Many thanks to Lizbeth Williamson and Modi Frank for already raising over $7300 through LFCSA’s eBay Auctions! They will continue running entertainment-type items and experience packages year-round on eBay, so please contact them at any time if you have donations or questions about the auctions.
Contact info: Lizbeth Williamson and Modi Frank

Safety Guy Tip: Did you know that LFCSA has a shed containing emergency kits for the children? The shed is equipped with food and water for 120 kids for 72 hours, along with emergency supplies such as blankets, toilets, radios, batteries, hard hats and rescue equipment.

Get your IC-LA Walk/Jog pledge forms filled out, because the big event is just around the corner, Saturday, April 28th, 10am-2pm!

By: Tawny Dovico

Early February brought with it bubbling excitement for Valentine’s Day. The notion of making letters and cards, sending them, and also receiving them in a reciprocal gesture of friendship and fun, inevitably fostered fertile ground for our organic discovery of the postal system.

While reading Ezra Jack Keats’ story, A Letter to Amy, students began to stir with ideas about family and friends that they’d want to write to. “I wanna write to Granddad in England,” Freddie said. “I’m going to write to Sheldon,” Maccabee added. “I’ll send my letter to my dogs, Monkey and Pepper!” Lauren exploded. “I’m mailing a whole package to Sonia in Texas,” Ella beamed.

For five weeks the students worked on drafting their letters through words, symbols, and pictures. Additional read aloud stories, a video presentation, discussions, peer feedback, and teacher conferences allowed the students to compose letters that were meaningful, thoughtful, and authentic.

The day of our field trip, March 29th, served as a culminating event that celebrated our hard work in Writers’ Workshop, as well as our coin investigation in our math unit on money. Our walking field trip landed us at a fairly quiet Fairfax post office. Knowing that they were no longer “just kindergarteners,” but genuine paying customers, the kids waited in line patiently for their turn to stand tip toe at the counter. Each student respectfully presented their money and selected a stamp that suited their fancy. Tristan thought carefully about the postage for his letter to Switzerland and Olivia beamed proudly when she found just the stamps for her Canada-bound letter to Papa Richard. Finally, each student ceremoniously hoisted their special letter into an indoor drop box or the shiny blue mailboxes outside.

Our field trip not only allowed us to connect with our local community, but also celebrated the writing journey that we have been on since September 2006. Visit our in-class Post Office center and enjoy browsing through copies of the letters that we joyfully sent.

The LFCSA Acoustic Extravaganza and Silent Auction was a smashing success thanks to the hard work and dedication of all who volunteered and all those who brought in our many fantastic auction donations. Thanks to you all, the school is $12,155.00 richer and everyone in attendance had a great time. A special thanks to Scott Sterling of the Fold, and to Michelle White who pulled together a fantastic night of musical entertainment. Auction winners who still need to pick up their auction items will be contacted by phone.

By: Kaumudi Marathé

“Every child CAN!” say Linda McManus and Nancy Simpson, the founders of E3, Enrichment Educational Experiences (www.enrichmentkids.com). The women whose company provides after-school or integrated-day enrichment programs to 12 Los Angeles area schools, believe “every child is a scientist, an artist, a musician, a composer…”

Their after-school program got underway at LFCSA in April. The founders who aim to “inspire students by presenting programs that encourage investigating, discovering and creating” are positive about its success. They assure parents their kids will be “safe, taken care of and nurtured.”

Linda says, “We loved your school. We are very like-minded in terms of our visions for kids.” Nancy adds, “Kindergarten and first grade is our strength. They still believe, they still have imagination, there’s no cap on what they can achieve. It’s part of our job to make sure they have that power instilled in them.”

They see E3 not as a teaching program but as one that exposes children to different facets of the world. Their classes include art, science, geography, sports, pottery, and dance. The company was started in 1993 after their own experiences with their kids’ school. The idea was Nancy’s and Linda who had experience “finding solutions” as a compliance executive at CBS, developed the curriculum.

