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THE SLICE
A Monthly Look at the Power of LPIE
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Monthly Quote
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There's nothing I believe in more strongly than getting young people interested in science and engineering, for a better tomorrow, for all human kind.
- -Bill Nye
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9/25 - Whole Foods Market LPIE Fundraiser
10/7 7pm - LPIE General Board Meeting, Stanley Library
10/26 - Lafayette Reservoir Run
11/4 9am - LPIE General Board Meeting, LafSD Meeting Room
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Business PIE
of the Month
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Contact LPIE
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office@lpie.org
925-299-1644
3450A Golden Gate Way Lafayette
Mailing Address:
PO Box 923
Lafayette, CA 94549
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Join Our List
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Can you believe that almost a month of school has gone by? Whether you have a kindergartner who is still getting used to the school-day routine, a senior who is beginning work on college applications, or someone in between, your student is being impacted in some way each day by LPIE funding.
For the past five years, LPIE has been able to increase its funding to our students to ensure that valuable programs continue to evolve and advance. This year, we have been able to provide additional dollars to two fields that have many implications in the 21st century:  engineering and health. With LPIE funding, Acalanes High School is able to offer an Honors Engineering Class this year, and the Lafayette School District has employed a full-time credentialed health educator. Please read below to see how these programs are delivered to our students. LPIE is thrilled to be able to fund these important programs.
Thank you so much to those of you who have participated in our Annual Giving Campaign. If you have not yet had the chance, please know it is not too late! Our goal is 100% participation and we will work throughout the year to achieve that. Please remember that gifts can be made through stock donations as well and often provide a tax benefit to you!
Please join us at Whole Foods on
Thursday, September 25th
for LPIE Day!
In support of Lafayette students, Whole Foods will be donating 5% of net sales back to LPIE. Get your shopping list together and head to Whole Foods anytime between 8:00 AM - 9:00 PM. We are honored to be the beneficiaries of this incredible donation, and thank Whole Foods for their partnership and support of LPIE. Please be sure to thank them for supporting LPIE and our schools when you are checking out!
Enjoy the Fall!
Meredith Meade, President
Lafayette Partners in Education
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LPIE - INVESTING IN YOUR CHILD'S EDUCATION
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LPIE Fundraising Update
Thank you Lafayette families
who have donated to LPIE. Our school community rallied with
a strong kick-off in support of education and the LPIE fundraising season.
community have generously donated $1.425M toward our fundraising goal of $2.5M and overall operating budget of $2.7M for the 2014/15 school year.
Working with the Lafayette and Acalanes school districts, LPIE identifies areas of investment in core academics and enrichment, supporting programs and efforts that might otherwise go unfunded. For a reminder of what LPIE funds, please read on...
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MATCHING GIFTS MADE EASY
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Double Your Education Investment
Applying for corporate matching gifts has never been easier. To find out if your employer matches gifts, please check with your human resources department or click the link below. Last year matching gifts to LPIE totaled an impressive $217,000.
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THE POWER OF LPIE AT ACALANES HIGH SCHOOL
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LPIE Funding Supports Engineering Class
Engineers apply the principles of science, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions to technical problems. Their work is the link between scientific discoveries and the commercial applications that meet societal needs. The newly launched Honors Engineering course at Acalanes High School provides a foundation to understanding the engineering profession. Introductory material in chemical, mechanical, aerospace, electrical, computer, civil and biomedical engineering will give the students an appreciation of the diversity of the engineering field. LPIE support of this class includes $22,500 for a class section and $7,000 for lab supplies.
Acalanes math instructor Mr. Buchel is teaching  Engineering, based on standards from the National Science Framework (NSF). In 2011, the NSF included standards for high school curricula in engineering in response to the shortage of American engineers being produced by colleges. The standards are designed to enlighten students by giving them an understanding of what is required to succeed in the engineering profession. It will allow students to discover if their personal strengths are consistent with a career in engineering and will provide an informational foundation for success in engineering courses they might take in the future.
Mr. Buchel notes, "Before entering college, most students who study engineering know very little about what the profession involves, other than a need to be strong in math and science. The goal of this course is to help students begin to understand what engineering is and if it's something they're interested in studying more as an undergraduate ."
Grant Vogel adds, "I'm interested in studying engineering in college and I want to get a better understanding of the application of chemical versus mechanical engineering."
