Thank you for a solid start to our 2022-2023 School Year! Attendance is strong! Students are rested and fueled for days of engaging and learning with their classes. Day by day we are increasing the stamina needed to navigate the social world of learning and practicing the habits of mind of being responsible for our own actions. This is tiring and it takes energy. Your children are likely to come home tired. Remember, home is their safe place, their place to put down all walls and release their feelings. Support your children with listening ears, hugs, healthy fuel, routine bedtime, boundaries and unconditional love.
Recently a parent brought to me attention a need to better understand how we use financial donations, like Garden, Field Trips and PTA. UELF is a public school which means that it is funded through a federal and state formula. The funds the school receives are specified for specific costs and need to be spent in those areas only. Our school, in it's early creation 9 years, sought to be a school with expeditionary, project-based learning experiences. These experiences cost funds which are not covered by the funding formula, or it's minimal. Participate in Site Council and ELAC to learn more about these formulas and how these funds are used on our site.
Garden donations cover the cost of UELF having a Garden Educator. Our garden educator works with every class on a weekly basis. She also participates with the staff to plan units of inquiry in the garden that are aligned with science learning in the classroom. The garden donations by the parents go towards her time with the students, the grants written by Principal Lunde and Ms. Knoy cover garden supplies and collaboration time with teachers. Join us at the Garden Committee on Aug. 29 at 4:30pm to review the budget and share your ideas about how it is used.
Field Trip donations go towards class field trips. We have been asking for donations every year since field trips are expensive, especially for certain activities. A class to take a field trip to Sacramento (4th grade) can cost up to $800 or a class trip to the Exploratorium can cost $500. During Distance Learning, field trip funds were used for the supplies for classes who were doing virtual field trips so they could have the supplies requested by the agency providing the field trip. These funds go directly to students' hands-on learning.
UELF PTA is a non-profit organization designed to support the vision and mission of UELF. Our school has a focus for project-based learning for every child. PTA reinforces this work by providing experiences and materials for all students. Participate in our September Membership Meeting to review the draft budget and have your vote to approve or make changes to the budget.
Please reach out to Principal Lunde if you'd like to hear more, get clarification or share your thoughts and ideas about how to better serve our school.