These warm, enthusiastic women balance friendship and business partnership with a positive, happy attitude to life and work. I talked with them about their program for LFCSA.

KM: What does the E 3 program consist of?

LM: Enriching and teaching are different things. In teaching you have an absolute that the kids have to know. In enriching you give them so much that they love to learn that product or investigate their love for it. Part of our mission is to help raise really well rounded people who want to be part of the community and understand it. This starts in kindergarten. You’ve got to look at the world through 5-year old eyes.

KM: How will our school space be used?

LM: You are very lucky. Your school has a great space. We see it being defined as studios so kids know exactly where they are going and what to do: an artists’ studio, a science area, comfy areas.

NS: To make that space feel not so big so we will have pockets of activities.

LM: We also believe in having the best and the proper tools and supplies. It’s all hands-on. We provide all the tools, whether they are violins or microscopes.

NS: For safety, we need more control, and a more inviting area for parents. They will enter from the front of the auditorium into a comfortable lobby, with the kids’ cubbies and artwork. Even though we will be working in one room, staff will have walkie-talkies for communication. Parents will sign kids out. Kids will use the front bathrooms and not go there alone. They won’t be by the back gate at all.

KM: How will their time be structured?

LM: They gather for Current Event Time, to tie them together, get them working together. Then we discuss what they will do at each station; there is a demonstration and Q&A before they go to their separate activities in groups (red, yellow, blue, etc.) for 15-20 minute rotations. They will have outdoor and snack time too.

NS: Beach Time is our relaxing time. We have mats; they can bring beach towels. We put on classical or beach music and we “go” places! After that, there is a Young Authors Time where we promote writing and doing book reports, assessing books. The program has a monthly theme; there are monthly performances or events like a Grandparents’ Tea, Art Show, etc.

KM: How will the program be customized for LFCSA?

LM: Every school has a personality. We try to match our staff and their skills with that. We survey teachers; tweak the curriculum according to what works and the kids’ needs.

NS: We offer some special classes within the program, taught by our staff or outside vendors. We are partnering with Urban Farming (www.urbanfarming.org) for a program where the kids grow a garden, harvest the produce and give it to the homeless or to someone needy in the community. You have sections of land that we can grow great produce in.

Part of our philosophy is to give back to the community. Each month, at all our schools, the kids do something for the community. It empowers them, they take pride in it.

KM: How will the program vary for kindergarteners and first graders?

NS: We want first graders to have age-appropriate enrichment. At Los Feliz, we are thinking of separate music and art classes. We’re working out the details.

KM: Will there be parent participation?

LM: In our BEAR (Be Excited About Reading) Program, parents share books. In Air Enrichment they share their culture. We set up chairs as if we are on a plane, the teachers are flight attendants, and the kids take a trip: to Greece, to Italy. It’s great! Parents wear traditional clothing, talk about dance, music, food. They can help with gardening too. And we have Career Week where parents talk about their professions.

NS: We just ask that for the first month of school, parents don’t come in because kids are adjusting. Once they are settled, everybody can get involved.

KM: Tell me about your staff.

NS: We take time to find the right people. They have an intense in-service training, a 3-hour training every month and a week’s training before the school year starts. They learn about the curriculum and about team building, creative thinking and positive communication. We are licensed under Social Services so it’s a pretty rigorous procedure before staff can work with the kids.

KM: What is your approach to “discipline” and conflict resolution?

LM: Discipline is part of growth. To have freedom to make discoveries, kids need some order. We believe in positive reinforcement. Kids are bombarded with instructions all day so we go the other way, we almost whisper because that really gets their attention. Again it’s about balancing their day. They have been saturated with information and they need to have fun.

NS: We believe in resolving conflict through finding out a child’s needs and meeting them. Usually when a child acts up, they need something. We find out what and talk it through to make sure they understand the situation.

KM: How will you use Cool Tools?

NS: We will all be training in Cool Tools. Words are our most important tools. They can make or break a child. Our words must be building words, not tear-down words. Our staff is trained in this. It is one our company’s 8 Keys of Excellence.

