FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions 
of students and parents.
  1. How can I contact Leticia?
  2. When is homework due?
  3. Welcome
  4. Villa Information
  5. Morning Procedure
  6. Share day
  7. Snack and Lunch
  8. Teacher & Parent Communication
  9. Class Website
  10. Attendance
  11. Medication and Illness
  12. Bus and Carpool
  13. Parent Volunteer Hours
  14. Art Masterpiece
  15. Helping Hands/Wish List
  16. Parent-Teacher Conferences
  17. Toys & Electronics at School
  18. Outdoor Environment
  19. Fundraisers
  20. Contracts
  21. Specials



How can I contact Leticia?

Leticia uses her morning time to prepare for class.  Please call 
the office to leave a message for her, at 602-765-4325. You may 
also send a note with your child, or email her at:
lhector@villamontessori.com or hectortish@yahoo.com
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When is homework due?

Homework is due on Mondays at 8:30am, unless stated otherwise.
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Welcome

We are extremely excited to welcome all previous and new students 
and families to our class this year.  We are looking forward to 
having a positive, succesful, and productive school year.
Here is a little about me and my history here at Villa. This will 
be my 8th school year at Villa. My experience includes that of 
being an assistant for the 9-12 classroom, 6-9 lead teacher at 
the Davis campus, and a 9-12 lead teacher here at the Cheryl 
campus. My time here has been absolutely wonderful.  The unity 
between my colleagues, students, and the parental support 
provided has been prevalent through these 7 years.  I look 
forward to spending another year with my current students and 
meeting those that will be entering 4th grade. I have an 11 
year old daughter who is in 6th grade. My hobbies include dancing 
and watching sports. 
David has been at Villa for 6 years where he started as a parent 
who volunteered in his daughters class to becoming a full time 
staff member working along side me. David is a great inspiration 
for myself and the class. His knowledge from his life and travels 
brings a lot to this class. He has developed several great 
relationships with the staff, parents, and students here at Villa 
and he will add a lot of life this year with his presence. He
has a daughter in high school and his hobbies include surfing, 
hiking, and anything outdoors.
Albert Marcuri has been checker/assistant to both Monica's and 
our classroom for the past year.  Attending Villa when he was a 
6th grader, Albert had decided to return now on the teaching end 
of the Montessori experience.  Before joining the Villa staff, 
Albert graduated with honors with an Associate in Arts degree in 
2006 and is currently working on a Bachelor's degree in Religious 
Studies.  Albert enjoys and practices martial arts, yoga, and 
running.  He also enjoys teaching the arts to all ages. Albert 
has been a great addition, adding balance, knowledge, and passion 
to our class and we are happy to have him back.
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Villa Information

• The mandatory parent orientation meeting will be held on 
Wednesday, September 9th @ Camelback High School at 7pm.
• The Villa school calendar is available on Villa’s homepage. The 
school calendar is important to have handy because of the vast 
amount of reminder dates and events posted. 
• Personal changes: If phone numbers and or addresses change 
please contact the main office.
• Visitors: Visitors must check in the office before roaming the 
campus or classes. A badge/pass will be given and should be worn 
when observing the campus and or classes. 
• Tardy students need to report to the office where they check in 
with Tiffany. Parents are required to sign their child in/out if 
they are late or leaving the school early. 
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Morning Procedure

When your child arrives at school in the morning please have 
him/her hang their backpack on the rail and lunch in the cubbies 
located in our lunch area.
The morning should be spent playing and having fun with friends. 
This time in the morning is important for the children to release 
any and all outside energy they may consume. This time is also 
important to the teachers because we spend all the time we have 
planning the day. I am always open to speak & or meet with any 
parent as long as an appointment is set up ahead of time. 
The morning planning is very crucial to the organization and 
functioning of the day. Thank You!!!!
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Share day

Share will be held on Friday mornings approximately around 8:30. 
Items brought to share should only be available during share time 
in order to eliminate any class disruptions throughout the day.
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Snack and Lunch

Healthy snacks are the only items permitted.  Fruits and veggies 
for snack are strongly recommended for student snacks, so that 
they can get their necessary fuel for their hard working days.  
No chocolate, candy, or soda will be allowed. There is no 
microwave in the classroom so please make sure your child’s lunch 
is fully prepared. Putting warm food in an insulated container 
will be helpful. There is a campus policy now in place for 
students who forget their lunch. A small lunch such as a bagel & 
cream cheese, cheese & crackers, or PB & J sandwiches will be 
available 2x, the 3rd time of forgetting a lunch will lead to a 
child receiving natural consequences of not eating a lunch for 
that day. 
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Teacher & Parent Communication

The best way to reach David or myself is via email. I check my 
Villa email every morning. (lhector@villamontessori.com). I also 
can be reached at hectortish@yahoo.com, which I try to check 
during the day a couple of times.  David’s email is 
mcthrall@yahoo.com. He also can be reached by text at 
(602) 570-3456. Notes can also be sent with your child in their 
parent communication folder/binder. I check folders &/or ask 
students for any notes from home first thing in the morning or 
right before we dismiss for the day.  I also try to communicate 
through newsletters, weekly reminders, parent coordinator emails, 
& through news flashes on our webpage. 
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Class Website

A great way to get updated on what is going on around our school, 
campus, and class is through our class website. On the website 
you will be able to find date reminders, parent sign up forms and 
any other information I pass to our parent class coordinator and 
webmaster, Veronica Blair. 
The password for sign up forms will be:  class0910
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Attendance

