posted Sep 18, 2018, 1:39 PM by PFC Secretary
[
updated Jan 15, 2019, 5:29 PM by PFC Webmaster
]
Happy September, Walnut Acres Parents!
During our first
month of school, our dedicated teachers have concentrated on building a strong
learning family in preparation for the academic challenges ahead. They have
established a safe, happy classroom community through the development of a
positive tone, routines and procedures, team building, and clear, rigorous behavioral
and academic expectations. They have completed baseline assessments and they
have begun forging relationships with each child in their care. These efforts are
foundational as the school year begins. While these activities will continue
throughout the year, now we will turn our focus to implementation of our
academic program.
As we engage students
more deeply in the academic curriculum, please note these crucial ways that you
can support your child’s learning at Walnut Acres:
1. Have your child at school every day on
time.
- Most of our students are
on time every day because you know that coming late to school puts your
learner at a real disadvantage. Late students are often afraid to ask
questions, because they assume what they don’t understand has already been
covered in class. If your child has
unnecessary tardies or absences, please reassess your schedule and let
your teacher or me know if we can support your efforts.
- If your child is ill, please call (925) 682-8000 ext. 7242 or
report the absence online at www.mdusd.k12.ca.us/walnutacres/absence.htm
Please do NOT report absences or give attendance notes to busy teachers.
- Independent Study contracts are available if your student will
be out of school for 5 consecutive days or more. Please allow teachers 2
weeks to create the work required. See
Amanda in the office for further information.
2. Be an active member of our school community. There are many opportunities to interact and have a voice at
Walnut Acres.
- Most crucially, as I
shared with you at your Back-To-School Night event, the more you collaborate with your child’s teacher, the more
successful your student will be. Regularly scheduled parent
conferences are one way to connect and collaborate. You and your child’s
teacher may also set a parent conference at any time. I encourage you to email or call your child’s teacher with
questions, concerns, or challenges you have. You and your child’s
teacher are a team, and I am here to support your team as needed.
- Our School Site Council (SSC) meets every first Thursday of the
month in the Faculty Room at 3:00 p.m. and meetings are open to the public.
The SSC develops and approves the
Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) which includes Walnut
Acres’ goals and establishes the budget to support our SPSA. The SSC then reviews, monitors, and evaluates plan
implementation and effectiveness. Agendas and minutes are
posted at the front of the school and on the school website. Parent representatives to our School
Site Council are Dara Buzzard, Catherine Canillas, Victoria Devincenzi,
Shakeya St. Julian Garcia, and Sarah Waters. They will happily bring
your voice to our meetings if you want to share your input with them.
- Our Innovation Team will meet on 10/3, 11/7, 1/1, and 3/6 in B-6
from 3-4:00 p.m. This group helps
to lead our transformative efforts to enhance student voice and ownership
of learning, including our technology development and design thinking rigor.
If you would like to join the
Innovation Team, please contact me
at (925) 939-1333 and I will be happy to provide more details about the
group.
- And
don’t forget the PFC meetings that
are held monthly! If you want to be one of the dedicated folks who
help make decisions about how PFC supports our school, join tonight’s meeting (Tuesday, Sept
18) at 7 pm in the Library or the next meeting on Tuesday, October 16, at
8:15 a.m. in the Faculty Room. These meetings are open to all parents,
so take advantage of the opportunity if the time suits your schedule.
3. Check out the school website, the district
website, and the PFC website to keep current about activities and news. For example:
- From MDUSD Nutrition Services - New
meal applications must be submitted
for the 2018-2019 school year to receive lunch and breakfast for
free or at a reduced price. The meals being served are healthy,
nutritious, and support your student’s academic achievement. If you have
any questions or need help, please call Food & Nutrition Services at
(925) 682-8000 ext. 4124. You may also submit meal applications online at
the MDUSD Food & Nutrition Services webpage at https://www.mdusd.org/foodservices.
- From the Office of State Superintendent Tom Torlakson – check out
the letter under ‘Current News’ on the
school website about digital inclusion, earned income tax credits, and
student mental health.
4. Contribute time, talent, resources – no
contribution is too small.
- When you volunteer you send a message to your child that education
is a priority in your life. Your child will note the message loud and
clear!
- The PFC is now spending approximately
$650 per student to support current programs, personnel, and materials at
our site. Your donations (including employer matching funds) go directly
to funding staff positions, including classroom assistants, science aides,
choral music personnel, and technology assistants, as well as materials to
support learning. Please support Jaguar
Fund at whatever level is appropriate for your family. The PFC hopes to achieve
100% participation, with the understanding that all contributions make a
difference and no contribution is too small.
- In addition to the Jaguar
Fund, additional fundraising through school-wide activities and events
such as the Read-a-thon, the Walk-a-thon, and our annual Auction is
integral for maintaining our current programs and personnel. Participation
in fundraisers is community-building, lots of fun, and raises crucial
funds to support student learning. We encourage everyone to join in
whichever activity or activities suit your family to help us continue to
fund the quality education Walnut Acres has become known for. Thank you
for all your efforts!
5. Practice safety at school by following
rules and procedures.
- Drop-off and pick-up rules are crucial to keep all children
safe. This week a grandmother came into the office in tears because she
almost ran over a child whose parent had directed her to walk through the
pick-up line to the staff parking lot and her waiting car. Please follow procedures at all times!
- Visitors to our school must check in at the office and get a Visitor’s Badge. Reminder
that parents are considered visitors if you are on campus after 8:15am or
before 2:15pm.
- Younger siblings are
welcome to use the playground after
school is dismissed if supervised by parents. Please note
that on Wednesdays our older
students are on the playground as part of their school day until 12:40
p.m. They have (as the children
would say) ‘dibs’ on the playground
until dismissal.
- I enjoyed this article about the stress of drop-off
routines courtesy of a parent. Read it and channel the moral…a good sense of humor is very
effective when patience is required… https://www.today.com/parents/7-rules-parents-must-not-break-school-drop-line-t135643
Learning together
Thank you for sharing
your precious children with us. Together we will provide them with an
opportunity to develop their confidence, enhance their skills, and realize
their own unique potential! Meanwhile, of
course, we will no doubt learn from them everyday. I’ll close with an anonymous
quote that is true, but often forgotten… “While we try to teach our children about
life, our children teach us what life is all about.”
Here’s
to 2018-19 and to our beautiful children who have so much to teach us all!
Your lucky
principal,
Colleen Dowd |
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