Dear Mozart Elementary Families,

As we enter this joyful holiday season, I want to thank you for your continued partnership and support. December is an exciting month at our school, filled with learning, celebrations, and opportunities for students to shine. We have several upcoming events that we are thrilled to share with you, including classroom activities, performances, and community gatherings that help make this time of year so special for our students.

Although the holiday break is just around the corner, these next few weeks remain important for student learning. Attending school consistently in December helps students finish the semester strong, stay connected with their classmates, and benefit from the extra academic push teachers are providing before we close out the year. Every day truly makes a difference—whether it’s wrapping up key units, preparing for assessments, or engaging in hands-on student experiences.

We know this can be a busy time for families, and we appreciate everything you do to ensure your child is here, on time, and ready to learn. Your support helps set students up for success not only now but in the months ahead.

Thank you for being such an important part of our school community. We look forward to celebrating this season of learning, growth, and gratitude together!

Respectfully,

Maria Cantu

Mozart Elementary Core Values

Supporting Our Core Values at Home

At Mozart Elementary, we work every day to help students live out our core values: Be Safe, Be Responsible, and Be Respectful. These values guide our expectations, shape our school culture, and help students develop strong habits that will serve them well in and out of the classroom. Your partnership in reinforcing these messages at home makes a tremendous difference.

Here are a few simple ways families can help support these core values:

Be Safe

• Talk with your child about safe choices—online, at home, and in the community.

• Establish routines like consistent bedtimes, healthy meals, and safe technology use.

• Encourage them to speak up if something doesn’t feel right.

Be Responsible

• Help your child practice responsibility by setting up a spot for their backpack, homework, and school materials.

• Encourage them to take ownership of their actions, finish tasks, and ask for help when needed.

• Model responsibility by following through on commitments and showing how to manage time.
  
  

Be Respectful

• Practice active listening at home—taking turns speaking and acknowledging others’ feelings.

• Encourage your child to use kind words and show empathy toward family members, friends, and classmates.

• Model respectful communication, even during disagreements.

When students see these values emphasized both at home and at school, they learn that these expectations are not just rules, but lifelong skills. Thank you for your partnership and support in helping our students grow into safe, responsible, and respectful young people. Together, we build a strong and caring school community.

Parents and teachers can teach empathy by modeling caring behaviors, using stories and discussions to explore emotions, and creating opportunities for children to practice perspective-taking through role-playing, cooperative activities, and helping others. Other strategies include actively listening to understand feelings, encouraging gratitude, and reinforcing kind actions. Ask "How would you feel?": Encourage children to consider how others might feel in different situations.

As we reinforce and nurture our core values the monthly lesson for December will be empathy and understanding how each one us can make an impact in our community through this character trait. We as a community can apply and practice this skill through providing opportunities for children to help family, friends, or those in need in the community. Another impactful strategy is Role-play scenarios: Act out situations like conflicts or helping someone who is sad to help children understand different perspectives and use emotional literacy tools: Use photos, magazines, or books to help children recognize emotions in different faces and situations.

Every Minute Matters at Mozart Elementary

At Mozart Elementary, we know that every minute of learning counts! When students arrive late, leave early, or miss a day, they miss valuable instruction, discussions, and activities that support both academic and social growth. Even small amounts of missed time can make it harder for students to stay on track, as key lessons and practice opportunities are difficult to make up later. Over time, those few minutes here and there truly add up.

We understand that appointments and family needs sometimes can’t be avoided. Whenever possible, please try to schedule these outside of school hours and help your child be at school on time and ready to learn each day.

Reminders

• Instruction begins at 8:00 a.m. Please ensure students arrive on time so they are ready to start the day and not miss valuable learning.

• Dismissal is at 3:45 p.m. Parents, please make the necessary arrangements to have students picked up promptly at dismissal time.

• Early pick-up cut-off time is 3:00 p.m. To minimize classroom interruptions and ensure a smooth end to the school day, early dismissals must occur before this time.

Thank you for your cooperation and support to ensure every student has the best opportunity to succeed!

Making learning fun in PK-3!

Pre-K4 loves to particapte in a variety of activities!

Our 4th graders love to participate in dress-up week!!! 

Our wonderful and talented Mini Knightettes recently performed at the Vipers Basketball Game halftime show, and they absolutely lit up the court! Their energy, confidence, and precision truly shined -- what an incredible performance!♥️🖤