SLVUSD Charter News

Hello Charter families!

Thank you to Teacher Katie and ALL the staff and parents and students who made our Winter Craft Fair such an amazing success - how wonderful to see the creations of our talented students!

Please consider attending the December SVMI Parent Math Training on Tues, Dec 12 - sign up here if you're interested!

Then, starting in January we are planning to shift times for these math trainings to see if we can attract more parents to this very helpful and useful training with Mariana Allred of the Silicon Valley Math Initiative.

Times starting January 23:

9:30-10:30 6-9th
10:40-11:30 2-5th
11:40-12:30 TK-1st

(Note on the sign up sheet, Semester 2 dates are on a separate tab at the bottom.)

Mariana trains teachers across Santa Clara County and is helping our parents come to grips with how to develop mathematical thinking and number sense in their students. It's specifically aimed at homeschool parents, but any parent with a student in TK-9 is welcome to attend. Please click here for the slides from the previous trainings.

Please note that Principal's Coffee and Parent Advisory Council will happen simultaneously this month - Thurs, Dec 19 at 9:30am in the Library - we hope to see many parents there! Here is the agenda for the meeting.

Don't forget to sign up your middle/high schooler for after school Concert Band on Wednesdays starting in January - please see below for details! (Students who are in the Charter Play can start in February!)

Congratulations to Jacob Lindsay (6th QHIA) who won the recent MiddleSchool Chess Club Tournament at SLVMS with a score of 2.5 of 3. Kheiron Guin (7th QHIA) placed third with 1.5 of 2 and Jordan Snyder (6th NA) came fourth with .5 of 3. You make us very proud!

An appeal and warning from our hard working Transportation Department: We are asked NOT to park by the transportation fence adjacent to the District Office driveway. It not only blocks buses if parked incorrectly, it blocks legitimate parking for bus drivers. Your car will be towed if you park illegally there. Please be mindful and park only in designated spots in the parking lot, or on Marion Ave and walk down the stairs. Thank you for your attention to this reasonable request!

Please see the following promo from our County Office:

Computer Science Playground Community Nights

December 10th, 2024 | 4:30-6:30 pm | Watsonville High School
December 12th, 2024 | 4:30-6:30 pm | Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH)

Suggested Audience: Students & community members interested in computer science

Computer Science is for everyone... Come to our playgrounds and see what we mean! Learners of all ages are welcome to join us for an evening of hands-on computer science. There will be live demonstrations, hands-on activities and opportunities to interact with industry members and other passionate computer scientists. Pick one night or join them both!

We encourage anyone interested to join us for these FREE events! Please share with your community using our grab and go promotional kit.

Please read further for some important Charter updates and announcements.

Have a wonderful week!

Kerry

kleroux@slvusd.org

T. 831-335-0932

You will find all these events and more on the google calendar shared by your Program teacher and on the Website calendar.

Tues, Dec 10 - International Human Rights Day

- Parent Math Training in Room 12 - All welcome - please sign up here

- TK-1 9:30 - 10:20

- 2nd - 5th 10:30 - 11:20

- 6th - 9th 11:30 - 12:30

- 11:30am - Lego in the Library

- GaGa Ball reserved for Elementary programs (Tuesdays)

- Charter Play rehearsals at 2:45pm in the MPR

Wed, Dec 11 - GSA meets weekly in room 19 at lunch

- Charter Play rehearsals at 2:45pm in the MPR

Thurs, Dec 12 - Spirit Dress Up Day - Dress in Grinch Green!

- 8am - Student Council - Library (TK-8) - anyone welcome!

- 12:15pm - Chess Club in the quad (or MPR if bad weather)

- 12:40pm - Lockdown drill

- Charter Play rehearsals at 2:45pm in the MPR

- 4pm - Map testing for 3rd - 8th grade Independent Study students - Library

Fri, Dec 13 - Month 6 Attendance due

Tues, Dec 17 - 11:30am - Lego in the Library

- GaGa Ball reserved for Elementary programs (Tuesdays)

- Charter Play rehearsals at 2:45pm in the MPR

Wed, Dec 18- GSA meets weekly in room 19 at lunch

- Charter Play rehearsals at 2:45pm in the MPR

Thurs, Dec 19- Goofy Sweater Dress Up Day!

