BSC Weekly Newsletter

Well done and a round of applause to all of our amazing first graders for another outstanding performance of The Little Red Hen. Our auditorium was filled all manner of dogs, ducks, pigs, cows, chicks, hens, and plenty of proud parents. Thanks to our wonderful first grade teachers for their hard work directing our scholars on their performance.

Visit the auction site: https://new.biddingowl.com/bsc2025

Online bidding opens on Wednesday, March 12th and will close on Friday, March 28th

at 6:00PM.

DETAILS ON HOW TO PLACE A BID

1. Register for a new account.

a. In the profile section, please use your student’s first and last name. If you have

more than one student at Balboa, please include both names in the First Name

field.

b. Use the parent’s email address for contact info.

c. Enter the rest of your contact information.

2. Find an event. To find an event, you can browse “All Items” from the “View Items”

drop-down field in the upper left corner, or you can use the search bar field at the

top of the page to search for a particular event by name. Click on a listing within that

event.

NOTE: You will see multiple listings for each event.

3. Enter your bid amount.

a. The minimum bid amount shows as the default. You can start with the opening

bid amount, or enter a higher amount in preset dollar increments.

b. You can set a Max Bid Amount so that the system will automatically bid on the

event on your behalf if you are outbid, up to the maximum amount you specify.

c. If you are outbid, you will be notified by email and/or text with a link to enter a

new bid amount.

4. Bidding closes on Friday, March 28th at 6:00PM. Winners will be notified at the close

of bidding and will receive an invoice to pay for their event(s).

5. You will have 48 hours to pay for your winning seat(s). Payment can be made via

credit or debit card per the invoice instructions. If payment isn’t received within 48

hours, the seat may be reassigned to the next highest bidder.

6. If you have any questions, please contact bsccompassfund@gmail.com.

Thank you for supporting Balboa Spirit Club and our amazing teachers and

staff!

Mark your calendars for our annual Festival of the Arts. Featuring craft stations from around the world, a performance by our Balboa choir, and the return of the Rockin' Awesome Improv Show, this year's event will be fun for all!

Join us on Sunday, April 6, from 1:00 - 4:00.

We need friends and families to host stations for this event. We would love to have you share a unique craft or activity that represents your country or culture. Please click here to sign up.

Congratulations to fourth grader Calvin Nguyen who represented Balboa in the Region North Spelling Bee this year. Competing against other elementary school and middle school students, Calvin did us proud advancing to the sixth round of competition in a very competitive field. Congratulation to Calvin and his family!

Congratulations to our budding journalists. Check out the March Issue of the Balboa Times for more on current events, sports, advice and more!

This week marks the start of Purim. Purim is considered to be one of the most joyous holidays in the Jewish faith. It commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from the conspiracy to destroy them.

March 14 (3.14) is Pi Day. Pi Day celebrates the mathematical symbol Pi (Greek letter "𝞹") which represents a constant -- the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, which is approximately 3.14159. http://www.piday.org/

To learn more about LAUSD commemorative dates and observance visit here.

Thanks to all of the families that came out to support our community during our Menchie's fundraiser last week. While your purchase helps the BSC, it was wonderful just to see our scholars playing games, having a snack, and spending time with their friends.

Thanks to Menchie's for being such a great community partner and hosting us. They have also provided Balboa with a generous amount of free yogurt incentives that our staff will use to recognize scholars showing good character along with special reading bookmarks that can be exchanged for a free yogurt after reading 10 books.

Keep an eye out for a special double promotion during Spring Break!

There's still time to register for classes starting this Wednesday. Check out some of the unique offerings available to our scholars. Full descriptions are available here.

Dear Families,

Exciting news! Our scholar's customized Square 1 Art catalogs arrived, and teachers are passing them out his week. Ask your scholar to show you their catalog and artwork! They've been working so hard to support this school fundraiser and did a wonderful job.

Thanks to all of the parents that have been helping keep our morning dropoff line running smoothly.

If you have a few extra minutes in the morning, please consider signing up for one or more weekly rotations to help assist scholars out of their cars and safely into campus. The more efficient and effective our dropoff line is the safer it is for everyone!

You do not need to be an approved volunteer to help with this. It will only take an extra 15-20 minutes each morning and will make a big difference.

Please signup here if you are able to make a weekly commitment.

