2020/21 Elementary Principal Update
January 31, 2021
Celebrating Black History Month
Dear Elementary School Families,
This week kicks off Black History Month. During this month, we will focus on remembering African Americans who have made a positive impact in American History. We would like to begin this week by highlighting two important African American leaders who changed the way our children are educated today.
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an American lawyer and civil rights activist who served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States for 24 years. He was the Supreme Court’s first African-American justice. Prior to his judicial service, Marshall was also the first African-American to win a case before the United States Supreme Court. Perhaps one of his most significant victories was the case for Brown vs. Board of Education - a turning point in the battle against segregation. This landmark court ruling paved the way to end racial segregation in schools. Thanks to Thurgood Marshall and his victory in the case for Brown vs. Board of Education, in today’s schools, our children have opportunities to learn and form friendships with students from all different backgrounds.
Selena Sloan Butler
Ever wondered who founded the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA)? Selena Sloan Butler is the founder of the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers Association (NCCPT) and is considered as one of the co-founders of the National PTA. Both as a teacher and parent, Butler dedicated her life to helping parents to get more involved in their children’s education. In 1919, Butler formed a parent-teacher organization in her home state of Georgia. Her efforts to unite home and school into a collaborative unit for child welfare and education gained the attention of others around the country, and by 1926, four additional states sent delegates to Georgia for the NCCPT convention. Butler modeled the NCCPT after its counterpart, the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, which is known today as the National PTA. In 1970, six years after her death, the NCCPT and the National Congress of Parents and Teachers untied to expand their outreach as a single unit, and Selena Sloan Butler was recognized as a co-founder of the National PTA, along with Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst who founded the National Congress of Mothers. As we celebrate the PTA Founders’ Day on February 17, we remember the legacy of Selena Sloan Butler, along with Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst who dedicated their lives to improve the lives of every child in education, healthy, and safety.
We encourage our families to take time to talk to their children about the important contributions of African Americans in our history as we celebrate Black History Month. Thank you to Danni Remender and Hilary Dancsecs for putting these resources together. They work on desktop devices.
Sincerely,
Emily Blaney, LCE Principal
Cory Pak, PCR Principal
Carrie Hetzel, PCY Principal
3rd Grade Hybrid Classes Return Tuesday, February 16
LA DPH Travel Quarantine Guidelines
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
Quarantine Guidelines for Non-Essential Travel
January 27, 2021
Dear LCUSD Community,
The purpose of this communication is to remind families that as of December 30, 2020, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (DPH) issued a quarantine health order that is still in effect.
While we understand some families will choose to travel in the upcoming months, there is a mandatory quarantine period of 10 days for non-essential travel. Specifically, the order states that anyone traveling into Los Angeles County from outside the Southern California region is required to self-quarantine for 10 days at home or at some other residence upon arrival into Los Angeles County.
Non-essential travel is defined as travel for leisure and/or non-essential business.
The Southern California region is defined to include the counties of Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.
We understand quarantine orders limit an individual’s movement, however as a public health order issued by the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, the order has the force of law and is MANDATORY. This order applies to all individuals (regardless of age) and all means of travel, however there are some exemptions. For information on who is exempt from the new order, please visit the link listed below. We strongly encourage everyone in the community to help slow the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and abide by this and all public health orders.
For more information, please visit the following links:
Los Angeles County DPH Appendix W: Mandatory Directive on Travel (issued 12/30/20)
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/docs/protocols/Directive_Travel.pdf
Los Angeles County DPH Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)/COVID-19 Travel Restrictions
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/docs/HOO/FAQ_TravelRestrictions.pdf
Thank you for your cooperation,
Your LCUSD COVID-19 Compliance Team
Wendy Sinnette, Superintendent
(818) 952-8300
Mark Evans, Associate Superintendent of Business and Administrative Services
(818) 952-8380
Karen Hurley, Director of Programs and Services
(818) 952-8391
Dr. Debra Cradduck, Executive Director of Personnel Services
(818) 952-8383
PCY Kinder Students Hard at Work
PCR students are ready to go!
LCE snack time
Message from our Superintendent
LCUSD Launches the COVID-19 Dashboard
In response to teacher and staff’s request for greater transparency with regards to COVID-19 positive cases and reporting, we launched the LCUSD COVID Dashboard on the District website this week. The Dashboard is updated daily and includes case data by school site and the District Office (which includes Maintenance, Operations, and District-based Technology Staff). You can find a link to the Dashboard under the “News” section as well as by clicking on COVID-19 located in the upper right corner of the banner running across the top of the District website (www.lcusd.net).
RSP In-Person Grades 4-6 to Reopen on February 1 and 3rd Grade In-Person Hybrid Schedule to Begin February 16
On Monday, February 1, we look forward to welcoming Resource Program students in grades 4-6 back to campus for some in-person instructional opportunities. Additionally, at Thursday’s Special Meeting of the Governing Board, the LCUSD Board gave direction to staff to reopen the 3rd Grade Hybrid Schedule program for in-person instruction. We are grateful to our teachers, staff, students, and families who will be participating in these next phases of reopening and ask that everyone follow all of the COVID-19 protocols conscientiously to ensure the health and safety of our entire community as we take these next important steps.
The Upside to Screen Time - article from The New York Times
Kids are expanding their tech-savvy to connect and explore creatively. This article from The New York Times is finding a positive to all of the screen time kids have this year.
Celebrating in the Virtual Classroom
NASA’s Mission to Mars Student Challenge!
Do you have kids or know a teacher or youth leader looking for fun stuff to do remotely (or in-person) to engage in the Perseverance landing? Register for NASA’s Mission to Mars Student Challenge to lead students in designing and building a mission to the Red Planet with a guided 5-week education plan and resources from NASA, join in live stream Q&As with experts and share student work with a worldwide audience. The challenge culminates on February 18, when students can land their missions along with the Perseverance Mars rover!
Challenge participants will receive:
· A guided 5-week education plan for elementary, middle, and high school students with standards-aligned STEM lessons and activities from NASA. Plans are flexible with your schedule and can be completed in whole or in part or in any sequence.
· A weekly newsletter with links to tips and resources related to the mission phase of the week.
· Video conversations with mission scientists and engineers highlighting how their work relates to what students are learning – plus, ideas to kick-start the weekly challenge.
· Opportunities to participate in Q&As with mission experts and submit student questions and work that could be featured during NASA broadcasts leading up to and on landing day.
Today at 3 pm PST we will have our first educator/parent introduction to the challenge (streaming on JPL Edu YouTube and NASA TV) which officially begins next week. Anyone can watch the intro, but if you want to ask questions during the event, be sure to register for the challenge to receive a link to a Menti poll. If you miss the 3 pm broadcast, you can catch the archive on JPL Edu YouTube shortly after the broadcast concludes. Questions? Comments? Post in a thread here and JPL Edu will get right back to you. Join the fun – we already have nearly 500,000 students registered worldwide and we’d love to have some JPL kids and friends of JPLers involved! (edited)
jpl.nasa.gov
NASA's Mission to Mars Student Challenge
Take part in a worldwide "teachable moment" and bring students along for the ride as NASA lands a rover on Mars on February 18! (Not automatically expanded because 2 MB is too large. You can expand it anyway or open it in a new window.)