Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Instructional Hours (Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten) 
Mondays: 8:00 a.m. – 12:41 p.m.
Tuesdays – Fridays: 8:00 a.m. – 2:08 p.m.

Instructional Hours (Grades 1 - 5)
Monday: 8:00 a.m. - 12:51 p.m.
Tuesday – Friday:  8:00 a.m. - 2:18 p.m.

Preschool Program at Alamosa Park 

You have seen a good deal of communication from me regarding the possibility of opening three full-day preschool classrooms at Alamosa Park in fall 2020. After a series of meetings with teachers, staff and parents over the past few months and an extensive review of the construction requirements, we have decided to cancel the plan for opening up a preschool program at Alamosa Park Elementary.  Due to the feedback from staff and parents, there does not seem to be sufficient interest to open and maintain a full-day preschool program on campus. The district will start to investigate an alternative location in the coming months.  

Dual Language Community Forum, Tuesday, February 25, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. (Multi-Purpose Room)

I am in the process of gaining parent and student interest in Dual Language (DL) in Kindergarten and / or 1st Grade at Alamosa Park. If there is a high level of interest from parents and students, Alamosa Park will offer DL (English & Spanish) in one or more of the primary grade levels starting next school year, August 2020. If your child will be in Kindergarten or 1st Grade in August 2020, and you are interested in your child being in DL program at Alamosa Park, please visit our front office for a DL interest form. If you have any questions about DL, please contact me at (760) 940-0700 or kyleruggles@vistausd.org. 

School Safety

Our school-wide safety plan highlights every potential situation and is reviewed and approved by Oceanside Police and Fire Departments. Every month, our students and faculty participate in safety drills including fire evacuation, earthquake, secure campus, and lock down. Each of these drills requires different procedures and all require student attention for proper preparedness. On Friday, 01/10/20, we practiced “Secure Campus” and “Fire Evacuation” drills. In a Secure Campus situation, all doors are locked and classroom instruction can continue as normal. Whereas in a lock down situation, doors are secured, lights are turned off, and students are to remain away from windows and locked doors. Fire Evacuation requires students to follow teacher directions carefully, and then quietly and calmly evacuate the classroom. During the drills today, students followed staff instructions, remained silent and in single file lines as they followed their teachers to the blacktop area. Students and staff did a fantastic job! I appreciate the attention and commitment to safety at Alamosa Park.

Great Kindness Challenge (January 27 – 31)

The Great Kindness Challenge week is dedicated to creating a culture of kindness and compassion on campuses worldwide. Alamosa Park is proudly participating in this proactive and positive kindness initiative. I would like to thank our wonderful Alamosa Park community for supporting the Great Kindness Challenge Week. Students participated by completing a list of recommended ways that they could express kindness and gratitude to others at school, at home, and in community. Additionally, for $1, students purchased Kindness Grams, a “Just Say Hi” button, and a Hershey Kiss of Kindness to deliver to another student. Over 700 buttons were sold and distributed this week. As a result of the success of Kindness Grams sales, Alamosa Park teacher, Mrs. Scholz and her bother Mario will be able to donate one kindness bench to two different schools in VUSD. Alamosa Park already has two kindness benches from previous kindness week celebrations. I would like to thank Mario, Mrs. Scholz brother, Mrs. Scholz, Mrs. Fels and the Alamosa Park community for making the Kindness Week so special for all of our students. I also appreciate our PTA for sponsoring the BMX motocross assembly that kicked-off our Kindness Challenge Week. The BMX bike performance was memorable and made our Kindness kickoff extra-special. Way to go Hawks!

Alamosa Park Family Survey

I would like to request your feedback. Specifically, I would like to know (1) which educational programs students and parents are interested in having at Alamosa Park and (2) which parent workshops you would like to have offered at Alamosa Park. When time permits, please click the following link to access this brief survey that will provide valuable feedback to me. Alamosa Park Family Survey

CAASPP 2019 – Academic Achievement at Alamosa Park

Since the October 2019 public release of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) scores for spring 2019, we have been able to generate a report that demonstrates how well Alamosa Park students are performing in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math as determined by the CAASPP. 

Alamosa Park is proud of the exemplary record of student achievement. During April and May every year, students in grades 3, 4 & 5 take the CAASPP, which measures student performance of CA State Standards. Students in grades TK, K, 1, and 2 do not take the CAASPP. The 2019 CAASPP shows that our students are performing among the top schools in VUSD. The chart below illustrates CAASPP average results for ELA and Math for students from Alamosa Park, VUSD Elementary School Average, and VUSD Similar Schools.

                                                               CAASPP 2019 - English Language Arts (ELA)

                                                                        CAASPP 2019 - Mathematics

 Summary:

• 65.7% of Alamosa Park students that were assessed “met” or “exceeded standards in ELA
• 57.7% of Alamosa Park students that were assessed “met” or “exceeded standards in ELA
• The percentage of students who met or exceeded standard in ELA is .1% higher than those results at VUSD Similar Schools
• The percentage of students who met or exceeded standard in math is 2.1% lower than those results at VUSD Similar Schools
• When compared to all VUSD schools, Alamosa Park students are performing higher in ELA and math.

As a result of this increase in student learning and consistent high learning expectations, Alamosa Park met the requirements to receive “Honor Roll School” status by Educational Results Partnership for the past four years.

Please click HERE to access the California Department of Education website for the California dashboard that highlights a variety of metrics for each school in California and click HERE for the Alamosa Park school dashboard.  

VUSD Community Forums – Budget reductions

Please click HERE to see a VUSD video regarding the budget reductions and click HERE for the Community Forum web page. For additional information about VUSD, please visit the VUSD web page at https://vistausd.org/.  

