Newsletter – November 5, 2009

Big Thanks

Thank you to the 4th and 5th grade parents that put on a most excellent luncheon this past Wednesday for the teachers and staff at Marquez.  We really appreciated all the time, effort and great food that went into making sure that this was a special event.  Each and every member of the Marquez staff extends their warmest thanks and appreciation.

Charter News

For the next couple of days, you may see me gathering signatures.  I am gathering them to show support for the new Charter Renewal Petition that we have written which would be valid for the 2010-2015 period.  If you haven’t had a chance to read the draft of the charter, it has been posted on line.  I am due to take the charter into the LAUSD on Monday, November 9 at 9:30 am.  If you see me in the morning gathering signature, please take the time to sign the agreement to support the renewal of the charter agreement.

Governing Board Meeting

Don’t forget the Governing Board will meet on November 19 at 2:0 pm.  This meeting will be preceded by the PTA and Friends of Marquez meeting at 8:30 am in the staff lounge. Please plan to attend

Automated Tardy Notifications

This week the LAUSD started a new attendance taking procedure in Elementary Schools.  I mentioned it last week in the newsletter, but felt I had better mention it again.  Teachers are now required to take attendance through an online system.  Attendance, including tardiness,is reported to a central system which will generate a phone call to your home twice per day if your child is tardy or absent.  It will generate this call whether the absence or tardy is excused (for example illness) or not.  You do not need to do anything except make sure that you are at school on time and that you need to send a note to school, or to notify your child’s teacher the reason for the absence through an email.  These phone calls do not originate here at Marquez, they come from a central system downtown and from what I understand are unavoidable if marked absent or tardy.  If your child is tardy, they must come through the office to be accounted for.  Do not simply go to class, your child’s teacher will not change the daily attendance, only the office will.  The office must make sure that your child is registered in the system in order to avoid being marked absent.

Visitor Information

Please be reminded that parents and visitors when on campus, must sign in in the office and wear the visitor sticker visibly.  If you are seen on campus without the sticker, you may be asked to return to the office to get one.  It is important that we know who is on campus and that they have checked in through the office.  Please wear your visitor sticker.  If you are asked to return to the office to get one, please don’t get angry with the staff member who is only doing their job by making sure that your kids are safe and secure.

Progress Notices

This week we have started to issue our 10 week progress report notices.  Notices will go out to parents when their student is not meeting grade level expectations.  This is an informational notice which includes ideas to help your child.  If you have any questions about a notice that you might receive, please contact your child’s teacher.  Regular parent teacher conferences will begin on Monday, November 30.

Book Fair is Coming

The book fair will be available for parents and students to come in and shop during the week of parent conferences.  We have a number of special events planned and special promotions that will be taking place during the book fair.  You can look for more information in the near future.

Upcoming Dates

Don’t forget that next Wednesday, November 11, 2009 is Veteran’s Day.  School will be closed in recognition of the National Holiday.

On Friday, November 20 at 9:00 am in the auditorium, we will conduct our Prospective Parent tour.  If you know anyone that is planning on coming to Marquez or is interested in finding out more, please let them know to RSVP for this tour by calling (310) 454-4019.

On Saturday, November 21 there is an informational meetingfor parents of children that have been identified as Gifted or Talented.  The meeting is at Virgil Middle School from 9am – 12 noon.  The keynote speaker is Dr. Nathan Levy.  You can call the GATE office at (213) 241-6500 for more information.

Parent Education classes are back:
Thursday, November 19 – Richard Cohen -
Research Based Parenting: What Works, What Doesn’t
8:15 am – Room 39

Monday, November 23 – Robin Sax, Author, Lawyer, TV commentator:  Keeping Kids Safe; Online and Off
7:00 – pm – Auditiorium

Wednesday, December 2 – Cathy Graff, MA, MFT
Emotional Healing for Families
8:15 am – Room 39

Wednesday, December 9 – Dr. Susan Levine
Managing Different Parent Styles
8:15 – am – Room 39

Got Extra Clothing?

If you have any children’s clothing that your child has outgrown, the office can use shirts, pants and underwear for children of all ages and sizes.  You never know when we might need a change of clothes for a child, so if you are cleaning out closets, please think of a donation to our nurse’s office.

Annual Food Drive

Marquez 4th graders are collecting food to benefit the Westside Food Bank as part of the “Kids Reaching Out” curriculum. Over the next 3 weeks, pick up extra items when at the store and send them to school with your child, so that we can help feed those less fortunate than ourselves. You will find the barrels at the main and Kindergarten entrances to the school. Leave your packaged, non-perishable donations anytime from the 5th until November 20th. >> Download the Flyer

Fun STAR Classes

The STAR Galaxy program is fully in the swing of things right now.  Besides our usual homework help and P.E. Classes, we are offering: dance, painting, Native American crafts, book making, science and cooking once a week.  In addition we have I-Q Go Math and I-Q Go literacy classes twice a week.  We’ve researched other enrichment programs and have found that for activities similar to what STAR offers it would cost around $500 a week.  Here at STAR our prices start at a fraction of that for an entire month!  If you are interested in more information please call (310)459-4839 or e-mail us at starmarquez@mac.com.

As always, you can reach me at phollis@mac.com