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As many of you are aware, government funding of education has been increasingly limited in recent years. Most charter schools count on a per child family donation to supplement the state and government funding they receive. Family donations are generally used for items not entirely covered in the budget, such as expedition fieldwork. We would [...]

A common misconception of public schools is that they are free when in fact providing excellent education comes at quite a high cost. When most of us were children, property taxes and other federal funding were more than adequate to provide the required resources to fund schools. In 1978, Proposition 13 overhauled the way California [...]

Classroom News We continue to start each day with Morning Meeting where we greet each other and share important news. We usually do a morning message, which is one place we discuss parts of words, spelling, and writing rules. Last month we began combining the 1st graders and Kindergarteners for Morning Meeting on Tuesdays and [...]

Hi all, Many thanks for the huge participation at our Gratitude Dinner; the event highlighted our wonderful community of families and staff. A big thank you to the PTC for organizing, renting the equipment, and taking care of set-up/clean-up – great job. A big thanks as well to Jenna Shropshire, her father, and Katie Pruski [...]

Hi all, Lots of very exciting news and happenings from our school community. Students have been doing a wonderful job of presenting their views on our SIERRA norms at Community Meetings on Friday mornings. Please come by and participate in the meeting and Coffee House (free coffee and snack for parents, plus an opportunity to [...]

Hi all, Just finished a very successful Bear Walk on Monday; thanks to all the parents for their hard work in set-up and stations and to the students for some strong running and walking. Please remember to send in your donations for laps walked. Some info to pass along: November 4, this coming Friday, at [...]

Classroom News Reading groups are up and running very successfully. Students are working hard at being independent during literacy centers, and because of this I am able read with groups every other day. When the students are not reading with me, they are involved in a variety of literacy activities. Their imagination and creativity is [...]

Hi SELS community, I want to update you all on events for the next couple of weeks. Oct 24-28 is Minimum Day week; elementary students are released at 1 pm and 6th graders at 11:45. There will be no Kinder After-School Care as all will have access to busing. Oct 24-28 is also Goal-setting Conferences [...]

Hi all, I hope everyone is enjoying our pleasant weather. I want to relay some recent changes in our school program: As of Monday, Oct 10, we will be receiving hot lunches for our students. The cost remains the same ($3.25, or $0 for Free/Reduced students) and are available to all. We will, however, need [...]

Classroom News      The past few weeks we have been very busy in class! We continue to learn about each other and how to act in school. I introduced the Mystery Person, and we have almost wrapped up our daily student interviews. We are discussing the SIERRA norms for behavior, focusing on respect and [...]