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SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER

Boulder Creek Elementary 8045 E. Portobello Avenue Mesa, AZ 85212

www.gilbertschools.net T: 480-507-1404

Principaly Speaking

Halloween Howl·

Friday - September 29th, 7:00 PM-9:00 PM

UPCOMING EVENTS

Fall Pictures – all grades

Halloween Howl

½ Day of School-Dismissal @ 12:15

First Day of Fall Break, students return on Wednesday, October 18

Site Council Meeting

Parent Teacher Conferences

SEPTEMBER 19

SEPTEMBER 29

OCTOBER 6

OCTOBER 9

OCTOBER 23

OCTOBER 26 & 27

Dear Parents: Our community is so amazing! Thank you to Mrs. Sarlo, Student Council, and Elementary Honor Society for sponsoring a Hurricane Harvey Drive. The response has been overwhelming to the flyer put out by our school. It is so wonderful to see the caring students, staff, and parents respond to another community in need. Thank you so much for your assistance with this drive! Please join us for our second annual Halloween Howl on September 29th from 7:00-9:00. This event will be even bigger and better than last year with face painting, bounce houses, and fun games. I hope to see all of you there. As always thank you for your continued support of our school. Boulder Creek Elementary is the best place to learn and grow! Sincerely, Karen K. Coleman

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Principals 100 Club

MIA MOSS

For

Working and completing the 120 Math Quiz

NICO KELSON

For

Being on Task and Behavior

AUSTIN PRUTSMAN

For

Being Polite

BRANDON PRUSIA

For

Honesty & Integrity

NOAH WILKES

For

Integrity and Honesty

KATRELL SMITH

For

Always listening & Working hard

ISABELLA FLORES

For

Helping Kindergarten

EMILY TREJO

For

Being an outstanding helper

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GOLDEN BINDER AWARD

Student Recognition

Lucas Hesson 6th Grade

Congratulations

4th Grade – Gavin Garcia, Mia Hernandez, Seth Hooper, Jolie Brown

5th Grade – Cole Cook, Carsyn Fort, Chloe Mosier 6th Grade – Kaylee Christiansen, Blake Glover,

Lilliana Jimenez, Madison McCarthy

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The goal of Parent University is to coordinate the efforts of the District to reach our community. Parent University will offer learning opportunities for families to increase engagement in their children's educational process and empower parents to raise children who are successful in school, college and career.

These opportunities will be offered at no cost to families, unless otherwise noted. Along with new beginnings for our children, Parent University is gearing up for the new opportunities as well! We are pleased to offer classes under nine main topics this year. We encourage you to sign up for as many classes/workshops as you'd like. For more information click -> PARENT UNIVERSITY

Do you have a child that you care for that is between the ages of birth to 5 years old? Then this is the class for you! This FREE class is a series of 3 workshops for parents, along with 8 weeks of award-winning books to read with your child at home. Interested Sign up today!! http://www.gilbertschools.net/departments/community_partnerships/parent_university/parenting_strategies/

Please feel free to contact Wendi Howe via phone and/or email if you have any questions. Have an awesome year!

Hurricane Harvey Drive Check out the attached flyer to see how you can help those that have been effected by Hurricane Harvey! You have until F r iday , Sep tem ber 8 to drop off your donations at the front office.

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Physical Education contributes to each child's growth and development primarily through movement development. The well rounded program here at Boulder Creek follows the highly acclaimed Pangrazi Model. The focus of the program includes movement competence, maintaining physical fitness, learning personal health and wellness skills, applying movement concepts and skill mechanics, demonstrating positive social skills, and ultimately developing a lifetime love of movement and fitness.

FITNESS AT HOME

It is recommended that kids receive 60 minutes of activity daily, most of which should be aerobic. Continue to look for a new exciting activity every month in the boulder creek newsletter.

DOG WALKING

• If your kids are lucky enough to have a dog as a pet, they have a ready-made workout buddy!

• Walking is moderate, low-impact exercise that can help keep kids in good cardiovascular shape.

• Set a time each day to take the dog for a family walk. An after dinner walk is a great way to keep family time going, keep your metabolisms elevated, and give the dog the daily exercise he needs.

• If your family doesn't have a pet, a family walk will do the trick.

Have fun and stay healthy!

Check out Fit Family Together for great articles about fitness, health, and nutrition for the whole family.

Mr. Starks

DonorsChoose www.donorschoose.org

Their Mission: We make it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need, moving us closer to a nation where students in every community have

the tools and experiences they need for a great education.

Congratulations to Mrs. Steimle and Mrs. Rueckle who have had their projects supported through DonorsChoose.

