Weekly Wave

Short Ave. IB Learners Strive to Be...

Happy Weekend Short Avenue Families and Friends!

Week 3 ended on a huge, upbeat note as we had a chance to witness, experience, and celebrate the strength, energy, and commitment of our Short Avenue community! Last week’s first FoSA (Friends of Short Avenue) Booster Club community meeting was an incredible demonstration of just how much our families care about our school. Nearly 100 people joined us in person, with even more participating online! The turnout was so strong that we quickly outgrew the Parent Center and moved the meeting to the auditorium. What a great problem to have!

FoSA plays an important role in supporting our students, teachers, and school programs, and we hope this tremendous participation continues throughout the year. Meetings are held monthly, and we encourage everyone to find a way to get involved. You can attend a meeting, volunteer at an event, share an idea, or simply learn more about how you can support our Dolphin community. When families and staff work together, our students benefit!

This Tuesday is Back to School Night, and we are excited to welcome families back to campus. Please be sure to select one General Session and visit your child’s classroom at the designated time. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet your child’s teacher, learn more about the grade-level curriculum and experiences planned for the year, and hear about classroom expectations and ways you can support your child’s success.

As a reminder during dismissal, please be good neighbors and avoid blocking driveways when picking up your child. Treat every home and driveway as if it were your own and help us keep the neighborhood accessible and welcoming for everyone.

Finally, a reminder that we have two four-day school weeks with a four-day weekend in between! There is no school on Friday, September 4, in observance of Admissions Day, and no school on Monday, September 7, in observance of Labor Day.

Thank you for being such an important part of our Dolphin community. Have an amazing weekend, and as always, thank you for helping us Strive for Excellence!

See you Monday!

Mr. Lamb

9.01- Early Dismissal @ 1:35pm

9/01- Back to School Night (see flyer below for times)

9/04- No School

9/07- No School

9/10- Morning Brew With Mr. Lamb, 8:20am

We're so excited to let you know that NYT bestselling author James Ponti is coming to our school on Tuesday, Sept 8th!

3rd–5th graders will get to hear about Art Attack, book 3 in his Sherlock Society series, plus his path to becoming a writer, the research behind his popular series (like City Spies and The Sherlock Society), and tips for kids to grow as writers.

The Sherlock Society follows two siblings, their friends, and their retired-reporter grandfather solving cold cases around Miami - fast-paced, funny mystery-adventures that are hard to put down!

Only Sherlock Society titles will be presold and signed, so don't miss out!

Pre-order Sherlock Society books by Sept 4th (choose "coordinated school pickup" at checkout) to support the visit. Preordered copies will be signed! (But please don't send in copies from home.)

For more info and the order link: https://childrensbookworld.com/james-ponti-school-visits-sherlock-society

Teachers, and our Booster Club, Friends of Short Avenue (FoSA) use this tool for updates and to share what is happening at our school. If new click here to sign up. Select "Ms FOSA Booster Club" as your child's teacher. Note: your child will be placed in their appropriate teacher's classroom by 5:00pm on August 12th.

Back-to-School Night is adults only from 5–7 PM, and since you may already have childcare lined up, come join us afterward at Gin Rummy for our Adults-Only Back-to-School Mixer! It’s a great chance to grab food and a drink and get to know other Short Ave parents outside of drop-off and pickup. Gin Rummy will be donating a portion of proceeds back to FoSA!

Tuesday, Sept. 1 | After Back-to-School Night | 7-9PM | Gin Rummy

Hope to see you there!

Annual Giving is FoSA's biggest fundraiser of the year, and the money we raise directly supports the people, programs, and resources that make Short Avenue such a special place for our kids. Your Annual Giving donations help fund:

👩‍🏫 Classroom aides and smaller student-to-adult ratios + an additional upper grade teacher
📖 Reading Intervention
🌱 Our edible garden & gardening program
🎵 Spanish Music & Language Program
📚 Teacher development, classroom supplies & enrichment
✨ And so much more!

In fact, approximately 75% of FoSA’s budget goes toward creating smaller student-to-adult ratios. Very few neighborhood public elementary schools on the Westside are able to provide this level of classroom support, and it’s possible at Short Avenue because it’s something our community values, supports and prioritizes.

