Is it possible to be the principal of a busy elementary school and still have time to blog about it?  Ever wonder what an elementary principal does all day?  I know I always wondered when... more

Friday, September 4 we had a great afternoon with parents coming to check on their child's teacher, spirit wear sales, lots of booths and information, and ice cream with the K and 1 families.&... more

Well we got through the first week of school.  The kids were so excited to return.  They looked so fresh on Tuesday - new uniforms and new hair cuts and smiles.  I love the first day... more

September 21, 2009

The California Department of Education released test scores this week and wow - was it great news for Las Palmas.  The school grew by 71 points in their API points and... more

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Today was a great day at Las Palmas -- we expected a heat wave and got coastal fog instead.  Delightful.  There are a lot of activities at school these ... more

Well ... today was a Monday.  For some reason it seemed hard for me.  Usually I get to school energized and ready to go and today I felt tired before I got to school.  Not a good sign.  I decided to walk through classrooms for the first few hours of the morning as I had worked a few hours over the weekend to catch up on paperwork.  As I walked through classrooms my energy level did rise as I saw all the great kids doing wonderful learning activities with excellent teachers.  The best part of my job.  I spent the afternoon working with several children who are learning the rules at Las Palmas.  I did get to sneak into the end of block music classes for our upper grade students and was amazed at the great education those children are receiving.  My hope is that in another budget cutting year they will not be cut.  Tuesday awaits .... kids, parents, and the energy of school will be greet me. 

October 5, 2009

So my second Monday in a row I find time to blog.  Weird as they are such busy days .... so today was an interesting day -- I tried to teach.  I took over the reading... more

October 12, 2009--

Last week seemed especially busy yet when I look back on my written calendar I can't figure out quite why.  That is the mystery of being a principal in a way.  It is really hard to predict.  I think it is going to be a quiet week and allow me face time with kids and teachers hopefully in classrooms .... and it is a busy week with a lot of parent conversations, district calls, meetings, and miscellaneous happenings that take up time.  Then I hit a week that my calendar says is busy and for some reason it isn't and I find myself with time in classrooms and with students in learning activities. 

One of the things that I will remember from last week is actually teaching.  One of my goals is to teach more this year and so since my resource specialist Dawn Shea was out for training, I helped teach her reading class.  It was a scripted lesson to about 14 kids and I thought , "no problem".... I did OK .... yet I was stretched by questions and activities and trying to keep kid's attention.  I realized that to be a good teacher it takes practice - like everything else in this world.  I use to be a good teacher (I taught for 8 years in elementary and middle school) and loved it.  Yet is has been a while so it is time to jump in and learn what my teachers do each and every day.  I am teaching a third grade math lesson this week - wish me luck.  I did also enjoy visiting most every classroom at Las Palmas this week and was pleased with what I saw - teachers working hard and students working even harder.

We had our first English Language Advisory Committee meeting this past week led by president Noemi Wilson.  We had a great turn out and a wonderful meeting.  Parents of English learners were SO pleased at how well their children did on last spring's state tests.  These meetings are great fun and full of laughter and discussion.  The greatest thing this year at Las Palmas is the fact that the PTA and ELAC are coming together under great leadership.  Paul Lianti (PTA president) and Noemi Wilson (ELAC president) work together to share information and get folks out to attend one another's meetings.  It is about all of us -- no matter where we come from or what language we speak first - it is all of us that make Las Palmas a wonderful place to be.

We also had a great Friday assembly to kick off Las Palmas Reads - led by Jody VanZanten - the Reads program is off and running.  Dagmar Foy, parent and past PTA president, and Kelly Huff led the assembly to kick off the LP recycle program.  We want kids to recycle all water bottles and cans and the assembly was a great start down this road.

Picture day, the first school site council meeting of the year, and anti-bully week activities was the icing on the cake.  OK - I guess it was a busy week and I need to do a better job of writing it all down on my calendar. :)  I love this job and love this school.

