BSC Weekly Newsletter

To our Balboa Family,

I am constantly reminded that in both times of brightness when we gather to celebrate

or when we come together to support one another in darker times, we are blessed and fortunate to have such an amazing community here at Balboa. From the simplest gesture of sharing information and encouragement in a group chat, to our teachers arranging donation drives, and even some of our families opening their homes to host evacuated Balboa scholars (and hold an epic sleepover), we are a family that takes care of one another.

Our newsletter this week features many of our Balboa Family moments. We recognize our teachers for all of the hard work they do, day in and day out. We give back to our community to bring joy to other families. We support one another providing essential goods to those in need. Please take a moment to look through all of the great moments from our community and take advantage of the many resources available to anyone needing support during this time.

Thank you for being a part of our amazing Balboa Family!

Humbly and Gratefully,

Steven

Before we departed for winter break, many of our amazing parent volunteers came together to host our annual Teacher and Staff Holiday Luncheon. Thanks to Virginia Mines, our hospitality team, and all of the volunteers for their efforts (and for decorating our auditorium so festively!!)

We extend a huge thanks to our teachers and staff for not only the knowledge they teach our scholars, but for keeping our facilities running smoothly, our children fed and cared for, and for everything they do to help our kids develop and grow!

Thank you to every family that donated to our Holiday Toy Drive. Our Student Council organized all of the toys and Ms. Chun, Mrs. Croft, and Mr. Lopez personally delivered them all to the wonderful families supported by the Rescue Mission Alliance of the San Fernando Valley. Thank you for helping make the holidays a bit brighter for our community.

A huge thanks to all of our Balboa Families that donated so generously to support families in need during the fires. With little notice, you came through providing trunkful after trunkful of much needed supplies and goods to support our community.

Please join us in welcoming our new Community Representative, Ms. Julie Shon. Born and raised in Long Island, NY, Julie moved to LA in 2001 and fell in love with the city. She has worked as an interior designer and space planner for 10 years and is a proud parent to two Balboa scholars, a 7th-grade son and a 5th-grade daughter. She is an active volunteer, dedicating over 5 years in the classrooms, field trips, school events, and TAP. She is honored to serve the Balboa community as the new Community Representative. Welcome Julie!

We also extend our gratitude and thanks to Ms. Lisa Henderson. After her two children graduated from Balboa, Ms. Henderson came back to support our community for nearly 6 years. While she recently retired, she continues to focus on supporting a future Balboa scholar, her new grandson! We look forward to seeing her on the other side of the dropoff line in a few years!

There's still time to signup for a new session of fun and engaging enrichment classes hosted by Enriched Minds. Click on the PDF file to review the classes and descriptions, then send an email to info@enrichedminds.org for info on signing up.

The Spring lacrosse season is right around the corner, but before it begins, SFV Lacrosse is holding one last free "Try Lacrosse" clinic for boys and girls. This clinic is designed to teach basic lacrosse skills and is intended for beginners with no lacrosse experience. All equipment will be provided.

Whether you’re considering playing the spring season, or just want to check out the fast-paced, exciting sport of lacrosse, come try it for free.

This Saturday, January 21, 10 - 11:30 AM at Balboa Park

This program is open to boys and girls between the ages of 6 - 14.

There is no charge for the clinic. Sign up now and tell a friend who needs to know about lacrosse!

For information about SFV Lacrosse including our spring league season, please contact sfvlax@gmail.com.

Dear Balboa Families,

This first week back of the semester and 2025 year has been met with challenge to our entire Balboa community. All our families, faculty, and staff have been impacted by the fires surrounding our school. We recognize the stress this has placed on our Balboa scholars, our families, and our entire community and we are here to support.

The BSC has pulled together various resources to share with you below. This is not a comprehensive list but just a few that we have come across on various media outlets, LAUSD's website, and crowdsourced resources. Please feel free to share with LAUSD and non-LAUSD families. For a crowdsourced resource drive, please visit here.

