The Weekly Wave

Happy Weekend Short Avenue Families and Friends!

We are entering the final week of January! And we are already beginning our planning for the 2025-2026 school year. All of the push for what’s next makes it harder to focus on the right now. So, let’s lock in on what is happening this week at Short Ave!

This week we are fully returning to normal routines. I have asked my amazing Building and Grounds Team to continue with their enhanced cleaning efforts through to January 31. I have asked the teachers to continue closing doors with or without the door blockers and to run their HVAC units and air purifiers as well. Masks are here if needed. If a family needs an indoor option for eating or playing please request with your teacher.

This week is Kindness Week! We have a menu of actions that we are doing at Short Ave to support those impacted by the fires. Please be reminded that we are NOT asking for families to participate in ALL of the actions. We are asking that you review the menu, find one that resonates with you and your family, and then support that action on that day.

This week we have my monthly Morning Brew with Mr. Lamb meeting. I will share some very fast updates about coming events, attendance, and the district’s We Are One policy. The bulk of our session is a math workshop being led by several of our teachers. We will be in the auditorium to have enough space. The workshop is intended to be interactive so we are unable to provide a Zoom hybrid option. We hope that you can join us and learn about ways to support your child with math.

This week our Dolphin Discovery Club classes begin! Hopefully all were able to get registered. We continue to work and refine our offerings and our processes. This new shortened week model allows for a third DDC session in the Spring! Space is still available in some offerings.

This week we host our School Tour for Prospective Parents as a way to show off our excellence to many families in our neighborhood and from beyond who are considering enrolling at Short Ave.

This week we will have a Dolphin Cafe and a School-wide Assembly on Friday morning. Come for donuts or pastry and stay for some celebrations and student presentations on our main playground.

Finally, this week, we say goodbye to a friend. Dara Geuvjehizian has been a Special Education Assistant here at Short Ave for about a decade. We wish Dara a well-deserved rest. We will miss you, good luck and don’t forget us!

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

See you Monday!

January 27- Morning Brew, 8:15am- How to Support Your Child in Math Presentation

January 27-31-Kindness Week (see details below)

January 30- School Tour

January 31- Dolphin Cafe 7:30am & School-wide Assembly 8:15am

We are looking forward to Kindness Week, which will take place from January 27th - January 31st. In an effort to support those have been impacted by the recent wildfires, our students have been brainstorming different action projects that they would like to lead. We are very proud of our IB learners for their desire to take action and serve those who are in need.

Please look out for the The Great Kindness Challenge checklist that will be sent home next week. It will be turned in on the last day of Kindness Week, which is January 31st. See the flier below which outlines the different activities happening throughout the week. It is designed to be a menu of choices for families to decide which projects they would like to take part in. Thank you for participating!

Please join us for a parent workshop which aims to support caregivers in helping their children with mathematics. The workshop with take place at 8:15am in the auditorium and will be facilitated by a team of talented Short Avenue teachers. It will be both informative and interactive. We hope that you can take part. Please see flyer below.

The Winter 2025 Season of the Dolphin Discovery Club (DDC) begins this Monday, January 27th. 🎉

Classes Start this Week! The following Got Game classes will proceed: Lego Masters, Ninja Warrior, Soccer, Battle Bots, Sculptures, Messy Science and Flag Football. Additionally, Chess Wizards, Zine Club, Spanish and all of Prime Time’s community enrichment classes will start this week.

Class Cancellations: Unfortunately, the following Got Game classes have been cancelled: Idea & Innovation Lab, Sewing Club, Multi-Sport Saga, and 2D Art. If your class was cancelled, you should have been contacted by Got Game. You can choose to transfer your child to another class or receive a refund.

FOR TK FAMILIES - Got Game has opened many of their classes to TK students. However, there was a glitch in their registration process and it did not update to include TK students. This error has been fixed and Got Game is now able to register TK students. The classes open to TK students are LegoMasters, Ninja Warrior Academy, Soccer, BattleBots, Messy Science and Flag Football. If you would like to register, please do so at your earliest convenience at www.gotgamecamp.com.

DETAILS ABOUT DDC:

For all information related to DDC, please check out the DDC FAQ here - https://friendsofshortavenue.org/pages/dolphin-discovery-club

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

📢 Attention Short Avenue Community!

Join us for the next FoSA community meeting on Thursday, February 20th, from 8:20 to 9:30 AM in room 12. This is an in person meeting.

We’ll be discussing the funds raised to date, our expenses, and upcoming events and fundraisers.

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

We look forward to seeing you there! 🌟

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!

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

An MLK Day appreciation post, photos from our Spelling Bee for 3rd - 5th grades with our grade level finalists Ozzie Hoff-Weeks, Owen Kim, and Felix Bauermeister, who also won the Spelling Bee! Photos of the new library furniture thanks to McNichol- Bernbach Group, A Happy Birthday to Rocio post, the Dolphin Discovery Club Class Flyer, photos from the library of our Kindness Books, Year of the Snake books, and books about firefighters!

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!! Please be aware that the 1 day Volunteer form is NOT for parents and caregivers who wish to volunteer, even just one time in the classroom. That form is for outside speakers, (not parents) who are coming to campus just once. If you would like to volunteer you must fill out the LAUSD Volunteer Application, and send me a negative TB test.

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