SCHOOL NEWS
September 5, 2007

GREAT OPENING DAY!
We had a fantastic opening day of school today! Special thanks to all of the moms and dads who were able to join us for our flag salute. Please if you have not signed up for Listserve or know someone who hasn’t now is the time to do so! Help the staff at DJAES to spread the word that these emails are our number one way of staying in touch and informed! We look forward to a great year working with your young scholars!

THURSDAY IS OUR EARLY DISMISSAL DAY
Virtually every Thursday throughout the school year, your children have an early dismissal to allow our teachers time to collaborate as they work to improve student learning.

As part of our commitment to provide your child(ren) with the best possible education, all elementary and middle schools in CUSD have collaboration time for the teachers and principal to prepare the best possible curriculum and instruction. The total number of instructional minutes remains unchanged. Please make arrangements to pick your student up on time so that our entire staff may participate in meetings which will improve the quality of education throughout the year.

Thursday only:
Grades 1-5: 7:45 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.

Thursday only:
Early Birds: 7:45 to 11:15 a.m.,
Late Owls: 9:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.


EMERGENCY CARD: PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN YOUR CHILD’S CARD TOMORROW
The single most important piece of information we need from all parents right away is the buff colored, card stock “Student Information Card” otherwise known as the Emergency Card. Please return yours tomorrow. Your students safety is crucial to everyone at DJAES.

PTA MEMBERSHIP
Thank you to all the families who have returned their PTA membership envelopes and have joined the PTA at DJAES. A portion of your membership dues go to the Capistrano Unified Council of PTAs, California State PTA, and National PTA. Click on their websites, http://www.cucptsa.org,  http://www.capta.org, and http://www.pta.org to find out all that the PTA has to offer our children. As a member, you are also welcome to vote at all DJAES PTA meetings. If you haven't joined yet and would like to, please send in a check for $10 per membership made out to DJAES PTA. There is a membership form on our website, http://www.djaespta.org. We look forward to a great year.  Thank you for your support.

HOLIDAY PORTRAITS!!
This year you have the opportunity to have a beautiful portrait taken in time for holiday cards. See the flyer that went home in the First Day Packets, or log on to http://www.familyportraitfun.com to register. Portraits will be taken at DJAES in the Multi Purpose Room on Tuesday, October 16th from 5-8pm. For a sitting fee of $30 you will receive a 10"x13" portrait. It's quick and easy, so log on to pick your sitting time before they are all filled. Family Portrait Fun will donate a percentage of sales to our PTA. What a great way to raise money for our students!

WE HAVE A SISTER SCHOOL:
We have the wonderful opportunity to be a sister school to an elementary school in Iraq! As we kick off this great new program we need help translating letters from children into Arabic and also into English from Arabic. Please email gretchen.scott@cox.net if you can help, or know someone who can.  

IT'S BOX-TOP TIME:
School has started and we are ready to collect your summer box-tops.  Please send in your boxtops with your children because we have awards to give classrooms that bring in the most box-tops. Just put an envelope on your refrigerator and make it easy to send them in at the end of the month!

LUNCH TIME SUGGESTION
Lunch time note: Moms and dads, you may wish to consider packing a lunch for your child(ren) during the first week of school. The lines can be very long and slow since many of the children are not familiar with handling cash, using their lunch numbers, etc. They may have a more enjoyable first few days of school if they can dig into their lunch as soon as they get seated in the lunch area.

Whenever you pack lunches and/or snacks for your child -- please pack healthy ones. Thanks!

MARK STUDENT LUNCHES and THINK HEALTHY SNACKS
Parents please mark your student lunches with their name and room number. We would like to encourage parents to have healthy snacks for their students. "Data from the most recent National Health and Nutrition Survey indicate that the prevalence of overweight and obesity among American's youth has more than doubled in the past 20 years.  Just like overweight adults, children and adolescents also experience an increase in health risks.  More than 60% of overweight children between the ages of 5 and 10 years of age already have at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease.  Other health risks include glucose intolerance, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension, respiratory problems and bone and joint pain."

STUDENT PARTIES
Parents if you would like to bring healthy treats for your students’ classroom it is important for you to make arrangements with the teacher at least one week ahead of time. Also, you should find out if any students have allergy concerns before passing out the healthy treats. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!

 We have listed some creative ideas for parents to use in place of food to recognize their child's special day.
Birthday favors:  Erasers, pencils, stencils, rulers, read their favorite book to the class, card (bought by parent) signed by Mrs. Samuels, teacher or classmates!

SMOOTHIES ARE BACK!!
Talk about a healthy snack!  Smoothie King will be selling fresh fruit smoothies on Wednesdays after school!  The students really enjoyed them last year and it is also a great way to support our schools Technology programs.  The cost is $3.50 with a portion of the proceeds going directly back to our school!  If you are a bus rider you cannot take beverages on the bus.  You may not use your lunch account to purchase smoothies.  Our first Wednesday to purchase will be September 12, and will be sold until they are gone!

