WCCUSD School Board Candidate Forum

WCCUSD SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE FORUM
SAVE THIS DATE!!
Monday, October 6, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Harding Elementary School Theater

 The school board makes important decisions that affect teachers and children attending public schools in the district.

Arts education, all-day kindergarten, bond measures for construction, charter schools, differentiated instruction, Gifted and Talented Program (GATE), Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) spending, math programs, parcel taxes for programs, parents as stakeholders, teacher quality and compensation.  Who should be elected to shape these programs and spend this money?

The PTAs of Kensington, Harding, Madera, Mira Vista, Fairmont, Washington and Korematsu are proud to join together to sponsor a WCCUSD School Board Candidates Forum.

This November, three seats out of the five are up for election.  There are ten candidates running. We will have at least one new board member since long-time board member Charles Ramsey is not seeking re-election.

This forum is especially designed for the El Cerrito feeder school population and will be moderated by our own Ellen Hartigan-O’Connor.  Come and have your questions answered. Learn about these candidates!

For information, or to submit a question to the forum, please email us at: 4westcounty@gmail.com

School Site Council Ballots are here

This is an important school group! The School Site Council (SSC) is composed of the school principal and a group of people selected by their peers, representing all segments of the school community for the common goal of supporting student success. The SSC does this by developing and monitoring the implementation of the school’s plan known as the Single Plan for Student Achievement. The SSC members include the principal; teacher representatives; other staff representatives; parents/other community representatives, and student representatives at the secondary level with each group selected by their peers.

Election Schedule
· Election ballots will be published on 9/17/2014 and elections will last until 9/24/2014. Get your ballot here.
· Election results will be published on 9/29/2014

Back to School Night – Thursday, September 18th

Back to school night_image_2You are cordially invited to “Back to School Night”, an orientation for parents. Students should not come to this event. You will follow an abbreviated daily schedule, meet your child’s teachers, become familiar with the scope and sequence of standards-based curricula, and see fabulous classrooms and displays.

It is essential that you bring your student’s schedule with you so that you know where to go. Your visit in each class will be ten minutes and there will be a few minutes in between each period (passing period). There is a template that you can fill in with the information about your student’s schedule in a letter from Mr. Burnham.

Starting at 6:30pm, visits in each class will be ten minutes and there will be a few minutes in between each period
(passing period). Physical education classes will convene in room 39.

If you are interested in learning about Powerschool, Ms. Bogie our librarian will be in the
computer lab (room 12) from 5:45 – 6:15pm to offer assistance.

We are looking forward to a spectacular evening. See you there!

Map of Campus Here:

http://li996-204.members.linode.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/korematsu-middle-school-map-of-temp-campus.pdf

School Site Council Needs YOU!

Voing_ImageWhat is the SSC?
The School Site Council (SSC) is composed of the school principal and a group of people, selected by their peers, representing all segments of the school community for the common goal of supporting student success. The SSC does this by developing and monitoring the implementation of the school’s plan known as the Single Plan for Student Achievement. The SSC members includes the principal; teacher representatives; other staff representatives; parents/other community representatives, and student representatives at the secondary level with each group selected by their peers.

There are currently several openings in our SSC:
 For parents/community members there are 2 openings
 For teachers there are 3 openings
 For students there are 2 openings
 For classified and other staff there is 1 opening

Please complete an SSC Declaration To Run Form and return to the school no later than 9/16/2014 if you are interested in running. The form is in English and Spanish.

Election Schedule
 SSC Declaration To Run forms are due no later than 9/16/2014
 Election ballots will be published on 9/17/2014 and elections will last until 9/24/2014
 Election results will be published on 9/29/2014

Bright Bytes Technology Survey

During the 2014‐15 school year, our district is partnering with BrightBytes, an educational software company, so that we can learn more about our school’s technology use for student learning. The goal is to gather baseline and continuous data on technology access and skills, and on our district’s technology environment, in order to understand the connection between technology use and student achievement.
To gain these insights, we must provide BrightBytes with a complete picture of technology use at school and at home within our district. We will be asking students, teachers, and parents to participate in a project to help us gather this data. Your participation and support is important to us and will make the difference between having a complete versus a limited understanding of our district’s technology use. Our first step is to gather data from you, the members of our parent community. Below is a link to the parent survey. There is a QR code which can be scanned with a mobile device running a QR code reader in the attached flyer. This will allow you to access the survey on your smartphone or another mobile device (such as a tablet). Please note that the survey is short and should only take about 5 to 8 minutes of your time. For more information please see the attached flyer.