Come join in on our first ever LFCSA Spring Festival and Book Fair! The Grassroots Fundraising Committee is gearing up for a fun-filled afternoon on campus Saturday, May 12th beginning at 11:00 a.m. and running to 3:00 p.m. Not just books here—there will be carnival games, arts and crafts, food and more! Face Painting from around the world! Storytelling with LFCSA parents John Lee and Cynthia Watrous! Door Prizes! And about the books, at the Scholastic Book Fair you can find many quality books in every price range, interest, and reading level—and all your purchases help LFCSA earn books and funds for our teachers, our classrooms, and our library. You’ll find exclusive and more affordable editions of many of the most popular books sold in retail stores, and the more we spend on books for our kids (and their teachers) the more we earn in books for our school! And best of all, you and your child will have fun choosing books together to read at home or give as gifts. Come on and get some great deals on Scholastic books and build the LFCSA library at the same time! Cash, checks and credit cards accepted.

By the way, we need volunteers to help make this event a success. If you enjoyed helping out with the Halloween Carnival, or you missed that opportunity and want to help out here, please contact Adam Kopald. We’re looking for about 45 people to work at least one two-hour shift. Shifts available are 8:30-11, 11-1, 1-3, and 3-5. Volunteering for this type of even is always rewarding and is a wonderful way to connect with other LFCSA parents.

Remember when the students were asked to wear blue to school one day? Mrs. Newlin kicked off our Cool Tools program that day with an assembly/pep rally for the kids, reviewing with them all of the tools that they have available to them when they find themselves in a conflict.

By: Kaumudi Marathé

For all of us, the first few months since September were spent getting our kindergarteners acclimated to school and adjusted to new routines. Once they were settled back in school after Christmas vacation, Ms. Miller’s kindergarten class parents decided it was time to break the ice and get to know each other.

In a “neighborhood” school, connections are often made quickly and organically. At our school, because we all live so spread out, many of us had not even met the other families in our class. However, a quick email poll showed that Eagles parents were keen to make the effort and get together.

Coordinating 20 families together is easier said than done! But on March 4, after several delays and despite the LA Marathon, 17 families gathered at the old zoo in Griffith Park for a day of fun and frolic. Parents, grandparents and even friends joined the picnic. To the children’s delight, Ms. Miller’s baby, Elijah came too!

The weather could not have been more cooperative and our secluded picnic spot near the old, abandoned zoo cages lent some mystery to the afternoon. The children explored the cages, imagining which wild animals had once lived there! The rocks at the bottom of a dried up streambed proved irresistible for jumping on. Immanuel’s younger sister, Pauli slipped on one, cutting her chin rather deeply (she had to be taken to the ER but that is another story!) but this did not deter the other kids from having a go at the rocks!

It was one of those rare, leisurely, sunlit afternoons. As parents introduced themselves to each other and got talking, kids ran up and down the hilly slopes. They played football and other games between snacking on delicious potluck treats like kebabs, broccoli casserole, jicama salad, tamales, and homemade brownies and cupcakes. Mateo’s mom, Lisa Franchot brightened up the day even more with some wonderful face painting.

After a protracted lunch, there were group games. Egg-and-spoon races and sack races brought out the kids’ competitive side. The highlight of the afternoon was a special treat from Ms. Miller, a piñata! Before we realized it, the day had flown by but even as the air cooled, and we started to pack up and head for home, the spirit of camaraderie we had found warmed us. As Shelley Jacobs, Jade’s mom said, “It was so nice to finally meet the other halves – the parents – of the kids that I have gotten to know at the school. It was just great to get to know them.” Throughout the afternoon Ms. Miller repeated how wonderful it was to spend time with the families of her students. “We’re building community!” she said. Yes indeed, and the ice was broken!

The Art of Giving Family Pledge Drive will be publishing its Honor Roll on June 15th, which will be a list of all families that donate money to LFCSA through the pledge drive. Be sure to get your donation envelope in well before June 15th to be included on the Honor Roll.