Dear Balboa Families,

The School Experience Survey window is now open for parents/guardians. This survey provides important feedback to both the district and the school to help ensure academic rigor and safety for all students. The survey should only take a few minutes, so please complete it today.

Balboa Magnet strives for 100% participation, so we kindly ask for your help in reaching that goal. At the end of the survey, please print out the completion certificate with your child’s name so your scholar can receive an incentive.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support!

Best,

Ms. Chun

Hello Balboa families!

My name is Ellie Lang-Ree, they/them, and I'm the site director for all STAR programs at Balboa. Myself and all our teachers here at STAR Balboa are excited to announce that registration for Galaxy STEAM Academy is open for the 2025-2026 school year!

You may have joined us for our Nova classes, volunteered at our awesome Fitness Day event, or enjoyed our booths at the STEM Fair and Festival of Arts, but you may not know all that STAR Galaxy has to offer - read on for more information!

Galaxy STEAM Academy refers to our daily after-school enrichment program for grades 1-5. We are located in our lovely classrooms right on the Balboa campus. Students join us any day that LAUSD is open, from dismissal until 6pm, with pickup at any time.

Our typical Galaxy schedule involves snacktime, outdoor recreation, an hour or so for homework, and then an hour or more of enrichment activities. Most students do finish their homework with us. The activities include everything from weekly Wednesday visits from our rescue zoo, to snow volcanoes, to giant paper airplanes to discuss flight dynamics. Students work on art projects and presentations to learn about famous figures in history, and improve on classroom empathy skills.

We are first and foremost an enrichment program, focused on using STEAM principles to improve student's minds and afternoons! You can choose from 3, 4, or 5 days a week on a sliding payment scale. Payment is made in 10 installments, so you are able to leave the program without financial stress if needed. We do offer financial aid services, and work with CCRC as well - reach out for more information. These students spend all year together and it gives them an opportunity to make friends outside their classroom and grade level. We truly have a wonderful STAR family here!

Why STAR? STAR Galaxy is the only daily after-school program at Balboa staffed by exceptional teachers with required college credits in education, licensed by Social Services, and with a beautiful designated classroom space.

These important factors, plus daily creative and STEAM-based lessons, a student ratio of 8:1*, and a dedication to improving students' afternoons and grades, means STAR Galaxy is a fantastic choice for students and parents at Balboa! Additionally, students experience a rotating selection of built-in classes taught by specialist teachers, including Minecraft, Spanish, Science, Lego Engineering, and more.

Galaxy scholars also attend weekly visits from our associate exotic rescue zoo, the Eco Station, and receive hands-on biology lessons from a trained biologist and an animal from the Eco Station - we’ve had a water monitor, several types of snakes, praying mantises, hedgehogs, and more visit our classroom! In the spring, Galaxy students flex their dramatic skills in a musical performance, learning theater terms and skills, auditioning and rehearsing for a show, and putting on a fantastic performance at the end of May.

*STAR Ratio is a required 14:1, at Balboa we typically have an 8:1 ratio.

To save your spot in Galaxy for next school year, visit starinc.org for all the information. I recommend using a Chrome browser on a laptop or desktop. See the attached PDF for a step-by-step guide.

If you have any questions at all, I'm here for you! I’m excited to see you in the fall.

Contact: balboa@starinc.org // Call/text: (310)386-6359

Best, Ellie

Psychomotor is back to its regular weekly schedule and our scholars are excited to get outdoors and enjoy the time to run, play, and exercise.

We need approved volunteers to help supervise out on the yard. The signup sheet is updated with all dates the rest of the school year. Please click here to signup.

It takes a great deal of effort to put together our yearbook. Please help by joining the yearbook committee and distribute the work amongst a group of dedicated and creative volunteers. Click here to read the different opportunities and signup.

Our teachers can always use a little help in the classroom. Register to be an on-campus volunteer to help out during the school day. There are plenty of ways to help out. To learn more and to apply, please visit the LAUSD Volunteer Portal. You need to re-apply for each school year.

For questions, please contact Julie Shon: julie.shon@lausd.net

LAUSD Menus will be posted on a weekly basis here: https://lausd.yumyummi.com/webapp/balboa-el-prep/weekly/lunch

Shop our BSC Store and purchase your Spirit Wear shirt, hat, and hoodies for your scholar! https://www.balboaparents.org/spirit-store.html