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June Newsletter
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The Las Lomitas School District is dedicated to providing an
exemplary comprehensive, and continually improving educational program
that meets the cognitive and social-emotional needs of each student.
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1011 Altschul Ave
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650-854-6311
http://www.llesd.k12.ca.us
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Dear Parents and Staff,
Well, I've had a chance to noodle around on this Constant Contact software, and with a little help from Suzanne Mitchell I've tidied things up a bit. I'm trying out a Phoenix Suns-type color scheme in an attempt to avoid competing with the Red and Green colors of our two favorite schools.
This will be the last issue for this school year, but look for "News and Views" over the summer and as school nears. If you are getting multiple copies, you can delete your extra email addresses by selecting "unsubscribe" at the bottom of this page, and of course you can add other addresses by clicking on the link at the very bottom of this page.
Finally, I want to say a huge thank you to our amazing teachers, support staff, and administrators who make sure that each and every day is a meaningful and joyous day for learning. Far more than stellar test scores, our every-day focus on a broad curriculum and the whole child is the hallmark of our district. And when you add to the equation the unwavering support and assistance from our parents, PTAs and Foundation (see "Teacher's Letter" below), we have a recipe for success. It has been an absolute joy to part of this wonderful district, and I look forward to a successful next year.
In the meantime, I hope you all have a GREAT summer.
Eric Hartwig
Superintendent
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School News
Farewell to Jerry
You had to be there....at the annual Dance Festival on May 19 at Las Lomitas. Under the expert direction of Linda McGhee and Carol Hedges, the entire student body put on a recital to be remembered. The finale involved all students and teachers coming together to sing and sign the song "Kind and Generous" by Natalie Merchant as a tribute to retiring Principal Dr. Gerald Traynor. And what a sight it was, with all the little arms waving and signing in unison. In this case, the students did better than the teachers, who had to break rhythm frequently to wipe their tears.
Who Will be Assisting Sue at Las Lomitas?
Budget watchers are already aware that one of our cost-saving ideas is to not hire an assistant principal to replace Sue Sartor when she assumes the principalship in July. But how unfair would it be to expect a new principal to "carry on" without administrative help. Fortunately, we were able to solve this puzzle by asking Claire Abrams, teacher on special assignment at the district office, to relocate and re-task at Las Lomitas. There, she will bring her excellent project management and curricular skills to assist Sue in many aspects of school management, and she will be available for 60% of her time for this purpose. An additional 40%-time of staff help will be provided by adding two days to counselor Kathy Ruwe's three-day work week. This way, Sue gets 100% assistance from experienced local staff while the district saves 71% of the cost of hiring a new assistant principal. We expect that this will be a two year arrangement if the economy continues to recover to an extent that an assistant principal can be hired.
New Schedule at La Entrada?
Staff have been
looking at ways to modify La Entrada's class schedule in a way that will
permit students to continue taking 8 courses a year while also
lengthening each period and lessening the amount of homework on a given
night. Sound like an impossible conundrum? Well, there is an answer
which will look confusing but actually is quite logical and all the kids
will get it right away.
We refer to it as a "drop-period
rotational schedule" and Larry will be sending out exact details after
some modifications to contract language are approved by the teachers
union. In brief, the proposed new schedule keeps the normal 8-period day
for Mondays, and the other four days have 6 periods each, "rotating"
the periods so that each class will have the opportunity to meet at
different times of the day. This way, for four days a week, students need
to prepare for 6 classes instead of 8. In addition, this allows classes
(on Tuesday through Friday) to be 56 minutes long instead of 42
minutes.
If negotiations with teachers aren't
concluded by the end of June, Larry will be implementing another
schedule that includes all 8 periods each day, but rotates the times the
periods meet. In any event, La Entrada parents will be receiving
detailed information about next year's schedule in plenty of time for
the opening of school.
Chinese in our Future?
