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NOTICES: SCHOOL CLOSED: Friday, Feb. 18 and Monday, Feb. 21

SCHOOL WIDE EVENTS

Valentine Bulletin BoardPlease use the attached form to decorate and write a Valentine for your child. Return your completed

Valentine to school so that it can be displayed in the main hallway throughout the month. Students reallyenjoy seeing and reading the Valentines. They will be on display throughout the month and returned toyour child by the first of March. Please be sure to write your childs room number on the card. Thanks forparticipating in our effort to appreciate and spread words of love!

African-American Heritage Celebration and Quilt Raffle, Friday, Feb. 25thOur next major student performance and school-wide fundraiser will be held Friday, February 25th soplease put this date of your calendar and plan to support this event. Please help sell those raffle tickets! ---See small photo of the quilt attached.

Cancellation of our participation in the Mosaic ProjectTo insure that all fifth grade students have the opportunity to attend the annual overnight trip, we are

seeking a different site next year. The Mosaic Project/Outdoor School is unable to accept more than 35students. Unfortunately, we discovered this restriction last October after we submitted applications for 39of our fifth grade students. Two days prior to their departure, we were told by the Mosaic staff that wecould only send 35 students. Therefore, we had to tell the last four students who turned in theirapplications that they could no longer attend. We never want to deny any students of the opportunity toparticipate in a field trip because of contract restrictions so we are going to seek another camp thatprovides a similar community building experience in a natural environment.

Third grade field trip, Thursday, February 17thOn the southern San Mateo County coast, Ao Nuevo is the site of the largest mainland breeding colonyof the northern elephant seal.

Fifth grade field trip, Ms. Blanchards Class, Tuesday, February 22th

Science field trip, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Fourth grade field trip, Sierra Outdoor School, Sonora, May 18th May 20thFour the past four years, our fourth grade students have gone to the Sierra Outdoor School to experienceaspects of California History. The cost for each student is $162 for the two nights. Parents/guardians willreceive more information about this trip next month. At this time, we must ask that all fourth gradeparents/guardians plan to help pay what they can afford toward the cost of the trip because we need toreserve as much of our school funds as possible to improve achievement. However, all fourth gradestudents will be allowed to participate regardless of their families financial situation.

Celebrate LeConte Assembly, Friday, Feb. 25thThe assembly will begin at 8:15AM and last about 20 to 30 minutes. Thanks to our PTA, coffeeand light refreshments will be provided so that families can relax and enjoy seeing our childrenshine.

LECONTE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEES

School Governance Council (SGC) next meeting: Wednesday, February 9, 6:30PM

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SGC members reviewed and made changes to last years LeConte Parent Survey. The final draft,in English and Spanish, will be distributed this month. All results are tabulated and sent outto our families.

Funds were approved to pay staff registration costs for two upcoming conferences.Principal Wilson and three LeConte staff members will be attending a conference on February 22nd to

learn how we might implement our Response to Intervention (RtI) program given ouravailable resources. All schools are required to develop a RtI program designed to provideacademic and behavioral help for all students who struggle with learning and have difficultymanaging their behavior. Julie Venuto, our Full Inclusion teacher, will also attending an annualSpecial Education and Inclusion conference to obtain information about changes in specialeducation laws and practices and to learn about the latest technological advances available forstudents who need communication and other devices for learning. The group briefly reviewed anddiscussed the progress of our current School Plan for Student Achievement. This is a plan that allSGCs must help to develop and monitor. Changes and recommendations for nextyears plan will be discussed at the next SGC meeting on February 9th.

PTA General Meeting, next meeting: Tuesday, Feb. 22nd, 5:45PM-dinner, 6:00PM-meetingHighlights from the January 18th PTA meeting:1) LeContes three programs (Positive Behavior Support, Kidpower, and Welcoming Schools

curriculum) to support a positive school environment were reviewed. For more information aboutthese programs, see the detailed PTA minutes on our schools website. Also, the PTA will host aParent Information Night to further discuss the programs and answer any questions.

