Dear Charter Families,
I am pleased to announce that the SLVUSD Board has chosen my replacement, the new SLV Charter principal. Her name is Kerry le Roux and she started her educational career in South Africa where she was born. She has a wealth of experience with all grade ranges and various schools; a background that will serve the Charter well, and has lived in Ben Lomond since 2004. I have attached her introduction letter to this email for you to read a little more about her. She and I have meetings scheduled so that we can talk about how the various Charter programs run, as well as the current focuses, concerns, and next steps that are being worked on. I will share information I have received through my staff, from our parents in the PAC meetings, feedback given to teachers and myself via emails/conversations from classroom observations, as well as the LCAP input from both teacher and parent meetings. I am excited for our talks to begin.
The weather continues to bring more challenges to our families and our mountain towns. There are many of you we know, who are continuing to have the additional burden of downed trees, lack of electricity, internet and/or road closures. We appreciate your fortitude and commitment in getting your student to school on time, even when the bus routes or stops have been reduced.
It is inevitable that the added impacts from the weather can add to the stress that families and our students feel. We even have a few parents whose houses were severely damaged during this last storm, making them uninhabitable. If you are in need of extra help of any kind, or notice a shift in your child’s ability to stay focused, please reach out to me, as well as to your teachers so that we can support them through the emotional affects of this challenging weather.
And a huge thank you to the handful of parents and the many teachers who stayed with us on Tuesday when the rain and wind severely impacted many parents ability to pick up their student and get home! Some students from BCE and SLE even stayed with us for several hours as their bus could not get through the roads. Our District Office team, lead by Mr. Schiermeyer, made phenomenal efforts to make sure that all students got home safely, bringing in the sheriff department to lead a final escort out when parents could not get through. We had parents and students with us until after 6:30 pm. We are lucky to have such a tight-nit community that are always willing to step up when needed.
We were on the phones calling parents and their emergency contacts for several hours that afternoon. It may be beneficial for some of you to take the time to review your PowerSchool emergency contacts, making sure that we have more than one option available for your student. If at all possible, it would be good to have a contact that lives off of the mountain in case the roads are blocked again as severely as they were on Tuesday.
AND, No competition but!, I would love to have more parents participate in the annual SLV Charter School Survey. Currently we only have 42 Responses, only (14%) of our enrollment!
This survey helps us gather feedback from our families regarding our Academic, Communication, and Learning Environment goals. The answers will be very beneficial for the new Principal to review. Please take some time to complete it for us! The surveys will be available through Friday, March 31st. Click the Link above to Participate.
Thank you for sharing your children with us.
~Rhonda
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FREE Adventure Pass for California Fourth Graders!! The attachments (and links) can provide you all the information needed for a 4th Grader to get their free Adventure Pass.
Fourth graders can get into 19 state parks for FREE. The California State Park Adventure Pass helps them do just that. Parents of fourth grade students can sign up for the pass on behalf of their student. For more information, click here Adventure Pass Partner Toolkit (ca.gov).
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NAMI Basics/NAMI Bases for parents of youth with mental health challenges
English class: Starts April 4th, Tuesdays from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. in person in Santa Cruz.
Spanish class: Starts April 10th, Mondays from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. in person in Watsonville.
(Flyers attached)
NAMI Basics is a free, 6-week education program for parents and family caregivers of children and teens (ages 11-17) who are experiencing symptoms of a mental illness or whom have already been diagnosed. NAMI Basics is offered in a group setting so you can connect with other people face-to-face.
You'll learn the facts about mental health conditions and how best to support your child at home, at school and when they're getting medical care.
At NAMI Basics, you'll find out that you're not alone. Recovery is a journey, and there is hope. The group setting of NAMI Basics provides mutual support and shared positive impact—you can experience compassion and reinforcement from people who understand your situation. You also can help others with your own experience.
NAMI Basics covers:
- Managing crises, solving problems and communicating effectively
- How to take care of yourself and handle stress
- Developing the confidence and stamina to support your child with compassion
- Advocating for your child's rights at school and in health care settings
- Learning about current treatments, including evidence-based therapies, medications and side effects
- Gaining an overview of the public mental health care, school and juvenile justice systems
- Understanding the challenges and impact of mental health conditions on your entire family
Please visit our website and see the attached flier for more information and to register for the class:
https://www.namiscc.org/nami-basics.html
https://www.namiscc.org/bases.html
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A look into next year: Coast Redwood High School's Info Night Rescheduled: Open House is rescheduled for: Tuesday, April 25. (5:30-6:30pm) 305 Marion Ave, Ben Lomond, 95055
We often make subtle and sometimes less subtle changes to the programs that we offer based on the needs we see, enrollment shifts, etc. We regularly evaluate, as a staff, how best to support our students and families.