I have received several emails about opportunities for our students to study the Chinese language. For the past several years, Mandarin has been offered by the Las Lomitas League at Las Lomitas School as an after school class. This year, the League began offering more advanced levels of the course after school at La Entrada, and between the two schools about 29 students have taken one of the courses. The question is whether we should offer Mandarin as one of our foreign languages during the regular school day. Mr. Thomas has seen interest emerging among
La
Entrada students, and believes that by 2010-11 there maybe enough
interest to fill a beginning Mandarin class. He has met with Mr. Zito, principal of Menlo-Atherton, to see whether that school would consider offering a course that La Entrada students could take when they enter that school. There are no plans at this time to start up a Mandarin course at M-A. Woodside High School is starting a Mandarin course next year, and Carlmont High School offers several levels of the class. So there are two excellent public high schools nearby where La
Entrada students could continue studying Mandarin if they wished. It is obvious that knowledge of Chinese is going to become increasingly important for anybody who aspires to compete in the evolving markets of the 21st century. California, as a major economic power on the Pacific Rim, will surely continue to be a center of innovation, but will California students be prepared to study and work in Asia as more and more scientific, industrial, and economic activity occurs there? To get a better sense of whether La Entrada should offer Chinese for its
students, Larry Thomas will do a feasibility study during the upcoming
school year. His process will involve staff, students, and parents. If
the work concludes that Mandarin is a viable option, then a beginning
course in Mandarin could be offered at La Entrada by the fall of 2011. Just Another Day at La Entrada
Thursday, June 3, 2010....I walked over to campus to see the BizWorld project in full sway in Leanne Cummins' room. This is a week-long project where the 4th graders play a "game" that exposes them to all the fundamentals of starting and running a business: incorporating, developing a product and business plan, procuring capital, manufacturing, marketing and selling a product, and evaluating profitability. What a sight it was, and to give it a real edge, Rob Cardinale allowed his 5th graders to participate in a portion, as "consumers," and I can assure you that these oldWhat
The Heck is This?  | er and more savvy kids had some important insights for the 4th graders.
But as I was sitting at a table outside with Barry O'Neil, the BizWorld mentor, and Leanne's kids as they wrestled with profit-loss statements, here comes a class of Joanne Tinkham's 6th grade science students, running to the field with a mysterious long black rope-looking object. I couldn't resist, and followed them out. Turns out they were able to inflate this 40-foot tube by running back and forth with it, and then the balloon rose into the air through the effects of solar radiation. The students analyzed conductive and convective radiation, density, Charles's Law, used trigonometry to measure the object's angle of ascent, and asked and answered a slew of interesting questions.
Our children, directly engaged with interesting material........just another day at La Entrada.
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Budget Update
In the last issue I indicated that even though we have implemented about $1.2 million in budget savings for next year, we will need to find an additional $ 450,000 to $750,000 in savings to implement in 2011-12. Several factors have brought this number down to about $400,000 and that's good news. The larger than expected gift from the Foundation ($1,450,000) was a huge help, and we will also save money through maintaining a limited hiring freeze. There continue to be factors that could drive the needed savings up, most notably unfavorable decisions at the state level that could affect education funding. So we won't know for sure until the state budget is resolved over the summer. |
Class Sizes
In
my recent Town Hall meetings I predicted that our budget cutting measures
would
increase class sizes to an average of 23 at Las Lomitas and 26
at
La Entrada. These predictions appear to be holding steady with the
potential to hold at 22 at Las Lomitas if "surprise" summer
enrollments don't materialize this year.
We know that even this moderate increase is not ideal and we intend
the increases to be temporary. To bring class sizes back down we are
evaluating the potential of a new parcel tax, working with the
Foundation in their fund-raising efforts, and monitoring state and
local revenue sources for potential improvement. I believe that
enduring these sizes is less
painful than keeping classes smaller but making draconian cuts
in programs that we cherish in our schools. It is easier to
restore smaller classes than it is to restore programs and staff
that
have been eliminated.
