S E P T E M B E R
5 - 9 ,
2 0 1 6
El Semanario
Edison Language Academy – Together Through Two Languages (310) 828-0335 www.edison.smmusd.org
ANNOUNCEMENTS Volunteer Opportunities and Training – Fun and very helpful ways this Fall to give your annual 20 hours of volunteer service include the Book Fair, Festival de Otoño/Día de los Muertos, helping with Valet, Recycling or Garden programs, assisting in the Library or volunteering to help your child’s teacher in the classroom. Volunteering directly with children requires that you be trained and cleared with your status updated every four years. If you are a new volunteer or it’s time to renew, please come to the training on Monday, September 12 at 8:30 am in the cafeteria. Uncertain about your status? Contact, Yoly Gutierrez at ext. 61312 or ygutierrez@smmusd.org. The Edison English Learners Advisory Council (ELAC) is a group designed for parents of children learning English as their second language. ELAC members learn about school and community programs and offer advice to the school on the needs of our English learners. If your child is learning English as his or her second language, grab a cup of coffee at Cafecito and join us at ELAC on Wednesday morning, September 14 in the Community Room. PTA Association Meeting – Wed., September 21 is our first PTA Association meeting of the year. PTA represents all parents at Edison and organizes community-building and cultural events, provides enrichment programming and raises funds for our school. Come and hear about plans for the year, tell us your ideas about good topics for parent education or family events. PTA Members will also vote on the PTA budget. Sign Ups Are Open for the School Smarts Academy, a 7-week parent leadership academy teaching how parents can make a big difference by being effectively involved in their child’s schooling – as partners and advocates. The seminars are presented bilingually and space is limited. Additional information is included with this Wednesday’s packet. So please use the tear-off on the enclosed flyer and let us hear from you! Or contact Yoly Gutierrez at ext. 61-312 or email her at ygutierrez@smmusd.org if you would like to grab one of the spots.
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK: OFF TO A GREAT START! I love the first days of school each year! It’s always exciting to see our returning students and marvel at how much they seem to have grown in the 10 weeks that they’ve been away. And it’s exciting to meet our new students and their families – this year nearly 120 new students in Pre-K, TK, K and a few at all other grade levels. We had a very smooth opening this year and the children are rapidly adjusting to new class routines and the excitement of the new things they’ll learn in school this year. Thanks to the nearly 200 parents who came to the Back to School Chats with the Principal last week and those who are already signing up to be Room Representatives. Our hardworking PTA Board and Committee Chairs have hosted a Welcome Picnic, provided a welcome-back luncheon for staff, stuffed all our opening day packets, sent out directory update forms and PTA membership envelopes out to everyone, had a room representative training, are helping coordinate the 3rd grade food sales at the August 30, Back to School Night, and are setting up for Bookfair. Whew! As always at the beginning of the year, we reflect back on the past year and re-dedicate ourselves to being a school community with a safe, respectful and engaging climate. In addition to providing a high quality immersion program, we stive to be a school that helps all children achieve at high levels and close achievement gaps. Our achievement scores are again very encouraging – with some particularly strong growth in 4th and 5th grades. But every year there’s room to grow and we strive to be better. Edison is following the SMMUSD district-wide goals for this year, working on: 1) building student engagement; 2) providing a guaranteed viable curriculum, and 3) supporting high performing staff teams. These first weeks in the year, we are especially focusing on teaching the tools and structures that promote an school climate that is safe and respectful of all students and cultures and engages students in learning. We are using tools from the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, Cool Tools, and the Caring School Community and teachers are committing regular time to class meetings to practice problem solving skills and respectful behavior toward others. In our Parent Handbook, you can review our school’s core values, expectations for student behavior, and the different tools we use. There is also a summary included in this week’s Wednesday packet. We will be discussing these further at a parent workshop on Olweus, Cool Tools and Caring School Community on Wednesday morning, November 2. We hope to partner with you this year in this important area!
Tuesday, 9/6 Back to School Night Grades 3-4-5
Wednesday, 9/14 ELAC Meeting 8:30 am Community Room
Wednesday, 9/14 Site Council - 4:00 6:00 pm Community Room