The Weekly Wave

Happy Weekend Short Avenue Families and Friends!

You are receiving this Weekly Wave at 10am on Sunday. If you think it is 9am please take a moment and change all of your clocks because Saturday night (or Sunday morning) at 2am was the start of Daylight Saving Time - or as we refer to it in my house, “the worst night of the year.” It is a very good practice to use these time changes as a reminder for all of us to check batteries in our smoke alarms and flashlights and to assess our overall emergency preparedness - having water, food, and a change of clothes (that are the correct size) for all members of the family. .

Thank you to our families and our staff for another successful Parent Teacher Conference week. I know there was an optional component to this round of conferences but I am overjoyed to know that almost every teacher met with almost every family. It is very clear and obvious that we all share a passion for our students and a desire for all to achieve.

Last Saturday night was our Annual Parent Mixer & Silent Auction event. Thank you very much to FoSA for all of the organization and hard work that went into hosting this event. Thank you to all of the spouses and partners and other parents who came together to make the evening such a fun experience. Finally, thank you to all who were able to come out to enjoy the company of friends and other families from our community.

Please know that attendance remains a focus this year. We have made some great improvements and I know that we can improve more. We are going to be sending home notices sharing each students’ individual attendance data very soon. I know that we battle colds and flu. I know that many students missed some days due to the January fires. Our focus and our drive is to eliminate the absences due to travel or other reasons of convenience. We know that students thrive socially, emotionally, and academically by coming to school on time every day. Let’s continue to work together by Finishing the Year Strong!

Thank you for your continued support. Please enjoy the rest of your weekend.

See you Monday!

Mr. Lamb

March 13- Spring Pictures (optional)

March 14- Dolphin Cafe & All School Assembly 7:30am - 9am

March 18 & 19- Starbird Restaurant night, 10:30am -10pm

March 20- FOSA Community Meeting, Virtual 6pm -7pm

March 31- No School, Cesar Chavez Day

April 10- Cultural Diversity Day

April 14-18- Spring Break

March is a great time to reflect, reset, and keep striving for traffic safety success. Take the time to familiarize yourself with crosswalks and stop signs in your neighborhood and on your route to school.

When walking to school stay on sidewalks and when driving stop ahead of the stop sign limit lines! Additionally, remember the crosswalks on Maxella at Moore and Beethoven have heavy pedestrian traffic. Be extra vigilant when using and approaching these intersections.

Let’s stay safe and alert as we progress through this semester!

This is the second mowing of our lawn since the December installation. We’ve been told to wait at least three mowings to assess the health of the grass for opening it up to the students. We are hoping that the next steps - planting native plants and installation of log seating - are happening soon but there is no date set.

The good news is that we are moving closer to our grand opening! More to come

REGISTRATION for the Spring 2025 Season of the Dolphin Discovery Club (DDC) starts today, March 9th.🎉

For information about the classes offered and how to register, please check out the DDC FAQ here - https://friendsofshortavenue.org/pages/dolphin-discovery-club

📅 Spring 2025 Season - 8 weeks!

• Duration: March 31st - June 2, 2025

• Registration Opens: Sunday, March 9th at 9:00 AM

• Registration Closes: Midnight, March 25th

📝 How to Register

• Register directly with vendors for Got Game, Prime Time, and Chess Wizards

• Register for Spanish classes via the FoSA store

• For the Zine Club, please contact Ms. Levy directly at naamafrenkel@gmail.com. She will be handling registration of past students for the spring session.
  💻 Registration links provided in the FAQ document (linked above)

🎨 Classes Offered - Many MORE TK/K options available!
From soccer and chess, from Spanish to fashion & design, culinary, and more—there's something for every student’s interests!

If you have additional questions not in the FAQ, please email us at DDC@friendsofshortavenue.org.

QUICK LINK ABOUT DDC: For all information related to DDC, please review the FAQ here - https://friendsofshortavenue.org/pages/dolphin-discovery-club

🐬☕ Our March Dolphin Cafe is Friday, March 14 from 7:30 - 8:15 AM on the front lawn.

❗ Make sure to stay for the schoolwide assembly on the large blacktop. First grade will be performing. 🎵

Join us for our next Restaurant Night at Starbird Chicken in Marina Del Rey Tuesday March 18th, and Wednesday March 19th!

📍 Where:

Starbird Chicken

13161 Mindanao Way, Suite D-6C

Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

📅 When:

Tuesday, March 18th & Wednesday, March 19th

⏰ 10:30am - 10:00pm

✨ How to Support:

15% of sales will be donated to Short Ave Elementary when you show this post (printed or virtual) at checkout!

Ordering online or at the kiosk? Use code SAE at checkout to make sure your purchase counts!

✅ Orders can be for pickup or delivery — no minimum required.

🚫 Donations do not apply to orders placed via third-party apps (DoorDash, UberEats, etc.) or catering orders.

