Weekly Update 9/12/2020
IMPORTANT DATES
September 15 - Korean Speaking/Spanish Speaking Office Hours with the Co- Principals | 11:00 -12:00 pm
September 16 - Morning Sing I 9:15 am, ZOOM
September 16 - Lunch Service at Hollygrove | 11 - 1 pm
September 17 - 3:00 pm LCS HG Site Council Meeting
September 17 - 6:00 pm LCS HG LOOP Meeting
September 18 - 10:00 am Parent Coffee w/ Maja Watkins (Improv Teacher)
September 28 - Non School Day (Yom Kippur)
September 29 - Finance Committee Meeting | 7 - 9 pm
October 6 - LCS Board Meeting | 6:30 pm
November 4 - NO SCHOOL (Staff Development Day)
November 11 - NO SCHOOL (Veteran's Day)
You can also subscribe to iCal HERE and have dates imported to your iCal. ALL DATES are available on our online calendar
LARCHMONT SCHOOL ONLINE CALENDAR
FROM YOUR SCHOOL LEADERS
Dear Hollygrove Families,
We have an exciting announcement this week-- the long awaited and updated NEW Larchmont Charter School website is LIVE! This effort has been months and months in the making and we are thrilled to finally launch our new communication hub! As you can see, we're also upgrading our weekly blast format as well! This new format should be more aesthetically pleasing and user friendly. Additionally, no more having to look back in your email to find old blasts for information. All of these blasts (old and new) will be housed in the website under the Hollygrove tab. That said, we may need a few weeks to get more proficient at posting on the website. We're going to start out slow, but will ramp up over the next month. Thank you in advance for your patience as we continue to make progress on our goal of streamlining school communication! Please be sure to look over the website which now houses: teacher websites, bios, the weekly blast, contact information for all staff, lunch menus, important forms, academic information, and more!
It was so nice to see everyone at Back to School Night this week. We hope you found the evening informative and helpful in better understanding your child's classroom as well as larger school issues. We also hope the time in your classroom communities was an initial step to building a smaller Hollygrove virtual community. We encourage each classroom and each grade level to continue getting to know one another through outside virtual get togethers. If you were not able to make the General Session, please be sure to check your email for the link to the general session and the corresponding slide deck! If you were not able to make your child's classroom session, please be sure to read your teacher's follow-up email or watch any video link that was sent out.
We're in a nice routine as we head deeper into our first month of school. Parents, brace yourselves -- even while going to school from home, it's going to fly by more quickly than you ever could have imagined.
Have a great weekend!
Alissa & Eva
LCS Hollygrove Site Council
Meets virtually once a month on Thursdays at 3:00 pm
First meeting September 17th
Has 5 parent representatives, would like 5-10 more
Send an email to hgrprincipal@larchmontcharter.org)
Description:
Site-based councils are site-based groups designed to assist the school's leadership in decision making by providing grassroots input from all constituents regarding issues of budget, events, fundraisers, scheduling, enrichments, facilities, community outreach, and more. The parent representatives serve an important roles as they are the voice of the parent community in an advisory role at the site level and, also, a means to disseminate information regarding some of the bigger picture issues that interest our community, such as charter school policy, applicable LAUSD processes, and state budgetary issues. The TK-8 site-based councils include at least one parent representative from each grade level at each site, site-based teacher representatives and site leaders. Site-based council positions are nominated and elected by parents at each site.
Diversity and Inclusion Committee
Meets virtually once a month on Thursdays at 3:00 pm
First meeting September 24th
Has 3 Parent Representatives, would like 10-15 more
No nomination form, just email hgrprincipal@larchmontcharter.org if interested.
Description: This will be our first time holding a separate LCS Hollygrove council dedicated to LCS Hollygrove’s diversity and inclusion efforts. This group will be made up of parents and staff, including a teacher leader who is taking on Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator this year. Our hope is that this group will hold a space for our Hollygrove community to become more aware of the experiences of others in our diverse community and that collectively we can make our space more inclusive and welcoming. The format that we will try out for these meetings is to start off with a council (One of our school’s regular SEL practices) for the first half of the meeting- sharing real experiences that come from us, our children, and our staff. This will be followed by a short discussion. After this meeting, the co-principals and the Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator (Sarah Minaise) will come up with a related lesson plan to share with the teachers for the students. At the following meeting, we will share some of the learning activities that stemmed from this initial conversation, before we move into another council and discussion. These meetings will also be a hub for other outreach and welcoming efforts. We have had parents supporting us during the lottery season before by doing outreach to preschools and community centers, as well as leading tours for prospective families.
GET IN THE LOOP!
Please join us for the first LOOP meeting of the year! LOOP is a great way to learn about all of the ways that you can get involved in the Hollygrove community!
Thursday, Sep 17th @ 6:00 PM
LOOP SURVEY: Please complete this short survey for our LOOP form prior to the meeting: https://forms.gle/UC6SKXoJySNNwuPQ7
HOLLYGROVE FRIDAY PARENT COFFEE
Please join Maja Watkins and the Co-Principals this coming Friday, September 19, 10:00 to 11:00 AM for our next Hollygrove Parent Coffee. Maja is looking forward to answering any questions you have about her program, her ebook or how to better engage your kids in play at home! So, grab a cup of coffee and join us on zoom for for some learning and adult connection.
Maja Watkins works at Larchmont Charter School as the Social and Emotional Learning Specialist. Maja uses improv games to teach social skills and connections! Her ebook just came out "10 Minutes of Play for 10 Days!" that is geared towards parents looking for some ideas on playing at home with their kiddos. Maja is the author of the textbook, The Brain's Playground: Using Improv Games To Teach Social and Emotional Learning, as well as the Co-Founder of Zip Zap Zop Enrichment (www.zipzapzopenrichment.org) that uses improv for social skills in therapy centers, homes, and schools.
Maja's Parent Ebook:
HOLLYGROVE LUNCH PICK UP
We are excited to be able to offer all of our LCS students free meals through December 18, 2020! Since this unexpected news from the USDA arrived after our pre-order window had closed, we welcome all of our LCS families to come pick up lunches for their students tomorrow, Wed, 11am-1pm at the Hollygrove campus whether they pre-ordered or not. Please remember to bring a piece of paper with your child or children's first and last name and grade level written in large clear letters. This will be shown to our staff through your car window. Please remain in your vehicle and wear a face covering at all times while on campus. Thanks and see you at lunch!