Cerritos Info and Welcome Guide

Cerritos would like to welcome your family to our community! We are excited you have selected Cerritos, A Leadership Academy for your child.

To help alleviate apprehension and anxiety amongst the excitement of starting a new school we created this welcome guide to answer some of your questions to help you enjoy your transition to Cerritos.

If you have any questions, feel free to email the office secretary at jharris@kyrene.org or the PTO at president@cerritospto.org.

We are confident your child will thrive as they begin these new learning experiences!

“Leaders of today inspiring leaders of tomorrow.” - Cerritos Mission Statement

Arrival & Dismissal Procedures

Leadership & Character

School Events

Front Office Procedures

Attendance

Since regular school attendance is an important key to student success, Cerritos encourages your child to attend school regularly to maximize their achievements. When an absence is necessary please call the 24-hour Cerritos Attendance Line at 480-541-2201 before school starts to report the child as absent. Please leave a message on the voicemail, indicating the student’s name, grade, teacher, date(s) of absence and reason. If your child is sick, please include the symptoms that the child is exhibiting. Your child will be marked truant if you do not report your child’s absence.

Excused absences are absences that are excused by the parent/legal guardian and by school administration. In cases involving prolonged illnesses, a written excuse from a physician may be requested to verify the absence.

If your child has a medical appointment during the school day, you will need to sign them out. Please make sure to have your photo ID ready. Upon your return please provide the school a copy of a doctor’s note.

Signing Students Out

When signing students out prior to the end of the school day, a parent/legal guardian must come to the office to sign the child out. Please sign your child out prior to 2:00 p.m. Please notify your child’s teacher by email or send a note with your child stating the reason for the absence and the time your child will be leaving. Students are never permitted to leave campus on their own. Only the parent/legal guardian or a person the parent/legal guardian designated on the emergency card may sign out a student. Anyone picking up a student must present their photo ID prior to signing out the student. It is Kyrene School District policy that we cannot release a student to anyone younger than 18 years old.

Health Office

Please contact Ms. Sickman at 480-541-2220 or wsickman@kyrene.org if you have any health questions or concerns. Please update any health conditions along with any care plans as soon as possible. New paperwork needs to be filed each year. Please do not send medication in with your child, all medication needs to come in through the health office.

When to Keep Your Child Home from School

In an effort to keep illness out of the school the Kyrene School District has established some guidelines of when you should keep your child home from school when he/she is sick. Please keep your child at home if they display any of the following symptoms:

· Fever of 101.0 degrees or higher. A child should be fever-free for 24 hours without fever reducing medication before returning to school.

· Persistent cough

· Sore throat with fever

· Rash with fever illness, such as chicken pox, measles, etc.

· Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea

· Red, itchy and draining eyes. If conjunctivitis or “pink eye” is diagnosed, the child must be on medication for 24 hours before returning to school.

· Prolonged headache or stomachache

· Earache

· Toothache

· Symptoms that prevent your child from participating comfortably in school activities (extreme signs of tiredness, unexplained irritability or persistent crying)

If your child has mild respiratory or cold symptoms (stuffy nose with clear drainage, sneezing, mild cough, no fever), he/she may attend if able to participate in school activities.

Child Becomes Sick During School Day

If your child begins to feel ill during the school day, he/she should notify the teacher. Sick students will be sent to the Health Office for evaluation. The Health Assistant will assess the symptoms and determine the best course of action for your child. If the symptoms warrant that the student needs to be sent home, the Health Assistant will call and notify the parents/legal guardians.

Important Note: Please inform the school office immediately of any phone number or address change so that the school can contact you in the case of child illness or injury.

Medication

The Health Office staff can administer over-the-counter and prescription medication at school under the following conditions:

· Prescription medication must be in its original prescription container and labeled by the pharmacist.

· Over-the-counter medication must be in the original factory container with all warnings and directions intact.

· No medications in envelopes, foil, or baggies will be accepted.

· The parent/guardian must complete a form (located in the Health Office) giving permission for medication to be administered at school. All medications should be brought to the Health Office and picked up from the Health Office by an adult. Students should not carry medications to and from school. Up to a 30-day supply will be accepted.

· Only medications that are needed to treat an existing ailment will be stored in the Health Office.

· Medication will be given in a dosage that is weight and/or age appropriate as indicated by the manufacturer’s recommendations and/or physician’s order.

· Acetaminophen will be available in the Health Office and may be administered with written parental permission.

Hearing and Vision Screenings

Per state mandate, hearing and vision tests are given to students in Preschool through second grade during the first month of school. If you do not want your child screened, please notify the Health Assistant.

Medical Release to Return to School

If a student is hospitalized, has surgery, suffers a major injury, is casted, or is absent from school for medical concerns, a note should be written by their medical provider prior to their return to school. This medical release should include a date to return to school, any health concerns or accommodations while in school, and the reason for their absence.

