Dear Loyola families,
I hope this finds you all well and savoring the final few weeks of summer. The excitement and anticipation of a new school year is upon us! As I begin my first year as a Lion, I am very much looking forward to seeing all our students’ smiling faces on the first day of school, Wednesday, August 14th.
I am truly honored to be at Loyola. I look forward to meeting and getting to know every student and family member and to be able to introduce myself to the Loyola community.
Our Los Altos community is where my heart has always been. I grew up in Los Altos and went to Santa Rita as a child, as well as Egan and Los Altos High. I lived in Tahoe and Colorado where I taught Kindergarten, 2nd grade, 4th and 5th grade, and returned home in 2004. I was a Santa Rita teacher, a district coach and LASD parent for 17 years. The last three years I was Principal at Santa Rita and now I have the good fortune of being a Loyola Lion! I have truly enjoyed every minute of my time in LASD. We are so lucky to be part of a district that truly cares about each and every student, teacher and family and has dedicated themselves to educating the whole child.
My sons Cole and Drew were also Santa Rita Bobcats, Egan Vikings, Los Altos Eagles. This Fall, Drew will be joining his brother, who will be a junior at the Univ. of Oregon, so I am fully a Duck Mom now. I have been lucky enough to experience how truly wonderful and loving the teachers and community of Los Altos are. It is a different perspective when you are a parent and I appreciate how the families here live out the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. My husband Tyson and I feel so fortunate to call this unique place our home and are always looking to give back.
As always, our devoted professional staff has already begun planning and preparing for the arrival of our Lions. Our top-notch office team is registering new families, ordering needed materials and updating student files. Our hard working, conscientious custodial staff have spent the entire summer thoroughly cleaning the facility and, our amazing and much-appreciated PTA is gearing up to welcome families and offer other exciting events and programs. Together, we universally embrace the common goals of nurturing responsible, caring students and promoting high levels of rigorous, personalized teaching and learning designed to ensure each student realizes his/her fullest potential in innovative learning environments. I am excited to partner with families and staff to create the most engaging, supportive, rigorous and joyful year as we move forward.
With each new year potentially comes new faces and additions to our staff. We continue to attract the very best to our district, as well as maintain our current top notch educators. We are very fortunate to have these two amazing teachers join our team here at Loyola. Please join me in welcoming the following new Loyola staff members to our school…
Philina Kabertlin - Kindergarten
Anne Blaha - 3rd grade
Here are some items of importance as we approach the new school year…
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Class assignments will be sent out via email on Friday, August 9th, after 4:00 pm. As we approach the new school year, I know students eagerly anticipate who their teacher is going to be. It is important for you to know that a great deal of time, effort and thought has gone into the process of student placement for the 2024-2025 school year. We have done our very best to ensure classrooms are balanced academically and socially. Our class lists are structured to provide equitable class sizes at each grade level to best serve all of our students. Moving students is difficult without causing imbalances and inequities. Therefore, please understand that I will not be moving or reassigning students.
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The parking lot will be closed during arrival and dismissal to ensure the safety of our students and their families.
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Morning Arrival: Upon arrival, students grades 1-6 must report directly to their respective blacktop areas, gr. 1-3 lower blacktop and gr. 4-6 upper blacktop. There they will gather by their designated teacher sign. Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten students will arrive in the Kindergarten area.
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Afternoon Dismissal: Students grades TK-6 will be dismissed at their respective bell times.
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If you are picking up your child, I highly recommend using the car pick-up zone. If you do not wish to use the car pick-up zone, you are permitted to wait for your child in the lower blacktop area/lunch area for grades 1-6 where you will meet your child(ren). All students must be picked up at their dismissal time and remain with and be supervised by parents at all times. Students are not permitted to use the play structures/courts once dismissed.
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TK and Kinder parents will pick up in the Kinder area.
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All students are expected to practice Safety, Responsibility, Respect and Kindness, our school rules, at all times while on campus, including before and after school.
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Universal Meal Program
LASD participates in the California universal meals program along with all school districts in the state. We will be providing breakfast and lunch daily and there is no charge for meals. Each month, we will provide a menu of meals, with two or more options for breakfast and lunch. Students may bring their own lunch to school, however, no outside vendors will be allowed on campus, including deliveries from outside vendors (i.e. DoorDash or similar service or parent drop off of local food vendors). The monthly menus can be found on both the District Website and Loyola Website. Breakfast will be served from 8:10-8:25 am at the Loyola Servery. Please note: It will be extremely helpful if you would discuss the menu with your child. Thank you.
Please keep your eyes open for communication regarding our PTA Back to School Packet.
Finally, I would like to share with you an article with some Back to School Tips. Though many of the ‘tips’ seem obvious, they are good reminders about sleep, how to make the first day easier, safety tips for getting to and from school, building good homework habits and how to support your child throughout the school year.
I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to meet and greet students and families to begin our new journey. If you have any questions at all, as always, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Kelly Rafferty
Principal, Loyola Elementary
krafferty@lasdschools.org