The Weekly Wave

Happy Weekend Short Avenue Families and Friends!

Thank you to our amazing community. I learned on Friday that we are at 100% submission for the Household Income Forms. These forms are instrumental in securing funds for our students and I am so proud that we did not miss a family or a child. 100% Short Ave is a wonderful thing to declare and share!

Our next item on the 100% Short Ave “To Do” list is the Parent Portal. We are at 86% as of Friday. The goal is, at the very least, for one parent/guardian per student to have an active Parent Portal account. Yes, the district made setting up an account more difficult than it ever should be. Yes, the Parent Portal has more uses when your child is in middle school. It is still very important for OUR families. If you need to update information you can do this on the portal. If you want to apply for a magnet school, for winter academies, or for summer school it is easier and faster through the portal. If your child has an IEP there is a copy available on the Parent Portal. The district is about to conduct a survey about instructional calendars for the next few years. Guess how it will be completed and submitted? Yes. Correct. It will be through the Parent Portal. Please know that if there is not an active account for our child we will be contacting you.

Finally, on Friday I learned about and signed up our school for the Walk and Roll to School event on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. The purpose of this program is to decrease vehicle traffic and to get a little more healthy by walking or rolling to school. My ask for our community is to participate by walking or rolling to Short Ave on Wednesday morning. If you live to the east, I ask that you walk or roll west to school. If you live south of campus, I ask that you walk or roll north to school. I trust you get the pattern. For those interested in joining me in walking or rolling to school I am going to be at the corner of Maxella and Redwood (there looks to be lots of parking available) at 7:45am and I will begin walking to school at 7:55am. Some families could meet at Culver West park at 7:50 and begin walking and rolling together to school at 7:55am. I think this is an exciting idea and hope that you can either join me or have your own Walk or Roll experience. Who knows? If it is successful we can try to make this a thing…

Please enjoy the rest of your weekend.

See you Monday!

Mr. Lamb

October 9th- Picture Day

October 9th- Walk and Roll Day

October 17th- FOSA Community Meeting in Person @ 8:20 Room 12

October 26th- Fall Festival at Short Ave.

October 27th- Del Rey Day, Bill Rosendahl Park

November 1st- Dia De Los Muertos Ofrenda Viewing

Maxella and Redwood- Join Mr. Lamb at 7:45 at the corner of Maxella and Redwood. We'll walk at 7:55.

Culver West Park- Join other Short Ave. families at 7:50 at Culver West Park on Moore Street. They'll walk at 7:55.

Rams Reading Challenge Update:

We are 13 days into the 45 day Rams Reading Challenge, that was launched on September 24th!

Please encourage your children to read, and for those kids in 1st through 3rd grades, make sure they are writing down their minutes! If my math is correct, the challenge will end on November 7th!

We are competing against 11 schools, and the one with the most minutes read and logged will win....drum roll please...4 FREE TICKETS TO DISNEYLAND FOR EACH STUDENT IN GRADES 1st - 3rd!!! SO, if you have a child in 1st, 2nd or 3rd grade, let them read as much as they want and be sure to log those minutes!! Let's with this!!!

Thank you to all our 4th and 5th grade families who attended our Middle School Options Meeting on October 1st. We loved inviting back our Short Avenue graduates to share their experiences in middle school. For those families who were unable to attend, click here to view the slide deck from the presentation.

🎉 Fall Festival Tickets Are Now on Sale! 🎉

Join us for a spook-tacular evening at Short Avenue Elementary's Annual Fall Festival on October 26, 2024, from 4-7 PM! 🎃✨

Ticket Options:

🎟️ Unlimited Fun Wristband - $35 Includes entry and unlimited access to our famed haunted house, the petting zoo, carnival games, crafts, and so much more!

🎟️ Entry Only Ticket - $10 This option allows access to the festival, with activity tickets available for purchase at $1 each for your favorite activities. Swipe to see how many activity tickets are needed for each activity!

The most popular choice is the unlimited fun wristband for kids and entry-only tickets for caregivers.

Remember, this event is open to the public, so feel free to grab tickets for your family and neighbors too!

👉 Get your wristbands and tickets here: Event Tickets

While you’re there, consider purchasing pay-it-forward wristbands for families who may not be able to afford them.

If you are a family in need, please click this link to sign up for assistance: Pay-it-Forward

Let’s make this Fall Festival an unforgettable experience for everyone! 🍂💛

Join us at our October 17th community meeting, we’ll discuss current fundraising efforts, upcoming events, and much more! This is an in-person meeting in room 12, 8:20am.

FOSA holds monthly community meetings the third Thursday of each month to inform our wonderful Short Ave community about important updates, events, and all things happening at Short Ave. Meetings alternate each month between in person, and virtual.

Get ready to show your school spirit! Short Ave spirit wear is now available for purchase. Don't forget to rock your Spirit wear with pride on Spirit Wear Fridays!

You can also purchase online! Click here to see Spirit wear collections

Volunteering Information is now in the Previously Published section at the bottom of the Wave. I added a NEW LINK to the most recent Volunteer Guide, if you are having difficulty navigating the Volunteer Application.

Sholem Kol Nidre (Erev Yom Kippur)

see the flyer below

Friday, October 11, 2024
7:00-9:00 pm (PT)
Doors open 6:30 pm

Robert Frost Auditorium
4401 Elenda Street, Culver City, CA, 90230
(see below for important parking info)

Kol Nidre, the evening that initiates Yom Kippur, is a highlight of the Sholem calendar. Informed by Jewish traditions in music and in spoken word, we reflect on our lives and the state of the world through a humanistic and progressive prism. A moving opportunity to renew ourselves for the upcoming year; to grieve our losses and enable our hopes.

Link to purchase tickets can be found here: https://www.sholem.org/event/kol-nidre-4/

PARKING INFORMATION: Please do not park in the immediate surrounding neighborhoods.
To avoid citations, free self-parking is available in one of the these designated parking lots:​

• Corner of Elenda and Farragut – South of the Robert Frost Auditorium. Between the Culver City Middle School and Farragut Elementary.
• Huron Gate – From Elenda, head west on Braddock. Entrance is on the south of Braddock.
• Harter Gate – From Elenda, head west on Braddock. Pass Huron and go south on Harter. Parking is on your left.
• Overflow parking – South East corner of Culver Blvd. and Elenda St. North of Robert Frost Auditorium.

The Parent Center is in Room 12:

Room 12 is the last room closest to Beethoven on the ground floor of the 2 story building, behind the library. We have a computer and printer, and are here to help you fill out the LAUSD Volunteer Application, get on The Parent Portal, or provide any other support that you might need. Please reach out to Avril, avril.lipsky@lausd.net or Rachel Burris, rjs6223@lausd.net, to schedule an appointment.

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

A reminder about last Monday's Morning Brew with Mr. Lamb, a reminder that there was NO school on Thursday, a reminder about the last day of our Annual Giving campaign, photos from our visit with Jamie Halper, Co-founder and Chair of Step Up Tutoring, who was paired with Mr. Lamb to be Principal for The Day, Shana Tova to ALL who celebrated Rosh Hashanah, and photos from the 2nd grade field trip to see the film The Wild Robot!

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!

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.

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!

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