Korematsu Parent Survey URL: www.BByt.es/XH2UP

Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete this valuable survey.

Durante el año escolar 2014‐2015, nuestro distrito estará trabajando conjuntamente con BrightBytes, una compañía de programas de computación, con el objeto de desarrollar un mejor conocimiento sobre la utilización de la tecnología en nuestras escuelas para el aprendizaje de los alumnos. Nuestra meta es recolectar información que nos permita crear un punto de referencia y recolectar datos continuamente sobre el acceso a la tecnología y los conocimientos que se poseen sobre esta, dentro del entorno tecnológico escolar. Esto tiene como propósito entender la conexión existente entre el uso de la tecnología y el rendimiento de los alumnos.
Para lograr esto, debemos proporcionar a la compañía BrightBytes una idea clara y completa sobre el uso de la tecnología en las escuelas y en los hogares que se encuentran dentro del distrito. Estaremos pidiendo a los alumnos, los maestros y padres que participen en un proyecto para que nos ayuden a recolectar esta información. Su participación y respaldo son importantes para nosotros y harán la diferencia entre tener un entendimiento completo o un conocimiento limitado sobre el uso de la tecnología en nuestro distrito. El primer paso es recolectar información relacionada con ustedes, los miembros de nuestra comunidad de padres. A continuación hay una conexión para tener acceso a una encuesta para los padres y también hay un código QR, el cual pueda ser escaneado con un aparato móvil que pueda leer códigos QR. Esto le permitirá tener acceso a la encuesta a través de su teléfono inteligente o de otro aparato móvil (como una computadora tablet). Por favor nótese que la encuesta es corta y sólo le tomará entre 5 y 8 minutos de su tiempo para completarla.

Encuesta para los padres en español URL: http://goo.gl/pQRIFQ

Bright Bytes por los padres

Muchas gracias!

The PTSA Welcomes Teachers and Staff

Teacher Welcome Breakfast_1
Teacher Welcome Breakfast_2

Last week the PTSA welcomed the teachers back to school by providing a light breakfast in the staff room. We appreciate that our teachers and staff come to school each day ready to care for and educate our students – even when we don’t fed them! Thank you 2014-15 KMS teachers!

A Message from Ms. Bogie, KMS Librarian Extraordinaire

The Korematsu Library will be opening for lunch on Wednesday, August 27. It will open for student and class visits throughout the school day on Tuesday, Sept. 2. 

The Korematsu Library club, the Library RATS (Reading and Tech Stars) will be starting on Tuesday, Sept. 16. It is every Tuesday from 2:30-3:30. The library is open most Tuesdays and Thursdays after school starting Sept. 16. If your child plans to come to the library on Tuesdays & Thursdays after school it is good to have other childcare plans as well because there are weeks when I have meetings or other after school commitments and I am not able to stay late. Most of the time I am here, though.

The best ways to contact me are to stop by, call the school, or email me at abogie@wccusd.net. I am often out of the library and doing other things on campus so email tends to work well.

For more details about the library, here is a link to a refresher video for 8th graders, and introduction videos for 7th graders. I am visiting all of the 7th grade classes this week to introduce myself and talk about the library. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3tCBGC-E2vsMAKr7knqHTg

I look forward to seeing family faces and meeting new families!

After School Options at Korematsu

After School LogosYou might already know that there is an FREE after school program administered by the El Cerrito Recreation Department. Kids have time to do homework and there are fun activities. You can find more information about signing up here:
http://el-cerrito.org/index.aspx?nid=435

There are also two special programs available if enough kids sign up:
After School French Program Spanish
After School Chess Program Spanish
Both of these after school enrichment programs start soon and are dependent on enrollment, so sign up right away!

KMS Cross Country will also be starting later in the Fall. Look for information about the team in September.

These are the official offerings for kids to have a safe, nurturing place to spend time after school. What does your student do after school? Do you have a favorite club, sport, or activity that you’d like to tell other families about? Leave a comment below telling us what your student does after school.

Message from Principal Burnham

Welcome back to school! Our staff has been working hard to prepare for what promises to be a great school year. Let’s begin the year with a renewed determination to create the most positive and challenging learning environment for our students.

In order to accommodate all students, many scheduling changes have been made. Throughout the campus, there are posted lists of students in alphabetical order. The list provides each student’s first period teacher and room number. Students should make their way to this first period class, and they will receive their new schedule there. Unless there is a glaring error, such as a missing class period, changes to schedules will not be made until Friday at the earliest.

I look forward to seeing all of our wonderful students focused and ready to learn on the first day of school!