The Weekly Wave
Short Avenue Newsletter- Week of January 29,2024
Short Avenue IB Learners Strive to Be...
Mr. Lamb's Updates
Happy Weekend Short Avenue Families and Friends!
Thank you all for a wonderful week. Our School Tour was a big success. Penny Wars was a fun and vibrant activity. And we celebrated Kindness Week, which was so strong we now need to build to "Kindness Always" as a guiding tenet of Short Ave.
One of the ways that we strive to improve is through our IB work. Often schools teach so much in isolation that there never seems to be enough time to “do it all.” At Short Ave we work to integrate our work across curricular areas and needs. One example is with our 3rd grade students. The students are organizing a donation drive for local animal rescue facilities. This is a way to bring various learning and our focus of Kindness Week into an operational lens, where students can learn by doing and by helping others. (Note: There are flyers below that were created by the students to generate support from our community for this endeavor).
This month’s Coffee With the Principal is on Monday morning and it is going to be a little different. Upon arrival attendees will be directed to the cafeteria to meet my amazing team and to try a tasting of various breakfast and lunch options provided by LAUSD. There will be some limited presentations during the event but the lion’s share of the time will be devoted to actually having time for a talk. Later this week there will be a Fire Drill on Wednesday and next week we will have some assemblies to refocus all students on our behavior expectations in the classroom, in the lunchroom, and on the playground, and students in grades one through five will have an additional district-provided presentation about Cyber Security.
Incredibly we are transitioning from January to February already. The days are getting longer and the race to summer seems to be going faster and faster. I appreciate our community and I love that we continue to grow together.
As always, please be safe. And please enjoy the rest of your weekend.
See you Monday!
Mr. Lamb
Important Dates- Mark Your Calendars
1/29- Coffee With the Principal @ 8:20am
2/09- School-Wide Assembly & Dolphin Cafe
2/14- Author's Tea @ 8:30am, all classes
2/20- SSC Meeting in Parent Center, 3:30pm
2/23- Dolphin Derby
Help Our 3rd Graders and Donate Pet Supplies!
In their IB Unit, "Where We Are in Place and Time", our 3rd graders have been studying their community, how and why people come to California, and the ways in which their local community has developed over time. To conclude the unit, the students are taking on an action project to give back to their community. The students are organizing a donation drive for local animal rescue organizations. They are collecting pet care supplies for the West LA Animal Shelter and the Wags and Walks rescue center. Please support our 3rd graders by donating any pet supplies that you might have. Supplies can be dropped off in Room 20 or 25, now through February 9th. You can also leave your donations in the main office and they will be delivered to Rooms 20 and 25. See flyers (created by the students) for more details. Thank you!
New Covid-19 Isolation Guidlines
LAUSD has introduced a new Covid-19 Prevention, Response, Testing and Exposure Management guidance for the Spring semester of 23-24 school year. The most significant change is in the guidlines around isolation. The most recent isolation guidelines are as follows: Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 must stay home and follow isolation instructions. Parents of students who test positive are strongly recommended to upload their test results to Daily Pass. Employees are required to upload their test results to Daily Pass. Individuals who test positive can end isolation provided symptoms are improving, and they have been fever-free for the past 24 hours without fever-reducing medication. Individuals returning from isolation must continue to wear a highly protective mask at all times indoors or around others outdoors, except when eating or drinking, for 10 days. Students returning from isolation may unmask if they have two sequential negative tests taken at least a day apart.
See graphics below for further guidance regarding isolation.
FoSA Updates...
FOSA Updates
PENNY WARS!! 💰
It's a wrap! Thank you Short Avenue families for all your support, and for seriously bringing your competitive spirit this past Friday! The Penny Wars Committee will be busy counting all the class jugs this week, and we will be announcing the winners of Penny Wars at our upcoming School-wide Assembly, Feb 9th.
Tues/Wed 2/6-7 RESTAURANT NIGHTS - MOTO RAMEN 🍜
Not feeling like cooking lunch or dinner? No problem, Moto Ramen is hosting a 2 day restaurant night for Short Ave families, Tuesday and Wednesday, February 6th & 7th, for Lunch and Dinner!
Dine In / Take Out/ Online - Motoramen.com/Order or Toast App
Mention Code: HEYSHORTY
15% of sales will be donated to FoSA!
