Ms. Pardo’s kindergarteners now have second grade reading buddies from Ms. Marcy’s class.

Every other Friday, the second graders come to the kindergarten class for 20 minutes to read with their new reading pals.

Each second grade student has an assigned kindergarten reading partner to whom they read books. The first meeting on October 27 was a great success.

Both Ms. Marcy and Ms. Pardo agree that this literacy activity is a great way to build community AND create a reading partnership that is mutually beneficial to both students.

by Audrey Fann | photo by Joel Sigerson

Cool Tools vividly teaches strategies for handling all forms of conflict and promotes healthy conflict resolution at LFCSA. Cool Tools was created to ensure a caring community in which all students feel safe to learn and play without threats of physical, verbal, or non-verbal harassment of any type. Our goal is to provide students with an internal “toolbox” they can choose from when conflict arises, not just now, but for the rest of their lives. Practice is essential not only for reinforcing the skills they are learning, but also for retention and transfer to new situations at school and at home. This is where you, the parents, can help. Your child is becoming familiar with the terms and concepts outlined below and will benefit from you talking about them.

Put Ups vs. Put Downs

Put Ups are affirmations, kind words, compliments, smiles, or thumbs-up. In contrast, Put Downs are insults, rumors, threats, unkind words, smirking, or laughing at someone. Put Downs are not okay anywhere at school, and they shouldn’t be okay at home either. Cool Tools teach the 5:1 rule: it takes at least 5 Put Ups to repair 1 Put Down. Squeezing toothpaste from a tube is a good visual that we use at school to explain the concept of a Put Down. Anytime someone says a Put Down, squeeze out some toothpaste. Then ask the person to put ALL of the toothpaste back in the tube. It’s impossible! The children are told to think of a Put Down as the paste—it hangs around with a sticky residue and you can never completely take it back.

Bubble of Space

Cool Tools teach children that everybody has a Bubble of Space as the basic principle of being considerate. Keeping their bodies in check and keeping their hands, feet, and other objects to themselves also makes them aware of their own bubbles and how they should be respected by others. Awareness of their own Bubble of Space allows them to situate themselves to anticipate and avoid conflict whenever possible.

Exit Shoes

Using Exit Shoes are a way to get out of a situation that is not right for you. It is a way to give your child permission to just walk away. When conflict heats up and the chance of compromise goes down, use your Exit Shoes and walk away. It is a cool way to deflate a situation. This tool can be used at home, at school and at the playground. Exit Shoes are a cue to help people stop and think about what they are doing before they act. They allow the person to make a choice and change the situation.

Choice of Voice

Your child has been taught that there are Cool Blue Voices and Red Voices. The Cool Blue Voice is the one used when communicating calmly and speaking normally. If your voice and tone are Cool Blue, then you’re likely going to deflate a situation and help keep it calm. A Red Voice inflates a situation. Cool Tools suggest that when a Red Voice is coming, take deep breathes—and use those Exit Shoes to walk away and chill out until a Cool Blue Voice is ready to speak.

So you know you have 60 volunteer hours to complete, but not too sure how to get started? The wild success that has become LFSCA is owed in no small part to the diverse skills and dedication of the parent volunteer community. Writing down and turning in your hours is just as important as performing them—a motivated parent body on paper is an asset to the school. Dig out your Fall Volunteer Timesheet (sent home in the Thursday Packets) and read on.

Contacting your Classroom Volunteer Coordinator is the quickest route to find volunteering needs when there is a big event requiring many volunteers—such as the upcoming Harvest Arts and Crafts Festival. Several “Work Days” are scheduled throughout the year, and your Classroom Volunteer Coordinator can tell you what’s available and sign you up. Every classroom has a Classroom Volunteer Coordinator.

LFCSA has great committees that do a wide range of important tasks and grow stronger with numbers. LFCSA’s current committees are: Fundraising, Family Support, Volunteer, Communications, Site, Safety, Green Team, and Garden. Contacting a committee and letting them know you are interested in volunteering is another way to hear about volunteer opportunities as they arise.

Need some specific ideas to get your volunteer ball rolling? Here are ten more ways, some obvious, some not so obvious, to get involved:

• Public Relations. If you have PR skills, we could definitely use you. Let the fundraising committee know, fundraising@losfelizarts.org, or George Abrams, site@losfelizarts.org.
• Spanish Translation. Help out translating for Thursday Packets and the office. This is a huge need at our school and an excellent way to fulfill your commitment on your own schedule. Contact Christie Thomas, thursdaypackets@losfelizarts.org.
• Public Liaison. We need a volunteer who can field calls from people interested in becoming Community Partners. Contact George Abrams, site@losfelizarts.org.
• Community Partners Committee. We’re looking for somebody to head this new committee, which will oversee applications from parents who want to get into LFCSA via the Community Partners. For more information about this opportunity contact George Abrams, site@losfelizarts.org.
• Organize Volunteers. Work directly with the Volunteer Coordinator making phone calls from home or work setting up work day schedules. Contact Ellise Taylor-Brebes, volunteer@losfelizarts.org.
• Work in the School’s Garden. Fulfill hours in the garden! Help assisting students with guided lessons, apply for grants, and more. Contact Michele East at garden@losfelizarts.org.
• Indoor Plant Committee. We are getting a bunch of new indoor plants that will need caring for, so jump on this one if you’re interested. We are currently looking for somebody with a green thumb to head up this new committee, as well as about 5 more volunteers to help work it. This is an easy 30 minutes at school after drop-off or before pick-up once a week. Contact George Abrams, site@losfelizarts.org.
• Writers/Photographers. Join the Communications Committee as a writer or photographer for the newsletter and website. Earn hours by taking assignments as they become available. Contact Megan or Ross Hirsch, communications@losfelizarts.org.
• Data Entry. This can be done anytime from your home/office. Knowledge of Excel is helpful, but not necessary. This opportunity is great for parents who find it difficult to get to the school. Contact Michelle Jones, michelle@losfelizarts.org.
• Volunteer in the Front Office. Michelle and the administration can always use your help. Contact Michelle Jones, michelle@losfelizarts.org.

