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Dear Beloved Monarchs,
Welcome to the 2024-2025 year of curiosity, discovery, exuberance and joy!
Here is some of what is coming up this week at Walgrove:
MON
First Day of School 8:05-2:32
Morning Mingle for parents in the Parent Center right after drop-off.
After-school program until 6. If you didn't apply, here is the application. Please check the box for Youth Services AND, if intersted in Team Prime Time even though they are likely super full because I have already received over 85 applications, under "grant-funded program" write in "Team Prime Time" just in case. In either case, there should be room for your kiddo tomorrow and beyond. Both programs are on campus alongside one another, and they will work together to bring lots of fun! Email applications to me at andrea.kittelson1@lausd.net
TUE
Second Day of School 8:05-1:32. Please note the early dismissal time.
Staff Meeting and Professional Development Experience Rm 19 starting at 1:45
WED
Third Day of School 8:05-2:32
THU
More school 8:05-2:32
FRI
Morning Assembly 8:05-8:20 in the Quad. Parents and families welcome!
If you want to perform this Friday, let me know!
Then even more school 8:05-2:32
SAT
Welcome Picnic 11-2. Enter via car, motorcycle, bike, skates, skateboard, unicycle or just sheer determination through the Morningside gate. Please leave your super cute pets at home. LAUSD doesn't allow pups because of the potential for nips.
The enrichments (STEAM, Theater, Garden, Library, Chess, etc) and Walgrove-specific after-school offerings such as Violin, Choir, Tap, Coding, Chess, etc...will start after Labor Day. So, hang tight on how to sign up. But don't worry because EVERYONE can join all the things.
If this is your first foray into school at Walgrove, please read this orientation info.
I can't wait to see you tomorrow!
Let's have a great week, Walgrove!
Ms. Zeena will head to Howard University in late October to receive this incredible honor in person!
Dear Walgrove Families,
Dear Walgrove Families,
We look forward to welcoming you to campus for the first day of school Monday, August 12 at 8:05am!
Here are some handy tidbits of info:
DROP OFF/PICK UP:
You may drop your child off at any of the three gates, but preferably the gate closest to class:
> Appleton Gate for Grades 4-5
> Walgrove Gate for Grades 2-3
> Morningside Gate for Grades TK-1 and Alt Curriculum
Please no u-turns or three-point turns. Please be courteous.
Daily drop-off is 7:30-8:05am. Students will be supervised in the Quad until 8:05.
Daily pick-up is at the same gate from 2:32-2:45.
After-School Program Pick Up no later than 6:00pm via the gate nearest the Auditorium/Cafeteria.
SCHOOL STARTS:
School starts at 8:05am. (Gates close at 8:05. Anyone who enters after 8:05 enters through the office.)
School ends at 2:32 (except on Tuesdays, when it ends at 1:32 or shortened days when it ends at 1:50).
AFTER SCHOOL:
Team Prime Time extends until 6pm for those who have applied. For those who have not yet, you may apply here:
Email your completed application to andrea.kittelson1@lausd.net
Applications accepted starting 08/08/2024 at 9am. (More info to come by 5pm 08/07/2024).
Other after-school programs:
Penmar Park with pickups at Walgrove. You simply pick up your kiddo at Penmar at 6.
Venice Boys and Girls Club with pickups at Walgrove. You simply pick up your kiddo at Venice Boys and Girls Club at 6.
In addition to the free option of Team Prime Time and the low-cost options of Penmar and Venice Boys and Girls Club:
Strings by the Sea (violin), Angel City Youth Chorale (choir), Tap (dance) with Danielle Barto, chess with Jonney Machtig and coding are free after-school offerings for students who are in Team Prime Time and students who are not. More info on these three offerings once school is in session.
Musical Theater, which is another after-school program, starts after Winter Break.
Theater class is during the school day, as are STEAM Studio, Library, Garden and other enrichments.
WELCOME PACKETS:
You may pick up a welcome packet anytime after 08/06/2024 8:00am-3:00pm.
Welcome packets will also be sent home on the first day of school.
