Los Feliz Arts

November 2009
A Trip to the Principal’s Office
By Principal Karin Newlin

Autumn is in full swing.  Leaves are falling, and the days are getting shorter.  To me, Fall means lots of preparation and change, which is exactly what’s happening at LFCSA.  It has been a busy and exciting time for our school, and I’d like to share what we’ve been up to as we prep to continue pushing our vision into the future.

ENROLLMENT DRIVE
We Have IMMEDIATE Openings
During the past few weeks, we have been welcoming a number of new K-4 students to our ranks.  We are so pleased to have these new members of our community. Just a reminder: there are still spaces left for THIS school year. If you or someone you know might be interested in having their child grow and learn the LFCSA way, please have them contact Michelle Jones at Michelle@losfelizarts.org
or by calling 323-656-2810.

Photo Fundraising and Halloween’s Haul
We have another fantastic fundraising opportunity this month. Join us for our Fourth Annual Professional Portrait Fundraiser on Saturday, November 14th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at our new Media Center site. For only $75, families looking for a beautiful group portrait suitable for prints and holiday cards, as well as actors, musicians and entertainers looking for low-cost publicity shots, will be able to take advantage of our five highly regarded photographers and leave with a CD full of beautiful photographs.

Also, I would like to give a big thank you to all of the families who gave their time, talents and resources to make this year’s Halloween Festival such a “boo-ti-ful” and profitable event! From the haunted house to the unique crafts and delicious concessions, this fun and exciting event was not only a great fundraiser for our school, but also a wonderful representation of what we can achieve when we work together as a community.

A Change for the Better
As you know, recently we have restructured some classes.  We now offer a blended K/1st grade class.  Also, we have placed students from Ms. Heneise’s class into other 3rd grade classes, allowing her to take over our beloved Theater Arts curriculum. We are all very appreciative of your cooperation, patience and open-mindedness, and as expected, our students have made the transitions with ease.

Contributions That Are CAPITAL!
Finally, a big thank you to all of you who have made and fulfilled your pledges to the capital campaign, the fundraising effort that will help us move into, and equip, our new school site. Whether you were able to give $2, $2,000 or more, you are a valuable part of making the LFCSA dream a reality.  If you still haven’t made your donation, please complete a pledge form as soon as possible.

So much behind us, and yet even more to come.  There will be changes as we move forward, meaning growth, accomplishments and huge strides toward continued success. As always, a big THANKS to all of you for your part in making our school an organization of which we can all be proud.

Best,
Karin

A Trip to the Principal’s Office
By Principal Karin Newlin

The beginning of a new year is always exciting: new teachers, new classrooms, and new friends.  Seeing the anticipation on the faces of our kindergarteners and watching past students pick up where they left off is always rewarding.  It has been so awesome that the start of our fourth year has unfolded as well as it has.  I’m so proud that the love of learning is alive and well on our campus.

Soaring Test Scores!
LFCSA has experienced an 81-point increase from our 2008 Academic Performance Index score (API) to reach 858 in 2009!  The state had set the goal for us to meet a 5-point increase, and we smashed that by 76 points!!!

Big Time

As you know, we have never had so many students at our school, and have not had this many new students since our beginning back in 2006.  This means some of the tried and true systems we’ve been using are going to have to be adjusted to accommodate all of these wonderful learners.

I’m not talking about curriculum or school values; of those systems I am completely confident. I mean the day-to-day things like drop-off and pick-up. So, I want to thank you now for remaining flexible, patient, and cooperative while, together, we get all the kinks worked out.

New Faces
In addition to our many new students, we are also pleased to welcome five new teachers: Mr. Dmytriw, Ms. Heneise, Ms. Mellinger, Ms. Howe, and Ms. Trubo.  And, we also have five new support staff members to help make our students’ LFCSA experience as positive as possible.  We feel very fortunate to add individuals of this caliber to our already outstanding group of professionals.

So, for those of you “LFCSA veterans,” please take a moment to introduce yourself to these new families and staff members. I know they will appreciate your experience, kindness, and confidence in our school.

So many great things are happening and we’ve only just begun. Please be sure to watch your email, the Thursday packets, and this website for all the exciting news and events from our school.

Best,
Karin

A Trip to the Principal’s Office

By Principal Karin Newlin

Now is a time of many exciting new beginnings for our school.

We’ve Found Our New Home
As many of you already know, we have finally selected a location for the site of our new home.  Located in the Los Feliz area, this new site gives us plenty of room to learn, explore and grow. I would like to applaud all of those who worked so hard to find this fantastic new location, and encourage you to take a closer look at our innovative new home.

Capital Campaign
Of course, making this dream a reality (like so many things) will require a substantial amount of funding. Please take a moment to find out how you can make our vital Capital Campaign a success, and make this new location a place we can call our own.

3, 2, 1….Relaunch
Our physical space isn’t the only new LFCSA site of note. We have also recently re-launched our website. We put a great deal of time and thought into not just redesigning the site to better reflect our school’s culture, but also to make it easier for our parents and community to use.

Pay special attention to our regularly updated calendar, as well as “hot” news items appearing on the home page.

First Day of School September 10th!
The start of our 2009-2010 school year is just around the corner. I look forward to returning to our current Selma location, making new friends and reuniting with old ones too. This upcoming school year promises to be another fantastic year for our students, their families and our community.

Until then, be sure and stay logged on…because this is only the beginning!

Best,

Karin Newlin

Today as we successfully complete LFCSA’s third year, I have paused to reflect on what we have accomplished this year and recognize that this has been an extremely successful year for our little school.  Exactly one year ago, we were frantically packing up our Fairfax location and moving onto Selma Elementary School’s campus.  We have now successfully cohabited with this wonderful public school for one year. more…