Cheetah Families,

We are just days away from a much-deserved winter break, and I could not be more grateful for the unity, resilience, and dedication our community has shown this semester. Together, we have worked incredibly hard and remained steadfast in supporting student learning and well-being during these very unusual times. Your partnership and encouragement have made all the difference.

As we enter this final week, I am personally looking forward to a chance to “hibernate,” recharge, and truly disconnect. I plan to conserve energy and prepare to return in January ready to lead with devotion and conviction as we begin the important work of merging two communities. Though change can feel big, I am walking forward confidently—because I am walking with all of you.

Before we wrap up the semester, we have a joyful week ahead!

🎄 Holiday Spirit Week

We will kick off the holiday season with a full week of festive spirit wear. Please see the schedule below and join in the fun!

🎶 Kindergarten Winter Program – Wednesday at 5:30 PM

Our kindergarten students, under the direction of Ms. Leatherberry and supported by the entire Kinder team, have been working hard and cannot wait to perform for families. We hope to see you there!

🍽️ PTA Holiday Staff Lunch – Tuesday

A huge thank-you to our PTA for hosting a special holiday lunch for our amazing teachers and staff. Your thoughtfulness is truly appreciated.

🎉 Classroom Holiday Parties – Thursday & Friday

Homeroom classrooms will be hosting their holiday celebrations at the end of the week. Stay tuned for information from teachers regarding volunteer opportunities.

📄 Student Reports Going Home

Students will also be coming home with several important assessment reports this week:

- MAP Growth Family Reports

- Spanish Holistic Rating Scores (K–4th)

- STAMP Family Reports (5th grade only)

- GT Nomination Results – If your child met the criteria for GT, you will receive a letter confirming their admission beginning January 2026.

Grades are being finalized this week and will be shared electronically when we return from break.

🔬 Science Fair Reminder

We also launched our Science Fair this month! If your child is participating, please remember to prioritize working on their experiment during the break. This is a wonderful opportunity for hands-on learning and creativity. Reach out to your child’s teacher if you need additional guidance or resources.

As we close out this semester, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation. Thank you for your trust, your partnership, and your unwavering support of our students and staff.

Wishing each of you a restful, restorative, and delightful winter break.

Cheers to a successful end of the semester!

Warmly,
Elaine Navarro, Principal

🚌 Odom Tours, Information Sessions, and Registration

Odom tours and information sessions have been scheduled by the Odom community. We have been instructed that these tours and information sessions are for all Odom, Sunset Valley, Becker, and additional prospective families who would like to tour the campus and get more clarity on the program.

The principal at Odom, Mr. San Segundo, and his administrative team will be facilitating the majority of the tours, as it will not be an expectation for me to leave my duties at Sunset Valley to run the tours on my own. I will be collaborating with the principal and will attend a few of the sessions as time permits in my schedule. I am happy to share those dates once they are finalized.

I have been strictly told that we will not be able to do Sunset Valley–specific tours, as this must be an inclusive approach that supports all interested parties. If you would like more clarity on tours, please feel free to call the Odom campus directly.

I look forward to hearing how your tours went and will remain aligned and in touch with the principal to ensure our messaging is accurate and consistent.

📚 Information Sessions

PK & KG ESL Information Session

Date: 12/16

Time: 4:00–5:00 pm

Details: MET will be presenting to parents, and an ex-Becker parent, whose child is currently in DL at Odom, will speak about the benefits of the program and how it works. This session is designed to help families begin thinking about the program over winter break and prior to registration.

MET Information Clinic

Date & Time: TBD (tentatively 1/8 at 4:00 pm)

I was just informed of this clinic and do not yet have additional details. More information will be shared once available.

🏫 Campus Tours

Thus far, parents have primarily requested facility tours (not programming-specific).

