The Weekly Wave

Happy Weekend Short Avenue Families and Friends!

Last week my Weekly Wave message ended with the following words: “Our school is not perfect. Nor is my staff. Nor am I. There will always be hiccups and room for growth.” This week we saw how true this is for our community.

To be clear, our Short Ave Cell Phone policy is that students are not to have cell phones on campus. We know, however, that many parents still send their children with phones for a variety of reasons. If a student has their phone out at any time, we instruct them to put it away. If a student does not comply, or takes it out again, it is confiscated and will be returned to a parent.

Short Ave does not have a wide-spread cell phone issue on our campus. In about 40 days as your Proud Principal, I think I have seen 3 phones out during the school day. I am not including at the dismissal gate, where a student is coordinating a pick up with a parent. On each of those 3 occasions, students put their phones away when asked.

After the unfortunate incident this week I have reached out to my staff to reiterate our cell phone policy and I have connected with ALL three after school programs to make sure that their policy aligns with our school policy. I have also received many suggestions for parent workshops regarding children and cell phones, and we will work to meet this ask.

On Monday I am hosting our Coffee With the Principal for the month of October. We have a very full agenda that I am adjusting to carve out about 20 minutes to discuss, and have a sharing of ideas, regarding our cell phone policy. I know that 20 minutes might not be enough time but I view this as the start of an on-going discussion. The rest of the agenda has safety information for parents and, most importantly, I will be showing the video that will be presented to students at our assemblies this week about having and dealing with big feelings. We will also have time to celebrate our IB work and have Parent Center Updates.

I am excited to see our families at Del Rey Day later today and at our Fall Festival on Saturday, October 28. I thank you all for your ongoing support of Short Ave and I am proud of our community.

As always, please be safe. And please enjoy the rest of your weekend.

See you Monday!

10/22- Del Rey Day @ Glen Alla Park, 11:00-4:00

10/28- Fall Festival, 4:30 -7:30 PM

10/23- Coffee With the Principal, 8:20am

10/31- Halloween Parade, 8:30am

11/02- Dia De Los Muertos

We will have our annual Halloween parade on 10/31 at 8:30am, on the blacktop. Children will come to school dressed in their costumes. Please consider school-appropriate and culturally-sensitive costumes. No pretend weapons of any kind may come to school as part of a child's costume. We kindly ask that you keep scary masks at home as well. After the parade, students should change into their school clothes so that they are ready for learning and playing that day. Parents are welcome to watch the parade.

We are looking forward to celebrating Dia De Los Muertos on November 2nd. Once again, we will be setting up our ofrenda for the school community. We are asking students to bring in photos and objects that reflect loved ones who have passed. We will also be collecting any Dia De Los Muertos decorations that can be used for the ofrenda. All contributions can be given to your child's teacher. Make sure that they are clearly labeled with your child's name and room number. Please look out for a flyer that will be sent home on Monday.

Parent volunteers are still needed to set up the ofrenda on 10/27 and 10/30, host the booth at Fall Festival on 10/28, and prepare the conchas and hot chocolate on the morning of 11/02. Please email Rachel Burris @ rjs6223@lausd.net if you are interested in helping out during any of the activities. Thank you!

FALL FESTIVAL 🎃

Fall Festival is coming - Saturday, October 28th from 4:30-7:30 PM. You won’t want to miss this! We’ve got our famous Haunted House, carnival games, craft stations, inflatables, our fantastic DJ, food trucks, a petting zoo and more! Get your tickets now -

Ticket Options: Children 2 and under and adults 65 and older are free.

Note to teachers and staff: Please let us know if you'd like to attend and how many tickets you need, FoSA will be covering the cost of your unlimited fun. Please email fosaboard@friendsofshortavenue.org

• Unlimited Fun Wristband - covers your entrance and unlimited access to all rides, games, activities, and crafts. Click here to purchase

• Entrance Ticket - covers your entrance but does not include access to all rides, games, activities, and crafts. Click here to purchase

• Pay-it-forward tickets - If able consider covering the cost of another with a pay-it-forward unlimited fun wristband. Click here to purchase

• Activity Tickets - cover access to all rides, games, activities, and crafts. Click here to purchase

FF Volunteers Wanted - Sign up to help set up, staff an activity booth, ticket table, and clean up at the Fall Festival. This is our largest event of the year and it takes many hands to make it possible. (click here)

FF Donations Needed - To keep costs down, we rely on the generous donations of our community for things like pumpkins, spiderwebs, candy, grab-bag prizes, etc. Consider donating today (click here)

UPCOMING COMMUNITY DATES & EVENTS 🙌
Everyone is welcome, so please join us at any event that you can!