MOTORAMEN - 11172 Washington Blvd, Culver City 90232
Friday 2/23 DOLPHIN DERBY ⚡
Our biggest Peer to Peer fundraiser of 2024 is approaching! Students will run, jog, skip, dance or wheel their way around the school track - all while raising money for the school. Every dollar raised goes directly toward funding Instructional Aides, Field Trip Buses, Spanish Music, the Edible Garden, Professional Development for our teachers, and much more!
Stay tuned! A communication will go out this week with details and running times for each grade.
UPCOMING COMMUNITY DATES & EVENTS 🙌
1/29 - Coffee with Principal
2/6 - 2/7 - MOTORAMEN Restaurant night (Lunch & Dinner)
2/9 - Dolphin Cafe + School Assembly
2/15 - FoSA Meeting via Google Meet (6pm)
2/23 - Dolphin Derby
2/26 - Literati Book Fair
FRIDAY TEACHER'S LOUNGE SNACK DONATIONS 🥐
Want to show your LOVE for all our Short Ave teachers and staff? Sign up for a slot to bring coffee and snacks to the teachers lounge (preferably some sort of pastries) on the Friday of each school week. This would be for roughly 40 people total - teachers, aides, and staff.
Click here to sign up.
VOLUNTEER 👷♀️
As a parent, you play a vital role in shaping the education experience for your children, and we invite you to join us in making a difference. We are still looking for Event/Program Committees & Volunteers for YearBook & Hospitality. To sign up, please click here. Remember to see the Volunteer Section at the bottom of this newsletter for all the information to become an approved volunteer!!
BIRTHDAY MESSAGES ON THE MARQUEE 🎉
Do you want to have a birthday message for your child on the Marquee? It costs $25, and you can purchase this on our school store on the website, linked here. Be sure to put the date that you want the message to run, and check to make sure that your date does not fall on a weekend:) We will use first name and the initial of the last name if you would like. We ask that you give at least a full week's notice, but if you want a last minute message, please email Avril, at avrilstyle@gmail.com, and she will do her best to accommodate you.
SPIRIT WEAR RECYCLE/REUSE PROGRAM ♻️
Free, gently used Spirit wear is here!
We are collecting new and gently used spirit wear items that are still in good condition. Please leave your new or gently used spirit wear items in the spirit wear bin, located in the office. We will have this bin out at all spirit wear sale days for you to look through or have a peek at what’s in it in the office during the week and please feel free to take an item or two!
FOSA COMMUNITY MEETINGS 🙌
FoSA community meetings are held monthly and all are welcome to join!
They take place on the 3rd Thursday of every month, September*- June, and alternate between virtual (6:00 PM on Google Meet) and in-person (8:20 AM on campus). Meeting invites will be sent through FreshSchools.
* February 15th , 6:00 PM is our next FoSA Community meeting. This will be a Virtual meeting
FOSA ANNUAL BUDGET 📈
Are you wondering why FOSA asks for donations and where the funding goes? See FOSA’s updated 2023 Annual Budget here.
Thank you Short Avenue Community for always bringing your love and care to our school. Our children feel it, our teachers and staff feel it, we all feel it. Together, we can achieve anything! Thank you ❤️. For any other questions regarding our school community, or to get in touch with a FOSA board member, please reach out to fosaboard@friendsofshortavenue.org
Community Rep Corner
Spring Semester After School Enrichment Classes START THIS WEEK!
- Please remind your children in the morning that they have class.
- Mr. Lamb will make an ALL CALL announcement everyday this first week, and then teacher's will remind students each day. All teachers have the schedule and the class rosters.
- TK - 1st graders are picked up by the Enrichment Teachers. 2nd - 5th graders go to their classes on their own.
- Pack a granola bar or a quick snack for your child to eat before class starts.
- Pack a sweatshirt for classes that are outside, including Messy Science, Arty Party and Soccer n' Sports.
- Pick-up for classes in the Auditorium is out the front of the Auditorium on Maxella, All other classes will have pickup at the Moore St Gate opposite the big play structure.
- Kids going to After Care, will be dropped off by their Enrichment Instructor after the class.
- Reach out to the vendor if you have questions about the class.
- Sport Fundamentals was canceled due to low enrollment, you should have been notified by Got Game.
- See the schedule below and mark down all classes and no class dates ( listed in the original email blurbs) in your calendar.
PRESIDENT'S DAY CAMP 2/19
reDiscover Center is offering a one day Tinkering Camp on Monday, February 19th. Click here to sign up!