💼 EMPLOYER MATCHING: If your employer offers charitable matching, please select Employer Matching when you donate through Pledge so we know to expect your company's matching gift. Not sure how to submit your match? Reach out—we're happy to help! fosaboard@friendsofshortavenue.org

One Time Donation:
https://www.pledge.to/One-time-short-avenue-annual-giving-fundraiser

Monthly Donation:
https://www.pledge.to/2026-monthly-short-avenue-annual-giving-fundraiser

Thank you for supporting our Dolphins!

Earthquake kits are mandatory for all students — so let us take one thing off your to-do list!

For $15, FoSA will take care of the kit and deliver it directly to your child’s classroom. Easy for you, ready for them, and your purchase supports FoSA.

📅 LAST DAY TO ORDER: SEPTEMBER 1

Here's how it works:

• Purchase your kit through the FoSA website: https://friendsofshortavenue.org/collections/emergency-preparedness-kits/products/emergency-preparedness-kit

• Complete the Google Form after checkout so we know which student should receive the kit: https://forms.gle/Ra3Q2ycpqmWsS4FQA

Dolphin Discovery Club fall enrichments begin the week of September 14, and we only have two options left—with limited space in both!

Spanish & Sewing are already SOLD OUT, so don’t wait to grab one of the remaining spots!

♟️ Chess Wizards | TK–5th
Thursdays • 2:45–4:00 PM | $330
Chess Wizards is returning to Short Avenue! Students build chess skills, learn new strategies, and put them to the test through games and friendly competition.
REGISTER HERE: https://chesswizards.com/login/

🔢 Math Masters | 4th–5th
Thursdays • 2:45–4:00 PM
For kids who love a challenge! Math Masters makes problem-solving fun with puzzles, games, logic challenges, and creative mathematical thinking. Perfect practice for middle school math challenges!

REGISTER HERE: https://friendsofshortavenue.org/collections/dolphin-discovery-club-enrichments

Join us for a fun community night! Bring your picnic blankets and lawn chairs and come grab dinner from some delicious food trucks, let the kids hang out with friends, listen to live music from the Del Rey Jazz Band, and enjoy an easy evening together with the Short Ave community on the front lawn.

Bring the whole family, come hungry, and make a night of it! We can’t wait to see you there! 🌮🍕🍦

Turn your child’s masterpiece into an Art Banner featured on our art wall along the perimeter fence! Their artwork will be enlarged and displayed on campus for an entire year for our whole community to enjoy.

It’s such a special way to celebrate your student’s creativity while adding color and personality to our campus!

🎂 And don’t forget about Birthday Marquee messages! Celebrate your student’s birthday with a personalized message on the Short Ave marquee.

Both are fun ways to make your Dolphin feel extra special — while supporting FoSA and our school! 💙

Art Banners: https://friendsofshortavenue.org/collections/art-banner/products/art-banner
Birthday Marquee: https://friendsofshortavenue.org/collections/birthday-marquee

LAUSD releases a Family Newsletter every Wednesday at 4pm

• Here is this week’s update.

This last week of school, I posted on our Instagram and Facebook:

The FoSA Meeting flyer, the LAUSD TB Assessment Event flyer, photos from our teacher Professional Development (PD), the Back to School Night Adult Mixer flyer, photos of our beautiful library, and pics from our first FoSA Meeting.

Please set you Instagram notifications to be notified when I post, so you don't miss anything, and of course like and comment on our posts, it is the best way to see what is happening on campus and get important reminders!

Are you interested in volunteering in your child's classroom, the library, the garden, or going on a field trip? We LOVE volunteers and hope that you will be one!! You must be an APPROVED volunteer with a NEGATIVE TB TEST to volunteer on campus in the classroom, or attend a field trip. Please know approval can take anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks depending on how many volunteers the district is processing.

ALL Volunteers (both new and returning) must attend The Mandatory Volunteer Orientation Zoom, on WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16TH FROM 6 TO 7PM. This Zoom will be recorded if you need to watch it at a later date.

