Thursday, August 31, 2023

Visitor Policy

Dear Walgrove Families, 

As we triumphantly finish our third week of school, I wanted to reiterate the visitor policy, which is in the welcome packet and posted in the front office. 

Parents are invited to walk their kiddos to class BEFORE 8:05 (and only after 8:05 with express permission from Admin, Gate Staff or Office Staff). 

Parents must not proceed to class after 8:05 in order to observe instruction or interrupt instruction without advance permisison from both the teacher and Principal. 

* One exception is Breakfast -- with an express invitation from the teacher.

* Another exception is Friday morning assemblies. Parents are invited to join us in the Quad for the assembly and for the meeting(s) afterward (e.g., Coffee and Diet Coke with the Principal, FOW, and others). 

Parent volunteers present on campus must sign in and have a duty. They may not proceed to classroooms without advance permission.

As you know, many schools do not offer morning supervision starting at 7:30am, and they do not allow parents to escort their kiddos to class. We are happy to offer these wonderful opportunities, but must draw the line at observing and interrupting instruction once the bell rings. The teachers must have purview over their classes from that point on. 

Finally, please remember that this visitor policy pertains to people, not pets. Please leave your pets at home. LAUSD does not allow pups (unless trained and part of an LAUSD-approved therapeutic puppy curriculum) as there is always the potential for snaps and bites. 

Thank you for your understanding and partnership as we work together to create a safe and happy place for students, staff, and families.


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Wednesday, August 30, 2023

After-School Programs at Walgrove 2023-2024

STAR after school daily until 6pm free of charge. All ages ETK through Grade 5. Structured program with the possibility of early pickups. Just plan ahead so you have time to sign students out. Ask the STAR folks at the STAR gate (on Walgrove Ave by the Auditorium M-F 2:30-6pm) for an application.

STAR Nova is part of the after-school STAR program but is paid and is limited in size and scope. Starting in early October, there will be art, cooking and animals from Mon, Wed and Fri 3-5pm. STAR is currently making fliers and will reinstate the link to sign-up soon. 


Walgrove offerings that are not part of STAR or STAR Nova include:


Violin with Danielle Villalobos Mon 2:30-3 or 3:15 in the Auditorium and Fri 2:30-3 or 3:15 in the Library (Grades 2+). Free of charge. Violins provided. STARTS SEPTEMBER 11


Choir (Angel City Youth Chorale) with Debralee Daco and Jahna Perricone Tuesday 1:45-3 in the Auditorium (Grades 1+). Free of charge. All materials provided. STARTS SEPTEMBER 5


Tap Dancing with Danielle Barto Wednesday 2:30-3:30 in the Auditorium (All grades). Free of charge. Must bring your own tap shoes. STARTS SEPTEMBER 13


Musical Theater after school several days starting in January for those who audition and are cast in the Spring Musical  (Grades 1+ -- or all ages -- still TBD). Free of charge. STARTS IN JAN/FEB


Girls Who Code (for Boys and Girls) one day after school TBD in the Computer Lab. Free of charge.


Tutoring with High School Students from El Segundo and Venice High M-TH 4-5 in the Library. Sign-ups imminent. Free of charge.


Tutoring with Classroom Teachers (who offer their time for overtime pay) M-F 2:30-3:30 in various locations on campus. Sign-ups imminent. Free of charge.


*********


Penmar Park paid after-school programming until 6 (call for ages). Van picks up Walgrove students in the front office


Venice Boys and Girls Club paid after-school programming until 6 (call for ages). Van picks up Walgrove students in the front office. For info, call (310) 390-4477


Other programs that parents find and share with one another.


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Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Angel City Youth Chorale Starts Tuesday, September 5, Right After School





SIGN UP TO PARTICIPATE HERE:

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Drop-Off and Pick-Up Procedures

Dear Walgrove Families, 

Morning Drop-Off takes place on three streets: 

Morningside is generally for the little kiddos and students in Mr. Matt's and Mr. Steve's classes

Walgrove is for those in grades 2-3

Appleton is for those in grades 4-5

However, indeed, you and your students may enter through any gate. 

Latcomers enter through the main office (but please don't be late! :)

Please remember, and this is VERY important:

  • Plan ahead ;)
  • Leave enough time to park down the block (or on Maplewood) and walk
  • Stay with the flow of traffic (don't make u-turns or 3-point turns)
  • Stay out of the bus zones
  • Stay out of the staff parking lots
  • Avoid jay-walking
  • Be kind to one another and the neighbors
  • Be safe!
If you can walk, run, skip or ride a bike, skateboard, rollerskates or a scooter to school, please do so. 

We want for everyone to be safe!

