“I believe that education is all about being excited about something, seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message.” - Steve Irwin
Dear Charter Families,
We have had a month of school and it seems that things are smoothing out. The most exciting news for me is that our programs have started their field trips and more are getting planned. Here are a few things that are happening in our various programs so far, in addition to their onsite classes and homeschool support.
- QHHS: Their annual camping trip is at the end of the month, as well as their annual Kayaking for the older students in early October.
- FCHS: The class is planning a trip to the Santa Cruz Recycling center in the near future.
- CRMS: Their annual Kayaking trip is planned for early October.
- QHIA: All grades 6-8 have attended a Santa Cruz Shakespeare play outdoors and are in the process of working on their Square 1 Art projects.
- Nature Academy: All Nature Academy grades are headed for some physical, historical, and artistic fun right next door at Quail Hollow Ranch. The 7th-8th graders have gone to their annual Ropes course and the 6th-grade class will be going at the end of this month.
- CRHS: A good size group of students are fortunate to be able to travel to Mt. Shasta and enjoy spending time at Headwaters Outdoor School, in an incredible setting, a beautiful forest, with an abundance of streams and pools, meadows, a bark tipi village, campfires and surrounded by amazing wildlife.
- All Programs: Melanie has been preparing the garden spaces with help from students and a few parent volunteers. She will begin working with all grades beginning next week. This is a great way for the students in the various programs to be agents of change in developing our school site and to work together by grade level in a meaningful way.
Please read below for updates on pictures, nutrition and transportation services, online supports, covid related supports and policies.
Thanks for sharing your family and children with us.
~Rhonda
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2020 End of Year Local Assessment: Many of you may have received scores from your students' Math and ELA local assessments were taken at the end of the last school year. Jennifer McCrae, our district’s Chief Academic Officer shared the overall scores with the School Board last Wednesday evening.
The scores are not good overall. We consider it a small snapshot done after over a year of evacuations and pandemic anxiety and Distance Learning. The assessment was one through Illuminate; a platform that contains various standardized assessments for all grades. Perhaps if it were a normal year, our scores could be considered more indicative of what a student actually knew, but we had far from a normal year!
We are formatively and summatively assessing our students in order to support them daily in their content area skills and their ability to critically work with the materials and lessons given. We are very glad that we can see them in person so that we can help them gain ground in their grade-level learning. I will share more when I learn more. Please feel free to contact me if you have specific questions.
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Middle School Charter Band will begin September 29th Class will be held in the Multi-purpose room starting at 8 am. We have received 29 responses to the Band survey that was sent out to all our middle school families. For those who have filled out the survey, you will be receiving further information from Music Teacher, Nathan Gonzales soon!
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Charter Library Help needed: If you are interested in volunteering in the library, please contact Clara Elliott at [email protected]. Help is needed bar-coding, entering books into our system, and shelving. Your help is greatly appreciated!
Here is a link to the library to give you a little taste of what is being developed: https://bit.ly/3yCnPlY
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Online K-8 Enrichment for our full-time Independent Home School famlies: Included below is the link to the Master Online K-8 enrichment program resources. The Zoom links for the Math talks, Jump Into Writing sharing, and teachers open office hours are all included. Online Enrichment Resources.
Additionally, I am offering a Zoom meeting for all families to discuss homeschool practices and answer any questions parents may have on the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month from 9:30-10:30. The next meeting will be on October 1. Join Zoom Meeting
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Student Nutrition Services: New online ordering system: The system is now working! Thanks to everyone who has started ordering their student's breakfasts and lunches online. Ordering online saves food and preparation for the SNS staff. This is especially important, given that there is a staff shortage currently.
Alisia is giving some wiggle room for order timing but starting this coming week they would like will orders in by 9 am the day before. This means Monday's meals need to be ordered by 9am Sunday.
Parents and Students will order meals using this link to the online ordering system: https://family.onlineordering.linq.com. Orders are due by 9 am the day before. You will need your student’s school ID number to create an account if you do not already have this, please call the Charter office at 831-335-0932 or email us at [email protected] or [email protected].