Parking Lot Safety

I would like to thank our community for continuing to practice safety during every student drop-off and pick-up time period. Please continue to drive slowly, proceed with caution, and our faculty will assist students entering vehicles safely. I would like to remind parents to not leave your car unattended unless you parking in a parking space. If you are picking up your child at the Alamosa Park parking lot, do not park in the center of lot since this area is a thoroughfare for vehicles entering and exiting the lot. The solar panel carport construction is now completed. I greatly appreciate the patience and support from everyone.

Student Recognition Assemblies

Every month Alamosa Park has student recognition flag assemblies that include the Pledge of Allegiance, National Anthem, information related to Leader in Me Habits (September – Be Proactive, October – Begin with the End In Mind; November – Put First Things First; December – Think Win-Win). Our next student recognition assembly is on Friday, February 7, at 8:00 a.m. in the blacktop area. During Flag Awards Assemblies, students from each class are recognized for exemplifying the Leader in Me Habits and for academic achievement. Students who are recognized receive a special certificate, join me for Principal Pride Luncheon, and receive an ice cream during lunch. We are proud of our students, staff, and community coming together to celebrate positive school-wide character and academic achievement.

Wheel Enrichment Instruction

Since the beginning of the school year, every other week, all of our students participate in enrichment learning time during wheel rotation schedule. For the month of October, students participate in the wheel enrichment schedule during the weeks of 11/12, 12/02, and 12/16. This "every other week" wheel schedule will continue for the remainder of the school year. We are most fortunate to have experienced certificated teachers and our counselor providing these enrichment courses of study which are aligned to our school vision of Leadership, Engineering, the Arts, Design Thinking, and Science (Alamosa Park LEADS the Way). Here is the wheel enrichment schedule for each grade level, every other week:

• Grade 2: Tuesdays, 8:00 – 10:50 a.m.
• Transitional Kindergarten & Kindergarten: Tuesdays, 10:55 a.m. – 2:05 p.m.
• Grades 4 & 5: Wednesdays, 8:00 – 10:50 a.m.
• Grade 3: Thursdays, 8:00 – 10:50 a.m.
• Grade 1: Thursdays, 10:55 a.m. – 2:05 p.m.

During this wheel time, students are engaged in exploration, innovation, and teamwork activities. The wheel time enrichment includes Art (Ms. McCloud), Music (Mrs. Sotelo); Maker Space / Rokenbok Lab (Ms. Dunn); Innovation, Engineering, STEM (Mrs. Larsen); and Leader in Me / Citizenship & Character Building (Mrs. Coccodrilli – Grades 4/5). During this wheel time, the regular grade level teachers are provided valuable collaboration and professional development time. Teachers are currently working together in grade level teams enhance lessons for our new math curriculum adoption, Eureka Math, which is aligned to California Math Standards. I am very pleased with the variety of learning opportunities this wheel time provides for our students and the collaboration time for our regular classroom teachers. Please take time to discuss with your student the learning opportunities during regular class time as well as the time during wheel enrichment.

Leader in Me (February Habit #5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood.)

During the month of February, we are emphasizing Leader in Me Habit #5, Seek first to understand, then to be understood. By asking students to reflect on their leadership and focusing their efforts in listening to others, they will gain additional leadership skills that will set them up for success. By knowing the leadership habit for this month, we can work together to develop leadership for all of our students.

WAVE – Pact Wednesdays

In an effort to promote student interest and engagement in college after high school, all VUSD schools participate in WAVE – pact Wednesdays. On “We are Vista Everyday” (WAVE) – pact Wednesdays, we encourage all students, faculty, and parent volunteers to wear college gear. Thank you for considering to participate in wearing college gear every Wednesday.

Outstanding Hawk Run Jog-A-Thon organized by our APEF - Raised $30,000

I would like to thank our Alamosa Park Education Foundation (APEF), APEF President, Sonia Rodriguez, and all of our parent volunteers for a fantastic Hawk Run! On Friday, October 18, each of our students and many faculty members participated in the Hawk Run Jog-A-Thon to celebrate healthy lifestyles and fitness. This memorable and exciting event raised over $30,000 for our academic and enrichment programs! The excellent organization from our APEF brought numerous volunteers from across the Vista and Oceanside communities to support Alamosa Park students and faculty. I would also like to thank our great students for their hard work in running and securing pledged donations. Our parent community is so very generous for submitting donations to Alamosa Park. On behalf of the Alamosa Park faculty, I appreciate our APEF and the AP Hawk Community for all of the great support with this very fun and exciting event for our students.

Upcoming Events

• Week of 02/24/20 – Wheel Enrichment Week
• Monday, 03/02/20 – Read Across America Day / Dr. Seuss Day
• Friday, 03/06/20, 8:00 – 8:45 a.m. – Student Recognition Assembly
• Friday, 03/06/20, 1:30 – 2:18 p.m. – Reading on the Green at Alamosa Park: All classes will participate in reading for the final 48 minutes of the school day on the grass playground area. All parents are invited to join their child to read on the grass. Please feel free to bring a chair and/or blanket with you.
• Week of 03/09/20 – Wheel Enrichment Week
• Tuesday, 03/10 – Thursday, 03/12:  PTA Scholastic Book Fair – Classes will visit book fair during scheduled day and time. More information to follow.
• Week of 03/23/20 – Wheel Enrichment Week
• Week of 03/23/20 – Healthy Hawk Week
• 03/30 – 04/03/20:  Spring Break (no school)
• Open House – Thursday, April 16, 6:00 p.m. in your child’s classroom: All parents and students are invited to visit your child’s classroom to see the current school work and student accomplishments.

Go Hawks!

Kyle Ruggles, Ed.D.

Principal, Alamosa Park Elementary School

(760) 940-0700

kyleruggles@vistausd.org