Morning supervision for all who need is 7:30-8:05 in the Quad (not in teachers' classrooms, as teachers are often preparing for the day and are not obligated to open their rooms until 8:05). 

Ms. Leeza Legg provides morning supervision at the tables where students are invited to play various boardgames. Please no running, tag or soccer in the Quad during this time. 

Please let me know if you have any questions, concerns or great ideas. 

Thank you for your understanding and your partnership. 


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Sunday, August 27, 2023

Walgrove Weekly Message

Dear Walgrove Families and Staff, 

Thank you to all those who came out to the Back to School/Welcome Picnic yesterday. What a wonderful turnout of beautiful people!








I played terrible pickleball then pulled a hamstring (or glute?) while playing terrible pickleball and am now limping whilst sporting fond memories of the very lovely day!

Thank you Lindsey Rosenberg for this cool video of the event: 

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1001398544231959

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

BELL SCHEDULE

The Bell Schedule is SLIGHTLY different based on new rules, which require all 39 Tuesdays to be early release PD days and for all those days to have a one-hour difference between regular dismissal and early dismissal. There are a few other quirky rules. But what this means for us is that our schedule is almost exactly the same except:

On Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, school is out at 2:32. 

On Tuesday, school is out at 1:32. 

https://principalkittelson.blogspot.com/2023/08/2023-2024-bell-schedule.html

ATTENDANCE

This year, we will emphasize attendance. Now that COVID has moved from pandemic to endemic and the LAUSD medical director has said that we should all attend school unless bleeding profusely from our eyeballs (with a mask, of course, under such dire circumstances), we should all attend school. 

Here are some good reasons:

1) Bonding - Being physically present means you not only hear the information shared and practice the skills provided, but you bond with your teachers and friends and get to know their proclivities on a much deeper level so you can build greater empathy for others and a deeper understanding of self...

2) Automaticity - Practicing routines and skills many times over means they come more easily and eventually automatically so you can then add on new routines and skills...

3) Momentum - The aforementioned bonding and automaticity create momentum, and the momentum increases in intensity and speed. Learning becomes a runaway train. 

Also know that each daily absence costs the District approximately $70 per student per day in State funding. [Schools are funded using Average Daily Dttendance (ADA) formulae]. So, not only does your kiddo miss out when they are absent, but other kids do too. 

PLEASE SCHEDULE VACATIONS TO ALIGN WITH THE SCHOOL CALENDAR. THERE ARE 13 VACATION WEEKS AND SEVERAL THREE- AND FOUR-DAY WEEKENDS.

Here is some of what is coming up this week at Walgrove:

MON

DIBELS, iREADY, INITIAL ELPAC (DIBELS Gr K-2, iREADY 3-5) ALL WEEK+

TUE

Williams Textbook Certification Due

Early Dismissal 1:32

Staff Meeting and PD in Rm 24 at 1:45. Nurse Lennis Joyce will train/retrain us all in Prader-Willi, EPI Pen, Seizures and Narcan

WED

Principal Meeting. Dr. K offsite

THU

Robust instruction (as always)

FRI

NO SCHOOL FRIDAY AND MONDAY FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND.

Farmer Adam is on vacation through Labor Day weekend.


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Thursday, August 24, 2023

Welcome/Back to School Picnic Saturday 12-3


 


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Monday, August 21, 2023

Walgrove Weekly Message

Dear Walgrove Families and Staff, 

Wow. What a thrilling first week+!

There were bees, a hurricane-turned-cyclone and an earthquake, and also, thankfully, all kinds of fun times in class and on the yard. 

And, we hosted a volunteer day on Saturday where Walgrove families and Adam worked hard to maintain the garden and Wildlands. 


See Darcy's post with more and better photos here!:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/103083729731928

Thank you to all who came and helped out! (I didn't take a lot of pics because I was reburbishing the nurse's office. There were many folks here!)

Speaking of bees, (and the nurse's office), I wanted to shout-out Farmer Adam and Ms. Zeena who helped turn a potential disaster into a rich learning opportunity. On Wednesday, during class, some curious kiddos discovered Sonoran Bumblebees, which as it turns out are not quite as docile as many/most naturalists (including our own) have believed. So, there were some bee stings (!) with thankfully no serious side effects among the kiddos, along with a ripe learning opportunity.

After four students in Ms. Zeena's class were stung by the bumblees (!), Farmer Adam leapt into action to have the bees removed. He called upon his beekeeper pal Ian (from The Bee Amigos and honeylove.org) to help relocate the bees to the Ballona Marsh (with express permission from the stewards of the Ballona Marsh). 





Once the majority of the bees were collected Wednesday evening, Adam brought them in a box (safely!)
to the same students and parents on Thursday morning to let them hear them buzzing and to feel their immense weight before transporting them on his bike to their new home. 