2) A unanimous decision was made regarding naming the LeConte grass soccer field in honor of MalikGrayson, a former LeConte student who was the victim of a shooting in Berkeley last November. Amemorial for Malik will be held this Spring.

3) Our English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC) reported a profit of $1000 from the LatinoHeritage Event with another $500 raised from the Barefoot Books fundraiser.

4) Our two BIGGEST FUNDRAISERS are coming up! The African-American Heritage Celebration andQuilt Raffle on February 25th and the Spring Auction in May. Students will be bringing home raffletickets near the end of January to sell to raise money for our school. The quilt, an iPad and iPod, andvarious other great prizes will be raffle prizes. We also need donations of goods and services for ourSpring Auction.

5) Please complete the LeConte Family Survey, your input is needed to help make our school the bestplace possible for our students, families, and staff members. Stay tuned for more details!

PTA fundraising opportunities to help our school include:

Great America fundraiser: 50% of purchase goes to support LeConte

Chinook Books - $20 book of coupons to use around the East Bay at green businesses with $10per book sold going to LeConte. Chinook Books may be purchased at the LeConte office (check

or cash). Berkeley Bowl (BB) Scrip (Gift Certificates). LeConte PTA earns 4% of every sale! They are

available in $20 denominations. LeConte PTA earns over $2000 a year from these sales. You canbuy BB scrip from Gloria Park (wearing jester hat) on Friday mornings or leave a check (madepayable to LeConte PTA) or cash for her with our school secretary Marie, anytime. You can alsoreach Gloria at 510-517-7133 or gloriapark@post.harvard.edu.

Escrip.com. You can sign up with Escrip.com and earn money for LeConte whenever you useyour registered credit or debit cards at participating vendors. You can also register your Macysand Safeway cards on Escrip to earn money every time you use these cards. Get your friends and

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family anywhere to register on Escrip.com! LeConte ID # is 137116693. If you need help, call oremail Gloria Park at 510-517-7133 or gloriapark@post.harvard.edu.

Whole Foods Gift Card program. For each $100 gift card purchased through the PTA, the PTAearns $4.00. If you regularly shop at Whole Foods, this seemly small contribution can add up to asignificant amount for LeConte. Please purchase your cards (in $100 denominations) from PeterShelton at morning line-up. Peter will wear his black and white checkered hat. Cash or checks

made out to LeConte PTA, please. Any questions, please contact Peter atPeter@PeterSheltonLaw.com or at 510-529-5483.

The PTA is also requesting volunteers with novice sewing abilities to help sew the quilt for our annualquilt raffle that happens in February. (No quilting experience necessary.)

English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC) next meeting: Thursday, Feb. 17th, 5:00PMAfter experiencing a very energetic and exciting Zumba workout facilitated by LeConte parent,Graciela Hernandez Zaldivar, the group met and continued their discussion about the strengths ofthe Latino Heritage Celebration and proposed ideas and changes for next year. ELACPresident, Gazel Valdez, recorded all considerations and suggestions. After some discussionabout various methods for raising funds, they are considering selling coffee and pastries to

families and staff. The arrangements are yet to be confirmed. By now, all families of studentswhose first language is not English should have received a report that shows their childs level ofproficiency in English. Unfortunately, the report titled the California English LanguageDevelopment Test (CELDT) is only in English. During the next ELAC meeting in February, staffmembers will explain the CELDT so that families can better understand the contents and howthey can help their children. Principal Wilson will also be discussing the budget and asking forinput from the group about how funds should be used to support student achievement.

