Lion's Roar
April 3, 2020
Parent and Student Videos!
From Superintendent Denise Coleman
Dear Union School District Community,
These past few weeks I have been uplifted by the emails and social media postings of teachers, parents, and principals. It is uplifting to see our community galvanized around supporting one another and ensuring that our children are being nurtured in a positive environment.
Update on The Closure of School Buildings
This afternoon Governor Gavin Newsom and California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond stated in a press conference that school buildings in California will remain closed for the remainder of the school year to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It is disheartening for all of us to know our students will not be back together in their classrooms. Learning in the presence of each other and their teachers is where the magic happens. It is in the interactions of children with one another and students with their teachers that deepens a shared learning that cannot be replicated by any textbook or virtual program. However, we are learning new ways to stay connected. We look forward to the time when we can safely be together again. In the meantime, distance learning will continue through the end of the normally scheduled school year. I know this brings forward additional questions, and as we learn more and receive state guidance, we will continue to provide updates and answers.
New Public Health Guidance
As you may have also heard, the Santa Clara County Health Officer and Public Health Director announced an updated order to extend the guidance to shelter in place through May 3. Additional restrictions were also announced. These actions were taken to further reduce the number of people with whom all individuals come in contact with every day.
New restrictions include:
- Use of playgrounds, dog parks, public picnic areas, and similar recreational areas are prohibited. These areas must be closed to public use.
- Use of shared public recreational facilities such as golf courses, tennis and basketball courts, pools, and rock walls are prohibited. These facilities must be closed for recreational use.
- Sports requiring people to share a ball or other equipment must be limited to people in the same household.
- Essential businesses must develop a social distancing protocol before April 3.
What does this mean for us in USD?
It means that we will be securing/locking all school campuses to prohibit the use of the playgrounds, tracks and social meeting areas as outlined by the public health department. We understand that this is a hardship for our community. We support this preventative action outlined by our public health department to help our community stay healthy and flatten the curve.
Lietz Spirit Wear Week!
Zoom Parent Meeting - Wednesday April 15 @ 9:00am
I hope you can participate!
Gearing Up for Week 3 with @Home Learning
Hang in There
It is important that you keep in mind the recommended amount of instructional time for your children.
For Kindergarten and 1st grade students, lessons will be posted in a weekly format, allowing students and parents the flexibility to adjust routines and schedules to what works best for families each day. We recommend students spend no more than 40 minutes a day on the lessons, with an additional 15-20 minutes of reading each day.
For 2nd-5th grade students, lessons will be posted daily through Google Classroom. For 2nd and 3rd grade, ideally students should spend no more than 30 minutes per English language arts and mathematics, per day, for a total of 1 hour per day. For 4th and 5th grade, ideally students should spend no more than 45 minutes per subject, per day for a total of 90 minutes per day.
Watch this video for a little advice: https://youtu.be/w6zVnBhqBUI
What's Happening Around "Campus?"
#LietzPride Act of Kindness
This Lietz family spread kindness by wishing their neighbor happy birthday while social distancing!
What acts of kindness have you experienced? Share them with me and I will share them in my newsletter!
Love and Logic Freebie!
Jim and Charles Fay are gifting their Parenting with Love and Logic online training for the month of April. (It typically costs $99.) Once downloaded, parents will be able to print a workbook and will have access to the training modules for three months. This is a truly special opportunity for parents who have children of any age.
Topics include:
- Module 1: Putting an End to Arguing, Back Talk and Begging
- Module 2: Teaching Responsibility without Losing Their Love
- Module 3: Setting Limits without Waging War
- Module 4: Avoiding Power-Struggles
- Module 5: Guiding Kids to Own and Solve Their Problems
- Module 6: Teaching Kids to Complete Chores…without Reminders and without Pay
4th/5th Grade Email
On Wednesday, the district turned on internal email for students in 4th and 5th grade. Student email is a closed system, which means students are only able to send and receive emails within the @unionsd.org domain (and specific educational items approved by the tech department). Additionally, a content filter will be monitoring email and reporting any issues to the principal. We are enabling email to better facilitate communication between teachers and students, and to help improve notification and feedback in Google Classroom.
Helpful Parent Resources:
K/1 Seesaw Transition
Over the last two weeks, we have been using our @Home Learning website as the format to deliver instruction to students in Kindergarten and 1st grade. Following the Spring Break beginning on April 13th, K/1 teachers will transition to delivering instruction through Seesaw.
Seesaw is available through the browser of a computer or by app, both iOS and Android. USD devices have been preloaded with the app. The app allows teachers to share videos and assignments, allows students to submit reflections and allows for powerful communication between parents, teachers and students. To ensure your student has access, please watch the “Accessing Seesaw Tutorial” for students and parents. You can also download the app onto a personal device.
2019-2020 Yearbook!
Yearbooks are now available for online ordering this year. Yearbooks are $20 and will now have a $2.99 shipping fee to be delivered to your home. You can place your yearbook orders here:
Go to www.treering.com/validate
Enter our school passcode:
1015379076141807
Follow instructions from there.
If you have photos you would like to share, please limit only 3 per family and send them to lietzpics@gmail.com. Deadline is April 25th for all photos. We will post as many as we can, but please note, we may not be able to get all photos into the book. We appreciate your time and wish you all a healthy and safe break away.
Please send all questions regarding yearbook to lietzpics@gmail.com.
Read-Aloud of the Week - From Your Student Council President, Makoda!
Sandya Lopez
Email: lopezs@unionsd.org
Website: www.lietz.unionsd.org
Location: 5300 Carter Avenue, San Jose
Phone: (408) 264-8314
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lietzelementary/
Twitter: @LietzPrincipal