Check it out, great way to support the classroom!!!

DYNAMIC PHYSICAL EDUCATION

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A Note from Nurse Jane

Good-bye August, Hello September! With school in full swing I want to remind parents, teachers and staff of the Gilbert School’s policy for illness. In order to keep Boulder Creek as healthy as possible, the policy will be strictly followed. Any one who has a fever of 101, has thrown up/vomited or has diarrhea needs to stay home until symptom free for 24 hours without using fever reducing medications such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen or medication to treat the vomiting or diarrhea. Your child may feel better in the morning but they still need to stay home for the 24 hours. This allows the needed time for the body to recover.

Vision screenings were done in August for Pre-School, Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd and 6th grades. A special thank you to the Lion’s Club who brought their spot machines which screens for up to 6 possible vision problems. Referrals were sent out by U.S. mail to those students that failed the screening. With this type of screening a 2nd

screen is not necessary for referrals to be sent.

Hearing for all students and vision for those who were absent for the last screening or not in one of the grades listed above will be done in September. If the health office staff does the screening and your child fails, a 2nd screening will be done before a referral is sent home. All referrals are sent via the U.S. mail. Please be sure the school has your correct address. Should you get a referral please have your child seen as soon as possible especially if they are struggling in school or receive any special services. An unresolved referral can delay the process for Special Education. There is a place on each type of referral for the examining professional to complete. Please send this back to the health office so we know if there are any special accommodations such as preferential seating. It is also helpful for the teachers to know if a student will be getting new glasses and how our screening program is working.

Gilbert Public Schools Medication Policy does not allow students to carry medication at school with exception only for medication to treat life threatening emergency conditions. Should you want your child to have any medication at school, over the counter or prescribed, an adult needs to bring the medication to the health office. Paperwork needs to be completed giving permission for the medication to be administered at school. Over the counter medication will only be given for 3-5 days without a doctor’s order stating why it needs to be given at school. Herbal supplements and essential oils will not be administered at school. An adult needs to bring medication to school. Inhalers and Epi-Pens are the only exceptions provided that they have been checked in with the health office staff and paperwork completed. Please contact the health office if you want your child to be able to carry their inhaler or Epi-Pen before you send the inhaler or Epi-Pen with them to school. We do need to know who is self-carrying their inhaler or Epi-Pen. If your child is going to carry their inhaler or Epi-Pen a second one is to be kept in the health office. All medication, needs to be properly labeled with the Rx label, even if and especially if the student carries it.

Attached to this newsletter is information on reading medication labels. I hope you find this useful.

If you have any question or concerns, please feel free to call the health office at 480-507-1404.

Healthy Kids are My Business,

Jane Xavier RN

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Boulder Creek would like to introduce to you two of our five new teachers.

Mr. Joe Slaton – He has lived in Arizona for 35 years, most of his life, somehow he has a southern twang, figure that. Joe is married and has a young daughter. Even though he has been in AZ most of his life, his favorite sports team are the Cubs. After 14 years in retail pharmacy, he went back to school to become a teacher. He received his Bachelors from the Walter Cronkite School at ASU.

Mrs. Crystal Cruz Mrs. Cruz is originally from El Paso, Texas, however moved to AZ at a young age and went all of her school years through the Gilbert Public Schools. She is married to her sweetheart from Junior High WOW!! She has been with her husband since she was 14 years old and are now married and have two small children. Before coming to Boulder Creek Mrs. Cruz taught JH math. She loves math and is a great advocate for the AVID program. During her “spare” time she loves to paint and you might just find her at one of those Painting Party locations teaching a class!!!!

Early Release Dates

Students are dismissed at

2:15pm on the following Dates The following dates are all on Wednesday

o September 6 o September 13 o September 20 o September 27 o October 25 o November 1 o November 8 o November 15 o November 29

New Teachers

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PTSO Activities

September 6 Chick-Fil-A September 19 PTSO Meeting – Library September 25-28 Costume Sales September 29 Halloween HOWL October 19 Café Rio October 24 PTSO Meeting – Library November 14 PTSO Meeting –Library November 18 Christmas Village December 4-8 Ream your Teacher December 15 Donuts with Dad

Please watch the school calendar on the school webpage found here for the most recent updates, as dates/activities might change.

Check out the PTSO Web Page here for all the latest and greatest regarding our Parent Teacher Student Organization

And if you are on Facebook, check out the Facebook page here:

Sno-Cones

On Specific Friday’s throughout the year, Sno-Cones will be sold in the afternoon to all grades. The cost is $1.00 and is a way to

celebrate the end of the school week.