Coalition of Families for African American Students next meeting: Thursday, Feb. 24th, 6:00Committee members discussed ideas to bring our community together as we celebrate African AmericanHeritage Month. One of the ideas was to have all students interview their families, specifically notinghow much we have in common as a community, the numerous languages that are spoken by our families,

and the various countries that represent the heritage of our ancestors. One of the goals is for students tobegin to develop a wider perspective of the backgrounds of their peers. Members also signed up to takeon responsibilities, such as clean up, set up, decorations, etc. for our Annual African American HeritageCelebration scheduled for February 25th. More assistance will be need by all families. Requests for helpand items for the menu will be sent home to families on or before February 14. The meeting closed withdiscussion about the new Welcoming Schools Curriculum. This curriculum is designed to teach studentsto understand and learn to be more accepting and inclusive when it comes to differences whether thedifferences are based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, culture, etc. Since students are taughtabout gender and family differences (children can be raised within a family of two mothers, two fathers, agrandmother, a mother and a father, etc.) members of the group felt that parents should have moreinformation about the curriculum before and when it is taught.

SCHOOL-WIDE &DISTRICT NEWS

IMPORTANT!!! Fifth Grade TWI Parents and GuardiansThis is a reminder -- current 5th grade students in the TWI program who wish to continue in the programin middle school must apply to the TWI program at Longfellow for the 2011-2012 school year.Parents/guardians must submit a parent preference form to the Admissions office by February 4th in orderto be placed in the TWI program at Longfellow. The forms are available on the BUSD website and at theAdmissions Office.

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Berkeley School Enrollment for 2011-12 starts: January 4, 2011Check out www.berkeley.net for information on application and procedures. School visitation schedulesare also posted.

Black Youth In Crisis, Saturday, Feb, 5th, 9:00AM, Berkeley High , 2nd floorA group of BUSD parents and students will be discussing issues affecting Black youth, such as education

and violence. The goal of this event it so address these issues and for parents to learn and discuss howthey can intervene and be more involved with their children. See attached flyer; for more information call(510) 644-8524 or (510) 883-5222.

Pat Wolfe, Brain Research Presenter, Wednesday, Feb. 9th

On February 9 from 6:30 to 8:00PM, you will have a chance to hear from Pat Wolfe who will beexplaining the benefits of second language acquisition in early childhood. Please note that thispresentation will be held at Washington School in Richmond, 565 Wine Street. Please call (510) 231-1417 for more information; see flyer attached.

Positive Discipline Parenting, Sunday, Feb. 13The Downtown Berkeley YMCA is sponsoring this one day intensive workshop from 10:00AM to4:00PM.The cost is $60 per member or $80 member couple, $100 for non-member or $130 for non-member couple. To goal is to learn how to develop positive strategies for becoming a more kind and firmparent.. You can visit www.positivediscipline.org for more information. See the attached flyer for moreinformation and how to register.

Child Life and Attention Skills ProgramSee attached letter about a research study conducted at the University of California. The study involvesbehavioral interventions designed to address difficulties related to Attention Disorders. Participation isfree, students aged 7 to 11 are eligible. You can call (510) 643-3437 if you are interested.

Free Cooking Classes, Fall/Winter SessionsFREE!!! Five-week cooking and nutrition classes for BUSD parents and children are being offered asfollows at Willard Middle Schools Cooking Room, 2425 Stuart Street.

Session 4: Tuesdays, Jan. 11 Feb. 8, 5:30 - 7:30PM

Session 5: Thursdays, Jan. 13 Feb. 10, 5:30 7:30PM

Session 6: Tuesdays, March 1 March 29, 5:30 7:00PM

Session 7: Thursdays, March 3 March 31, 5:30 7:00PM

Classes are free, but space is limited. Call 644-6710 to sign up today! Children ages 4 and up arewelcome to attend the Kids Nutrition Club thats available during the cooking class hours.

Support Tamales los MayasIf youve ever eaten some of the tasty tamales provided during the PTA meetings, then you willunderstand why we are supporting Alicia Villanueva. Alicia is not only the wonderful mother of twoLeConte students but also a new entrepreneur. She has realized her dream to launch Tamales Los Mayas,a mobile tamale cart. Though she just got approved to sell her delicious tamales at Justin Herman Plaza inSan Francisco, she welcomes your business too. Please contact Alicia at (510) 981-1493 to place an orderand to learn more about Alicia, visit Kickstarter athttp://www.kickstarter.com/projects/664675177/tamales-los-mayas-real-bay-area-street-food?ref=search .See her flyer attached.

