El Semanario
September 5-9, 2022
This Week at Edison
- Monday, September 5 – Labor Day Holiday – No Classes
- Tuesday, September 6 - Teacher Training for New Science Adoption - Grade 4
- Tuesday, September 6 – PTA Board Meeting 6:00-8:00 pm Via Zoom
- Wednesday, September 7 - Young Storytellers Begins
- Thursday, September 8 - Teacher Training for New Science Adoption - Grade 5
From the Principal's Desk
Hot Weather, Diagnostic Assessments and NGSS Teacher Training
Hot Weather: It looks like we're in for more warm weather this week! Please dress children in light clothing and send them with a refillable water bottle and a hat for outdoor play. We monitor the temperature throughout the day and restrict outdoor activities as needed -- taking more hydration breaks, offering less aerobic games, providing cool down periods in the shade -- and at higher temperatures we move recess activities indoors completely. Fortunately, classrooms are air conditioned and equipped with fans, so indoor temperatures are remaining comfortable. Please encourage your children to drink more water during hot days and always let someone know if they feel unwell.
Fall Diagnostic Assessments: At the beginning of each year, we assess students in reading and math to see what skills they come in with and what we'll need to do to help them meet or exceed grade level standards. The window for diagnostic assessments in SMMUSD Elementary Schools is August 29-September 9. Because we assess reading in both languages, Edison may also be STAR testing during the following week in 2-5th grades. While our testing windows are wide, testing time for individual students should be 20-30 minutes per assessment.
SMMUSD has adopted a new assessment instrument for diagnostic measures this year and we are all using the STAR assessments -- fall, winter, and spring. Your students may talk about taking these assessments. These are adaptive, administered on the computer (with our youngest students taking the assessment in small groups guided by their teachers). We are excited that these instruments also come in Spanish, so we have better tools to measure student growth and needs in Spanish reading. STAR also allows us to administer the math assessment in Spanish -- which is the language of instruction we use for math. Our assessment plan now better matches the 90-10 dual immersion model. We assess in Spanish reading at all grade levels and English reading in grades 2-5. Teachers will be analyzing the results and using them to plan instruction, provide supplemental support or extensions, etc. Schoolwide, we look at results to see where additional support or adjustments may be needed. When the assessment window closes, parents will be sent a Family Report of their student's scores along with some information about how to interpret these scores and use them to support your child.
SMMUSD has a new science adoption this year! Part of any new adoption is making sure that teachers are well equipped to use the the plethora of new print and digital resources that are part of the program. To provide this hands-on training for each grade level, the district has organized professional development days for each grade level. These days are shown on the weekly and monthly calendar, beginning with Tuesday, September 6th (4th grade). On those days, we will have substitute reachers. Classroom teachers review class rules and expectations for sub days and discuss with students how they can do their part to make learning productive for all with a sub. We always appreciate it when parents review expectations with their students. A substitute may not do everything exactly the way that their teacher does, but these guest teachers try hard to implement the teachers' lesson plans and give children a safe and productive day. If you'd like to learn more about Next Generation Science Standards and the new adoption, continue reading below.
September Calendar
- Monday, September 12 – Coffee with the Principal 8:30 -9:30 am Library “Discipline Policies”; 3rd grade teachers attending science adoption training
- Wednesday, September 14 – 3:30-4:30 pm Parent Training: Getting the Most Out of ST Math (via Zoom); ELAC Meeting 4:30-6:30 pm -- Via Zoom
- Thursday, September 15 - 2nd grade teachers attending science adoption training
- Friday, September 16 - 1st grade teachers attending science adoption training
- Monday, September 19 – PTA Association Meeting -- 8:30- 9:30 am Library; Kindergarten teachers attending science adoption training
- Tuesday, September 20 – Fall Book Fair – Library (September 20-23); TK teacher attending science adoption training
- Friday, September 23 – Fire Drill 10:45 am
- Thursday, September 26 – Local Holiday/Rosh Hashanah – No Classes
- Wednesday, September 28 – Site Council 4:30-6:30 pm – Via Zoom
- Friday, September 30 – Duck and Cover Drill – 1:30 pm
Policy Focus: Attendance
Attendance Awareness Month
Each time a student is absent, he or she is missing an important day of school. Our goal is to maximize the amount of instructional time that students are in school and able to learn. We also want all students to feel part of the community and have the trusting relationships with peers and staff and excitement about what they're learning that makes them look forward to coming to school each day. It's harder for students to do that when their attendance is irregular.
Starting in preschool and kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school -- often in ways that parents don't realize. For example:
- Missing just 10%, or about 2 days each month over the course of a school year, can make it harder to learn to read.
- Students can still fall behind if they miss just 1 or 2 days every few weeks.
- Being late to school may lead to poor attendance.
- Absences and tardiness can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up.
- Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves.
- Start building the habit of good and on-time attendance in preschool so students learn right away that going to school on time, every day is important.
Attendance practices at Edison are governed by SMMUSD’s attendance policies and California’s compulsory attendance laws. For a full explanation of attendance policies, see the Family Handbook on the Edison web site (www.edison.smmusd.org) There you will find information on how to notify the school, get homework assignments, when to ask for independent study packets, etc.
Please make sure your child attends school each day that they are healthy. Avoid scheduling family trips or doctor’s appointments while school is in session. When your child has a medical appointment, try to schedule at the very beginning or end of the day to minimize their time away from class. And please keep vacations and family travel confined to the school breaks.
Keep an eye on the number of days your child is away from school for any reason and avoid absences that aren't absolutely essential. The number of missed days add up more quickly than most of us realize. To help you keep track of absences and tardies, we send letters home if your child is accumulating excessive absences and tardies and Assistant Principal Elizabeth Ipiña will likely give you a call to confer on how we can help you improve attendance. If you are having challenges getting your child to school, please reach out to Ms Ipiña or Community Liaison Jessica Hernandez so we can find solutions together.
Edison Staff
Meet Edison's Campus Monitors
Maria Dolores Cortez has two grown sons who attended Edison and was a very active parent in ELAC. She now works primarily in the cafeteria, but also serves as a campus monitor at the Kansas Avenue Gate overseeing drop off and pick up.
Ofelia Rodriguez sent her five sons to school at Edison and was also active in ELAC for many years. She and Sharron Giroux keep lunch periods running smoothly and Ofelia also works at the Virginia Gate in the afternoon, keeping students safe at dismissal.
Vicky Valadez was one of the parents/community activists that helped establish Edison as an immersion school 35 years ago. Her three children and several nieces and nephews were Edison students; now her granddaughter is here! Vicky primarily works as a classroom instructional assistant but also supervises students before school in La Placita.
Sharron Giroux's two daughters attended school at Edison and at various times her mother and daughter have also worked with her as a Campus Monitor. Sharron works mid-day, primarily overseeing lunch periods with Ofelia.
Israel Valdivia helps us in the morning supervising before school waiting areas and returns to campus later in the morning to supervise students at snack/morning recess time. Israel has one son who has already graduated from Edison and another who still attends Edison.
Covid Health Precautions
Antigen Testing
Please continue to use an antigen test on Sunday evenings or Monday mornings to make sure your child is testing negative for Covid and ready to attend school on Monday. Keep students home if they have symptoms of Covid and if they test positive. Notify the office to report any illness related absence (melinagarcia@smmusd.org) or (310) 828-0335, ext. 61-348. Antigen tests for students being sent home regularly with students. Masking continues to be highly recommended indoors. If you receive an exposure notice alerting you to the fact that your child has been exposed to someone in their class who has tested positive for Covid, please monitor your child for symptoms and fever over the next couple of weeks. They may continue to attend school as long as they are symptom free and test negative, but they SHOULD MASK INDOORS for the next 10 days.
Announcements
Coffee with the Principal: School Rules, Discipline and Responsive Classroom
The goal of all discipline at school is to keep students safe, help them be their best selves, correct a problem, and help them learn better behaviors. Conflict is a part of life -- sometimes occurring because people want the same thing or because they have different ways of defining what is right, fair, or rude. Sometimes conflicts occur because children are still learning how to regulate their emotions and not behave impulsively. Learning to make thoughtful decisions instead of just reacting, to see things from another person’s point of view, and advocate for yourself are essential social emotional skills. These are all essential parts of the learning that happens in elementary school.
As a Responsive Classroom school, Edison starts with clear expectations about rules and norms. We also teach social emotional skills, support the development of the whole child and help children learn to manage their own behavior (build autonomy). To make sure students understand the expectations, teachers help students generate clear examples of behaviors in each category. For example, what does behavior that is kind and respectful look like, sound like, and feel like? Teachers give students opportunities for guided practice in engaging in those behaviors and use Reinforcing Language, Reminding Language, and Redirecting Language throughout the day. Responsive Classroom also assigns logical consequences when student behavior doesn't meet standards. These consequences are often described informally as "you break it, you fix it", "take a break," or "loss of privilege". The consequences are directly related to the problematic behavior and help students learn to fix a problem. Edison's rules, behavior expectations, and discipline policies are described in some detail in English and Spanish in the Family Handbook (www.edison.smmusd.org/domain/4517) and all students attended "Rules Assemblies" on August 30. If you have questions or would like to learn more about any of the above or how to use Responsive Classroom principles at home, please join Principal Lori Orum at Coffee with the Principal on Monday, September 12 at 8:30 am in the Edison Library.
