Sea Dragons' Diary

Parent Square is a communication platform that allows the school to communicate with families directly. The greatest use of this platform would be for urgent messages to be received immediately.

Yesterday we sent out an urgent message to be a reminder for 1:45pm pick up. This gave us an opportunity to see how effective communication could be. What we noticed is that we only have 265 devices receiving text alerts. That could be concerning in case of a major emergency when networks are overworked and phones may not work.

Please take a moment to use the QR code below to add this important communication platform to your cell phone.

TK/K/1/2 Vocal Music

Vocal music at Lin Howe has started off wonderfully this year! If your student is in TK, Kindergarten, 1st grade, or 2nd grade, they have music every Monday or Thursday with Ms. Koplinka-Loehr. We have been having so much fun singing, dancing, and moving to music together!

For any of the linked songs below, if you click on the name of the song, you can have your student sing the song along with a video of Ms. Koplinka-Loehr. All of the songs below were handed out on "Ask Me" sheets this week during music, so please ask your student to show you their "Ask Me" music sheet to sing or dance these songs for you!

If you student is in TK or Kindergarten, ask them to sing "Hickety Pickety Bumblebee" and "Oh My, No More Pie" for you. You can also ask them to sing "Hop, Ol' Squirrel," and ask them to change the way the squirrel moves in the song. Ask your student to sing "Charlie over the Ocean" and show you the circle game we play with that song! Finally, you can ask them to dance "Also Spracht Zarathustra," and show you their timpani drum!

If your student is in 1st grade, ask your student to sing "Up Above My Head," and "Circle Round the Zero" and encourage them to do the song-dances with you, as well! In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we have been learning about Celia Cruz, who is from Cuba. You can ask your student to perform the dance to "La Vida Es Un Carnaval" as sung by Celia Cruz.

If your student is in 2nd grade, please ask them to sing "Tikka Takka Tikka Takka Wally Woo Woo," and "Penny You Must Wander," (and they can play the penny passing game with you, as well!) In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we have been learning a partner song and dance from Ecuador, "El Juego Chirimbolo". You can also ask your student to perform a scarf dance to "Waltz in Ab" by Johann Brahms.

If you have any questions about the TK/K/1/2 vocal music program, feel free to reach out directly to Ms. Koplinka-Loehr at: daniellekoplinkaloehr@ccusd.org

We hope you are having fun listening to your students' wonderful singing voices!

September 3/4/5 General Music Update

Hello Linwood Howe families! Our vocal/general music is off to a BRAND new start this year for grades 3, 4, and 5. I see all of my Linwood Howe students on Mondays in portable 29. We’ve had a lot of fun learning the basics of reading (and even composing) music!

All grades spent the first few weeks learning how to read basic rhythms (quarter notes, half notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, quarter rests, and half rests). We have made it to level three of our “Takadimi Olympics” and will continue to train! Takadimi is a tool that helps students organize and read accurately rhythms in music. We’ve also enjoyed playing Boomwhackers, which are pitched percussion tubes. There are lots of fun Boomwhacker play along videos on Youtube, and we are learning about steady beat, chords and melody with these unique instruments.

3rd grade has been working on solfege (do re mi) to learn how pitch works and build on the vocal skills they learned in TK-2 with their amazing music teachers. We are having fun being music detectives to recognize common song melodies using only sol fege.

4th grade is enjoying deciphering rhythmic codes with a rubber chicken (Secret Chicken) and also having the deeper conversation “what is music?” In fact, we’ve been inspired to make our own “found sound compositions” based on the fun videos of Andrew Huang!

In addition to the basics of reading and performing music, 5th grade is looking at composition! We are using the Ableton learning website to understand the elements of music through a pop music lens, and we even played around with writing some simple drum beats using a backbeat and a “four on the floor” pattern.

If I had a dollar for every time I was asked, “When are the recorders/ukuleles coming?” I would be a very rich woman, but the VERY good news is that all instruments (recorders and ukuleles) and ukulele storage carts are on the way and we hope to start all students on instruments as soon as possible! 3rd grade will work with recorders this year, and 4th and 5th grade will have ukuleles to play during class. Once the instruments arrive, the students will have a strong musical background on rhythm and pitch to start learning their instruments!

If you have any questions about the 3, 4, or 5 general music classes, please email me at mollypeters@ccusd.org. And do be sure to ask your student to demonstrate what they are learning about music when they are at home!

Raise Craze kicks off Monday, October 7 and ends Tuesday, October 22! This is the PTA's main fundraiser of the year and is what allows us to fund field trips, assemblies, classroom and teacher supplies, PTA & school programs, PE equipment and much more!