Zumba Classes!!! Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at LeConteOne of our LeConte parents, Graciela Hernandez Zaldivar, has started leading Zumba classes everyMonday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 5:00 to 6:00PM in our auditorium. The cost is only $2.00 per

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person. With Gracielas enthusiasm and energy and the upbeat music you definitely will have a good timedancing and losing weight. Dont miss this unique opportunity to enjoy yourself! See photos attached.

Board Member assigned to LeConteFor your information, each board member has taken responsibility for four to five schools. The memberassigned to LeConte is Director Karen Hemphill. Lets all take an active role toward inviting and

welcoming Director Hemphill to school wide events.

Outstanding Balances for the Cost of LunchIf you received a letter or phone call stating that you owe for lunches your child received, please pay thebalance as soon as possible. Our food service workers have been instructed to deny a hot lunch to allstudents who have outstanding balances. However, all students can have fruit and items from the salad barfree of charge. If your financial circumstances have changed and you think you may qualify for free orreduced lunch, please obtain and complete a meal application. Applications are available in our office.

Online Payments for School MealsBUSD is pleased to announce mySchoolBucks.com a new online Payment Center for families. You cannow make payments to your childs school lunch account any time of day throughout the year. You will

be able to pay for meals, view cafeteria purchases, track meal account balances, schedule recurringpayments, etc. Visit www.mySchoolBuck.com to create your account. You can call Marni Posey or SaraLeon at (510) 644-6200 if you have any questions.

School Visitation Hours, Jan. 4 through Feb. 3, every Tues. and Thurs., 8:30-10:00AMParent volunteers are also needed to provide tours to incoming kindergarten families and families new toBUSD. The tours are held every Tuesday and Thursday, January 4 through February 3 between 8:30AMand 10:00AM. Please contact our PTA President, Jill Wang at (510) 647-5012 to volunteer to lead a tour.Principal Wilson often helps with the tours so you will not be alone. Thanks, in advance, for supportingthis effort!

GENERAL INFORMATION

AttendanceREMINDER!!!As you may know, schools receive funding based on the number of students who attend each day. Theamount per child is between $32 and $35 dollars. Though the amount may appear small, it adds up whenseveral students are absent throughout the school. Within the guidelines of the State, students must arriveat school on time to be counted as present. Therefore, it is not only important that your child come toschool but also that your child be on time. When you make doctor or dentist appointments for your child,please try to make the appointment after 9:30AM, so that your child can be counted as attending school.Also, please write a note or contact your childs teacher to explain all absences. Our school secretary isrequired to maintain and turn in notices of all excused absences. Finally, please note that you willautomatically receive a truancy letter if your child is chronically 30 minutes late to school meaning s/he

arrived at 8:41AM or later. If the pattern continues, three letters will be sent home and then the parent orguardian will be required to attend a Student Attendance Review Meeting at the site and then districtlevel.

CommunicationOur school bulletin, the Lamppost, will be sent home on or near the first Monday of every month alongwith other school and classroom announcements. You can obtain weekly updates on email by goingonline, www.leconteonline.org, and signing up. We have two moderated email groups one forannouncements only, and one for announcements plus discussion. To join either group, please visit our

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website, www.leconteonline.org, and follow the links on the right side of the home page. We also have anall-call system to notify you by telephone of any emergencies, special requests, and reminders. You canreach your childs teacher by telephone or email. Teachers should be sending home written information atleast once a month or contacting you by telephone.

LeConte Students Enhance Learning with Free Educational Software

Our district is going to continue funding our subscription to the Compass Learning educational softwareprogram. All students enrolled in LeConte are able to access the program from home or school. Thissoftware is aligned with state and national standards and provides a stimulating (and fun!), customizedlearning environment for each child. Compass Learning is at www.childu.com. To get your child started,you will need your childs user name and password. Most user names and passwords follow the followingstandard format: User Name: LeCFirstNameLastInitial. Password: FirstInitialLastInitial School: BUSD.For example, John Smith has a user name of LeCJohnS and a password of js. Contact August Fern ataugust.fern@gmail.com if you are having difficulties logging in or would like to set up a parent accountto monitor your student's progress.