The changes made for this coming year were due to the fact that we be offering Transitional Kindergarten next year as well as the deeper recognition that having a smaller multi-age grade span within our programs is beneficial for the students and teachers for many reasons. We have also determined a better way to have our students in 2-5 grades be able to have both a core ‘homeroom’ class of students in grades 2-5, as well as greater ways to weave in opportunities for us to work with the students in smaller grade level groups throughout the weeks.
Nest year, we will have a Tk-1 program taught by our teacher Amanda Bauscher. She was formally teaching at our satellite program in Soquel which will close at the end of the year. Before her time with us, Amanda was a preschool teacher and director. While in this program, children will work with core TK-1 standards while learning to communicate, collaborate, and resolve conflicts at school through Social Emotional Learning activities and emergent curriculum. Amanda uses an innovative global science curriculum in class, integrating Language Arts, Social Studies, and the Arts. Math skills are rooted in real life experiences and developed through tangible materials, meaningful activities, physical movement and dance.
Our teachers, Katie and Alex, have already had a parent meeting to answer questions regarding their plans for next year. Each year, they will share an overall theme that will allow them to also work on their current academic focuses in the Sciences and VAPA activities.
Our well known Nature Academy program will continue as before, with their focus on getting students out into the environment and on field excursions that connect their learning to real world applications, integrating the Life Skills and self-reflections into the students’ work.
We are also excited to share that Amber Walker will be back after a 2 year personal leave, as the teacher for our QHIA program. The program will go back to the initial design of being a 6-8 grade program in one classroom. As the initial designer of the QHIA program, she will bring back all her expertise and excitement in integrating VAPA into the thematic programing. One important change is that the core component will be held in the morning from 9-11:30, with the hour for lunch/arts/PE following, and lab time for Math and Science in the afternoon, ending as before at 2:30.
Marcy will continue with the dynamic CRMS program with the focus on project-based and design thinking activities based on students’ interests, as well as Marcy’s awareness of the Standards and the needs of the students attending. Science based on real-world application, presentations, and integrating arts will continue.
Our highly flexible high school, CRHS, continues to grow and add events and activities that enrich their programing. If you have a student interested in learning more about the program, please welcome to their CRHS information night has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Tuesday, April 25. (5:30-6:30pm) in their building: 305 Marion Ave, Ben Lomond. Coast Redwood HS students have a plethora of choices including, playing sports, participating in the SLVHS Theater/Drama program, dual enrollment opportunities at both SLVHS and Cabrillo College as well as other colleges, a hybrid high school experience, short day (on-campus) schedules (8:30-12:00) with some electives courses offered in the afternoon (12:45-2:00), field trips, small school environment, small classes, opportunities to reinvent ones-self, and to build on social/emotional techniques with counseling services and teacher support.
Please share this information with your friends through your various social media sites.
P.S.: All of our programs will continue to have their gardening classes next year!
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Science Fair Recognition: Congratulations to our own Alex Smith for being recognized and receiving an award from the Santa Cruz County Science Fair for building a model mass driver for space transport Great Work Alex!
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Parent Advisory Committee meeting; Tuesday, April 18 at 9:30
We will meet in the Library or on Zoom. We will continue our discussion on programs and planning for next year.
For those who cannot meet in person, you can connect via Zoom
Join Zoom Meeting: https://slvusd-org.zoom.us/j/84372991968
These meetings are designed to ensure we have parent input into critical documents that are the backbone of the Charter, as well as supporting the growth and development of the campus activities and culture of the Charter as a whole. Yearly this committee gives input to our Local Control Accountability Plan (includes our school goals and funding) School Safety Plan, Annual Parent Survey, and our 5 year Charter Petition Renewal and Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accreditation review.
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What’s Growing in the Garden:
Fall Creek 2nd/3rd Graders - Students learned about the good and bad garden insects. They also spent some time learning about marigolds and planting marigold seeds all over the garden to attract beneficial insects. These were seeds that were collected by our middle school students in their garden this last Fall. Students ended the class exploring their garden for insects, tadpoles, and dinosaurs!