YOUNGER SIBLINGS?
Our first school tour went very well, we had over 100 people who came to see our school and want to come! We will have an even bigger tour on February 29th. If you have a younger sibling at home, and you are at Short on a permit, and you want to come next year, it is very important to sign up on my google doc, if you have not already done so. Scroll down to the "previously published" section for more info.
https://forms.gle/rUtjhx7CCyd1tbMS8
VOLUNTEERING?
You must be an approved volunteer with a negative TB test to Volunteer for field trips, classroom projects, the garden etc. Please see the Volunteering information in the "previously published" section below.
READING SUCCESS WORKSHOP
The district is hosting a Reading Success Webinar on Tuesday, January 30th, from 9:00am to 10:30am.
Please see the flyer below with all the info.
BOOK FAIR Feb 26th - March 1st:
Our book Fair is around the corner! Mark your calendars for the week of Feb 26th - March 1st. We will be working with Literati again this year. If you weren't here last year, you may recognize the name since they also own the Literati Book Club (which is a curated monthly book subscription service, kind of like Stich Fix but for books). Literati Book Fairs are designed to get kids excited about reading. They have a fantastic selection of expert-curated books from picture books to graphic novels, non-fiction and all the best chapter books.
More details coming soon!
Social Media: The last week of school and over the break, I posted on our Instagram and Facebook a Kindness Week reminder post, Penny War's Pics, a picture of a glorious rainbow over our playground that got over 90 likes and reached 372 accounts, (thanks to Mr. Lamb for spotting the rainbow on his drive home, and Josue for the photo), and we finished the week with more pics of Penny Wars and Kindess Matters, and the first grade field trip too the LA Zoo!!
Room 23 Feeling Victorious!
Who is at the end to the Rainbow?
Kindness Matters!!
Previously Published...
Are You Registered On the Parent Portal?
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. Make sure to link your student(s) to your account. Please call the office if you need any help in obtaining your child's student ID # or any other assistance registering on the portal.
Sibling Enrollment for 2024/25 School Year:
Do you have a younger sibling at home who you would love to come to Short Ave next school year? We are starting a SIBLING LIST, and ask that you please fill out this Google Doc, so that we have you all in one place! This list is for both our current neighborhood families with younger siblings, and our families on permit with younger siblings. To be eligible for TK/UTK, children need to have birthdays between September 2, 2019 and September 1st, 2020.
https://forms.gle/rUtjhx7CCyd1tbMS8
Please know that we have become VERY popular with our resident neighborhood families, and expect that Kindergarten for 24/25 will be very full. Resident neighborhood families are guaranteed a spot. But we do not know if we will have spots in Kindergarten for siblings on permit. We do anticipate being able to take siblings for TK from our current families on permit, but will most likely delay enrolling siblings until later in the spring when we have a better sense of our numbers. This is a change from last year, when we enrolled siblings in March with our neighborhood families.
Current Short Ave families do not need to take a tour, and we kindly ask that you leave tour spaces for new families. All enrollment and tour info is now on our website. For those families with friends who want to tour Short Ave, the tour RSVP will open November 1st, when a google doc to sign up will be on our school website. Families on permit with younger siblings will be at the top of the waitlist and will have priority over new families trying to enroll to Short for the first time.
If you have questions about this, please reach out to me at avril.lipsky@lausd.net
Attendance
Volunteering
ALL Volunteers must watch this MANDATORY VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION, BEFORE volunteering on campus!!
https://bit.ly/ShortVolunteers
1. Please sign up through this LAUSD VOLUNTEER LINK!
2. Volunteers must have a negative TB test. 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. You can get your TB test at CVS. TB tests for returning volunteers are good for 4 years.
3. Volunteers need to sign a Liability Waiver and the Commitment Form electronicallyin the application.
4. Please see the LAUSD Volunteer Page for answers to questions.
https://www.lausd.org/volunteer
If you are a RETURNING VOLUNTEER from last year, you still need to fill out the LAUSD Volunteer Application online at LAUSD VOLUNTEER LINK! We should already have your negative TB test. TB test's for returning volunteers are good for 4 years.
Becoming a volunteer can take a little time, but we promise you it is worth it!
Short Avenue Elementary
Email: wlamb@lausd.net
Website: shortavenueelementary.org
Location: 12814 Maxella Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone: 310 397-4234