Principal's Message

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.

All stakeholders at Yerba Buena work together to ensure the success of all students. There are strong collaborative efforts between the staff, families and the community. Yerba Buena depends on our families to see that children come to school every day ready to learn; families and the community depend on Yerba Buena to take the primary role in ensuring that students achieve high educational standards and provide a safe and health school environment; families and schools depend on community partners to provide opportunities and accessible supports and services to meet students' basic needs and to foster their growth and development. Our overriding philosophy is that educational success, physical health, emotional support, and family and community strength is inseparable.

Our district/school teams continue to maintain our school grounds and classrooms so that our Yerba Buena School continues to be clean, safe, inviting and appealing to our families and our community. Thanks to the City of Westlake Village for the completion of our grass softball and soccer field and to the City of Agoura Hills for the support of the entrance areas into Yerba Buena. We also thank the four cities of Hidden Hills, Calabasas, Agoura Hills and Westlake for their continuing and ongoing financial support of our District technology programs!

This year 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 development of good character. October's pillars of character will focus on RESPONSIBILITY.
There are twelve concepts of responsibility: Be accountable. Exercise self-control. Plan and set goals. Choose positive attitudes. Do your duty. Be self-reliant. Pursue excellence. Be proactive. Be persistent. Be reflective. Set a good example. Be morally autonomous. We also will be implementing 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 happen 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!

I look forward to developing and promoting a strong relationship between home and school. Please check our Web site for upcoming calendar dates of special events and performances that will be happening throughout the school year. If you have any problems navigating through our Web site, I recommend you use Fire Fox as your Web Browser.

I'm looking forward to a spectacular and wonderful school year! Please support our PFA and thanks for being a member of our Yerba Buena family.

-Brent A. Noyes
Principal

Reminders

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
We are having a problem with some parents picking their children up late from school. 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 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.

Latest News: Updated 10/28/08

New & Special Menu Items available in our cafeteria
We have several new menu items available for students to try. They include a pita pocket stuffed with turkey and lettuce; pizza crust with cheese and marinara sauce; turkey roasted and carved in our central kitchen; rice topped with ground beef and garnished with cheese; and a personal cheese pizza from Ameci. Please visit the lunch menu page of our Web site for this week's menus, or visit the LVUSD Child Nutrition Department Document Library for links to the current month's menu.

Crows are eating our students' lunches! Please consider packing your child's lunch in a lunch box or sturdy fabric bag instead of using a brown paper bag. We have some very clever birds who are pulling the paper sacks out of unzipped backpacks and pecking right through them to take the food inside. If you must use a paper bag for your student's lunch, please remind him/her to leave it inside the backpack and to make sure the backpack is zipped. Thank you.

SUN PROTECTION: Don't forget to help your child(ren) to be safe from harmful sun exposure (especially during these hot temperature months). Kids are encouraged to wear baseball type caps, wear sunglasses and to use appropriate sun screen, whenever participating in outside activities. It is also helpful for kids to bring water bottles and to keep hydrated throughout the day.

All Calls

November 17, 2008
Hello, YB Parents and staff members, this is Mr. Noyes calling.  Minimum days with 12:15 pick-up today and all this week for grades 1-5.  Gift Wrap pick-up is ready by 12:15 today.  Stop by our Book Fair any day before 3:00 P.M. Monday through Thursday, and Friday before 10:30 A.M.  Don't forget it's Winner's Wednesday on November 19th...New York Pizza from Winner's, 10:00 A.M. - 10:00 P.M.  A flier is posted on our Yerbabuenaelementary.org website.  Parent Ed. classes on the Wonders of the Web (free) where you learn how to use e-mail, surf the net, and how to access our YB website, we're offering a class just for you.  There will be a night class offered on Wednesday, November 19th at 7:00 P.M. in the YB library or Thursday, November 20th at 8:15 A.M. in the YB library.  Please call our YB office, (818) 889-0040 to reserve a seat.  BAND parent information meeting will be held on Thursday at recess, 10:00 A.M. for 4th and 5th grade parents.  This Friday, don't forget that it's WALK TO SCHOOL with the Mayor of Agoura Hills followed by our spirit rally, a PFA meeting at 8:15 and a 10:00 A.M. celebration of the City of Agoura Hills purchasing the Open Space at the end of Reyes Adobe Road.  There's lots happening here at YB.  Go Bobcats!  Good-bye.

