SME SMORE/eBlast: 1/16/22
Announcements from the SME Principal, PTA, SEEDs and AFB!
Principal Lewis' Sunday Update for the week of 1/18/22
Sunday Call for week of January 18th, 2022
Good evening Sierra Madre Families, this is Mrs. Lewis, your principal. I hope you are enjoying your 3 day weekend and talking about the difference that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made for us!
Here are the announcements for this week:
Monday, January 17th we do not have school. Enjoy your day celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Tuesday, January 18th we will have an ELAC meeting at 9am. Please join by clicking on this link to hear about, "Things parents need to know about transitioning to High School."
Wednesday, January 19th we will have our PTA general meeting paired with our Restaurant Night from CPK. Please grab dinner from CPK and then join us at 6:30pm, using this link.
Announcements
Diverse Bookroom Read Alouds
Please check out Ms. Lisa SpigaiPerez reading Change Sings by Amanda Gorman, for our diverse bookroom read aloud this week.
PTA
PTA Meeting + Restaurant Night!
Our first PTA meeting of 2022 is happening on Wednesday at 6:30, and this time around we're pairing it with Restaurant Night at California Pizza Kitchen. Order takeout for your family + grab your slice before joining us on our Zoom meeting to hear all about the awesome programs and fundraisers we have coming up. Additional details are in the Smore.
Introducing Read it Forward!
We are going to be collecting gently used or new K-5 books for students at our sister school Madison Elementary from January 24-28th! Details on this new PTA program are in the Smore.
Family Dance
Save the Date - February 5th - for Our 2nd ever Virtual Family Dance. It's going to be a blast. More details coming soon!
SEEDs
This month SEED is recognizing International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27th. Please check out SEED's resource guide for valuable resources and information. The SEED resource guide offers Scholastic book suggestions and information on propaganda and scapegoating. SEED is highlighting Holocaust survivors Elie Wiesel and Edith Eger.
Interested in learning more about diversity and inclusion? Mark your calendars for the upcoming SEED Summit on February 17th.
SEED's next meeting will be the last Monday of the month on January 31st @ 6:30 p.m.. Find their meeting link in this week’s SMORE.
AFB
Please mark your calendars for the AFB Auction on April 23, 2022! The evening will include silent auction, cocktail hour, dinner, live auction and dancing. Tickets will go on sale in mid-February!
For more event information, please be sure to visit our school website at sme.pusd.us
We are excited to see all of our students Tuesday morning at SME where we launch our journey of nurturing learners, and growing leaders.
And now, for this week’s riddle. Where do surfers go to school? Don’t forget to check the very bottom of my SMORE for the riddle answer.
Please check out the SMORE for quarantine and mask guidelines, and specific information from our parent groups.
Continue to stay healthy and safe! Bye Bye!
COVID Screening and Testing at SME
Please STAY HOME if you have ANY symtoms.
Screening Questions Daily before coming to school
- Do I have a fever?
- Do I have a cough?
- Am I experiencing shortness of breath or difficulty breathing?
- Am I experiencing any other symptoms?
- Have I been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 10 days?
- In the last 10 days, have I been directed to quarantine, isolate or take a COVID-19 test?
How and Where PUSD Students and Employees Can Get Tested
PUSD offers COVID-19 PCR oral or nasal swab tests on campuses and at the District’s Primary Clinic, 8 a.m. - 3:30 pm. By appointment, please call (626) 396-3600, ext 88180
On PUSD campuses(SME) weekly testing, on Thursdays, is available for ALL students and staff.
Register your student for weekly testing at SME on the Color system here: https://home.color.com/covid/sign-up/start?partner=19648816021737students
We are holding at 86% of students registered.
STEPS to follow if you get a POSITIVE COVID test result
1. Immediately isolate from all others(family, school, sports, after-school enrichment and daycare)
2. Contact Mrs. Lewis/Ms. Rupp to notify POS results
3. Expect a phone call/contact from Health Department for specific information and quarantine next steps
4. Receive a short-term independent study agreement from SME
5. Complete assigned school work, if feeling well
6. Call and/or contact school/teacher if any questions
STEPS to follow if you are requesting and Independent Study(IS) Agreement
1. Send an email to your kid's teacher and Mrs. Lewis to request an IS agreement
2. Include which days you are agreeing to work remotely on the Canvas work posted by the teacher.
3. Include if you are choosing to do an IS or if you are needing to, due to an exposure or POSITIVE COVID-19 lab confirmed PCR test.
*If your kiddo is fully vaccinated, they will NEED to test at school, or outside of school with a PCR lab-confirmed test EVERY week, in order to bypass quarantine guidelines!
Take-Home Testing Kits this week
This week, our school will be distributing no-cost, at-home COVID-19 antigen tests provided by the California Department of Public Health. All TK-12 students will receive one rapid antigen testing kit to conduct surveillance testing at home. Test distribution at our school is:
Friday, January 21st, 2022
8:30am & 2:30pm
Highland Ave, in front of school
Drive up and/or Walk up
Must wear mask
This one-time testing kit is provided for your student’s use.
As a reminder, our school offers student testing every week on Thursdays during the school day.
Mask Wearing Update
Please see the following updates from the Los Angeles County Public Health Department for employees and students masking.
