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

Dear Parents,

As I know you are aware of all the energy that is going into making sure our new site can become a reality, I want to shift the focus for a moment and share with you some exciting curricular things that are happening.

Since January, and continuing through April, the teachers, Nancy, and I are spending time each month at UCLA’s Seeds Elementary School for intensive staff development. These sessions are designed to help us teach children how to manage all of the information that comes their way, especially that found on the computer and though the media. As all of us are bombarded by an ever-increasing amount and variety of information, we as educators recognize the need to teach children how to evaluate and understand the messages they experience. One aspect of our curriculum is to teach our children to become wise consumers of information.

The programs the teachers are experiencing at Seeds deepen our project-based approach to learning by teaching students specific skills they need to create research projects: how to formulate questions, key words used to search for information, evaluating the relevance and validity of information, note taking, and how to compile the information into a report. Many of our teachers have already begun to incorporate what they are learning into their lessons. You may hear your students talking about “one inch, one foot, or one yard questions,” and/or you might see, in your child’s classroom, questions posted and categorized that children have written.

Finally, I want to thank those of you who have been able to attend our Parent Education evenings, organized and hosted by Audrey Fann. Last week, the math presentation lead by Nancy Martorelli was well attended and the parents present felt that they received a lot of information so they can assist their children with math. Please watch for our next Parent Education event so you can learn more specifics about LFCSA’s unique approach to education.

Karin

Dear Parents,
Congratulations to our entire school community! We have secured a location for our school within the greater Los Feliz area. We are now embarking on the next step of our exciting journey—creating the best independent charter school in California. With this crucial step behind us and the security of knowing that we will have a suitable site for our school in the years to come, we can have confidence in our continued success.

Throughout this exhausting process of finding and securing a location for our school, I have observed a small dedicated group of people make this happen through the sheer force of their energy. It is impossible for me to paint a clear enough picture of the personal sacrifices in time and effort these folks have made, but I want to tell you that in all of my professional experience, I have never seen this complex a situation resolved by volunteer efforts.

I want to personally thank George Abrams, President of our Board, for his energy, enthusiasm, and for the untold hours he has donated toward finding and securing this location. Without his dedication, determination, and drive we would not be in this position.

Additionally, I want to express my admiration and gratitude to Marta Alcumbrac and Kevin Mulcahy, who have tirelessly assisted George and taken the lead in shepherding this project through the obstacle course required by law. Kevin, our lead architect, has guided the process through all of the planning offices at the City level, gaining the necessary approval at each step of the process. Marta has worked closely with Kevin and serves as a liaison with City officials, maneuvering the City’s complex political structure.

Several other people deserving of special thanks are Wayne and Soo Choi, and Sanjiv Bajaj. Wayne’s commercial real estate expertise was so necessary throughout this process and Soo did an amazing job as our liaison to the New Hope Chapel. Sanjiv is also an architect working with the Site Committee and will assist with the actual construction of our portables.

Again, I can not overstate the gratitude I feel toward these amazing individuals and their dedication to education. We all owe them a huge thank you!!

Karin

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

Dear Parents:

I am pleased to report to you, that as I have observed our school these past weeks, I see happy children. This is exciting and tells me that our program is developing in the right direction. As the weeks pass, I marvel at how much learning has occurred, and we have only completed the first six weeks of school. What a great start for our school this year.

All of our students are hard at work on their project-based units of study, their reader’s/writer’s workshop sessions, their experiential math classes, science through our gardening program, and 40 minutes a week of music, dance, and drama. In addition, all of our students receive physical education for 100 minutes per week. They definitely are experiencing an enriched school experience.

Though there have been some situations that could take our focus off the students’ educational program, parents, teachers, and staff have continued to provide an outstanding program for our students. The news about our move from St. Ambrose is definitely distracting, but I sense everyone feels as I do, that the situation presents our community with an opportunity to find our home. I am confident that we will be able to manage the relocation of our school in a positive manner.

Thank you for your continued work on our school site. Regardless of the amount of time we stay at St. Ambrose, it is important to provide the most enriched environment possible for our children. With all of your help we have accomplished a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing learning environment that is the “third teacher.”

See you at the Fall Festival.

Karin

Dear Parents:

As I reflect upon our opening days this year, and remember last year, I am struck by how much progress we all have made. Although there were some challenges this year as we created new systems and procedures, through it all there were smiling, happy faces – of children, parents, teachers, and support staff.

With the help of so many parent volunteers and the many, many hours they contributed of their time, our school was up and running by September 5th and looked cheerful and inviting. Classrooms were redesigned, including our new Kindergarten room which was previously the dance and music room. The auditorium was given a facelift, and a new library was created in the back of the auditorium out of what was a dark, overcrowded supply closet. Miraculous work. Thank you especially to the imagination and vision of Rachel, Karin and George.