If you wish for your student to purchase a Sno-Cone, just send in a $1.00 with them on that Friday.

Upcoming Sno-Cone Dates:

September 8; September 22, October 6

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HALLOWEEN HOWL FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 29TH, 7:00PM-9:00PM

$5/ONLINE, $6/AT THE DOOR (THE ONLINE SALE OPTION-SEE BELOW-WILL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL 3:00PM ON FRIDAY THE 29TH)

THIS PRICE INCLUDES:

DANCING, GAMES, SODA & POPCORN, INFLATABLES, TRICK-OR-TREATING, FACE PAINTING, PHOTO BOOTH & ONE TRIP THROUGH OUR HAUNTED HOUSE!

WE WILL ALSO HAVE SILENT AUCTION ITEMS AND COSTUME ACCESSORIES FOR SALE!

BRING YOUR WHOLE FAMILY!!

YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS THIS HOWLING GOOD TIME!! CHECK OUT OUR VIDEO......

https://youtu.be/zDlrSbno_FQ

NEED A COSTUME TO WEAR? WE WILL BE SELLING COSTUMES $5 OR LESS

ON SEPT 25TH, 26TH FROM 3:30-4:30 & 27TH FROM 2:30-3:0 IN THE LIBRARY!

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September 4 Holiday – NO SCHOOL September 6 Coffee & Chat with the Principal 8:00am September 6 Early Release @ 2:15pm September 6 PTSO Fundraiser – Chick-Fil-A 4-8pm

September 7 Raising a Reader Event – 3:30pm September 8 Sno-Cones September 13 Early Release @ 2:15pm

September 14 AVID Meeting for 4th/5th/6th Grade Parents 3 :30pm

September 19 School Pictures

September 19 PTSO Meeting 3:30pm

September 20 Early Release @ 2:15pm September 21 Raising a Reader Event – 3:30pm

September 22 Sno Cones September 25-27 Costume Sales – See Flyer September 29 Halloween Howl – See Flyer

October Sneak Peaks

October 6 ½ Day Dismissal @12:15pm October 9-17 Fall Break returning to school on Wednesday October 18 October 23 Site Council Meeting 6:45pm October 24 Fall Picture Retakes October 26 & 27 ½ day Dismissal @ 12:15 and Parent/Teacher Conference

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Absences • Please call the school and leave a message on the attendance line when your child will

not be at school. • At 9:00AM an automatic messenger will contact parents/guardians for every student who

is still marked as an unknown absence. • Requests for homework need to left on the teacher’s voicemail or e-mail.

Excessive Absences, Late Arrivals, Early Departures • Absences will be considered excessive when the number of absent days exceeds 10%

(ten percent) of the number of days of school possible. This would allow for approximately 4.5 absences per academic quarter, or 18 total days for the school year.

• A letter will be sent home to the parents/guardians when 10 days of absence (excused or unexcused) have been reached. We will work with every family to review these absences and if grades are affected. Please bring in a Dr’s note when possible to help document absences.

• A second letter will be sent home when 18 days have accumulated. • If a student continues to accrue absences the school, if necessary, will begin the process

for Court Unified Truancy Suppression (C.U.T.S) program. This program will include meeting with the family, our school Social Worker, and the Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Officer, to discuss the truancy laws and possible citation consequence.

• Regular school attendance is an Arizona Revised Statute (A.R.S 15-802.A, 15-803.A) • More information can be found in the Elementary School Handbook. The handbook can

be found on the District website, under District Policies & Handbooks.

Late arrivals/Early Departure: • Our school day begins at 8:28am. Students arriving after that time will need to come in

to the school using the front office.

• If you know your child will be late to school, please call the attendance line. • Students that arrive after 10:00am must be signed in at the front desk.

• Excessive tardies and/or early departures will be addressed in a similar way to excessive absences (see above).

• If no improvement is seen, then you and your family will meet with the school Social Worker.

Rev 08/2017

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Starting for the 2017-2018 School Year

In the spirit of saving trees, Boulder Creek has moved several documents that need to be signed onto their web page. Please click here or you can go to the url http://gilbertboulder.ss11.sharpschool.com/parent_zone

This will take you to “Parent Zone”

Click on Forms for Parents Click on the following forms and follow the directions:

o OPT OUT of Photography – If you DO NOT want to have your student’s picture taken for marketing purposes, please read this policy and fill out the signature form.

o USE OF TECHNOLOGY – if you DO NOT want your student to use computers and/or have access to the internet during the school day, please read this policy and fill out the signature form

o CELL PHONE POLICY – if your student has a cell phone that they will be bringing to school, please read this policy and fill out the signature form

o BOULDER CREEK HANDBOOK –please read handbook with the student and both you and your student will need to fill out the Signature Form

ALL PARENTS/FAMILIES NEED TO SIGN THE BOULDER CREEK HANDBOOK

If you have more than one student, you will be able to do all of your children on the same form.

