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Dear Will Rogers Parents and Guardians,

I hope you are enjoying the spirit of the holiday season! Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate this special time of year treasuring loved ones near and far!

Thank you to all who attended our last School-wide Assembly. It was a wonderful event and reminder that we are a student-centered community at Rogers. We love to showcase all the wonderful things that are occurring on our campus. Our conflict resolution leaders The Peacemakers, shared their contributions to ensuring that we have a safe and caring campus, with students leading the charge! See the video here

The Groundbreaking Ceremony was one the best I have ever attended; Superintendent Dr. Shelton and several SMMUSD board members commented that every time they come to Rogers they are impressed by the vibrancy and energy of our students, a reflection of true learning community! We are excited for the expansion of our campus and the exciting inquiry-minded renovations that will enhance learning at Rogers. Thank you for your continued partnership as we roll-out phase 1 of construction.

This Tuesday @ 7:00 p.m. consider attending our WRLC Parent Workshop via zoom. It is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other WRLC parents on relevant parenting topics.

In partnership,

Principal Daruty

Thurs. 12/12 5th grade VAPA Music Winter Informances at 2:00 p.m. for parents in the auditorium.

Thurs. 12/12 Parent Support Group Session Via zoom at 7:00 p.m. via zoom

Thurs. 12/14 School Site Council Meeting @ 3:10 p.m via zoom

Thurs. 12/14 SMMUSD school board meeting @ 6 p.m. (not the usual 5:30 p.m.) at the district office and on Zoom. To view the agenda, go to:https://www.smmusd.org/domain/2977.

Mon. 12/18-12/22 Student Council Sponsored Spirit week! See flyer below.

Mon. 12/18 School Tour For Prospective new parents RSVP here @ 9:00 a.m.

Thurs. 12/21 Grade Level Winter Choral Concerts (in the auditorium)

• 8:30 a.m. TK/ Kindergarten
• 9:00 a.m. 1st Grade
• 9:30 a.m. 4th and 5th grades

• 10:30 a.m. 2nd and 3rd grades
  

12/25- 1/5 Winter Break

SMMUSD 2023-2024 Calendar

We value the presence of parents on campus. Whether you are volunteering or visiting for a learning event during school hours, please sign-in! Help keep our campus a safe space for our learners. Upon checking-in at the office you will get a visitor badge. Wear that badge proudly, so students and staff are aware you are visiting.

If you are a member of the Boys and Girls Club playground club, SAP or CREST aftercare programs, you were provided a gate code for your designated gate. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS CODE TO ACCESS campus during school hours. The code is for use before and afterschool only. Please do not share the gate code with anyone including your children. The codes are changed regularly and you when done, you will be notified.

Most grade levels are working on either their 2nd or 3rd unit. Here's what each grade level worked on this past week.

Kindergarten - The students learned and track weather during morning meeting.

First Grade - The students continued working on making the scene for the puppet show. They also created their puppets.

Second Grade - The students came to the STEM Lab where they created their first glue design (see pictures below).

Third Grade - The students had their provocation to their unit. The students learned about the phenomenon about wolves and analyzing environments and the things they need to survive.

Fourth Grade - The students learned about the erosion process by coming to the STEM Lab to see an erosion model using Stream Tables (see picture below).

Fifth Grade - The students had their provocation to their new unit. The students learned about Thanksgiving Colonization.

Will Rogers Learning Community is dedicated to creating a cooperative community where students can learn the value of conflict, strategies for managing conflict, and problem solving skills for win-win solutions to conflict. Near the close of last school year students in 3rd and 4th grades, nominated peers to be trained as a Peacemaker. We encouraged students to apply based on their desire to help others and their school. Peacemakers are current 4th and 5th grade peer mediators who are trained in mediation and negotiation skills in order to assist other students in resolving conflicts peacefully.

We are very proud of our Peacemakers for their dedication and support of the community at Will Rogers. They are easy to spot on the yard proudly wearing their Peacemaker jackets ready for service!

