Welcome to the beautiful month of March where the rains grace us with their presence in providing our spring foliage with much needed nourishment.  It’s also a big month for sports where college basketball competes in March Madness and our Padres take the field for another great season of baseball.

I’d like to take this time to thank all the parents, guardians, families and friends who are able to attend our Monday morning assemblies.  The assemblies are a time to reflect on the work we have done in academics and in citizenship.  Our spirit of togetherness was tested at the assembly on February 5 which was the day after the tragic accident of a neighborhood friend occurred on the school grounds.  It was a difficult assembly to get through as there were many sad hearts that day.  Being together as a learning community made the emotional part of the day a bit easier.  For this I want to thank all of you for your warm smiles, understanding and supportive feedback.  It takes a community to build a strong foundation of values, mutual respect and integrity.  Sandburg continues to be an outstanding place to learn because of our students, staff and community.  It is a pleasure to come to work every day.

Angela Halpin and Kari Abulhosn are working very hard to pull together our next Beautification Day on Saturday, April 21.  Mrs. Halpin has sent home project needs flyers and has received awesome feedback from many of you.  Thank you in advance to those who have donated your time and expertise to the day.  We will be sharing the updates on the Beautification Day with you on the big bulletin board and white board in the front breezeway entrance to the school.  Watch for details of the day.  Please remember to mark your calendars for Saturday, April 21.

Thank you to the Dads who have shared their most valuable time with the students during recess and lunch times.  Your presence is felt by the students and appreciated by the staff.  It’s great to have the male role models out on the playground – Thank you again and we look forward to your continued support!

Reading Night is coming up on March 13 – the events of the evening include: feasting on In and Out Burgers (pre-purchase tickets from PTA), browsing at the Book Fair, a short PTA meeting and “Bedtime Stories” in the auditorium.  Bedtime Stories requires everyone who attends to wear pajamas (yes, even the adults) and bring blankets, pillows, stuffed animals and books.  We will all gather in the auditorium for a time of reading with the staff and families.  After the Bedtime Stories are finished there will be milk and cookies served to those who participated in the pajama story telling event.  It is a great night that we hope all will attend.  The Book Fair the PTA so graciously sponsors each year will be open to purchase books that night.  Flyers announcing the event will be sent home soon!

We are facing another tough year of budget cuts.  Next year we will not have the services of our Vice Principal, as that position has been cut from the school budget.  We have had to rethink and redirect the dollars we do have to compensate for the loss of that position.  I will be holding a Community Budget Meeting in the near future to share the plan with you.  We will also be sharing some ideas and actions that some of our parents have taken on to ensure we can get Sandburg into the 21^st century in technology and instruction.  We want our school to continue to be the best of the best in San Diego Unified.  Please be looking for the announcement flyer.

Please be safe, happy and healthy!