Del Rey Day - Sunday, Oct 22nd, 11- 4 PM, Glen Alla Park

Fall Festival - Saturday, October 28th, 4:30 -7:30 PM

Halloween Parade - Tuesday, October 31st, 8:30 AM on the big yard

No School - Friday, November 10th Veterans Day

Parent Teacher Conferences - November 14th-17th

Thanksgiving Break - November 20th - 24th

Winter Bazaar - Saturday, December 9th on the front lawn

VOLUNTEER 👷‍♀️

As a parent, you play a vital role in shaping the education experience for your children, and we invite you to join us in making a difference. We are still looking for Event/Program Committees & Volunteers for YearBook & Hospitality. To sign up, please click here. Remember to see the Volunteer Section at the bottom of this newsletter for all the information to become an approved volunteer!!

BIRTHDAY MESSAGES ON THE MARQUEE:

***Please note the Marquee is not receiving new messages at the moment, so please do not order new Birthday Messages until the Marquee is fixed.

Do you want to have a birthday message for your child on the Marquee? It costs $25, and you can purchase this on our school store on the website, linked here. Be sure to put the date that you want the message to run, and check to make sure that your date does not fall on a weekend:) We will use first name and last name initial if you would like. We ask that you give at least a full week's notice, but if you want a last minute message, please email Avril, at avrilstyle@gmail.com, and she will do her best to accommodate you.

SPIRIT WEAR RECYCLE/REUSE PROGRAM

Free, gently used Spirit wear is coming to you this month!

We are collecting new and gently used spirit wear items that are still in good condition. Please leave your gently used spirit wear items in the spirit wear bin, located in the office.

FOSA COMMUNITY MEETINGS 🙌

FoSA community meetings are held monthly and all are welcome to join!

They take place on the 3rd Thursday of every month, September*- June, and alternate between virtual (6:00 PM on Google Meet) and in-person (8:20 AM on campus). Meeting invites will be sent through FreshSchools.

* November 16th, 6:00 PM is our next FoSA Community meeting. This will be a virtual meeting, an invite will be sent out via FreshSchools.

FOSA ANNUAL BUDGET 📈

Are you wondering why FOSA asks for donations and where the funding goes? See FOSA’s updated 2023 Annual Budget here.

Thank you Short Avenue Community for always bringing your love and care to our school. Our children feel it, our teachers and staff feel it, we all feel it. Together, we can achieve anything! Thank you ❤️.

For any other questions regarding our school community, or to get in touch with a FOSA board member, please reach out to fosaboard@friendsofshortavenue.org

After School Enrichment News:

Our Auditorium is closed for Enrichment Classes next week, while we build the Haunted House! reDiscover will be in the Computer lab on Tuesday, Musical Theatre will be in Ms. Hohman's Room 23, and Chess Wizards will be outside in the primary kids courtyard between the office and Room 9. PLEASE NOTE: Dismissal for kids being picked up from these classes will be at the Moore Street Gate across from the big play structure and NOT from the auditorium for this week only!!!

Siblings for 2024/25 School Year:

Do you have a younger sibling at home who you would love to come to Short Ave next school year? We are starting a SIBLING LIST, and ask that you please fill out this Google Doc, so that we have you all in one place! This list is for both our current neighborhood families with younger siblings, and our families on permit with younger siblings. To be eligible for TK/UTK, children need to have birthdays between September 2, 2019 and September 1st, 2020.

https://forms.gle/rUtjhx7CCyd1tbMS8

Please know that we have become VERY popular with our resident neighborhood families, and expect that Kindergarten for 24/25 will be very full. Resident neighborhood families are guaranteed a spot. But we do not know if we will have spots in Kindergarten for siblings on permit. We do anticipate being able to take siblings for TK from our current families on permit, but will most likely delay enrolling siblings until later in the spring when we have a better sense of our numbers. This is a change from last year, when we enrolled siblings in March with our neighborhood families.

Current Short Ave families do not need to take a tour, and we kindly ask that you leave tour spaces for new families. All enrollment and tour info is now on our website. For those families with friends who want to tour Short Ave, the tour RSVP will open November 1st, when a google doc to sign up will be on our school website. Families on permit with younger siblings will be at the top of the waitlist and will have priority over new families trying to enroll to Short for the first time.

If you have questions about this, please reach out to me at avril.lipsky@lausd.net

reDiscover Holiday Camps:

reDiscover will have one day tinkering camps on November 10th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd

Come build amazing eco-friendly creations with us! Tinkering Camp teaches children the skills they need to turn their wildest imaginings into robust items made from cardboard, wood, plastic, metal, and fabric. Link to register.

Euro Soccer Holliday Camps:

Please see their flyers below and click this Euro Soccer link for more info!

Volunteer Info:

All info about becoming a Volunteer is now in the Volunteer Section at the bottom of this newsletter!! Please remember that to be a volunteer at Short, you must first watch the Volunteer Orientation which is linked in the Volunteer section below. If you filled out an application, but have not sent me your negative TB test, please do so ASAP. You cannot be cleared until you do so. You will be denied approval if you do not send me your negative TB after 3 emails from me. You will then have to start over.

Social Media: Last week I posted on our Instagram and Facebook ! A Fall Festival Post, pics from The Great Shakekout Earthquake Drill, It's starting to look like Fall at Short Ave post, and A Del Rey Day reminder!!!

