N O V E M B E R
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El Semanario
Edison Language Academy – Together Through Two Languages (310) 828-0335 www.edison.smmusd.org
ANNOUNCEMENTS
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK: SITE COUNCIL AND SAFETY COMMITTEE
Remember: Campus Opens at 7:45 a.m. -- Please do not drop off children before that time. To increase safety in the mornings, beginning in December, the front gate to campus will not open until 7:45 am. Math and the Common Core – Workshops for Parents – There are still a few spaces left in the workshops for parents on Math in the Common Core, Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI), and techniques to support children with math problem solving. Our Math Coaches Constanza Murcia and Maggie Meade will be working with parents of students in K-1-2 on Wednesday, November 12 and parents of students in 3-4-5 on Thursday, November 13 from 6:15-7:30 p.m. Child care will be provided, but reservations are required and space is limited. Register in the office. Last Volunteer Training for 20142015 - The third and final training for new parent volunteers will be held during the ELAC meeting on November 12 at 8:30 a.m. If you have questions, contact Yoly Gutierrez at (310) 828-0335, ext. 61-307. Fall Festival/Día de los Muertos Celebration If you haven’t signed up yet to volunteer, there’s still time! There are so many ways to get involved: help make tamales, assist in putting the altars display and Haunted House together, sell food the day of the event, donate cakes for the cake walk, and/or volunteer in the game or arts and crafts booths. Bring the family and enjoy an afternoon of great food, music and dance, see the new Fall Festival t-shirts, have fun with the games, be moved by the beauty of the altars, and add a remembrance to your own dearly departed. Kindergarten Orientations – This week we begin the process of finding the Kindergarten class of 2015-2016. If you have a younger child who will be five years old before September 1, 2015, please let Yoly Gutierrez know (ext. 61-307). And if you have friends who want to learn about Edison, please have them call the office to book at tour (310) 828-0335, ext. 61-349.
Two Edison committees composed of staff and parents have been hard at work this fall developing plans that guide our work in school improvement and safety. The Edison Site Council is finalizing the 2014-2015 Edison Site Plan, to guide our school improvement efforts for the next year and allocate our site resources to achieve the plan’s goals. Site Council is composed of 10 members – five representatives of school staff (three classroom teachers and a classified employee elected by their peers, and the principal) and five parents elected by other parents. To develop the annual plan, Site Council analyzes student achievement data, examines district goals and how they might best be achieved at Edison, reviews the Professional Development Plan approved by faculty, consults with teachers and parent groups, analyzes the data from the annual parent survey, reviews available categorical resources, and ensures that our plan is compliant with federal Title I requirements and state law. At its last meeting, the Council approved the plan’s goals and expenditures and will be sending the plan the school board for review and approval within the next few days. All Site Council meetings are noticed in advance and are open to the public. Site Council members serve staggered two-year terms. Parent members Roberta Brown and Pilar Guzman are finishing up their terms and their seats will be open beginning in December. Thank you for your service! If you are interested in being a candidate for Site Council for one of these terms, please fill out the nomination form included in this week’s Wednesday packet and return it to the Edison office no later than Monday, November 10. If you are sending the form electronically, email it to aalvarez@smmusd.org. The Edison Safety Committee has also begun its yearly work to review and update our Site Safety and Emergency Preparedness Plan. One of the things that we’ve noticed is that there is a small but increasing number of families who are have begun to drop their children off at school or bringing them to campus before we are open in the morning at 7:45 am. Before that time there are no staff to provide supervision and it is not safe for children to be here unattended – especially when the front gate is standing open and anyone can walk on to campus. Now that we have a properly operating before/after-hours gate on Virginia Avenue, we are able to leave the main gate locked until 7:45 am. and still give parents in the child care programs access to campus. So to enhance morning safety, effective December 1 the main gate to campus will not open until 7:45 am. We are waiting until December in order to make sure that all families who use the early morning child care program have the gate security code from their child care provider, and to allow those handful of families who have been dropping off earlier an opportunity to adjust their morning routines. If you need to drop off your children between 7:00 and 7:45 am, please look into one of the morning child care options.
November 11 –
November 12 –
November 27 & 28 –
Veteran’s Day Holiday – No Classes
ELAC Meeting & Last Volunteer Training 8:30 a.m.
Thanksgiving Holiday –
No Classes