| From the Principal |
Dear La Entrada Community,
Welcome to 2011!
While it may be hard to believe, half the school year is almost over! Friday, January 14 is the last day of 2nd Quarter, and Tuesday, January 18 is the 1st day of 3rd Quarter (because of Martin Luther Kind day on Monday the 17th).
The end of 2nd quarter is also the end of 1st semester. This means that there will be schedule changes for students in 6th-8thgrade. (Primarily the changes are for 7th and 8th graders, but there are sometimes 6th graders with changes.)
For 6th -8th grade parents:
On Tuesday, January 14, students will report to their current 4th period teacher. They will receive their 2nd semester schedule and be given time to report to their new class (if they have one).
There are a few reasons that your child's schedule may have changed for 2nd semester:
- To accommodate an elective change. Sometimes it is necessary for other classes to switch periods because of a change in electives.
- To accommodate participation in a support program.
- To help balance classes
There are also a couple of reasons that your child's schedule may change in the first few weeks of the new semester.
- If your child wants a schedule change, s/he should pick up a schedule change form in room 7.When the form is filled out and returned with a parent signature, Mrs. McDonough (our counselor) will review it and see if it is a change that is possible.Mrs. McDonough will call your child into office to review whether or not the change is possible. Please note that many changes are not possible due schedule complexities.
- Mrs. McDonough may call your student into the office to mandate a schedule change that is necessary to better balance classes. We attempt, during the first few weeks of the new quarter, to move some students out of larger classes and into smaller classes. If one of these changes occurs to your child, please know that it is to the benefit of all our students to balance the classes as much as possible.
4th-8th Musical
Disney's "Beauty and the Beast Jr." will be our 4-8 Musical for 2011!
Mark your calendars now! We will have two evening performances: Thursday, April 28, and Friday, April 30.
This is a wonderful opportunity for kids to participate in a live production (whether or not they have any experience).It is also a great opportunity to students to get to know people from all the grade levels at the school.
Again, experience is not necessary in order to participate.There will be more than 20 speaking parts, and many dancing and singing parts (even some solos)! The production will be full of wonderful costumes and sets!
We are so blessed to have a completely experience staff that will be working with our students. Our own Mr. Cooper will be the musical director; Mrs. Montalvo will be our producer; and our director (Kris Andrews) and choreographer (Caity Andrews) are also returning for this production.
In addition, we are so thankful to the Las Lomitas League for supporting all of this coming together!
If your child is interested in participating in "Beauty and the Beast", registration opens on January 31st on the Las Lomitas League website (www.laslomitasleague.com).
Auditions will be Wednesday, March 2 and Thursday, March 3 after school in the music room.
Coffee this Monday
This Monday (January 10) we will have a "Coffee with the Principal" at 7pm in the MUR. This is an opportunity to come and chat with me (and others) about anything on your mind.
If you can't make this Monday's coffee, the next one will be on March 7 at 9:15 a.m.
Larry Thomas
Principal
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PTA News
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HOT LUNCH VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
HELP NEEDED! Tuesday: volunteers for the 6th-8th grade lunch, 11:45 to 12:30. Fridays: volunteers for the 4th-5th grade lunch, 11:00 to 11:45 - every other Friday starting January 14 we have only TWO volunteers and we need a minimum of FOUR to make Hot Lunch operate. Please volunteer your time! Please email Julia at gershenberg@sbcglobal.net if you are able to help. We desperately need you!
THE SCIENCE FAIR IS FAST APPROACHING!
It's that time of year again - time for the annual La Entrada Science Fair, to be held on the evening of January 20th, 2011.
If your child needs help or motivation with their project parents will be available on Friday January 7 and 14 during the lunch break in room 12 to assist with all aspects of science projects. Please join us. If you have any questions, please feel free to email PJ Utz or Sarah Bodary.
