Hello Castlemont Families,
Next week December 11th to 15th is Spirit Week. Please see attachment with Winter Spirit Week daily theme.
Thank you
School News
Updated Sun, Nov 19th
Hello Castlemont Families,
Happy November! Please read on to hear about what is happening around Castlemont this week.
Make-Up Picture Day is Monday, Nov. 6th. Makeup picture day is for:
* Newly enrolled students
* Students who missed picture day
* Students who wish to have a retake picture taken please let teacher know. No new ID cards will be printed.
Stop by to view our Castlemont Community Dia de Los Muertos ofrenda, visible through the window of our Multi-Use room facing Castlemont Ave. If you would like to have a photo of a loved-one who has passed displayed, have your student bring it to school. We will call for them at the beginning of the day Monday-Wednesday of this week. Please label photos with your child's first and last name so we can return the photos to you safely.
Spirit Week begins November 13th: Thanks to the planning of our behaviorist, Jenna Miller, we will be having a spirit week the week before Thanksgiving break. Here is the list of themes! Spirit Days, Fall 2023
It is extremely helpful to us to have our families fill out our Free and Reduced Lunch Application. This can be found using this link, or going to our district website. The benefits in having our families apply may result in technology grants, reduced internet, food assistance, and improved infrastructure to our child nutrition program.
Last but not least, we will be observing Veterans Day this Friday . NO SCHOOL this Friday.
Have a great week!
Yours sincerely,
Kristen
Updated Sun, Nov 19th
The tradition of Dia de Los Muertos is a joyful time that helps us remember and celebrate the memory of the people in our lives who have passed away. We honor and commemorate the lives of the dead during this time. On Thursday, November 2, we set up our ofrenda (offering), visible in the window of the Multi-Use room. We invited students to bring a photo of a loved one who has passed to be included on the ofrenda.
Students who would still like to include a loved-one's photo should bring them to school Monday-Wednesday of this week. We will make an announcement at the beginning of the day for students to bring their photo(s) to the MU. Please label the back of the photo with your child's first and last name so that we can return the photos safely back to your family.
We would like to thank the family members in our ELAC for supporing this idea!
Starting Thursday, November 2nd, students may bring photos to school, and we will call them from class to deliver the photos to the MU during the first 10 minutes of the morning. (We will make morning announcements to remind students.) The ofrenda will remain up through November 9th.
Updated Mon, Nov 13th
Castlemont’s Costume Parade
Castlemont students have the opportunity to participate in our school-wide Halloween Parade on Tuesday, October 31st at 8:30 am.
We have a seasonal activity for students who are not participating in the parade. Please inform your child’s teacher so we can take them to the activity area.
Please keep the following items at home: face masks, swords, guns, or other weapons (even if they are part of the costume). No fake blood or “gore.”
Students are encouraged to come to school ready for the parade with an appropriate costume and regular clothing underneath their costume. After the parade, children will remove their costumes and regular instruction will begin.
Families are welcome to come watch the parade! We will start at 8:30 and will end before 9:00. You are encouraged to view the parade from the periphery of our blacktop area-- students will pass by numerous times for great photo ops!
Desfile de disfraces de Castlemont
Los estudiantes de Castlemont tienen la oportunidad de participar en nuestro desfile de Halloween en la escuela el martes 31 de octubre a las 8:30 am.
Tenemos una actividad estacional para los estudiantes que no participan en el desfile. Por favor informe al maestro de su hijo para que podamos llevarlo al área de actividades.
Por favor mantenga los siguientes artículos en casa: mascaras, espadas, pistolas u otras armas (incluso si son parte del disfraz). Nada de sangre falsa ni “sangre”.
Se anima a los estudiantes a venir a la escuela listos para el desfile con un disfraz apropiado y ropa normal debajo del disfraz. Después del desfile, los niños se quitarán los disfraces y comenzará la instrucción regular.
¡Las familias pueden venir a ver el desfile! Comenzaremos a las 8:30 y finalizaremos antes de las 9:00. Le animamos a ver el desfile desde el borde.de nuestra área asfaltada. ¡Los estudiantes pasarán numerosas veces para tomar excelentes fotografías!
Updated Mon, Nov 13th
The tradition of Dia de Los Muertos is a joyful time that helps us remember and celebrate the memory of the people in our lives who have passed away. We honor and commemorate the lives of the dead during this time. On Thursday, November 2 we would like to invite all students to bring in a photo of a loved one who has passed, to be included in the celebration of Dia de Los Muertos.
We will put the photos on our ofrenda (offering), which will be located in the MU, visible to the community from the plaza window.
Starting Thursday, November 2nd, students may bring photos to school, and we will call them from class to deliver the photos to the MU during the first 10 minutes of the morning. (We will make morning announcements to remind students.) The ofrenda will remain up through November 9th.
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La tradición del Día de Los Muertos es un momento alegre que nos ayuda a recordar y celebrar la memoria de las personas en nuestras vidas que han fallecido. Honramos y conmemoramos la vida de los muertos durante este tiempo. El jueves 2 de noviembre nos gustaría invitar a todos los estudiantes a traer una foto de un ser querido que falleció, para incluirla en la celebración del Día de Los Muertos.
Las fotos las pondremos en nuestra ofrenda, la cual estará ubicada en el MU, visible para la comunidad desde la ventana de la plaza.