Next, Farmer Adam built them a new super-structure and released them. 

Watch this incredible video!
 

Afterward, Adam and Ian vacuumed up remaining stragglers and repeated the same process.

We could have silently removed the bees without involving the students in the process. But, because Ms. Zeena and Farmer Adam are such stellar educators, they turned the entire process  -- from discovery, to problem to overcome, to solution -- into a rich learning opportunity. Thank you, Zeena, Adam, students and parents for your grace and patience during tumult. 

Then, there was the hurricane with a side of earthquake!

While the first week was rife with wild, and replete with learning, I will be satisfied if this coming week is a bit more calm. 

Here is some of what is coming up this week at Walgrove:

MON

No In-Person School due to Hurricane Hilary (be safe!)

Grab & Go meals available at Marina Del Rey Middle School 11:30am-2pm

DIBELS BOY AND iREADY OPEN FOR K-2 TEACHERS TO BEGIN ASSESSMENTS

GR 3-5 USE iREADY

TUE

Early dismissal at 1:35

PD for Staff in Rm 24: Review SBA Data. 2-3pm

Coffee and Diet Coke with the Principal for Families Dr. K's Zoom Room at 7pm (I will host Coffee and Diet Coke with the Principal two Fridays per month in the Wildlands at 9am and one Tuesday per month via Zoom at 7pm)

WED

Principal Meeting 8-4 (Dr. K off site; we need parent volunteers to help with lunch. Please reach out to Sharon Beam :)

THU

Robust instruction

FRI

Assembly in the Quad 8:05-8:20am. Ms. Biolatto's class to lead the Pledge

FOW Meeting in the Parent Center 8:30am

More robust instruction

SAT

Walgrove Welcome Picnic in the Upper Yard 12-3pm

REMINDERS:

Register to volunteer here: https://volunteerapp.lausd.net/Default?ReturnUrl=%2f 

Please complete your packets, espcially the Household Income Form (which you can actually do more easily online at hif.lausd.net. We need 100%!)

Thank you, and let's have a wonderful week, Walgrove!

LINKS:


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Sunday, August 20, 2023

Grab and Go Meals at Marina Del Rey Middle School

Schools are closed tomorrow, but meals are available at Marina Del Rey Middle School 11:30am-2pm and at other LAUSD sites. 



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No School Tomorrow

Dear Walgrove Families, 

At the direction of the Superintendent, and in coordination with local officials, and emergency personnel, our school will be closed for instruction tomorrow, Monday, August 21, 2023, due to severe weather conditions. Please do not report to our school campus.
 
To ensure continuity of learning for students, we have taken multiple steps to provide lessons and activities that can be accessed at LAUSD.org or through your child’s Schoology at lms.lausd.net. As an additional resource, programming will be available on KLCS-TV. 
 
We will continue to send you updates on the status of our school directly via email and telephone. You may also find updates online at LAUSD.org/schoolupdates, on social media @LASchools and on television on KLCS-TV.
 
If families and students need additional help, please contact the hotline at (213) 443-1300.
 
We expect to resume school on Tuesday, August 22, 2023. Please continue to follow the advice of your local officials and please stay safe.

School staff, please check your LAUSD email for information and updates. 

**************************************************

Estimados Familias de Walgrove,

Bajo la dirección del Superintendente, y en coordinación con los funcionarios locales y el personal de emergencia, nuestra escuela estará cerrada para la instrucción mañana, lunes 21 de agosto de 2023, debido a las condiciones climáticas severas. Por favor, no se presente en nuestro campus escolar.
 
Para garantizar la continuidad del aprendizaje de los estudiantes, hemos tomado varias medidas para proporcionar lecciones y actividades a las que se puede acceder en LAUSD.org o a través de Schoology de su hijo en lms.lausd.net. Como recurso adicional, la programación estará disponible en KLCS-TV.
 
Continuaremos enviándole actualizaciones sobre el estado de nuestra escuela directamente por correo electrónico y por teléfono. También puede encontrar actualizaciones en línea en LAUSD.org/schoolupdates, en las redes sociales @LASchools y en la televisión en KLCS-TV.
 
Si las familias y los estudiantes necesitan ayuda adicional, comuníquese con la línea directa al (213) 443-1300.
 
Esperamos reanudar las clases el martes 22 de agosto de 2023. Continúe siguiendo los consejos de sus funcionarios locales y manténgase a salvo.

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Friday, August 18, 2023

Hurricane Hillary

LAUSD prepares for Hurricane Hillary:


Please also prepare at home and be safe.