The key to this message is that "Cloth face coverings alone are no longer acceptable, as they do not provide the same level of source control or personal protection as a proper surgical mask or higher level PPE."
According to the latest guidance, our students are not required to wear double surgical masks as referenced in correspondence sent to you the other night.
“Better Options” are strongly recommended for our students at this time(see graphic below). This option may be required in the near future when we update the isolation and quarantine procedures in the COVID-19 Safety Plan.
At this time, follow the isolation and quarantine procedures we implemented prior to winter break. We realize these protocols are stricter than the recently updated CDC guidance.
*If you do not want your child wearing a 3-ply mask, being offered by SME staff, please notify their teacher and Mrs. Lewis
2021-22 Housing Questionnaire
Assembly Bill 27
Under new law, all Local Education Agency (LEA), such as Pasadena USD, must ensure that each of their schools identifies all of their homeless children and unaccompanied youths. LEAs are required to post on their website a list and contact information of their liaisons for homeless students and unaccompanied youths. The bill also requires LEAs to post specific information on homelessness, including information regarding the educational rights and resources available to persons experiencing homelessness. The bill requires the CDE to provide best practices and guidance that assist LEAs in identifying and obtaining accurate data on homeless children and unaccompanied youths enrolled in schools.
In order to obtain accurate data, Pasadena Unified will be disseminating a questionnaire during the weeks of January 10-30, 2022. The survey will ask specific questions about your housing situation. It is not an anonymous survey as it does require verification. The purpose is to further our support both in PUSD and statewide to ensure our students and families are well-served.
This effort will be an annual questionnaire that will be located in the data confirmation at the start of each school year via our Parent Portal. However, since this was just passed, we must participate in the 2021-22 school year. Therefore, we are asking all PUSD families to participate in this housing questionnaire for every child in your guardianship.
Please click on this link to fill out online. Otherwise click on the link below to fill out a paper copy.
PTA Announcements & Flyers
❖ PTA Meeting + Restaurant Night! ❖
Our first PTA meeting of 2022 is Wednesday, Jan 19 @ 6:30 on Zoom, and this time around we're pairing it with Restaurant Night at California Pizza Kitchen.
Order takeout for your family + grab your slice and join us to hear all about the awesome programs and fundraisers we have coming up.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMvde2vpjgpG91kmEhWbNYP4GtCCAEkKiHu
Restaurant Night at California Pizza Kitchen -- Our School Gets 20% of Sales!
Order online at https://www.CPK.com and enter Promo Code: BACK20%
Also works for dine-in (show included flyer at the restaurant)
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Read It Forward ▸▸▸
We are thrilled to announce a totally new PTA program: Read it Forward
What it is: A way for our students to share their gently used or even new books with our sister school Madison Elementary.
When it's happening: January 24-28
How it works: Send your student to school with K-5th books you'd like to donate, and they can deposit them into the boxes in the Main Office Hallway.
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★ It's Not Too Late to Join PTA! ★
Parents and families help link our community together. That is what the P stands for in PTA after all: Parents! Did you know that you can buy a PTA membership for anyone? Invite aunts, uncles, and grandparents to purchase a PTA membership, or even better purchase a membership for your student/students or your family pet.
In this socially distant world, it is even more important to be connected. We can do more together; such as supporting critical educational needs, taking action to support student success, building community, and advocating for all students.
Purchasing a membership is easy. See the link below to purchase a 2021-2022 PTA Membership.
Join Here: https://jointotem.com/ca/sierra-madre/sierra-madre-elementary-pta
SEED's Announcements
This month SEED is recognizing International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27th. Please check out this month’s resource guide for valuable resources and information. The SEED resource guide offers Scholastic book suggestions and information on propaganda and scapegoating. SEED is highlighting Holocaust survivors Elie Wiesel and Edith Eger.
Interested in learning more about diversity and inclusion? Mark your calendars for the upcoming SEED Summit on February 17th.
SEED's next meeting will be the last Monday of the month, January 31st @ 6:30 p.m.
Want to get involved?! Come join us at our next meeting or email us at smeseedinfo@gmail.com
Annual Fund Boosters(AFB)
Please mark your calendars for the AFB Auction on April 23, 2022! The evening will include silent auction, cocktail hour, dinner, live auction and dancing. Tickets will go on sale in mid-February!
Donate today at tinyurl.com/smeafb2022
Diverse Book Read Aloud
Ms. Lisa SpigaiPerez (K/1 teacher)
Book Title: Change Sings by Amanda Gorman illustrated by Loren Long
Mrs. Lewis' Riddle
Answer: Boarding School.
Yearbook Picture Entries
Great Kindness Challenge at SME
Please see the below instructions on how your kiddo can enter Doodle for Google to show kindness to ourselves through Self-Care.
We will be partnering this challenge with a checklist of ways to be kind at school!
Please encourage your kiddo to show off their kindness in these next few weeks! There will be school BUG tickets and prizes for those that participate!
Community Events and Info
USC Mobile Dental Clinic for kids between 5-18 years old
SME Pics
Contact Info
Email: lewis.lindsay@pusd.us
Website: sme.pusd.us
Location: 141 W Highland Ave Sierra Madre, CA 91024
Phone: 626-396-5890