CRMS 8th Graders - Continued their studies on composting and dove into what FBI's are. Students learned about how Fungi, Bacteria, and Invertebrates work together to decompose the food and plant matter in our compost bins. Students then checked the 4 compost bins and their worm bins to ensure the moisture was okay and that worms had a good mix of food and paper shreddings. We found that someone had added several layers of newspaper that were not shredded so we shredded what we could and added some carrots left over from the lunch room. Students also learned about our native elderberry trees and planted an elderberry tree on the hillside close to their classroom.
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Two District Committee opportunities:
Bond Oversight Committee (Boc) At-Large Member Application:The SLVUSD Bond Oversight Committee currently has an opening for an “at-large” member.
As part of Measure “S” Bond, SLVUSD is required to have a Bond Oversight Committee. The Committee consists of seven members who meet quarterly to review and report on expenditures of bond funds and ensure that money is used only for voter-approved purposes. Committee members must be at least 18 years old and reside within the geographic boundary of the District.
If you would like to be considered for this position on the Bond Oversight Committee, please click on the following application: Bond Oversight Committee Application. If you have additional questions, please contact Laura Spilman, Bond Administrative Assistant, at [email protected] or (831) 335-5386.
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Community Advisory Committee of North Santa Cruz County SELPA: The CAC is an advisory committee to the North Santa Cruz County SELPA Director and Governance Council. The CAC provides input regarding the Local Plan, assisting in parent education, recruiting, information sharing, and parent awareness. Voting members are appointed and approved by the school board of each district. The majority of the voting membership must be comprised of parents of children with disabilities.
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Metro Bus Service will be FREE to all Students beginning March 1st
Starting on Wednesday, March 1st, all students in Santa Cruz County can ride the Metro Bus for free.
This Youth Ride Free program will be piloted for one year. HIgh School students will be asked to show a student ID to the driver. Those without one can get a special pass from their school or at the Pacific Station Customer Service window in Downtown Santa Cruz.
The year-long program, set to launch March 1, aims to increase access for riders in grades K-12 and also foster a familiarity with the public transportation system that local authorities are leaning into for future planning opportunities.
"This pilot program is a big step toward reducing barriers in ridership. A key goal for the Youth Ride Free program is to help develop lifelong transit riders, while meeting METRO's overall goal of increasing transit ridership.”
More information regarding the pilot program can be found at https://www.scmtd.com/en/youthcruzfree
The bus routes can be found at https://www.scmtd.com/en/routes.
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Please help support grad night! Many of our CRHS grads attend this event. It is special that our two district high schools have so many ways to engage in activities together and Grad Night is their most important event!
Please help support fundraising for the best party ever by dining out and shopping:
- Thursday, April 6th – Faultline. Mention SLV Grad Night to get 5% of your purchase donated.
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Free online live tutoring available. Students can now have 24-hour access to various resources, including live 1:1 tutors. This is a fantastic resource for our students and families. Here is the link to check it out:
https://www.brainfuse.com/highed/helpNow.asp?a_id=6BE9380D&ss=&r=
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Student Absences: REMINDER
For Nature Academy families, everyday that your child is absent from school you need to call our attendance line at 831-336-8527 to report their absence. Please leave your child's name, your name, and the reason for the absence.
For Homeschool families if your child will be absent from enrichment classes please contact your teacher of record to report their absence.
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2023-2024 SLVUSD School Calendar: The 2023-2024 SLVUSD School Calendar It is posted to the Charter website SLVUSD 23-24 calendar
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Dates to Remember: (Please refer to your program’s newsletter for greater detail regarding dates and details specific to your program’s Field Trips and class events.)
- Monday, April 3 - Friday, April 7, 2023: Spring Break
- CAASPP Testing Dates (maybe subject to slight changes)
- Monday, April 17-Friday, April 21, 2023: Coast Redwood HS, Coast Redwood MS and Quail Hollow Integrated Arts
- Monday, April 24- Friday, April 28, 2023: Coast Redwood HS, Fall Creek Homeschool and Quail Hollow Homeschool
- Monday, May 1- Friday, May 5, 2023: Coast Redwood HS and Nature Academy
- Monday, May 8 - Friday, May 12, 2023: Nature Academy
- Monday, May 15 - Friday, May 19, 2023: Nature Academy
- Monday, May 29, 2023: District Holiday
- Thursday, June 1, 2023: Last day of school