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Edison Language Academy – Together Through Two Languages (310) 828-0335 www.edison.smmusd.org
ANNOUNCEMENTS School Smarts Academy – Sign up now to secure a space in this 7-week parent leadership academy. School Smarts helps parents learn how to be effectively involved in their child’s schooling – as partners and advocates. The seminars include breakfast, are presented bilingually, and will be held Monday mornings 8:30-10:00 am, beginning September 17 at school. Return one of the blue School Smarts forms to the office or contact Yoly Gutierrez at ext. 61-305 ygutierrez@smmusd.org to enroll. Hurry, spaces are limited! Support the Santa Monica Education Foundation AND the Edison PTA – Please donate (whatever amount you are able) to the Ed. Foundation and the Edison PTA. Help support Edison’s Instructional Assistants, arts programs, online learning programs, edible garden, assemblies, field trips, and more. Every dollar counts! Volunteer Trainings – Join more than 200 Edison parents who are trained and screened Parent Volunteers. For initial training – or if it’s time to renew – please join us Friday, September 14 at 8:30 am (Spanish), Friday September 21 at 8:30 am (English), or Monday evening, September 17 at 5:00 pm (bilingual presentation). To volunteer in classrooms, on field trips or in any activity where you work with students, you must have current volunteer status. Complete an application, attend one of the above trainings, and present evidence of current negative TB status. Volunteers in Preschool have additional vaccination requirements. Please note that we check all prospective volunteers on Megan’s List. Días de Independencia Tostada Party – TK and K families are invited to celebrate Latin American Independence Days and the beginning of school at a Tostada potluck on Friday, September 14 at 5:30 pm. “Escuchamos para entender” (We Listen to Understand) – Edison is sponsoring a pilot program th for 5 grade students to build students’ listening skills, teach podcasting, and foster communication with our neighborhood elders. See the flyer in this week’s packet for more information about this unique opportunity.
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK:
THE IMPORTANCE OF REGULAR ATTENDANCE Study after study confirms the importance of regular school attendance for children and the relationship between good attendance and school success. Start in preschool, TK and K to build the habit of being in school, on-time every day. Children who attend regularly in these grades are more likely to develop the social emotional skills that help them persevere in school. So much literacy instruction and practice is frontloaded in the early years, that missing instruction in these early years undercuts the foundational skills students need for reading. And in dual immersion programs, acquiring a second language absolutely requires time on task. Especially for children whose only exposure to their second language is at school, days when they are absent are days when they are not adding to their vocabulary or practicing their emergent skills. Early absences in school correlate with reading difficulties and poor attendance patterns in later years. One study in California found that st only 17% of children who were chronically absent in K and 1 grade were rd reading proficiently in 3 grade, compared to 64% of those students with good attendance. Research also shows that parents often don’t realize that absences are adding up, so SMMUSD sends home letters when tardies or absences enter the “danger zone” so you can take corrective action. Regular on-time attendance is particularly critical at Edison since every family signs either an inter-district or intra-district permit to attend. Regular attendance, good behavior, and academic progress are conditions for the annual renewal of these permits. So don’t let your child’s continued attendance at Edison be at risk because tardies and absences mount up! What can parents do? Don’t allow your child to miss school “just because.” Unless your child is ill or there is an unavoidable emergency, they should be at school. When your child must miss school, please call Senior Office Specialist Kathy Fargnoli to report the absence (310) 8280335, ext. 61-348, or email her at kfargnoli@smmusd.org. Schedule routine medical appointments after school or at the very beginning or very end of the day -- and always bring a doctor’s note. If you absolutely must be away for five or more days, use our Independent Study Program to have your child complete work while he or she is gone. Give your child’s teacher a week’s notice to prepare the materials and make sure your child completes and turns in the work to excuse the absences. We monitor attendance carefully and will contact you by letter or phone if we see that absences or tardies are creeping into the danger zone. Let’s work together to maximize students’ time in class so we can maximize learning in two languages!
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Wed. Sept. 5 – PTA Executive Board Meeting 6:00-8:00 pm Community Room
Wed. Sept 12 ELAC Meeting 8:30 am Community Room
Wed. Sept 12 PTA Association Meeting 6:00-7:30 pm