Upcoming Events
Dec. 6: iSUPPORT Collab, 6-7 p.m. in Room 12
Dec. 8: A Magical BLVD Christmas, 5-9 p.m., Lancaster Blvd.
Dec. 14: End of Semester
Dec. 17 to Jan. 7: Winter Break
Jan. 8: Second Semester Begins
Message from the Director
iSupport
- Thank you to the parents for your continued participation in our iSupport Parent Collaborative. Please join us for this week’s collaborative on Thursday, Dec. 6, from 6-7 p.m. in Room 12.
Winter Production
- The date for our Winter Production has been changed to Friday, Feb. 8. Please save the date; our learners and facilitators have already begun to prepare for their performances. You won’t want to miss it!
Community Events
Please join us for Lancaster’s Winter Wonderland Celebration on Saturday, Dec. 8, between 5-9 p.m. Enjoy the sights, sounds, and feel of the holiday season with a Magical BLVD Christmas on Lancaster Boulevard, between Beech and Genoa Avenue.
Athletics
We are so proud of our iLEAD Antelope Valley flag football team! Our athletics program is a result of the proactive requests of our learners and parents. We love how you are living Habit 1: Be Proactive!
Thank you to our coaches, Dolores Synegard and Arkaja Newman, who are doing a great job! WE WON OUR FIRST GAME, 18-0. Our boys are winners and exhibited great sportsmanship.
This Week’s Games:
- Tuesday, Dec. 4th is an away game at St. Mary’s School on East Avenue R-4 in Palmdale.
- Wednesday, Dec. 5th is a home game here at iLEAD AV.
- Thursday, Dec. 6th is an away game at St. Mary’s.
- All games begin at 3:30 p.m.
Our away games are at St. Mary’s School (1600 E. Avenue R-4, Palmdale, CA 93550). The learners on the team must be transported by their parents. Please pick up your learner at 2:45 p.m. to arrive at the school by 3 p.m. Please park in the back of the church.
Curriculum Corner
Georgia Math
- To support the learners, we have adopted a new math curriculum! Click here to watch a short video about the Georgia Math strategies that are all aligned to the Common Core State Standards.
- There are many ideas and strategies to support our learners at home. GeorgiaStandards.Org allows parents easy access to information about the state’s standards, which are aligned to our California Common Core State Standards.
- This website also offers a variety of free resources to help you motivate and support your child’s curriculum at home while reinforcing the standards your child is working on in the classroom. Click here for more info.
Daily 5
- We are also fine-tuning our implementation of Daily 5 and the CAFE strategies. Read to Self and Read to Someone are strategies that learners can also do at home with you. Please encourage them to do so at least 20 minutes a day.
- We purchased a total of 1,300 narrative and informational texts so that each classroom received 100 new books for their libraries. This will support our implementation of Daily 5. Please continue to encourage your learners to Read to Self, Read to Someone, or Listen to Reading at home.
The Importance of Reading
Please take a moment to click here and review a great article on “How Reading 20 Minutes a Day Impacts your Child,” and join us as we continue our schoolwide reading initiative.
Educators have long said reading makes people smarter, and there’s research backing them up. A recent study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics found reading to children of any age wakens a number of regions in the left part of the brain. The areas in the brain that become active involve understanding the meaning of words and concepts tied to memory.
iLEAD Students Prepare for Launch to Space Station
A team of iLEAD students is preparing to send a science experiment aboard the SpaceX-16 Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) scheduled to launch on December 4.
The project is part of a partnership between iLEAD and DreamUp, the leading provider of space-based educational opportunities. The students’ experiment, which will be on the ISS for approximately four weeks, tests whether black coffee kills a type of bacteria found in everyday plaque on teeth in microgravity in the same way it does on Earth. This launch opportunity is made possible via DreamUp’s partnership with NanoRacks and its Space Act Agreement with NASA.
Click here to read more!
And click here to watch the livestream of the rocket launch on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 1:30 p.m. EST!
