Happy Weekend Short Avenue Families and Friends!

It is incredible how quickly the school year is already progressing. It is incredible how much learning is already happening. It is incredible how amazing this school year has been, is, and will continue to be.

We know that we are not perfect. We strive, however, to be the best we can be. On Thursday, I was able to meet with my first and second grade students before the psychomotor time and I was touched by how many already know my “Be in the Right Place, At the Right Time, Doing the Right Thing” mantra. Even more powerful is how many students are trying to live up to this daily. We do have disagreements. We do have some actions where students bother other students. We are working with children. It happens. The more we remind each other and our children to focus on doing the right thing, the more we will see growth with any relationship issues.

This week we have my first Coffee With The Principal on Monday, at 8:30am, in Room 12. We will cover a variety of operational and safety updates and will also re-introduce our IB focus in addition to other general updates. Monday at 6:00pm on Zoom, I will co-host a Volunteer Orientation with our Community Rep, Avril Lipsky. https://lausd.zoom.us/j/86538633783

On Thursday there is the Parent Mixer at Penmar Golf Course and Friday we have our first school-wide assembly of the year. There is much going on and we know that all of us are not able to attend all events. We look forward to seeing as many parents and families as possible at as many events as possible.

Finally, a call for healthy snacks and meals. I very much want to honor the work of previous years by trying to eliminate candy from the school site. Candy is tasty and wonderful and I know that it is hard not to love it. Candy is also a treat. As we move later into September and more towards Halloween there will be more candy around us. Please remember that it is a treat. Remember to treat it as such and please support us by keeping candy at home.

As always, please be safe. And please enjoy the rest of your weekend.

See you Monday!

Mr. Lamb

To our families who celebrate Rosh Hashanah, we wish you and your loved ones a sweet and healthy new year!

Mexican Independence Day celebrates Mexico’s declaration of independence from Spain in 1810, and it’s filled with national pride, colorful parades, mariachi concerts, food, and fiestas. People of Mexican heritage all over the world commemorate this important event in their country’s history when a brave priest in the village of Dolores rang his church bell and delivered a powerful speech that set the War of Independence from Spain in motion.

9/18- Coffee With Principal, 8:15am, Rm. 12, Parent Center

9/18- SSC Election, 9:30am in Rm. 12, Parent Center

9/18- Mandatory Volunteer Orientation Zoom 6 to 7pm:

https://lausd.zoom.us/j/86538633783

9/21- Parent Mixer, 6:00pm, the Penmar

9/22- School-Wide Assembly @ 8:15am

9/25- No School, Unassigned Day (Yom Kippur)

9/28- Middle School Options Meeting, 4:00pm via Zoom

9/30- Beautification Day, 9AM-1PM

10/28-Fall Festival, 4:30 -7:30 PM

Parents,

Please make sure that you have registered for an account on the Parent Portal. The Parent Portal is is an online system that connects parents and guardians to their child's information. The website to register is: http://parentportal.lausd.net. Make sure to link your student(s) to your account. Please call the office if you need any help in obtaining your child's student ID # or any other assistance registering on the portal.

ANNUAL GIVING & FOSA ANNUAL BUDGET 💙

Have you wondered why FOSA asks for donations and where the funding goes? We know that it can seem like a lot and want to provide transparency about where your donations go, so we’ve listed our annual budget above. Without the support of our incredible Short Avenue community, we cannot afford our wonderful instructional aides in every classroom, Spanish music classes, buses for field trips, the edible garden, classroom supplies, teacher professional development, and so much more!!

For Annual Giving, we’re at 31% participation level and our goal is to get to 100% family participation. And truly, every contribution makes a difference, no matter the size. We recognize that everyone's financial picture is different, so please participate at what level feels comfortable for you.

Online donations - you can make a one-time donation (click here), or sign up to make a monthly donation during the school year (click here).

Pay by Check - Please make checks payable to “Friends of Short Avenue” and hand-deliver them to the Front Office attn: FoSA.

FOSA ANNUAL BUDGET 📈

See FOSA’s updated 2023 Annual Budget here.

100% of every dollar from FOSA goes back to Short Avenue Elementary.

PARENT MIXER - THIS THURSDAY AT THE PENMAR! 4 DAYS LEFT TO GET YOUR TICKETS!! 🎉

Thursday, September 21st, 6-9 PM at The Penmar (map)

Buy your tickets and call your babysitters because you will NOT want to miss it! Come meet and mingle with other parents in our Short Ave community and enjoy drinks and food overlooking the beautiful Penmar Golf Course in one of the coolest venues in Venice!

