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August 2021

Dear Newmark School Parents/Guardians:

On behalf of the staff at Newmark Elementary, we are happy to welcome you to the 2021-2022 school year. It was a long year of Distance Learning, and we are excited to be back in person! There have been many safety changes to help support a clean and safe learning environment. Examples of some of the changes include the following:

Sanitization of high touch areas (door handles, light switches, railings, etc.).

Use of air scrubbers in each classroom and office space to provide hospital-grade air quality.
Use of electrostatic machines to sanitize hard surfaces.
Use of masks by all students and staff.
Hand sanitizing units in all classrooms and offices.
Water fountains have an added water bottle filling option now.
Additional staff to provide supervision and support.

In addition to the curriculum, Scholars will also be receiving some exciting materials during the first two weeks of school including:

A new backpack for every single student.
School supplies to keep at home and use for homework including: 1 spiral notebook, 12 pencils, 4 pens, 12 colored pencils, 24 crayons, 2 erasers, 1 dry erase board, 4 dry erase markers, and 1 dry eraser.
AVID Supplies to use in school including: AVID Agenda or Calendar, Binder or Nicky Folder, spiral notebook, pencils, pens, highlighters, erasers, pencil pouches, and crayons or colored pencils.
5 cloth face coverings for those who did not receive face coverings during Summer School.

Newmark is a Wellness School that provides many exclusive benefits for your scholar(s) including:

Full-Time Counselor
Daily Social Emotional lessons
Restorative Justice Practices including community circles, restorative conversations, and Positive Behavior Implementation and Supports (PBiS).
Clothes Closet- with shoes/socks, bottoms/under clothes, tops, and sweaters.
Dental Assistance- screenings and sealants provided during school hours.
Operation School Bell- monthly visits to Wal-Mart with selected students to choose an outfit, backpack, and hygiene kit.
Santa Claus, Incorporated- provide support to families during the Winter holiday season.
IEHP Health Support- Personnel available to support you sign up for IEHP and coordinate services.
Social Worker
Victor Community Counseling- wrap-around counseling provided during school hours.
HEART Therapist
Bringing Hope to Saturdays (Saturday School) for enrichment and attendance recovery.
Sunrise Before School program 7:15 a.m. – 8:50 a.m.; CAPS Afterschool Program 1:00/3:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Hazel Health- provides FREE medical visits for students DURING school hours.

We are looking forward to a productive partnership with you to ensure our scholars can achieve their highest potential. We recognize that in order to be successful in school, our children need support from both the school and home. We know a strong partnership with you will make a great difference in your child’s education. As partners, we share the responsibility for our scholar’s success and want you to know that we will do our very best to carry out our responsibilities. We ask that you guide and support your child’s learning by ensuring that he/she:

Attends school daily and arrives on time, ready for the day’s learning experience.
Reviewing their AVID Agenda/Calendar and homework with an adult and obtain a signature.
Completes all homework and classroom assignments given by educators.
Reads daily to develop a love for reading and to improve literacy skills.
Informs you if he/she needs additional support in any area or subject.
Knows that you expect him or her to succeed in school and graduate college/career-prepared.
Follow Expectations by Location and the 16 Classroom Survival Skills of PBiS.

Our staff strives to provide you with excellent customer service. We have 17 Classroom Educators, 1 Preschool educator, 1 Support Educator, 1 RSP Educator, 1 PE Educator, 1 Instrumental Music Educator, 1 Choir Educator, 3 Resident Guest Educators, 1 Counselor, 1 Speech Pathologist, 1 School Psychologist, 1 Registered Nurse, 1 RSP Aide, 3 SDC Aides, 2 Preschool Aides, 1 Bilingual Secretary, 1 Bilingual Clerk, 1 Bilingual Health Aide, 1 Library Assistant, 1 Micro-Computer Specialist, 2 Custodians, 4 Recreational Aides, 3 Cafeteria staff members, 3 Sunrise Staff Members, 7 CAPS Staff Members, and 1 Administrator. We are a strong team that is only made stronger with your support.

Our Kindergarten program will be half day (8:50 a.m.—12:10 p.m.) for the first trimester (August 2 to November 5, 2021). During the first trimester, Kindergarten scholars can attend CAPS after school and can be dropped off at 3:30 p.m. to participate. Kindergarten will be a full day program (8:50 a.m.—3:30 p.m.) during the second and third trimester (November 8, 2021 to June2, 2022). Scholars will continue to be eligible to participate in CAPS during the second and third trimesters.

All Scholars in grades TK through 6th will utilize organizational materials (binders and Nicky folders), take 3-Column notes, and have an agenda or calendar as part of our AVID program. It is the expectation that scholars grades TK-2 bring their Nicky folder back and forth to school daily and obtain a parent signature, at least weekly, in their AVID Calendar. Scholars in grades 3-6 will carry their AVID binder back and forth to school daily and obtain a daily parent signature in their AVID Agenda.

Regular attendance is critical to your child(ren)’s success. We have incentives for individual scholars and classrooms to help promote good attendance. Scholars with perfect attendance (no tardies, no absences, and no early dismissals) are eligible to receive additional incentives. There are interventions at the school level when there are attendance concerns: truancy letters (first and second notification) and School Attendance Review Team (SART). If you need support with your child(ren)’s attendance, please contact the school’s Counselor. The San Bernardino City Unified School District requires all schools to refer scholars to a District meeting at Youth Services when a scholar accumulates 10 unexcused or 15 excused absences. This meeting, called the School Attendance Review Board (SARB), will require parents to sign an attendance contract.

We offer an enriching before and after school program. The before school program is called Sunrise and the afterschool program is called CAPS. These can be very popular programs that have a waiting list—applications are available online at https://www.sbcusd.com/district_offices/student_services/caps.

We offer many opportunities for parents and families to be involved in the education of their child as well as help make important decisions about our school. We have three parent advisory groups on our campus: School Site Council (SSC), English Learners Advisory Committee (ELAC), and African American Parent Advisory Council (AAPAC). ELAC and AAPAC look at our scholar groups to determine actions and services to meet their needs. ELAC and AAPAC advise our SSC. As a school wide Title I school, our SSC is the parent council that approves the federal Title I budget and the site’s School Plan for Student Achievement. In addition to the parent groups, we host monthly parent workshops. Finally, we will also host exciting events such as Math and Reading Night, AVID Night, Book Fairs, and much more! We are excited to share in the fun with you this year!

We are excited about the construction that was completed during the 2019-2021 school years to provide a single point of entry for visitors to our school. Our new office entrance has a doorbell for you ring. After ringing the doorbell, an office staff member will speak with you through the speaker. When you hear a “click” sound, the door has been unlocked for you to enter.

For the safety of our scholars, our school is a closed campus before, during, and after school hours. Scholars may begin arriving to school at 8:30 a.m. The staff will close the front gates at 8:50 a.m. All scholars arriving after 8:50 a.m. will need to enter the campus through the main office. Scholars are marked tardy if not in their classroom at or before the 8:50 a.m. bell. Parents/Guardians must bring a photo ID with you each time that you come to the front office. Entry through any one of our gates by visitors, volunteers, parents/guardians, non-personnel, etc. is not permitted.

If you have questions or would like to speak with the school counselor, support staff, or administrator, please visit or call our office to make an appointment. We have dedicated time to meet with parents in order to protect our instructional time. We thank you for your support, in advance, and look forward to meeting you.

Sincerely,

Kimbre Sargent, M.Ed.

Principal