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Edison Language Academy – Together Through Two Languages (310) 828-0335 www.edison.smmusd.org
ANNOUNCEMENTS The Annual Edison 2017 Family Survey – LAST CALL! Please give us your feedback so we can better serve our community in 2017-18.
An Edible Garden at Edison – We had an initial organizing meeting last week and will be trying to meet over the summer to get raised beds and organic soil and seeds ready for fall planting. More parent members, resources, and ideas welcome. Email or call Lori Orum to join the group (310) 828-0335, ext. 61-302, lorum@smmusd.org. Congratulations to our New PTA Board Thanks to these parents who have stepped up to lead our Edison PTA next year, organizing the programs and events that enrich our community for students, parents, and staff and leading the efforts to raise the funds to pay for them and also to support SMMEF. Position Name Heidi Aimonetti President April Fields Vice President Tynesha Williams VP Comm. & Membership Luhanda Garvin VP Fundraising Becky Constantino VP Prog. & Enrichment Liz Kok VP Special Events Ferris Kawar VP Health and Safety VP Community Integration Rebecca Cannara Ayesha Mayagoita VP SMMEF Maria Martinez Secretary David Hudson Treasurer Jeff Jordan Room Reps Chair Libby Devecchi Financial Secretary Jan Chantarasompoth Historian Thank you to our 2016-17 PTA Board for all their dedicated work -- especially to President Magdalena Grijalva and Vice President Maria Loya. Thanks to all the outgoing members of the Board for your dedication to supporting and strengthening our learning community! Mark Your Calendar for These Important Dates: August 22, First Day of School; August 29, Back to School Night for TK-2; September 5, Back to School Night for Grades 3-5.
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK: REFLECTIONS ON 2016-17 This has been a great year at Edison – an incredibly exhausting year -- but a great year! Thanks to all of you for being part of this year’s journey. We launched two new dual immersion programs this year – Edison Seaside Pre-School and Bridges Transitional Kindergarten. We welcomed thirty-eight new families and six additional and talented staff members. Teachers Patty Romo, Flavia Reed, and Lindsay Newman and Bilingual Instructional Assistants Angelica Fernandez, Cecilia Rodriguez and Nalleli Gutierrez have been wonderful additions to our staff. This year we also saw our long-standing efforts to promote both equity and excellence as a dual immersion program be recognized nationally as we were designated as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence! Our staff has worked so hard on using research-based best instructional practices to teach a rigorous curriculum. We’ve invested in strong Response to Intervention (RTI) programs, on-line learning resources to supplement instruction, and arts enrichment programs. The students worked so hard toward their goals and it’s wonderful to watch student achievement for ALL students continue to rise. Edison’s teaching artist Martha Ramirez also completed two large multi-year public art projects designed to make our new school feel more like our vibrant and diverse community. She’s putting finishing strokes on the massive mural that celebrates the way that our community is “together through two languages” in our central courtyard amphitheater. The tryptic of Mariposas Migrantes created over two years by Martha and this year’s 5th grade students will soon be installed. Finally, our community’s reaction to anti-immigration rhetoric and policy has been nothing short of uplifting. Edison families chose to stand together -- with each other and for each other. We published a statement of principles, established Wednesday morning cross-cultural dialogue groups, and launched a new Edison Family Support Network. The graduation remarks of our graduating high school seniors (who have studied together for 13 years) were mainly about how they feel like family to each other and how learning about other cultures has enriched and changed them. Even beyond the considerable advantages of being bilingual, this work of learning to be together across cultures and languages may be the most important work of our learning community.
Have a wonderful summer!! Wednesday, June 7 9:00 am 5th Grade Promotion
Tuesday, August 22 First Day of School 2017-2018 Minimum Day