Engineering at Acalanes is approved and recognized as an honors class by the University of California system. The suggested prerequisites include Algebra II/Trigonometry and Chemistry, while Physics is a pre-requisite or co-requisite course. During the first quarter, students will focus on the introduction to engineering as a profession and more traditional physics work including engineering analysis, kinematics, statics, dynamics and energy conservation. During the 2nd and 3rd quarters, students will perform a variety of laboratory activities that survey the various branches of engineering (chemical, mechanical, aerospace, electrical, computer, civil and biomedical) including projectiles (range versus launch angle), force and deflection of I-beams plus human arm and torque. By the 4th quarter, students will be expected to complete a final project that integrates topics learned throughout the year. The final project will be completely student generated.  Students will use the skills they develop in class to generate a concept, perform an analysis, design experiments, produce models and drawings, and prepare an oral defense of their project.
"After taking physics, engineering seemed like an interesting way to apply physics and my interest in math". - Sierra Galanza In addition, students will participate in an engineering fair in the Spring of 2015. Their projects will be displayed to the school community. At the fair, engineering students will present their projects and answer questions from observers.  Eric Sirott, "I hope to study materials engineering at UC Berkeley or UCLA. I've already taken most of the science classes offered at Acalanes. It's exciting that Acalanes offers an engineering class where I can apply science and math."
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THE POWER OF LPIE AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND STANLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL
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LPIE Funding Supports Health Educator for 4th through 8th Graders
The American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Heart Association believe that quality health education programs delivered in the nation's schools can improve the well-being and health of our children and youth. By teaching about physical, mental, emotional and social health, health education builds students' knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes about health. It motivates students to improve and maintain their health, prevent disease, and reduce risky behaviors.
 The Lafayette School District recognizes that health education is an essential component of quality education. Health education curricula and instruction help students learn skills they will use to make healthy choices throughout their lifetime. Effective curricula result in positive changes in behavior that lower student risks around: alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; injury prevention; mental and emotional health; nutrition; physical activity; prevention of diseases; and sexual health.
Over the summer, a portable classroom was installed on the edge of the Stanley Middle School field, housing the new health education classroom and full time health educator Ms. Schoenrock. Ms. Schoenrock has a Masters of Public Health specializing in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from UCLA (1984), providing the foundation that brings a professional's perspective to the classroom and school district. Throughout her career, she has worked in a variety of settings in an effort to foster positive youth development including non-profit organizations, teaching hospitals, universities and the Lafayette School District. Ms. Schoenrock completed a Health Science teaching credential in the Spring of 2014 and is eager to work with Lafayette students.
"Children must be healthy in order to be educated and children must be educated in order to stay healthy." (Public Health Reports). Consistent with this quote Ms. Schoenrock shares, "I look forward  to developing and delivering a health education curriculum for the Lafayette School District. I believe in the integration of health subject matter into the school day and look forward to collaborating with the school community to promote the health and learning of all individuals. The District's commitment to health for its students, families and staff as expressed in strategic planning aligns closely with my professional belief that the development of lifelong positive health related attitudes and behaviors are an important component of the educational process."
LPIE donations support health education for students in 4th through 8th grades following California State Standards. Mrs. Shoenrock will travel to each of the elementary schools to deliver the 4th and 5th grade curricula. The 4th grade unit is currently being developed and will pilot during the 2014-15 school year. Fifth grade students will learn about growth and development. Mrs. Shoenrock is in the process of redesigning this program (formerly LPIE unit regarding changes in puberty) with input from 5th grade teachers and administrators throughout the District.
A t Stanley, students will rotate through Health Education during their PE class time. Sixth graders will learn to define health (physical, social, mental, emotional, intellectual and environmental). They will also learn about time management, setting priorities, decision-making, communication and refusal skills, internal and external health influences, plus media literacy and advertising. During a recent visit to the Health Education class, 6th grade students were learning how to create an effective study environment and evaluating time management skills required to prioritize homework and other activities.
Seventh grade units will include alcohol, tobacco and other drug education; mental emotional and social health including stress management and sleep; plus growth, development and sexual health.
Eighth graders continue to learn about the effects of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs plus they have units in sexual harassment and bullying; growth, development and sexual health (including sexually transmitted illness and HIV/AIDS); and personal and community health (communicable and non-communicable diseases).
Health Education complements the grade level curriculum when possible. For example, while 7th grade students are learning about brain science and physiology in Science class, they also learn about the effects of drugs and alcohol on the developing brain in Health Education.
Ms. Schoenrock finds that students identify her as someone that they can talk to and safely ask questions. She welcomes student questions about current events that further health related conversations, such as steroid use by professional athletes or the drug overdose of a popular musician. These conversations help students link cause and effect of behaviors and choices.
