Castlemont Elementary School

School News

Updated Thu, Sep 25th

Hello Castlemont Families,

Can you believe it is almost October?  Yesterday’s morning thunderstorms, A.K.A. “False Fall” has me ready for our next season.  In this next season, we have plenty of great things coming up at Castlemont for both students and our families, but first I would like to give you an update about the latest regarding our districtwide Continual Improvement implementation.

For our students, Continual Improvement means having more voice and involvement in their own learning. Students engage in setting goals, reflecting on the strategies that work for them, and sharing their feedback. 

The first tangible evidence you see of this work is in each classroom’s mission statement.This is our second year of working with mission statements, and every class has created their own. Our next step this year is to keep them “alive” by revisiting them and updating them as needed throughout the year.  In Mrs. Bell and my office, for example, we have a copy of each class’s mission statement, and we use them a reflective tool with students. 

You will also see evidence of “Plus/Deltas” not only in classrooms, but in the meetings and events that you attend at Castlemont.  The plus part of this tool is for each participant to share what went well or what was helpful. The delta portion provides a space to give feedback and suggestions for improvement.  The plusses are uplifting to read, but it’s the deltas that give us the opportunity to grow and improve. 

In the next newsletter, I will share another integral part of our Continual Improvement, the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle.

As far as what’s coming up in the next month, we have quite nice list:

9/27 This Saturday--Garden Familia Work Party 9:00-11:00am

10/4 Charleston Wrap Fundraiser ends

10/6 - 10/10   Conference Week *Minimum Days* -- Dismissal at 12:30/12:35

10/9 Home and School Club Meeting 8:15-9:15pm via Zoom

10/13 No School for Students (Staff PD Day)

10/17 Halloween Dance 6:00-8:00pm

10/23 Erik’s Deli Cafe Dine out Day

10/31 Halloween Parade OR Autumn Leaf Art 8:30-9:00am

11/7 Jog-a-thon

I encourage all families to do two things to help keep informed about school news, activities, and resources:

  1. Follow the Castlemont Instagram page: castlemontelementary

  2. Bookmark and check in on our Home and School Club website: https://sites.google.com/view/castlemont-hsc

I hope you all have a great Friday and a rejuvenating weekend.

Sincerely yours,

Kristen Kimoto Delarosa, Principal

Updated Mon, Sep 29th

Our School Site Council is a representative group of parent/guardians, teachers, and staff members that meets four times a year to review budgetary items, approve our School Safety Plan, and provide input into our Local Control Accountability Plan. 

We are currently looking for three Castlemont parents/guardians to serve as representatives, One of our representatives should be a parent/guardian who can represent the interests of our English Language Learner students. 

  • Absolutely no experience is necessary! 

  • Time Commitment --  One hour 4 times per school year. (One additional meeting is possible)

  • Where do we meet?  You are welcome to join the principal in her office OR join meetings via Zoom. 

  • What time?  All meetings are held from 3:00-4:00 pm, typically on Tuesdays. 

  • What do I need to do next?  Fill out this form and you will be put on the ballot. We will open the online election on September 24th. 

  • Will there be snacks?  If you join Kristen in her office, there will be treats.

Nomination Form Link

Updated Mon, Sep 22nd
Hello Castlemont Parents,

Get your students smiles ready for Fall Picture Day! It will be Monday, September 22nd.

Generations School Photography will send your child's proof via email 2 weeks after picture day. All ordering is done online and they will be shipped to your home address. See flyer below for details.

Thank you

__________________________________________________________

Hola padres de Castlemont,

¡Prepare las sonrisas de sus estudiantes para el día de la fotografía escolar de Primavera! Será el lunes 22 de septiembre.
La fotografía escolar de Generations enviará la prueba de su hijo por correo electrónico 2 semanas después del día de la fotografía. Todos los pedidos se realizan en línea y se enviarán a su domicilio. Consulte el folleto a continuación para ver más detalles.