1. ALL Volunteers (New AND Returning) must first fill out the LAUSD Volunteer Application through this LAUSD VOLUNTEER LINK! Please only check Tier II assignments. Do NOT check Tier III assignments, as we do not typically have volunteers do those jobs. Tier III requires a fingerprint, if you want to be cleared for Tier III please email me to discuss avril.lipsky@lausd.net .

2. All Volunteers must have a Negative TB test. Please email Avril your Negative TB test AFTER filling out the LAUSD Volunteer Application. TB tests are good for 4 years once you are approved.

SEE THE FLYER BELOW ABOUT A FREE DISTRICT TB SCREENING on Tuesday August 25th from 5:00 to 6:30pm at Daniel Webster Middle School.

New volunteers must have a recent negative test done within 60 days of being processed by me, meaning if you did your TB test more than 60 days ago, you will need to have it re-certified by a medical professional, get a new test or pass a TB assessment. PLEASE email a photo of your negative result with your name, date of test and place and/or medical professional who performed the test visible to avril.lipsky@lausd.net so that I can enter it into your application. TB tests for returning volunteers are good for 4 years. If you are a Returning Volunteer, you still must fill out a Volunteer Application every year. Your TB test should auto populate in the application. Please check your TB test date. If you did your original test in 2022, it will expire on your date in 2026. If you did it in 2023 it will expire in 2027.

Here is a link the the most recent Volunteer Guide if you want a step by step visual of how to fill out the volunteer application.

3. Volunteers need to sign a Liability Waiver and the Commitment Form electronically in the application..You do NOT need to email them to me.

4. Please see the LAUSD Volunteer Page for answers to questions.

https://www.lausd.org/volunteer

5. Your official Volunteer Badge will be mailed to the office and will live there on the counter in our Badge Bin. Badges are filed alphabetically. You are responsible for wearing your badge when you are volunteering on campus, and for RETURNING your badge to the bin. Please DO NOT take your badge home!

The LAUSD Parent Portal is LAUSD’s Parent Access Support System portal. It is a one-stop online system that connects parents and guardians to important information about their child's education. It is secure...it is personalized to your child...and it is custom-made for YOU, our parents and guardians. We ask for every student to hav e at least one parent or guardian signed up for the Parent Portal. Please sign up for the Parent Portal, at this link. You should have received a letter in your child's backpack at the beginning of school with your child's student ID and your own parent pin. If you are having any difficulty with your account, please try resetting your password. You can also contact the main office if you are having any other difficulties.

Did you know you can wish your child a Happy Birthday on the Short Avenue School marquee?

Light up their day and proceeds benefit FoSA and help support Short Avenue! Click below to purchase and remember to enter your child’s name and birthdate in the Special Instructions section at checkout, and we’ll take care of the rest!

Purchase now so you don’t have to remember later. We’ll schedule it and make sure their birthday message goes up when their special day arrives!

https://friendsofshortavenue.org/collections/birthday-marquee/products/birthday-marquee-message

Stay connected and never miss an update! Our FoSA WhatsApp Community is the easiest way to keep up with events, volunteer opportunities, and important announcements throughout the year.

Inside the community you'll find:

• 📢 FoSA Announcements (read-only)

• 🏫 Class Chats for every classroom

• 🙌 Volunteer Committee Chats to stay connected with the activities you care about

👉 Join here: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JxrFwpJrg0tCFXe5D98itj

We need YOU to help make the magic happen this year! Whether you can give an hour, help at one event, or take on a bigger role, there are lots of ways to get involved. Our goal is 15 volunteer hours per family for the school year, many hands make light work!

👉 Sign up here: https://forms.gle/Sw1YXdgyndrWqBDp7

I am Avril Lipsky, your Community Rep. I was a parent here at Short from 2013 to 2019, and was hired as the Community Rep in 2019. I am responsible for approving volunteers, (more on that below!!) helping families sign up for the Parent Portal, taking photos and posting to our Instagram and Facebook. I also help spread the word about LAUSD Family Academy, and lots more district resources. I am here to answer your questions, or get you to the person who can! Please don't hesitate to reach out. My email will be in every Weekly Wave: avril.lipsky@lausd.net

The Parent Center has moved! We are now just past the front office in Room 4, please come visit!

Each month LAUSD offers a variety of classes, both in person and on zoom. Please click this link to learn more:

LAUSD Family Academy