The list doesn’t stop there. We all have skills that are valuable to a growing school like ours. With a little effort and thought, together we can find satisfying ways to contribute our time.

Plastic is a huge recycling program—and a health hazard. It takes 47 million gallons of oil to produce the plastic water bottles Americans use each year. Did you know that 86% percent don’t get recycled? It would be like taking 100,000 cars off the road and 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere if they did. In addition, trace amounts of petroleum can leach into plastic, which breaks down with increased exposure to heat and cold (dishwashing, microwaving, freezing). Studies have linked the ingestion of plastic to health and fertility issues. Glass is superior, but impractical for many uses, such as schools. If you have to use plastic, try to recycle it, and explain to your child the importance of recycling.

Cloth grocery bags are hip! Ralphs, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Vons, and Gelson’s all sell cloth bags as alternatives to plastic. Stores also offer a discount when you use your own bags. LFCSA is working on designs for our very own cloth bag. Be on the lookout.

LFCSA’s Green Team recycling committee is headed by Cecily Harrison and Sherrell Cuneo, reachable at gogreen@losfelizarts.org.

Dear Parents,

It is hard to believe that one third of our school year is nearly over and winter is approaching. This past month flew by with many outstanding activities and much learning having occurred. Though I missed the Halloween Program, I was able to view the video and saw why I heard so many great comments about the various classrooms’ performances. The students really enjoy presenting in front of their families, so thank you for taking time to attend.

I want to offer another large thank you to everyone involved in making our Fall Festival such a success. All in attendance seemed to enjoy the camaraderie and fine weather, not to mention the outstanding food. Even our outstanding Garden benefited from the day by the addition of 85 “freed” worms that will enhance the soil.

Speaking of our garden, kudos to the parent committee that secured the grant monies used to develop the garden. They spent many hours of hard labor creating a learning space for our children that is very impressive. The teachers are putting it to good use and the students love to be able to have lessons in the garden area.

Thanks to the efforts of Audrey Fann, we have begun a series of evening Parent Education sessions designed to provide you with more information about important aspects of our school and how you may be able to follow-up at home. For our first session held in October, Tiffany Miller presented information on our Cool Tools program (see page 4). Our most recent session featured information about Thinking Maps and their use by the children. Alana Cortez, our staff’s Thinking Maps trainer, presented and again, Audrey Fann hosted the evening. I encourage you to attend future Parent Education sessions, so watch for information regarding them.

I want to share with you what the staff will be doing during the student-free Staff Development days scheduled for January 14, February 4, March 3, and April 7. The staff and I will attend the Critical Thinking Institute that is offered each spring by Seeds Elementary School, the lab school at UCLA. In continuing our commitment to align our program with Seeds Elementary, we will work with their staff on the Saturday prior to the student-free Monday and then observe the students at work on the following Monday, at Seeds. Later on each Monday afternoon, our staff will have an opportunity to debrief their observation and new learning with the Seeds staff. We are excited about what the Institute offers for our program’s continued growth.

Finally, I want to extend my wish for you to have a wonderful holiday with your children during our winter break. It is a time for families to join together and create memories that will last a life time. If you travel during the two weeks, be safe and come back on January 7th excited and refreshed.

Karin

It’s not too late to get a copy of the lovely 2006-2007 LFCSA yearbook. Order now and make sure your child and your family always has a wonderful way to remember our first year at LFCSA.

The yearbook is available for order online at: www.lulu.com/content/881018. You can preview the entire book at the link, or if you prefer, a hard copy will be available to look at in the main office. All of our beautiful kids from 06-07 are in there, so it really is worth having! The yearbook is printed to order, and the price is $30 with all profits going to the school.

Have YOU asked Grandparents and Uncles if they want to buy a LFCSA DVD yet? For a $25 donation, they get an incredible 83 minute professionally created keepsake of LFCSA’s inaugural year. Every single student is featured at least twice as their class is spotlighted. This priceless DVD is a unique and entertaining opportunity to raise money for your school. Have your cash or check (payable to “Andreas Wenger”) ready and buy copies during drop-off or email safety@losfelizarts.org to arrange for your copies to be mailed.

Share your enthusiasm for LFCSA by involving your family in this touching fundraiser.

Recycling containers are in every classroom and throughout campus. Eligible recyclables are listed on the bins. Throw it in, it all gets sorted by West Hollywood’s recycling service. The Green Team Committee is also developing a compost area in preparation for a “no waste” lunch policy.

Fall is in the air (at long last!), and we hope you are as excited as we are about our upcoming Fall Harvest Arts and Crafts Festival. You should all have the date ingrained in your brains by now: Saturday, November 10th, from 11-3pm. When you think about it, this festival truly reflects what our charter school stands for—children creating. There will be a variety of arts and craft booths for your children to let loose their imaginations (and what a perfect opportunity to come home with holiday gifts for grandparents and other relatives), a photo booth, fun activities like basketball and soccer games, as well as bouncy houses for both kids AND adults (how cool is that!) and mountains of mouth-watering food—everything from healthy choices to baked goods to BBQ and more. Remember, admittance to the fair is free, and tickets to the various crafts and food booths can be purchased at the door. If you haven’t volunteered yet, please contact Naomi Slodki at naomislodki@aol.com. It’s so important that each family donates some time to make this event a great success. Thank you so much for your support and see you there!

Photos by Cynthia Smalley & Aladino Debert