- 8am - Warm clothes, Warm cocoa drive! Everyone gets hot chocolate; extra toppings for anyone who brings a warm item to donate - MPR before school

- 9:20am Principal's Coffee and Parent Advisory Council (events are combined) - Agenda for meeting

- 12:15pm - Chess Club in the quad (or MPR if bad weather)

- Charter Play rehearsals at 2:45pm in the MPR

Fri, Dec 20 - Day reserved for "Storm Day" make up - NO SCHOOL

For planning further ahead:

Mon, Dec 23 - Fri, Jan 3, 2025 - Winter Break (NO SCHOOL)

Mon, Jan 6 - Professional Development Day (NO SCHOOL)

Tues, Jan 7 - Classes begin for Nature Academy and Coast Redwood High; Homeschooling begins for attendance purposes for all TK-8 homeschool programs

- Play rehearsals move to SLVHS PAC (2:45 - 5:15pm)

Wed, Jan 8 - Instrument tryout for Charter Concert Band 2:30pm (MPR)

Tues, Jan 21 - In-person enrichment classes begin (TK-8 Homeschool programs) - All Charter Skate Day!

All Charter Play performances: Thurs, Jan 30, Sat, Feb 1, Sun, Feb 2 (matinee)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nature Academy parents, don't forget to check the Nature Academy Google Calendar to be sure which bell schedule we're on each day! (You can also click here if you are not a Google Calendar subscriber)

• A1 Mondays are 1:19pm dismissal at Nature Academy
• A2 Mondays are 2:05pm dismissal at Nature Academy
• A3 Mondays are 3:00pm dismissal at the tricampus
• O days are Tues/Thurs, dismissal 2:05pm;
• E days are Wed/Fri, dismissal 2:20pm (Wed) and 2:05 (Fri);
• Minimum Days dismiss at 12:05;
• Excursion Days (dates not all finalized) - times are individual to the excursion, but typically 3pm dismissal

From Superintendent Chris Schiermeyer: "Providing a safe place for students to learn and grow is one of the most important responsibilities of our school system. All San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District schools have a School Safety Plan in place. Drill procedures for emergencies and disasters are regularly practiced at each school.

Starting the 2024-2025 school year, we have changed our countywide codes for emergency drills in collaboration with law enforcement and the fire departments. Our new codes are as follows: Evacuation, Reverse Evacuation, Hall Check, and Lockdown. Please see the Standard Command Emergency Response Poster for more details on these types of drills that will be practiced at our school sites as required by law.

Along with school staff, your family plays a critical role in preventing and responding to school emergencies. The information posted on the Emergency Information website page is intended to provide parents/guardians with the steps you can take “before”, “during”, and “after” an emergency. Please note the emergency information has been revised to be in alignment with the newly adopted codes. Please take a moment to review this information."

SLV Charter will be starting our monthly/quarterly evacuation drills (elementary/secondary) shortly. Please be sure to sign in to get a visitor sticker if you're coming on campus so that if you're on site for a drill we can account for you. Please contact me if you have any questions!

3rd through 9th grade parents, please continue to encourage daily keyboarding practice with Touch Type Read Spell, the "award winning multi-sensory course that teaches typing, reading and spelling" aimed at students from elementary to high school. We are encouraging all students to spend a minimum of 1 hour a week or longer. This program license lasts until May of 2025, and after completion of all 24 levels* (approx. one year), your child should show a substantial improvement in keyboarding fluency. If you did not receive your welcome email with login details, please contact your child's teacher or email me!

"Based on the average completion time, a student using TTRS for one hour per week should complete approximately 744 modules in a year. The main TTRS Course consists of 24 levels, with 31 modules in each level, totaling 744 modules. On average, students complete the entire course in about 12 months when dedicating one hour per week to the program.

It's important to note that individual progress may vary, and some learners might complete the course faster if they spend more than an hour per week on TTRS."

Parents of students in TK - 9th grade! Have you struggled when helping your child with Math? We are once again offering a once-monthly Thursday morning Math training for parents, presented by an awesome instructor from the Silicon Valley Math Initiative (SVMI). Please sign up here for one or all of the sessions on offer - they will build on one another over the course of the year. (Note there is a new tab for 2nd semester at the bottom of the spreadsheet.)

