Hello, wonderful Pasadena Unified School families! Pasadena Unified School District is in the planning and writing stages of approximately $40 million grant for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER III). These funds are designated for use in helping PUSD ensure schools continue to be safe for in-person learning, addressing the learning & social-emotional needs of students, and the implementation of learning loss intervention/mitigation strategies to accelerate learning.

In order to help PUSD develop this plan, families are invited to provide feedback using any of the following ways:

1. School Site Townhall: Your student’s school will be holding a virtual townhall where your principal will share a brief video and slideshow about what ESSER III funds are, what they can be used for, and some activities the district is considering using the funds for. After providing families with that information, you will have a chance to provide comments, feedback, and/or questions that can help PUSD understand the priorities and needs for families as it is writing the ESSER III plan.

2. ESSER III Family Survey: A survey will be available at http://www.pusd.us/survey. All families have the option of completing this survey (even if you attended the School Site Town Hall). This survey will be available from October 4, 2021 until October 10, 2021. If you have students at multiple schools, please complete this survey once for each school that your family attends. This will help PUSD better understand the unique needs of each family at each school site.

Your feedback is very important in the development of the plan. Your school site’s virtual townhall meeting is scheduled on September 28th and can be accessed by going to meet.google.com/wxn-tcxt-gfo

We look forward to any feedback, questions, and comments you have.

Daniel Webster Elementary School has been honored as a California Distinguished School. Great teachers, strong leadership, and parent involvement make Daniel Webster a great school to send our children.

In addition to the great education our students receive, they are also provided with various opportunities to participate in our music and arts activities. We're asking for your support to continue this legacy by donating to the Daniel Webster Annual Fund and help us reach our goal of $50,000.

These funds will be used to financially support our music and arts programs, and to support the instructional goals set forth by the School Site Council
We would like to see every family donate at least $1.00 per week ($50 for the school year) for each child they have enrolled at Daniel Webster.

Think of it as donating less than the cost of a weekly cup of coffee or soft drink to help ensure that your child receives a high quality education.

If you can donate more, we would encourage you to donate towards our Giving Tree. We have various levels of donations:
Bronze - $100
Silver - $200
Gold - $300
VIP - $500 or more

If you are not able to contribute financially please consider donating your time and talents.

To donate:

• Visit our online donation form

If you are making matching gifts through an employer, please let them know that they must provide PEF's information to their employer in order for us to confirm their gift.

At its regular meeting on August 26, 2021, the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Board of Education took decisive action to bolster safety measures that protect students and employees from COVID-19. The Board of Education voted unanimously to:

• ratify an existing testing plan that places mobile testing teams at schools for students and employee testing and now requires

• all students under age 12 to get weekly COVID-19 tests with informed consent from parents/guardians

Testing will be offered at Webster Elementary on Thursdays from 7:45am to 3:30pm.

PUSD offers COVID-19 PCR oral or nasal swab tests on campuses

Testing teams will be at each elementary and middle school site for one day to conduct the testing program. PUSD Health Programs will not test students who have not submitted informed consent.

How can parents give informed consent?

Parents can provide informed consent through two ways:

• Register through the online platform: https://home.color.com/covid/sign-up/start?partner=cdph094

• Complete the hard copy registration forms in English or Spanish which will be provided for you by the COVID-19 Response Team.

• The COVID-19 Response Team will also bring posters of the QR code that connects directly to the testing link.
  

If you or your child are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, do not come to school for testing. Stay home. You can come to the PUSD Primary Care Clinic at 351 S. Hudson Ave. Please call 626-396-3600 xt 88180 for an appointment.

Individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 3 months, recovered, and are not showing any symptoms, are not recommended to test.

COVID-19 TESTING THROUGH THE PUSD PRIMARY CLINIC

• Get Tested! We strongly encourage all students not yet eligible for vaccination to get tested. PUSD is providing incentives for students to get tested. These include gift cards, water bottles, stickers, and drawings for gift baskets for the family.
  

  How and Where PUSD Students and Staff 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.
  • Register for testing here: https://home.color.com/covid/sign-up/start?partner=cdph094

  See PUSD's Testing Implementation Plan

SELF-SCREEN BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME

• Stay home if you’re sick.