A partir del jueves 2 de noviembre, los estudiantes podrán traer fotos a la escuela, y les anunciaremos a la clase para que puedan entregar las fotos al MU durante los primeros 10 minutos de la mañana. (Haremos anuncios por la mañana para recordarles a los estudiantes). La ofrenda permanecerá abierta hasta el 9 de noviembre.
Updated Mon, Nov 13th
Hello Castlemont Families,
October has been a busy month, and November will be active as well. First, I want to acknowledge the beautiful organization and hard work that our Home and School Club did in organizing our Jogathon last Friday. All of our students and staff enjoyed the day, and we will soon find out how much was earned for our school. In the afternoon after Jogathon, we had a special treat. The Del Mar High School Marching Band gave us a live show our on our playground. It was great for our students to see what they can choose to do in the future. One of our goals is parent engagement, so I absolutely loved seeing so many of our family members in attendance!
We have further opportunities to be active in our community this week. Tomorrow is our Costume Parade from 8:30 ~ 9:00 am. Families are welcome and encouraged to join us on the blacktop to see our students in the parade. Please see the Halloween article on this webpage for further details.
Our next community event this week will be our Dia de Los Muertos celebration. We will be creating an ofrenda in the MU windows facing the plaza. If you would like to contribute to the ofrenda, please send your child to school with a photo(s). We will invite students to bring their photos down to the MU during the first 10 minutes of school this week. The ofrenda will remain up through November 9th.
We hope to see you this week!
Yours sincerely,
Kristen
Updated Thu, Nov 9th
Tomorrow, Friday, October 27th we are holding our annual Jog-a-thon. This event is run by our wonderful Home and School Club adults with the proceeds benefiting all of our Castlemont students. It is an incredibly fun day of exercise, music, smiles for students, staff, and families.
You are welcome to attend to see your child participate! Please note that your child's grade level running time may have changed. See below:
TK, Kinder, and 1st Grade 9:40-10:10
2nd and 3rd Grade 8:50-9:30
4th and 5th Grade 10:20-11:10
It's not too late to make a pledge for your runner. Please see the attached pledge form.
jogathon_pledge_form_english.pdf Updated Tue, Oct 31st
Castlemont is now partnering with Seneca to support our Counseling Enriched Classroom. Seneca is also supporting other school initiatives such as PBIS and culture and climate. Take a look at the Seneca Flyer for a more detailed explanation.
Updated Tue, Nov 28th
Hello Castlemont Families,
Just a last minute reminder we will be selling Snacks after school in front of the Teachers Lounge near the office Today. Stop by after school today and every Tuesday after school to enjoy some Snacks, Ice Cream and Mini Gatorade for only $1.00 each.
See you later
Updated Wed, Oct 11th
Dear Castlemont Families and Friends,
As we transition to Autumn, we have news, activities, and important dates to share with you. This is a busy and rewarding time of year as our students settle into our school routines. Please take a moment to read about the upcoming events happening at Castlemont.
If you use our Castlemont drive-thru loop or enter through these gates, you have probably noticed our fabulous new mini library in front of the MU. Former Castlemont student, Joseph Tighe, built this creative community library for his Mitzvah project. Joseph went above and beyond when designing the library as a small castle emblazoned with a fire-breathing dragon. Open the doors to find donated books. Anyone in the community is encouraged to take a book and/or leave a book! Stay tuned for the time and date of our dedication ceremony. A huge thank you to Joseph for building and donating this gift to the Castlemont community.
This is our second of eleven AIM (Arts, Innovation, and Music) weeks. The AIM teacher specialists have created a blog to share with our families. Take a look at what our students are learning in their AIM classes. AIM Blog Link
First on our October calendar is our fall Parent-Teacher Conference Week, October 2nd - 6th. All families are invited to meet with their child’s teacher. Building a home-school relationship is a remarkably powerful way to help your child succeed in school academically and emotionally. Our teachers are reaching out to schedule conferences now.
We are on a minimum day schedule during conference week, October 2nd - 6th. Start time remains the same, but school is dismissed two hours early. TK-3rd grades students will be dismissed at 12:30. Fourth and fifth graders are dismissed at 12:35. Thank you for making arrangements for your student to be picked up on time. .
Fun and fundraising are also on the calendar for October. Our Halloween Dance will be on Friday, October 13th, 6-8:00pm. Tickets are $8, pre-sale only. Paper order forms were sent home. You can find additional forms in our main office. Only 300 tickets are available -- this event sold out early last year. This is a teacher-sponsored event to raise money for classrooms. The fundraising committee would appreciate any donations of canned Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, root beer, orange soda, and cases of water to sell at the event. Donations can be turned into the office.
Many students, even in elementary school, have access to electronic devices and are regularly exposed to various types of social media. If you would like to learn more about the effects of social media on our children, please join Mrs. Bell and me for our Coffee with the Principals on Monday, October 16th from 6:00-7:00 pm. We will be holding our meeting via Zoom. Our presentation will be in both English and Spanish. A Google form invitation, with space for your questions, will be sent out next week.
Our second fun/ fundraising event is our annual JOG-A-THON! This Home and School Club sponsored event raises money for field trips, assemblies, teacher supply stipends, and much more. Jog-a-thon will be on Friday, October 27th. Grade level start times are staggered. Families and friends are encouraged to come to cheer on their favorite Castlemont Dragon(s) as they run. Each student and staff member receives a FREE Jog-a-thon t-shirt that includes original student artwork on the front. The t-shirt design winner has been chosen and will be announced this Friday.
We look forward to welcoming you to all of our October events!
Yours sincerely,
Kristen Kimoto Prindle, Principal
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