Happy Weekend Short Avenue Families and Friends!

Week 1 is in the books! One week ago, we were filled with anxiousness about the coming school year and now we are seasoned veterans. I am continually pinching myself to remember that this amazingly warm and gracious community is for real. Thank you to the many I have met - trust me that I will learn more names soon - and to those who have reached out via phone or email. I appreciate the warm welcome more than you can know.

This week we had three different emergency drills - fire, earthquake, and lockdown. As your new principal I wanted to assess our readiness and knowledge and I needed to learn these very important procedures for myself. Future drills will be shared in advance here in the Weekly Wave. I ask that we remember conducting drills, having practice, is not to make us feel unsafe. It is the opposite. By practicing and learning from our practice we are working diligently to make sure Short Ave is as safe as possible.

In an effort to improve we are changing the dismissal gate for 2nd/3rd/4th/5th grade students. There is a large sliding gate on Beethoven, near Short Ave. We are going to try this gate in an attempt to increase visibility and to create a more efficient dismissal. I will remind you now that we cannot double park and block the street. We must be respectful and considerate to our neighbors. We must also practice safety. It is a wonderful moment of modeling responsible behavior when we park down the block and take the extra moments of walking a little to be as safe as possible.

Finally, with an eye toward safety, please monitor your child’s footwear when coming to school. As shared in the Welcome Letter to all families we are asking that students wear fully enclosed shoes and not sandals or Crocs. I know that these are stylish and popular, but they can also be slippery and dangerous when playing at recess, lunch, or while at PE. Help us maintain a safe environment.

We are expecting rain over the weekend and potentially into Monday. Please stay dry. Please be safe. And please enjoy the rest of your weekend.

See you Monday!

Mr. Lamb

It has been an exciting week of learning at Short Avenue Elementary. Our IB learners have been busy making new friends, practicing new routines, and building new learning communities. In our classrooms, we have been reviewing our Learner Profile attributes, as a reminder to always be: Open-Minded, Caring, Principled, Reflective, Knowledgeable, Balanced,Thinkers, Communicators, Inquirers, and Risk-Takers. We are so proud of the way our students came back to school with curiosity, excitement, and a willingness to positively impact our Short Avenue Community.

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.

Once again we are asking EVERY FAMILY to participate in the More Than a Meal Campaign and complete a Household Income Form, whether or not your child eats school lunch. This form is used to determine whether our school receives critical Title-One and TSP funding, so it is important that we have 100% participation from all of our families. The link to complete the household income form is:https://hif.lausd.net/ . If you have more than one student at our school, you will only need to fill out one for your family.

Once you have completed the form, a screen will appear that says that your application has been submitted successfully. It will also provide you with a reference number. If you need any help in completing the application please reach out to the office or Rachel Burris @ rjs6223@lausd.net. Every class that has 100% participation will be recognized and awarded extra recess! Thank you parents!

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.

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!

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.

Friends of Short Avenue (FOSA) is our school booster club that supports our beloved school. By being a part of Short Ave Elementary you are automatically a community member of FOSA. Welcome!

Please join us for our 1st Restaurant Night of the year!

Where: Pitfire Pizza Mar Vista (12924 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066)

When: Tuesday & Wednesday 8/22-23 from 5-9 pm (dine in or take out)

What: Pitfire will donate 15% of all sales to FoSA when you mention the code “Short” or show the Pitfire flier that will be coming home in your kid's backpacks. (please share with friends, family, and neighbors!)

All funds go towards our 5th-grade tradition of sending them to ASTROCAMP!

We are so excited to offer the opportunity for our 5th grader to blast off to Astrocamp for 2 nights/3 days of immersive, experiential learning and bonding with friends and teachers. All 5th-grade students are welcome to attend this trip, regardless of the amount that a family is able to contribute. FoSA fundraisers make this trip possible for all by fundraising and soliciting donations.

(If you’d like to make a donation of any amount to help send our 5th graders to Astrocamp click here and enter “pay it forward” in the field for Child Name. Thank you!)

Our first FOSA Community Meeting

We will be holding our first FOSA Community meeting of the school year, Thursday, August 24th, in person. You will find us in front of the school 8:20 am - 9:20 am. We will be providing coffee for all! We will be going over Committees and Volunteer opportunities as well as answering any questions you may have. We welcome your enthusiasm and ideas!

