The campus looks beautiful!  Thanks to the many family and community members who joined us for our first Sandburg Beautification Day on September 16. It was awesome to see so many people using their creative gardening talents to spruce up the school grounds. Of course it is an on-going task and we will continue to put forth our best group effort in keeping our learning environment neat and clean. It takes a village to create a beautiful place for all to enjoy. Thank you!!

Speaking of our Sandburg village . . . have you joined PTA yet? I know we can be the best PTA organization in the district but we need your membership to help us attain that goal. Please join today! We also have our new Dad’s Club being formed . . . all interested dads and single mom’s are welcome to join. If you did not receive a flyer at our Back to School Night please feel free to contact Paris Brown, 5th grade teacher. Mr. Brown is the contact person for our new club – Thank you, Mr. Brown! We also have two shared decision making groups on campus. One is called SGT (Site Governance Team), this elected group works with general site issues of concern. At SGT there could be discussions about operational issues, playground safety, school safety issues, instructional goals and objectives, etc.. The other group is called the SSC (School Site Council). This group is a smaller group of elected members who oversee the expenditures of state and federal categorical dollars. School budgets are discussed at both meetings. The meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of every month (except Dec. and June) at 7:15 (SGT) and *7:35 (SSC) (*estimated time – SSC immediately follows SGT) in our staff lounge. Both meetings are open to the public and we encourage all Sandburg parent/guardians to attend. We will be establishing an ELAC (English Learner Advisory Committee) this year as well. This committee is formed by an election process. The committee focuses on the needs of our second language learners. This year we must form a committee, elect officers and decided if we wish to combine the committee with our SSC committee. Be looking for more information to come your way. We need strong parent/guardian involvement – your voice matters!

We have a few gentle reminders to ensure the continued safety of all our students. As much as I love dogs (I have two big, wonderful and loving dogs of my own.) it is against school policy to bring dogs on school grounds. “School grounds” are considered the areas from the city street to the school buildings that exist behind the fences. This policy also holds true for dogs on leashes – no dogs are allowed. It just takes one incident of a dog biting someone to activate a lawsuit. Another safety issue we are facing is the speeding of cars on Avenida del Gato. We have had several instances where people have dropped off/picked up their children and proceeded to drive off in high speed. We have got to help each other out by obeying the traffic laws in a school zone. Please slow down! We do not want an accident involving any of our precious children due to adults not paying full attention while behind the wheel. By working together we will make a difference!

Our enrollment at the school has dropped by approximately 25 children. The final enrollment date is the last Friday in September. It will be at that time that we re-look at our classes with a possibility of having to reorganize our classes. Reorganization is not something the staff and I like to part take in however the decision to restructure the classes is in the hands of the district. It’s all about funding. If your child is affected by the reorganization you will be notified of the change. We will make every effort to make the transition as smooth as possible. We appreciate your understanding if we have to activate this process. More information will follow.

Stay safe and enjoy the awesome fall San Diego weather, it’s Simply the Best!