October 19, 2009

Hard to believe that the fifth graders go to camp this week!  It is pretty early in the year for camp but they will do great and love every minute of it.  We have had quite a few of the fifth graders ill this past week so hopefully everyone gets better and soon.  My oldest daughter was out most of last week with a very high temperature.  It took her days to recover after she lost the fever.  When I took her to the doctor they said they aren't even testing for swine flu anymore - that every flu is considered swine flu and treated as such.  My daughter took a full week to become herself again and is off and running again. 

Last week had quite a few happenings at "the palms".... standards-based report card parent meeting on Wednesday evening.  We had about 60 parents attend - 1/2 English speakers and 1/2 Spanish speakers.  It was a great representation of Las Palmas!  Thursday evening was the Evening of the Arts for the Reflections contest.  Although I was unable to attend due to sick children at home I heard it was well attended and a very special evening for students and parents.  Friday morning assembly featured all fourth and fifth grade students who ran for student council doing the pledge and then kicking off Red Ribbon Week.

My daughters and I got to ride in the Homecoming Parade down Del Mar on Friday afternoon.  What a kick - I love this small town ...  only in San Clemente would they have principals in their homecoming parade.

Also of importance was the fact that Carmen Alvarez, long time bilingual community liaison at Las Palmas was awarded the Person of Distinction Award from the Spanish Village Foundation.  The foundation directors came to Las Palmas on Tuesday to surprise Carmen with a beautiful award.  Carmen does so much to help families of Las Palmas - it was well deserving and I am proud to work with such a fine individual.

Looking ahead to this week ... I will be visiting the fifth graders at camp on Wednesday and taking a furlough day on Friday.  Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday will be busy days for me as I really am wanting to spend more time in classrooms with students seeing how they are doing.  Off and running to a grea week ahead ...

October 26, 2009

Last week I went up to camp on Wednesday to visit our fifth graders and take a few kids up who were sick on Monday.  The fifth grade group had a fever/flu bug travel through the classrooms the week before camp and it was a bummer that several kids were not able to go to camp.  It was beautiful up in the San Bernardino Mountains - fall was alive with trees changing colors and a brisk breeze in the air.  It was great to see the kids - they were very excited to see me for a change... :) 

The kids learned so much and came home on Friday exhausted and happy.

November 2, 2009

Parent conference week went great last week.  We had 95% of parents scheduled for a conference show up.  This is always a funny week for me being the principal as well as a parent.  I always think it must be so strange for the teachers who have my kids.  Yet each year they handle it great and i learn a lot about my daughters through their insights and observations.  The staff had its first ever Halloween party on Friday night - we had a great time of dressing up and acting like kids ourselves.  But as they say ... what goes on at staff parties stays at staff parties so I will leave it at that. 

November 6, 2009

Third Grade.

What a magical grade level.  I felt it last year as a third grade parent and saw it again today in a third grade class as I watched students turn a literature reading into a small performance.  It was very informal and very unpolished (aka - not ready for parents and grandparents).  The students were divided into three groups and ask to come up with a short skit that explained an old myth story.  They weren't told who was the leader, what parts to take, etc.  What happened from there was just great - the kids figured it out and leaders emerged .... actors and actresses emerged ....... costume makers emerged .... and it was fun to watch!  Third grade greatly mixes the use of both languages students have learned and we have classrooms so nicely balanced in Spanish and English speakers; girls and boys; etc. that the magic of a "great mix" of cultures, languages, experiences, and knowledge is a great representation of the total Las Palmas program.

Carnival tomorrow .... this place is not slowing down.  That is good.  Glad the weather will be OK for the Carnival.  My great hope each event is that there will be a good mixture of Las Palmas families and that we will feel comfortable talking to one another, smiling, using sign language, and removing any and all cultural and linguistic barriers - this is a wonderful community of people and in the next generation of Las Palmas (AKA LP students grown up) - the parents will all be standing out at Carnival as bilingual citizens due to programs like Las Palmas' and the conversation will be rich and friendly.

