Welcome to Thomas Kelly Elementary School

Thomas Kelly: A 2020 Clear Vision for the Future

An International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) World School

Dear Parent/ Guardian:

Welcome to the new school year at Thomas Kelly Elementary!  Over the summer, we were fortunate to receive new carpeting, tile, paint and furniture to brighten the school. We are excited for you to return to see the beautiful upgrades.

At our school, we strive to conscientiously prepare each child for the challenges of the future.  Our staff is committed to the development of a safe and caring community, in addition to educational excellence that will inspire a life-long love of learning.  Our skilled, experienced, and dedicated staff believes strongly in the success of each child at the highest levels.

We would like to welcome to our staff this year Lauren Lelieur to our first grade team, Jennifer Escobar to our second grade team, Heather David and Ilse Lopez to our third grade team, Andrea Sanchez to our fourth grade team, Brandon White to our fifth grade team, Maria Lyles teaching Spanish, Chelsea Jayasinha teaching Speech, Julia McDaniel School Psychologist, Eric Anderson Program Specialist. Internal movement, Brittney Groess moved to second grade and Debra Matson will be continuing as our Art teacher and additionally is taking on the role of IB Coordinator.

As an IB PYP world school, your child will participate in daily thematic units of study through our Programme of Inquiry (POI) and receive second language instruction in Spanish.  What you will see in the classroom is hands-on inquiry based learning focused on a central idea that builds knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes and actions.  Within the Programme of Inquiry there are six transdiciplinary themes: Who we are; Where we are in place and time; How we express ourselves; How the world works; How we organize ourselves; Sharing the planet.  The goal of the IB PYP is to develop internationally minded students who recognize their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet and help create a better more peaceful world.  Please review our school website or go to www.ibo.org/pyp for more information.

Parent involvement is a critical component of the Thomas Kelly success story.  There are many opportunities to become involved at Thomas Kelly.  We hope you will take advantage of some of those opportunities.  We value your support as a parent and partner in educating your child.  We encourage you to be involved with your child’s school and education.  From making sure that your child is well-rested and nourished, to getting your child to school every day on time, to attending parent/teacher conferences, to volunteering at our school, to being an active member of our PTA.   Your involvement sets the stage for your child’s academic success.  Please join us in creating and developing a positive, respectful, engaging, and challenging learning environment.

San Juan Unified School District uses Common Core State Standards at each grade level, as well as ongoing assessments, to communicate academic growth.  Our standards-based report card supports the reporting of student achievement for each of the three trimesters during the school year.  Under the umbrella of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme philosophy, curriculum, and pedagogy, our school delivers a rigorous instructional program that emphasizes literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies, along with the San Juan Unified School District’s Board-approved character traits of respect, responsibility, honesty, caring, cooperation, and courage.

Student safety is of the utmost importance in our school.  Thomas Kelly has a comprehensive safety and emergency plan in place and drills are practiced regularly so that students know what to do in the event of an emergency.  Thomas Kelly also has student supervision plans in place that detail classroom monitoring, as well as monitoring before, during, and after school.

At Thomas Kelly, students are Thinkers, Principled, and Caring in everything they do. We take pride in what we do and who we are.  Please join us in making this school year the BEST EVER for our students!! Thank you for choosing Thomas Kelly Elementary School, home of the Soaring Eagles!!

Sincerely,

Josh Costa, Principal

Josh Costa

Thomas Kelly Principal