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EL Master Plan Info for Parents at Coffee with the Principal Tuesday at 7pm

  



Tuesday, August 22 7pm in Dr. K's Zoom room

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Monday, August 14, 2023

What's With These Modern Methods?!

What's new in Education? What's different from when we were kids?

OLD PARADIGM 
NEW PARADIGM 
Content Standards
Common Core Standards
Knowledge based
Skills based
Product oriented
Process oriented
Processes are demonstrated and copied. Answers are given expeditiously. Students are carried across the river. The goal is completing the work quickly and “correctly.” Teachers, not students, are typically functioning as the heroes of the story. The hope is that students will remember.
Productive struggle is encouraged. Students discover processes through trial and error. Students swim across the river. Teachers and aides wait, watch and encourage from the shore OR they swim alongside. But they don’t carry students across the river. The goal for students is to go through the process of thinking and exercising the mind. Students must connect the synapses and become the heroes of their own story.
Low-order Bloom’s, e.g., remembering and understanding theoretically, but not conceptualizing down to the bones
High-order Bloom’s, e.g., reasoning: applying; analyzing; evaluating; creating...
Teacher driven
Student driven
Teacher is "sage on the stage" lecturer or mommy robin that places already-chewed knowledge into the mouths of babes
Teacher is event planner and/or facilitator. When facilitating, the teacher asks leading questions (think Socrates) and offers wait time and provides as many students as possible the opportunity to share their thinking (not necessarily with the whole group; could be with a partner or journal...)
Students are empty vessels in need of being filled with information. They come with “deficits.”
Students come with richness and life experience and are eager to connect their own richness to new ideas when those ideas are presented in ways that acknowledge their richness
Guided Practice with "gradual release": I Do, We Do, You Do. Teacher demonstrates a specific way; the class practices that way to get the hang of it; students each practice independently the teacher’s way. Beforehand, students are "front-loaded with info that they must memorize in order to later do.
Constructivism: You Do, We Do, I Do. "Fiddle about 'til you figure it out." Students experiment, attempting to carry out a challenge; they share questions and ideas with peers; they return to the teacher for validation and/or a new challenge. Any "front loading" is instead "side-loading" (like a chart, map or reference guide) that may be immediately applied in context.
Differentiation
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Homogeneous groups
Heterogeneous groups
Single entree
Menu of options
Teacher choice
Student choice
Students limited to the confines of the teacher’s offering (and the teacher’s content knowledge) and to the collective wisdom of the homogeneous group
Unlimited (not even limited by the constraint of time because students will take their curiosity, meaning-seeking and agile minds with them wherever they go)
Teacher does the high order thinking in analyzing, comparing, evaluating, synthesizing, preparing
Students do the high order thinking in applying, analyzing, comparing, evaluating, synthesizing, choosing, creating
Students do individual work to show “standards mastery” 
Students go on individual quests during which they practice skills, solve problems and seek meaning
OR students do group work, often for group grades (which have a tendency to stifle the fringe/genius voices that are not also the dominant voices and that typically involve an imbalance of participation)
OR students work together to solve a problem, answer a guiding question or create something purposeful (roles may be chosen/assigned and equitable OR chosen/assigned and hierarchical to include a lead visionary or project manager so fringe/genius voices, whether dominant or not, are encouraged and fostered)

When it makes sense to use teacher-led guided instruction (and gradual release):
  • High-stakes procedures like driving a stick shift, flying a helicopter or performing brain surgery
  • Tasks where speed and standardization facilitate language and reasoning, as with procedures related to writing, such as printing, handwriting and typing 
  • Routines and procedures for engaging in Constructivist lessons, so there is more time spent on the meaningful work than on the transitions into the work
When teacher-led guided practice is potentially stifling:
  • Low-stakes procedures where no one will die (or get seriously injured) if a student experiments and does things their own way, and whenever guided practice shuts down reasoning (and ultimately atrophies reasoning), and/or when the "correct" or standard way of doing something lacks purpose and is "just because it is what has always been done”
Questions to ponder:
  • What kind of tasks does the SBA (end of the year state assessment) include?
  • What kind of problems will students encounter in life?
  • Which column of the table likely leads to higher SBA scores?
  • Which column likely leads to students being "successful" in college, career and life?
  • Which type of lessons — teacher-led or student-led — likely leads more quickly to synaptic connections?
  • Which column of the table gives you the strongest emotional response?
  • Which aspects of teaching and learning are you most intriqued by?
Of course, after answering these questions, we are always encouraged to answer the ultimate question, which is "Why?" "Why is this so?" and "Why do I feel this way?" Such questions are essential.

I would love it if you were to reach out and engage in conversation with me/us about this or other education related topics via andrea.kittelson1@lausd.net.

Thank you!

Principal Kittelson

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