If you run into any difficulty, you can contact Lori at 480-507-1404 x302.

Parents of 4 th/ 5 th/ 6 th Grade Students Mark your calendar to attend the AVID Night on Thu rsday , Sep tem ber 14 at

3:30pm.

Check out the attached flyer for more information

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Accessing the Parent Portal for Infinite Campus Infinite Campus is where you will find:

• Report Cards • Student’s Attendance • Pay for field trips/school fees using credit card (InTouch Payments) • Access teacher email address

The first time you want to access Infinite Campus, you will need to follow the directions below. ONCE the account is set up you can then utilize either a computer or iPhone/iPad or Android device to access your account

The instructions below will allow parents to create an Infinite Campus Parent Portal account. This account enables parents to access all of their student’s grades, attendance and other school information.

Instructions for creating a Parent Portal account:

1. Go to the following link: http://tinyurl.com/gpsicpp

2. Enter the email address you have provided the school and press Submit

3. You will receive one of three messages.

• Success–An email will be sent to you with further instructions

• Error Code 1–Email used is not on file

• Error Code 2–Multiple people have same email address

4. If you receive an Error code, please try the process again (making sure the email address you have entered is the same one you provided the school). If you continue to receive an error code, please contact the school office and let them know the error code you received.

5. Follow the instructions in the email you will receive from Infinite Campus. Your account should be setup and ready to go. NOTE: Use your email address as your User ID when prompted.

If you would like to access your child’s information via iPhone/iPad or Android device, log onto the Infinite Campus Parent Portal website and click on the associated link for the device you have. Follow the instruction provided, but one helpful tip: The District ID required is RVYGXX

Follow these steps:

1. Download the Infinite Campus Mobile Portal application from any of the following app stores:

2. Launch the Campus App and Enter your District ID Select Settings. Enter your District ID: RVYGXX

3. Enter your Campus Portal Username and Password to Sign In.

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CCS' BACK TO SCHOOL CONTEST - Starts 8/15

CCS Presentation Systems will donate a $40,000 classroom full of audio visual equipment to one Arizona school!

Spread the word to your teachers, students, families, and the community - The school with the most total votes by September 29th will win.

FIND OUT MORE

CCS Presentation Systems 17350 N. Hartford Dr. Scottsdale AZ 85255 480-348-0100 jsolomon@ccsprojects.com

ALL ARIZONA PUBLIC, NON-PROFIT CHARTER, AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS ARE EGIBLE

Please VOTE, you can vote up to 5 times a day on the same device, very simple and for such a worthy cause.

CCS IS GIVING AWAY A $40,000 HIGH-TECH CLASSROOM TO ONE LUCKY ARIZONA SCHOOL!

HURRICANE HARVEY DRIVE

NEHS & STUCO

Toiletries/Items Needed:

ShampooConditionerDeodorantBody WashBars of SoapRazorsLotionToothbrushesTooth Paste

Mouth WashFlossFeminine ProductsBrushes/CombsHair Ties/BarrettesHand SanitizerBaby WipesDiapersBaby Formula

Shaving CreamWashclothsTowelsBlankets/SmallPillowsPillow Cases

Playing CardsTravel GamesNew BooksNew Small ToysFabric Tote BagsToilet Paper

Please bring items to the front office and place in the collection box. Items will be donated to families displaced by Hurricane Harvey in Texas

Interim Superintendent Suzanne Zentner, Ed.D.

GPS Governing

Board President

Sheila Rogers Clerk

Reed Carr

Members Jill Humpherys

Dr. Charles Santa Cruz, Ed.D Lori Wood

140 South Gilbert Road Gilbert, AZ 85296 Phone 480.497.3300 www.gilbertschools.net

2017-2018 Parent’s Right-To-Know

As a parent of a student at a Title I school, you have the right to know the professional qualifications of the classroom teachers who instruct your child. Federal law allows you to ask for certain information about your child’s teachers, and requires us to give you this information in a timely manner. Specifically, you have the right to ask for the following information:

Whether the teacher has met State qualifications and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction.

Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which State qualification or licensing criteria have been waived.

The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certificate or degree.

Whether your child is provided services by paraprofessionals, and, if so, their qualifications.

If you would like to receive any of this information, please call our office at (480) 497-3352.

Thank you,

Susan Cadena Susan Cadena, LMSW Coordinator of Student Services Academic Services

SC/pml