Newsletter – October 16, 2008

Important School Safety

Soon you will notice some major changes to the entry way of the school. Our efforts to develop a safe and secure campus are coming to fruition. A fence is being installed near the cafeteria/library area which can be closed and locked during school hours, requiring everyone to come to the office to gain admission to the campus.  Our students will be safe and secure and the office staff and administration will know who is on campus and why they are on campus. I suppose that this news is somewhat timely as we have heard reports that a young white man in a red pickup truck has been seen in the Palisades offering rides to young children walking alone. Please be vigilant and talk to your children about Stranger Safety. If you would like, the school has an excellent DVD available for check out entitled “Stranger Safety”. It is appropriate for all elementary-aged children. There is also a website for family questions at www.thesafeside.com. If you are interested in checking the video out, please contact the school’s office. We have multiple copies to loan.  This video has been used extensively here at school, so many children may have seen it already, but it is always good to review this important life skill.

Marquez Art Notes

Are you old school? Getting your information from a newspaper? If you do, we need your old newspapers in the art room. Any donations of old newspaper would be appreciated. On another art-related note, there is a Halloween Window Painting Contest at the Palisades Library on October 23-25. You need to register and apply by the 20th of October.  The theme is Monster Games in honor of this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing. The contest is open for children ages 6-12. You can enter individually or in groups of 4-10 people. If you are interested please contact the Palisades Library and Jennifer Bryan at (310) 486-8669.

Summer Reading Program

Did you know that the Palisades Library had a summer reading program? This year we are pleased to acknowledge the achievements of many students that spent their summer reading in this program. We congratulate Daniel Bershadsky, Zach Davidson, John Doland, Joshua Doland, Tristan Rayan Haddadi, Clara Huang, Campbell Healy, Claire Healy, Mark Veregge, Grace Winter, and Noelle Winter. I wonder what their favorite book was?

Parent Workshops

Don’t forget that we have some excellent parenting workshops available this month. Next week’s session (October 22nd) will deal with Building Positive Self-Esteem. On the 29th the topic is Enhancing Family Relationships Through Improved Communication. All meetings begin right after drop off and take place in the staff lounge.

Middle Schools Open House

Next week on Thursday, October 23rd, Paul Revere will conduct its first tour for interested parents. The tour will begin promptly at 9 a.m. I encourage all 5th grade parents to take this tour and then prepare their questions for the Principal, Fern Samoza, who will be at Marquez at 7 p.m. on the 23rd as well. She will be here to discuss the Revere program and to answer your questions. Please mark this on your calendar and plan to attend. The evening program should take about an hour (7 p.m.-8 p.m.). Additionally, Marlene Canter, our school board representative, will be hosting a Middle School Night on Tuesday, October 21st at Emerson Middle School. There will be administrators, parents, and students from all of the Westside Middle Schools. Magnet schools will also be represented at this meeting. Again, the meeting is October 21st from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Emerson Middle School. For more information on this meeting please call (213) 241-6387.

“Walking School Bus” Groups

Next Wednesday, October 22nd we are encouraging everyone that can walk to school to do so. It is our effort to support the national efforts of the “Walking School Bus.” This effort supports the concept of carpooling with one another, except instead of using a car, they encourage you to pick up your passengers and walk to school thereby supporting a greener environment as well as a healthy lifestyle. If you can participate, I encourage you to do so. If you live up Lachman why don’t you meet me and a group of students and parents on the corner of Lachman and Akron to finish the walk. Mr. Josh our librarian will meet any interested children and parents at the corner of Sunset and Bienveneda, and Jody Norris, our Green Team parent chair, will meet students and parents at the corner of Livorno and Ida.  We all plan to meet at 7:55 a.m. and walk to school arriving all together as a culmination. I hope you all can participate. If you walk to school on Wednesday, October 22, please wear your Marquez T-Shirt and show your pride.

Last But Not Least….

Don’t forget our Halloween Carnival is approaching fast and will take place on Sunday, October 26. As always, you can reach me at phollis@lausd.net

Calendar for Next Week

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 22nd

• Parent Education – Parent Education – Building Positive Self-Esteem, 8:15 a.m. in the staff lounge

• “Walking School Bus” – Walk to school green initiative at morning drop off

THURSDAY, OCT. 23rd

• Paul Revere Tour Day – Open House at 9 a.m. at Paul Revere. Special Q&A Session at Marquez at 7 p.m.

SUNDAY, OCT. 26th

• Halloween Festival – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.!!!!