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October 12-16: Fall Break – No School
Tag Archives: iLEAD Antelope Valley Charter School
iLEAD Antelope Valley Culture: Social-Emotional Learning
In our approach to education at iLEAD Antelope Valley, we emphasize methods that foster learners’ social-emotional learning. Social-emotional learning is the process through which learners understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, and establish and maintain positive relationships to make responsible decisions.
We believe it’s vital to help learners develop skills such as social awareness, self-management, regulation of emotions, and self-awareness so they can weave these abilities through every facet of their lives. When emotional intelligence is nurtured and developed, it can inspire creativity and increased engagement.
Over the coming weeks, we will explore nine pillars of social-emotional learning (SEL) at iLEAD Antelope Valley:
- Social intelligence
- Optimism
- Gratitude
- Purpose
- Growth mind-set
- Self-control
- Curiosity
- Zest
- Grit
But why is SEL so important?
To adapt to an increasingly globalized economy, education must emphasize more than rote knowledge. We believe learners should be empathetic, critical thinkers who thoughtfully engage with the world around them. Modern employers prize these skills in the workplace, and research suggests employees with more highly developed social-emotional strengths earn more and are more productive.
Additionally, focusing on non-cognitive skills may further improve reading, writing, and mathematics performance in kids, according to the nonpartisan think tank Economic Policy Institute.
We measure and report SEL progress as part of every project, individualized learning plan goal, and Report of Progress. We have also developed SEL and academic rigor rubrics that add a well-balanced approach to academics and reflective practice for facilitators, learners, families, and administrators. Other elements of our SEL implementation, practice, and assessment include our Learner-Led Conferences (LLCs), Presentations of Learning (POLs), Passion Projects, Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs), Advisory Program, Morning Meetings, learner-led ambassador groups, and restorative approaches to discipline.
PBL expert and iLEAD partner Thom Markham summed up why social-emotional learning is so vital. “Navigating a changing world demands a communicative, creative, and collaborative person with a flexible, empathetic, resilient, and persistent temperament,” he said. “It’s time to make a change to our mind-set and be far more intentional about teaching the dispositions and personality attributes that lead to better work ethic, more engagement, improved relationships, a greater sense of well-being — and better projects.”
At iLEAD Antelope Valley, our goal is nothing less.
Together Tuesdays: Share Your Photos and Stories!
Greetings, iLEAD community,
Last spring, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced our learning community to physically distance, we launched a weekly campaign with the goal to reunite our facilitators and families and lift their spirits. Every week, a new Together Tuesday video featured photos of families, learners, and staff throughout the iLEAD nation — a reminder that we’re all in this together.
Now, as we begin a new school year with distance learning, Together Tuesdays will be making a comeback, now twice monthly. We’d love to see your contributions.
To ensure your submissions are included, please click here to submit your photos. Photos received by the Friday before each Together Tuesday are eligible to be included.
We’re all in this together, and we can’t wait to see your photos!
If you have any questions, simply reply to stories@ileadschools.org.
Sincerely,
The iLEAD Team
*If you send us a photo or video, we will consider this approval for use on our school websites and social media accounts. Please do not include images of video conference screens showing learners.
iSUPPORT Dates to Add to Your Calendar
It really does take a village to raise our kids, and we are so happy to have our families in our tribe!
Join our family volunteer group: iSUPPORT!
Our school community and children need us, their families, volunteering. Our participation makes a huge impact. We are heroes to our children, and the staff members are grateful for the help.
Upcoming Meetings:
October 1
November 5
December 3
We will be meeting by video conference on Zoom. Please check your ParentSquare messages for the times, links, and meeting IDs! Looking forward to seeing you there!
Want to join us? Email info@ileadav.org to get connected!
Free Breakfast and Lunch for All Children
We are excited to provide free meals through the Summer Seamless Program. We are providing meals for all children up to 18 years of age at no charge. You do not need to be an enrolled learner in order to receive free meals. Each child will receive one grab-and-go breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday except on school holidays. Good news! Starting Friday, October 2, each Friday we will serve free grab-and-go meals to take home for Saturday and Sunday as well. Children need not be present to pick up.
While our site is closed, school meals are grab-and-go with minimal contact and may not be consumed on-site. Breakfast and lunch are served together at the front gate (2110 W. Avenue K, Lancaster, CA) Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 11:00 AM. For your protection and ours, please wear a cloth face covering when picking up meals.
