Reseda COS Newsletter
Issue #2 September 25, 2020
A Message from Dr. Maxey
The 2020-2021 school year is well underway. This is the first time in the LAUSD history that all schools open up 100% online and that teachers provide education in a remote learning environment. I want to take a moment, to thank all of the parents and guardians who ensured that their child/children had the technological resources to access classes either by providing their own devices or going to school to receive devices. By working together, students have the tools which will enable them to learn remotely during these unprecedented and challenging times. Please feel free to reach out to your child’s school directly if you have questions or concerns. You may also reach out to the Community of Schools office for support, information, and updates. We are working diligently to meet the unique needs of each and every student in our Community of Schools. Please visit our Community of Schools website at https://sites.google.com/lausd.net/resedacos/home for additional information and important updates. Our Social Media sites also have useful information for you to easily access. They are:
Twitter: Reseda Community of School @ResedaCOS
Instagram: resedacos.lausd.net/
Facebook: resedacos
We look forward to working with you for a successful school year.
Ms. Simons, Teacher of the year
Becoming Teacher of the Year is a great honor. When an educator is considered for teacher of the year, she has demonstrated years of hard work and sacrifice. A teacher of the year encourages students to learn. She finds creative ways to make the material engaging and accessible to all students. She stays up-to-date with best practices and collaborates with teachers and other support staff to help enhance instruction She is respected and admired by students, parents and teachers. She goes above and beyond the regular duties of a teacher to truly make an impact on the school, district or community. The latter is an accurate description of Mrs. Simons. The Academy for Enriched Sciences community is fortunate to experience her passion, creativity, devotion and expertise in the art and science of inspiring students to reach their full potential. Reseda Community of Schools is just as fortunate to have an educator of her caliber in our midst to mentor, support and guide others. I want to extend my sincerest appreciation and congratulations to Mrs. Simons, an exemplary educator, hero, and friend.
Watch her video- Click Here
Ms. Armendarez, Gault Street Elementary
By, Principal Antoinette Brusca
Mrs. Armendarez teaches TK-K at Gault Street Elementary. She is dynamic, energetic and highly engaging. In the Spring, Mrs. Armendarez designed a YouTube Channel in which she brings the world inside our children’s homes through Distance Learning. Mrs. Armendarez has also created a video library of science experiment kits available for parents to pick up and then guides children as they engage in hands-on experiments together. She reads high interest stories to our students. We are so fortunate to have engaging and dedicated teachers who go the Distance during our Distance Learning!
View her Channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfwZ_pRi1QYLAxMe2Z_pJnQ/videos
Welcome to the Reseda CoS- Monica Vega-Bonilla, Our new CoS Assistant!
Hello Reseda Cos Families,
My name is Monica Vega-Bonilla, I am married to a wonderful husband and we have two school aged children- one boy in elementary and one girl in middle school. I have been a parent volunteer at my children’s school for the last 7 years. I am currently attending college and working on my AA-T degree in pursuing my goal of becoming a teacher.
I have gained my experience in working with parents and children through the years as a parent volunteer and LAUSD employee. It is a great joy in my life to be able to be a part of the students growth. I enjoy working for LAUSD, because not only do I get the privilege to work with a great team of caring and compassionate colleagues, but I also get to see our generation flourish and develop into becoming individuals and as wonderful and respectful adults. I look forward to working with parents and members of our Reseda community.
Distance Learning Tips and Tricks
By, Elizabeth Chavez, Celia Martin, and Lusine Sarkisyan, Title III Coaches
SET-UP FOR SUCCESS
CREATE A WORK SPACE AND SET LEARNING EXPECTATIONS. Set Up a daily routine. Go over what the school and teacher expect of your student.
STAY FOCUSED
KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR STUDENT. Providing visual schedules and timed breaks to re-energize are useful Focus Strategies.
TAKING OWNERSHIP
CONSIDER YOUR STUDENT’S INPUT AND INTERESTS. Incorporate your students' choices into the daily activity plan. Promote a Growth Mindset.
TIME FOR WELL-BEING
ENCOURAGE KIND BEHAVIOR. Creating a gratitude list promotes positive perspectives. Ask for help from friends, family and teachers.
* From Commonsense.org; for complete article and spanish version Click Here
Spotlight on Special Education
Here in LDNW our Special Education Administrator (SEA) is Lisa Kendrick. Her role is to lead and guide our LDNW Special education staff in providing technical assistance to our schools through professional development, addressing substantial compliance, designing tiered systems of support to align with our LDNW and CoS to address the needs of students with disabilities regarding equity, access and creating inclusive communities. Ms. Kendrick brings a vast amount of experience to LDNW, having served as a school psychologist, Administrator over due process, Director of Instruction for DSE, and SELPA director for LAUSD. She can be reached at lisa.kendrick@lausd.net.
