Montezuma Creek Elementary School

Thanks to all parents, guardians and family members who attended our Back to School Night last night. It was great to visit with families. If you were unable to attend we will having College and Career Readiness Day during the afternoon/evening of September 14th. This will be a time to meet with teachers about student progress and to do a make and take with your student. We will share more details as we get closer to the date. Parents who did not attend back to school night can pick up a backpack with school supplies for their child from the office.

Dear Parent(s) and Stakeholders, The San Juan School District Board of Education members are seeking information to help best serve its patrons. As a consequence of the Covid19 Pandemic, it was necessary to suspend the practice of rotating board meeting locations from school to school within the county and hold them in one location (the Boardroom at the District Office in Blanding) and broadcast them virtually to parents and stakeholders. A modern, efficient broadcast system has been purchased and installed in the Board Room in the District Office in Blanding. This system was purchased using ESSER Care funds to help facilitate effective public participation into the virtual board meetings. A rise in participation of patrons resulted. In the past five months, the lowest number of viewers has been 60 with the highest being over a 100. These numbers are substantially higher than participation numbers in meetings prior to the Pandemic. Now with the Pandemic subsiding to some degree, the Board of Education is seeking some input regarding the best way to provide stakeholder access to board meetings in the future. Should board meetings return to a rotation of in-person meetings at schools where broadcasting effectiveness is less than ideal due to many factors, or should board meetings remain in the Board Room in Blanding and be broadcasted virtually to patrons utilizing the modern, effective system? The Board of Education is asking you to provide your input into the decision by completing the attached survey. Thank you so much for your valuable time. Ron Nielson Superintendent of Schools https://sanjuandistrict.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6r4WQRlfoBNHZzM

The office will be open for in person registration from 9 am to 2 pm Monday - Thursday, this week. Please come in and get your student(s) registered for school. School starts August 18th at 8:25 am You can still do online registration with the link below. Call 435-678-1261, if you need assistance. Link to Registration https://aspire.sjsd.org/Students/Register/Start Link to Registration Video https://youtu.be/C3m038GJeC4

We will begin face to face registration on Monday, August 8th. The office staff will be available to help parents and guardians register their students from 9 am to 2 pm. If your child is new to San Juan School District please bring a birth certificate and immunization records.

Attention SJSD Parents, Students, and Stakeholders, On Monday August 15th, all San Juan School District schools and district office will be closed all day. SJSD staff will be attending a valuable training day to help them be ready to kick off another successful year. The focus of this training day will be to unite our district staff into one strong team and to remind teachers/staff of the critical role they each play in positively shaping the lives of our youth. I appreciate your patience and understanding and apologize for any inconvenience caused by this change. Schools will reopen on Tuesday August 16th, and we look forward to seeing you then. Sincerely, Superintendent Ron Nielson

Here are the links to register your student for school. If you have questions, please watch the video link below. If you need further assistance, please call 435-678-1261. Link to Registration https://aspire.sjsd.org/Students/Register/Start Link to Registration Video https://youtu.be/C3m038GJeC4

Montezuma Creek Elementary School Montezuma Creek, UT 84534 Dear Student(s) and Families, Montezuma Creek Elementary school is expecting all students to attend school daily in person. School starts Thursday, August 18, at 8:25 am! Good attendance improves learning outcomes. So please make sure that your student is here on time daily to get the most out of each day of learning. Here is some important information: • Our entire campus will be closed on August 15th as all staff will be at a district training. • Registration may be accomplished online starting August 1st. If you need assistance, call 435.678.1261. Parents who have an aspire account will receive an email with the registration link. The Aspire Registration link will also be posted August 1st on the school website and on our facebook page. •We are hosting on campus Registration August 8-11, from 9 am-2 pm. • If you need to meet with the counselor, principal, and/or assistant principal as part of Registration, please visit campus on August 10-11. • We encourage all families to read and discuss the contents of the Handbook, especially the Behavior Expectations prior to school starting on August 18, at 8:20 am. Parent handbook is available on our school website and a paper copy can be picked up at registration Aug 8- 11th. • School Community Council nominations are needed. Interested parents should call 435-678-1261 or sign-up at Registration. Voting will occur during CCR Day on September 14th. More information will be sent out about this. • It is entirely possible that the Navajo Nation will continue with a mask mandate. We will continue to inform families about this mandate via our website. • Be sure you download San Juan Apptegy wherever you get your apps, if you have not already, so you can get alerts and updates. Go to your phone’s play store and type in San Juan Apptegy to find the free app. Reading is an essential part of learning. It is important for families to set up expectations about reading outside of school. We are expecting students to spend 10 to 30 minutes reading per night. This can be done individually, as a family, or with a partner. We want to be partners with parents in helping our students to learn all that is possible! You can call and talk with the principal or counselor and if needed we can set up a time for a face to face meeting. Please reach out with questions. We are excited to have you as part of our learning community. Sincerely, Anita Jacobsen, Principal ajacobsen@sjsd.org 435.678.1822

Online registration for Pre-K - 6th grade at Montezuma Creek Elementary will begin August 1st. A registration link will be posted on the school website and on the school facebook page. Parents needing help with registration August 1st - August 5th can call 435-678-1261. For parents wanting to register in person, registration will be August 8th - August 11th

I am looking for several part-time (20 hours per week) math mentors. These hours would be from 11 am to 3 pm daily. The mentors would be working with individuals or small groups of students in grades 4th - 6th. Please call or email to get more information.

