GLA West Connections
Wednesday, May 13th
When They See Us, They Will See Greatness!
A Message from our CEO and Principal
Greetings Families!
As always, we hope that this message finds you well and in good spirits!
Despite not being together physically, we are thankful for the ongoing opportunities to stay connected with you. We appreciate and want to recognize everyone who attended our virtual parent meetings this week to learn about our grading policy. All sessions were widely attended and you all asked great questions. With everything that we do, we will continue to prioritize the overall well-being of our scholars, staff and families. We hope you feel supported by the GLA family during these challenging times and welcome your feedback.
This week we offered two great sessions for parents - "Living with 24-Hour Roommates" and "Dinner with the CEO/Principal (Collegiate). In both sessions, we talked about the importance of self-care and showing ourselves grace. Let's celebrate the small wins! For those who may have missed the sessions, we have included some of the resources that were shared by the panelists. We encourage our Legendary families to come out to next week's meeting and our Rising Stars families to come out the following week.
Lastly, we implore you to complete the district-wide parent survey and personal items survey. Your feedback is critical. Thank you for your ongoing support!
With Gratitude,
Dr. Naomi Johnson-Booker, Executive Director/CEO
Ms. Shoshana Tyler, Principal
IMPORTANT: Please complete your District-Wide Parent Survey by next Wednesday!
Complete the "Personal Items Survey" below if you need to retrieve personal items from the school. The deadline has been extended to Friday.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: PANDEMIC ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER PROGRAM
This week, schools participating in the National School Lunch Program received a memo describing the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program established by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020. P-EBT provides benefits to families of school-aged children who would have otherwise received free or reduced-priced meals if it were not for school closures.
Families of school-aged children certified as free or reduced eligible will receive the equivalent of the free high rate for lunch and the severe need rate for breakfast for each day school was closed. That means a family will receive the benefit amount of $5.70 for each school-aged child in their family for each day school has been closed since March 16, 2020, if the student was eligible for free or reduced-price meals prior to school closures. For purposes of P-EBT calculations, June 12, 2020, is being used as the last day of the school year because it is the most common date that school ends for Commonwealth students.
Below is a breakdown of the number of days students will receive benefits if they were determined eligible for free or reduced-price meals on or after March 16, 2020:
• Eligible on or before March 31, 2020 – benefit for March 16 through June 12 (65 days)
• Eligible April 1 through April 30 – benefit for April 1 through June 12 (53 days)
• Eligible May 1 through May 31 – benefit for May 1 through June 12 (31 days)
• Eligible June 1 through June 12 – benefit for June 1 through June 12 (10 days)
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is working closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) to provide the necessary information for all free and reduced eligible school-aged children.
*DHS will issue the P-EBT card to the households.
• For families with school-aged children currently directly certified through SNAP or TANF, the P-EBT benefit amount will be loaded on their existing SNAP or TANF EBT card.
• Families directly certified through medical assistance with qualifying income who do not otherwise have an EBT card issued through DHS and families of school-aged children that are eligible for free or reduced-price meals through income or categorical eligibility will receive an EBT card specifically and solely for this purpose.
GLA scholars are eligible and parents should expect to receive your cards in the mail shortly. All cards will be sent to the addresses that we have on file. Please note, DHS will issue the benefits and GLA will not be able to resolve any benefit situations, all information submitted to the state is information received from the families.
For Inquiries Concerning Child Nutrition Programs (CNP):
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Bureau of Budget and Fiscal Management
Division of Food and Nutrition
333 Market Street | Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
Web: www.education.pa.gov/DFN
Click below to read Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer FAQs
THANK YOU TO ALL FAMILIES WHO ATTENDED MONDAY'S "LET'S TALK GRADING" PARENT WORKSHOPS. IF YOU WERE UNABLE TO ATTEND, YOU CAN ACCESS THE VIDEO RECORDING ON THE GLA WEST YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
WE ALSO THANK THOSE FAMILIES WHO PARTICIPATED IN OUR "FINDING YOUR HAPPY PLACE WITH 24-7 ROOMMATES" PARENT WORKSHOP. IT WAS NOT ONLY INFORMATIVE, BUT FUN! BELOW ARE SOME RESOURCES THAT THE PANEL SHARED:
Parent Tips During A Pandemic:
- Set a boundary and stick to it: Take some 'ME' time whether it's an extra 5 minutes in the bathroom, tea in the morning before the house wakes up or sitting in your car an extra 10 minutes after parking it.
- Have FAMILY QUIET TIME: Being still is also important for your scholars and allows them to learn the importance of self-care as well.
- FAMILY Move Time: A lot of scholars are staying up late because they aren't getting their blood circulating and have a lot of energy left. What can you do?
- Go on family walks
- Does everyone have a bike? Take a bike ride
- Have an in-house dance party for 30 minutes
- Do a family Tik-Tok challenge
- MOST IMPORTANTLY: Have SELF-GRACE. It's okay to not be okay, it's okay to need time for yourself. It's even okay if you decided not to wake up early and take that time for yourself one day.
Check out the articles below:
https://www.verywellmind.com/best-online-anxiety-support-groups-4692353
https://adaa.org/adaa-online-support-group
https://namimainlinepa.org/support/
LEGENDARY, PLEASE JOIN US NEXT WEDNESDAY FOR DINNER WITH THE CEO/PRINCIPAL!
Legendary Leaders Academy Dinner with the CEO/Principal - Please RSVP
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 06:00 PM
undefined
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
He's coming back! Join Coach Copeland this Friday at 10am LIVE on our instagram page for Fitness Friday. We encourage you and the family to join us and get moving!