Tickets are $40 (Includes dinner & your first drink) click here to purchase a ticket.

If you are someone who is able to purchase a pay-it-forward ticket for someone else to benefit from, please click here to purchase a pay-it-forward ticket.

If you would like to attend but can't comfortably afford a ticket, please submit your request for a ticket here. This information is completely confidential.

Beautification Day - Calling All DIY & Green Thumbs!!

We are still looking for more parent volunteers for Beautification Day.

On September 30th, 9 AM - 1 PM, parent volunteers are going to get all up in the weeds (literally) in the garden and spruce up the campus! Love to paint? We have got some walls & furniture just waiting for you! Is purging more your thing? Join the trash pickup crew on Beautification Day! Check out the list of volunteers we are looking for below. To sign up, please click here or you can email Michaelroth@friendsofshortavenue.org, our Beautification Committee Chair.

*FoSA will be providing coffee and breakfast for all volunteers!*

• Painting: Help Paint Bookshelves and Benches
• TK & Kinder Yard: Help reconfigure tables to insert Shade umbrellas, put together playhouses, place out and organize easy access storage for new bikes, etc.
• Large Blacktop: Help paint hopscotch squares, four squares, and tic tac toe squares on the blacktop, paint chalkboard paint on wall(s), and organize and place out new playground toys. etc.
• Edible Garden: Clean up plants on the fence (pull dead vines & train new vines). Prune (vines, hollyhocks & any moldy/overgrown leaves) Pull weeds under Apple and Apricot trees. Tidy up. Hang up wood signs and big wood bottle cap flowers. Add support to tall plants.
• Perimeter Work: Clean up gutters outside the campus, and circle the fence line to clean up underbrush and trash along the inside perimeter. Place out new trash bins. Notate any major repairs that need to be done.
• Floaters: Float throughout and help out as needed throughout the morning and communicate needs back to me so we can be efficient.

UPCOMING COMMUNITY DATES & EVENTS 🙌
Everyone is welcome, so please join us at any event that you can!

Coffee With The Principal - Monday, September 18, 8:20 AM

SSC Election, 9:30am in Rm. 12, Parent Center - Monday, September 18, 8:20 AM

Mandatory Volunteer Orientation Zoom 6 to 7pm: click here for zoom link

Parent Mixer - Thursday September 21st, 6PM-9PM

*1st School-wide Assembly - Friday September 22nd, 8:15AM * Parents & Children Attend

No School, Unassigned Day (Yom Kippur) - Monday, September 25th

Middle School Options Meeting - Thursday, September 28th, 4:00pm via Zoom

Beautification Day - Saturday, September 30th, 9AM-1PM

Fall Festival - Saturday, October 28th, 4:30 -7:30 PM

VOLUNTEER 👷‍♀️

As a parent, you play a vital role in shaping the education experience for your children, and we invite you to join us in making a difference. We are still looking for Event/Program Committees & Volunteers for the following: Beautification Day, YearBook, and Winter Bazaar. To sign up, please click here.

SPIRIT WEAR RECYCLE/REUSE PROGRAM

Free, gently used Spirit wear is coming to you this month!

We are collecting new and gently used spirit wear items that are still in good condition. Please donate them for others to enjoy!

We will have these items available at our next Spirit Wear Sale!

Please leave your gently used spirit wear items in the spirit wear bin, located in the office.

FOSA COMMUNITY MEETINGS

FoSA community meetings are held monthly and all are welcome to join!

They take place on the 3rd Thursday of every month, September*- June, and alternate between virtual (6:00 PM on Google Meet) and in-person (8:20 AM on campus). Meeting invites will be sent through FreshSchools.

* October 19th, 8:20 AM is our next FoSA Community meeting. This will be an in-person meeting in the Parent Center, Room 12.

Thank you for being a part of our school community. Together, we can achieve anything!

We look forward to your continued involvement and support.

For any other questions regarding our school community, or to get in touch with a FOSA board member, please reach out to fosaboard@friendsofshortavenue.org

Mandatory Volunteer Zoom:

Monday, September 18th from 6 to 7pm

https://lausd.zoom.us/j/86538633783

Anyone who is considering being a volunteer at Short Ave, including all of our returning volunteers, are invited to attend a MANDATORY Volunteer Orientation on Zoom. We will record this Zoom, if you are unable to attend on Monday, and have the link on the website, and in the forthcoming Weekly Waves. We ask that every volunteer be informed of our district mandated policies.

