Will Rogers Roundup
For the week of October 31st - November 4th 2022
Translation Feature
To read the Will Rogers Roundup in another language please look to the right of the newsletter and click "TRANSLATE NEWSLETTER". You can now choose from 100 languages!
~ ¡NUEVA OPCIÓN DE TRADUCCIÓN A 100 IDIOMAS! ~
Para leer la WILL ROGERS ROUNDUP en otro idioma, mire a la derecha del boletín y haga clic en "TRADUCIR EL BOLETÍN". ¡Ahora puede elegir entre 100 idiomas!
Principal's Pen
Dear Will Rogers Learning Community,
We hope you enjoyed our Halloween Parade last Friday. Another successful community event in the books!
Have you ever wondered why we have late start Fridays? The reason our students arrive late on Fridays (NOT THIS FRIDAY), is for our teachers/staff to train and develop as a professional learning community. Each year we have an academic focus, intended to help us meet our School Site Plan and Goals.
This year, we begin every staff meeting discussing what it means to be a community and how we can strengthen our connections within our classrooms. We discuss and learn effective tools for developing our social-emotional relationships. Some of this work has involved using Restorative Justice Circles and Holding Space Protocols. Through our learning with one another, we develop and refine age-appropriate activities to implement in our classrooms with your children. Our work is an acknowledgement that this year has been an adjustment and we are committed to the journey of welcoming new students, families, and teachers into the Will Rogers Community!
Please be sure to read the WILL ROGERS ROUNDUP each Sunday night as it contains important information from the school, PTA, Santa Monica Education Foundation, the City of Santa Monica, and other community partners. Links to each week’s newsletter are posted on our website.
In partnership,
Ms. Lila Daruty, Principal WRLC
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Thurs. 10/27 Auction Goes Live
Fri. 10/28 Scholastic Book Fair Opens in the library ( thru 11/4)
Mon. 10/31 Dia De Los Muertos Ofrenda for viewing in the cafeteria
Mon 11/1 No School- Pupil Free day for Parent Conferences
Wed. 11/2 Minimum Day for conferences
Wed. 11/2 PTA Association Meeting @6 p.m. in the school library. Childcare provided.
Thurs. 11/3 Minimum Day for conferences
Thurs. 11/3 Folklorico Information Meeting via zoom @6p.m.
Fri. 11/4 NO LATE START and Minimum Day
Sat. 11/5 Grown-Ups Night Out PURCHASE TICKETS
Sun. 11/6 Daylight Savings ( fall back)
Mon. 11/7 Volunteer Training @ 8:30. a.m.
Fri. 11/11 No School Veteran's Day
Wed.11/23-25 No School -Thanksgiving Break
Mon. 11/28 Volunteer Training @3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Thurs.11/10 Coffee & Convo with Principal @9 a.m.
Fri 11/ 11 Veteran's Day Holiday - no school
Wed. 11/16 PTA Executive Board meeting@6 p.m.
Wed. 11/23 Thanksgiving Break - no school thru 11/25
Wed. 11/30 School Site Council Meeting@ 3:30p.m.
Wed. 11/30 ELAC meeting@8:30-9:30 a.m.
Please do not forget to send with your child every day:
- Backpack with necessary classroom materials (teacher will communicate)
- Re-useable water bottle. We have filling stations on campus.
- Morning recess snack
- Lunch (lunch available to all students free of charge for the 2022-23 school year.)
- Sunscreen (put on prior to arriving at school)
- Hat
- Layers of clothing (sweatshirt, windbreaker, etc.) Keep an eye on the weather.
*Please do not bring toys, Pokemon cards or PE equipment to school. We will provide your children all the learning tools needed to have a great day!
Our LOST AND FOUND racks are OVERFLOWING!
They will be outside the main gates on most days so please stop by and browse the racks. There are water bottles, lunch boxes, some bags, some hats, a skateboard, jackets galore, about a dozen black hoodies, a dozen grey hoodies, a dozen blue hoodies, …you get my point. There’s a lot.
Whatever doesn’t get picked up by Veteran’s Day (Nov 11th) will be donated.
PEANUT FREE CAMPUS
Every year we welcome several students to our school with food allergies. Reactions range from mild to life threatening. We invite and ask your help and cooperation to help them stay safe.
1. Ask parents to not pack peanuts, or products containing peanuts, for snack or lunch. This includes peanut butter. Should your child come to school with a food item of concern, we will politely remind of our goal to be peanut free or provide an alternate snack.
