication
tool that helps schools connect instantly with students and parents.
To receive messages via text
Text to: 8101To receive text messag-
es, send the following text to 81010:
If you have a kinder: @tovashalk
If you have a 1st grader: @tovashal1
grade or for something pertaining to the entire
If you have a 2nd grader: @tovashal2
school.
If you have a 3rd grader: @tovashal3
Remind has been used for many years by teachers
If you have a 4th grader: @tovashal4
in Murrieta. Now schools are taking advantage of
the free, safe service to keep its families informed of If you have a 5th grader: @tovashal5
school events.
It’s All In How You Look At It
An area of academic focus throughout
MVUSD in mindset.
Research has shown that the proper
mindset can result in increased academic achievement.
Each month’s newsletter will have information about mindset and how you
can help us create growth mindsets.
Join us at the first Tovashal Talk on
Friday, September 4th at 9:00am in
the MPR.
CAASPP
Last year, we began a new era in student assessment with students in
grades 3-5 took a new online test in English Language Arts and math, the
California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). We
are expecting the release of these results sometime this month. Please remember these results are just a starting point and they are only one measure of student progress. The results will provide better information for parents, teachers and administrators to support our students' advancement in
learning new standards that will help prepare them for 21st century careers
and college.
Page 2
Newsletter Title
Tovashal Elementary Upcoming Events
September
9/3
School Pictures
1st Grade Phonics Training for Parent Volunteers 2:45 to 3:30 pm
OM Introduction Meeting 4th & 5th Graders only 2:45 pm
9/4
Friday Flag
Tovashal Talk: Mindset 9:00 am
9/7
Holiday: Labor Day
9/8
Book Fair Starts
School Site Council 3:00 pm
Back to School Night for Giron, Souza, and Carney 6:00 pm
9/11 Friday Flag: Patriot’s Day: Wear Red, White & Blue
Ice Cream Social 6:00 – 8:00 pm
9/14 Watchdog Pizza Night 6:00 pm
9/18 Friday Flag
9/25 Fit Friday 7:45 am
Friday Flag
9/30 Pathfinder Camp Information Night – 5th grade parents 5:00 pm
**Early Out September 14, September 21, September 28
Volume 1, Issue 1
Page 3
Dear Parent/Guardian:
Our goal this year is to ensure that every student attends school regularly.
Showing up for school has a huge impact on a student’s academic success starting in kindergarten and continuing through high
school. Even as children grow older and more independent, families play a key role in making sure students get to school safely
every day and understand why attendance is so important for success in school and in life.
We realize some absences are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances. But, we also know that when students
miss too much school— regardless of the reason – it can cause them to fall behind academically. Your child is less likely to succeed
if he or she is chronically absent—which means missing 18 or more days over the course of an entire school year. Research shows:

Children chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade.

By 6th grade, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign for students at risk for dropping out of school.

By 9th grade good attendance can predict graduation rates even better than 8 th grade test scores.
Absences can add up quickly. A child is chronically absent if he or she misses just two days every month!!
Clearly going to school regularly matters!
We don’t want your child to fall behind in school and get discouraged. Please ensure that your child attends school every day and
arrives on time.
Here are a few practical tips to help support regular attendance:

Make sure your children keep a regular bedtime and establish a morning routine.

Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.

Ensure your children go to school every day unless they are truly sick

Avoid scheduling vacations or doctor’s appointments when school is in session.

Talk to teachers and counselors for advice if your children feel anxious about going to school.
Develop back up plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, neighbor, or another parent to take
your child to school.
Let us know how we can best support you and your children so that they can show up for school on time every day. We want your
child to be successful in school! If you have any questions or need more information please feel free to contact me or your child’s
teacher.
Sincerely,
Jodi Spoon-Sadlon, M.Ed., P.P.S.
RAIN Elementary School Counselor, M.V.U.S.D.
Lisa J. Mails Elementary School (Tues/Thurs) (951)304-1880, ext. 3484
Tovashal Elementary School (Mon/Wed) (951)696-1411, ext. 2591
Tovashal Elementary School
23801 St. Raphael
(951) 696-1411
Murrieta CA 92562
(951) 304-1783 Fax
Tovashal Elementary School
School Site Council
Nominations for Parent Member
2015-16 through 2017-18
September 1, 2015
The Tovashal School Site Council (SSC) has parent vacancies that need to be filled at this time. The purpose of this
letter is to secure nominations for these open positions.
Our bylaws indicate that each term is three years. However if you are really interested in getting involved with SSC
and only have one year left at Tovashal (for example, your child is a 4 th grader now), this can work as long as we
have parents of younger age children that can commit to three year terms. In other words, we have the flexibility to
stagger the commitments over 1,2 and 3 years if that will encourage more parents to get involved the SSC. J
What is SSC? School Site Council is a parent and staff advisory committee comprised of parents and staff members. The council reviews and updates Tovashal’s Single Plan for Achievement, School Safety Plan, and Parent Involvement Policy, to name a few. All SSC decisions are made with input from Tovashal staff, including our Leadership Team.
What are the duties of the SSC members? The SSC meets approximately once per month to review budgets and
assessment data as they relate to our School Plan for Student Achievement, School Safety Plan, English Learner
(EL) programs, Intervention programs, Enrichment programs, and Core Instruction programs.
If you are interested in becoming a SSC member, please fill out the bottom part of the letter and return it
to the Tovashal front office by Friday, Sept. 4th, 2015.
Sincerely,
Marcie Kea, Principal
I wish to nominate myself for a member of Tovashal’s SSC.
Your name__________________________ Your Child’s name____________________________ Child’s grade______
Signature____________________________________________ Phone number_______________________
I would like the following information about me to be placed on the ballot. (3-5 sentences describing yourself)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Marcie Kea, Principal
“Building Excellence One Student At a Time“
Tovashal Elementary
Principal:
Marcie Kea
[email protected]
23801 Saint Raphael
Murrieta, CA 92562
Assistant
Principal:
Eva Evans
[email protected]
Secretary:
Julie Henton
[email protected]
Phone: 951-696-1411
Fax: 555-555-5555
www.murrieta.k12.ca.us/
tovashal
Building Success, 1
Student at a Time
Counselor: Jodi SpoonSadlon
jspoonsadlon@
murrieta.k12.ca.us
If you know or hear of anyone who is in trouble and really needs help,
step up and send a report. Sprigeo empowers all kids – the bystanders
and the targets – by providing a simple and anonymous way to report
bullying and other safety threats.
Providing detailed information is critical for school administrators to
quickly intervene. This may mean
providing the
first and last names of students
involved, and/or
specific locations and times.
If you need to report a problem,
click on Sprigeo
to do so anonymously.
Play It Safe
The beginning of the school
year is a good time to review Tovashal’s
policy about student drop off
and pick up.
With over 700
students, we
need everyone’s
help to expedite
the ling lines
waiting to drop
off/pick up. Remember to pull
all the way to
the front of the
drop off loop BEFORE you
drop off/pick up your
child. At the car loop in the
front of the school, students will be
lined up according to the
their last
name. Students are to
meet parents
at the end of
the car loop.
Remember:
there is two
lanes at the
front loop.
The left most
line (nearest the parking
lot) is for drive through on-
ly, NO PICK UP.
Students are to exit from
the passenger side of the
vehicle int far right lane at
all times.
If you want to walk your
child into school or wait to
see if your child walks safely to their classroom, you
must park your car. The
car loop is not for parking, then leaving your vehicle.
Our children follow your
lead. Make sure and cross
in the crosswalk. Keep our
tigersharks safe.