Let’s eat for a great cause! 🍽️❤️

Join us for the next FoSA community virtual meeting on Thursday, March 20th from 6-7 PM on Google Meet. We’ll be discussing the funds raised to date, our expenses, and upcoming events and fundraisers. We also want to hear from you! We welcome your ideas and feedback.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to stay informed and get involved!

Meeting Link: https://meet.google.com/wqc-jsve-cnr

🍩☕️ Help Us Spread Some Friday Cheer!

We’re looking for volunteers to sign up and bring coffee & pastries to the Teacher’s Lounge every Friday! 🧁

✅ What’s Needed: Snacks (pastries, fruit, coffee, etc.)
✅ For: 40+ teachers, aides, and staff
✅ Drop Off: Front office, Friday morning between 8:30-9:30am
✅ Sign Up: In Class Dojo in events section

Let’s show our amazing teachers and staff some love! 💖

Do you have questions about what FoSA? Are there topics you want to learn more about, ideas you have or events/fundraisers or discussions you’d like to have in our community meetings?

Submit your comments, questions, ideas here! We will use these to guide discussions in our meetings staring in January 2025!

Enrollment for our Neighborhood Families is OPEN!

If you are a sibling family with an incoming TK-er, who resides in our designated enrollment area, PLEASE bring your proof of residence, photo ID, and child's birth certificate to the front office to pick up your enrollment paperwork.

Author Visit!:

We’re thrilled to share that our school was chosen to host multi-award-winning children’s book creators, authorMatt de la Peña and illustrator Loren Long! They will be visiting our Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd-grade students on March 21st to celebrate their upcoming book, Home.

While this event is specifically for K2 students, we’re excited to offer the opportunity for our entire school community to purchase signed books. This special visit is free for the school, but we need to commit to purchasing at least 50 books. If you’re able, we’d love your support in purchasing a copy so we can continue bringing incredible authors to our students.

Both Home and Love (their previous book) will be available in English and Spanish editions, and you might consider purchasing an extra copy for your child’s classroom or the school library!

Home is a beautifully written and illustrated book that explores the many meanings of home—whether it’s a place, the people we love, or the natural world around us.

📚 Important Details for Book Orders:

*Anyone can order a signed book, even if their child isn’t in K-2.
*All orders must be received by March 18th.
*Books will NOT be sold at the event.
*All books will be pre-signed, there will be no personal signing during the school visit.
*Personalization: You may request a signed copy with the recipient’s first name only.
*Purchased books will be distributed to classrooms after the event.

📖 Order here:
https://www.childrensbookworld.com/matt-de-la-pe%C3%B1a-loren-long-school-visits

Thank you for helping us make this event possible and for supporting author visits at our school. Author visits inspire a love of reading—and just might spark the creativity of a future writer or illustrator!

Thanks,
Ms. Levy

The Joy of Jewish Dance with Bruce Bierman: THIS IS HAPPENING TODAY!

A smorgasbord of global Jewish music, moves and grooves, this participatory dance celebration welcomes all ages, bodies and backgrounds.

Hosted by the Sholem Community (They rent our auditorium on Sundays)

Sunday, March 9, 2025 in the Auditorium, Short Ave Elementary School

10:00 a.m. Check-in, bagels & coffee

10:30-11:30 a.m. Workshop for adults
11:45 a.m. -12:30 p.m. Workshop for children

FREE - all are welcome!

NOTE for families: Sholem’s (non-religious) Jewish Sunday school classes will be in session for the first hour while the adult programming is taking place. Families with children 4 years and up are welcome to sit in on a class. Please contact Sholem principal Ross Helford for more info: ross@sholem.org.

The Joy of Jewish Dance — a smorgasbord of global Jewish music, moves and grooves including: the ancient hand gestures and steps of traditional Yemenite dance, the dancing shoulders of the Ethiopian Jews, soulful Hasidic nigun dancing, mad hot Klezmer and the choreographic gems of classic Israeli Folk dance. This participatory dance celebration welcomes all bodies and invites all backgrounds to learn the moves of the ancestors to the grooves of your own imagination.

Bruce Bierman is the co-artistic director of the award-winning Yiddish Theatre Ensemble of Berkeley and is a leading presenter of Jewish dance throughout California. Among his extensive credits, Bruce was a lead dancer and teaching artist with the acclaimed Aman Folk Ensemble of Los Angeles and a regular at the Skirball Museum with Mostly Kosher and John Anson Ford Theater with the L.A. Jewish Symphony.

For more info about Sholem or this program: info@sholem.org or 310-984-6935

LAUSD Family Academy March Catalogue:

See the flyer below for the March LAUSD Family Academy Classes

Spring Break Camps:

reDiscover Spring Break Tinkering Camp See flyer below

Summer Camps:

Prime Time Camp at Short Ave this summer!

