Andreas Wenger, a two-time Ironman triathlete himself, teaches sixteen Physical Education classes each week at LFCSA to our little ones, and he loves every minute of it. Although he claims, “We’re just having fun!” the classes he delivers are deliberately designed to foster well-being and academic success for our children. Mr. Wenger bases his P.E. program upon the Physical Education Framework, which suggests that a healthy, physically active child is more likely to achieve academic success. He works hard to ensure that each child participates fully, encouraging even the slowest ones to reach their full physical strength, dexterity, and potential. While being careful to never push a child beyond his or her limits, he encourages everyone to do their best, often telling a child, “You can do this!”

Originally from Switzerland, Mr. Wenger first came to California in 1995 on vacation. The youngest of his two children, Tristan, is currently in the first grade at LFCSA. Being a P.E. teacher is a new profession to Mr. Wenger, but he feels that his background as an Energetic Structural Integration Therapist, a Swiss-German system of deep tissue massage that helps to align the pelvis, has helped prepare him for this work.

One of Mr. Wenger’s primary values in physical education is to emphasize teamwork and cooperation, insisting that the children minimize competition between them. If the children start acting competitively, he stops them immediately, reminding them often, “It’s not about winning, but about making winners out of everybody.” He keeps the emphasis on fun and exercise, and discourages score keeping, which he feels could potentially discourage the smaller, slower children.

Although California State Law requires 100 minutes per week of physical activity per child, Mr. Wenger points out that our children at LFCSA receive 120 per week—80 minutes of P.E. class and 40 minutes of dance taught by Ms. Martorelli. The activities he offers have a lot to do with the equipment we have on hand. Last year the children worked out much on the Stegel (our gymnastic apparatus), and played a lot of soccer, with soft soccer balls to ensure their safety. Yet, this year, with monies raised from the Winter Program DVDs we parents purchased while dropping our kids off at school in the morning, Mr. Wenger was able to purchase soft sticks and soft hockey pucks, which, he reports, the children love. He also has the children running relay races with batons they pass to one another, jumping rope, and he has taught them climbing on the big yellow net that he installed in the auditorium. The favorite new activity of most of the children is playing with a giant ball that they use like a volley ball.

Since Mr. Wenger’s classes are all offered either on the playground or in the auditorium, he must remain adaptable, as these spaces are usually shared with other classes that are happening at the same time as his. For this reason, he often does not know exactly what they will be doing in the class until the last minute, and he has learned to be highly flexible and creative, often preparing three to four potential activities that could be done that day depending upon their circumstances.

Mr. Wenger’s devotion to the physical well-being of our children is paying off. Recent testing indicates that our kids are fairing above the norm when it comes to physical fitness. In spite of the growing national trend of child obesity, Mr. Wenger takes great pride in the fact that the work he does is educating our children to be happy and healthy.

Earth Day was April 22 this year, and we randomly asked LFCSA students what they were planning on doing for Earth Day. Some responded that they would “help something grow,” or “plant a tree.” The Green Team encourages everyone to discuss with their children how they can strive to make a difference.

A new development at LFCSA for which the Green Team is grateful is our regular lunch recycling volunteers. These are parents who help the children with the concept of recycling by assessing their finished lunch meals and containers and sorting what can be recycled into our blue recycling bins. A huge thanks goes to Sherrell Cuneo (Mondays), Susan Fink (Tuesdays), Betina Papadeas (Wednesdays), Jennifer Del Barrio (Thursdays), and Kirsten Dickerson (Fridays). According to Green Team co-chair Sherrell Cuneo, students are ready to take on a zero waste lunch policy. Congratulations to the Green Team lunchtime volunteers, as well as to all the students of LFCSA who are quickly becoming professional recyclers! Fliers went out to parents regarding a fundraiser for lunchbox “systems,” which we encourage parents to use, and be on the lookout for the Green Team’s classroom presentations educating on the benefits of reusable and/or recyclable lunch materials.

A big thanks goes to Ms. Dovico, who gave us great ideas and volunteered her second grade class to be “Recycling Raccoons,” and even incorporated recycling into a math lesson.

Our goal is to transition LFCSA into being a zero waste campus, similar to many other campuses in California and the nation. Please contact gogreen@losfelizarts.org with all of your school-related recycling questions.

Have you noticed those two blue 50-gallon rolling recycling bins in the auditorium? These aid in transporting lunchtime recycled waste to the main recycling bin in the parking lot. The Green Team purchased those with profits from tote bag sales. Our next step is to recruit lunch volunteers to help the kids recycle properly and show them how to identify recyclable items and dispose of them correctly.

In February, members of the Green Team attended lunches for an assessment of waste, and we were happy to see that some children were bringing lunches that produced relatively little waste. We are also in the process of establishing a recycling system for festivals and other events on campus (if it has a code, it’s not trash!).

In addition, The Green Team is preparing a No Waste Lunch demonstration for each classroom. In the future, we would like to have a sustainable lunch container (lunchbox) fundraiser, featuring a product such as “Laptop Lunches” or “To-Go-Ware” that leaves no waste and gets packed back up when lunch is over.

Also on our agenda is looking into supplying trays and silverware for the hot lunches, rather than disposable cartons, utensils, etc.

Green Team
co-chair, Cecily Harrison | gogreen@losfelizarts.org

LFCSA is starting a PTA (Parent Teacher Association) and you are invited to join! As you’ll learn from the overview below, there are many benefits of having a school PTA and getting involved. The first meeting is tonight, which will be filled with great information and the candidates for officer positions will be presented.

What is the function of the PTA? The PTA functions as an entity to, first and foremost, bring our community together in an organized fashion to further the progress of the school. We really want to encourage all of our families to join and participate. We have an amazing school, but we are in our infancy, and our growth and success depends on our community. There are other benefits of joining the PTA, such as terrific insurance, as well as health and dental care for those in need. The list goes on.

Why has LFCSA chosen to start a PTA and how will it help the school? Last year, there were presentations by PTA, PTO (Parent Teacher Organization), and a “Friends of LFCSA” option was also considered. Our community listened to the presentations and opted for a PTA. The great benefit of a PTA for our school, instead of the other above-mentioned organizations, is that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. With so many needs in our first couple of years as a school, the blueprint offered by the PTA organization is a welcome relief. It is much like a franchise. Our PTA program offers us a map by which we can find so many elements that will benefit the growth and organization of our school community.

What benefits does membership offer? There are so many values to PTA membership, but the biggest value is the opportunity to participate in making our school community tremendously successful. Our commitment to our school and PTA is directly tied to the long term success of our children.

How much does it cost to join and what does the money pay for? Membership to PTA is $20 per year for an individual, or $30 per family. Part of the dues go to our membership district, state, and national PTA. The balance of the dues will be used to fund our officers’ attendance at PTA seminars and conventions, and most importantly to fund membership for those in our community who would not otherwise be able to join.

When will meetings be? Our first meeting is tonight, November 1st at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium. At this meeting we will have an overview of PTA and give the officer nominees an opportunity to introduce themselves. Once officers are elected, the frequency of meetings will be determined. Elections will be held November 8th. Ballots will be sent home in the Thursday packet.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting, and are pleased to be providing yet another way for parents to get involved in the school community.

Share your enthusiasm for LFCSA by involving your family in this touching fundraiser.

The Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts presents the Harvest Arts & Crafts Festival, Saturday, November 10th, 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM at 1265 North Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Music, Arts, Crafts, Food, Fun & Games

The Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts presents the Harvest Arts & Crafts Festival, Saturday, November 10th, 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM at 1265 North Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Music, Arts, Crafts, Food, Fun & Games