2020/21 Elementary Principal Update
March 7, 2021
Dear Families,
–L.M. Montgomery
There will always be more springs, and although it is not yet officially Spring, we're sure you've smelled the jasmine in the air and look forward to clocks springing forward in a few days to welcome longer days. Spring brings hope, and we feel this hope as we welcome back more and more students to campus. By March 8, all three elementary schools will bring back hybrid students in 6th grade. By next week, we will be seeing anywhere from 200 - 300 TK - 6th graders in the AM block and 200 - 300 TK - 6th graders in the PM block per site. Another 150 - 300 students are learning from home in our Virtual Learning Academies per site. Credit goes to our district leadership and labor unions. They spent countless hours to plan for this school year before it even began, and now that students are returning almost a year after our closure, everything seems to be falling in place!
Lucy Maud Montgomery (L.M. Montgomery, author of the quote above) deserves to be recognized this month as we honor women in history and the achievements of women today. Ms. Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942) was a Canadian author perhaps best known for writing Anne of Green Gables. She became very ill during the 1919 Influenza Pandemic, which is an event that we relate to 100 years later as we experience this Pandemic. We hope you enjoy learning more about the accomplishments of women as well as news and upcoming events in this newsletter.
Sincerely,
Emily Blaney, LCE Principal
Cory Pak, PCR Principal
Carrie Hetzel, PCY Principal
Background Photo by Utsman Media on Unsplash
Women's History Month
We are celebrating Women in History Month in March, highlighting the contributions of women in events in history and contemporary society. We want to start off by highlighting women who are making historic differences and significant contributions in the area of STEM, starting with La Cañada’s own Dr. Swati Mohan, who made history on February 18, 2021.
Swati Mohan
Dr. Mohan is an Indian-American aerospace engineer. She is the Mars 2020 Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GN&C) Operations Lead who successfully spearheaded the development of the control and landing systems for the Perseverance. On February 18, 2021, she was the first to deliver the news that NASA’s Perseverance Rover had successfully landed on Mars. Here is a CNN article about Dr. Mohan. Dr. Mohan has also been a part of various NASA missions, including the Cassini, a mission to study Saturn and its system, and GRAIL, an American lunar science mission.
Reshma Saujani
Reshma Saujani is the founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, the national non-profit organization working to close the gender gap in technology and change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. Her goal was to have one million women in computer science by 2020. Reshma Saujani was the first Indian American woman to run for US Congress. She is also the author of three books, including Brave, Not Perfect, Women Who Don't Wait In Line, and Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World.
LCE 2nd Graders
PCR Kindergarteners
PCY 4th Graders
For Hybrid Families
Pre-Screener Update:
With the increase of students on campus, we've outgrown our current pre-screener form faster than expected. LCUSD's technology team is prepping a new one and can have it ready for us in just a couple of days. Please continue to use the pre-screener, but if you don't get an email back, just be ready to answer the questions at carline or the gate. This will mostly affect the PM drop-off.
The new link will be shared as soon as possible.
Spring Break Travel Reminders:
If your family quarantines, please request asynchronous work and daily check-ins from your child's teacher. Virtual instruction is not an option.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
Vaccinations:
Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash
Mask Requirement Updates:
Information on Mask Wearing for Students with disabilities
For VLA Families
Parent Listening Session: Distance Learning:
VLA to Hybrid
If you are a VLA family and you would like to be considered for a placement change into a hybrid class, please complete this form by Tuesday, March 9th. Spaces are very limited in hybrid classes, and there may be a lottery if we cannot meet the requests for change. The administration will analyze availability in each grade level, and a decision will be made and notified to families on or before March 19th. It’s important for families to know that while we will try to accommodate school sites and AM or PM placements, this cannot be guaranteed.
Throughout the school district, we have the following openings:
TK: 0
K: 6
1st: 9
2nd: 15
3rd: 17
4th: 3
5th: 4
6th: 6
For All Families
Upcoming Events
6th Grade Hybrid Return
PM Session: 12:05 - 3:00