I am looking for 3 paraeducators. Please call or stop in to find out more information about these positions.

Parents of students who will be in preschool or kindergarten in the fall. Sign your kids up for the Waterford Upstart program. There is a link in the flyer to get more information. This a great opportunity for your child to lear The program builds academic skills and routines so your child is ready to be confident and successful at school. On average, graduates enter kindergarten reading at almost a first-grade level.

Shoe Drive! Free shoes for children Pre-K to 2nd Grade Only. Saturday June 18, 2022 @11AM Whitehorse High School Parking Lot First come, first serve! Face-Masks Required

We have moved to lockout as a precaution from law enforcement due to a safety concern in the community. We are safe inside of our building. We will let you know when we are back off lockdown. We have not further information at this time. Please do not call the office and tie up the line.

A strategy to help kids remember what they read The best way to teach kids is to use real books. Read a short section aloud. Cover what you read with your hand. Think aloud as you remember what you read. Retell what you just read. Here is a link to the full article: https://www.themeasuredmom.com/reading-comprehension-strategy-help-kids-remember-read/

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! Thank you to our teachers and staff for helping make this year successful. Thank your teacher(s) today!

Attention Parents: We need your help. We are testing Pre-K to 6th grade students during May. This testing gives us information that will guide instructional decisions as we plan for next year. Please make sure that your students are here to do their best on their tests. These tests take time and we need your students here every day. Any student who misses a test due to illness will be tested when they return. Our testing window is May 2nd - May 20th for all grades.

MOTIVATING STRUGGLING READERS What is this secret? It’s simple really. And it’s something to be applied to all kinds of learners, not just struggling readers. This one simple secret is choice. CHOICE IN WHAT THEY READ There are 4 simple resources that help me provide choice for struggling readers. 1. Their interests. This is where I always start. People are naturally going to stick with things longer if there’s an interest. It’s the same with struggling readers. I ask myself questions like: What does the child like to do? What subject interests him the most? What hobbies does he have? 2. Use Online reviews & book lists to help find quality books that your struggling reader may be interested in. 3. Check out books from the library for your struggling reader so that your struggling reader can have options at no cost to you. 4.Give your struggling reader a “sneak peek” by reading the first part of the book out loud. This can do two things: 1- pique interest and 2- introduce the characters, setting, and typically a problem. If he’s interested from the intro, he can pick up where you left off. I really liked this article. If you would like to read the whole article, use the link below. https://thisreadingmama.com/mo...

Parents, we are concerned about the video game Huggy Wuggy. Numerous students at our school are viewing these violent videos that were created for adults, not for children. "The main character can be easily viewed on YouTube channels and is a teddy bear with razor-sharp teeth that sings worrying songs about hugging and killing." 1 "The results of the studies show that on-screen violence can cause children to: become “immune” or numb to the horror of violence, gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems, and/or start to imitate the violence they observe." 2 Please monitor your child's screen time and find appropriate activities for them to participate in. Students are bringing stuffed animals from home to represent Huggy Wuggy. Toys are not allowed at school because they distract from learning. Please check your student's backpack and make sure that toys and stuffed animals are not coming to school. Toys and stuffed animals will be taken by staff members when seen. Parents can come to pick them up from the principal. Thanks, Anita Jacobsen Montezuma Creek Elementary Links to articles quoted: 1-https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2022/04/12/the-huggy-wuggy-youtube-panic-explained/?sh=581feb0336be 2-https://www.lifespan.org/lifespan-living/screens-violence-and-impact-children#:~:text=The%20results%20of%20the%20studies,imitate%20the%20violence%20they%20observe

​Why You Should Still Read Aloud to Your Struggling Readers 1. It shows them that the struggle to learn to read is worth it. 2. It improves their vocabulary. 3. It improves comprehension (understanding). 4. It helps develop background knowledge. 5. It’s fun. ​Here is the link to the full article. https://www.themeasuredmom.com...

Parents at MZC we putting a major focus on reading improvement from now until the end of the year. Over the next 6 weeks I am going to share a strategy each week for parents to their help struggling readers with common reading challenges. Please go to the link below to see an article about how to teach your child to visualize a story. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1x-Stto6_jOhEdaIhMg7PKlVx4Iaw0U7wbVgd2Nsx8-I/edit?usp=sharing