SLVUSD Charter News
Vol 2.5 - Oct 6, 2024
From Principal Kerry le Roux
Hello Charter families!
Thank you to our fabulous Ben Lomond Firefighters for a memorable "cooling off period" last Thursday! This awesome picture was from Cindy Pressley. Our grateful thanks to Megan Turk for arranging it all for us!
Please click here for a list of resources from our wonderful librarian Mabel, to support lessons from LGBTQ+ history, as we commemorate LGBTQ+ History Month.
A quick update that if your child is interested in participating in this year's Spelling Bee but is nervous about spelling out loud in public, please note that we will be using a paper-pencil format this year rather than an assembly. Participation is totally optional, and more information will be coming out shortly. If there are any parents interested in helping proctor the Site Based Bee (checking spelling lists) please email Kerry (kleroux@slvusd.org). We'll need you on Nov 19 (4th - 6th Grade) and Nov 21 from (7th - 9th grade) from 12:45 - 2pm.
Please start stockpiling any spare clothing, blankets, jackets, shoes, and bed linens for our Student Council, who will be working with an organization called Recycle for Change to get donations of gently used items to those less fortunate. A collection bin will be set up under the shade structure in the next week or so.
Please note that our parent Math trainings that take place one Thursday a month are now open not only to homeschool parents of TK - 8, but also to parents of Nature Academy students and parents of 9th graders! Sign up here to attend one or all of the monthly sessions with our wonderful presenter Mariana from the Silicon Valley Math Initiative.
If your child took the Reading, Math and / or Science NWEA/Map assessment this fall, please watch for a "snail mail" envelope to arrive this week. Let me or your child's teacher know if you have any questions about the results. Click here for a link to what Map Growth results mean. (If this was your child's first time testing, there won't be a growth score, but their percentile rank would still be very useful information. Remember, we're wanting students at or around the 50th percentile to be "on track" with their grade level peers across the nation.)
Please see below for a visual with more information about our first Online Fundraising Auction to benefit Nature Academy. And a message from the Nature Academy Parent Council:
"We are currently gathering items for our first online auction, now until 10/25. If you have new unused items, art, services, or other items to donate contact Rachel Wooster (naparentcoop.fund@gmail.com) or Megan Turk (margaretsittonster@gmail.com).
The Online auction will be 11/1 - 11/22 and items will be ready for pickup starting 12/2. We are currently entering the items that have already been donated, so keep an eye on our auction website over the coming weeks https://givebutter.com/c/napcauction/auction. Please help spread the word and make this fundraiser the most successful it can be!!!"
Please read further for some important Charter updates and announcements.
Have a wonderful week!
Kerry
T. 831-335-0932
Charter Middle School Costume Dance Party - Chaperones and volunteers needed!
All Charter Middle School students are welcome to the annual Costume Dance Party, to be held this year on Friday, Oct 25 from 6 - 8:30pm on the basketball court.
Parents, please sign up here
https://forms.gle/a4E4vucWETckA4W8A to help with dance if you can!
Meet our School Resource Officer!
This is a chance for the SRO to introduce herself and for families to ask questions and put a face to the name. Cougar Club will have drinks and snacks available beforehand on a donation basis.
Parents and Guardians of all SLVUSD families are welcome to attend.
Celebration of Life - Janelle Geist
Janelle's family is inviting all those who knew and loved her to join them in celebrating her life on Sat, October 19 at 11am - to be held at the Scotts Valley Moose Lodge - 2470 El Rancho Dr, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
From the Geist family: "Please join us to share memories, photos and food. Bring a potluck dish to share, or a photo, letter or piece of art for the photo wall."
An Update from our Nutrition Department
We are excited to be introducing Bulk Milk for your students at breakfast and lunch, and to be reducing waste by moving away from individual cartons of milk. This way your child will just take the amount of milk they need for cereal or to drink at lunch time. Our dispenser is in place and we are just awaiting the start date once daily milk delivery is in process.
The Learning Garden (TK-5)
In the Learning Garden... Heartwood students are learning about garden opposites. They are planting large and small seeds and have gone hunting for other opposites (light/dark or soft/rough) in their garden. QHHS 2nd grade students dove into what plants need and they explored what has been going on in their garden over the Summer. 3rd graders are learning about insects this year and they started with insect body parts. They also released some ladybugs! 4th grade students started discussing plant life cycles and identified some seeds we found in their garden. Students have planted carrots, fava beans, calendula, and peas. Students even discovered a few carrots that we washed and shared! If you haven't heard, we have two high school students, Kate and Emma, who have been helping out in these classes!