The Division of Special Education Call Center under School and Family Support Services (SFSS), responds to inquiries from families and District stakeholders regarding special education processes, and facilitates collaboration between families and school teams to appropriately address parent concerns related to IEP implementation and special education policies and procedures.
Instructional Updates
By, Renee Cofield, Instructional Coordinator
The public will have an opportunity to comment on the sufficiency of textbooks and other instructional materials used by Los Angeles Unified during a special Board of Education meeting hello no earlier than 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 6, 2020.
California Education Code requires that every student have a state adopted, standard-based textbooks or computer application to use in their English-language art, math, history/social science, science and health classes.
Students must be assigned a single textbook (hard copy or digital copy) in each subject that they can use both at home and in class.
The hearing will be held in the BoardRoom at Los Angeles Unified headquarters, 333 S. Beaudry Avenue. The agenda and other information will be available on October 2, 2020, at boe.lausd.net/LAUSDBMtgAgendas.
What are MITM’s 7 Essential Life Skills?
Mind in the Making shows what professionals, parents and caregivers can do—starting today—to strengthen the critical executive function skills in children. They aren’t the kinds of skills that children just pick up; these skills can be fostered to help children and the adults in their lives.
Executive function refers to the processes that involve managing thoughts, actions and emotions to achieve goals. The skills make it possible to consider alternative perspectives and respond to changing circumstances (cognitive flexibility), to keep information in one’s mind so it can be used (working memory), and to resist automatic and impulsive behavior (inhibitory control) so one can engage in goal-directed reasoning and problem solving.
Why are they so important? Higher executive function skills have been linked to success in school and life—health and wealth in adulthood—and have been shown to be even more important than IQ for future success. While science tells us that developing these skills is critical in the youngest years, they can be developed throughout life: it’s never too late!
Life skills are based on executive functions; they bring together our social, emotional and cognitive capacities to problem solve and achieve goals. Studies have found they are critical to success in school and life.
Focus and Self-Control
Children need this skill to achieve goals; especially in a world filled with distractions and information overload. This includes paying attention, exercising self-control, remembering the rules and thinking flexibility.
Perspective Taking
This involves understanding what others think and feel, and forms the basis for children’s understanding of the intentions of parents, teachers and friends. Children with this skill are less likely to get involved in conflicts..
Communicating
Much more than understanding language, reading, writing and speaking, communicating is the skill of determining what one wants to communicate and realizing how it will be understood by others. It is the skill teachers and employers feel is most lacking today.
Making Connections
This Life Skill is at the heart of learning: figuring out what’s the same, what’s different, and sorting them into categories. Making unusual connections is at the core of creativity and moves children beyond knowing information to using information well.
Critical thinking
This skill helps children analyze and evaluate information to guide their beliefs, decisions and actions. Children need critical thinking to make sense of the world around them and to solve problems.
Taking on Challenges
Children who take on challenges instead of avoiding or simply coping with them achieve better in school and in life.
Self-Directed, Engaged Learning
By setting goals and strategies for learning, children become attuned and better prepared to change as the world changes. This helps children foster their innate curiosity to learn, and helps them realize their potential.
“In the child’s world, the caretaker is a powerful, almost magical being. Let us use our magic to engender love and spark life-long learning in the hearts and minds of our children.”
Creating a Positive Culture
By, Katrina Antonelli-Weiss, Systems of Support Advisor
What is Social Emotional Learning?
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.
Social and emotional skills are critical to being a good student, citizen, and worker. Many risky behaviors (e.g., drug use, violence, bullying, and dropping out) can be prevented or reduced when multiyear, integrated efforts are used to develop students' social and emotional skills. This is best done through effective classroom instruction, student engagement in positive activities in and out of the classroom, and broad parent and community involvement in program planning, implementation, and evaluation.
Self-awareness is one of the Social Emotional Competencies that is taught and learned in You can start with scheduling a few minutes of quiet time in the morning to check in with yourself. Follow these steps: 1) sit in a comfortable position, 2) take a deep, slow breath, 3) repeat step two, two to three times. After you are a little more relaxed or feeling more mindful, ask yourself: How am I feeling today? What am I excited about? What will I make sure to do today? Challenge yourself to check in with a family member, friend, or associate that you, and ask them: How are you feeling today? What are you excited about? What will you make sure to do today? When you check in with yourself, it is easier to set your intention for the day. If you start to feel a little overwhelmed, underwhelmed, or just want a break, remember to breathe and reset your mind.
Community Highlights
by: Morena Camp, Parent Educator Coach
West Valley Occupational Center (213) 241-4799 Navigator: Joshua David Email: jpd3529@lausd.net