Thank you also to all of the parents for their patience in adjusting to our new drop-off procedures. Thank you, Andreas, for your gentle reminders to parents. We appreciate how difficult it is to stay in the car and let our loved ones go to the playground without us.

How could we have gotten under way without Michelle in the main office? Michelle’s patience and calm demeanor in the face of any request or obstacle are remarkable. We are truly fortunate to have someone as capable and personable as Michelle.

Thank you, George Abrams, for producing this “film” – Our School. Could producing a movie be any more demanding? You have given freely of your time, energy, experience, and vision.

Thank you to the teachers who all spent a week in professional development before school began. (Our new teachers spent 2 weeks.) They worked countless hours getting their rooms ready and in planning curriculum, sometimes staying at the school into the evening hours after a full day of training. They provided an atmosphere of warmth and caring on opening day, and do so every day, as they do the work of creating a nurturing and excellent learning community for our children.

Finally, I believe I speak for the entire school community in thanking our principal, Karin Newlin, without whom none of the above would ever have been possible. Words cannot express all that Karin – and Bruce - have given to our school.

With such a crew, the sky is the limit.

Nancy Martorelli

Dear Parents,

All of you deserve a big hand for a very successful inaugural year! In just one year, we have created a school built upon community involvement; we have a curriculum that is exceptional, and we have a dedicated staff that is committed to our teaching philosophy. These are not just lofty compliments, but I am pleased to tell you that a recent LAUSD audit confirmed it: LFCSA is doing an outstanding job.

As part of LAUSD’s yearly charter school oversight, three educators from the District’s Charter Office conduct thorough day-long investigations of charters. The District is required by law to assure charters are functioning consistent with best educational practices. At the end of the inspection, this “Audit Team” provides school administrators with recommendations for improvement.

With this intent, an Audit Team recently conducted its assessment and inspected LFCSA. The auditors visited classrooms, looked at work samples, compared our charter document to what they observed, and checked things such as: Board policies, procedures, and minutes, Site Council minutes, visitor policies and procedures, budget and fiscal procedures, safe school guidelines and programs, special education programs and procedures, and numerous other areas.

At the inspection’s conclusion, the lead auditor said, “We can always find something to recommend to a school, in this case we can not find anything to recommend. We are impressed and amazed at what has been accomplished in just seven months.” Needless to say, the staff and I are thrilled. Even knowing how many amazing things we still will be implementing in the future, to have our first audit report be so glowing clearly validates that we are moving in the right direction.

Again, thank you for your support—without you, your wonderful children, and your commitment, we could not have accomplished so much. It has been a great year!!!

Dear Parents,

Let me start by saying that I hope that all of you had a joyous and relaxing Spring Break. Welcome back to our final semester! It is hard to believe that the school year is almost over. As I reflect upon our school and our students, the tremendous growth that I see is truly inspirational.. The hard work of our parents, teachers, and staff is amazing, as is the heartfelt contributions that our community continues to invest in both our children and our school. The Silent Auction and Acoustic Extravaganza was a resounding success and enjoyed by all. Thank you especially to Adam Kopald and the Grass Roots Fundraising Committee.

Second, I am happy to report that due to the success of our music and dance classes as an integrated part of our curriculum, LFCSA has begun plans to move ahead with another component, theater arts. Like the music and dance classes, it will be an integrated part of our program and will be one more way that we will be using the arts to enhance the learning, critical thinking, and creative potential of each and every one of our students.

Lastly, it’s not too late to participate in the IC-LA Walk/Run for Charter Schools on April 28th. Filling out the pledge form is easy, and it benefits a wonderful cause—our school! It sounds like an excellent opportunity to develop a wider network of supportive families who have discovered the joys of being part of this exciting charter school community and movement.

Dear Parents,

As you may know, LFCSA recently held its public random drawing for the 07-08 school year. We received an incredible 275 applications for the 28 kindergarten spots. Additionally, there remains a long wait list for first and second grade, should any spots become available. Clearly the good word about our school has gotten out, and the overwhelming interest in our lottery is a reflection of the school community’s commitment and hard work.

I would like to extend a heart-felt thank you to all the parents who attended our first Town Hall meeting on March 14th in the auditorium. It was encouraging to sit and talk with a large group of such interested parents, hear parents’ concerns, and discuss the road ahead. There were excellent questions asked by you, and I was glad to have the opportunity to answer them directly and share my knowledge about our blossoming school. I’m already looking forward to continuing these discussions at upcoming Town Hall meetings, and I encourage everyone to attend and join in the dialogue.

As you will read in this newsletter, LFCSA is participating in a Walk/Run for Charter Schools on April 28th at Palisades Charter High School. I want to personally invite all students, parents, and staff to fill out their pledge forms, ask their family and friends for support, and slip on their running shoes! This is going to be a wonderful event that I am sure will create bonds both within our school community and with the larger Los Angeles charter school community. To top it all off, all money raised will go directly to LFCSA. Hope to see you all there!