LMEC Parent and Student Handbook

COVID Health and Safety Update - District's Updated Mask Policy

As of April 4, 2022, wearing masks at schools and district offices is no longer required but is strongly recommended. As a school community, we fully support the decision of all students, families, and staff to continue wearing a mask or not. Harassment or bullying of anyone based on this personal choice will not be tolerated.

Below are some great resources for staff and families to help students understand and ease fears and anxiety they may be experiencing:

• Coping with Anxiety as Mask Mandates Lift (Michigan Health)

• How to Deal With Bullying Over Face Masks in School (Boston Children’s Hospital)

• A Social Story about Mask Change

COVID Health and Safety Update - Rapid Antigen Test Kit

On Thursay, March 24th, LMEC students took home a rapid antigen test kit. We are encouraging all students to use their iHealth Rapid Antigen Test Kit to self-test for COVID-19 tomorrow morning before coming to campus. Testing and uploading results is not mandatory for returning to campus, however testing is an important tool to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. By testing before returning from Spring Break, staff and families can ensure that they are not returning to campus with a COVID infection.

Additional details on how to use the self-administered COVID-19 tests and upload results can be found on this instructional flier: English, Karen, Spanish, Somali, Swahili, Tagalog, Vietnamese

Construction on 28th Street

Although construction continues on 28th Street it is no longer occurring in front of the middle school drop off zone. Families are able to drive in and drop off along 28th Street but there may continue to be delays due to construction further down the street so please plan accordingly. Thank you again for your flexibility.

Eagle Scholar's Party on Wednesday, April 6th

The LMEC ASB has a special event planned for this Wednesday to celebrate the academic success of our middle school students. All 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who have no F's and no U's on the last progress report will get to participate in a special event at the end of the school day on Wednesday. Nearly 400 student met this criteria and will be able to participate!

There will be a game truck, Kona Ice, pizza, kickball, and more!

LMEC 8th Graders Visit Junior Achieve's Finance Park in Mission Valley & More Real World Learning Opportunities

Now that the district has lifted restrictions around field trips we have a number of them planned for our students during the last 3 months of school. Before we went on Spring Break entire 8th grade class had an opportunity to visit Junior Achieve's Finance Park and participate in budgeting simulation where they make decisions related to income, expenses, savings, and credit all based on careers that they selected.

LMEC's was designed around a Montessori philosophy and Montessori believes strongly that real world experiences are critically important to a child's learning. That is why we try to emphasize learning enrichment opportuniteis for our students in the real world. Some other field trips our students will be participating in during Q4:

• Salk Institute Virtual Lab: 6th Grade

• College Visits to UCSD & SDSU: 6th Grade

• College Visit & SDCOE Innovation Lab: 7th Grade Science

• Indian Hills Camp: 6th Grade

• Fishing Excurion: LMEC Science Club

LMEC Campus Tours

Do you have friends and family in the community that are interested in attending LMEC but would like more information about the campus? LMEC is now open every Wednesday at 4:00 PM for campus tours. To schedule a tour please email Ms. Connie Gonzalez at cgonzalez2@sandi.net.

Also here is the presentation we have been sharing with student and families at our feeder schools: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Ywa9KnD9qYNhwkQLCaQvbJ8E483wK4You0WpqcbNM3I/edit?usp=sharing

Incidents in Memorial Park

We have noticed an increase in incidents being reported after school hours (4:00 PM and later) in Memorial Park and at the skate park that we wanted to make sure families are aware of. Before we went on Spring Break, we talked with students about making good choices, even when they are not on campus, during our grade level assemblies. But in the spirit of continuing to build that strong home & school partnership we wanted to make sure families are aware that the school has limited jurisdiction over incidents happening off campus and after school hours and that the park and skate park may not be the best place for your children to go to without adult supervision.

We have also been in communication with school police regarding these issues but wanted to make sure families were aware of what is going on.

LMEC in the News

And in case you missed it, the SDUSD Board of Education unanimously approved the new attendance boundary for the LMEC campus and the new high school program. This will be the first time in more than 30 years that a new, comprehensive neighborhood high school will be opening in San Diego Unified. This historic event was featured on multiple local newscasts. Our students will no longer need to leave the neighborhood to get a first class high school education.

• SD Union-Tribune / SD Union-Tribune espanol

• KUSI News

• 10News

Reporting Absences

We wanted to make sure families are aware of how to report non-COVID related student absences. The easiest way to report an absence is to email our attendance clerk, Ms. Margarita Lopez at mlopez@sandi.net. You may also call the school at 619-344-6500 and press 3 to leave a message for Ms. Lopez. Once the absence has been reported no further action is needed on your part. Within 24 hours, when you check PowerSchool, you should see the attendance code has been changed from an A to an E which indicates the absence has been reported and excused. We also strongly recommend either you or your student reach out to the teachers to find out about any missed work. Email is normally the fastest way to communicate with teachers.

Students Speaking Out

Students Speaking Out is a program of San Diego County Crime Stoppers a community-based nonprofit organization (501c3). Students Speaking Out was inspired by the Campus Crime Stoppers program which has helped to solve hundreds crimes on local school campuses. The mission of Students Speaking Out is to empower young people to use their voices to make schools and communities safer. CLICK HERE for more information about Students Speak Out.

CLICK HERE to anonymously report an issue on campus or in the community.

Calling Our Main Office Line (619) 344-6500

Based on feedback from families, we are changing our automated message. Starting Monday you will hear a new automated message when you call the LMEC main office line. Please listen to the whole message as our recording has recently changed. Please press 1 for the message in Spanish. Please leave us a voice message and we will return your call within 24 hours.

For general questions when calling the site please press 0 when listening to the automated message.

If you are picking up a student for an appointment, especially during lunchtime, please call the office an hour before to make sure your student is ready. You can also send a note with your student the morning of so they know to expect you.

Save the Date

Stay Connected with LMEC

LMEC communicates with families in a variety of ways.

• Visit our school website: https://lmec.sandiegounified.org/

• Join our LMEC ClassDojo: https://www.classdojo.com/invite/?s=4eece53ff64aa62934ed2100

• Follow us on Instagram & Facebook: lmecsandiego

• Follow us on Twitter @LMECSD

• Not receiving weekly phone calls and emails from the school? Contact the main office at 619-344-6500 or visit the PowerSchool Parent Portal and make sure your contact information is up-to-date