An excellent education is one of the keys to our children’s future success.

JANUARY 2014

Happy New Year! It is hard to believe that we are fast approaching the half-way point in the 2013-2014 school year. Thank you to our families at each school site for supporting WCEF through your donations and your volunteer hours at our various events. Thank you to our alumni, community and businesses that continue to support our students as well. Your partnership is integral in helping our students succeed. We are grateful for the continued support of all our K-12 students. Thank you!

If you have not yet donated to WCEF this year, please consider donating now. We have currently raised $610,000 and need to raise an additional $67,000 to reach our funded commitment goal of $677,000 for this school year. Your donation to WCEF will directly support excellence in your child’s education and help prepare your child for success in the 21st century. For a list of funded programs for the 2013-2014 school year please click here.

~ Tim Schultz
President WCEF

We are so grateful to our families, businesses, and community members who share their time, talent, and donations to support all our students in kindergarten through the twelfth grade.

Please click here to read the 2012-2013 WCEF Annual Report.

The Only Thing That is Constant is Change.
It is a difficult challenge to keep up with force of change in this day and age especially in the area of technology but WCEF is committed to doing just that. Learning today is vastly different than it was even ten years ago. Students are engaged in a world that moves much faster and information is shared at the speed of light. Those involved in education work hard to keep pace.

Did you know that?

• 73% of Students use some form of technology to study for classes.
• 70% of students use technology to take notes.
• 91% of students use email as a form of communication with their teachers.
• 65% of students use technology for presentations

Las Lomas students are fortunate to have the ability to use technology to their advantage, thanks in part to the efforts of WCEF. In addition to equipment upgrades, WCEF supplements two technology staff positions, resulting in additional computer lab hours and greater collaboration between technology staff and teachers. This funding provides one teacher with a full extra period, allowing him to work directly with staff to help incorporate technology such as iPads, iPods, smart phones, laptops, and science probe ware into their pedagogy.

For more facts and updates on Technology at LLHS click here!

Art and Music Specialist Program
During a recent meeting the art and music specialists reviewed strategies for collaboration in the classroom. One of the tools the specialists learned for fostering student interaction in the classroom was “Turn and Talk”. The group read an article entitled, “Manage Your Classroom Effectively” and discussed how the principles in the article could be applied in their classrooms. The remainder of the time the specialists shared resources for the five domains of the Visual and Performing Arts Standards: Artistic Perception, Creative Expression, Historical and Cultural Context, Aesthetic Valuing, Connections, Relationships and Applications. The art and music specialists value this time to reflect on their work with students and the chance to share resources with one another.

Physical Education Program
The PE specialists had their first meeting of the year to continue the work they began together last year. Our goal is to develop lessons designed to promote student confidence and the knowledge needed to maintain a physically active and healthy lifestyle. The group reviewed procedures for fostering inclusive and active physical education. Using a resource the PE specialists had been given last year, Teaching the Nuts and Bolts of Physical Education, the specialists determined how to break a skill, such as the underhand throw, into parts and how to develop activities to build “muscle memory”. We also shared activities that specialists can use with students on rainy days to promote a healthy lifestyle. During our next meeting we will continue identifying key instructional areas for each grade level in the physical education standards. This will help us to maintain a cohesive and consistent program across all five elementary schools.

~ Lisa Cheney, Director of Curriculum
Walnut Creek School District

As the new year begins, most people resolve to make both big and small changes in their lives that will help to improve their health, career and community. As parents and conscious consumers we also consider how our choices impact the health of our children and our community -- whether that means supporting the local farm to table restaurant or buying goods and services from a locally owned business. WCEF is grateful to our parent community that continues to support the local businesses in our Business Partnership Program, which include our First Friday partners.

At WCEF, we have resolved to bring more recognition to those who make the choice to support our students -- specifically, our Business Partners. Not only is our Business Partnership Program revamped to allow for improved partnership opportunities, we have launched a Business Online Directory. A dedicated page now houses the business names and logos or our Partners and has a direct link to their website. So if you want to promote your business directly to our parent community, with over 10,000 contacts, a Silver, Gold or Platinum Level partnership can be the best use of your marketing and advertising dollars this year! Click here for more information.

Or for business launches and special promotions, our First Friday Business advertisements are distributed to all families in the Walnut Creek School District, Las Lomas High School and to WCEF community members on the First Friday of every month.

With various ways to partner, the investment that our businesses make on behalf of our students creates a significant impact in the Walnut Creek School District and Las Lomas High School. That investment allows us to continue to offer top quality education for all. Please continue to support these businesses. At WCEF, we know that we could not support our schools without the help of our parent and local business community and for that we are grateful.

~ Kuldip Chohan
VP Business/Community, WCEF

The Friends of WCEF Club is organized to allow Rossmoor residents to keep abreast of current news and issues related to Rossmoor’s two school districts: The Walnut Creek School District (K-8) and the Acalanes Union High School District. All Rossmoor residents are invited to attend club meetings which are held at Creekside Clubhouse four times per year. Membership is free.

At the club’s October 17th meeting, Dr. John Nickerson, Superintendent of the Acalanes Union High School District, presented a history of funding for public education in California and how the recent changes affect our local schools. In addition, student art from Las Lomas High School’s art program was on display.

The Friends of WCEF held the club’s holiday social on Thursday, December 12th. Christina Iantorno, art teacher at Walnut Creek Intermediate, presented an overview of the art curriculum used in the Walnut Creek School District. Student art work (K-12) was on display and harp music was provided by Jessica Siegel from Harps Etc.

Please contact April O’Dea at [email protected] for more information.