The Tea Garden (6-8)
In the Tea Garden... Our 6th grade students went on a walk around campus to find our weather station and the Seed Library. They collected a variety of seeds from their garden and planted calendula. 7th graders released ladybugs as they began their studies on our ecosystem and habitats. They planted chives which is a high nectar producing plant for pollinators. To start their year of composting and waste diversion 8th graders built a new worm bin that has been placed next to the tables parallel to the Tea Garden. They learned about why it's important to compost, how to compost with worms, and how to easily shred newspaper with their fingers. They are also focused on California native plants so they planted CA poppy's this month.
The Food Garden (9-12)
In the Food Garden... During the last few weeks of August CRHS students transplanted broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Summer squash, and basil seedlings. They have collected a large amount of seeds which will be packaged by students during rainy days and added to our seed library. Students planted carrot, beet, radish and pea seeds in September and they learned how to make bamboo trellises for their pea seedlings. Our Student mentors, Abby and Millie have been helping students learn how to water properly, harvest food, and cook in the kitchen. They harvested carrots, garlic, and herbs to make pickled garlic carrots, herbed popcorn and three types of garlic butter for baked bread in the past month!
Upcoming events and important dates
You will find all these events and more on the google calendar shared by your Program teacher and on the Website calendar.
Sept 15 - Oct 15 is Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month!
October is also LGBTQ+ History Month!
Tues, Oct 8 - 9:30am - School Nurse here to do TB clearance questionnaires for prospective parent volunteers
- 11:30am - Lego in the Library
- GaGa Ball reserved for Elementary programs (Tuesdays)
- 2:45 Thriller Flash Mob practice (MPR)
Thurs, Oct 10- 8am - Student Council - Library (TK-8) - anyone welcome!
Fri, Oct 11 - No school (District holiday)
Mon, Oct 14
Tues, Oct 15 - 11:30am - Lego in the Library
- GaGa Ball reserved for Elementary programs (Tuesdays)
- 2:45 Thriller Flash Mob practice (MPR)
Wed, Oct 16 - New Wed/Fri rotation of electives for Nature Academy begins
Thurs, Oct 17 - 8am - Student Council - Library (TK-8) - anyone welcome!
- 9:30 - 11:30 Picture Make up Day (TK-8) - MPR
- New Tues/Thurs rotation of electives for Nature Academy begins
Fri, Oct 18 - 2:45pm Thriller Flashmob practice (MPR)
Sat, Oct 19 - 11am - Celebration of Life Janelle Geist (Moose Lodge, Scotts Valley)
Nature Academy parents, don't forget to check the Nature Academy Google Calendar to be sure which bell schedule we're on each day! (You can also click here if you are not a Google Calendar subscriber)
- A1 Mondays are 1:19pm dismissal at Nature Academy
- A2 Mondays are 2:05pm dismissal at Nature Academy
- A3 Mondays are 3:00pm dismissal at the tricampus
- O days are Tues/Thurs, dismissal 2:05pm;
- E days are Wed/Fri, dismissal 2:20pm (Wed) and 2:05 (Fri);
- Minimum Days dismiss at 12:05;
- Excursion Days (dates not all finalized) - times are individual to the excursion, but typically 3pm dismissal
Emergency/School Safety update
From Superintendent Chris Schiermeyer: "Providing a safe place for students to learn and grow is one of the most important responsibilities of our school system. All San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District schools have a School Safety Plan in place. Drill procedures for emergencies and disasters are regularly practiced at each school.
Starting the 2024-2025 school year, we have changed our countywide codes for emergency drills in collaboration with law enforcement and the fire departments. Our new codes are as follows: Evacuation, Reverse Evacuation, Hall Check, and Lockdown. Please see the Standard Command Emergency Response Poster for more details on these types of drills that will be practiced at our school sites as required by law.
Along with school staff, your family plays a critical role in preventing and responding to school emergencies. The information posted on the Emergency Information website page is intended to provide parents/guardians with the steps you can take โbeforeโ, โduringโ, and โafterโ an emergency. Please note the emergency information has been revised to be in alignment with the newly adopted codes. Please take a moment to review this information."
SLV Charter will be starting our monthly/quarterly evacuation drills (elementary/secondary) shortly. Please be sure to sign in to get a visitor sticker if you're coming on campus so that if you're on site for a drill we can account for you. Please contact me if you have any questions!
Touch, Type, Read & Spell
3rd through 9th grade parents, please continue to encourage daily keyboarding practice with Touch Type Read Spell, the "award winning multi-sensory course that teaches typing, reading and spelling" aimed at students from elementary to high school. We are encouraging all students to spend a minimum of 1 hour a week or longer. This program license lasts until May of 2025, and after completion of all 24 levels* (approx. one year), your child should show a substantial improvement in keyboarding fluency. If you did not receive your welcome email with login details, please contact your child's teacher or email me!