Please make sure to continue to fill out the Multipurpose Income Form, as this will help to establish your eligibility for when this program stops, and will also help our school in many other ways. This form needs to be filled out for every learner and submitted each year. The deadline has been extended to December 1. It can be submitted in a variety of ways. You can fill it out via a fillable PDF (attached) and email it to betty.lara@ileadav.org, fill out a paper form (attached in English, attached in Spanish) and drop it off at the front office, or — in our newest, completely digital way — you can complete it via the My Mealtime online platform. This new option ensures the confidentiality of your form and can be done from home. Please see the attached instructions (here and here) on how to access this option. Please email all forms (by December 1) and any questions to betty.lara@ileadav.org.
iLEAD Antelope Valley Culture: Real-World Experiences
iLEAD Antelope Valley emphasizes 21st-century skills and preparing learners for the work world, and tangible experiences help elevate the learning process.
Examples include our DreamUp to Space challenges, where teams of learners come up with scientific research projects that launch to the International Space Station for testing; or living history programs, where learners re-create scenes from history.
Real-world experience is at the heart of what can make project-based learning (PBL) truly exciting, challenging, and rewarding for learners. When PBL is infused with real-world experiences, learners develop crucial skills while they’re still in school. Additionally, these experiences can provide learners with deeper insights into career areas they may want to pursue. Furthermore, kids find that their success isn’t defined merely by a grade but by the experience they gain through the process.
Finally, learning that incorporates real-world experience helps learners become familiar with professional environments. Besides learning the subject content, learners develop skills crucial in the work world, including clear and timely communication, thinking critically, problem-solving, and time management.
As part of a well-rounded PBL curriculum, real-world experiences are essential to iLEAD Antelope Valley’s mission to help kids be free to think and inspired to lead.
Together Tuesdays: Share Your Photos and Stories!
Greetings, iLEAD community,
Last spring, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced our learning community to physically distance, we launched a weekly campaign with the goal to reunite our facilitators and families and lift their spirits. Every week, a new Together Tuesday video featured photos of families, learners, and staff throughout the iLEAD nation — a reminder that we’re all in this together.
Now, as we begin a new school year with distance learning, Together Tuesdays will be making a comeback, now twice monthly. We’d love to see your contributions.
To ensure your submissions are included, please click here to submit your photos. Photos received by the Friday before each Together Tuesday are eligible to be included.
We’re all in this together, and we can’t wait to see your photos!
If you have any questions, simply reply to stories@ileadschools.org.
Sincerely,
The iLEAD Team
*If you send us a photo or video, we will consider this approval for use on our school websites and social media accounts. Please do not include images of video conference screens showing learners.
iSUPPORT Dates to Add to Your Calendar
It really does take a village to raise our kids, and we are so happy to have our families in our tribe!
Join our parent volunteer group: iSUPPORT!
Our school community and children need us, their families, volunteering. Our participation makes a huge impact. We are heroes to our children, and the staff members are grateful for the help.
Upcoming Meetings:
October 1
November 5
December 3
We will be meeting by video conference on Zoom. Please check your ParentSquare messages for the times, links, and meeting IDs! Looking forward to seeing you there!
Want to join us? Email info@ileadav.org to get connected!
Free Breakfast and Lunch for All Children
Based on the recent announcement from the USDA, we are excited to announce the return of the Summer Seamless Program, free meals to all. Starting Monday, September 14, we will be providing meals to all children up to 18 years of age at no charge. You do not need to be an enrolled learner in order to receive free meals. Each child will receive one grab-and-go breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday except on school holidays. Children need not be present to pick up.
While our site is closed, school meals will be grab-and-go with minimal contact and may not be consumed on-site. Breakfast and lunch will be picked up together at the front gate (2110 W. Avenue K, Lancaster, CA) Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 11:00 AM. For your protection and ours, please wear a cloth face covering when picking up meals.
Please make sure to continue to fill out the Multipurpose Income Form, as this will help to establish your eligibility for when this program stops, and will also help our school in many other ways. This form needs to be filled out for every learner and submitted each year by October 1. It can be submitted in a variety of ways. You can fill it out via a fillable PDF (attached) and email it to betty.lara@ileadav.org, fill out a paper form (attached in English, attached in Spanish) and drop it off at the front office, or — in our newest, completely digital way — you can complete it via the My Mealtime online platform. This new option ensures the confidentiality of your form and can be done from home. Please see the attached instructions (here and here) on how to access this option. Please email all forms (by October 1) and any questions to betty.lara@ileadav.org.
iLEAD Antelope Valley’s 2nd Grade STEM Projects
Ms. Basty’s learners were given a challenge for STEM last week. Because iLEAD Antelope Valley is a school that values voice and choice, learners chose which challenge they would like to participate in. These challenges included creating a device that could float in water, creating a fairy garden, making a marble maze, creating objects that could balance in their hands, etc. Our learners did an amazing job as engineers to create amazing works of art! We are very proud of our iLEADers!