Learn How to Use ST Math to Support Your Child's Math Development -- September 14 at 3:30 pm
Each student has their own personalized journey and takes the time they need to achieve mastery, ensuring that they are building a strong conceptual foundation. Our goal is for all students to complete the ST Math puzzles at their grade level by March or April of each year.
This workshop will be held via zoom on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 from 3:30-4:30 pm. To join the webinar go to:
https://smmk12.zoom.us/j/5851786538?pwd=UVlwQ0hPRkttNDVLc25iYi9CVG9HQT09
Meeting ID: 585 178 6538; Passcode: Orum. We invite you join us and learn more about this incredible program -- which can be used at school or at home.
Welcome to School Resource Officer Anthony Angel
Last week we held assemblies to review school rules and discipline strategies. We were visited by our new SMPD School Resource Officer Anthony Angel. Officer Angel reviewed pedestrian safety, the importance of wearing safety helmets when biking or skating, wearing seatbelts in cars and how to safely get assistance should children ever become separated from their parents (lost child). School Resource Officers periodically visit campuses, assist with safety instruction, and consult with us on school safety issues. Thank you Officer Angel!
Playground Club Begins Tuesday (September 6)
50 Edison students will begin attending the Boys and Girls Club Playground Club next Tuesday! Enrolled parents received an email with details about how the club will work.
Boys and Girls Club staff will be stationed at the playground at dismissal time. Teachers will drop students off at the playground and students will line up at the Boys and Girls Club Cart where they will be scanned in to the program. Parents are required to come on campus to sign their child out but are not permitted to linger on campus since other child care programs are still in session. Parents with a student in the on-campus child care and afterschool programs can contact the office to obtain an after-hours code to open the front gate. Boys and Girls Club is continuing to interview and train staff and hope to have the waitlists cleared again soon! If you're interested in this program, you can continue to sign up and join the wait list,
5th Grade Mariachi Class -- LAST CALL!
Tuesday is the deadline to register the beginners Mariachi program. The class for 5th graders meets Tuesdays and Fridays from 3:30-4:30 pm. Classes begin on September 13. https://tinyurl.com/MariachiClassRegistration . If you have any difficulty registering on line, Edison’s Community Liaison Jessica Hernandez can assist you (310) 828-0335, ext 61-306.
New NGSS-Aligned Science Adoption
SMMUSD has a new science adoption this year. What does that mean? It means new instructional texts and supporting materials have been purchased for the teaching of science. In California, the State Board of Education adopts curriculum standards and frameworks. Publishers develop textbooks and instructional support materials that meet the state curriculum standards and frameworks and then submit them for review and possible purchase. There is a review and input process for educators and members of the public to comment on the materials and then the State Board of Education decides which programs the Board thinks best address California standards and research-based best practices. Several programs are usually adopted by the state.
Districts must choose from among the state adopted programs; public funds many only be spent for state adopted texts. Generally, adoption cycles last 8 years. One of the ways that SMMUSD supports our dual immersion program is to only adopt programs that have good Spanish versions so that materials we use in Spanish are congruent with materials used in English at all other schools. At Edison we teach science in Spanish in grades TK-3 and in English in grades 4 and 5. We teach science in English in the upper grades not only because about half the subject matter is taught in English at those grades, but also because at John Adams Middle School (JAMS) immersion students take science classes taught in English. So it makes for a smooth transition in terms of being well grounded in academic vocabulary of the discipline.
NGSS-Aligned Curriculum -- One of the things that is particularly important in this adoption is that state science standards changed several years ago. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were adopted and the state science assessment is administered to 5th graders each year is based on the NGSS. But until now, we have not had NGSS-aligned curriculum materials, which meant that teachers had to work to create or adapt lessons to meet NGSS standards -- and these standards were quite a departure from the way that science was taught in the past. Having these new materials helps our district to elevate science instruction.
If you'd like to learn more about the NGSS Standards and the content and methods used to teach your children's science classes (and Science in the Garden classes), check out the resources for parents at the link below. Materials are available in Spanish and English.
About Us
El Semanario is the weekly family newsletter of Edison Language Academy in the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District. Edison is a school of choice and offers a 90-10 Spanish-English dual immersion program for all students. Edison's PreK-5th grade program is the first of three schools hosting SMMUSD's PreK-12 grade Language Academy. Students promoting from Edison can continue the dual immersion program at John Adams Middle School (JAMS) and Santa Monica High School (Samohi).
Edison is a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, twice named as a California Distinguished School, a multi-year recipient of the State of California's Title I Academic Achievement Award, holder of a Seal of Excellence from the California Association for Bilingual Education, and a multi-year Honor Roll designee from the Education Results Partnership. This is Edison's 35th year as a dual immersion academy.
Email: lorum@smmusd.org
Website: www.edison.smmusd.org
Location: 2402 Virginia Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90404, USA
Phone: (310) 828-0335