Dear Altura Prep Parents and Caregivers,
We hope that you all are having an amazing summer and are beginning to gear up for the first day of school on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. The Altura Prep team is hard at work planning and preparing for the new school year.
First Day of School
As mentioned above, the first day of school will be on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. You can see the full academic calendar HERE.
Meet the Teacher
On Tuesday, August 9, 2022, our students and families will have a chance to meet their children’s teachers. Due to the fact that we have extremely limited parking at Altura Prep, we will divide our Meet the Teacher event into two sessions. Students with last names A-K will be able to visit the school from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm, and students with last names L-Z will be able to visit the school from 1:00 - 2:00 pm. Please note that we have very limited parking (30 visitor spaces) and cannot use the parking lot belonging to the businesses adjacent to our building.
We ask that our families new to Altura Prep make every effort to come and meet their child’s new teachers and tour your child’s classrooms, as parents will not be able to walk their children inside the school building on the first day of school. We kindly ask that parents take their first day of school photos at home prior to leaving for school and that families follow the school directions for drop off and pick up. Again, please note that we cannot use the parking lot belonging to the businesses adjacent to our building.
School Supplies
Altura Preparatory School provides all the supplies (with the exception of backpacks) that your child will need at school in order to provide an equitable learning environment for all of our students. The average K-12 parent will spend over $100.00 per child on school supplies this year, and our goal is to decrease this financial burden for our Altura Prep families. However, we do ask that each family that is able to make a donation of $25.00 per child to help offset these costs to the school. Although this is not mandatory, it is appreciated. Checks may be made payable to Altura Schools.
We will also gladly accept donations of Clorox wipes, Kleenex, quart and gallon-sized Ziploc bags, and paper towels throughout the school year. If your child is in need of a backpack, please contact Cynthia Hernandez, and we will provide one for your child.
Regular School Hours (Monday-Thursday)
School begins each day at 8:00 am. Remember: If it’s 8:00– you are late! Students may be dropped off each morning beginning at 7:30 am. Students will be dismissed each day at 3:00 pm.
Minimum Days (Fridays)
On minimum days (each Friday throughout the year), the school day will still begin at 8:00 am, but dismissal will occur at 12:00 pm for kindergarten through fifth grades.
The First Week of School (8/10-8/12)
We will have minimum days for all students during the first week of school: Wednesday, August 10, 2022, through Friday, August 12, 2022. This will allow our teachers to be able to conduct our Back-to-School Curriculum Night before diving into our regular, full-day schedule beginning August 15, 2022.
Our “Why” Regarding Minimum Days
The Altura Prep Administration believes that teachers must have designated time within the school day for professional development, grade-level planning, content team planning, reviewing students’ data, lesson planning, and grading. Our goal is to recruit and retain the BEST teachers, and one of the greatest resources that we can give our incredible staff is the gift of time. We know that early dismissal days are not always easy for parents, but we would like to gently remind our community that teaching is a much bigger job than simply standing in front of students in a classroom. The behind-the-scenes work is a massive part of the profession, and giving our teachers time allows all of the other components of their job to achieve the level of excellence that we believe your child/ren deserves.
Morning Drop-Off
We ask that all of our parents enter the school for drop-off from Ventura/Signal. PLEASE DO NOT ENTER EASTBOUND FROM BARSTOW. For safety reasons, we can not have eastbound cars blocking Signal NE to make a left-hand turn into the school. We respectfully ask that all of our families comply with this request.
There will be two drop-off lanes this year: the lane closest to the school will be reserved for kindergarten through second grades, and the second lane will be for third through fifth grades.
Students in kindergarten through second grade will need to be seated behind the driver's seat for drop-off in the morning. Students in third through fifth grade will need to be seated behind the passenger seat for drop-off in the morning. No exceptions will be made this year. Please contact the school if you have any questions. Families with siblings are able to drop off in the lane for the grade level of their youngest child.
Afternoon Dismissal
Altura Preparatory School uses a school dismissal software program called PikMyKid for afternoon dismissal procedures. Parents, guardians, and designated caregivers must have their child/children’s PikMyKid card or the assigned pick-up number. An Altura Prep staff member will take your child’s number from the card and enter it into an iPad app to facilitate a smooth pick-up.
Dismissal on the first day of school will take place with PikMyKid numbers. Your child will receive their PikMyKid placards at our Meet the Teacher event. Please exercise patience and grace, as we will have new families who are learning this routine, so the queueing process will take a little longer.
The Signal Avenue gate will not be opened in the afternoon until 2:30 pm. We kindly ask that parents do not block Signal Avenue in the afternoon, so plan your arrival at school for pick-up accordingly. Students must be picked up no later than 3:15 pm.
Back-to-School Curriculum Night
Our annual Back-to-School Curriculum Night will be held on Thursday, August 11, 2022. We will have two back-to-back sessions, which will allow parents with more than one child to attend each of their children’s grade-level sessions. The first session will be held from 5:00-5:45 pm, while the second session will be held from 6:00-6:45 pm. This will be a very crowded event. Please be prepared to park on Alameda Boulevard, as we cannot use the parking lot of the offices adjacent to our building until 5:30 pm.
Altura Prep’s Back-to-School Curriculum Night is an adult-only event. There is a lot of information being presented to parents in a short amount of time, and we want all of our parents to be able to focus on the presentations without distractions. Teachers will give you an overview of your child’s day, discuss the curriculum, review homework expectations, and provide tips on how you can support your child throughout the year.
