Happy September, Bobcat Families!

We're making a small change to how we share school news: instead of weekly newsletters from the school, you'll now get our Bobcat Trail Talk once a month. You will still get weekly updates from your child’s teacher, so you’ll stay in the loop. This change helps us focus on sharing the bigger school-wide updates in one place.

Parent-teacher conferences are coming up soon, and it’s a great chance to check in on how your child is doing so far this school year. Teachers will be sending out sign-up links (if they haven’t already), so keep an eye out for this. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to your child's teacher directly.

And can you believe Fall Break is just around the corner? This year, Fall Break runs from September 22nd to October 3rd, and school will start back up on Tuesday, October 7th for students, as Monday the 6th is a Teacher Inservice Work Day.

For the month of September, our focus kindness word is: BE HONEST

Thanks for being such an important part of our Bobcat community. We’re looking forward to a fantastic September!

Mrs. Smith

September 2 - PTO Cookie Dough Fundraiser Ends

September 9 - AJUSD Governing Board Meeting 6pm@ District Office

September 11 - Early Release @ 1:35pm PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES

September 12 - Early Release @ 1:35pm PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES

September 15-19 - Quarterly Benchmark Week Grades 3-5

September 16 - PTO Meeting @ 4pm

September 17 - Early Release Wednesday @ 1:35pm

September 22 - October 3 - FALL BREAK (NO SCHOOL)

October 6 - Teacher Inservice Work Day (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS)

October 7 - School Resumes for Students

We hope you had a fantastic long weekend with friends and family and are ready to jump back into action!

 

Last week, we hosted our first Goodies with Grown-Ups on Wednesday 8/27, and we were AMAZED at the turn out! There were over 230 guests that showed up to support our Bobcat kiddos, and you could truly feel the love and enthusiasm in the room. We hope that the breakfast helped everyone start off their day with a smile and no one left hungry – we can’t wait to see you all at our next event!

 

Our Otis Spunkmeyer Cookie Dough & More fundraiser is officially coming to an end on Tuesday 9/2 – all paper orders should be turned in no later than Wednesday 9/3 so the credits can be added to your account in time to hand out final prizes on Friday 9/5. We will also be adding all remaining entries for our PTO raffle and drawing names on Friday afternoon. All winners will be announced during the school day and will get their choice of various dessert boxes, lunch delivered to school for the winning student and a friend, a mini refrigerator stocked with popular treats, an Amazon tablet, and more…trust us, you do NOT want to miss out on this opportunity! Our organization remains dedicated to raising funds for important classroom materials, supplies, and activities, as well as field trips and services that are not funded by the school district. As of Sunday evening, with only 94 of our 300 students registered, we have currently raised $12,048.00 – an impressive 80% to our goal! Every little bit helps enhance the Bobcat experience for our kiddos, and our Bobcats have once again knocked it out of the park!

 

Our first Bobcat spirit shirt order has arrived, and anyone with a pending order has been notified. If this includes you, please ensure you have replied to the email with your preference of pick-up in the front office or sending your items home with your students. We ordered some extra items in various styles/colors/sizes, but you can also continue to submit orders online throughout the school year. Most items are $15.00, and we are now offering tank tops, long sleeve shirts, performance tees, and hoodies (on top of the usual t-shirts). Our next bulk order will likely be submitted over fall break, but we’ll keep you posted on that. The kiddos love to show their school pride every Friday, so show your Bobcat spirit and get yours now!

 

Our first PTO member meeting of this school year is scheduled for Tuesday 9/16 at 4 pm (location TBA), where we will be introducing all our members and discussing plans for this year. Whether you are looking for volunteer opportunities, seeking information regarding upcoming events, or just want to meet other Bobcat community members, we hope to see you there! If you aren’t interested in attending our meetings, you can still see all the latest news by following us on Facebook using the QR code and/or link below. You can also reach out to us directly at PTESBobcats.PTO@gmail.com with any questions or suggestions.

PTO QR CODE

Don't forget that missing just 18 days in a school year—that’s just two days a month—means a student is considered chronically absent according to the state of Arizona? Chronic absenteeism has a significant impact not only on a child’s academic success, but also on our school’s ability to earn a strong state letter grade, which includes a component specifically tied to reducing student absences.

At Peralta Trail Elementary, we believe every day counts. Students who are in school consistently are more likely to stay on track, build stronger relationships, and reach their academic goals. We know that sometimes absences are unavoidable—especially for medical reasons—and we completely understand. When that happens, please be sure to turn in a doctor's note to the office so we can document the absence appropriately.

We are asking for your continued partnership to help all our Bobcats succeed. Here’s how you can help:

When we work together, we can make a real difference—not just in attendance numbers, but in the lives of our students. Let’s show up strong, Bobcats!

🧠 STEM Focus: Chemistry, Observation, Hypothesis

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Grades: K–5

⏱️ Time: 20–30 minutes

🍂 Theme: Fall, Apples, Hands-on Learning

🌋 Activity: Apple Volcanoes!

Challenge:

Can you turn an apple into a fizzing volcano? Explore simple chemistry with this fizzy, apple-scented reaction.

🛠️ Materials:

👣 Instructions:

🔍 STEM Connection:

💬 Extension Ideas:

📸 Share Your Eruption!

Send Mrs. Smith a photo of your apple volcano and your observations to pat.smith@goaj.org to be spotlighted in our October newsletter!

Safety is a priority and we want to make sure that the procedures are followed for a smooth arrival and dismissal. Any transportation changes MUST go through the main office (480-677-7540) no later than 1:00 pm.

Please remember the following:

Please use the QR Code to add money to your child's lunch account or to apply for free and reduced lunch; we encourage everyone to apply! Did you know that Peralta Trail Elementary receives Title I funding for important programs? Our allocation of Title I funding depends on the percentage of students who qualify for Free & Reduced lunch; this is why we encourage you to apply each year. Be sure to apply if you have not done so already for the 2025-26 school year. Thank you!

Last year, AJUSD adopted a cell phone policy for our campuses. Thank you for your support and reminding your child of our Cell Phone Policy. Last year we only had a few issues and students were more focused during the school day. If a student has a cell phone, once on campus they are to turn it off and secure it in their backpack as it is not permitted to be out during school hours. Please see the new policy below: