44260 Sage Road
Aguanga, CA 92536
Principal, John Wilder
Principal’s Message
Cottonwood Families,
You are invited to join us to
learn about the Local Control
Accountability
Plan.
Administrators from the district
office will be here to share the
future plans for the district and
our school. We would love for
you to hear about the plans
Hemet Unified School District
has for the future of our
students.
The
meeting
will
be
th
Wednesday, May 6 at 3:004:00 in the MPR. Also, please
take a few minutes to complete
the LCAP survey on the
Cottonwood website. We need
as many parents as possible to
share their thoughts.
I cannot believe how quickly
our school year has gone by! I
2015
am so proud of the progress
the students have made this
year and all of the hard work
they have done. It is truly
wonderful to be the principal at
Cottonwood!
Of course we want our
students to relax and enjoy
their time off, but with short
periods of learning each day,
they will keep their skills sharp
for the following school year!
I want to remind you that
summer time is a great
opportunity for fun learning
experiences for students. It is a
great time for students to find
books that capture their
interest and take their time
reading them without having to
take a test. They can also write
about experiences while they
are traveling and keep a fun
journal of the things they see
and do. There are numerous
free online resources that can
help students build proficiency
in math and reading for both
elementary and middle school.
I hope you all have a safe and
fun summer vacation!
1
Mr. Wilder
Beat the Heat:
Don’t Over Do It
By Jillian Daudert
With the summer months
quickly approaching, I
have put together some
tips and information so
that you can keep your
cool this summer.
In this region of
California we are faced with
high temperatures during the
summer months. Baseball,
soccer, hiking and going to the
beach can be fun activities that
kids and adults can enjoy
during the warmer months.
This summer keep in mind that
a little preparation can go a
long way. Here are some tips to
keep the kids cool.

Schedule your outdoor
activities in the morning or
evening hours, to avoid the
hottest portion of the day.
 Dress children in loose,
lightweight, light colored
clothing.
 Never
leave
infants,
children, or pets in a
parked car (even if the
windows
are
cracked
open).
 Cover up with a light
garment. A light layer of
clothing will protect against
UV rays.
 Use sunscreen with at least
SPF15 every time you go
outside.
 Stay hydrated; drink plenty
of water, and not as many
sugary beverages.
 Be aware of the signs and
symptoms of heat-related
illness.
Heat exhaustion is related
to the heat index, which is a
measurement of how hot you
feel when the effects of relative
humidity and air temperature
are combined. A relative
humidity of 60% or more
causes sweat evaporation,
which makes it difficult for your
body to cool itself. The risk of
heat-related illness increases
significantly when the heat
index reaches 90 degrees or
more. So it is important
(especially during heat waves),
to pay attention to the
reported heat index. Heatrelated illness, including heat
exhaustion and heat stroke are
conditions
that
are
preventable, but can really put
a damper on a beautiful
summer day.

Heat-related
illness
occurs when our body’s
temperature
control
system
becomes
overloaded.
Heat
exhaustion and heat stroke
2


