Bell High School
Principals Update Week 23
From The Desk of Rafael L. Balderas, Principal
Greetings Bell HS Family,
I hope this message finds you and your family in great health and sound in mind.
First of all, there have been many debates in the public and the media on when is it safe to return to school for in-person learning? As the Schools Superintendent indicated on Monday, it is our moral responsibility to ensure safety measures are in place to ensure a smooth transition back to a hybrid or in person teaching and learning. Even though LA County has started to bend the curve in lowering the rates of Covid infections, please know there are many communities of color and poverty that are still grappling with high rates of infection. While there is a light at the end of the tunnel with the roll out of vaccinations, and the District is fighting on our behalf to ensure vaccinations for all; unfortunately, we are still at the preliminary stages of the roll out. As the District, County and the State continue to push vaccination for all please know we at Bell HS are prepared for a return to campus if it is deemed safe by the District. Again, I want to reiterate the models of teaching and learning as we prepare for in-person learning:
What is the hybrid model of instruction? As defined by the CA Department of Education and leading scholars, the hybrid model may contain one of more of the following indicators:
- Students will continue to meet with their same teachers and classmates regardless of whether they participate from home or at school.
- Live instruction will continue day-to-day using the same school schedules as our current virtual model.
- At the high school, there may be an A/B schedule, which means students attend half their schedule on one day (A) and the second half of their schedule on the next day (B). The schedule alternates each day. This allows for longer blocks of instructional time each day at the secondary level.
- One group of students will be present for in-person instruction while all other groups will follow the same schedule and attend live instruction from home through Schoology and Zoom.
- Both the at-home students and the virtual-only students are expected to log on to their classes according to the regular bell schedule when they are not physically present in school.
Before moving into a hybrid model, please keep in mind, we will need to listen to our LA County Health Department, the LA District and more importantly the science telling us it is safe to return. Nevertheless, we have started the process on evaluating our resources and preparedness for a possible return to a hybrid model or continue on a remote learning model. Rest assure our administrators, clerical and custodial staff have been tested for Covid through our District testing sites, we are also assessing each classroom by ensuring classrooms are sanitized, furniture moved, mounting hand sanitizers in each classroom, redirecting traffic flow and purchasing PPE supplies of face masks, gloves and cleaning supplies to ensure everyone will be safe.
If we are to return to any model of learning, EVERYONE must do their part by wearing a mask, practice social distancing, wash your hands and remain home. We Can Get Through This!
In Partnership,
Rafael L. Balderas, Principal
NEED CASH FOR COLLEGE? WE GOT FAFSA WORKSHOP SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2021!
TOMORROW, Saturday, February 6, 2021 Bell HS will be hosting a Financial Aide FAFSA Workshop to ALL Seniors. Please join Mr. Marquez, College Counselor and other support staff from the College Center including TELACU Talent Search, UCLA EAOP, ETS and USC who will help you navigate the FAFSA to receive money for college. Remember we do NOT want to leave money on the table!
Saturday - 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Please Log Into our Zoom Meeting:
https://lausd.zoom.us/j/84185648899?pwd=RGNYU1pIdUp1SzJTVCtXaTE0ZzBUdz09
Meeting ID: 841 8564 8899
WE GOT CASH FOR COLLEGE STATEWIDE CASH FOR COLLEGE WEBINARS!
Do you need Cash for College? Join the California Student Aid Commission for our Statewide Cash for College Webinar! Learn about the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) and California Dream Act Application (CADAA) application and get your questions answered via the Cash for College hotline!
Register for a FREE webinar: https://events.com/r/en_US/registration/csac-statewide-cash-for-college-webinar-student-registration-796699
Available Webinars CSAC C4C Webinar Calendar: https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/main/files/file-attachments/csac_c4c_webinars_calendar_to_be_sent_to_students.pdf?1609889196
- Saturday, January 30, 2021 – 10:00am-12:30pm
- Thursday, February 11, 2021 – 5:30pm-8:00pm
- Monday, February 22, 2020 – Bilingual/Spanish – 5:30pm-8:00pm
- Thursday, February 25, 2021 – 5:30pm-8:00pm
WE GOT COLLEGE CENTER SUPPORT FOR COLLEGE APPLICATIONS AND FASFA FOR SENIORS!
