Principal's Message January 2026

Welcome Back and Happy New Year!

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Dear Castlemont Families,

Welcome back! I hope your winter break was filled with rest, relaxation, and wonderful memories with your children. It will be such a joy to see our hallways filled with energy and smiling faces again tomorrow morning. There is something truly special about the "fresh start" that January brings to a school building.

Our January fresh start includes our annual PBIS (Positive Behavior Incentive System) re-boot. We will revisit and re-teach our positive expectations with specific focus on areas of improvement that our behavioral data indicates are needed at each grade level; for example, in kindergarten we will re-teach the expectations for safe play on the slides while in fourth grade we will re-visit the good sportsmanship expectations during soccer games. We will be holding the PBIS assemblies throughout this week. 

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School Site Council -- Your Vote Matters

It is extremely important to us that we stay connected with you, our school community, and part of this connection is made through our School Site Council. We are opening voting today for three additional representatives for our School Site Council. Please take a moment to open the ballot link and vote. Voting closes Sunday, January 11th.   

CASTLEMONT SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE BALLOT  

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PDSAs

As we jump into the second half of the year, our teachers are hard at work using PDSA cycles (Plan, Do, Study, Act) to help our students grow. Just like a scientist uses the scientific method to test an idea, our teachers are:

• Planning new ways to help students learn.

• Trying those ideas out in the classroom.

• Studying the results to see what’s working.

• Adjusting their lessons to make sure every child succeeds.

We are committed to this "continuous improvement" approach to ensure this semester is even better than the last!

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Our School Play is Back!

More exciting January news-- After much planning, writing, and ongoing fundraising, the Castlemont school play is back for a third year!  A HUGE thank you to Ms. Sandee Medlin for giving us this opportunity again. Ms. Medlin wrote numreous grants requests (two of which have been granted, so far!), wrote the play and the original score, and has been deeply involved in promoting and fundraising. I would also like to give a shout-out to our small but mighty group of parent “boosters” without whom we would not be able to move forward!  Please see the calendar for audition dates. 

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Good News About Attendance!

We continue to carefully track our overall and grade level attendance data. Why? Because being at school is the most important component of being a successful student. The good news is that we are showing an improvement in attendance over last year. Keep up the good work!

I know I will be heading to bed on time tonight after enjoying some late-night movie watching over our break.  Getting back into our routines will be important for all of us, especially for our children. 

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🗓️ Important Dates for January

Please mark your calendars for these upcoming events and school closure date:

• Monday, January 5: Students return to school (Welcome back!)

• Thursday, January 8: Home and School Club Meeting @ 8:00 pm (via Zoom)

• Friday, January 9: Ocean Adventures Assembly

• January 12- 28: DIBELS and iReady Testing Window

• Tuesday, January 13: South Winchester BBQ Dining Day.

• Monday, January 19: No School in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

• Tuesday, January 20: Castlemont School Play Auditions 

• Thursday, January 22: Castlemont School Play Auditions

We are so grateful for your partnership and look forward to a fantastic month of learning ahead. As always, my door (and email inbox) are open if you have any questions or concerns.

Warmly,

Kristen Kimoto Delarosa, Principal