TOTALLY WIRED: WHAT TEENS AND TWEENS ARE REALLY DOING ONLINE
Thursday January 27
7-8:30 p.m.
Menlo-Atherton High School Performing Arts Center
Arm yourself with the knowledge you need to protect your child on the Internet and social media. The PTA, part of the Consortium of Atherton & Menlo Park United Schools parent education series, presents teen technology expert Anastasia Goodstein, author of Totally Wired: What Our Teens and Tweens are REALLY Doing Online. Totally Wired is the first guide to what teens are really doing on the Internet and with technology today. Author Anastasia Goodstein covers topics such as social networking (Facebook and MySpace), blogging, cyberbullying, and much more.
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School News
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FROM THE LEARNING CENTER
Students in the Learning Center have been working on learning and implementing organizational skills. Some students learn to become organized on their own or by watching and imitating others. Some, however, need direct instruction on organizational strategies.
In the Learning Center, students are taught to correctly use the organizational tools they have at their fingertips. Among the many tools that La Entrada students have for being organized are: binders, planners, study buddies, class notes and self-advocacy. Some students need support for using these tools, so it is important for all adults involved in each student's life to reinforce their use and provide positive reinforcement when students use them.
Self advocacy is a very important skill. Knowing when and how to speak up is an important organizational tool, not just while at La Entrada, but for high school and beyond. Self-advocacy skills do not come easily to many young students. Whether it's as simple as tracking down a teacher to reschedule a missed lab, or asking a teacher to correct a scoring error on a grading sheet, shyness or fear keep students from following up on important organizational matters. Students should practice self-advocacy skills. On good method we use in the Learning Center (and could be practiced in any home) is creating scenarios and having students practice what they would do. We create hypothetical middle school dilemmas, such as a lost text book, a failed grade on a paper, or a friend who is distracting them in class, and we work through what they could do to follow up on the matter. Then the students role play (actually verbalize) talking to the teacher to resolve the dilemma.
Good basic organizational skills are essential for success in middle school. However, organizational skills are not developed overnight, but are an ongoing developmental process.
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| The Las Lomitas Education Foundation |
Don't Leave Money on the Table!
We are so, so close! The dollar-for-dollar challenge grant has been met, but there is still $80,000 on the table. We only need 162 more families to donate to reach 80% participation! When we reach 80% district-wide by the end of January, the Foundation will receive that additional $80,000!
We know that the majority of you are planning to give to the Foundation. We need you to do it now. Every donation makes a difference and brings us closer to reaching our 80% participation goal.
Can we count on your support right now?
Click here to make an online donation today.
You can also mail a check to the Las Lomitas Education Foundation at the following address:
Las Lomitas Education Foundation
P.O. Box 7282
Menlo Park, CA 94026
Thank you for your support!
Diana Sunshine, President
Las Lomitas Education Foundation
See how your grade compares with the rest of the school:
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Grade
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Participation Rate
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Pre-K
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80%
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Kinder
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66%
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1st Grade
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65%
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2nd Grade
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72%
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3rd Grade
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65%
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4th Grade
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62%
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5th Grade
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65%
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6th Grade
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50%
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7th Grade
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51%
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8th Grade
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52%
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| | Follow the Foundation on Facebook | Follow the Foundation on Twitter |
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| Las Lomitas League |
WINTER/SPRING 2011 AFTER SCHOOL CLASSES
Registration opens at 7pm, Monday, January 3rd: go to the the League website for the new classes info. Some registration tips:
- Register YOUR CHILD (his/her name, age, etc) with all of his/her information. We are NOT looking for your information. However, make sure you enter YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS to receive all timely information regarding the sport, class schedules, team practices, etc from the coaches or the teachers.
- In the registration system you will be required to create an account and have your child's information stored for future sports and class registrations.
- Our policy for cancellations: Our system requires we pay a fee for every registration up front, therefore any cancellations are refunded at 90% of the class or sport fee. Cancellations will be processed up to 24 hours prior to the second meeting of the sport or class. There will be no refunds or cancellations after the second meeting of the class or sport.