This is a powerful program.  As parents we won't really know what this will mean for our kids for decades ... until they talk to us one evening in a restaurant as an adult and say, "that bilingual school thing was pretty wild mom and dad - what made you think of that?".... and then we will know.  For many of us ... we hope that our children figure out that we saw the future we saw and were doing our best to bring them up in that reality and not necessarily the reality that we live with in South Orange County each day.... which isn't bad but not the multi-linguistic/multi-cultural world that our children will most likely compete in each and every day of their adult lives.

signing off.  K

November 16, 2009

Hard to believe that it is November and that Christmas decorations are up in stores.  Boy these years go fast.  I had a good week last week - enjoyed Wednesday off with the family and to catch up on much needed rest.  Thursday and Friday I spent the full days in meetings with teachers in grades 2-5.  I love spending hours with teachers and looking at data and seeing how their students are doing, talking about what is working or not working, etc.  It was great.  Las Palmas teachers are wonderful people and really care so deeply about the kids.  They have good plans on their work with their students and are very focused on student learning this year. 

I am off to San Francisco this week - I have been invited to speak at an education conference on Las Palmas and how well we did on our test scores last year.  I am honored to be going and it has been good for me to have to put in writing why I thought Las Palmas did so well last year.  I do think the teachers were very focused on individual students instead of viewing them as a class or grade level.  We had interventions, cleaned up behavior issues, and worked hard to identify the kids that needed extra help.  I wish I could take the whole staff with me to SF. They deserve it.

November 21, 2009

Hard to believe it is Thanksgiving!  Wow.  Was that a fast few months ... The kids are reading for a week off as our the teachers.  Time to relax, read, sit still, enjoy family, and eat too much. 

I had an interesting week.  A company that we use to assist us in data analysis, Action Learning Inc., flew me up to San Francisco this past week to attend a research conference and be a speaker/presenter.  My presentation was about Las Palmas, the two way program, and how well the school did last year in their test scores.  I was able to attend many sessions at the conference that gave me good information and ideas on how to work with teachers and grade levels as we continue to work on taking care of each student individually.  By name, Be need.  I flew home on Thursday night in time to be at school for the last Friday before break.

A fun day.  I ate too much pumpkin pie and enjoyed seeing little ones dressed up as pilgrims and turkeys.  Too much fun all the way around.  Looking forward to a great week ahead in Palm SPrings with family.  Rock climbing in Joshua Tree is a family tradition to work off the turkey.  K

December 3, 2009

This evening we had over a hundred people gather for a joint PTA-ELAC meeting.  It was great!  The parents enjoyed being together and there was a lot of talking in both languages.   Deputy Rod Valdez joined the group to discuss gang and truancy issues and how we can work as a community to prevent these types of issues.  There were games, rich discussions, and questions and answer session.  THe parent community at the school is really one of its biggest strengths - it supports Las Palmas in rough times and celebrates it in the great times.  Although I continue to work hard on my Spanish, I am happy to say I understand SO much more of it.  I sat this evening and hardly needed translation.  A year ago was a different story.

December 13, 2009

So last Friday I needed to run out to Jaime Giraud's classroom to chat with her briefly about something and I came across a room full of silent fifth graders typing away on their science projects on laptops.  I talked with Jaime and then went to leave ... got to the door ... turned around and looked again at the class and saw these four wonderful boys working diligently on their projects under the table in the back of the room.  I walked over and took this picture and they didn't even notice!  What a great way to go into the weekend!

January 5, 2010

A great two weeks off - amazing how fast two weeks goes!  I hope everyone at Las Palmas had a wonderful two weeks off! 

I did enjoy being "off" -- when I say that I really mean a serious decrease in talking.  Being a parent and a principal is great yet I will say that it does include a whole lot of talking - which my husband says is a strength of mine.  Although I do agree with his opinion .... I will say that having a few weeks to read and sleep in and enjoy quietness is a good thing for me.  I do know that it is time to return to school and I am looking forward tomorrow.

My family did have a great trip up the coast after Christmas - we wanted to take our fourth grader to see missions.  We saw Santa Barbara, La Purisimo, San Luis Obispo, San Miguel, and Soledad.  Wonderful and violent history.  It made me remember that Spain and Mexico were here long before the Europeans and that our cultures will always overlap.  Makes me feel even more strongly about being bi-lingual and multi-cultural. I would recommend such a trip to any and all Las Palmas families as it helps our kids make sense of why Spanish and the Spanish culture is important for us to learn as Californians.

