So what are some of the creative classroom and landscape ideas that are being developed for the New Hope Chapel site? Professionals from our community share their drawings and thoughts with us:

Kevin Mulcahy, studioTBD CO_LA(B)_o r a t i v e, Lead Architect for LFCSA’s New Hope Chapel site

The floor plans for the classroom interiors were developed following a visit to the Corinne A. Seeds campus with Principal Karin Newlin and her husband, former school superintendent, Bruce. As we toured the classrooms, it became clear that several key spatial components were consistently present in the Seeds classroom model that we had not been able to incorporate into our St. Ambrose classrooms. Given our clean-slate approach to the proposed modular development at the New Hope Chapel site, we took those cues as our guides. The most powerful distinction was the clear separation of the children’s workspace and that of the teacher’s. The classroom was all children… and that clarity seemed to empower the children’s workspace and left us thinking of the subtle message to be drawn, one which inevitably works its way into the children day by day—that their work, the education, is directly proportional to the students’ efforts, confidence, and dedication to their work with the support of their teachers’ independently prepared leadership.

Another essential component incorporated into the plan is an ability to dissolve walls, both between the inside work area and an exterior workspace, as well as between classrooms. Yet another component is a clear commitment to bring as much daylight and natural ventilation into all of the classrooms as possible.

Stephanie and Ben Ragle, office42, Designers for LFCSA’s New Hope Chapel site

We approached the schematic design of the master plan for the New Hope Chapel site by first becoming intimate with the students’ daily routines and then by mapping them at various times of the day (drop-off, recess, lunch, etc.) onto the site. This allowed us to pay particular attention to specific aspects of the day and pay careful attention to the need for security and efficiency during each aspect of the day, as well as various other factors—storage, adjacency, supervision, etc.
Drop-off and pick-up locations are most efficient when combined and would be adjacent to the playground areas that will be utilized as children arrive and wait to leave. At this drop-off area, a shaded ‘buffer zone’ (shown as blue triangular shapes) would act as the area for drop-off, cubbies, and parent/teacher interaction. The specific Dance/Music classrooms are shown to the west (left) of the current sanctuary and the administration building to the east, both providing an edge and façade to the school and assisting with securing the boundary. The Dance/Music classrooms allow for outdoor performances adjacent to the north of the classrooms. The Science/Planting area is placed at the west beyond the fire-lane (running North-South) where the campus becomes more wild and natural, with its own circular seating area as outdoor classroom.

It is important to create a true sense of “campus” by connecting the individual buildings—tying them together to form a singular identity. View corridors act as “hallways” and large and secondary open areas between buildings act as “quads” to give the school a sense of place. The benefit to having an outdoor school is the constant interaction with the organic, fluid landscape.

Ramiro Morales, Maggie Goldman & Kaumudi Marathe, Family Support Committee

Last month’s Fiesta Latina was a big success for our school and for our Latino families, with a lot of new and current families attending and enjoying the vibrant festival. There was fabulous home-made Latino food (empanadas, tamales, pupusas, carne asada, etc.) and drink, and a scintillating show by the children, who performed dances from Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, and Brazil. Contemporary Latino music by Inner City Soul provided a cheerful soundtrack and the kids had fun with piñatas and bilingual story time. They also got to try their hand at Latino-inspired crafts and learning about Latino culture, making coil pots, corn husk dolls, copper bracelets, and colorful maracas.

Thank you to all the wonderful families and teachers who cooked, prepped, helped with set-up and clean-up, and supported this event.

Co-chair Cecily Harrison | gogreen@losfelizarts.org

Earth Day was April 22 this year, and we randomly asked LFCSA students what they were planning on doing for Earth Day. Some responded that they would “help something grow,” or “plant a tree.” The Green Team encourages everyone to discuss with their children how they can strive to make a difference.