- Late registrations: There are NO LATE REGISTRATIONS ACCEPTED.
- Please do not go directly to classes or sports to 'Walk up' Register - Teachers or coaches cannot accept late or manual registrations!
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| District News |
The District English Language Advisory Committee(DELAC) invites you on Wednesday, January 19th, to attend our DELAC Meeting at 6:00 pm and Technology Presentation at 7:00 pm. Both meetings will take place at Las Lomitas in Room 19, the English Language Lab. The evening will begin with our DELAC meeting. Following this, Las Lomitas English Language Development (ELD) teachers and Suzanne Mitchell, Director of Technology, will be demonstrating how technology is being implemented in our ELD classrooms. Information on how parents can access online learning at home will be shared. Come and see how our English Learners are using the latest technology to improve their proficiency in English. All are welcome to attend! Refreshments will be served. Childcare is available. Please RSVP if you will be in need of childcare. For questions and to RSVP, please contact ELD teachers: Lesli Leong at Las Lomitas School, lleong@llesd.org, (650) 854-5900 ext. 219, or at La Entrada School, (650) 854-3962, Mimi Sabo, msabo@llesd.org, x315, or Joanne Tinkham, jtinkham@llesd.org, x311. For more information: http://www.llesd.k12.ca.us/EnglishLearners.html. |
| Sequoia Union High School News |
MENLO-ATHERTON HIGH SCHOOL
DANCE TEAM SHOW AND FUNDRAISER!
Please support the Menlo-Atherton High School community by attending the 8th Annual M-A Dance Team Show and Fundraiser. It's an entertaining and upbeat performance that families will surely enjoy. This highly acclaimed dance team promises another outstanding collection of dance performances including hip-hop, jazz, lyrical and ballet. Proceeds from this event help to underwrite scholarships, team uniforms, camps and competition expenses.
Date: Saturday, February 5, 2011
Time: 6:00 pm (doors open at 5:30 pm)
Place: M-A Performing Arts Center
Price: $10 Adults/$5 Students
Raffle tickets: $5/each or 5 tickets for $20
Direct any questions to Kathy Glass (kathytglass@yahoo.com) or Nancy Child (nancymchild@yahoo.com). Tickets for the show and raffle can be purchased from Dance Team members, from Kristin Gananian (phone: 650-854-9332; email: gananian@pacbell.net), or at the door. Make checks payable to M-A Dance Team; cash is also accepted. All proceeds benefit the Menlo-Atherton Dance Team. |
| Community News |
Remember to mention La Entrada at the register and Kepler's donates 10% back to our school.
ALPINE MENLO PARK GIRLS SOFTBALL REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
Registration for the Alpine Menlo Park girls' spring softball season is now open and will be available until January 31, 2011. There are no tryouts and allexperience levels are welcome.Registration and more can be found by clicking here. If you have additional questions, please contact Jeff Lokey at jefflokey@yahoo.com. Play ball!
MENLO-ATHERTON 2011 LITTLE LEAGUE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!
Register for Little League (ages 5 1/2 to 16 by April 30th, 2011) by January 17th, 2011 at
www.m-all.org. MALL boundaries are Menlo Park west of 101 and east of El Camino; and all of Atherton.
DANCE EXPRESSIONSExpress your self at Dance Expressions in Menlo Park.. fun classes you won't want to miss out on! Everyone is welcome to join us for a brand new session with classes offered in jazz, hip hop, and creative movement! For more information and a full listing of classes please check out the website at www.danceexpressions5678.com.
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| Leopard's Spot Submissions | The Leopard's Spot is published every Monday (except Mondays following holiday weeks). To submit items for inclusion in the newsletter:
- Email submissions by Wednesday 12 Noon to be published the following week;
- When submitting an article, please refer to our newsletter policies.
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