TK-1 parents come from 9:30 - 10:20am

2 - 5 parents come from 10:30 - 11:20am

6 - 9 parents come from 11:30 - 12:30pm

Dates: Thursday Sept 26, Oct 24, Nov 21, Dec 10 (Tues), Jan 23, Feb 6, Mar 20, Apr 17, May 8

Parents can now sign out loaner Chromebooks through the library for their students to use at home, starting tomorrow, Tues 8/20 and every Tues-Thurs according to the times below:

Charter Library

Tues, Wed, Thurs

8:30-9:30am or 2:15-3pm

Students can’t sign out a Chromebook without a parent; it requires a parent's signature. If there’s a problem, parents can email Mabel at CHlibrary@slvusd.org to make arrangements.

Students should not be bringing a personal laptop to school unless it’s part of an IEP. All teachers have class sets of chromebooks for students to use if it's required as part of the lesson.

If your child is in 6 - 12th grade, your teacher most likely uses Schoology to record assignment and test scores.

How a parent logs into Schoology:

1. Get your parent access code from your teacher or administrator.
2. When you have your parent access code, go to app.schoology.com/register.php.
3. Click the “Parent” button below the “Instructor” and “Student” buttons” in the “Sign Up for Schoology” section.
4. Enter the access code you received, and click Continue.
5. Enter your name and email (not the student’s) and choose a password.

Refer to the Parent Schoology Handbook to learn more.

Attendance matters!

Our attendance rate improved last year - thank you for your ongoing partnership in supporting good attendance! Students need to participate consistently, whether it be in a homeschool program, where work completion counts as attendance, or in our classroom-based 5 day a week Nature Academy.

Students who are absent 10% or more in a school year are typically "less proficient in reading, writing and math than their peers with good attendance" (Source: CA Dept of Ed.)

Volunteer application hours - PLEASE NOTE: The Charter Office and SLVUSD Human Resources Office hours will process volunteer registrations at the following times:

Tuesdays from 7:00-11:00 am

Thursdays from 12:30-3:30 pm.

The Human Resources Office is located at 325 Marion Avenue, Ben Lomond, CA 95005.

All Charter parents are encouraged to register with the District as a volunteer and a field trip driver. (All parents are asked to drive on excursions...)

Please click here to access the required volunteer paperwork. Hard copy paperwork is also available at the Charter Office.

To use your personal vehicle to transport your own or other students, we will need updated driver information on file as well - please click here for the form.

Ø New Volunteer: You will be required to fill out the volunteer paperwork and obtain a signature from the principal. Once complete, please bring your signed paperwork to the Human Resources Office. You will be required to provide a current TB result. Also, all new volunteers will be required to be fingerprinted.

Ø Returning Volunteer: You will be required to provide current TB results (within the last 4 years). If you don't know whether your TB is current, check with the Charter office. If you are turning in updated TB info, you can bring it to the Charter office or directly to the Human Resources Office.

• All SLVUSD students are eligible to receive a free breakfast and lunch through the cafeteria. Breakfast can be picked up any time from 8:15am - 8:45am, no order needed.
• Lunch no longer needs to be ordered online. Our lunch lady will bring enough hot lunches for everyone who wants one, but should these run out we will have healthy cold alternatives available (salads, sandwiches, etc.)
• Meals are be served from our Multi-use Room in the central area of the campus
• Lunch times vary per program, but generally happen in the 11:50 - 12:30 window
• Elementary students will have lunch cards (kept in the MPR).
• Secondary students will need to key in their student ID on a keypad

Although a meal application is not necessary for your child to receive free meals during the 2024-2025 school year, households are asked to complete a meal application to ensure that your school receives accurate funding. As well, your child’s eligibility for free or reduced lunch could qualify you for additional outside services or benefits including Free/Reduced Bus passes, student fee waivers, P-EBT, discounted utilities, and more.

• Link to SLV Student Nutrition Services website

If your child takes the bus to or from school, please remember you will need to purchase a bus pass.