Should you know of any who is in need of support please contact the school and/or the BSC. You can reach us at balboacommunications@gmail.com. We will do our best to connect folks to the appropriate resources. Despite the difficulty of the moment we know that we are Balboa Strong and will come out of this stronger and more unified.

Warmly,

Rana

Uber: Residents in Los Angeles County who’ve been ordered to vacate their homes can get a credit from Uber to get to an evacuation site. The $40 will only be valid for trips to an active shelter and by using the code WILDFIRE25.

Lyft: Lyft announced it will be offering $25 vouchers, valid for two trips, to 500 customers from now until midnight on Jan. 15. Use the code CAFIRERELIEF25 to get the promotion.

The Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles, has complied a list of hotels in the Los Angeles-area that have room availability and are offering special rates for fire victims. The list, which is accessible from a Google spreadsheet, is continuously being updated and contains contact information and details on any fire-related special rate.

Airbnb: 211 LA is partnering with Airbnb to offer free temporary housing for people displaced from their homes due to wildfires. More info here.

Queen Mary: The Queen Mary hotel in Long Beach announced that it will be pricing rooms for fire evacuees at $189. The reservation will include a voucher for a breakfast buffet for two people. The reservation will also waive pet and Historical Preservation fees.

Big Bear: The popular retreat spot has also offered evacuees a peaceful place to turn to for rest and regathering. A collection of vacation homes and hotels is listed on this page, which has been created specifically for the needs of fire evacuees.

Visit Anaheim: People affected by the wildfires can visit Visit Anaheim's official website and find special hotel offers and assistance.

Project: Camp is working to create pop up camps for children impacted by the fires. To learn more and to register please visit: https://projectcamp.co/camps

Please feel free to reach out to Balboa's PSW, Grace Franke, directly if you feel your scholar needs extra support during the wildfires at grace.franke@lausd.net:

• Psychological First Aid
• Helping Children After A Wildfire: Tips for Caregivers and Teachers
• Parent Guidelines for Helping Children Impacted by Wildfires

World Central Kitchen is distributing free hot meals to the public at the following locations in Southern California in response to multiple active wildfires near Los Angeles. For the most up to date information please check our socials.

For a list of sites please visit: https://wck.org/news/meal-locations-ca

Small Animal Shelters

• Baldwin Park Animal Care Center, 4275 Elton St., Baldwin Park
• Carson Animal Care Center, 216 W Victoria St., Gardena, CA
• Downey Animal Care Center, 11258 Garfield Ave., Downey
• El Camino High School, 5440 Valley Circle Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91367, USA
• Lancaster Animal Care Center, 5210 W Ave I, Lancaster
• Palmdale Animal Care Center, 38550 Sierra Hwy, Palmdale

Large Animal Shelters

• Castaic Animal Care Center 31044 Charlie Canyon, Castaic
• Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W McKinley Ave., Pomona
• Industry Hills Expo, 16200 Temple Ave., City of Industry
• Los Angeles Equestrian Center, 480 W Riverside Dr., Burbank

Bath N’ Buns Mobile Pet Grooming: The locally-owned pet grooming service announced it will offer complimentary bath services for cats and dogs affected by the fires.

Vetster: The veterinary telehealth platform Vetster said it will be offering free telehealth appointments to pets impacted by the fires. Pet owners can visit vetster.com/support to get a free appointment. Offer will be available for up to 500 pet owners until Jan. 23.

Commissioner @ICRicardoLara will hosting a two-day #insurance support workshops for Los Angeles residents affected recent wildfires. These workshops aim to help survivors understand their policies & next steps.

Experts from CDI will be available for one-on-one consultations. pic.twitter.com/h9gKLIUs7V

— CA Dept of Insurance (@CDInews) January 10, 2025

Workshop No. 1 will be held at Santa Monica Community College in the east wing of the performing arts center at 1310 W 30th St. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday Jan. 18, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19.

Workshop No. 2 will be held the following week at Pasadena City College. Doors will open on Saturday, Jan. 25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26.

A full list of resources for wildfire victims can be found here.