FOSA 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.

Annual Giving

Our Annual Giving Campaign has gotten off to a great start! In our first 5 days, we are almost reached 25% of our goal!

Thank you to all the families that donated this week! We know this amazing community will band together to achieve our goal, let’s keep going!!

Our goal this year is twofold: to achieve 100% family participation and raise $150,000.

Every contribution, regardless of size, makes a difference and helps us provide valuable resources and opportunities for our students.

Funds raised go toward funding instructional aides, Spanish music classes, classroom supplies, field trips, extracurricular experiences, teacher professional development, the edible garden, and much more. Donations can be made online and done one of two ways -

a one-time donation (click here) or sign-up to make a monthly donation for 10 months (click here).

If you prefer to pay by check, please make checks payable to “Friends of Short Avenue” and hand-deliver them to the Front Office attn: FOSA.

Volunteer Opportunities

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. One of the best ways to get involved is by joining one of our Event/Program committees or becoming a room parent. To find out more about Committees and events & to sign up, please click the link https://shortavenueelementary.org/pages/committees

Last Call for Room Parent Volunteers

We still need volunteers for the following classes:

Marina Davis /5th *(we still need 2 room parents) *

Kyle Moss/4th (we still need 1 room parent)

Leslie Rosales/TK (we still need 1 room parent)

Alex Hamada/TK (we still need 1 room parent)

If you’d like to be a Room Parent, please email Katie at katiepawlik@friendsofshortavenue.org and include your name, your child’s name, grade, class, and teacher, as well as your email address and phone number.

We have a new school website

We encourage you to explore our newly launched school website - shortavenueelementary.org, where you will find a section dedicated to Friends of Short Avenue. Here, you can learn more about our mission, upcoming events, and ways to get involved. We invite you to check it out and discover how you can contribute to our school's success. You can see the entire school calendar on Freshschools and our website.

Spirit Wear Fridays are back

Don't forget to show your school spirit with our new line of spirit wear merchandise! Please have your child wear any of their Short Ave Elementary spirit wear on Fridays. By wearing our spirit wear, you show your support for our school and contribute to fundraising efforts. Our online spirit wear shop can be accessed by clicking Shop Short Ave Spirit Wear

We will also be selling Spirit Wear on Campus next week!

We will have free, gently used Spiritwear coming to you shortly!

If you have any spirit wear items that do not fit your children anymore and are still in good condition, please donate them for others to enjoy! We will have a bin in the office where you can leave your gently used spirit wear items starting Monday.

Thank you for being a part of our school community. Together, we can make this a great school year! We look forward to your 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

Our Parent Center is now located in Room 12, next to our PAL's Classrooms, behind the library. If you need help with accessing the Parent Portal or filling out the Volunteer Form, PLEASE email me at : avril.lipsky@lausd.net so I can set up a time to help you:)

Family Academy Course Catalogue:

Did you know that LAUSD offers free adult courses over Zoom in both English and Spanish?

Click the link above to learn more.

Some of the upcoming classes include:

August 21, 2023 - Mathematics: What Parents should Know and Be Able to Do to Help their Students

August 23, 2023 - Getting to Know your School Staff and Preparing for Back-to-School Night and Parent Conferences

August 28, 2023 - Legislative Learning Session 1

Our Fall Semester After School Enrichment Info is coming, please be patient:) Look for an email from me through FreshSchools. The first email will describe the classes, and the 2nd email will have the live links to register for classes. These are once a week classes after school Monday through Thursday. The classes will start the week of September 11th and run 10 weeks ending right before or right after the Thanksgiving Break.

Social Media: Last week I posted on our Instagram and Facebook ! A first day of school reminder, pics from our first morning Assembly of the year, snack and recess pics, Friday Spirit Wear reminders, and pics from of Short Ave students and staff wearing their Short Ave gear, and pics from a cool 5th grade art project on Cubism!!! Please check out our social media posts, like and follow us on Social Media!

8/22- 8/23- Pitfire Pizza Nights, 5pm-9pm

8/24- FoSA meeting, in person @ 8:20am in Parent Center

8/29- Back to School Night 5:00-7:00am

8/29- English Learner Master Plan Options Meeting @ 4:30pm

9/6-9/9- 5th Grade Astro Camp