UPCOMING DATES:
Tuesday, August 6:
Class and teacher assignments sent to families electronically
Wednesday, August 7:
Orientation for new families in the Auditorium.\
Friday, August 9:
Optional Paid Teacher Prep Day 1 8am-3pm
Saturday, August 10:
Monday, August 12:
School starts at 8:05
ADDITIONAL INFO:
Assemblies (with Parent Coffee Cart and Farm Stand) are Fridays 8:05-8:20am in the Quad.
Coffee and Diet Coke with the Principal is one Friday per month after the assembly in the Parent Center (or the Principal's Office) and one Tuesday evening per month at 7pm in Dr. K's Zoom room.
FOW meetings are one Friday per month after the assembly in the Parent Center.
Parents are allowed onto campus to escort their kiddos; to attend assemblies, meetings and conferences; and, by appointment, to observe class for preferably no longer than 20 minutes.
To stay longer, the District requires that you become a registered volunteer afterwhich you may volunteer in a classroom, in the library, in the Edible Garden, in the Wildlands, on the playground, in the cafeteria and/or elsewhere on campus! Just connect with the FOW volunteer liaison or Dr. K who together train and schedule volunteers.
Our multi-stakeholder decision-making body is the Local Site Leadership Council (LSLC) which meets once per month and has purview over the events calendar, teacher training calendar, a few budget items and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), which basically means the school rules.
If your child has an IEP, feel free to connect with our new full-time APEIS Mrs. Yinka Dallas Flanagan. Mrs. Flanagan's email is: yod2490@lausd.net. The Special Ed team will host a meet and greet sometime during the Fall trimester.
What to bring to school:
For questions, please refer to the welcome packet or contact Principal Dr. Andrea Kittelson
andrea.kittelson1@lausd.net and/or SAA Ms. Tracy McCarthy tracy.mccarthy@lausd.net
Thank you!
STUDENT BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS AND SUPPORTS
Dear Walgrove Families and Staff,
Happy Day-After-the-Last-Day-of-School!
What a year it has been!
Thank you so incredibly much for your partnership as we worked together to enrich our children's lives!
Thank you, teachers, for always giving 150%. Your passion and dedication are world class. Our students are well-rounded scholars and compassionate collaborators in large part because of the example you set and the hard work you do day in and day out and day in and day out and day in and day out. When students see how much you give, they admire you beyond words and want to one day walk in your shoes.
Thank you, staff, for also going above and beyond to support colleagues and students in so many sundry ways. Your selflessness is palpable and visible in the smiles and hugs the students bestow upon you and us. You love our students as if they were your own, and it shows.
Thank you, parent volunteers, for holding down jobs AND coming to support at school in such a variety of ways, whether that be all day every day, helping with anything and everything, or stopping by for a few hours whenever you can to help with lunch duty and PE and vocal coaching and storytime and painting and set-building and Frozen Fridays and special events and so much more! We are deeply enriched with nearly 90 registered parent volunteers that add so much positive energy.
Here are are few recent photos (not representative of the year's worth of awesomeness that is captured in our amazing yearbook (thank you, Jill Cannon and Yearbook Team!) and the hearts of us all:
Regarding the Lost and Found, we will wash and donate what remains at the end of next week. So, Thursday, June 20 is the last time to come and collect items. Please do not take what is not yours. Please let us donate the leftover items to a local non-profit. I would like to avoid conflict, "Hey, that's my sweatshirt!" "No, it's mine..." It is also important to distribute and discard of items in very particular ways so as to not appear (or be) improper. Thank you for your understanding.
A few announcements:
CAASPP SCORES
Our prelimary state assessment results are in, and they are stellar.
> 50% of students tested met or exceeded grade level standards in English Language Arts
> 48% of students tested met or exceeded grade level standards in math
> 41% of all students tested have an IEP
SAS DESIGNATION
On June 7, 2024, we were notified that we are officially a School for Advanced Studies. Next year, we will be in E-Choices so that parents from other LAUSD schools may choose to apply to have their children attend Walgrove for our unique offerings that support the scholarship and social emotional learning of Gifted learners. We will afterward reapply for redesignation every five years.
What this also means is that the District GATE Office evaluated the evidence we submitted and visited our school. They saw and felt how much we have to offer neurodivergent learners. All 15 of our teachers participated in over 20 hours of GATE-specific training and will participate in at least 16 hours each year as we move forward to ensure that we provide the same great service to students year after year.
