| From the Foundation |
SAVE THE DATE for Saturday, May 18th
Get ready to try your luck as the Las Lomitas District goes to Las Vegas at the Spring Auction! Saturday, May 18th at Portola Farms in Woodside will be our biggest party of the year, featuring our favorite band Pop Rocks. Play your best hand at our Live and Silent Auctions- everyone's a winner!
Channel your inner Elvis Presley, Wayne Newton, Celine Dion, or Show Girl/Guy. Or grab a group of friends and recreate your bachelor/bachelorette days. The options are endless to showcase your version of Vegas. Remember, it's for the kids! Open those wallets and rock the night away, we're going to Vegas, baby!
Tickets go on sale April 1st. Visit us here for more details.
Help Donate an Auction Item, Event, or Experience
Help us create a fantastic auction portfolio by soliciting or donating items, events or experiences. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
SAVE THE DATE: Grandparents' Day at La Entrada will be on Monday, April 22nd. Invitations are being sent home and to grandparents this week. Please go to www.llef.org for more details.
SAVE THE DATE: The 2nd annual Las Lomitas Fun Run will be on Saturday, April 27th. Stay tuned for more details!
 
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| PTA News |
Hot Lunch
Hot Lunch Volunteer Needed for 4/5 GradesTuesdays, 11:15 - 12:00.Please email Julia at gershenberg@gmail.com if you can help
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| From the Principal |
Dear La Entrada Community:
This article outlines our class placement process for La Entrada students in grades 4-8. The faculty spends considerable thought and attention formulating classes that will work best for students.
The teachers and administrators consider three major perspectives as we work together to develop class groupings: the needs of the individual child, the need to create balancewithin each classroom, and the need to create balance among classrooms at a grade level.
The teachers work carefully to create classrooms that are evenly balanced in terms of:
- Gender, social maturity, interest, student background
- Academics-high, medium, and low performing students
- Special needs-student who work with our many specialists such as English Learner Support, Speech and Language, the Resource Program, Reading and/or Math Intervention
- Health and other special needs
- Social relationships
For Students Entering Grades 4-5:
The process for composing classes involves all teachers at a grade level working together to develop classes for the next grade. As they work together during several meetings, the administration and support staff also provide perspectives based on their knowledge of the children. As appropriate, input from prior teachers is tapped. We believe that your child's current teacher possesses the necessary information and understanding concerning your child to make an appropriate grouping for the coming school year. Teachers' names are not assigned until after the class configurations are complete.
In order to maintain balance in class size we may have multi-graded classes. For the 2013-14 school year, we anticipate a 4/5 multi-grade class. Multi-grade classes are of the same high caliber as all other classes. These classes are formed using the same process described above.
We do expect that parents will trust and respect the judgment of staff in making classroom placement decisions. We do not accept requests for specific teachers because such requests would compromise our ability to develop balanced classes - which would impact all children. Since requests for specific teachers are not helpful to this process, we ask that you do not formally or informally make requests for specific teachers.
While we do not accept teacher requests, it is helpful for us to know if you have had an older child in a specific classroom that did not work well for him or her. If you wish to provide additional perspectives about your child that you believe we are not aware of and that could be useful to us as we engage in the grouping process, we offer that opportunity through email to me (spotts@llesd.org). Remember, this is optional. There is no expectation that an email be sent. It is simply our way of offering an additional opportunity for those of you who want to provide more input. Please note that while we do our best to accommodate student needs in the core classroom, the process for math placement may not allow for such requests.
For Students Entering Grades 6-8:
The process for these grade levels is much more "technology" dependent because we offer students a wide variety of courses in a manner that is more typical of a high school. We use a computer system to do the scheduling of students in grades 6-8. The process looks like this:
1. The students fill out their registration forms, listing their elective choices for the following year (this has already happened.)
2. I develop a master schedule that has the highest probability of meeting the highest percent of student requests. This is a list of classes, what periods of the day the classes will take place, the teachers for each class, maximum number of students for the class, and the room the classes take place in.
3. Students' elective choices are entered into the system, as well as a list of the required courses they must take.
4. The computer places the students into a schedule which allows for the closest match of the student getting his/her top elective choices as well as the required courses.
5. The computer generates a list of students who were unable to be scheduled completely. We then look at the students' other elective choices to see how to make the schedule work, and we also experiment with other variations of the master schedule.
6. We print out a list of all classes and make necessary adjustments to try to balance the class groupings.
In August, after we review the STAR test results, the administration and counselors review and finalize class lists to accommodate students who have enrolled or moved away over the summer. We put tremendous effort into creating balanced classes to best meet the needs of all of our students. We are continually refining the process and are proud of our results.
As outlined above, if you have important information about your child's placement for next year, submit that information to me in writing before May 1, 2013. Any placement information received after this date may not be considered due to our placement schedule.
Sincerely,
Shannon Potts
Principal
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| From the Assistant Principal |
Dear La Entrada Community:
Cell Phones on campus:
It is time again for the Assistant Principal to remind all families about our Cell Phone Policy. You can read our policy in the Directory under, " La Entrada School Handbook", page 126. In short, if your child must bring a cell phone to school, the cell phones must be turned off and kept either in a locker or a backpack during school hours. A cell phone out during school hours will be confiscated and only returned at the end of the school day. Should the same student have their cell phone confiscated a second time, the phone will only be returned to a parent or guardian. A third infraction will result in the cell phone no longer being allowed on campus. Students are to only use a land line during school hours and may come into the office if they need to make a phone call.