We are at 982 followers on Instagram , we picked up 6 new followers this week!! I would love to get to 1000 by the end of the year!! Please follow and like our social media posts, it is a wonderful way to see what is happening on campus!

Thank you families for participating in the More Than a Meal Campaign and completing a Household Income Form, whether or not your child eats school lunch. As of now, the majority of our parents have completed the form and we are getting closer to our goal of 100%. For those parents who still need to complete the form, click here to fill it out online. This form is used to determine whether our school receives critical Title-One and TSP funding, so it is important that we have 100% participation from all of our families. The link to complete the household income form is:https://hif.lausd.net/.

Once you have completed the form, a screen will appear that says that your application has been submitted successfully. It will also provide you with a reference number. If you need any help in completing the application please reach out to the office or Rachel Burris @ rjs6223@lausd.net. Every class that has 100% participation will be recognized and awarded extra recess! Thank you parents!

Parents,

Please make sure that you have registered for an account on the Parent Portal. The Parent Portal is is an online system that connects parents and guardians to their child's information. The website to register is: http://parentportal.lausd.net. Make sure to link your student(s) to your account. Please call the office if you need any help in obtaining your child's student ID # or any other assistance registering on the portal.

Student attendance is a focus for us this school year. It is important that your child is present and on time for school EVERY DAY. An accumulation of absences can negatively impact students both socially and academically. The school is working closely with the District to monitor student attendance and reach out to parents when students are consistently absent from school. While it is understandable that students might become sick throughout the school year, the goal is for seven or less absences between now and June. Family vacations should take place during school holidays and scheduled during school vacations. Additionally, doctors' appointments should be scheduled after school or during vacations, whenever possible. If your child is out because of an appointment, we ask that you bring a note from your doctor to the main office, or your child's teacher. Please let us know if your family needs any support in getting your child to school.

We are seeing an uptick in Covid cases now that we are all back to school. The District has provided new Covid Exposure Management protocols for the 2023-2024 school year. The new guideines are as follows:

• Individuals who test positive must stay home and follow isolation instructions for 5 days (Day 0 is the day an individual tests positive).
• Parents of a student who tests positive are strongly recommended to upload their test result to the Daily Pass.
• Individuals who test positive may be released from isolation on or after Day 6, provided any symptoms are improving, and they are fever-free for the past 24 hours without fever-reducing medication.
• Students returning between day 6-10 may unmask if they have two sequential negative tests taken at least a day apart.

If you need any Covid tests, you can pick them up in the main office or request them from your child's teacher.

Additionally, there have been a few cases of lice this week. Please check your child's head regularly and notify the school if your child has lice. It is best to keep hair pulled back to avoid any spread.

ALL Volunteers must watch this MANDATORY VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION, BEFORE volunteering on campus!!

https://bit.ly/ShortVolunteers

Are you interested in volunteering in your child's classroom, the library, or the garden? We LOVE volunteers and hope that you will be one!!

1. Please sign up through this LAUSD VOLUNTEER LINK!

2. Volunteers must have a negative TB test. New volunteers must have a recent negative test within 60 days of application. You must email your negative result to avril.lipsky@lausd.net so that they can be inputted into your application. You can get your TB test at CVS. TB tests for returning volunteers are good for 4 years.

3. Volunteers need to sign a Liability Waiver and the Commitment Form electronicallyin the application.

4. Please see the LAUSD Volunteer Page for answers to questions.

https://www.lausd.org/volunteer

If you are a RETURNING VOLUNTEER from last year, you still need to fill out the LAUSD Volunteer Application online at LAUSD VOLUNTEER LINK! We should already have your negative TB test. TB test's for returning volunteers are good for 4 years.

Becoming a volunteer can take a little time, but we promise you it is worth it!

Volunteer Announcement!!

The district just ended the Covid Vaccination requirement for volunteers, so if you would like to volunteer but are not vaccinated for Covid, you may now apply through the Volunteer Portal. See links below in the Volunteer Section. You will still need to send me your negative TB test, in order to be approved. Best to have your TB test in hand, BEFORE you fill out the Volunteer Application:)

I am waiting on a bunch of TB tests from people already in the system. If you have filled out a volunteer application, please get me your negative TB test as soon as possible.

Library Needs Volunteers:

We have a variety of volunteering opportunities available, including:

1. Supervising During Recess: Providing supervision during library recess times.

2. Book Processing: Assisting with the processing of new books.

3. Book Fair Assistance: We'll need plenty of helping hands to run our upcoming (Feb 2024) book fair successfully.

4. Book Reshelving: Keeping our library organized by re-shelving books.

5. Little Library Maintenance: Helping maintain a child-friendly and organized Little Library.

6. Support via Our Amazon Wishlist: Contributing to our library by visiting our Amazon wishlist.

Your involvement will make a significant difference, and I look forward to having you become a library volunteer. Please fill out this form to learn more about each opportunity and let me know which area(s) you're interested in. If you have any questions feel free to email me at naama.levy@lausd.net

Email: wlamb@lausd.net
Website: shortavenueelementary.org
Location: 12814 Maxella Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone: 310 397-4234