Enrichments Reminder:

Please remind your kids of their After School Enrichment classes in the morning. And if you have concerns, please reach out to your Enrichment Provider or teacher.

Single Parents of Short Avenue

They say it takes a village… and our villages look a little different! The Single Parents of Short Avenue group was created to offer support, to inform, and to build community among single parents and the other nontraditional caregivers who have children at Short Ave. Our hope is that this group will offer the opportunity to come together and share experiences, discuss resources and best practices, and provide mutual support in navigating the issues that often arise from being a single parent. Through ongoing group dialogue and informative events (did someone say happy hour?), the group aims to foster a sense of community and addresses the needs of parents.

As a new group, we’d love some volunteers to join to help create a fun and exciting year of events and activities. And of course, if you’d like to join as a member, we invite anyone looking to expand their village. Please reach out to Madison Miller (madisonjmiller@gmail.com) if you’re interested!

Social Media: Last week I posted on our Instagram and Facebook ! Lunch pics, Reading Buddies, 4th grade field trip to Ballona Wetlands, Coffee with The Principal reminder, Marina's 5th graders shadow experiment, and a Rosh Hashanah post!!

We are at 951 followers on Instagram , I would love to get to 1000 by the end of the year!! Please follow and like our social media posts, it is a wonderful way to see what is happening on campus!

Student attendance is a focus for us this school year. It is important that your child is present and on time for school EVERY DAY. An accumulation of absences can negatively impact students both socially and academically. The school is working closely with the District to monitor student attendance and reach out to parents when students are consistently absent from school. While it is understandable that students might become sick throughout the school year, the goal is for seven or less absences between now and June. Family vacations should take place during school holidays and scheduled during school vacations. Additionally, doctors' appointments should be scheduled after school or during vacations, whenever possible. If your child is out because of an appointment, we ask that you bring a note from your doctor to the main office, or your child's teacher. Please let us know if your family needs any support in getting your child to school.

We are seeing an uptick in Covid cases now that we are all back to school. The District has provided new Covid Exposure Management protocols for the 2023-2024 school year. The new guideines are as follows:

• Individuals who test positive must stay home and follow isolation instructions for 5 days (Day 0 is the day an individual tests positive).
• Parents of a student who tests positive are strongly recommended to upload their test result to the Daily Pass.
• Individuals who test positive may be released from isolation on or after Day 6, provided any symptoms are improving, and they are fever-free for the past 24 hours without fever-reducing medication.
• Students returning between day 6-10 may unmask if they have two sequential negative tests taken at least a day apart.

If you need any Covid tests, you can pick them up in the main office or request them from your child's teacher.

Additionally, there have been a few cases of lice this week. Please check your child's head regularly and notify the school if your child has lice. It is best to keep hair pulled back to avoid any spread.

***MANDATORY VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION ZOOM FOR BOTH NEW AND RETURNING VOLUNTEERS is Monday, September 18th from 6:00 to 7:00pm. This will be recorded for those who cannot make the meeting. Anyone wanting to volunteer at Short Ave is invited to come and find out both how to become a volunteer and important guidelines for volunteering.

Here is the Zoom link:

https://lausd.zoom.us/j/86538633783

Are you interested in volunteering in your child's classroom, the library, or the garden? We LOVE volunteers and hope that you will be one!!

1. Please sign up through this LAUSD VOLUNTEER LINK!

2. All Volunteers must be vaccinated for Covid and upload a copy of your Vaccination Card to The Daily Pass AND email a copy to avril.lipsky@lausd.net

3. Volunteers must have a negative TB test. New volunteers must have a recent negative test within 60 days of application. You must email your negative result to avril.lipsky@lausd.net so that they can be inputted into your application. You can get your TB test at CVS. TB tests for returning volunteers are good for 4 years. It is helpful if you can email both your TB test and Covid in one email, please:)

4. Volunteers need to sign a Liability Waiver and the Commitment Form.

5. Please see the LAUSD Volunteer Page for answers to questions. https://www.lausd.org/volunteer

If you are a RETURNING VOLUNTEER from last year, you still need to fill out the LAUSD Volunteer Application online at LAUSD VOLUNTEER LINK! We should already have your negative TB test and Covid Vaccine Card on file. TB test's for returning volunteers are good for 4 years.

Becoming a volunteer can take a little time, but we promise you it is worth it!