2. Engage the children in frequent and consistent hand washing upon arrival and before and after lunch.
4. There will be no classroom projects using peanuts, peanut-based products or any other products we know may provoke an allergic reaction. Please do not send any of these projects to school with your child.
5. Closely monitor students so they are not sharing snack or lunch foods. We ask you to assist us by teaching your child that he/she are not to share or give food to other students. Doing so may be life-threatening.
6. SMMUSD Food Services does not serve nut products as part of the lunch program.
The faculty and staff at Will Rogers will work diligently to promote peanut free classrooms and play spaces. Faculty and staff, including our nursing staff, have been trained to respond to an allergic reaction. We seek to prevent one and need your help to have a peanut free campus!
PICTURE DAY SUCCESS!
MAKE-UP Picture Day for absent students will be held Wed. Nov. 9th.
Galleries will be open for viewing on November 11th. It's not an issue if the QR code given to your child was lost. The link will be sent out for everyone again.
SCHOOL PRICE LIST (EDITED TO OFFER MORE PACKAGE PRICING)
10% of the profit will be donated back to Will Rogers Learning Community, which allows our children to benefit from your purchase.There is no minimum order requirement, and since all orders are placed after viewing your children’s photographs you are able to choose which, and how many, you order.
SMEF Pledge Week. Thank you!
BIKE IT! WALK IT! BUS IT!
Scholastic Book Fair is HERE!
Will Rogers Scholastic Book Fair begins this Friday! Please remember to sign up to volunteer and set up eWallets for your children so they can shop the fair independently with their classes!
The Book Fair will also be open to families during the following hours:
Tuesday, November 1 from 9:00-3:00 pm (stop by before or after your parent teacher conferences)
Wednesday, November 2- Friday, November 4 from 12:00- 3:00 pm
Will Rogers Auction is LIVE!
The Will Rogers PTA auction is live online and ready for bids! There are so many wonderful items listed, including exciting and sweet listings from our beloved Will Rogers staff and teachers. We are continuing to add items nearly every day, so be sure to check back often! Please browse, bid, and share: www.biddingforgood.com/willrogers
All Things Rogers
https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/browse.action?auctionId=341700201&categoryId=341997448
GROWN-UPS' NIGHT OUT This SATURDAY 11/5!
Purchase tickets to our live auction party, Grown-Ups' Night Out, coming up THIS WEEK on November 5th, and generously being sponsored by Valnes & Company Real Estate. This year's party attire is 1920's/1930's Hollywood Glam or Ropin' Western Wear in honor of our namesake, Will Rogers himself.
We hope you can join us! Tickets are $40 per person in advance, and will be $60 at the door. www.biddingforgood.com/willrogers
FOLKLORICO Program
SMMUSD still has spots open for their folklorico program. The program is district wide and being held at Edison, Roosevelt, Rogers and McKinley elementaries. Attached is the flyer with schedule and sign up information.
You are invited to attend an informational zoom meeting November 3, at 6 pm.
Join Folklorico Zoom Meeting
https://cusd.zoom.us/j/93697201786
Meeting ID: 936 9720 1786
Folklórico Program for the 2022-2023
We are pleased to announce the beginning of our folklórico program for the 2022-2023 school year. This is a joint effort by Santa Monica Malibu School District and Teocalli Cultural Academy. The response to the program has been great! We grew from two sites to four for the current year. We will be offering classes at McKinley Elementary School, Edison Language Academy (Last semester sites) and adding Will Rogers Learning Community and Roosevelt Elementary School this year. If you know of a student who would still like to enroll, please share this link:
The schedule for the upcoming year, beginning the week of September 19 is:
Rogers 9/22 Tuesdays-Thursdays 3:30-5:00 pm
Performance opportunities. Students perform at least three times during the year, once the students are ready. These opportunities will be announced via “Band”, make sure that you add “Band” as soon as it is convenient. The biggest performance of the year will be on May 6 and 7, (Cinco de mayo weekend) during Mexico Magico, a SMMUSD sponsored festival that brings together groups from all over the state, New Mexico and Baja California.
Do I have to buy a costume or shoes? No, costumes will be provided by TCA and shoes and practice skirts by the district. The only thing we will ask you to get is your own child’s accessories.
Attendance policy? Students with 85 % attendance will be considered for upcoming performances. Students with 65-84 % will only be considered if the students make up the absences by documenting practices at home. Students with less than 55% will not be considered.
AT-HOME ANTIGEN TESTS sent home in your child's backpack!
We will no longer require COVID testing at school. Instead, we will provide free, at-home test kits. Negative test results do not need to be shown to school staff for admittance to school. If your child tests positive please stay home and contact our school nurse.