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| LPIE VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT |
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Meet Meredith Meade - LPIE President
On July 1st, Meredith Meade began working as the new President of LPIE, taking over the position from Maureen Wickline. For the 2014-15 school year, Meredith will lead LPIE as it builds upon its successes, funding and providing the programs that help maintain the excellence of Lafayette schools. LPIE couldn't be more fortunate to have a leader with such strong experience in fundraising and communication guiding its volunteers in support of education.
Meredith grew up in Palos Verdes in southern  California, attending public schools for K-12 and UC Berkeley where she was a History major. After graduation, she worked in fundraising and event planning for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She furthered her career working for UC Berkeley in both the Department of Economics and the College of Letters & Science. She developed a newsletter for the Economics Department that connected alumni with the university and she coordinated all of the outreach and fundraising events for the College of Letters and Science.
Meredith and her husband Dan settled in Lafayette in 1999, where they are raising their 3 children (Peter 8th), Erin (6th) and Sam (4th, LES). "I grew up in a community that was similar to Lafayette with excellent public schools and a strong education foundation supporting the schools. I was familiar with the role of an education foundation and really excited about LPIE's
important contributions to our schools. LPIE is unique in that it also provides essential and enriching programming to our schools which is a way that makes us stand out from other education foundations."
Meredith's volunteer work began with the Lafayette Elementary School PTA where she served on the executive board for five years holding the positions of Secretary, VP of Ways and Means, President and Co-President. Her work on Lafayette School District Rapport for five years strengthened her understanding of education support in Lafayette and deepened her knowledge of LPIE's role. In addition, Meredith served as the LPIE Vice President last year. Outside of education, Meredith was the swim team director at Rancho Colorados for two years. Meredith brings this strong and varied experience to LPIE, setting the tone and direction for the organization and leading its officers in the coming year.
Meredith is "enjoying working with this year's board and hope(s) to grow the Honor Roll Program (formerly Major Donor) and Business Partners Program, as well as continue the current work in communications and fundraising. We have an amazing collection of volunteers and a very hard-working staff who work throughout the year to help us accomplish our goals, which include raising over $2.5 million for all of our amazing students in Lafayette's schools!"
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SAT and ACT Prep at Acalanes - Powered by LPIE
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Method Test Prep - Funded by LPIE
Attention Acalanes students studying for the upcoming SAT (10/11 and 11/8) and ACT (10/25) tests: LPIE is providing Acalanes High School students access to Method Test Prep (MTP), an online program that helps students prepare for the SAT and ACT tests. While this program is accessible to all Acalanes students, it is primarily designed for Sophomores and Juniors. Please watch this ten-minute video to learn about the most important
features.
Some of the highlights of the program: 
- Lessons, quizzes, and test-taking strategies
- Easy-to-understand Audio and Video explanations
- Vocab Builder
- Full-Length timed SAT and ACT exams
- Ability to track progress
- Identifies areas of strength and weakness
- Allows students to create tailored quizzes
- 24 hour access from any web-enabled computer
- Webinar
"I always encourage students to take a prep course for SAT or ACT to be better prepared for these tests. In my experience, a prep course is time well spent. I'm excited that students will now have the opportunity to practice their test taking skills with Method Test Prep, thanks to LPIE." - Joan Karr, Acalanes College and Career Center Counselor
"The vocab. builder is helpful and I can work on it whenever I have the time." - Jenny Gonser, Acalanes Junior
To create an account, click here. - Select the "Sign Up" tab and use the Referral Code: tkn.14427664.
- Username: Student's Acalanes email address (i.e. john.smith14@auhsdschools.org)
- Password: created by the student
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Business
PIE
of the Month
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Local businesses (many parent-owned) support our schools through LPIE sponsors and donations. Please support them!
Do you want to help support Lafayette schools and reach over 5,000 households a month with your business offer? Contact LPIE!
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Shop Whole Foods Market Lafayette
Thursday, September 25th
5% of store sales donated to LPIE!
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Lafayette Partners in Education - Our Mission
To support and enrich the education of every child in the Lafayette public schools through a broad community-based effort.
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NO WARRANTY/RESPONSIBILITY. LPIE, AND ITS RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS (LPIE) MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH RESPECT TO ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES RELATED TO ANY VENDORS LISTED ON THIS SITE. LPIE ALSO EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE OF ANY OF THESE VENDORS.
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