The morning is a very peaceful time for the class. Class does 
begin at 8:30. It is important that your child get to school on 
time. We are also required by law to report any tardiness.  Our 
policy for students that are tardy, those that arrive after start 
of class at 8:30, must report to the office with their parent to 
sign in. It is important to be on time so as not to miss work 
time or announcements and avoid disrupting the other students and 
classroom.
Regular attendance is very important for both your child’s 
academic progress and feeling a part of our classroom community. 
If your child is absent please contact the office or myself.  The 
state will deduct tuition money if absences exceed a certain 
percentage. Some illnesses waive the deduction so it is important 
that we know the reason for the absence. Please plan trips during 
the times when there is no school so that your child does not 
miss lessons and assignments. If your child is tardy or leaves 
school early, there is a sign in/out form that will need to be 
signed by the parent/guardian.
If your child is to be absent for any reason, we now have a 
dedicated phone number to report your child not being at school. 
That number is 602 458-1356. 
If for some reason you decide to withdrawal your child out of 
Villa, a form must be filled and returned to the office.
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Medication and Illness

Please make sure the blue card emergency contact form is up to 
date. If your child is sick/ill or in an accident, we will need 
to contact a parent/guardian.  If your child had medication that 
needs to be taken, Bernita will distribute the medication when 
needed. For your child with asthma, a form is now available in 
the main office for parents to fill out, giving your child 
permission to hold his/her inhaler with them.
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Bus and Carpool

Bus will pick up the Cheryl students at 3:20. Any child in circle 
will stay 
on the campus until 4:20 when the bus will take all Cheryl circle
students to the Meadowbrook campus. If your child misses the bus
he/she will call home. If your child does not need to catch the 
bus on 
certain days please contact the office or send a note to school. 
Parent 
communication is necessary to maintain safety after school.
Please do not block traffic. If you need to wait for your child 
or speak to 
your child�s teacher please park. Carpool ends at 3:30. Once the 
clock 
strikes 3:30 a $1 per min. will be issued by Bernita.
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Parent Volunteer Hours

With the charter each family is asked to donate ten hours of 
their time. A list had been included with the welcome letter this 
summer. A form will be sent home and posted on our class website 
showing the parents responsible for various jobs. If a job has 
not been listed but happens to come up please feel free to 
contact me. You can track your volunteer hours online through the 
Villa website. I will do my best to keep the jobs you requested 
in mind when choosing parents for particular jobs. One job in 
mind is signing up for the Halloween carnival. A sign up sheet is 
available in the classroom, or online.
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Art Masterpiece

We will be having art masterpiece 1x a month. Any 2 parents given 
this job
will need to spend 2-3 hours a month outside of the class and 1 
� - 2 hrs a
month in the classroom. There will be an art masterpiece meeting 
for the 2
parents.
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Helping Hands/Wish List

A variety of helping hands are in place for anyone who would like 
to donate or purchase items for the class. The Helping Hands 
program is extremely important to our class because it allows us 
to contribute to the classroom the items/materials necessary to 
enrich our exciting curriculum. Thank you ahead of time for those 
who donate their time, money, and energy to help the class.
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Parent-Teacher Conferences

Fall conferences are scheduled for November 30th thru December 
8th. I usually attempt to give additional days and times in order 
to work with different schedules.  Spring conferences will be 
held the week of April 26th thru May 3rd . Sign ups for 
conferences will be available on our class website.
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Toys & Electronics at School

Please do not allow your child to bring toys and electronics to 
school. It has been made a school wide rule due to the amount of 
classroom distractions. If your child brings a toy and 
electronics, it will be held by the teacher until the end of the 
day. No electronic devices will be allowed as well.  Cell phones 
should be kept off and given to the teacher to be locked up 
during the school day. Any phones found being used during school 
time will be kept in the office for a parent to pick up at their 
own convenience. 
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Outdoor Environment

This year Craig Klodzinski will be our ODE teacher. He will be 
communicating with the teachers directly to correlate activities 
with our curriculum. The students will go to ODE once a week for 
a presentation and then will have the opportunity to go out again 
and choose a specific project to work on. Craig will hand out 
either a flyer/newsletter for necessary items the students may 
need in order to make ODE more effective for the students.
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Fundraisers

Sally Foster: August (Profit will go toward classroom materials)

Class DVD: April ($15) DVD handed out on Monday May 24th. 

Pizza Friday: Every Friday beginning August 21st excluding half 
days (Profit will go toward classroom support)

Valentines Day Grams: February (Profit will go toward our school 
library)

Villa School Apparel: This is a major school fundraiser to 
support grade level overnight trips.
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Contracts

Contracts/workplans will be handed out and used for students to 
plan their
day, week, or month. In our class, we allow the student to choose 
what works
best for them. Class worktime is limited throughout the week so 
planning is
very important. 4th graders will be planning their days with a 
6th grade
mentor. Contracts and work will be checked off daily and 
conferencing with 
the students will be held every Thursday. A progress report will 
go home and 
a parent is asked to sign the progress report and return with 
homework on
Mondays. This will make the communication between teacher/parent 
easy.
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Specials

•	P.E. will be held on Monday by class & Thursday 
afternoons by grade level.
• Music/Ceramics will be held on Monday by class.
• Odyssey of the Mind/Science will also be held on Thursday 
afternoons by grade level. 
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