News

Principal’s Message                                                                      November 10, 2021

         Mattos Elementary 

Dear Community,

Thank you to parents who have taken students to be vaccinated. Your efforts to protect your children as well as to support our school community to be healthy is greatly appreciated. Several students shared that they feel very relieved that vaccinations were now available for young people. We have bright and caring students who want to be in school and who are anxious to stay healthy. Your support in getting your children vaccinated is appreciated.

We want children to be safe as well as healthy and have been reviewing drop off and pick up procedures again to make sure they are as safe as possible. Over the last several years there have been traffic studies done and we have worked with the school district, the City of Fremont, and the police to set up procedures to be safe and effective for entering and exiting at drop off and pick up. We believe our system works well when everyone follows the procedures however not everyone does. Please follow the procedures which have been clearly communicated on many occasions and are being repeated here.

If you are entering from Farwell Drive off Mowry driving toward Central you enter the drop off loop by taking a right turn and driving all the way to the drop off area past the office where there is a sign that clearly says “Student drop off and pick up starts here.” That is where cars should stop and drop off students from the passenger’s side. Drivers should remain in the car as students exit onto the sidewalk. There is no need to get out, walk through traffic and remove school supplies from the trunk if you think ahead. Please plan ahead and have supplies near your student. Instruct them to pick up their materials and exit quickly onto the sidewalk. If this is too difficult please arrive earlier and park outside the school and walk your child to drop off. As you exit the drive-through you need to turn right onto Farwell toward Central. The minute or even just seconds extra it takes you to honor the single direction in and out of the drive through translates into a much faster, smoother traffic flow for everyone else. The correct action is quick, courteous, and safe as trying to enter and exit two ways has caused accidents.

No one should be entering Farwell from Central and taking a left turn into the drive-through as it stops the flow of traffic and prolongs drop off and/or pick up for everyone. In addition no one should be stopping on the street to drop off or pick up students instead of turning in as this also prolongs the process for everyone else. Following the correct procedure will help everyone and cut down on traffic issues and accidents. Please remember you can be the factor that determines a safer, better process or the reason the system does not work. Help us, help yourself, and help your neighbors by following the process.

Please also remember there is only one drop off and pick up area. The first parking lot is a Bus Zone and a Staff Parking Lot. No one should be driving through or arranging to meet students there. This is the area where a student was recently approached by someone they did not know. It is far from the supervised area where staff oversee drop off and pick up as it is not an area where anyone should be meeting their student. The second parking lot is also not a drive-through or drop off/pick up area. It is solely for Staff Parking. Please do not utilize it incorrectly.

We currently have staff members outside overseeing the drop off and pick up drive-through. We will be adding a Student Safety Patrol in the coming months to assist with our process. AAA sponsor’s equipment for Student Safety Patrols in schools and also offers training materials for schools to train students. Our team feels this will be a wonderful leadership opportunity for upper grade students and we will be starting to send out permission slips and take applications from 4th and 5th graders soon so we can train students and get the patrol in place hopefully by January.

Please remember that there is no school tomorrow, November 11th in observance of Veteran’s Day.

We are in school Friday, November 12th which is a regular school day and also the end of the trimester. Teachers will be completing report cards in preparation for Parent/Teacher Conferences starting on November 15th. Remember that conferences are being held virtually and that in addition to our normal short Wednesday schedule, Thursday, November 18th and Friday, November 19th are also short days due to conferences. Please make sure to note the schedule change and pick up students on time. It greatly upsets students when they are left at school on minimum days and it negatively impacts the office. Your help with on time pick up is appreciated. The week of November 22-26 school will be closed for the Thanksgiving Break.

 

Next week students will be able to participate in Thanksgiving Week activities during school to foster positive school and community culture. Our wonderful counselor Erin Waterhouse has fun activities for students to participate in every day of the week. Please see the attached flyer and share the news with your child. We will also be sharing this with classrooms so that students who want to participate can.

 

Parents who would like to participate more by supporting our school efforts are again invited to join our Parent Teacher Association or PTA. Our PTA is made up of awesome advocates who work together with the school and community to continually improve programs at our school. Are you creative, caring, interested in actively supporting students and the school? Join PTA and add your expertise to our on-going efforts. PTA is an exciting opportunity to make a difference. Please don’t miss out on becoming a member of PTA today. The link to join PTA is https://jointotem.com/ca/fremont/mattos-elementary-pta 

 

As always, I want to share that I am so thankful to be a part of the Mattos Community. Let’s work together to continue to keep our students safe and our school well supported. Please review the map for drop off and pick up that is attached to assist us with a safer, faster, process. You may also want to view the FUSD guidelines for holiday travel as you make plans. The guidelines are attached below. 

 

Sincerely, 

Susan Guerrero