Dear La Entrada Community:

Student Placement:  A reminder that we are in the middle of creating and filling the master schedule.  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 balance within each classroom, and the need to create balance among classrooms at a grade level.  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.  

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.

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.  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.

Math Placement: On May 9th at 6:00pm, we will hold a Math Information Meeting for all parents who would like information on our math placement process at La Entrada.  The night is designed for parents of incoming 6th graders or parents new to La Entrada in grades 6th -8th.  The math teachers and I will explain the different courses offered in 6th, 7th and 8th grades, describe the assessments, clarify the process for math placement and highlight the supports we have put in place. If there are new parents who are unclear about the math placement for incoming 4th and 5th graders you are welcome to join us on May 9th or you may join my campus tour on May 20th at 10:00am for further clarification. 

Please RSVP for the events by calling the office @ 854-3962 or by emailing Marja Rudge at mrudge@llesd.org.

Sequoia Union High School District Projected Enrollment Growth:  Sequoia Union High School District is faced with projected enrollment growth.  I passed on a letter from the high district to each of you registered on Schoolloop mail on Friday, April 26.  The letter reviews the key projections for each of our high schools and announces that the High School Board will be considering certain boundary changes as part of the plan to address their growing enrollment.  The Sequoia Board recently came up with a set of tenets that would be the basis of looking at potential adjustments in the boundaries.  Prior to proceeding any further, Sequoia High School District wishes to hold a series of community input meetings to go over the enrollment projections and the tenets from which future boundary discussions will be based.  Please see letter sent via loop mail for details or come by our front office for a copy of the letter.   

Library News about Returning Overdue Books
Please encourage your children to return all overdue library books.  In the next few weeks, green slips will go out reminding students what books they have checked out. Very soon, we start making school wide announcements about returning all school library books. We are happy to work with and support any student who has any questions about their library books. (Questions include everything from forgetting they ever checked a book out to shyness about having lost a book!  Please note we do NOT charge fines for over due books, but will ask for payment only if a book is lost or destroyed. Families that need financial help with this are always supported.)  Unfortunately, some students forget to return their library books even after numerous reminders. We have found a great motivator comes through a lunchtime chore, called "Dusting Detention".  This chore starts, of course, with students eating their lunch here in the library and then they work in the library dusting and straightening shelves.  While, some students tell us that they actually enjoy this lunchtime activity, it does boost our book return rate dramatically.  Please email Ms. Myers with any questions you have about this process.

Update on the 2013 8th grade DC Trip

This year's DC trip was a terrific experience for all and I'd like to thank all the chaperones who worked tirelessly during the seven day trip ensuring comfort and safety for all.  Parents are to be proud of their children as our students were model students who consistently earned praise and compliments from so many adults throughout our travels; airline stewards who looked frightened when first seeing a swarm of middle schoolers boarding their plane but ended up remarking on how polite and good travelers the kids all were when we disembarked :) , tour guides, hotel staff, bus drivers and exhibit docents everywhere!!.  Suzanne Mitchell, our District's Technology Director and one of our chaperones, kept all parents informed throughout our trip on our "8th Grade DC Trip" webisite with photos at all our exhibits. New to the trip this year was a  visit to the Amish Country, a new cultural experience for all.  Traveling during the Spring Break this year was an experience in the four seasons, as we had snow, sleet, rain and sunshine, all during our one week trip!  One of my personal highlights of our trip was listening to the students on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial re-enacting Martin Luther King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech.  Truly moving.  Thank you to all the parents who shared your students with us for this week of learning through travel!

STAR Testing Dates and Details
STAR testing will be given in the mornings of May 6, May 7, May 13 & May 14 for all grades, and May 8th and 9th for grades 5 & 8.  Parents are asked to please ensure that your student has had a full 8+ hours of sleep prior to testing, has had a nutritious breakfast and is on time to school.  Tardy students will be held in the office until the morning testing period is completed and they must complete make-up testing at another time. Absent students will only have several days to make-up their missed tests so please make all appointments and outings for the afternoons.  
California will continue to mandate the STAR tests this year and next school year.  
Since all students will be tested first thing in the morning, it is not necessary for parents to provide testing snacks. It is more important that a healthy breakfast be provided at home to students, prior to arrival.  For those parents who have made arrangements to provide am recess snacks after testing, we recommend healthy, non-sugar and non-peanut foods.  Fruits and crackers are excellent ideas, whereas cupcakes or donuts are not encouraged.
I am hopeful that we will not have tardy or absent students in the mornings during the STAR testing days. La Entrada traditionally has had near perfect attendance during this important testing window.

Update from our Academic Counselors
La Entrada's Expect Respect Group will meet two more times this school year. We will be focusing on rolling out our "Caught with Kindness" campaign. The campaign consists of catching students in the act of being kind, and rewarding them with a fun silicone bracelet printed with the slogan, "Caught with Kindness."

A huge thank you to all of our parents that have volunteered to be apart of La Entrada's asset team groups! The asset groups are being finalized, and parents will be notified with their "assignment" next week. If you wish to be involved in any of our asset focuses: Service to Others, Youth as Resources, School Engagement, Parent Involvement with School, Creative Activities or Caring School Climate, please contact Emily McDonough or Sonya Dineen. We are very excited about all of the creativity and dedication from our students and parents, thank you all again for all of the support!

LELE AROUND THE WORLD CLUB

Please note due to the students busy schedule this time of the year, the meeting on May 2 is canceled.

STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK

It's time to celebrate our amazing La Entrada team of teachers and staff!!  During the week of May 6 - 10, we will show them our appreciation with heartfelt letters from the students, special treats, and a delicious luncheon.  Here's a quick peek at what the staff will have in store for them:

• Monday - Breakfast and Banners
• Tuesday - Luncheon catered by Quadrus (a huge THANK YOU to the Sakrison Family!)
• Wednesday - Donuts and Coffee
• Thursday - Popcorn and Sweets Galore for the Stars of La Entrada
• Friday - Wake up with the Coffee Cart 

In addition, we are going to fill their mailboxes each day with letters of appreciation from the kids. Here's how you can help: PLEASE have your child write thank you / appreciation notes to the teachers and staff they know (they should think of their core teachers, specialty classes, bus drivers, office staff, counselors, custodians, etc).  We would like each member of the La Entrada team to have an overflowing mailbox each morning!!  We know this will be their best treat of all.   There will be a place for the kids to deposit the letters in front of the school throughout the week. 

New Mural at La Entrada School  

Have you seen the new mural on the La Entrada music room wall?  It was completed in April by approximately forty-five 4th through 8th graders, under the direction of art teachers, Janet Gregori and Heather Ostrom.  The mural was designed by Ms. Gregori, Ms. Ostrom and a group of seven 8th grade students, with input from Colin Cooper, the music teacher.  The design was then transferred to the wall by our professional muralist, Ellen Silva.  During the weekend of April 13th and 14th, student and staff volunteers, along with Ms. Silva and our art teachers, worked in shifts to paint the enlarged design.  The theme of the mural is music through the ages, so it includes a variety of music genres and a wide collection of musicians.  This mural is an extension of the library mural that the art department created last year.  The next time you are on campus, please come and take a look at our newest art installation.  We think you'll love it!