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Update on "7-11" Committee
Otherwise Known as the District Advisory Committee on Surplus School Property
The District Advisory Committee ("DAC") was commissioned by our Board of Trustees on April 14, 2010 after hearing the findings of the Ensuring Educational Excellence ("EEE") Committee the previous month. Since one of the main findings of the EEE Committee was that there was a very low likelihood that the District would need the Ladera School facility for its own students, the DAC was asked to:
- Review enrollment projections and District facility needs
- Establish a priority list for use of surplus space
- Review the waiver process for leasing a site
- Conduct community input meetings concerning the acceptable use of surplus space
- Prepare a report of the committee's recommendations for the Governing Board
The DAC has met several times and held a public hearing in Ladera on June 7 and will be meeting once more to compile all recommendations before submitting its report to the Governing Board at its meeting on June 16. This final DAC meeting will be held on Monday, June 14 at 6:00 p.m. at the district office. Anybody wishing to hear a final draft of the report before the DAC presents it to the Governing Board is invited to attend this meeting. For more information on the DAC or to see the final EEE report, click here. |
Important Dates for Next School Year
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DATE
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TIME
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ACTIVITY
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August 13
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4:00 pm
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La Entrada class lists mailed
out & posted
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August 13
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Las
Lomitas placement letters mailed out
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August 16
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4:00 pm
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Las Lomitas class lists posted on office doors
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August 20
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8:45 - 9:15 am
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Meet-the-Teacher at Las
Lomitas
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August 20
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9:30 - 10:30 am
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Meet-the-Teacher at La
Entrada
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August 23
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First Day of Classes
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August 23
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9:00 am
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Las Lomitas Welcome Coffee
&
PTA General Meeting in Cano
Hall
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August 25
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8:45 am
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La
Entrada Welcome Coffee &
PTA General Meeting in the
Library
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August
26
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6:30 pm
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La
Entrada Parent Information Night (PIN)
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September
2
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Kindergarten & 1st Grade:
6:30 - 7:15 pm Grades 2 & 3:
7:15 - 8:00 pm
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Las
Lomitas Parent Information Night (PIN)
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September 16
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5:30 pm
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Las Lomitas Family
Picnic
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September 23
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5:30 pm
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La Entrada Family
Picnic
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Special Meeting for Prospective School Board Candidates
INFORMATION MEETING FOR PROSPECTIVE SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES
In November 2010, three seats on
the Governing Board for the Las Lomitas Elementary School District will be open. Anyone with an interest in running for
election to a four-year term (this November, or at a later time)
is urged to attend a panel discussion with current and former Board members.
· Who can be a board member?
· What does a board member do?
· What kinds of decisions do board members
make?
· How much time does serving on a school board
take?
· How do I learn what I need to know?
· Is being on a school board a worthwhile
involvement?
· How do you run an election campaign?
· ...and
other questions you want answered
Paperwork for filing as a candidate will be available at the San Mateo County Elections Office at 40 Tower Road, San Mateo, between July 12 and August 6, with elections on November 2. For more information, go to www.shapethefuture.org
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2010
6:00 P.M.
TO 7:00 P.M.*
LAS
LOMITAS DISTRICT OFFICE
1011 ALTSCHUL AVENUE
MENLO
PARK
* This discussion will be
followed by a special meeting of the Las Lomitas District Governing Board. If
you are unable to attend the discussion, but would like additional information,
please call any Board Member listed in the front of the school directory.
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A Teacher's Letter Home
This "End of Year" Letter Home Says it All
This morning a parent forwarded this letter to me, and I thought it exemplifies some of the feelings that all of us have.
Dear Parents: Today your child brought home his/her final 4 Q Grade.
Yesterday he/she brought home his/her portfolio filled with tests, projects,
and daily work. As always, please call or e-mail should you have any concerns
and/or questions. As I reflect on 2009-10 with your child, many things come to
mind, but one really stands out for me. The parents. You truly make LE a
magical place for kids to learn. You instill in your child core values --- I
see this on a daily basis in which my students treat each other with much
respect. Your child comes to school eager to learn because of the guidance and
love you give him/her at home. Your child is a enthusiastic and passionate
learner because of the opportunities you provide for him/her. Thank YOU for having a huge hand in making my job a dream !
I come to school each and every morning with amazing excitement and passion
because of your support of your child and my program. I mentioned this at Back
to School Night last August and I would like to express it again ---we teachers
receive way too much credit for our work with the kids. It's you, the parents,
that are the real heroes ! Your work in the Foundation, PTA, School Site
Council, Lunchtime Enrichment, volunteer work in the classrooms, etc. is what
makes my job "cupcakes". For this, I am extremely grateful. I am so excited to be moving to 7th grade pre-algebra, a
curriculum that I have sorely missed. The icing on the cake is that I have the
opportunity to continue this journey with your child (and you) ! I look forward
to seeing you at Back to School Night in August and share with you the changes
I will plan on putting into place Again, thank you for the gift of your child! Have a super
summer!!
Sincerely,
John Ertola La Entrada School
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