Dear Yerba Buena Families,
We reached 100 days of school a few weeks ago and I can’t believe we are more than half way through the year. Thank you for the support you have given the staff and me at Yerba Buena. We know how lucky we are to have such a wonderful community.
March 2 is “Read Across America” day. The theme this year is “Serve up a good book.” Celebrate the importance and fun of reading in California by reading a book to your child!
We will be having an assembly on March 3 provided by the Las Virgenes Water District. The title is “The Aqua League and the Drought Dilemma.” The purpose is to teach the importance of water conservation. We are thankful to our local water district for this assembly and for the many other ways they support our schools.
March for Haiti! We will be holding a March for Haiti fundraiser, which will begin with an assembly on March 12. Your child will receive a pledge sheet that day to begin getting pledges from friends and family. Then during the week of March 22, while in PE class, each child will run, jog, march, or walk laps. Each lap is worth $1.00, 10 laps maximum.
This is our chance to give to a country that is in great need of our help.
Our fifth grade students will be attending Outdoor Ed the week of March 15. This is an exciting annual educational experience for our district students, and I know they will have such a good time, they won’t realize how much they are learning.
I hope to see everyone at Yerba Buena’s Spring Fundraiser and Silent Auction on March 20 at the Westlake Yacht Club. I will be auctioning off ‘principal for the day’ and a day at Disneyland with me! RSVP’s are due to the PFA by March 6.
March is Women in History month. We will be having an assembly on March 22 to commemorate a few special women. Why not talk to your children about a special woman in the history of your life? I always talked to my children about my grandmothers and the impact they had on others. One example is my Nana Genevieve. She was the baker and soup maker for a very popular restaurant in the town where I grew up. Everyone knew and loved her. She was not only famous for the food, but for her patience and love for everyone.
March 17 is Crazy Hair Day sponsored by our student council. I am sure we will see many creative hairdos!
Don’t forget about the two minimum days this month. They will be on March 18 and 19.
See you around the campus!
Sincerely,
Christina Desiderio
Principal
YERBA BUENA WELCOMES OUR NEW BUTTERCUP STAFF, STUDENTS AND PARENTS. OUR HOME IS NOW YOUR HOME AND WE KNOW YOU WILL LOVE OUR NEW SCHOOL!
Yerba Buena Elementary School, located in Agoura Hills, California, is one of sixteen schools in the Las Virgenes Unified School District. The district, located in the western end of Los Angeles County, serves approximately 11,600 students. At Yerba Buena, we provide students opportunities to develop their potential intellectually, socially and emotionally. We believe that our public school exists to provide an effective educational program and to offer all students opportunities to develop their capabilities to the maximum of their potential so that they may act constructively as contributing citizens in our changing society. Yerba Buena Elementary School has a strong academic foundation, a parent community that is interested and is actively involved, a faculty professionally skilled and personally committed to meeting the needs of students and a student body motivated to perform well.
Through our RtI model (Response to Intervention) we are implementing a new character development program called
Character Counts! This program teaches that the character and conduct of our youth reflects the character and conduct of society; therefore, every adult has the responsibility to teach and model the core ethical values (trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship), and every social institution has the responsibility to promote the develop of good character.
We have also implemented a new system of discipline procedures from the curriculum of
Second Steps. This includes a stronger dress code and behavior referral form which includes parent notification of any incident that may have happened on the playground and a student action plan to help students with a plan on how to avoid future breaking of school rules.
At Yerba Buena, the elementary school day begins at 8:05 a.m. with students lined up on the school playground (basketball area) with their class. The playground is supervised from 7:50 a.m. - 8:05 a.m. so plan ahead to avoid traffic. Please follow the drop-off and pick-up procedures of following the road slowly around the center circle and pull all the way up to the top of the driveway. Students need to be ready to exit the car as soon as you stop. Drivers are asked to NOT leave their car at any time and to proceed carefully around the circle and out the drive through. IF YOU NEED TO OPEN YOUR CAR TRUNK or you need more time to say good-bye to your child, please turn to the right of the upper drive area and pull behind the staff parking spaces along the side of the YB Multi-purpose Room. This will assist us in keeping the drive-through moving without any stoppage. Remember, start out earlier, carpool, walk to school, and make sure that you make plans with your kids prior to coming through the carpool line. Please be patient and courteous to each other and always watch out for children!
As you browse our web site, you will find links to pages that will provide you with information about our school, the calendar and school hours, our Parent Faculty Association (PFA), School Accountability Report Card and specific classroom activities and lessons.
ABSENCES
If your child is absent, you must call the office (818-889-0040) to report his/her absence on the day of the absence and/or follow up with an absence note to the teacher on the day your child returns to school. Students are deemed truant (in violation of compulsory attendance law) if they have three or more unexcused absences and/or tardies (30 minutes or more in duration) within one school year. (Education Code Section 48260).
TARDIES
It is very important that all students arrive to school on time. Please make sure if you drive your child to school, to drop him/her off no later than 8:04 A.M. If your child is walking, be sure they leave on time. A late student (after 8:05 A.M.) must come into the office to get a late pass.
EARLY ARRIVALS
Please remember your child may not come to school before 7:50 A.M. daily. Supervision begins at that time.
LATE PICK UPS
Be sure to pick up your child on time. You have the option of either signing your child(ren) up with the YMCA or the 28 Minute Club.
EARLY PICK UPS
If you will be signing your child out early one day, be sure to write a note to the teacher telling him/her what time to send your child to the office to meet you.
PARKING LOT
Parking in the parking lot is for the YB staff, district personnel and parent volunteers. Please do not park next to the red curb as this is the emergency zone.
FORGOTTEN LUNCHES/HOMEWORK
If your child leaves his/her lunch at home, you are welcome to bring it to the office. Please let your child know that he/she is always welcome to come to the office to pick up their lunch or call home for a lunch. Your child's homework is his/her responsibility. Please do not bring forgotten homework to the office; the student should bring it to school the following day.
MORNING LINES
Students are requested to assemble on the blacktop playground (within the basketball area square in the center of the playground). Classroom numbers are painted on the blacktop indicating where your child should be lined up. Room numbers are from kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth and fifth, starting at the East side, closest to the YMCA Day Care, to the West side, closest to the Great Wall of YB). Staff is on duty to assist you. After teachers pick up their students, parents are invited to begin moving towards the front entrance of the school. Parents: please remember not to park in marked staff parking spaces.
TRAFFIC RULES
To drop off and pick up students, parents are to enter the Oaks drive through and pull all the way up to the end of the parkway.
DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAR in this area unattended at any time. For those parents who need to exit their car to open up their car trunks or to assist students in and out of cars, please continue out of the drop-off area and turn to the right of the drive-through into the parking lot to the right side of the MPR. This will assist us in keeping the FLOW of cars moving through the regular drop-off area. Please be mindful of students crossing by the bridge and be alert at all times for the safety of our students! Of course, students and parents are encouraged to carpool and/or walk and bike to school.
WE WOULD VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOUR COOPERATION WITH OUR RULES: IT REALLY DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE! THANK YOU.
Visit all of the schools at the award winning Las Virgenes Unified School District.