Gracias

Updated Sat, Sep 6th
Please join us this Wednesday for our annual Back to School Night.  We will have two parent/guardian meeting sessions. Our TK - 2nd grade teachers present first followed by our 3rd - 5th grade teachers. 
5:30-5:55   Parent Meeting #1 in the Multi-Use Room
5:55-6:00   Passing 
6:00-6:25   TK - 2nd Classroom Presentations 
6:00 - 6:25 Parent Meeting #2 in the Multi-Use Room  (during TK-2nd presentations)
6:25 - 6:30 Passing
6:30-6:55   3rd-5th Classroom Presentations
We will present information regarding school events, Art Vistas, our Garden Familia, Home and School Club , and School Site Council during our parent meetings. 
Updated Thu, Sep 4th

Join us this afternoon, Friday, August 22nd for our annual Back to School Family Picnic.  This event is a casual get-together of our families and staff that provides an unstructured time for our students to play and families to meet. This event is free and all are welcome.

Simply bring a blanket or folding chairs out our field from 4:00-6:00 pm. Many families bring a picnic snack or dinner, and we provide free popsicles to all children in attendance. Our Home and School Club will be there with some items to purchase. We hope to see you there!

Updated Tue, Sep 2nd

Hello Castlemont Families,

We can’t wait to see you tomorrow morning for the first day of school!  Gates will open at 8:00 (10 minutes earlier than usual). Please refer back to my message from August 12th for the details of drop-off locations and first day of school business. In addition, here is a map that shows the three entry gate locations.

Please note that all three gates will provide our families with a “red carpet” experience. The Barkwood and Payne Avenue gates will have welcome music and pom pons and are sure to be lively  places. Our Castlemont Avenue gate is our Sensory Friendly Gate where there will be a red carpet, smiles, and quiet welcomes, but no music or pom pons. 

Anyone not able to receive their ParentSquare teacher information message tonight will have access Wednesday morning at each gate. Staff members will be standing at gates with student-teacher lists ready to provide you with this information.  

See you all tomorrow!

Kristen Delarosa

Principal

 

Updated Fri, Aug 22nd

August 7, 2025

Hello Castlemont Families,

Welcome to the 2025-26 school year! We are so excited to be starting the year with all of you. Whether your child is a 5th grader starting their seventh year as a Castlemont Dragon or they will be arriving on August 20th for their first day of school, we have a great year in store for you. Perhaps it sounds immodest, but Castlemont is a special place, and our staff and students are the BEST. 

The following is long, but please give it a careful read…

Classroom Assignments will be available on ParentSquare after 4:00pm on August 19th.

8/13  TK / Kindergarten Roundup

  • 8:30 ~ 11:30 

  • TK and Kindergarten families will receive a letter from our TK/Kindergarten teachers with an appointment time for a short student assessment. If you are unable to attend the appointment, your child will be assessed after school starts. 

  • If you do not receive a letter by August 11th, please give our office a call at                    (408)364-4233. 

8/20   First Day of School 

  • 8:20 -1:30/1:35

  • This is a Wednesday, so we will be on our typical shortened day schedule. 

  • We will have our “red carpets” and welcome music at each of our entry gates. Have your phones ready for the photo op!

  • 8:30am: TK and Kindergarten parents/caretakers are invited to attend an informational welcome meeting with our principals in our Multi-Use room. 

  • Staff will be stationed around campus to help you find your classroom. 

8/22  Annual Back-to-School Family Picnic

  • 4:00-6:00pm

  • We hope you will join us for this informal, old-fashioned picnic.

Bring your own snack or picnic dinner to the Castlemont field. As always, free popsicles will be provided to all children present. (Fingers crossed for fewer geese this year.)

  • Please note that there is no cost for this event! Just come to the field with a blanket or folding chairs and meet other families while our children enjoy some unstructured play time.