School Lunch

Kyrene uses an online system for managing school meal accounts. If you do not already have an account, visit InTouch to register. As always, checks made payable to Kyrene School District and cash are accepted at school sites as well. Paper applications for meal assistance are available upon request.

Tax Credit Donations

Kyrene School District has a convenient new payment portal for parents to pay for everything from athletics to field trips. The InTouch payment portal will provide parents with digital receipts for all of your transactions. You can even use it to make this year’s tax credit donation to the school of your choice. Register once and use the portal all year. (At this time, payments for Preschool, Kids Club and After Hours will still be made through Community Education.)

Lost and Found

If your child loses an item at school, there is a lost and found in the cafeteria (MPR). Misplaced lunch boxes, water bottles, jackets, and backpacks will be placed in the Lost and Found if no name is on the item. To prevent lost items, it is a good idea to label your child’s backpack, lunch box, water bottle, and jacket, so it can easily be returned to the student if lost.

Kids Club

Kids Club and After Hours will be available at Cerritos. Please visit our website, where you will also find a complete list of program offerings. Please note that this program is open to all students whether they are distance learning at home or are participating in the on-site supervision at their home school. For families participating in on-site supervision, transportation will be available for your child between your home school and the campus hosting Kids Club/After Hours.

Register Online

Volunteering in Classroom

Teachers begin incorporating parent volunteers 1-2 months after the start of school so they can establish classroom routines, set expectations, and determine how to best utilize the extra help. Thank you in advance for your support in our classrooms!

Campus Visitors

Kyrene School District policy requires that all parents/visitors sign in at the office, provide photo ID and wear a visitor badge. Without photo ID, the office staff cannot allow parents/visitors to be on campus. This policy was implemented to not only keep our students safe but is also a safety measure that assists office staff in knowing who is in the building should an emergency occur.

School Expectations

Snacks and Water

Students are encouraged to bring a healthy snack and water bottle from home. Teachers usually designate a specific time each day for students to eat their snack. Water bottles are kept in the classroom. Please be aware that there may be other students in your classroom with food allergies (dairy, peanut, mustard). Your teacher will notify your class in advance if this is the case in your classroom. Snacks should not be shared at school. No chewing gum is allowed on campus.

Birthdays

Birthdays are announced on the morning announcements so each child will receive a shout-out for all the school to hear. Summer birthdays are announced at the end of the year. Cerritos follows the Kyrene School District policy regarding birthday and other celebrations:

Birthday Party Invitations: Invitations to birthday parties may not be distributed at school. If you would like to invite students to your child’s party, please use the Class Directory to either email an evite or mail an invitation to their home address.
Birthday Celebrations: No celebrations of individual student birthdays may be held in the classroom. Balloons, cakes, candy, flowers, etc. cause many distractions and cannot be allowed on campus or on the bus. These items are disruptive in the classroom and are a safety concern on the bus. If they are delivered they will be kept in the office for a parent/legal guardian to pick up. This policy helps ensure that instructional time is protected and that all students are treated equally.

Cell phones

Some parents choose to have their child carry a cell phone as a means of communication before and after school and for safety purposes. Cell phones, however, must be turned off and kept in backpacks at all times on campus so that they are not disruptive in the classroom. Cerritos cannot be held responsible for any lost or stolen cell phones.

Class Parties

Throughout the school year, there will be a scheduled classroom parties. Two events are open for parent planning & attendance if their schedule allows; the Winter Party and the End-of-the-year Party. The February Friendship party will be student planned and student executed and will not be open for parent attendance. Classroom parties typically involve food, games, crafts, and other activities. Classroom parents will work with the teacher to decide the best way to plan and implement the parties. When planning snacks for these four classroom parties, state law requires that no home-cooked food be distributed to students during school hours. Also, please ensure all food is planned with allergies and health in mind. This is a fun break from normal routines to celebrate all the hard work and effort that the children are putting in throughout the year. All parents/visitors are required to sign in at the office and provide a photo ID. Please allow extra time for signing in/out for badge allocations.

School Supplies

Supply lists for each grade level vary. See website for updated Supply lists for 2022-2023.

Pets and Other Animals

Per Kyrene School District policy and for the safety of all students, please do not bring pets on campus. Some students may have allergic reactions to pet fur and dander. On an exception basis, an animal may be permitted to a classroom for educational purposes if the teacher obtains written permission from all student’s parents.

Technology

ParentVUE

All Kyrene parents and guardians have a ParentVUE account, and all Kyrene students have a StudentVUE account. ParentVUE is where Kyrene families can confirm emergency contacts and other demographic information. Parents can also use this portal to obtain student attendance information, grades and important documents, such as the family handbook.

Kyrene has compiled answers to frequently asked questions about ParentVUE and StudentVUE.

StudentVUE

During distance learning, students will use StudentVUE to access their live zoom meetings with teachers. This will also allow teachers to record attendance each day. Before the first day of school, students should become familiar with logging into StudentVUE.