"Based on the average completion time, a student using TTRS for one hour per week should complete approximately 744 modules in a year. The main TTRS Course consists of 24 levels, with 31 modules in each level, totaling 744 modules. On average, students complete the entire course in about 12 months when dedicating one hour per week to the program.
It's important to note that individual progress may vary, and some learners might complete the course faster if they spend more than an hour per week on TTRS."
Sign up for Parent Math trainings - series of 9 lessons
Parents of students in TK - 9th grade! Have you struggled when helping your child with Math? We are once again offering a once-monthly Thursday morning Math training for parents, presented by an awesome instructor from the Silicon Valley Math Initiative (SVMI). Please sign up here for one or all of the sessions on offer - they will build on one another over the course of the year. (Note there is a new tab for 2nd semester at the bottom of the spreadsheet.)
TK-1 parents come from 9:30 - 10:20am
2 - 5 parents come from 10:30 - 11:20am
6 - 9 parents come from 11:30 - 12:30pm
Dates: Thursday Sept 26, Oct 24, Nov 21, Dec 10 (Tues), Jan 23, Feb 6, Mar 20, Apr 17, May 8
Chromebook Loaner update
Parents can now sign out loaner Chromebooks through the library for their students to use at home, starting tomorrow, Tues 8/20 and every Tues-Thurs according to the times below:
Charter Library
Tues, Wed, Thurs
8:30-9:30am or 2:15-3pm
Students canโt sign out a Chromebook without a parent; it requires a parent's signature. If thereโs a problem, parents can email Mabel at CHlibrary@slvusd.org to make arrangements.
Students should not be bringing a personal laptop to school unless itโs part of an IEP. All teachers have class sets of chromebooks for students to use if it's required as part of the lesson.
Schoology
If your child is in 6 - 12th grade, your teacher most likely uses Schoology to record assignment and test scores.
How a parent logs into Schoology:
- Get your parent access code from your teacher or administrator.
- When you have your parent access code, go to app.schoology.com/register.php.
- Click the โParentโ button below the โInstructorโ and โStudentโ buttonsโ in the โSign Up for Schoologyโ section.
- Enter the access code you received, and click Continue.
- Enter your name and email (not the studentโs) and choose a password.
Refer to the Parent Schoology Handbook to learn more.
Attendance
Attendance matters!
Our attendance rate improved last year - thank you for your ongoing partnership in supporting good attendance! Students need to participate consistently, whether it be in a homeschool program, where work completion counts as attendance, or in our classroom-based 5 day a week Nature Academy.
Students who are absent 10% or more in a school year are typically "less proficient in reading, writing and math than their peers with good attendance" (Source: CA Dept of Ed.)
Parent Volunteers/Chaperones
Volunteer application hours - PLEASE NOTE: The Charter Office and SLVUSD Human Resources Office hours will process volunteer registrations at the following times:
Tuesdays from 7:00-11:00 am
Thursdays from 12:30-3:30 pm.
The Human Resources Office is located at 325 Marion Avenue, Ben Lomond, CA 95005.
All Charter parents are encouraged to register with the District as a volunteer and a field trip driver. (All parents are asked to drive on excursions...)
Please click here to access the required volunteer paperwork. Hard copy paperwork is also available at the Charter Office.
To use your personal vehicle to transport your own or other students, we will need updated driver information on file as well - please click here for the form.
ร New Volunteer: You will be required to fill out the volunteer paperwork and obtain a signature from the principal. Once complete, please bring your signed paperwork to the Human Resources Office. You will be required to provide a current TB result. Also, all new volunteers will be required to be fingerprinted.
ร Returning Volunteer: You will be required to provide current TB results (within the last 4 years). If you don't know whether your TB is current, check with the Charter office. If you are turning in updated TB info, you can bring it to the Charter office or directly to the Human Resources Office.
Student Nutrition Information (Breakfast and Lunch)
- All SLVUSD students are eligible to receive a free breakfast and lunch through the cafeteria. Breakfast can be picked up any time from 8:15am - 8:45am, no order needed.
- Lunch no longer needs to be ordered online. Our lunch lady will bring enough hot lunches for everyone who wants one, but should these run out we will have healthy cold alternatives available (salads, sandwiches, etc.)
- Meals are be served from our Multi-use Room in the central area of the campus
- Lunch times vary per program, but generally happen in the 11:50 - 12:30 window
- Elementary students will have lunch cards (kept in the MPR).