STUDENT DROP-OFF/PICK-UP PROCEDURES
Student Drop Off

1. Be extremely cautious and patient.
   
2. Follow directions of staff members on duty.
   
3. Pull as far forward along curb as possible before stopping your vehicle.
   
4. Allow room for as many vehicles as possible to pull in behind you along the curb.
   
5. After stopping, be certain it is safe for your child to exit your vehicle on the passenger side only.
   
6. Say your goodbye's before your turn to unload. Traffic will move more quickly for everyone.
   
7. Be cautious when driving out of the parking lot and out of the school zone.
   
8. Students sit and wait on the playground in their class lines until the bell rings.
   
9. Do not drop off your child(ren) before 7:30 a.m.

Student Pick Up

1. Be extremely cautious and patient.
2. Follow directions of staff members on duty.
   
3. Pull as far forward along curb as possible before stopping your vehicle.
   
4. Allow room for as many vehicles as possible to pull in behind you along the curb.
   
5. Do not leave your vehicle unattended.
   
6. Students will wait for parents on sidewalk with a teacher supervisor as vehicles continue to pull forward along curb.
   
7. After stopping, be certain it is safe for your child to enter your vehicle on the passenger side.
   
8. Be cautious when driving out of the parking lot and out of the school zone.
   
9. All students must be picked up within 20 minutes of their dismissal time.

School Parking Lot Tips:
 Be courteous and considerate of others.
 Follow the "Rules of the Road.”
 Allow yourself plenty of extra time to drop off and pick up students.

No elementary school parking lot is designed to handle the number of vehicles that come to campus at the beginning and end of a school day. Your patience and understanding is appreciated. We do everything we can to encourage drivers to follow the rules and maximize the flow of traffic. We know your time is precious. Even more than that, we know that the safety of every single student is our primary responsibility.

DO NOT drive or park in the Bus Lane
DO NOT "stop short." Do pull as far forward as possible so that as many vehicles as possible can pull in behind you along the curb.
DO NOT leave your vehicle unattended. It is a surefire way to snarl traffic in the parking lot.
DO NOT pull into parking stalls to drop-off your child. No children are to cross the parking lot.

The Big Picture:
Children are always to walk on the sidewalks and never need to step onto the blacktop driveway or parking lot. Student safety is our first priority.

Releasing Children to Adults
Parents must sign out their child and show identification in the office when removing students from school early. Children will only be released to those individuals listed on the emergency card. If special pick up arrangements are made with persons not listed on the card, please send a note to the office. Any pertinent custody information should be brought to the attention of the teacher and principal immediately.

Parent Cell Phone Usage
Don Juan is a "No cell phone zone." To insure student safety, we request that parents turn off their cell phones while driving in and around our school parking lot.  We also ask that parents turn off their cell phones upon entering the school office, when volunteering in the classrooms, and anytime on school grounds.

Student Cell Phone Usage
While the district discourages students from even bringing a cell phone to school, it is recognized that some families may want their children to have access to a cell phone while they travel to and from school.  An important reminder that Board Policy 5141.2 states:  "Cell phones shall be turned off during the school day except in case of emergency.  The use of camera functions on electronic devices is prohibited at all times on campus.  If the privilege of possessing these devices at school is abused, the principal has the authority to revoke the privilege and prohibit the student from possessing such device on campus."


HAVE THAT IMPORTANT CONVERSATION WITH YOUR CHILD ABOUT PICKUP TIME
Moms and dads who drive to school, we encourage you to use our after school pickup system through the school parking lot. It’s safe, it’s efficient, and it’s supervised by school personnel.

If you pickup your child by some other means -- telling them to meet you at a certain spot, etc. -- please be sure to have that all important conversation with them. Tell them what to do if somehow you’re running late and you’re not there to pick them up. Tell your child to walk back into the front office of the school. From there, we can help make phone calls and help to ensure your child’s safety until you arrive to pick up your child. The last thing I want is kids waiting on their own in unsupervised areas after school.

EAGLE INFORMATION
Back to School Night                    9/27/07
Picture Day                             9/28/07
CORE Testing Grades 2-5         10/01/07 to 10/05/07
Reflections Starts                      10/03/07 until 10/25/07
Walk to School                  10/12/07
Bike Rodeo at Oak Grove         10/12/07
Family Portraits                        10/16/07
CORE Re-Test                    10/22/07 to 10/24/07
Autumn Festival                 10/26/07
Parent Conferences                      10/30/07 to 11/02/07
Veterans’ Day                           11/12/07
P J Night                               11/15/07
Thanksgiving Observance         11/19/07 to 11/23/07
Book Fair                               12/03/07 to 12/07/07
Report Cards Home                       12/14/07
Winter Break                            12/24/07 to 01/04/07
Jog A Thon Art Contest Starts   01/10/08 until 01/24/08
Jog A Thon Envelopes Home               02/07/08 until 02/21/08
Presidents’ Day                 02/15/08 & 02/18/08
Spring Pictures                 02/29/08
4th Grade Writing Test          03/04/08 & 03/05/08
Parent Conference Week          03/24/08 until 03/28/08
Spring Break                            04/07/08 until 04/11/08
Jog A Thon                              04/18/08
STAR Testing grades 2 to 5              04/28/08 to 05/09/08
Walk to School                  05/09/08
CORE Testing grades 2-5         05/19/08 to 05/23/08
Memorial Day                            05/26/08
Staff Appreciation                      05/28/08 to 05/30/08
CORE Re-Test                    06/02/08 to 06/04/08
Open House                              06/05/08
Last Day of School                      06/18/08