8/27  Back-to-School Night

  • 5:30pm - TBD


IMPORTANT NOTE: For the safety of our students, please help us limit potential chaos at drop-off and pick-up times by observing the following:

  • Unless you have a handicap placard, parking lots are for our staff only (there are a lot of us) and not for drop-off or pick-up. Please park at the curb if you are driving and walking your child onto campus. 

Three Morning Drop-Off Locations

Do Not Leave Your Car Unattended or Park In These Zones

  • We have three drop-off areas that are staffed to help unload your children from your vehicle and to keep traffic moving. They are located: 

    • Payne Ave-- near the staff parking lot. (This is a morning drop-off area only. 

    • Barkwood Ave--  near the crosswalk.

    • Castlemont Ave-- parking loop. 

  • Bus Zone

    • Barkwood Ave. between the drop-off area and the corner of Barkwood and Castlemont Ave. NO PARKING in this area, not even for a short time.

  • Crosswalks

    • If you park across the street from school, please walk to the nearest crosswalk to cross the street. It takes just a moment of inattentiveness for an accident to happen, and we are trying to teach our children important safety habits.

 

Two After School Pick-Up Locations

Do Not Leave Your Car Unattended or Park In These Zones

  • We have two vehicle pick-up areas. If you arrive before your student has walked out to meet you, please park elsewhere until they arrive.  The pick-up areas only work safely and efficiently when we are able to load students into cars and keep the line moving. 

    • Barkwood Ave--  near the crosswalk.

    • Castlemont Ave-- parking loop. 

Adults picking up TK-1st grade students typically meet at their classroom door.


Getting Involved-- Volunteering and Community Opportunities at Castlemont

There are many ways to become involved at Castlemont. We need you! Volunteering and attending school-related events are important ways to connect with other families. Here is a list opportunities:

  • Home and School Club

    • Evening meetings via Zoom once a month

    • Fundraising for our classrooms, field trips for each grade level, and monthly schoolwide assemblies

    • In charge of our annual Jogathon and Spring Carnival

    • Sells school spiritwear

    • Volunteer jobs big and small, on and off-campus 

  • ELAC (English Language Advisory Committee)

    • In-person meetings four-five times a year

    • Provides input into our school funding priorities

    • In charge of our annual Día de los Muertos and Día del Niños celebrations

    • Other volunteer opportunities

  • School Site Council

    • We have one parent/adult caregiver position open this year

    • Monthly meetings via Zoom or in-person

    • Provides approval of our school’s Comprehensive Safety Plan

    • Provides input into our school funding priorities

    • Provides approval of our Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP)

  • Library Volunteers

    • A variety of flexible times

    • No prior experience needed

    • Check books in and out

    • Shelving

    • Other library tasks

  • Garden Familia
  • We have a large garden area at Castlemont
  • Family volunteers keep our garden and classroom projects going
  • Regular weekend garden work parties

 

Please bookmark our school website to be connected to our school information:

https://castlemont.campbellusd.org/ 


We are looking forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely yours,

Kristen Kimoto Delarosa

Principal

Updated Wed, Jul 30th

Thank you to all of our amazing students for another great year of Art, Innovation, and Music! 

Check out more details about our last session of the year: bit.ly/cusdaimblog

Updated Wed, Jul 16th

Hello Castlemont Families,

Last Spirit Week of the Year - Let's all Participate! 

Next week June 2nd to 6th is Spirit Week. Please see attachment with Summer Spirit Week daily theme. 

Thank you

_______________________________________

Hola familias de Castlemont,

Última semana del espíritu del año: ¡participemos todos!

La próxima semana, del 2 al 6 de junio, es la Semana del Espíritu. Consulten el archivo adjunto con el tema diario de la Semana del Espíritu de Verano.

Gracias

Updated Wed, May 14th

Castlemont celebrated our third annual Dia de los Niños today with our students and staff. Students enjoyed ice creams and visiting with Mickey, Minnie, and other characters out on our playground. A big thank you to our ELAC parent volunteers for proposing the observation of this special day three years ago.