With this decision comes the expectation that parents and staff will be cooperative in weekly antigen testing at home. It is in our collective best interests to maintain in-person instruction without disruptions of class or school closures due to outbreaks. We want everyone to recognize that we are part of a school community that relies on each other to do the right thing, which is to support the health and safety of all students, staff and visitors to our campuses and offices, by taking these weekly tests.
***Tests are always available in the Rogers Health Office.
The Weekend Bag Program
REGULAR ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL PROCEDURES
***Students enrolled in morning care through CDS, enter on 16th street beginning at 7:00 a.m. using the gate code provided at enrollment.
We will pilot a morning valet on 14th street between 8:10-8:30 a.m. M-TH and 9:30-9:45 a.m. on Fridays. Will Rogers staff will support children to exit cars and enter school through the front school gates. You can help by ensuring that your children are ready to exit with their backpacks on, ready to go! Parents, please do not park in the valet zone and leave your car unattended, the area will be marked with cones. We kindly ask that you take direction from our staff who will help keep the line moving and our students safe.
Parents and guardians may drop-off and say their goodbyes at the gate(s).
- TK/Kinder use the designated gate on 14th street. There will be staff stationed at the gates to assist.
- 1st - 5th may use either the front gate on 14th street or the pedestrian gate on 16th street.
REMINDER: Parent parking can be found on the neighborhood streets. Be sure to read the street signs! Please do not park in the staff parking lots.
DISMISSAL: All students will be walked to their dismissal gate by their classroom teacher. Students who have not been picked-up shortly after dismissal, will be asked to wait near the office.
DESIGNATED DISMISSAL GATES:
- TK/Kinder: Pick-up students on the TK/K yard (on 14th street)
- 1st and 2nd: Pick-up students on the TK/K yard (on 14th street)
- 3rd: Front of the school (on 14th street)
- 4th and 5th: Pick-up students at the 16th street pedestrian gate
**If you have multiple children, please pick-up at the designated gate of your youngest student. Be sure you inform your child's teacher.
Pick-up Procedures for Playground Club, CREST, SAP and CDS
Playground Club (formerly Playground Access) at our campus for on-site supervision after school until 4:30 pm M-F started this week. Pick-up from the 14th street parking lot near the 1st grade yard.
CDS, SAP and CREST
Pick-up using the 16th street gate ( using the gate code). Please do not share this code with your children or other parents. It is meant to be provided ONLY to our CDS early express parents, and after school CDS and Crest parents.
ECO-FRIENDLY FIRST DAY PACKET!
https://www.smmusd.org/domain/4328
It is important we have your current contact information on file. Should you need to update your email, phone number or emergency card, please email lisadavis@smmusd.org
or visit the front office.
Oops, I Forgot!
Mornings are busy and sometimes students leave for school without their water bottle, instrument or homework. In an an effort to reduce classroom interruptions and to support students with developing responsibility, please use our "Oops, I forgot" table. Make a plan with your child that if they leave something at home, a parent can drop it off in the office. We will place their item on a table outside the office. During their recess or on their way to lunch, they may check the table for their forgotten item.
Please communicate this plan with your child, so they know there is place for parents to drop-off items they may have left at home!
AMAZON PURCHASES!
As we get closer to the holiday season, remember that you can enroll to automatically donate a percentage of your Amazon purchases to our PTA whenever you shop. It's easy!
To connect to our school and help us earn a small percentage back from your purchases from Amazon, visit smile.amazon.com.
If it's your first visit, you'll be prompted to choose a charity. Look for "Will Rogers Learning Community PTA". If you've chosen a different charity previously and would like to change it, visit smile.amazon.com/change.
Donate to the Will Rogers PTA and Santa Monica Education Foundation Today!
DONATE HERE:https://www.willrogerspta.com/direct-donation-will-rogers-fund
Please consider donating to the two organizations that enhance education for all Rogers students: the Santa Monica Education Foundation and Rogers PTA. Your donations are so important. Check out the crucial staff, programs, technology, and materials funded by your donations in this chart!
Our goal is for 100% of Rogers families to give to PTA and the Ed Foundation. ANY amount makes a difference to our kids. If you have already donated, thank you!
LA Metro’s GoPass Fareless System Pass
For Year 2 Metro is requiring both new enrollees and renewals to register with a unique Eligibility Code (One code per student). Please submit the form to reactivate your TAP card OR register for the first time: https://bit.ly/MetroGoPass22-23form One form per student please.