November 13, 2008
Hello, Yerba Buena parents and staff members...this is Mr. Noyes calling.  Next week, starting on Monday, November 17 through Friday, November 21, YB is having our Parent-Teacher conferences.  This is a reminder that all next week we will be having minimum days with 12:15 being dismissal time (including Wednesday).  It's important to make arrangements for your kids to be picked up on time and that they know who will be coming to pick them up.  A brief lunch period will be offererd before dismissal time so students can buy in the cafeteria, bring lunch or go home for lunch on those days.  Also, please don't forget to stop by our Multipurpose Room and visit our Book Fair Safari from 8:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. (Monday - Thursday) and 8:00 - 10:30 on Friday.  What a great opportunity to pick up some great reading books and terrific gift items, too.  Come on into the MPR and cruise with the other wild animals, too!  Last, but not least, on Friday, November 21 we're Walking To School with the Mayor of Agoura Hills...we need walkers and bike riders to fill up that street and our Mayor will be walking with ALL of our YB students, parents and staff members.  Here's your chance to bend the mayor's ear about anything you want to talk about!  Good-bye.

October 21, 2008
Hello, YB Parents, students and staff members, this is Mr. Noyes calling. Please don't forget YB's Halloween carnival this Saturday, October 25th from 4:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. Join the other goblins, ghosts, monsters and witches as they screech, scream and rattle all the other Halloween creatures in our spooky house (otherwise known at YB's MPR). Donation drop off times for the carnival will be Thursday and Friday, 11:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. and the very terrifying committee members will be there to receive items to place in the MPR until the carnival. We also have a few more volunteer spots to fill between 6:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. during the carnival so shout out those boos and come have some fun while working the fair. Judges will be looking for the best costume, the funiest and scariest one too so everybody, dress up, it's Halloween!!!! Show your YB scary side...and fly on in for our YB Harvest Festival and carnival. Good-bye.

October 16, 2008
Good afternoon, YB Parents and Staff Members, this is Mr. Noyes calling. YB's Sally Foster Giftwrap Fundraiser is now extended through October 24th! With two ways to purchase products, it is now easier to raise funds for our school! Purchase through the catalogue and return the packet with your student to school by October 24th or go online to SallyFoster.com and have your products shipped to your front door! Remember, YB's identification number is 72371 and YB receives 50% profit. Check your Friday packet for more information and prize incentives including a 4 pack of Clipper Tickets! Thank you and good-bye.

October 8, 2008
Hello, YB Parents, Students and Staff members, this is Mr. Noyes calling. Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 8 is Walk to School Day and I'm calling to encourage more adults and children to walk and bike to school together to raise awareness about: the importance of teaching children safe walking and bicycling behaviors, such as how to cross streets, and how to select safe routes to school. Walking is also easy and enjoyable. It's a great time when adults and children can spend healthy, active time together doing the world's simplest exercise...walking. Walk to School Day is important for all of us to advocate for more crosswalks, sidewalks, crossing guards and better driver behavior. So let's join together and avoid the traffic and enjoy walking together, tomorrow.
Please don't also forget that on Thursday and Friday there is no school due to Fall Recess and Staff Development Day. Thanks for your continued help and support with our PFA's Sally Foster Gift Wrap Sale. This fundraiser assists us in being able to provide for our reading aides in first grade, P.E., Music and Computer facilitators and extra helpers for recess and noon duty supervision. Thanks for making YB#1. Good-bye.

September 25, 2008
Hello, YB Parents and Staff Members, this is Mr. Noyes calling. This important message is to remind students, staff members and parents that Monday, September 29th is a regular school day. We need to have everyone at school so that our school and district doesn't lose attendance monies from the State. On the next day, Tuesday, September 30th, is our Fall Recess or school holiday. So there's school on Monday and no school on Tuesday. This message is being sent via phone and we will also be publishing these kinds of messages on our yerbabuenaelementary.org Web site. If you're having any problem accessing our school's Web site, try using Firefox as your browser system. Thank you and see you all on Monday. Good-bye.