If you have any questions about this valuable program you can reach out to our school counselor Khatija Dadabhoy kdadabhoy@smmk12.org who helps facilitate this NEW program!

We have several community partnerships affording us the opportunity to provide school-based therapy services to the students at Rogers. If you are interested in this service, please reach out to your classroom teacher. We are fortunate to expand our services by offering free, tele-health counseling service through Hazel. Read more about this service below.

Please label your child's water bottle, lunchbox, and clothing! The racks are already getting full. All teachers have a designated wagon/lunch cart/bucket they take outside at lunchtime. After eating lunch your children should place their items in their classroom's designated cart, BEFORE they go play! Help us remind children to follow this procedure. It will help keep the yard clean and their items returned home each day!

Friday, December 15 our JV and Varsity Girls will be hosting a HOME game vs. Venice High. We will be planning a Family Night and want to invite students from the elementary & middle schools to come cheer for the "big kids!" My daughter is a Kindergartner at Will Rogers and she loves being around the "big kids" at practice with me. So we think this would be a good time to introduce all the littles in the district to our team and hopefully a big WIN against Venice!

Our ticket sales are usually $8/$5, but we are going to sell discounted tickets for everyone at $3/person. I will be sharing more information, flyer, and QR code to purchase digital tickets by the end of the week. I would love it if you would help spread the word to your students when the information comes. We would love to see all of you at a game this year if you can make it out! Here is our season schedule if you want to come check us out! You may find some familiar names to cheer for!

Go Vikings!

Coach Radford

Mornings are busy and sometimes students leave for school without their water bottle, instrument or homework. In an effort to reduce classroom interruptions and to support students with developing responsibility, please use our "Oops, I forgot" table. It is located outside the main office.

Make a plan with your child that if they leave something at home, a parent may drop it off in the office. We will place their labeled item on the "Oops, I forgot table." During their recess or on their way to lunch, they may check the table for a forgotten item.

Please communicate this plan with your child, so they know there is place for parents to drop-off items they may have left at home!

If you would like to help us with art cart during Tuesday lunchtime, please volunteer using the link below:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040848ADA72EA0FF2-44895972-wrlc

We could use your support at recess lunchtime! If you would like to volunteer your time to support our students during recess or lunch, please complete this Google Form. We can really use your help and it can be a lot of fun! You can facilitate an organized game and just be there to support students as they play with each other. If you have already been cleared as a volunteer, you’ll meet with our assistant principal, Ms. González, to review yard expectations before starting. If you have not been cleared, you’ll need to complete the process to be a volunteer. Yard expectations will now be included as part of the volunteer training. Our volunteer training dates are listed on our school calendar.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Gabriela González, M. Ed, NBCT

Assistant Principal

ggonzalez@smmusd.org

If you are looking for a way to volunteer or want more information please fill out our volunteer form. If you have any questions please email our Volunteer VP Jessica Lew at

volunteers@willrogerspta.com. https://forms.gle/CRHSPjfZymg2c846A

Don't miss out on your chance to save 10% on the Will Rogers Community Yearbook! Order yours before October 31st to save! You'll get two free custom pages to customize by April 15th. Any questions, please reach out to wrlcyearbook@gmail.com

https://web.treering.com/create-account/1013782539131906?PassCode=1013782539131906

The Salvation Army Angel Tree program helps provide Christmas gifts for hundreds of thousands of children around the country each year. Once a child or senior adult has been registered and accepted as an Angel their Christmas wish list is shared with donors in your community who purchase gifts of new clothing and toys. The gifts are distributed to the family to place under their family Christmas tree. Sign-up here information below.

Principal, Ms. Lila Daruty M.Ed

Email: ldaruty@smmusd.org
Website: https://www.smmusd.org/rogers
Location: 2401 14th Street, Santa Monica, CA, 90406
Phone: 310-452-2364
Twitter: @WillRogersSTEM