@globalleadershipwest
Global Excursions Update
Issuing over $60,000 in refunds comes as a tremendous burden to the school, as we had already paid for our scholars to travel and cannot recoup those funds. Nevertheless, we felt it important to prioritize returning money to our families. All families can expect to receive refunds via mail by the end of May. This has proven to be a daunting process but we are thankful for your patience and support. At this point, you should have been contacted to confirm your mailing address. If you have questions or concerns regarding your refund, please contact Ms. Anderson at aanderson@ga-schools.org.
8th Grade Families!
Technology Corner!
Some updates and announcements from the Tech Dept. at GLA:
1) Google Teach From Home - https://teachfromhome.google/intl/en/
Google has set up a Teach From Home hub, with resources, articles, and walkthroughs on how to use Google apps and manage learning at home for Families. Click the link above, and scroll down to find the Families section.
2) At-Home learning Survey - https://forms.gle/tQXvyPnp3utszvCc8
The Tech Dept. at GLA has been working hard to support your scholars' learning at home. However, we know we could do better. Please reply to the survey above (only 6 questions!) to provide some feedback about how we can better support you and your child during this virtual learning experience.
3) ParentTechHelp@Ga-Schools.org
As always, we're here to help. Please reach out to us at any time via the ParentTechHelp@GA-Schools.org email for any virtual learning help or questions.
Additionally, if you have a GLA iPad and are still missing a necessary app, please send us a note so we can plan a time to be available at a school site to update the iPad.
have you subscribed to our at-home learning videos?
Have you checked out our Home Learning Videos? All of our GLA at-home learning videos are posted in our GLA At-Home Learning Youtube channel! Subscribe to get notified whenever there's a new video, and check out the Playlist for your scholar's Academy.
Check out some of this week's videos!
Get healthy GLA!
MS. JIANA TALKS TIPS ON BUILDING IMMUNITY!
Your Vote Counts: Important Mail-In Voting Information!
On March 27, Governor Wolf signed Senate Bill 422, which reschedules Pennsylvania’s primary election from April 28 to June 2 due to the COVID-19 emergency. Voters have the option to vote by mail-in ballot rather than going to their polling place on election day. Mail-in ballot applications will be accepted through Tuesday, May 26, 2020. If a voter has already applied for an absentee or mail-in ballot, they do NOT need to reapply.
What Are Mail-In Ballots?
In Pennsylvania, you now have two options for mail ballots. You may either choose a mail-in ballot or an absentee ballot to request, complete, and return to your county election office.
- Absentee ballot – If you plan to be out of the municipality on election day or if you have a disability or illness, you should request this ballot type, which still requires you to list a reason for your ballot.
- Mail-in ballot – Any qualified voter may apply for a mail-in ballot. You may simply request this ballot without a reason.
In order to request either ballot type, you must be registered to vote. Please visit Check Your Registration Status to review your registration information
A MESSAGE FROM OUR SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER!
With the city closed to slow the spread of Covid-19, many women, men and children have been forced to stay with an abusive partner. Help centers across the city are OPEN and available to help and can provide free, confidential counseling, shelter and legal support.
· The Philadelphia Domestic Violence Hotline (1-866-723-3014) is still open and available to offer counseling and resources.
· If you are unable to speak on the phone safely, log on to thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 22522.
Websites: https://www.womenagainstabuse.org/
· If you are a parent or scholar at GLA and would like to speak to your social worker for support, please contact them: nshabazz@glacharter.org (west); tharris@ga-schools.org (southwest)
Parent Coordinator's Corner
Hi Families! I wanted to share some pertinent information that was provided with all of you around voting and the Corona Virus, specifically COVID19.
Voting
WE ARE READY FOR JUNE 2ND! ARE YOU?!?
Have you registered? Let’s talk options. If you are not registered to vote, the deadline to do so is Monday, May 18th. You can register to vote by visiting REGISTER on line or contact (215)686-1591. You can vote via mail in ballot or at your polling place. Be aware that voting in person will provide some challenges due to COVID19 as there may be fewer polling places open and since precautions have to be taken to keep you and others safe. To find out if your polling place will be open, contact (215)686-3469. Or visit POLLING PLACE on line.
Governor Wolf strongly encourages voting via mail in ballot. If in person is your only option, please wear your masks and maintain social distancing. If you are able to access a computer, log onto votepa.com and complete a very brief on-line application for your mail-in ballot. It should be sent to you within days. The deadline to apply on line for the mail-in ballot is May 26th at 5 pm. It is crucial to do this as soon as possible. You can also download the application, complete and mail it in. The deadline to return your ballot is June 2, at 8pm. Should you need assistance, you can contact Commissioner Deely’s office at 215-686-3460.
COVID19
The physician on the panel reported that if you have symptoms that are of concern and out of the norm for you, especially persistent fever and shortness of breath, you should contact your primary care physician who will give you direction. To find out where the testing sites are, you can go on line to get an accurate list. Additionally, you can contact the Greater Philadelphia Coronavirus Hotline at 800-722-7112.
Senator Hughes, in closing, strongly encouraged everyone to tune into future Town Halls. Every evening an automated call should be coming to your phone number from Senator Hughes. Listen to that call to find out information for future Town Halls. He intends to do them weekly until further notice.
I hope this information is helpful for you. Of major importance is that we all cast our vote….BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.
Please stay well, wear masks, and maintain social distancing.
Thank you,
Mrs. Askew
COMMUNITY RESOURCES
'Virtual Global' Schedules
Updated Yearly Calendar
Follow Us On Our School-wide Instagram page. Follow Us!
Global Leadership Academy Charter School - WEST
Email: styler@glacharter.org
Website: www.glacharter.org
Location: 4601 West Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone: (215) 295-5700
Facebook: facebook.com/glacharter