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Hello Birney families and friends,
Phase 2 Reopening announcement today! Superintendent Cindy Marten today announced the return to physical school with the planned hybrid model will occur after the Winter Break on January 4. That means only 6 more weeks of online instruction for those of you who are itching to get your kids back to school! Questions? I probably can't answer them but I'll give it a try - a simple email to [email protected] should get to me right away!
Tomorrow! Library checkout for 4th and 5th graders – reminder to go online and reserve a book to pick up on Wednesday! You can reserve all the way up to 11 a.m. Wednesday morning! Here's how you do that!
Fall Fundraiser News! This is the final list for the drive-in movie. Questions? Concerns - you know it, simply reply to this email. The prizes are being shipped to the school. Ms. Bee will have raffle prizes and the gold ninja keychains at Distribution Days coming up. Final profit for the fundraiser was $21,021.61! Yeah! Brief mention of possible change of date for drive-in in case the venue we originally picked is closed due to COVID actions ... stay tuned! If you know of a place that can house about 70 cars and a giant screen ... let me know! We might need a plan B.
Parent Portal and LCFF form – please! I began asking parents to go into the Parent Portal to complete the LCFF form on September 30. To date, 156 students are represented, nearly 30%. The best daily participation was October 19 with 42 logging on and completing the form. Let’s try to beat those 42! PLEASE fill out your LCFF form through the Parent Portal – if you cannot then please stop by the office to fill one out in person!
Using the Parent Portal for the LCFF form: The LCFF form is how the district reports our ‘free and reduced lunch’ level to the federal and state governments. That rate is how we get federal and state funding to support our neediest students. That funding is over $100,000 every year, until it isn’t. Typically, schools with less than 40% free and reduced lunch funding do not receive ANY funding – Birney was at 43% last year – THAT IS WHY THE LCFF FORM IS SUCH A BIG DEAL THIS YEAR! The LCFF Form can be found in the PowerSchool Parent Portal at https://powerschool.sandi.net.
What if I don’t have access to the parent Portal? You need a special password to access the parent portal which you get from me by simply replying to this email so I can verify that you are who you say you are! A job aid is available for parents to assist with entering information for the LCFF Form. The LCFF Form is available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese in the Parent Portal. You’ll need the Parent Portal to access the report card in November, so logging on is a good idea.
Parent-Teacher Conferences: We have extended our conference window to be 3 weeks, so we will hold conferences from 11/16-11/20 and then after Thanksgiving for two weeks from 11/30-12/11. We feel that opening the window for 3 weeks instead of one will have less of an impact on the teachers as they prepare for student needs in online learning. We know that during online learning you probably have had extensive exposure to your teachers and to your students’ work in so many ways. Your child’s teacher will let you know if they need to have a conference with you. If you do not have a conference but you have questions about the report card, be sure to email your teacher and they will determine if a conference is necessary.
Please spread the word to last year’s 5th graders that 2019-2020 Birney yearbooks are in the office for distribution and/or purchase. Please email Pat Spaulding at [email protected] to arrange for a time to pick your yearbook up.
Reminder: Every student should have a signed “Universal Form” on file with his/her school for the 2020-21 academic year. If you have not turned in yours, here is a fillable PDF form: English / Spanish Please print and sign the form and then either mail it back to your school or drop off the printed copy. We have received about 20% so far – please help us by doing your part!
Need to talk to me? I am always available by email! I will not have office hours this Friday.
Need a device? Check a new device out at Birney daily from 12:00-2:00 during lunch service of Grab n Go meals, just stop by the office. If your device is not working, first call the Online Learning Support hotline at (619) 732-1400 and walk through with a technician what is wrong. If they cannot fix over the phone, they will tell you where you can exchange. If you need support with your internet strength, check out the Family Technology Support website at www.bit.ly/sdusditsupport for all things you need help with in the technology realm.
Question/Concern? Simply send an email to [email protected] Ms. Amanda