- Secondary students will need to key in their student ID on a keypad
IMPORTANT: Please complete the Free/Reduced Lunch Application at https://family.titank12.com/
Although a meal application is not necessary for your child to receive free meals during the 2024-2025 school year, households are asked to complete a meal application to ensure that your school receives accurate funding. As well, your childโs eligibility for free or reduced lunch could qualify you for additional outside services or benefits including Free/Reduced Bus passes, student fee waivers, P-EBT, discounted utilities, and more.
- Link to SLV Student Nutrition Services website
Transportation Information
If your child takes the bus to or from school, please remember you will need to purchase a bus pass.
ALL Nature Academy students have to be registered to take bus transportation on A1 days to the tricampus. (No need to pay.) Registration form link.
Students at Coast Redwood High who need afternoon transportation to the tricampus for concurrent enrollment classes can take the TK bus that leaves the District Office at noon each day. They will not need to pay for a bus pass. However, they still need to register. Rides will be denied if students are not registered.)
Please click here to access the Transportation web page for any other information you need.
The Charter Office staff ask families to call in before 1:50pm if they have a message for their student about changing that day's bus transportation arrangement.
If youโre interested in following our Instagram account, showcasing news and events from SLVUSD Charter School, here is the info:
โI'm on Instagram as slvcharterschool. Install the app to follow my photos and videos, or click this link: https://instagram.com/slvcharterschool?igshid=MzMyNGUyNmU2YQ==
(Please know that we will be very careful not to post pictures of students on the "Do not Photograph" list.)
And if you haven't started following the District Instagram accoount, look for "slvusd" and click "Follow!"
Athletics Information
Charter students are eligible to try out to play in all sports at SLVMS and SLVHS. Please keep an eye on the respective websites so your child is aware of the tryout schedule for each season's sports. We will also share that information as we receive it.
Athletes, remember that eligibility rules require you to carry at least a 2.0 GPA (C average) to remain eligible to complete in the middle school athletics practices and competitions.
Parents, please read this updated Spectator Code of Conduct from SLVMS Principal Shanna Urbancic.
Please click here for a link to the Panther Athletics website (SLVMS)
Click here for a list of the tryout dates for 24-25
Fall Sports (August - October)
Boys Soccer
Girls Basketball
Cross Country (No cuts)
Winter I Sports (October - December)
Girls Soccer
Boys Basketball
Winter II Sports (January-March)
Girls Volleyball
Wrestling (no cuts)
Flag Football
Spring Sports (March- May)
Girls Softball
Boys Volleyball
Golf
Track and Field (no cuts)
Please click here for a link to the Cougar Athletics website (SLVHS).
Did you know that our district maintains a "Community Opportunities" website? This is for parents / students to receive information about current local events and opportunities for adults and/or children.
Note: The San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District does not sponsor or endorse any of the organizations or events that are located here. They are non-school sponsored events and are not being promoted by the school district. All postings are provided as a courtesy to the parents/students.
Homework Help at the Public Library
Bring your assignments to one of the FREE drop-in Homework Help sessions at one of the following public libraries.
Tuesdays from 3:00p to 5:00p.
Downtown, 224 Church St., Santa Cruz
Felton, 6121 Gushee St.
Capitola, 2005 Wharf Rd.
La Selva Beach, 316 Estrella Ave.
Open to all students up to grade 12.
Call 831.427.7713 for more information.
And also from the Santa Cruz Public Libraries:
SCPL are particularly excited to offer a new resource from Brainfuse called CollegeNow, which offers support with college applications, essays and more. This is in addition to HelpNow live tutoring.
Please click here for a press release containing comprehensive information on the many resources SCPL offers to all students. SCPL looks forward to welcoming your students to any of their 10 branches, Annex and Bookmobile during this new school year!
Guide to Resources for Families in SLV
Here's a handy one-pager listing various organizations and resources for families in the San Lorenzo Valley.
Mental Health resources
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) - with a link to their March newseltter
Brightlife Kids, an organization that provides free online support in behavioral coaching for parents, caregivers and students aged 0 - 12.
Triple P
Triple P/First Five of Santa Cruz County offer ongoing parenting classes for parents of students of all ages. Please click here to see their workshop offerings.
Triple P also offers 1:1 sessions for parents who are needing intensive 10 week session and add-on sessions for people who are divorcing or separating (Family Transitions), for couples wanting to work on their relationship (Enhanced) and for people wanting to work on their strong emotions, like anger (Pathways). If interested in 1:1 sessions, please contact First 5 of Santa Cruz: https://www.first5scc.org/contact
