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Edison Language Academy – Together Through Two Languages (310) 828-0335 www.edison.smmusd.org
ANNOUNCEMENTS Dia de los Muertos/Fall Festival – Saturday, November 3 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. Join us for this signature Edison event! Conferences – Make sure you have signed up for a Parent-Teacher Conference Nov. 6-9th. These conferences are an important way to see how your child has been doing this fall and to make a plan to make sure they are on track to meet academic and social/ emotional growth goals by the end of the year. Tuesday, November 6 is a pupil free day and November 7, 8, 9 are early dismissal days to allow for conference appointments. Site Council Nominations – We are still looking for nominations of parents to serve on Site Council. There are two vacancies and training is provided. Meetings are once per month from 4:00-6:00 pm. Please consider nominating yourself for one of these important positions. Nomination Forms are included again this week. Halloween Parade – Wed., October 31; 9:00 am Edison field – Please let your child’s teacher know if you would like an alternate activity for your child. Remember, no masks that obscure vision, no props that look like weapons or which could be a hazard in a crowded parade. Make sure your child has a change of clothes for the rest of the day.
Sibling Preference for 2019-20 TK and K Applications are due November 2. Applications to claim a sibling preference for Seaside Preschool are due November 15. See Yoly immediately for an application.
Building the Dia de los Muertos Altars – If you can spare some time the morning or afternoon of Friday, November 2, come and help build the classroom altars. Contact your room rep for specific times. Volunteers are still needed for set up, booths, and clean up.
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK: ELECTION DAY: A GREAT TEACHING OPPORTUNITY This coming Tuesday, November 6 is election day in the United States. While we teach civics as part of your child’s curriculum at school, please consider using the fact that we have a pupil free day on November 6 to give your child some hands-on civics education. Civics is the study of the rights and duties of citizenship. All our students need to understand how the system works – whether they are currently citizens or may become citizens someday. One of the best ways to familiarize children with the process of voting is to share it with them. When I was a child, my parents woke me up early and took me to the polls with them before they went to work. My parents discussed the issues with us as they marked their sample ballots. I grew up to be a voter in part because my parents were voters. But I also vote because our Constitution initially did not allow women, people of color, native peoples, or people without property to vote and because it has been a long and dogged struggle (continuing today) to gain the right for all citizens to vote. There are many things that we vote on each year that affect us all. For example: whether our schools have enough resources; if we have laws that promote affordable housing; what wage and labor laws will be; the extent to which we protect the environment, uphold civil rights, or create fair elections; how high taxes will be and which groups will be taxed most heavily; what sort of laws and policies will govern immigration and refugees; how we will count people in the Census, etc. And, in each election cycle, voters choose candidates who share their beliefs and can convert these ideas into laws. Whether these are candidates for school board, city council, mayors, governors, representatives to state or federal government, judges, and even the President – they all work for us. And the way that we hire or fire them is by showing up to vote. If you think that a few votes don’t matter, think again! Many critical decisions are made by a small minority of people who actually register and show up to vote. This year many contests will be decided by just a few votes. In the mid-term elections, for example, usually only 40% of registered voters actually exercise their privilege and cast a ballot. And nearly a quarter of citizens who are eligible to vote, don’t register or vote. Why don’t we all use a little bit of children’s pupil free day on Election Day to build their knowledge about civic participation and create the next generation of active and engaged voters! ¡Su voto es su voz! / Your vote is your voice!
November 6 – Election Day And Pupil Free Day for Conferences
November 12 – Veteran’s Day Holiday – No School
November 22 and 23 – Thanksgiving Holiday recess – No School