Parents can be helpful by not texting or calling their child during school hours, as well as having a discussion with their child(ren) around proper cell phone use during school hours. A cell phone can do much more than simply make a phone call and therefore requires all students to adhere to these rules in order to ensure a safe campus environment for all. Students who have demonstrated cell phone misconduct will be disciplined.
Project Cornerstone and La Entrada's Focus Assets:Campus Climate Work ...
This year, our school's Climate Work Group reviewed our recent climate surveys, including the survey conducted last Spring by Project Cornerstone. The charge for the Climate Work Group was to look at the 40 assets presented by Project Cornerstone as indicators of student success and to choose assets of high value and that would address our school's climate needs.
These assets are: - Service to Others
- Youth as Resources
- School Engagement
- Parent Involvement in School
- Creative Activities
- Caring School Climate
Our next step is to recruit interested parents and community members to join an Asset Team which will focus on one of the above chosen assets. Each Asset Team will consist of parents, community members, La Entrada staff, as well as students, at times. Currently, our newly created Expect Respect student group, led by both school counselors, will embrace the asset of Caring School Climate. The Expect Respect Group has already come up with some exciting ideas to kick off their work. Stay tuned for more information. We are hopeful that several of our parent members currently in the Project Cornerstone group, Take it Personally, will embrace one of our Asset Teams and volunteer. Please know that participation in an Asset Team is not limited to our TIP parent group and if you are intrigued by any of the above Asset Team themes and would like to volunteer your time and creativity/skills, please contact Emily McDonough or myself and we will get back to you promptly. 4th and 5th graders continue to be educated in the Second Step character program during their PE time under the leadership of Ms. Lamson. Ms. Lamson introduces valuable interpersonal/social emotional lessons to our young students and classroom teachers extend these valuable lessons, when appropriate. Each grade level features developmentally appropriate ways to teach core social-emotional skills such as empathy, emotion management, and problem solving. Ms. Lamson will share out examples of her Second Step program in upcoming SPOT editions and parents are encouraged to google Second Step Program. Safe and Happy Spring Break
Both Mrs. Potts and I would like to wish you and your family a safe and joyful Spring Break! This Spring Break, many of our 8th graders will be traveling on the annual 8th Grade Washington D.C. Trip. I, along with seven other staff members, will chaperone our terrific students on this engaging trip. Please share in our experience by visiting our website and enjoying the photos as we travel from Williamsburg to DC, out to the Amish Country and over to historic Getteysburg. The website, created and maintained by Suzanne Mitchell, is located on our LLESD Home Page. Sincerely, Sonya Dineen Assistant Principal
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| M-A News |
 M-A's Foundation for the Future presents ... Bid4Kids!
First Time Ever! The Foundation for the Future invites you to our auction
Kick-off Kegger party:
Saturday, April 6 at 7 pm at the Arrillaga Community Center in Burgess Park
Featuring live music by M-A mom, Laurie Knox's band, Loose Gravel
Exciting items will be auctioned at the party, like a Disneyland get-away!
Tickets can be purchased at www.maauction.org for $50.
Don't miss your chance to bid. All proceeds benefit M-A students!
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| Community News |
These programs are not supported by or affiliated with the La Entrada School or the La Entrada PTA.
Atherton Mat Club
Boys and girls who are interested in an energetic, social, and fun after-school activity should consider the Atherton Mat Club! Starting April 5 and running through May 3, the Menlo-Atherton High School wrestling team will introduce middle schoolers, 6th through 8th grade, to various mat exercises and activities. Some of the activities include wrestling, relays, mat ball, and various team challenges. Sessions will be held on Fridays, 4-6PM, and Saturdays, 8-10AM, in the M-A HS wrestling room. In a positive and fun atmosphere, sessions will help participants develop good strength and fitness habits and instill positive character traits: self-confidence, leadership, good sportsmanship and perseverance.
For more information, contact Don LaHaye at don@matclub.org or visit our website www.matclub.org.
Atherton Water Polo Club
Are you a guy who thinks you might want to play water polo in high school? Atherton Water Polo Club, coached by Menlo-Atherton boys' varsity head coach Giovanni Napolitano began their spring session on Friday, February 22nd at the M-A pool. Practices are currently scheduled Monday and Friday 6-8pm and Saturdays 10-12pm. A Tuesday/Thursday option can be added if enrollment supports it. For more information or to register contact us at info@athertonwaterpoloclub.com or visit our website at http://www.athertonwaterpoloclub.com/.
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From the Editors
| The Leopard's Spot is published by the La Entrada PTA as a service to the La Entrada families and community. Before submitting an article, please read our newsletter policies.
To submit an item, email it to the editors at leopardsspot@llesd.org by 12 noon
on the Wednesday prior to the Monday publication date.
Submission Requirements:
- In the subject line of the email, please include the section in which you wish your item to be placed (see our newsletter policies for the list of our regular sections); for example, the subject may read "PTA News" for any item related to PTA programs;
- DO NOT send the article as an attachment but in the body of the email: submission sent as Word doc will be rejected;
- Clearly indicate the title of your submission;
- DO NOT send flyers but provide a link to them;
- DO NOT send pictures but provide a link to them;
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