Finally, I would like to acknolwedge and honor our departing teacher Ms. Lynn Webster who has made the difficult decision to leave Walgrove and move out of state. We thank Ms. Webster for her 17 years of service here at Walgrove where she wore many hats, supporting students, families, and colleagues in numerous ways. During my tenure here at Walgrove, Ms. Webster has been the Assessment Coordinator, guiding colleagues and students through the very laborious processes of state testing.
Thank you, Ms. Webster, for all you have given to students and staff. We will miss you!
LET'S HAVE A GREAT SUMMER, WALGROVE!
Dear Walgrove Families and Staff,
Today's message will be brief. There are two more days of school. Say what?!?!
Both days are normal-sized.
Tomorrow 8:05-2:32
5th Grade Culmination is at 9 (doors open at 8:45).
Tuesday 8:05-1:32 with a special yearbook signing party at 9am complete with special guest.
Families, please attend BOTH days. If you must travel on Tuesday, please come to school first and check out early.
Staff, there is an optional paid day Wednesday.
I will have more things to say tomorrow and beyond.
For now, enjoy the rest of your weekend!
IMPORTANT LINKS:
Principal's Corner (Volunteer Info, Updates, News...)
Region West Calendar 2023-2024
Walgrove PD Calendar 2023-2024
Universally Designed Independent Study Lesson Plan
Gifted and Talented Education Information
Post-Observation Teacher Reflection Survey
PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) Docs
Walgrove Budget - Updated Daily
Integrated Safe School Plan 2023-2024
Beyond the Bell and STAR After-School Program Application
LAUSD COVID Guidelines 2023-2024
Walgrove Tour Video
Dr. K's Zoom Room
LET'S HAVE A GREAT LAST TWO DAYS, WALGROVE!
Dear Walgrove Families and Staff
Happy penultimate week of school!
Only one week and the smidgen of a second week left of the 2023-2024 school year.
What a year it has been!
Our kiddos have grown SO much! In fact, one of them has grown so much, he became Principal!
Speaking of issues that need addressing: parents, please don't send your kiddos to school with gum. It has a tendency to land outside of its target location, and this has become a significant problem.
To inspire you and your kiddos to help solve this problem, here is a poem about gum:
stop with the gum
it kills birds
and we need the crows
because they protect the chickens
and the bunnies
from the hawks
which I am happy to have
fly away
forget the squirrels
which Adam detests
and I admire
for the chase they give
around tree trunks
reminding us all
to play
within
bounds
I invite you to write your own poem about gum. I will share a few of the most compelling at our final assembly this Friday.
Here is some of what is coming up this week at Walgrove:
MON
After-School Tutoring in the Library (schedule per LaV)
TUE
Staff v 5th Graders Softball Game 10:30am
After-School Tutoring in the Library (schedule per LaV)
WED
EOY CLOSES FOR DIBELS AND iREADY
4th-5th Grade Field Trip to Penmar Park
After-School Tutoring in the Library (schedule per LaV)
THU
YEARBOOK DISTRIBUTION (LIKELY)
Vision Screenings
After-School Tutoring in the Library (schedule per LaV)
FRI
FANCY FRIDAY
Assembly in the Quad. 5th graders to lead the Pledge. Attendance Butterfly to present the last of the attendance awards.
Parent and Community Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast in the Parent Center 8:30-9:30am
2nd-3rd Grade Field Trip to Penmar Park
Fire Drill 10:30am
GRADE VERIFICATIONS DUE 1PM
Last Day of Violin in the Library
SAT
The Last Volunteer Day of the 2023-2024 School Year 9am-1pm
IMPORTANT LINKS:
Principal's Corner (Volunteer Info, Updates, News...)
Region West Calendar 2023-2024
Walgrove PD Calendar 2023-2024
Universally Designed Independent Study Lesson Plan
Gifted and Talented Education Information
Post-Observation Teacher Reflection Survey
PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) Docs
Walgrove Budget - Updated Daily
Integrated Safe School Plan 2023-2024
Beyond the Bell and STAR After-School Program Application
LAUSD COVID Guidelines 2023-2024
Walgrove Tour Video
Dr. K's Zoom Room
LET'S HAVE A GREAT WEEK, WALGROVE!
