Superintendent's Friday Update
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Hello Alta Loma School District,
Next week you will receive a link for our LCAP Survey via email, and you will also be able to access the link on the front page of the Alta Loma School District website. The survey is organized around the eight state-wide priorities, and reflects the five goals of the Alta Loma School District Local Control Accountability Plan.
The Alta Loma School District benefits from and values the input of parents, students, staff, and community members. As we plan, prepare, and revise educational goals and expenditures outlined in the implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula, we wanted to let you know about this important upcoming request for input. Your assistance as thought partners in the shaping of District actions that will be detailed in our annual Local Control Accountability Plan is critical.
We urge everyone to take the LCAP Survey prior to November 19, 2021. One response per family is needed. If you indicate that you have more than one student in the Alta Loma School District, you'll be directed to take the survey with one student in mind. However, if you prefer to take the survey for each child in our schools, please feel free to do so. Thank you in advance for your participation.
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From Our November 3, 2021 Regular Board of Trustees Meeting:
Staff Provided an Update on Measure H Bonds:
On Wednesday, November 3, the District was able to sell the final $3 million of the Measure H Bonds in Series D, which were approved by voters in 2016. At the same time the District refinanced the Series A bonds which were originally issued in 2017.
Series A was refinanced to take advantage of reduced interest rates as compared to the rates at the time of original issuance. The refinancing of Series A resulted in a savings of just over half-a-million dollars to taxpayers in the community. We continue to thank members of our community for their generosity, and for the trust they place in us to be excellent fiscal stewards of taxpayer dollars.
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Staff Provided a Class Size Averages Presentation:
The priorities of the District, as established and supported by the Trustees, are to maintain the smallest class size that can be afforded with the District resources, and to also keep combination classes to a minimum. The District has set standard class size averages of 24:1 for grades PK-3, and 32:1 for grades 4-8. The current class size averages for the District are at or below the standards set by the District. The table below shows the average class size by grade for the 2021-22 school year.
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Regarding Resolution No. 11-03-21 DISTRICT STATEMENT CONCERNING COVID-19 VACCINE MANDATES:
Trustees discussed the Resolution and took action to bring the Resolution back to the next Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees on December 15, 2021. This provides additional time for community members to read and share input related to the Resolution brought forward, and also permits Trustees to gather additional information during this very fluid time. There was not a vote on November 3 either for, or against, the passing of the Resolution.
Our Next Regularly Scheduled Board of Trustees Meeting Will Be Held On December 15, 2021:
In order to meet Education Code requirements for the date of the annual organizational meeting, the December meeting has been moved from December 8 to December 15, 2021.
From the COVID-19 Safety and Information Team:
ALSD continues to receive and deeply respect diverse input related to vaccines, which are not currently mandated.
As of the date of this communication, the Governor, the Legislature, and the CDPH have not adopted any order or statute that would implement a vaccine mandate for students in K-12 schools. At this time, we do not know if, or how, a vaccine mandate consistent with the Governor’s October 1 press conference will be implemented.
Policies related to this matter would be set at the state level, not at the county or local level. If you'd like to reach out to your local representatives, contact information for Assembly Member Ramos and Senator Ochoa-Bogh can be found at https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/. Information for contacting Governor Newsom's office can be found at https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail/.
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Wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead!
With my appreciation and best regards,
Karen Hendricks
Superintendent
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- Wednesday, November 10 - Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee Meeting, 6:00 pm; Vineyard Junior High
- Thursday, November 11 - Veteran's Day Holiday; No School
- Friday, November 12 - Admissions Day Holiday; No School
- Friday, November 12 - No Superintendent's Friday Update
- Monday, November 15 - Friday, November 19 - Elementary School Parent/Teacher Conferences (Modified Days)
- Friday, November 19 - Modified Day for all
- Friday, November 19 - Superintendent's Friday Update Published
- Monday, November 22 - Friday, November 26 - Thanksgiving Holidays; No School
- Friday, November 26 - No Superintendent's Friday Update
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Great Things Happening At Our Schools |
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From Principal Michele Rachielles:
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Mrs. Lawrence’s Spanish class is muy divertida! Students are always talking and practicing during class. This week, students played a fun and fast game similar to verbal hot potato. Each student was given an element related to Día de los Muertos (ofrenda, papel picado, calavera, etc.) and had to quickly recite a script including their element and hand off the turn to the next student. Whomever was speaking when the music stopped was eliminated! The game continued until there was one final champion. You can imagine the excitement as all the students rushed to recite the lines below.
“A Pancho Camancho le gusta_____________.”
“¡No! A Pancho Camancho no le gusta _____________ , a Pancho Camancho le gusta ____________ !”