What is Raise Craze? Raise Craze is an online platform enabling students to set up secure, custom websites where they request donations via email, text, or social. During the fundraiser, students pay it forward by completing Acts of Kindness for others. This is a great way to teach our students the importance of kindness and gratitude while raising needed funds! More information is coming soon but to learn more in the meantime, visit raisecraze.com/how-it-works-video!

Last year, Lin Howe kept $111,000 and completed 2,352 Acts of Kindness with 90% of students participating! This year our goal is to raise over $100,000 and complete 1,000 Acts of Kindness with 100% of students participating. Registration info coming soon!

Reach out with questions or to get involved: LinHoweRaiseCraze@gmail.com

PTA REMINDERS

Upcoming Important Dates

October 7 - October 22 - Raise Craze Kindness Fundraiser

Thursday, October 10 - PTA Meeting at 6pm

Friday, October 17 - Lin Howe Parents' Night Out: Karaoke-Style *Not a Lin Howe Sponsored Event* RSVP Here

Friday, October 18 - Reflections Art Contest Deadline

Sunday, October 20 - School Beautification Day

Thursday, October 31 - Costume Parade

Next PTA Meeting - Thursday, October 10 @ 6pm

• Our October PTA Meeting will be Thursday, October 10th at 6pm in the Lin Howe staff lounge.
• Parking will be available in the district lot from 5:45pm to 8:15pm. If the gate on Irving is not open please use the gate on School St.
• FREE child care (including pizza!) is provided in the cafeteria. RSVP for childcare here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSesZUWQk5oLiz00hU04qXm7L_UVOvhk_jQyyg3v0-uGnoz8JQ/viewform

Disability Awareness Month Classroom Read Alouds

The PTA Special Education Committee has a tradition of inviting parents to read in a Lin Howe classroom in October when CCUSD celebrates inclusion and disability awareness. Sign up here to read starting the week of October 7. There is a great selection of books and it will be a rewarding experience!

Questions? email gzadra@hotmail.com or linhowespedcommittee@gmail.com

*You must be a cleared volunteer!
*Sign up where a teacher has already put their name. There is a line for parent directly under the teacher's name.

Disability Awareness Month Classroom Read Alouds

The PTA Special Education Committee has a tradition of inviting parents to read in a Lin Howe classroom in October when CCUSD celebrates inclusion and disability awareness. Sign up here to read starting the week of October 7. There is a great selection of books and it will be a rewarding experience!

Questions? email gzadra@hotmail.com or linhowespedcommittee@gmail.com

*You must be a cleared volunteer!
*Sign up where a teacher has already put their name. There is a line for parent directly under the teacher's name.

Lin Howe Parents' Night Out Karaoke - Thursday, October 17

It’s time for another Lin Howe PARENTS’ NIGHT OUT: Karaoke-Style! Leave all your daily responsibilities at home, and join us on Thursday, October 17 at 7pm for a night of carefree fun to hang with other Lin Howe parent friends, and meet some new ones. This event is free admission, but drinks and nosh are on you. RSVP (highly recommended) & details HERE.

*Not a Lin Howe Sponsored Event*

Lin Howe Spooky Dance - Saturday, October 26 from 5-8pm

Lin Howe Students & Families are invited to a Spooky Dance benefiting the 5th Grade Class Fundraising. Entry Donation $5. See you there!

CCUSD's Health Services Team presents to you our annual Drive thru Flu clinic where we offer FREE flu vaccines to all students, staff and community members. Consent forms are required for all ages. Please see the flyers below for more information. Consent forms can be found HERE.

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS AND ADJUSTED SCHEDULES

2024-2025

EARLY DISMISSALS: Every Wednesday and December 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17 and 20, March 21, May 8-9 June 13, 2024

TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 5TH GRADE - 1:45 PM

EVERY WEDNESDAY IS EARLY DISMISSAL

November 1 Pupil Free- Teacher Work Day

November 11 Veteran’s Day – School Closed

November 25-29 Thanksgiving Holiday – School Closed

December 9-10, 12-13, 16-17 Parent Teacher Conferences - Early Dismissal

December 20, 2024 Early Dismissal (for winter break)

Dec. 23-Jan. 3 Winter Recess– School Closed

Jan. 20 Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday -School Closed

February 10 President Lincoln’s Day – School Closed

February 17 President Washington’s Day – School Closed

March 7 Pupil Free- Teacher Work Day

March 24-April 4 Spring Break – School Closed

School Resumes April 7

May 8-9 Targeted Parent Teacher Conferences - Early Dismissal

May 26 Memorial Day – School Closed

June 13 Last Day of School –Early Dismissal

https://linhowe.ccusd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=121567&type=d&pREC_ID=2604807

Email: caseychabola@ccusd.org
Website: https://linhowe.ccusd.org/
Location: 4100 Irving Place, Culver City, CA, USA
Phone: 310-842-4338
Twitter: @LinwoodEHowe