ALL Nature Academy students have to be registered to take bus transportation on A1 days to the tricampus. (No need to pay.) Registration form link.

Students at Coast Redwood High who need afternoon transportation to the tricampus for concurrent enrollment classes can take the TK bus that leaves the District Office at noon each day. They will not need to pay for a bus pass. However, they still need to register. Rides will be denied if students are not registered.)

Please click here to access the Transportation web page for any other information you need.

The Charter Office staff ask families to call in before 1:50pm if they have a message for their student about changing that day's bus transportation arrangement.

If you’re interested in following our Instagram account, showcasing news and events from SLVUSD Charter School, here is the info:

“I'm on Instagram as slvcharterschool. Install the app to follow my photos and videos, or click this link: https://instagram.com/slvcharterschool?igshid=MzMyNGUyNmU2YQ==

(Please know that we will be very careful not to post pictures of students on the "Do not Photograph" list.)

And if you haven't started following the District Instagram accoount, look for "slvusd" and click "Follow!"

Charter students are eligible to try out to play in all sports at SLVMS and SLVHS. Please keep an eye on the respective websites so your child is aware of the tryout schedule for each season's sports. We will also share that information as we receive it.

Athletes, remember that eligibility rules require you to carry at least a 2.0 GPA (C average) to remain eligible to complete in the middle school athletics practices and competitions.

Parents, please read this updated Spectator Code of Conduct from SLVMS Principal Shanna Urbancic.

Please click here for a link to the Panther Athletics website (SLVMS)

Click here for a list of the tryout dates for 24-25

Fall Sports (August - October)

Boys Soccer

Girls Basketball

Cross Country (No cuts)

Winter I Sports (October - December)

Girls Soccer

Boys Basketball

Winter II Sports (January-March)

Girls Volleyball

Wrestling (no cuts)

Flag Football

Spring Sports (March- May)

Girls Softball
Boys Volleyball
Golf

Track and Field (no cuts)

Please click here for a link to the Cougar Athletics website (SLVHS).

Did you know that our district maintains a "Community Opportunities" website? This is for parents / students to receive information about current local events and opportunities for adults and/or children.

Note: The San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District does not sponsor or endorse any of the organizations or events that are located here. They are non-school sponsored events and are not being promoted by the school district. All postings are provided as a courtesy to the parents/students.

Homework Help at the Public Library

Bring your assignments to one of the FREE drop-in Homework Help sessions at one of the following public libraries.

Tuesdays from 3:00p to 5:00p.

Downtown, 224 Church St., Santa Cruz

Felton, 6121 Gushee St.

Capitola, 2005 Wharf Rd.

La Selva Beach, 316 Estrella Ave.

Open to all students up to grade 12.

Call 831.427.7713 for more information.

And also from the Santa Cruz Public Libraries:

SCPL are particularly excited to offer a new resource from Brainfuse called CollegeNow, which offers support with college applications, essays and more. This is in addition to HelpNow live tutoring.

Please click here for a press release containing comprehensive information on the many resources SCPL offers to all students. SCPL looks forward to welcoming your students to any of their 10 branches, Annex and Bookmobile during this new school year!

Guide to Resources for Families in SLV

Here's a handy one-pager listing various organizations and resources for families in the San Lorenzo Valley.

Mental Health resources

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) - with a link to their March newseltter

Brightlife Kids, an organization that provides free online support in behavioral coaching for parents, caregivers and students aged 0 - 12.

Please click here for a link to a flier from the Community Action Board of Santa Cruz, containing a number of useful resources for families. CAB's mission is to "partner with the community to eliminate poverty and create social change through advocacy and social service. "

Triple P/First Five of Santa Cruz County offer ongoing parenting classes for parents of students of all ages. Please click here to see their workshop offerings.

Triple P also offers 1:1 sessions for parents who are needing intensive 10 week session and add-on sessions for people who are divorcing or separating (Family Transitions), for couples wanting to work on their relationship (Enhanced) and for people wanting to work on their strong emotions, like anger (Pathways). If interested in 1:1 sessions, please contact First 5 of Santa Cruz: https://www.first5scc.org/contact

Email: kleroux@slvusd.org
Website: charter.slvusd.org
Phone: (831) 336-5167