Tour Sign-Up Link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044CA4AD2EA2FDC34-60709306-school

January

Small Group Tours (8:00 am): Each Friday – 1/9, 1/16, 1/23, 1/30

Large Group Tour (3:45 pm): 1/13

February

Small Group Tours (8:00 am): Each Friday – 2/6, 2/13, 2/20, 2/27

Large Group Tour (3:45 pm): 2/10

March

Small Group Tours (8:00 am): Friday – 3/6 & 3/13

Big Group Tour (3:45 pm): 3/23

April

Big Group Tour (3:45 pm): 4/28

May

Big Group Tour (3:45 pm): 5/12

📝 Priority Registration – Round 1

Priority Registration Round 1 will be held:

Each Tuesday and Thursday in January from 4:00–6:00 pm

Specific dates: January 13, 15, 20, 22, 27, 29 and February 3 & 5

Staff supporting registration:

PSS: Veronica Gonzalez-Rivera

Registrar: Linda Von Hatten

Counselor: Shannon Saul

Admin Assistant: Corina Garcia

 

 

Sunset Valley will be hosting our Kinder Winter Program this Wednesday at 5:30 PM, and we are excited to invite our entire community to join us! While this is a kindergarten-specific event, all families are welcome to attend and help us kick off the holiday season with joy and celebration.

Ms. Leatherberry and our amazing kindergarten students—supported by our dedicated kinder team—have been working incredibly hard to prepare something truly special. Their enthusiasm, creativity, and teamwork will surely shine on stage.

We hope you can join us for this festive performance and help send our students into the holiday break with cheer and pride.

We look forward to seeing you there! 

We’re so proud to celebrate our amazing Assistant Principal, Ms. Braynin, who has officially published her first bilingual book! 🌟 Her heartfelt story beautifully captures the experiences and cultural identity of growing up as a Mexican American in the United States, and it’s already inspiring readers everywhere.

📖 Ms. Braynin will have the special opportunity to read her book to our students in January, sharing her message of belonging, pride, and resilience.

You may purchase her book at Barnes & Noble 👉 here and stop by the front office anytime to collect her autograph! ✍️

Please join us in congratulating Ms. Braynin on this incredible milestone — what an inspiration to our students and community! 🎊🇲🇽❤️

🎄 Spread Some Holiday Cheer — Send a RAVE! ✨

As we head into Winter Break, let’s take a moment to celebrate our amazing teachers and staff! They’ve been working tirelessly to meet deadlines, assess every student, and ensure learning stays meaningful through the end of the semester.

💌 Send a RAVE to show your appreciation — a quick note of gratitude goes a long way in making their season bright!

🎁 Click HERE to submit a RAVE 🏆

Let’s fill this holiday season with cheer, gratitude, and Cheetah pride! 🐆❤️💚

PTA News Where are you going next year?

Ms. Navarro will be the Odom principal next year, and she wants to know where her students will be going so she can plan staffing for next year. Your fellow parents also want to know where their kids' friends are going.

Take a 30-second survey to tell Ms. Navarro which school you’re planning to go to next year, or if you’re undecided. You can stay anonymous or list your child in the results so other parents can see where friends are going. View the survey results so far.

Resources and events at our new schools

Ms. Navarro and the PTA are working with our new schools —Odom, Boone, and Cunningham — to arrange tour dates for SVE families and opportunities to meet their communities. We’ll update you as we get new info.

Ms. Navarro asks that you wait for announcements before scheduling a tour on your own.

We want to be sensitive to our new communities as they have their own needs right now. Priority enrollment opens January 12 but doesn’t close until March 13, so there’s plenty of time to learn and make your decision. See all the enrollment dates.  Read about your choices from the district.

Transition committee

At our last PTA meeting, we broke out into small groups to discuss what we wanted to focus on in the transition to Odom and our other new schools next year. PTA members can read the ideas. PTA has created a transition committee to build on these ideas and make the move easier for everyone—email our Advocacy chair if you’d like to contribute to the committee. 

Gift wrapping service for teachers

We could use more volunteer elves earlier in the week to wrap any presents brought in by SVE staff. Sign up to be a volunteer elf this week from Tuesday to Friday. This is a no-pressure event—come for as long as you have time. 

Contribute to the SVE Staff Holiday Appreciation Lunch

We can use some more appetizers/side dishes at the PTA-hosted potluck for our staff this Tuesday, December 16. Sign up to bring food or volunteer for our staff. Drop off items by 10:00am on Tuesday, by the door before school, or on the table set up outside the office.

Student designed shirts for sale

The winning 5th-grader-designed t-shirt is available for purchase from the SVE PTA store, in youth and adult sizes, to be delivered by mail. (If you preordered the shirt and haven’t gotten it, contact communications@sve-pta.org.)

Pre-K 3

Kindergarten

2nd Grade

4th grade

Essential Areas Monthly Newsletter

Pre-K 4

1st grade 

3rd grade

5th grade

Librarian Updates