A new development at LFCSA for which the Green Team is grateful is our regular lunch recycling volunteers. These are parents who help the children with the concept of recycling by assessing their finished lunch meals and containers and sorting what can be recycled into our blue recycling bins. A huge thanks goes to Sherrell Cuneo (Mondays), Susan Fink (Tuesdays), Betina Papadeas (Wednesdays), Jennifer Del Barrio (Thursdays), and Kirsten Dickerson (Fridays). According to Green Team co-chair Sherrell Cuneo, students are ready to take on a zero waste lunch policy. Congratulations to the Green Team lunchtime volunteers, as well as to all the students of LFCSA who are quickly becoming professional recyclers! Fliers went out to parents regarding a fundraiser for lunchbox “systems,” which we encourage parents to use, and be on the lookout for the Green Team’s classroom presentations educating on the benefits of reusable and/or recyclable lunch materials.

A big thanks goes to Ms. Dovico, who gave us great ideas and volunteered her second grade class to be “Recycling Raccoons,” and even incorporated recycling into a math lesson.

Our goal is to transition LFCSA into being a zero waste campus, similar to many other campuses in California and the nation. Please contact gogreen@losfelizarts.org with all of your school-related recycling questions.

Dear Parents,

I have exciting news to announce this month! We have received a grant from two foundations totaling $17,500.00 that will enable us to implement innovative math materials developed by the Mind Institute, located in Orange County. This is the organization that worked with UC Irvine on the ground-breaking brain research study, known as the Mozart Effect that identified the connection between early instruction in music and the increase in math scores.

The Mind Institute’s Math Materials are brand new and follow the California State Standards for all eight strands at each grade level. The materials focus on critical thinking skills and creativity, and they were developed in a computer game format that is familiar to our children. The materials are self-paced, which allows the individual student to work at her/his own learning speed. An additional benefit is that the materials designed for each math strand include higher level thinking appropriate for gifted students.

These materials will be used to enhance our current successful math program that relies heavily on concept development through the use of manipulatives and differing problem solving approaches. We will be one of the few elementary schools in California to begin next year with this program. I can’t wait to formally present this program to you when we begin school in the fall.

Another grant that we received earlier this year is from C.I.B.E.R., the Center for International Business Education and Research, in conjunction with UCLA. We received approximately $12,000.00 to begin to develop lessons and units of study for primary students in the area of globalization. The lessons teach the concept using the four arts areas. A small group of teachers and arts specialists are working with coaches and Dr. Robert Spitch, professor from the Anderson School of Business at UCLA. We are in the beginning phases of this project and expect to receive additional monies for this coming school year to begin the writing of the curriculum.

As you can see, the staff and I continue to learn and grow, searching for ever better ways to educate our children. LFCSA is truly a “Learning Community.”

Best of Living,
Karin

Site Update - May 1, 2008

Students Will Start The ‘08-’09 School Year At Selma, As Work Continues To Have Our Permanent Home At New Hope Chapel.

Two weeks ago, George Abrams, Marta Alcumbrac, and I took a tour of the Selma Elementary campus in Hollywood with Selma’s new principal who started there last fall. We were very impressed to see many improvements since our visit last spring. We toured the ten classrooms that we will occupy, and found them to be adequate for our classroom needs. I am certain that with the help of Kevin Mulcahy and Rachel Kamerman, our architect and interior designer, we will be able to transform the interior classroom space and make it our own. After Kevin and Rachel visit the site with me later in May, I am certain we will be able to give you a detailed presentation of our temporary site plan.

I want to assure you that our outstanding educational program will continue at Selma and the transition to our temporary location will be smooth. Collectively, it is our outstanding teachers, parents and students that comprise our community. Regardless of the address, our community will continue to flourish wherever we are located. Our program is strong, and is much more than a location. This move is temporary and we are looking forward to moving to our permanent location in the near future.

Stay tuned for updated information as work progresses on the New Hope Chapel site and the Selma Elementary site.

Sincerely,
Karin Newlin