FOOD!    CRAFTS!        GAMES!        MUSIC!        FUN!

Don’t miss the Photo Fundraiser!
After paying an entrance fee, your family is photographed by various professional photographers (who are also LFCSA parents) in various settings.  You leave with a CD filled with amazing pictures to use as holiday cards and gifts!

Admission to the Harvest Arts & Crafts Festival is FREE!!!11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Saturday, November 15, 2008

Selma Avenue Elementary School
6611 Selma Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90028

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.

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.

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.

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

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

For the second part of the project-based social studies unit on how families show care, the Kindergarteners in Ms. Pardo’s class studied “food.” Throughout the study of food, lesson plans, or “learning events,” incorporated art, drama, reading, writing, math, science, and of course, social studies. Students learned about food in context of my family’s foods, special family foods, the origin of foods, nutrition and traditional Eskimo foods. This article will describe three different learning events that took place during the two months the class studied food.

Pop Art Project: For this visual arts lesson, which was co-taught with parent Emily Green, who is an artist, students were exposed to the work of Pop Artist Andy Warhol. They learned about sketching and the process an artist goes through to make a final piece of artwork. The first day, students sketched many different types of popular food such as cans of Campbell’s Soup, packages of cereal, Sun Maid raisins, Quaker Oats, Goldfish crackers and candies such as Dots, Junior Mints, M&M’s and Skittles. During this process, students learned that making mistakes is part of making art. Kindergartner Daisy said, “There are no mess-ups in art.” The next day, they chose one item that they wanted to draw for their final picture. So, they sketched that food again and using black marker drew over their sketch. Finally, they colored in their drawing with oil pastels. The students worked carefully throughout this process, as is evident by their attention to details.

Field Trip to Whole Foods: On a slightly wet, drizzly January morning, the students in Ms. Pardo’s class walked to Whole Foods Market. Ten enthusiastic parents accompanied the class on the outing, which was planned so students could learn more about where food comes from and healthy foods. Ms. Caroline Capizzano, the Marketing Supervisor of Whole Foods, guided the students through the store and taught the class more about the origin of the food they sell, what the word “organic” means and about recycling.

Throughout the tour, students sampled many different foods, including carrots, two kinds of cookies, organic chocolate, cheese puffs, cheese, Thai black rice with tofu and also pomegranate juice. The children also got to touch a mussel and clam from the seafood department and smell some delicious-smelling natural hand lotion. Afterwards, the class discussed the experience and what they learned. They drew pictures of their impressions of the field trip and wrote a thank you note to Ms. Capizzano.

Family Food Celebration: As a closure to the study of food and to learn about what makes food special to families, students and their families had a family food celebration on February 1, where each child brought a special dish to share with the class. The classroom was filled with wonderful smells of soups, salads, casseroles and baked goodies that day. A sampling of the foods brought included: Mexican hot chocolate, Indian chana masala, guacamole, Greek lentil soup, enchilada casserole, Greek salad, sushi finger rolls, brownies, cookies, and peach cobbler. Kindergartener Jack reflected, “I tasted some things that were new, and I liked them.” Students were so proud to share their special family foods with each other and everyone else who came to the celebration, including their parents, grandparents, younger siblings, Principal Karin Newlin, Assistant Principal Nancy Martorelli and P.E. teacher Mr. Wenger (who sampled ALL the foods!) Throughout the study of food, students made many connections to learning how food shows care.

Over here in the Fundraising Department, the only thing on our minds is the upcoming LFCSA “Big Night Out” Silent and Live Auction. It’s going to be fabulous, and we really need your help in order to make it a success! You should have already received an “Auction Tip Sheet” in your child’s Thursday packet; now’s the time to thumb through your Blackberry and reach out to friends, co-workers and community for any items/donations that we can auction. Have any industry connections? Does anyone you know have season tickets? Will your hair salon donate some services? Do you know a local restaurant that would spring for a free meal? These are just a few of the many ways you can help contribute to a profitable event.

Another way to participate is to start spreading the word and inviting your friends and family to attend. Why? Because it’s a great way to sell some tickets for the school and guarantee them a great night out. And because, who knows—one of your guests could end up purchasing a big ticket item and in that case, everybody wins!

Keep your eyes peeled for more information on “Big Night Out” in Thursday packets and email blasts. With your help, we can make this a night to remember!

Gabrielle Samuels, Fundraising Chair | fundraising@losfelizarts.org
Gina Leiaghat, Auction Donations Coordinator | leiaghatg - at - aol - dot - com