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From Principal Sandy Rose:
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During Red Ribbon Week, our Vikings participated in our spirit days and ended the week with a fun-filled dance party and Halloween dress-up day. Our ASB Leadership held costume contests during lunchtime for the following categories: most creative, best group, and funniest. Vineyard’s CJSF students carved pumpkins to be judged in a jack-o-lantern contest at the dance. It was great to see our students laughing, dancing, playing games, carving pumpkins, and showing their school spirit! #TreasuredMomentsToRemember! |
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From Principal Dolly Bentley:
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Last week's events were fun-filled and brought lots of festivities to ALE! On Friday morning, we welcomed our community on campus for our Halloween Costume Parade. It was so much fun seeing all of our students and staff dressed up for the fun occasion! |
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On Friday night, we hosted our ALE Trunk-or-Treat! ALE staff, parents, and volunteers decorated their trunks so that our students and community could Trick-or-Treat safely. Students, parents, and staff had a great night and it truly put a smile on our faces to be able to give back to our community! A huge thank you to Angelina Morrison and our PTA for organizing and donating candy for the event! |
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From Principal Khaleelah Lewis-Wilkins:
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Last Friday, we celebrated our annual Costume Parade with a bang and with the community in tow! We were so happy to have our parents and families back on campus to celebrate a “Spooktacular moment”- students dressed in their most creative attire! Our Banyan families “oohed and awed” over all of the Bulldog cuteness and left with smiles from ear to ear! One student exclaimed “ This was the BEST day ever because my mom could see me in my costume!” |
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This week, with support of our phenomenal PTA, we celebrated birthdays past and present with the Bulldog Birthday Book Giveaway! A gigantic thank you and smiles goes out to our PTA parents,
Wan-nei Lee and Miechelle DeLaRosa. Together, this dynamic duo, who also serve in stewardship capacity at the site, were able to organize and celebrate over 80 students for the first iteration! What an amazing feat! Students were elated to be recognized and celebrated. Thanks to them, Bulldog pride was felt all around campus! Go Bulldogs!
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From Principal Chris Deegan:
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We enjoyed honoring Veterans and those actively serving in our United States Armed Forces during our November Flag Assembly. November is a great time to think about all that we have to be thankful for and to instill the joy of thankfulness and gratitude into our children’s lives. We are helping our students appreciate the freedom that we have as Americans, along with the knowledge that it is a result of the sacrifices that many have made. |
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We also recognized students for outstanding achievements in both attitude and academics. As we have just wrapped up this year’s PTA Reflections Art Contest, we were happy to honor two Cardinals who moved up through the various levels of California PTA’s Reflections Contest last year. Amanda Keyes and TJ Kabia both reflected on the theme, “I matter because . . . “ and submitted wonderful entries in visual arts and photography, respectively. Great job, Cardinals! I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s entries that were recently submitted. |
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From Principal Andrew Carter:
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Deer Canyon was alive with families on Friday last week and it was amazing! We started the day with our Flag Assembly and Halloween Parade. It was so good to see our Eagles singing their traditional songs! That night, we held our very 1st PTA Trunk-or-Treat, which was an extraordinarily successful event. We had 20 families enter vehicles and tons of our awesome Eagle families came through! It was so great to have this event and to bring our school community together! Thank you, PTA and all of our fantastic families for making our event so memorable for kids and adults alike! Together, we can do amazing things for our Eagles! |
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From Principal Val Bires:
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The Hermosa Husky Staff continues to work above and beyond for our school, students and community. Dressing up for our Annual Costume Parade with our Rock n Roll theme was a hit and enjoyed by all! |
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5th graders students had the opportunity to explore chemical reactions with Mrs. Yeutter. When baking soda and vinegar are mixed together they make a chemical reaction and carbon dioxide gas is released. Students worked together in groups to perfect their experiment and had a blast!
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From Principal Curtis Quanstrom:
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The first trimester has come to an end and it was marked by a truly memorable day. The day started with our Halloween Parade and families were invited to join in the fun. As music played, the students strutted their stuff while family and friends cheered them on. This special day was capped off with our Trunk-R-Treat. Support poured in from the PTA and Champion Families to create a one of a kind Halloween experience. The top three cars went above and beyond to transport the students to a different realm. |
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From Principal Guadalupe Berzunza:
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Last week Stork Superstars had a “Spooktacular” week. On Friday morning, we welcomed our parents on campus for our Halloween Costume Parade. It was so much fun seeing all of our students and staff dressed up for the fun occasion! It was great to be able to have our parents join us to see their children laughing and having fun as they showed off their amazing costumes. |
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From Principal Kristy Johnson:
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This week we had our first Grizzly Spirit Assembly in person. Our Spirit Assemblies are a time when we honor students with a Super Grizzly Award. Each teacher picks 2 students from their class that stand out for showing respect, responsibility and being safe on campus. We were so excited to include our families in this celebration. Our mascot Victor even joined in on the fun! |
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