  • Before leaving home all students, employees, and parents must conduct a self-check. Ask yourself these questions:
  • 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 14 days?
  • In the last two weeks, have I been directed to quarantine, isolate or take a COVID-19 test?
    
    
  • If you respond "yes" to any of the questions, you must stay home and contact your school or office. It is recommended that you contact your primary care physician for further medical advice. If you have a fever with cough or shortness of breath, you are urged to contact your primary care physician as these symptoms may be attributed to COVID-19.
    
    
  • Upon arrival at school, school staff will perform a brief check-in to verify that students have completed a symptom screening.

Sign up for the PTA today by following this link:
https://jointotem.com/ca/pasadena/daniel-webster-school-pta

Please join us and become a member today! We invite every parent, teacher and neighbor to join with the PTA as we work to make Webster the best school of choice in PUSD and a great place for our kids!

Webster PTA has and does support our students in the following ways:

• The Music & Instrumental program
• Playground equipment and shade structures
• IPADS and apps for class instruction and interactive learning
• Lego Robotics
• School Supplies
• Assemblies
• The Art Loft
• The Garden
• Community events; movie nights, restaurant nights, sock hop, fall festival, pancake breakfast, Back to School social and more!

TK-5th Grade:

Tuesday-Friday: 7:50 am to 2:15 pm

Special Education PreK:

5 hour program
Mon- 9:00am - 12:00 pm
Tues-Fri: 9:00am - 2:00pm

AM
Mon- 7:45am- 10:05am
Tue-Fri: 7:45am - 10:45am

PM
Mon: 10:15am - 12:35pm
Tue-Fri: 11:15am - 2:15pm

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kx8Xp42eKL3SmH9_BJR5sJE_fVr2SXD5/view?usp=sharing

PasadenaLEARNs is currently accepting applications for the 2021-22 school year! Programs will operate Mondays-Fridays every regular school day from dismissal until 6 pm.* Program offerings include:

• academic support
• enrichment opportunities (STEM/STEAM, visual and performing arts, and much more)
• structured recreation/mindfulness
• social-emotional learning/leadership/team building
• healthy and nutritious supper

Click on your child's school to apply. Spaces are limited! Apply now!

*Program dates and times subject to change.

Webster

Important notifications for the new school year are posted at https://www.pusd.us/Page/9474 and are listed below:

Recent Legislation

• Assembly Bill (AB) 104 was passed to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on student performance during the 2020/21 school year. This legislation temporarily modifies practices regarding student retention, grading, and graduation status for eligible students during the 2020/21 school year ONLY. Read the letter
  
  

• Amendments to Assembly Bill (AB) 130 require school districts to offer an independent study option to students and families to be made available to students whose health would be put at risk by in-person instruction, as determined by the parent or guardian. The TK-12 Independent Study Program in the Pasadena Unified School District will be held virtually through the Center for Independent Study (CIS). Read the letter

It is necessary that the school has accurate contact information, including a working email. You can update all important contact information on the parent portal. Aeries Parent Portal is a wonderful resource that all parents need to sign up for in order to access student attendance, grades, and teacher information to name a few. If you do not yet have an Aeries Parent Portal account, you can go to https://www.pusd.us/Page/6203 and follow the instructions to create an account. Please make sure you have set up your account before school starts so you know what class your child has been assigned to for the 2021-2022 school year. Our office will reopen on August 4th and will be able to provide you with needed information on or after this date.

In our commitment to take the appropriate measures to protect all student information and privacy, we are making changes to the requirements for all passwords within Aeries student, parent, and staff portal accounts.

To view more specific instructions on how to reset your password, please visit:

Resetting Parent/Student Portal Password

https://www.pusd.us/Page/7867

For questions regarding this issue, please contact the District’s ITS department directly at Help4ParentPortal@pusd.us

Please let Mrs. Forrest know if you are interested in being a parent leader for the arts for Webster. A parent leader does the following:

• Serves as a representative for DAT/CAT meetings

• Supports communication of arts events to all stakeholders

• Advocates for arts education priorities for your site and the district

On the same link, you will also find annual parent notification forms that I recommend be completed through your Parent Portal account.