are the common terms for
heat related illness.
Heat exhaustion vs. heat
stroke - Heat exhaustion
isn’t as serious as heat
stroke, but it can quickly
progress into heat stroke
and should be taken very
seriously.
Symptoms
-Confusion
-Dark-colored urine (a sign
of dehydration)
-Dizziness
-Fainting
-Fatigue
-Headache
-Muscle
cramps
or
abdominal
-Nausea, vomiting,
or diarrhea
-Pale skin
-Profuse sweating
-Rapid heartbeat
Heat Stroke, occurs when the
body’s
core
temperature
reaches 104 degrees F. It may
be difficult to determine if a
person is experiencing heat
stroke or heat exhaustion.
Always err on the side of
caution and consider that a
person may need emergency
medical attention.
 Treatment
-Take immediate action to cool
the person.
-Move into an air-conditioned
room, or a cooler shady spot.
Remove excess clothing.
-Cool the person with whatever
resources are available. Run a
cool bath or shower, spray the
person with a garden hose, fan
him/her while misting with cool
water, use icepacks or cool
towels and place on the head,
neck, armpits, and groin area.
Sources
Make Summer Safe for Kids.
Centers for Disease Control
and
Prevention.
http://www.cdc.gov/family/ki
ds/summer/. Accessed April
27, 2015.
Diseases and Conditions
Heatstroke. Mayo Clinic.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/di
seases-conditions/heatstroke/basics/symptoms/con20032814. Accessed April 27,
2015.
please
office.
contact
the
school
It is hard to believe May is
already here! The calendar is
full of year end activities, and
we are all working on finishing
up those last few things before
summer break. I would like to
thank each of you for making
this a successful year for PTO.
We couldn’t have done it
without your support and
participation! Because of your
generosity, PTO has been able
to provide funds for Read
Across
America,
Student
Awards, the P.E. Program, and
(of course!) the End of the Year
Swim Party. Thank you for
helping our kids!
Pancake
Breakfast Our
pancake breakfast was a great
success. Thank you for the
food donations that came in!!!
I would also like to say a special
thank you to our wonderful
PTO Board members: Vice
President – Phyllis Petri,
Treasurer
–
Stephanie
Gutierrez, and Secretary –
Jamie Nechochea. You ladies
have been an amazing team to
work with! Words cannot
express how grateful I am for
all the time and energy you
have put into your jobs this
year.
Thank you for your support of
the Box Tops program this
year. Nearly 6,000 Box Tops
were sent in - that is equivalent
to almost $600 for our school!
Let’s try and double that for
next year!
Congratulations to our 20152016
Board
Members!
President - Debbie Haar, Vice
President of Fundraising –
Elizabeth Alaniz, and Vice
President of Membership Phyllis Petri. We wish you well
for the upcoming school year!
There are openings for
Treasurer and Secretary still
open if you are interested
3
Dudley’s Bakery Fundraiser Thank you for helping with our
last fundraiser of the year.
Orders will be ready for pick-up
after school on May 7th.
Staff Appreciation Week - We
will be celebrating our Super
Staff from May 4th – 8th. We
have a few surprises planned
for them! If you would like to
find out how you can help, send
me
an
email!
([email protected])
See you at our last PTO
Meeting of the year on May
6th at 2:30 pm!
Donna Fiehler
PTO President
Wanted to let you know that
our last Book Fair was a big
success! We kept a little over
$800.00 in profit and $400.00
in scholastic dollars! Thank you
to my wonderful volunteers!
Melissa DeSantiago, Debbie
Haar, Maria DiFranco, Vanessa
and Karina DiFranco. Also,
thank you to all the afterschool program students who
help set-up and take down the
book fair.
You are the best! Thank you
so much!
Library books
All library books are due on or
before May 14.
Textbooks are due as soon as
teachers are done with end of
the year lesson.
Mrs. Estrella
As indicated in the Cottonwood
Student Handbook, electronic
devices are NOT to be brought
to school. This includes IPods,
video gaming devices, CD
players, etc. If cell phones are
brought to school they must be
turned off.
Saturday, May 16th
2015
9am until 5pm
Cottonwood Art Program is
pleased to announce a new
location for Cowboy Days, our
annual fundraiser. This year we
will be hosted by The Anza
Valley Lion’s Club at their
Equestrian Arena on Kirby Road
in Anza.
We will be having horse events
of Team Roping 9am, Team
Sorting 11am, Barrel Racing
2pm and these will be followed
by fun events of Washington
Poles, Ribbon Race and Apple
Bobbin beginning at 3pm. This
year we have scheduled a
Mounted Drill Team and
Cowboy Reenactment starting
at 12noon. Food will be served
4
all day, live music from local
bands and some of our very
own local kids will be
performing. We also have
Vendors, fun kid games,
bounce house and cowpat
bingo.
Yup you’re in the
country now! Ya’ll come out
and have a fun day with us.
Admission
$5,
Children’s
Admission is free!
We are also looking for raffle
prizes and volunteers to help
throughout the day, please call
Sacha Hope 951-809-5903 or
Stephanie Brande 951-3315421 for more information.
Giddy up!
Parents, please review with
your students our guidelines
concerning the dress code at
Cottonwood and the Hemet
Unified School District. This
information can be found on
page 17-19 of “The Student
Handbook” that was sent home
on the first day of school.
The SAFE and Zone afterschool
programs
currently
have
openings for students from 1st8th grade. We offer homework
assistance,
sports,
lit/art,
drama, dance, cooking club,
and other activities. These are
provided at no cost to you.
Bussing home is also included
free of charge. If you think that
you might be interested, please
pick up an application, either in
the office, during school hours
or in room 18 between the
hours of 2pm and 6:30pm. If
you
would
like
more
information, please contact
Emily Miller, Site Facilitator, at
951.775.6296, between the
hours of 2pm and 6:30pm,
Monday-Thursday, and 1pm6:30pm on Fridays.
The SAFE and Zone
After School programs just had
our annual Fashion Show and
Baked Potato Dinner to help
raise funds for our High School
Scholarship program.
The
event was incredibly successful
thanks to our wonderful staff
(Ms. Norma, Mrs. DiFranco and
Ms. Veronica) and students
who participated. We would
love to thank all of our
contributors, especially the
Cottonwood
PTO,
Robin
Hammond, Claudia Taylor, Ben
Ferguson, Ray Carrera, Steve
Wood,
Mr.
Wilder
and
Charlotte Grant! The event
would not have been possible
without
you!
Thank you to all of the students
who helped make decorations
at
our
middle
school Saturday workshops,
to Mrs. Fiehler, Mrs. Necochea,
Mrs. Gutierrez and Mr.
DeSantiago, for chaperoning
our Middle School Dance. The
energy was great, the music fun
and it was a good time had by
all! I also want to thank Katie
Turk for the beautiful flowers
and Melody Baker for helping
me Friday afternoon
and
Saturday morning, I appreciate
all of your assistance! – Mrs.
Packard
Fifth Grade to Shadow Middle
School!
Fifth grade parents, here is an
opportunity to see what Middle
5
School is all about. Fifth
graders and their parents will
follow a five period middle
school schedule to learn what
middle school is like, what they
will need, and how to start off
next fall ready and successful!
This event will last just under
two hours, giving Cottonwood
5th graders the opportunity to
visit each classroom. This
begins at 8 a.m. and will
conclude at 10 a.m. on Monday
May
4th.
We
strongly
encourage parents to attend to
learn about online access to
grades, homework policies,
expectations, sporting events
and elective opportunities. At
the conclusion, Mr. Wilder will
be available to answer parent
questions.
Mrs. Rebecca Packard
Hello Parents, from the
Yearbook Staff!
As we close in on the end of the
year, I’d like to remind you that
our Yearbook is on sale. So
order your Yearbook now,
don’t wait. A mere $30 for a
lifetime
of
scintillating
thoughts!
Mr. Alex Avilez