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Cragmont School Art Gallery Brings Color and Whimsy to All
At this time of the year, Cragmont's Art Gallery is awash with these colorful leaves made by each student in grades K-3. Their work is being carefully watched over by the school scarecrow designed by Ellen Evangeliste, Cragmont's Art Instructor Extraordinaire.
In another current gallery exhibit, students took inspiration from the sugar skulls that are traditionally given to children and used as altar offerings as part of the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) celebration.
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Oxford Students Remember Mr. Jones
Students at Oxford work on a memorial for Paul Jones, an instructional assistant who passed away this past summer. Mr. Jones also worked in the after-school program, was a talented jazz musician and touched many hearts at the school.
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Admissions Events
Do you have a child starting school next fall?
If so, mark your calendar for the
Kindergarten & New Families Information Fair on Dec. 3 from 10-1 at LeConte Elementary.
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Free and Reduced Lunch Form
Please help us qualify for state and federal funds available to serve our students. We need every family to complete a Free and Reduced Lunch Form.
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District Meetings & Events
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No School: Mon., Nov. 7 and Thanksgiving Break, Nov. 23-25
Brown Act Committees Open to the Public:
Tuesday, Nov. 1, 3:30-5:30
2020 Bonar Street, Berkeley, Room 126
BSEP Planning & Oversight Committee
Tuesday:
Nov. 1 (6:45 - 9:00pm)
2020 Bonar Street, Berkeley, Room 126
Wednesdays:
Nov. 2 (7:30pm)
Nov. 16 (7:15pm)
School Board Meetings are held in the Board Room at 1231 Addison Street.
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Give us your feedback on the A+ News
Let us know what you think of this edition, or what you'd like to know more about!
Send an email to:
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Preparing for Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences are a great way to collaborate with your child's teacher and strengthen the home-school partnership. We encourage every parent to take advantage of the opportunity to meet with your child's teacher. If you have not done so already, please contact your teacher as soon as possible to make an appointment.
Click here to find some sample questions you may want to ask during the conference, and other tips to consider in preparation for your conference. If you would like additional support, please reach out to your school's family engagement specialist using the contact information here.
To accommodate the conference times, elementary schools have early dismissal on November 3, 4, 8 & 9; Middle schools release early on November 8-10. No school for all TK-12 students on Monday, November 7 (or Veteran's Day, Friday, November 11).
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College Readiness Clinics for Students & Families
On a recent Saturday, staff from the Office of Family Engagement and Equity and the Berkeley High College & Career Center collaborated with Parents of Children of African Descent (PCAD) to present a
College Readiness Clinic for families. The goal was
to help high school seniors with understanding college acceptance requirements and completing college applications, and to discuss transcript review, academic preparation, and college readiness with freshmen, sophomores and juniors.
A few days later, a similar College Readiness Workshop was presented in Spanish for our Latino families at Berkeley High School. A representative from San Francisco State University was on hand to explain college requirements, the college application process and financial aid to families.
With California state and UC applications due November 30, seniors and their families are in the thick of the college application process and are taking full advantage of the resources available to them. BHS
College Advisors Melanie Aguas and Angela Price are busy providing application workshops to students, presentations on college applications to families, hosting visitations from school admissions counselors from around the country, as well as meeting individually with students to advise them each step of the way. (
Funds from the Berkeley Schools Excellence Program (BSEP) pay for these critical positions.)
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Stories from Readers Series: Share the Joys of Reading
In this personal essay piece, Eric Silverberg, a voracious reader, parent, and BUSD school library teacher, shares the joy he and his son experience through reading. Click to read the whole piece and you can find his useful advice on fun ways to promote reading in your home.
When I was ten years old I was a voracious reader. I read fiction, especially fantasy and science fiction -- the Phantom Tollbooth, A Wrinkle in Time, James and the Giant Peach. I read in my bed, staying up late at night getting lost in the characters' problems and their imaginary worlds. One morning, needing a break, I decided not to go to school and instead packed my bag, throwing in some chips, an apple and my copy of Mark Twain's the Prince and the Pauper and headed to the roof of our apartment building to read for the day. It was the first time I skipped school and all I could think of to do was to find a place to be alone with my book. Reading was for me, at age 10, a way of escaping my problems, and making sense of my feelings. Today, I'm still an avid reader. As a children's librarian, I read for work, so I know which books to recommend to kids. But I'm also a regular reader of adult fiction, especially science fiction when I need to escape and make sense of my feelings, just like I did when I was 10.
My son, now age 10, is a different kind of reader than I was at his age. A big non-fiction consumer, he loves...Read more
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Soda Tax Brings Funds for Health and Wellness Project
This year the BUSD Gardening and Cooking Program is piloting a Health and Wellness project after school at LeConte, Thousand Oaks, Longfellow, and Berkeley Technology Academy. The program includes nutrition and sugar awareness lessons and healthy, garden-fresh cooking activities each week at each school. This pilot is funded through the City of Berkeley with funds from the soda tax.
Earlier this month our educators were out at the City's first Harvest Festival to demonstrate the lessons students enjoy in the school gardens and the pilot kitchen classrooms. Families visited the garden booth to learn how to make planter pots with newspaper and seeded spinach and kale. At the chef stage, families were able to watch a demonstration of two simple, nutritious and tasty recipes in the making, and taste! We've posted the delicious
Apple Pear Salsa and Tomato Cucumber Gazpacho recipes for your enjoyment
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Run or Walk in the Berkeley Half Marathon/10k/5k to Support the Berkeley Public Schools Fund!
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| Team Schools Fund Runner Madan Kumar talks about why he runs for the Schools Fund. |
In the past three years, the Schools Fund has raised $90,000 in total with its Berkeley Half team - that's about 150 classroom grants for Berkeley teachers. You can Race for Free in exchange for a modest fundraising goal for the Schools Fund.
See why Malcolm X Vice-Principal, Susanne Reed, is running here.
Berkeley Half Details
Sunday, November 20, 2016
5k, 10k and Half Marathon
Just click "Get Started" on the
Fundraising/Team Page.
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