FREE BREAKFAST AND LUNCH
- USDA has extended free breakfast and lunch to all students through the 2021-2022 school year.
- Meals will be served from our Multi-use Room in the central area of the campus.
- Breakfast will be available in the mornings starting at 8:15-8:40.
- Lunch will be served starting at 11:45 on Mondays, 12:10 Tuesdays-Fridays
- CRHS students can order lunch and it will be delivered to the CRHS building.
- The more students use this service and share what they enjoy eating, the better Alicia and her team can support us.
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K-8 Charter Picture Day:
Picture day is coming up this Thursday, September 23rd. Students will have their photos taken during their school day. Families have two ways to purchase photos:
- Order in Person on picture day
- Print out the attached order form, fill it out and send it in with payment with your child on picture day.
OR
- Order online once photos are available:
- To order photos go to vanzantes.com and create or login into your account.
- At the top of the page click on "Find my photos". Type in your student's school ID number (if you do not have this please email the Charter office and we can give you the number, [email protected] or [email protected]).
- Your child's photo should appear, click on the photo and options should appear.
If you have questions about your child's photos please contact the photographer directly at [email protected].
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Parent Volunteers:
Volunteer opportunities will be available on a limited basis at each school site. The registration process for volunteers is as follows:
New Volunteer: You will be required to pick up and fill out the volunteer paperwork from your school site and obtain a signature from the school site administrator. Once complete, please bring your signed paperwork to the Human Resources Office. You will also be required to provide verification of a full COVID-19 vaccination and a current TB result.
Returning Volunteer: You will be required to provide verification of full COVID-19 vaccination. This documentation can be provided to your child's school site. The school site will forward proof of vaccination to the Human Resources Office. You may also bring the proof of COVID-19 vaccination documentation directly to the Human Resources Office.
Registration packets are available in our Charter Administration Office.
The Human Resources Office hours will accept volunteer registrations on Tuesdays from 7:00-11:00 am and Thursdays from 12:30-3:30 pm. The Human Resources Office is located at 325 Marion Avenue, Ben Lomond, CA 95005.
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Transportation: Students in grades K-8 can use the District’s bus transportation to get to and from the campus. Bus information, fees and schedules can be found at this link. Bus Transportation; SLVUSD
Thank you to all families who have signed up their children and bought a pass. It is important that your student carries their bus pass card with them to show the bus driver every time they ride the bus.
- The bus drops off students at the front of the District Office and picks up students at the top of Marion Avenue by our CRHS building (formally Ponderosa).
- Students will use the stairs to walk up to the bus.
- CRHS students who are taking classes at the SLVHS: Transportation can be provided from the Tri-campus or to the Tri-campus in the middle of the school day. Please contact the Charter Administration (335-0932, [email protected]) or your teacher of record if you want to use this service.
Student Drop off, pick-up:
- All student drop-offs and pick-ups must be made safely
- Parents with elementary-age students need to park and walk their students to their classroom and sign them in at their classroom.
- Middle school students can walk to their classroom where the teacher will take attendance or students will sign in.
We will have more drivers coming onto the campus, dropping off/picking up their students. Please help ensure the safety of our children by driving slowly, and staying with your young child when walking to and from your car. Older students, please do not run and watch for moving cars when you are in the parking area.
NOTE: The driveway down to the main campus is not designed for walkers and cars at the same time. Buses need to take wide turns to exit the transportation lot. Please use the stairs when going up and down from Marion Avenue to the central campus area.
Bikes:
- Any student who is riding their bike to the campus needs to park their bike at the top by the Coast Redwood High School building and walk down and up the steps to and from the central campus area.
Parking:
- Parents of elementary and middle school students can park in front of the District Office Building.
- CRHS students who are driving to classes can park in the front parking lot near the District Office building and walk up the stairs to the CRHS building.
