Hello Carnelian Cardinal Families!

Thank you for sharing your children with us - this has been a SUPER start to the 26-27 school year! You have probably seen many of our Superhero Staff around campus using their Educator Superpowers as we start the school year making sure that each student knows they Belong here! Now that we are off and running, our students are taking reading and math assessments, like I-Ready Inform (previously I-Ready Diagnostic) and OG (Phonics & Reading) assessments so that we can meet each Cardinal student where they are at and move them forward with their academic achievement. Our students are also learning and remembering what it means to do things "The Cardinal Way" and we are using our PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) to acknowledge the positive choices our Cardinals are making, as well as implementing interventions and corrections for students in need of more support with behavior. Mrs. Ellis, our Library Media Clerk, will be kicking off our reading incentive program at our September Flag Assembly! Reading is our Superpower! We will be measuring our students' independent reading in multiple ways besides AR, though AR will still be a tool students can use to keep track of their reading progress! Stay tuned for more information to go home after our September Flag Assembly!

We have a new counselor this school year, Ms. Adali Quinonez, and she has visited many classrooms to introduce herself. She has enjoyed spending time out on the playground and at the lunch tables getting to know our students and letting them know they have another positive, trusted adult on campus who is here to help! Not only has Ms. Quinonez joined our team of Carnelian Superhero Staff, but we also have a new attendance clerk, Mrs. Tracy Russell and a new LVN in the health office, Ms. Celeste Basua. Our Teaching Assistant Principal, Mrs. Diana Minucci, can be found teaching a CHAMPS preschool class in the morning, doing CHAMPS coordinating and intakes in the afternoon and of course, on Fridays, we see her everywhere as she supports our school in her administrative role. All staff, including new and veteran, are helping our Cardinal students be their best selves through character education as we continue to focus on one character trait a month using Character Strong.

Right now, we are in the middle of our Kindness Kickoff and as we head into the month of September, our Cardinals will focus on a new character trait; Respect. As students learn about each trait, there is a color attached to the trait that students can wear on Wednesday Spirit Days! The color for Respect is Yellow, so students can wear Yellow on Wednesdays in September. Student Senate will visit classrooms on Wednesdays and find out which classes have the highest participation and reward them with a sweet treat! We also invite our families to be on the lookout for flyers and information that are posted and sent home for our Carnelian Dine-outs and Family Night activities. Next week, we have a Handels Ice-cream Dine-out and we can celebrate Mr. Jason's birthday and we can wrap up the month of August at a Quakes Game on August 30th! Some of the proceeds for both of these events also go to Carnelian, which is used to set up assemblies, activities and celebrations for our Cardinals!

Keep your eye on social media, emails and the District app for more specific information about the upcoming events at the start of the school year and beyond. If you have not downloaded the Alta Loma School District app for your phone, please download it as soon as possible. You can select Carnelian Elementary as your school and view anything that is posted to the app. We want to communicate information out to our community as efficiently as we can, so please check us out on Instagram too! You can follow our school @carnelian_cardinals and Carnelian PTA @carnelian_pta. Since we are Many Superpowers, One School, then this year we will always remind our community to "Have a SUPER Cardinal Day!"

With deepest gratitude, 

Autumn Williams
Proud Principal
Carnelian Elementary