School Bus Schedule
Altura Preparatory School provides one transportation route to and from school. For the 2022-2023 school year, the bus stops will continue to be at the San Pedro Public Library (5600 Trumbell Avenue SE) and the Tony Hillerman Public Library (8205 Apache Avenue NE).
Morning pick-up will occur at the San Pedro Public Library at 7:10 am and then at the Tony Hillerman Public Library at 7:20 am. Afternoon drop-off occurs at 3:30 pm at the Tony Hillerman Public Library and at 3:40 pm at the San Pedro Public Library. On minimum days, students will be dropped off at the Tony Hillerman Public Library at 12:30 pm and at the San Pedro Public Library at 12:40 pm.
Please note that these times depend on traffic so we recommend arriving at your child’s/children’s bus stop at least five minutes before the scheduled pickup or drop-off time.
School Breakfast and Lunch
School breakfast will be served each morning from 7:30-7:50 am. Our school meal program will continue to be a sack lunch prepared by our food provider, Canteen. If packing a lunch from home is an option for your child, we would highly recommend sending your child to school with a lunch from home. Packing lunch at home gives you more control over the types of food your child can enjoy for their mid-day meal and ensure that your child/children are eating foods they like.
This coming year, Altura Preparatory School will transition from a fully free meal program to a National School Lunch Application program. Meals at public schools across the United States were free during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but those waivers have now expired. Breakfast will now be $2.00, and lunch will be $4.00 for fully paid students. Reduced-priced meals will be available for those students who qualify.
All families must complete a School Meal Application form each year (even if you plan to send lunch to school with your child), and this application will determine whether your child will receive a free, reduced-price, or paid meal if/when they eat school breakfast or lunch. Meal application forms are available on the school website under School Breakfasts and Lunches. If you prefer a hard copy, please contact the office.
To help with this transition, Altura Preparatory School recently purchased a new Point of Sale (POS) system for the cafeteria. We are currently preparing to implement this new system on the first day of school for the 2022-23 school year, August 10th.
For cafeteria purchases, students will use a 4-digit Student ID number, though staff will be able to input student meals by name for our youngest students. Please note that serving lines may be slower for the first couple of days with the new POS system, but as the students familiarize themselves with the system, the lines should move much more quickly.
To fund your student’s meal account, we ask that parents/guardians deposit money using MySchoolBucks. You can also use MySchoolBucks to receive low balance alerts, set up automatic payments, and set daily/weekly spending limits. Altura Prep will not be able to accept cash or checks for school meal payments. All meal payments must be made through MySchoolBucks. You will be able to register on the MySchoolBucks system beginning August 5, 2022.
Funds that remain in your student’s meal account at the end of the school year will be carried over to the next school year. Please note that if your student’s meal account runs out of funds, we cannot debit an account to a negative balance.
If your student qualifies for free or reduced meal prices, this information is noted in the system, and the meal will be processed just as it is for all other students without any special indication to other students.
If you have questions that cannot be answered using the school website under School Breakfasts and Lunches, please contact the main office at 505-539-5369, and we will be glad to assist you.
Uniform Purchase Information for Lands’ End
Altura Preparatory School has partnered with Lands’ End for additional uniform options and logos on most apparel! Click HERE. Then search for Altura Preparatory School, or school number 900196932. From there, you will be able to view the uniform options available.
All details for school uniforms, including information on how to order through Lands’ End, can be found on the school website under Uniforms. LINK (This link goes to the school website with updated uniform information.) Lands’ End also provides a Get Started toolkit- access it at www.landsend.com/get-started.
Parents may also choose to purchase their school uniforms at any store that carries school uniforms. Target, Costco, Children’s Place, and Wal-Mart are just a few of the many stores locally that carry uniforms. For a visual example or if you have any questions, the link above will have helpful pictures.
School-Appropriate Shoes
Students are required to wear sneakers/athletic shoes only each day. Ballet flats, boots, sandals, flip flops, or other shoe types will not be allowed. Students must be able to run and play safely during their enrichment classes and recesses, and sneakers/athletic shoes are specifically made to support your child’s foot and ankle during physical activity.
Water Bottles
Drinking fountains and water stations are available to use for all Altura Prep students. Although many Prepsters prefer to bring their own water bottles from home, they will often misplace them during the school day. We would highly encourage parents to invest in a water bottle sling for their child/ren so that they can easily carry their water bottles to and from each one of their classes during the school day (Amazon has a great selection at reasonable prices). Please do not forget to label your children’s water bottles and slings!
On-Site Student Medications
For all non-allergy or non-asthma-related medication, parents must provide a completed Provider Order and Medication Authorization Form (available on the school website under Student Health Forms).
If your child must receive medication while at school, the school must have your child’s current (non-expired) medication by the first day of school. For returning families, please be prepared to bring new medication in case your child’s on-site medicines expire.
Allergy/Asthma Action Plans for New School Year
If a student needs allergy or asthma medication on campus, parents must provide a complete and updated copy of the Allergy or Asthma Action Plan every year.
Please note that parents are responsible for updating students’ medical action plans prior to the first day of school. Forms are located on the school website under Student Health Forms. This is a state requirement. While the school will review student health files, parents are responsible for providing completed forms and medications to the school. (https://www.alturaprep.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1591793&type=d&pREC_ID=2204003)
All medications, action plans, and Provider forms should be sent to Mrs. Cynthia Hernandez in the front office. Her email address is [email protected].
We look forward to seeing all of our students and families at our Meet the Teacher event on Tuesday, August 9, 2022, and on the first day of school, Wednesday, August 10, 2022.
Have a wonderful rest of your summer!
Warmly,
Lissa and Meaghan
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