Catching Character and the 7 Habits in Action
Last week’s Character Lab focus was grit. Our learner, Victoria Nuckles, exhibited grit during her 4th grade Presentation of Learning. She was able to present with enthusiasm and clearly explain the DNA structure she built from colorful candies. Her knowledge of genetics, her family tree, and world geography required grit and stamina!
Keeping the Valet Process Moving
Dear iLEAD AV families, thank you for your patience as we perfect our new valet procedure on 22nd Street West. The morning and afternoon process is going smoothly. With your support, each day became more efficient and every learner was directed to class or walked in by their parents or an iLEAD AV team member.
Thank you for your feedback on the new valet procedure. As a result, we were able to make a few changes to improve the process:
- In the mornings, the Valet gate now opens at 8 a.m.;
- Based on parent requests, in the afternoon the valet gate opens at 3:00 p.m.;
- Many of you requested the opportunity to walk on site to pick up your learners in the afternoon. To honor your request, we added to our process. Please park on 22nd Street West, walk on to the valet lot using the exit gate, and present your valet card. You will be able to walk to the classroom to pick up your learner/learners;
- Please remember the valet traffic flow pattern. There are no left turns to enter or exit the lot.
- To help us continue to be good neighbors, please do not block the driveways for Miller Elementary School or KinderCare on 22nd St. West. To assist us with that, our leadership and maintenance team has designed a new flow pattern to get more of our parents inside the valet area.
Pick-up is from 3:30-4 p.m. Learners who have not been retrieved by 4 p.m. will go to extended care and accounts will be billed at $3 per hour, per learner.
Our Goals
Our planning and preparation is consistent with our three Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) goals. I am looking forward to sharing how we are meeting each goal throughout the school year, and I have listed the goals below:
Goal 1: Provide optimal conditions of learning through providing basic services, implementation of California State Standards, and access to an academic and educational program.
Goal 2: Provide all learners with a rigorous, creative, and broad curriculum to maximize academic achievement and college and career readiness.
Goal 3: Generate active engagement between parents/families and the school, and connections with the community, to promote learner achievement and communication among all stakeholders.
Valet Procedures
As promised at the end of last school year, we have created a solution for our parking dilemma. The owner of the shopping center asked all parents and staff to stop parking there and posted signs warning us that cars would be towed, so that is no longer an option.
I am happy to report we will begin using our lot on 22nd Street West for Valet before and after school. The lot is very large. As a result, we will no longer have Valet in front of the school.
To access the lot, please turn right on K-4 from 20th Street West. You will pass Miller Elementary School, drive right around the bend, and make a right into our lot. At the start of the day, your learner will be greeted and escorted onto campus. At the end of the day, your learner will be summoned and escorted to your car. Please be sure to post your Valet card on the dashboard daily. Once your learner is safely in your car, you will exit the lot and make a right, which will take you to Avenue K. We will have cones, signs, and iLEAD team members to support you and the learners.
In the mornings, the Valet lot will open at 8:00 a.m., and it will open at 3:00 p.m. for dismissal. If you are walking your learner to class in the morning, we will have a parking area in the lot just for you.
A Few Reminders…
Parent Square: Click the Apple or Android links to download the app to your smartphone for free and get instant alerts.
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/parentsquare/id908126679?mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.parentsquare.psapp&hl=en
iSupport: Get involved and help make change! Join iLEAD’s version of PTA. We need you! Learn More
Lunch Program at iLEAD AV
Please submit your Free/Reduced lunch application to the front office as soon as possible. Lunch balances must remain under $20 this school year. Please make payments in the front office. NO LUNCH on Fridays.
Meal Prices:
Breakfast: $ 1.60
Lunch: $2.95
Reduced prices:
Breakfast: 30 cents
Lunch: 40 cents
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What About Those Heelys?
We’ve seen an influx of Heelys on campus. Learners are zipping along the halls and on the playspaces. While we LOVE fun and seeing our learners enjoying themselves, we have to ask that they don’t use the wheels while at school. Please understand this is a safety concern for learners and staff. We want to prevent accidents and keep everyone safe. Heelys brand shoes can be worn; just please remove the wheels for school.
General safety guidelines also include no skateboards or bicycles being ridden on campus; they must be carried and walked. Thank you for your understanding and support!