Attention ALL Seniors, from our College Counselor Mr. Marquez, we have schedule College Application support with our TELACU Talent Search, UCLA EAOP and ETS team every Tuesday and Thursday from 11:30 am to 1 pm by logging onto the following Meeting ID: 841 8564 889 Passcode: COLLEGE. Or you may visit the College Center for a drop-in every Wednesday from 3 to 4 pm by logging onto the following meeting ID: 827 4332 5772.
Please note there a very important due dates:
- FASFA should be completed by March 2, 2021
- California Dream Act Applications are due March 2, 2021
For additional information please email Mr. Marquez at fxm94721@lausd.net or please visit our Bell High Schol Virtual College Center at: https://bit.ly/BellCollegeCenter
COFFEE WITH THE PRINCIPAL, FEBRUARY 11, 2021
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
Do We COVID TEST? YES, We COVID TEST!
LAUSD has embarked on an ambitious plan to Covid test our staff, students and families. The test is free to all members of the school community. In an effort to help keep our communities and schools safe, we ask for members of our learning community to register and make an appointment at https://achieve.lausd.net/covidtestingappt
As a reminder our Testing Center for all Bell HS students and families is located at Maywood Academy HS at 6125 Pine Avenue, Maywood CA. Please make an appointment prior to your arrival.
@Home Learning? YES We Teach Remotely!
Shout out to everyone for this week of teaching and learning! As a reminder, attendance is MANDATORY, based on the following schoology & zoom logon analytics we have for the following week:
Week of February 1 to 5, 2021
Students Virtual Attendance = 2,325 out of 2,383 students for a 97%
Weekly Log-on Grade Leaders (schoology & zoom)
Grade 12 – 97.2% / Grade 11 – 96.9% / Grade 10 – 94.9% / Grade 9 – 95.4%
Congratulation Class of 2021 “Seniors” Grade 12 You Are Still on Top!
Social, Emotional & Mental Health? We Got SEL!
We know from the data that students and families continue to feel isolated and alone, the Los Angeles Unified Launched Mental Health Hotline To Help Students and Families. Please have them call (213) 241-3840 – Please be mindful our students and parents world has been turned upside down and we need to make sure students have the support they need. In the event that you need immediate emergency assistance, please call 911.
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call either of the following phone numbers for mental health support:
- LAUSD Mental Health Hotline (213) 241-3840 M-F 6am-6pm
- LA County Department of Mental Health (800) 854-7771
- Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Hotline (877) 727-4747 (24 hours)
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800) 273-TALK (8255) (24 hours)
- Bell High School Confidential Text Tip Line (323) 989-3750 (24 hours)
For immediate contact with the Bell High School’s Social, Emotional and Mental Health Team, please communicate with one of the following SEL Team Members:
- Sara Soto, PSW – sara.soto@lausd.net
- Keilah Gomez, Psychologist - keilah.gomez1@lausd.net
- Julia Carrera, Psychologist - julia.carrera@lausd.net
- Marissa Franco, PSA - marisa.franco@lausd.net
Is Monday PURPLE Schedule? YES Monday is PURPLE Schedule!
As a reminder, this Monday, February 8, 2021 is PURPLE schedule, classes start at 9 am with periods 1, 2 and 3. All students log into schoology and zoom with teachers. Have a great Monday!
Purple & GOLD Bell Schedule from Tuesday to Friday
As a reminder please follow our regular Tuesday to Friday bell schedule, see schedule below:
How are we doing in feeding our community? We Feed Our Learning Community!
As a reminder to our families and community members Bell HS will host its next Food Banks on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. Also, our schools Grab & Go Food Distribution Center continues to serve meals everyday from Monday to Friday from 7 to 10 am! Please drive up on Pine Ave. and NO ID is required. Our motto will always be “No Family Will GO Hungry”.
PRESIDENTS DAY IS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2021 NO SCHOOL
Do We Have Social Media? Yes We Got Social Media!
ALPHA Academy @BHS_ALPHA
Bell High School @bellhighschool
AVID Academy @BHSAVID_familia
Global Studies Academy @BHSGlobalStudy
MTCA Academy @bhs_mtca
STEM Magnet @BHSGiftedMagnet
Bell Senior High School
Email: Bell-SH@lausd.net
Website: www.bellhs.org
Location: 4328 Bell Avenue, Bell, CA, USA
Phone: (323) 832-4700
Twitter: @bellhighschool