Covid Protocols to All Families who come on-site: When your child is sick
Important for all of our students enrolled in our programs. We are committed to making sure that we are doing all that we can to mitigate the COVID virus so that we can keep our programs open for those who want to attend classes on our site. It is important is to make sure that we trace any positive case. This is done by accessing any student who comes on-site and shows symptoms that may be signs of the COVID virus.
If your child comes on-site for classes. Please call our Charter Attendance Line at 831-336-8527 to report when your student is ill. If your student has experienced any covid-like symptoms:
*Cough *Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
*Fatigue *Muscle or body aches
*Headache *Congestion or runny nose
*Sore throat *New loss of taste or smell
*Diarrhea *Nausea or vomiting
You will either need to:
- Receive a negative PCR Covid Test, be free from vomiting, diarrhea or fever for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications, and have had an improvement in symptoms.
- Isolate at home for 10 days from symptom onset. OR
- Be seen by their physician and provide a medical evaluator note to verify that an alternative diagnosis has been made and the symptoms are not due to COVID-19.
Parents who have further questions can contact Nurse Sarah Dahlen at 831-335-4452 x142.
Thank you so much to all of you who are wearing your masks properly while you are in the classrooms and outside, close to others. It is by doing so that we can keep the virus at bay and keep learning together in classrooms and on campus.
Proper mask-wearing includes the following:
- Wearing your mask properly, over your nose and mouth, whenever you are inside and there is another person present in the room
- Not pulling it down or taking it off in order to be better heard when speaking in class
- No eating or drinking in class. Breaks during class or stepping outside to take a drink are time to take a drink or eat..
- We have plenty of masks in every room if you need one.
Pandemic Safety Updates and Protocols: Please read Chris Schiermeyer’s email for the most recent update. Parent Communication update #5
Here are some good links to perhaps bookmark regarding Covid Safety protocols: RETURN TO SCHOOL POLICY.
- Please print this guide out and refer to it if you are considering whether your child should come to school
- The California Department of Public Health updates its information regularly. CDPH GUIDELINES.
- If your child is symptomatic at home, we ask that you take them to their primary care provider for testing or one of our free Santa Cruz County testing sites. Please click on the following link for a list of County testing sites COUNTY COVID TESTING SITES.
- ROUTINE STUDENT COVID SCREENING: Separately, the district is working with the County Office of Education to provide routine screening of staff and students. Once we have the ability to provide routine testing, student tests will require parental consent. If you are interested in routine screening for your student, please click on the following link INTEREST FORM FOR ROUTINE STUDENT COVID-19 SCREENING TESTING.
After School Performing Arts Update: The Charter School prides itself on offering after-school visual and performing arts options. Unfortunately, at this time, we don't have enough information to confirm if our All Charter Play will carry on as originally scheduled. Ideally, auditions would begin at the end of October, yet we will need to wait until the end of September to update our community, based on Covid protocols. We will also provide info on our annual Thrill the World dance event at that time as well. We are keeping our fingers crossed that these well-loved Charter VAPA opportunities will be available to our students this year.
Sincerely, The Charter Theater Booster Club
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Employment Opportunities at SLVUSD: Are you looking for part-time or full-time work? Interested in joining the SLVUSD Team? We have several job opportunities. You can review SLVUSD job opportunities at www.edjoin.org/slvusd.
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Dates to Remember:
- Thursday, September 23: K-8 School Pictures 10:00am-1:00pm
- Monday, November 1: Professional Development Day - No School
- Tuesday, November 2: Picture Make-ups, all grades
- Thursday, November 11: School Holiday, Veteran’s Day
- Monday-Friday, November 22-26: Thanksgiving Break
Key Contacts
Administrator: Rhonda Schlosser: [email protected]
Administrative Assistant: Danelle Matteson: [email protected]
Registrar: Jane Hendricks [email protected]
Mental Health Counselor: Robin Bate [email protected]
HS Academic Counselor: Mary Zilge [email protected]