Little Yellow House Art Camp

Euro Soccer

Got Game Summer Camp

reDiscover Center Summer Camp

SOCIAL MEDIA: Last week of school, I posted on our Instagram and Facebook:

A Parent Conference Week reminder post, a Last Call for the Silent Auction post, a Neighborhood Enrollment is Open Post, a photo of our sweet students enjoying the beautiful day on Tuesday, an Everything Must Go Silent Auction post, a reminder to fill out the School Experience Survey, and photos of our beautiful grass getting its' second mow!

Please set you Instagram notifications to be notified when I post, so you don't miss anything, and of course like and comment on our posts, it is the best way to see what is happening on campus and get important reminders!

Hello families with younger siblings who you would like to come to Short Ave for TK and other grades (BOTH neighborhood and permit families ). Please let us know who you are by filling out this google doc:

https://forms.gle/2Gjc8ireNMEPfbjA7

Current Short Avenue families on permit are NOT guaranteed a spot for their younger sibling, but will be given priority, when accepting students off of the waitlist. We have to see what our neighborhood enrollment looks like before we can offer spots. We might not be able to give an answer until late May. We encourage you to have a backup plan for your younger sibling. If you already filled this out, no need to do so again.

Families,

We want to remind you of our birthday party policy. In an effort to be equitable and keep our students healthy, we do NOT allow caregivers to send in cupcakes and treats for birthdays. While classes may organize celebrations for various occasions throughout the year, birthday parties should be held outside of school. Parents are welcome to arrange with the teacher to read a story in their child's class, or lead a fun birthday activity. Additionally, parents are welcome to donate something special to the class in honor of their child. We understand that birthdays are special , and every student and staff member will be recognized with a birthday song at our monthly assemblies.

We are hearing that there has been an increase in students with head lice. Please let the nurse and your teacher know if you have found nits or live lice in your child's head. We encourage you to do regular head checks and keep long hair pulled back to avoid spread. Click here to read important information from LAUSD regarding head lice.

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.

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. Once you are registered, you will be able to add your student(s) to your account with their student ID and your parent pin code. Letters were sent home last week with your parent pin codes. It is important that you link your student(s) to your account so you can view their information.. Please call the office if you need any help in obtaining your child's student ID # or any other assistance registering on the portal.

Click here for instructions to register for the Parent Portal.

Click here for instructions on how to add your student to your Parent Portal account.

VOLUNTEERING!

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

You must be an approved volunteer with a negative TB test to Volunteer for field trips, classroom projects, the garden etc.

1. All Volunteers must have a negative TB test. Please get your Negative TB test first, BEFORE filling out the Volunteer Application. 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. TB tests for returning volunteers are good for 4 years.

2. Please fill out the Volunteer Application through this LAUSD VOLUNTEER LINK! This is for BOTH new and returning Volunteers. Do NOT check Tier 3 assignments unless you are willing to get a Fingerprint. Email avril.lipsky@lausd.net for more info on fingerprints. Here is a link the the most recent Volunteer Guide if you want a step by step visual of how to fill out the volunteer application.

3. Volunteers need to sign a Liability Waiver and the Commitment Form electronically in the application..You do NOT need to email them to me.

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

https://www.lausd.org/volunteer

5. ALL Volunteers (both new and returning) must watch the The Mandatory Volunteer Orientation Zoom Recording, if you did NOT attend the live Zoom on September 11th.

6. Here is the Materials Folder Link that we spoke about in the Zoom Orientation, that includes the Orientation, Zoom, the Guide to Volunteering, The Volunteer Commitment Form, and the Quick Guide.

If you are a RETURNING VOLUNTEER from last year, you still need to fill out the LAUSD Volunteer Application online at LAUSD VOLUNTEER LINK! You Negative TB test should Auto Populate, if it is less than 4 years since you did the test. It takes 4 to 5 weeks to get you approved AFTER I get the TB test, so please do not wait

Please be aware that ClassDojo will translate into over 130 languages!

Here’s a brief overview of how parents can set language preferences in ClassDojo:

1. Content Language: This allows users to select the language for story and message translations.
2. Communication Language: This option lets users choose their preferred language for emails and push notifications.

You can reach out to Rachel Burris @ rjs6223@lausd.net or Avril Lipsky @ avril.lipsky@lausd.net if you need any assistance with translation. We are here to support you!

Looking for a hidden gem for your child’s middle school years? Marina del Rey is a fantastic option for Short Ave Elementary families, offering unique opportunities like a Performing Arts Magnet which includes theater, dance and music, an honors track for high achievers, and exciting programs like Marine Science and a beautiful garden! Let’s support our local school and explore all it has to offer. Interested in learning more or joining our parent group? Email dave@jdpropertiesla.com to join our list of Short Ave families discovering MdRMS!

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