Next Lamppost: March 1, 2011To submit information for the Lamppost, please email Principal Wilson at

Cheryl_Wilson@berkeley.k12.ca.us or Cathlene Richmond at cathlene.richmond@gmail.com. Thedeadline for our next issue is Friday, February 25th.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Kindergarten Information Night

Over 35 families visited LeConte on January 18th to hear about our approach to teaching andlearning and to learn about our school. Thanks to the following staff members and two of ourPTA members, the evening and presentations were well received by the families. Thank youLeConte staff: Laura Anderson, Krista Easton, Mary Lewis, Ashley Trinh, Julie Venuto, Juan

Zuniga, Silvia Torres, Virginia Louie, Sarah Horwitz, Luis Argueta, and Dana Blanchard for

presenting and answering questions and thanks to parents, Jill Wang and Penny Peak, for taking

the time to present and respond to questions from the parents perspective. Since some of ourteachers were ill and unable to attend, all of you really made a difference by showing up andbeing so positive and welcoming to the families.

Partners In Education, $100 DonationThanks to Anna Goldstein and Joe and Carson Lamb, our school received a $100 donation fromBerkeley Orthodontics. Dr. Paul Kasrovi and his team are currently donating $100 to the schoolof each new patient who begins treatment. Carson was the new patient and so now we have $100to use toward the cost of much needed school supplies! See attached letter.

KIDS &FAMILY FUN TIPS

In Dulci Jublio Art, Poetry and Essay ContestPlease encourage your fourth or fifth grade child to participate in this annual Art, Poetry and EssayContest (AP&E). This years theme is Lets Move to a Healthy Future! The Awards Ceremony will beheld on Thursday, April 28th at Rosa Parks. If you have any questions about the contest, call (510) 845-3499. The entries are due Thursday, March 17th.

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Academic Talent Development ProgramSee attached flyer for more information. This is a summer school program held at UC Berkeley forstudents grades K-6, July 11 to July 29. The application deadline is Wednesday, March 16th for returningstudents and Wednesday, March 30th for new applicants.

Flyers Attached

Valentine card to be completed by parents/guardians Zumba Photos

Black Youth In Crisis, Feb. 5 Pat Wolfe, Brain Research Presenter, Wednesday, Feb. 9th

Positive Discipline Parenting, Sunday, Feb. 13

Child Life and Attention Skills Program

Family Empowerment Project for Middle School Parents, Feb. 27

Academic Talent Development Program, Deadline March 2

Free Community Tax Preparation Service

Support Tamales los Mayas

Letter from Berkeley Orthodontics

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LeCONTE CALENDAR

February 1 to March 5, 2011Updated LeConte News & Calendar: www.leconteonline.org

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5

School Tours8:30 10:00,every Tues.Thurs.-Feb. 3

School Tours 8:30 10:00, everyTues. and Thurs.until Feb. 3

K-8 Deadlinefor first lottery

(Preferenceforms are due)

Black Youth InCrisis ForumBerkeley High9:00-2:00

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

SchoolGovernanceCouncilMeeting6:30PMLibrary

Pam WolfeBrainResearchRichmond, 6:30

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

PositiveDisciplineTrainingYMCA

10:00AM

PTA Meeting5:45 - Dinner6:00 - Meeting

English LanguageAdvisoryCommitteeMeeting

5:00PMRoom 106

Third GradeField Trip

SCHOOLCLOSEDPresidentsHolidays

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

SCHOOLCLOSEDPresidentHolidays

Coalition ofFamilies Meeting6:00PM, Library

Fifth Grade FieldTrip

Middle SchoolParent TrainingLongfellow6:00PM

CelebrateLeConteAssembly

8:15AM

African-American

HeritageCelebration

6:00PM

Volunteer Day9:00AM 12:00PM

27FamilyEmpower.

28 March. 1 2 3 4 5

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