I hope my staff is rested and ready to go!  Can't wait to see the kids!

January 20, 2010

OK.... rainy days are exhausting as a principal.  I remember them as a teacher and I will say they are more exhausting as a teacher then principal.  Yet I will also say that rainy days are just busy.  We have had rain now for days... the first few days are OK - yet we are going on day four and five and everyone is done with being indoors.....

Las Palmas is an interesting school in the rain - no coverage from the rain in most parts of the school.... lots of soggy teachers and students.

Had a two way interest meeting today - had over 45 parents today ... the program is so popular - I just wish there was a way to get all these wonderful families into Las Palmas. 

February 1, 2010

Hard to believe that February is here and we are halfway through the school year!  It has been a great year so far - very busy with a lot going on.  Teachers are working hard, students are giving a lot of effort, and support staff doing all they can to try to keep an aging facility going.  Things are tense right now with teacher negotiations and I am hoping that things work out for the best.  I am worried.  Yet whatever happens Las Palmas will have a plan to take care of students first and foremost.  It has been 37 years since the last strike in this school district and I am hoping that record doesn't get broke!  Times are tough but we need can get through this together. 

February 11, 2010

Curriculum nights are always fun - this year we decided to try and condense the evenings to two nights instead of six.  I haven't heard much feedback from anyone - teachers and parents seemed fine with both.  One mom thanked me for having childcare available .... one mom with three kids thanks me for the one night schedule for her yet she did happen to do a great job having them two years apart.

I went to the first evening with my husband as a "parent" and greatly enjoyed it - I am so grateful to a staff that allows me to also be  a parent.  I came into this school as a parent and I will leave as a parent first.  It is so interesting how I am able to walk into a classroom as a parent in one of my daughters' classrooms and I fell like a parent.  I really do.  THe staff at Las Palmas has been patient to allow me to be in both roles although many of them knew me long before I became a parent as I worked with Las Palmas in a different capacity and knew and still know the former principal (Doug Kramer) well....
 

THe pace is fast these days - I am tired.  I am thankful for the winter Olympics and a four-day weekend.  I do love my job.  I do need a rest. 

March 1, 2010

Hard to believe it is March!  Wow ....

This month finds us in tense times -- teacher negotiations are not going well and we all await a report that will either lead us to a strike or a resolution.  A strike takes years to heal and it makes me sad just thinking about it.  I have worked in CUSD for 22 years and most of those I work with have seen me grow up and grow into an adult and a mother.  This is a second family and I feel as though I am on some awful edge of seeing a family torn apart by a temporary separation.  Although we will all be back together after a possible strike, it takes years to get over the anger and bitterness.  So I go to work each day hoping that at the end of the day I will hear good news -- at the end of most days it is no news. 

In the meantime, Las Palmas is thriving.  Students and their energy keep the place buzzing.  My mom is volunteering in the resource specialist room the past few weeks as she is a former special education teacher.  I have a lot of kids coming up and saying how much my mom looks like me - I tell them that I think it is reversed and that I look like her.  This is of course very perplexing for them and they shrug and say whatever.  They like her as they should.  She "gets" kids almost better then I do - especially the ones that don't "fit" into the system.  I have a deaf and midly autistic brother who is absolutely brilliant yet never fit into the "system".... it takes that kind of pain and witness to understand what kids go through who don't just fit.  We need a safe place for these kids to land and know that they are brilliant and OK in their own talents and interests. 

March - I hope it will end peacefully with CUSD and LP heading forward and not having to spend years healing.

March 9, 2010

Las Palmas teachers are so exceptional.  A lot of them are mentoring a student or two students this year -- we selected about 30 youths who just seemed to need a little extra adult TLC.  We recently had an after school party for the mentors and mentees and the room was full of games, food, and fun.  Awesome!

 Sandra Farias and her mentee; Margaret Rettele and My little buddy and I enjoy some playing and food.