December 2024 & January 2025

It's beginning to look a lot like...🎄

'Tis the Season 👼

'Tis the season to be jolly! Wishing everyone a winter filled with warmth, joy, and memorable moments.

Board President, Mr. Bob Gin

Our Alhambra Unified School District Board President, Mr. Bob Gin, partnered with Shepherd of the Hills Methodist Church in Monterey Park to support some of our families by providing goods for the holidays. Thank you, President Gin, for your dedication.

Pictured from left to right are School Community Coordinators Ms. May Yuen and Ms. Patricia Mendoza, Mark Keppel High School graduate and church representative Mr. Ryan Chow, Board President Mr. Bob Gin, Principal Dr. Debbie Kotani, and Assistant Principal Mrs. Jennifer Wright.

SPARKS of LOVE TOY DONATION

Thank you to all families and staff who donated towards the toy drive. Donations will continue to be collected until the end of next week.

One of our substitute teachers, Ms. Shutinig Chen donated many swishy toy animals.

Thank you for supporting our community partners, the Alhambra Fire Department.

The Peer Leaders Uniting Students

The Peer Leaders Uniting Students (PLUS) team, under the guidance of their advisor, Ms. Wong, organized and sorted the contributions from the canned food drive.

Celebrating Diversity Through Cultural Traditions

While there are many commonalities in how holidays are celebrated around the world, each country brings its own unique traditions and customs to these special occasions. Here in our community, we are fortunate to have a rich tapestry of cultures, each contributing to the vibrancy and diversity of our celebrations. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to learn from one another, share in these traditions, and grow closer as a community through the beauty of cultural exchange.

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

A School-Wide Positive Behavior Plan (PBIS) is a structured framework of strategies and systems designed to foster a positive school climate and culture for all students. PBIS is not a curriculum, intervention, or standalone practice; rather, it is a decision-making framework that helps schools select, integrate, and implement evidence-based academic and behavioral practices. These practices are aimed at improving important academic and behavioral outcomes for all students.

This three-tiered model emphasizes school-wide core features (Tier I), which are universally implemented and accessible to all students at all times. Our focus is on educating every student through:

Clearly defined outcomes
Research-validated practices
Supportive administrative systems
Data-driven problem-solving processes

PBIS organizes evidence-based behavioral practices into an integrated continuum, ensuring that students receive varying levels of support based on their responsiveness to intervention. The three-tiered prevention logic includes:

Universal/Primary Tier: Support for all students.
Secondary Tier: Group-based supports for students whose behaviors are not fully responsive to universal interventions.
Tertiary Tier: Individualized and intensive support plans for students with specific behavioral needs.

At Ramona, our PBIS framework centers around the 3Rs: Respect, Responsibility, and Relationships. At the beginning of the school year, these expectations are introduced and reinforced through grade-level assemblies and classroom presentations.

In January, we will conduct a school-wide activity to revisit and reinforce what the 3Rs look and sound like in various campus locations, including classrooms, playgrounds, restrooms, cafeterias, and hallways. This ongoing effort ensures consistency in expectations and fosters a unified, positive school environment.

School-wide Fundraiser

We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in our school-wide catalog fundraiser. While the primary goal of the fundraiser is to raise funds for our students, it also serves as a wonderful opportunity for students, teachers, and parents to come together in support of our shared mission to enhance student engagement.

Thanks to your generous efforts, we successfully raised $7,400! These funds will be used to support activities for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, provide prizes for students, and host a school-wide assembly in the spring.

A special congratulations to Ms. Vickie Wong's fifth/sixth grade combination class for earning the top spot for most items sold, with Ms. Haft's first-grade class coming in second place.

December's Student of the Month Theme

California Healthy Kids Survey & School Climate Survey

The California Healthy Kids Survey will be sent out in January to all parents. It is very important that we have as many parents participating as possible. We have included links to videos to explain what the survey is about. Please know that we use the survey responses to help us work on improving school goals and school climate. There are important questions that let us know how families feel about our school safety, environment, communication, and more. Thank you in advance for taking the time to help us improve and continue to support our students.