Video demonstration for accessing StudentVUE

Video demonstration for accessing Zoom meeting using StudentVUE

Distance Learning Help Page

Student Passwords

As we start the new school year, it will be necessary for all students to set up a new password and three security questions for their Kyrene network account. Please follow these instructions as soon as possible so that your children are ready for the school year: Password Setup - Password Reset Instructions. IMPORTANT: When you are initially prompted to enter a password, please note that your temporary password has been set as Student1. If you need assistance, please contact the student help desk via this website.

Safe Online Learning

Kyrene is committed to creating a safe learning environment for students, whether in the classroom or online.. Kyrene has also developed guidance for parents to help ensure students are safely navigating the online learning experience.

Curriculum & Assessment

Specials

One time each week, the students will spend 45 minutes in the following enrichment areas:

· Art

· Music

· Physical Education (P.E.)

· Library/Media Center

Physical Education Notes: On the day your child has P.E., please be sure your student wears tennis shoes and comfortable clothes. If your child does not wear acceptable shoes for P.E., he/she will not be allowed to participate in that day’s PE activities. Repeated occurrences will impact his/her P.E. participation score on their quarterly progress report card. If your child is unable to participate in P.E. due to a health condition, he/she may be excused for three days with a written note from a parent/legal guardian. If the student will miss more than three days please provide a written note from the physician to the Health Office.

Library/Media Center Notes: Library books are checked out for two weeks. If your child would like to renew the book, they may bring it in to their scheduled library time to renew it (as long as no one else has a hold on it.) If your child has a specific book he/she would like to read, but it is checked out, a hold request may be placed for it. Once it is returned, the book will be reserved for them to check out. If your child forgets to bring in library books before their due date, he/she will not be able to check out a new book. Kindergarteners are allowed to check out one book at a time. 1^st and 2nd graders are allowed to check out up to 2 books at a time. 3^rd-5^th graders are allowed to check out up to 3 books at a time.

Assessment of Student Progress

Homework

Each teacher will establish homework expectations for their class. Teachers will explain these expectations to parents at Curriculum Night.

Report Cards

Cerritos works on a quarterly period. Report cards are posted in ParentVue the 2^nd Monday following the end of the quarter.

The following are the current year’s quarters:

The report card for students in kindergarten through 3^rd grade utilizes a performance scale of Proficient, Developing, or Area of Concern. Key learning objectives in the areas of Reading Development, Speaking & Listening, Writing and Language, Mathematics, Sciences, Art, Music, Physical Education, Library Skills, and Behaviors that Promote Learning are assessed on a quarterly basis. Student Progress Reports will be sent home after the completion of each quarter of learning. Parents/legal guardians will sign and return the Progress Report Envelope verifying the Progress Report has been received.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/teacher conferences are held twice a year in the Fall (October) and Spring (February). Spring Conferences are student-led. The students are present and directly share their progress with their parents/legal guardians.

Parent VUE

Parents can view attendance data and information about student grades via the Parent VUE portal. Parents will need an activation key in order to set up their account. You can obtain the activation key from the Front Office.

Data Notebooks

Students maintain data notebooks in their classrooms to help them track their individual progress. Often, teachers will share these notebooks with parents during the school year. The student data notebooks are designed around their Academic and Personal WIGS (Wildly Important Goals) each quarter.

State Testing

Each quarter students will participate in Interim testing. Data is reviewed immediately and schools develop new action plans based on the data.

Each spring the entire school district participates in State Assessments. Grades 3-5 take the AzMERIT (ELA and Math) test.

Curriculum Night

This event is designed for parents to have an opportunity to learn what your elementary school child will be mastering in math, English language arts, science and social studies, as well as learn about classroom expectations and school/home communication. Each grade level team will share a 30 minute presentation followed by a 10 minute meet and greet.

Classroom Uniterrupted Time

To safeguard instructional time and ensure focus on teaching and learning, each grade level has time designated for uninterrupted instruction. Cerritos wants to protect this instructional time by avoiding interruptions with announcements, messages, and deliveries from home. Please help us minimize classroom interruptions by making “going home” plans before school starts. Let your child know the backup plan if he/she forgets lunch (i.e. buy a school lunch instead or let them know you will bring one to the school office and to go check before they go to lunch). Have your child put their homework and class projects their backpack they night before.

Gifted Program

Kyrene’s Gifted Program is designed to provide an academic curriculum and differentiated instruction for students who require greater depth of study and accelerated learning. Kyrene makes group testing available for students three times a year as follows: Fall (Grades 3-7), Winter (Grades K-7), and Spring (Grades K-2). Gifted students are defined as those who score at or above the 97^th percentile on the gifted identification test. Children may qualify in one or more of three areas – verbal reasoning, quantitative (math) reasoning, and nonverbal reasoning. Referrals for the gifted testing come from teachers, parents, and students. If you feel that your child might qualify in one or more of the three assessed areas, please contact your teacher. Note: Children must not have been tested within the past year.

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