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