SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 TIGER TIDBITS

Dear Brookside Families: I often receive questions about the policies in regards to absences and tardies, particularly from those who have received attendance letters in the mail. As we now approach the end of our first trimester, our attendance records show a significant number of student absences and late arrivals. In the spirit of maximizing learning time and minimizing disruption to the process of teaching and learning in each classroom, I would like to provide some reminders and information about our legal responsibilities as a school:

The CA compulsory education laws require schools to report truancies. A truancy, as defined by the law, is a student who has missed three school days or is tardy or absent more than 30 minutes during the school day on three occasions in one school year without a valid excuse.

Valid excuses are: illness/injury, quarantine under direction of health officer, medical/dental appointment that can only be scheduled during school hours, and funeral services for a member of the immediate family. Despite illness being a valid excuse, the school will require a note from a medical practitioner if the number of illness days exceeds three consecutive or ten in a school year. We understand that illnesses do occur and do appreciate you keeping children home when fever, vomiting, or contagious virus/infection occurs.

Religious Holidays: An excused absence for religious holiday will be granted upon prior written request of parent or guardian. Please contact the school in advance of these holidays.

Truancy letters are automatically generated and mailed home once a student misses three or more school days without having reported a valid excuse as defined under the law. Thank you for understanding our school’s obligation to do so.

Trips and family vacations are not valid excuses under the law. These absences must be reported as truancies. One exception: If your family will be away for more five or more school days, an Independent Study contract may be requested. In this case, the absence can be excused if assigned class work is completed during the absence and turned in upon return to school. Information about Independent Study contracts can be found in our school handbook. A minimum of seven days of advanced notice is required when requesting an Independent Study contract. Please note that we very highly encourage and respectfully ask that family trips and vacations be scheduled during non-school days because of the significant challenges and disruptions that these absences tend to present.

Once a student is designated a truant, state law requires schools, districts, counties, and courts to intervene to ensure that parents and pupils receive certain services to assist them in complying with attendance laws.Our school handbook (CLICK HERE) is a great resource to review information regarding attendance policies.

Thank you for all you do to make sure that children are at school (on time) each and every day! I truly appreciate your help and understanding when it comes to providing optimal learning conditions for our students. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

FROM PRINCIPAL AHL

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 TIGER TIDBITS

Brookside Attendance Line: 818-597-4209 Please remember to call the attendance line 818-597-4209, not the Main Office line or your teacher, to report an absence. Please add the Brookside Attendance Line to your phone contacts! Please report absences whether or not they are considered valid excuses under the law (see above).

Clothing Donations Needed for the Health Office! Donations of elastic waist pants/shorts sizes small to large are needed in the health

office, along with socks and underwear (boy & girl).  Also, if your student does

need to borrow a change of clothes from the health office, please be sure to wash

the borrowed clothing before returning the clothing.

Compassionate & Creative Tigers in Action! 3rd grader Sophie Vaughan recently coordinated a service

project and invited friends to join in her in sewing 35 pillowcases

to donate to the local Ryan's Case for Smiles Organization to

help brighten the hospital stays of children.  Sophie started the

project under the American Patchwork and Quilting Annual Drive - The One Million Pillowcase Challenge.  The goal of the

challenge is to create a million pillowcases (for various charities),

and they will continue the challenge yearly until they hit their

mark.  Sophie e-mailed the local coordinator, read up on the

guidelines, solicited the donations, washed and matched up fabric for the pillowcases,

arranged the set up of the sewing machines and showed fellow students and their parents

UPCOMING EVENTS 9/27 Magic Morgan Deaf Magician Assembly Sponsored by Friends of Oak Park Schools 9/28 PTA General Association Meeting 8:30am in the MPR 9/29 & 9/30 OPUSD Parent Education Meeting with Counselor Holly Baxter 10/3 NO SCHOOL (local holiday) 10/4-7 Kindergarten Assessments (12:15 pm release for K only) 10/5 Walk to School Wednesday/BES Restaurant Day at SHARKY’S and YOGURTLAND 10/10 Picture Re-take Day 10/12 NO SCHOOL (local holiday) 10/17 NO SCHOOL (Elementary only, Secondary in School) 10/19-20 PTA Reflections Submissions Due 10/22 PTA BINGO NIGHT!

FROM THE OFFICE

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 TIGER TIDBITS

how to sew the pillow cases! Students pictured right with some of their creations for charity: Top Row (L to R): Elena McFadden, Ben Abdulaziz, Jackson Quon, Matthew Pemberton, Josie Norton,

Bottom Row (L to R): Grace Peterson, Sophie Vaughan, Samantha Abdulaziz, Sydney Brown, Kolby Von Mulldorfer, Natalie Wang, and Carly Theaker.  

October Digital Spotlight With technology at their fingertips, students have been learning

about digital citizenship in the classroom. To further connect the

classroom and the home, we will be creating monthly digital spotlights to help get

conversations started at home. Thank you for joining this partnership to ensure your child’s

digital safety and responsibility.

Topic: Privacy

Discussion Starters: What does Privacy mean? What things are Private to you? What does Privacy look like online? Have you ever Googled yourself? Resources: For Parent Tips: Click Here For Common Sense Media Q & A’s: Click Here

Parent volunteers needed to coach, co-coach, judge and assist in the Odyssey of the Mind

program. This is friendly competition where students can showcase a wide range of talents

such as script writing, prop and scenery design, music, dance, building, robotics, etc. Coaches

work with students in teams of 5-7 to solve a long term problem and prepare for a

spontaneous problem on competition day. For more information please attend the

FROM OPUSD

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 TIGER TIDBITS

information session on October 1, 2016 at Oak View High School, 5801 Conifer in Room 104

from 9:30-12:30.

OOTM Information Flyer 2017 Problem Synopsis Visit the FriendsofOakParkSchools.org website or email the District Science Specialist Debbie

Hammill at dhammill@oakparkusd.org for more information.

9/29 & 9/30: THIS THURSDAY & FRIDAY! Parent Education Event with OPUSD Counselor Holly Baxter

9/28- PTA Meeting This Wednesday! 8:30am in the MPR! Please join us for our September General Association meeting at

8:30am in the MPR this Wednesday, 9/28!

FROM THE BROOKSIDE PTA

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 TIGER TIDBITS

Wednesday, October 5th! TWO Awesome Events! Walk to School Wednesday & Family Restaurant Event at Sharky’s & Yogurtland in Westlake! Walk to School Wednesday is October 5, 2016.

The event that promotes healthy kids, cuts down on neighborhood traffic & pollution, and

builds community spirit! Meet up with some favorite teachers & friends for the trek

to school.  Mrs. Ahl and Stripes the Tiger will meet you at school! Locations & Times Deerhill Fire Station - 7:45am

Conifer & Bayberry - 7:55am

Conifer & Locust - 7:55am

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 TIGER TIDBITS

Also on 10/5: Brookside at Sharky’s & Yogurtland in Westlake Village! After you’ve worked up an appetite walking to

school, come to October’s Brookside Family Restaurant Event at

Sharky's & Yogurtland in Westlake Village.  Sharky's will donate

15% of all dine-in and takeout orders made between 11am- 8pm to the Brookside PTA.

 Yogurtland will donate 20% of all sales to the Brookside PTA ALL DAY.  Look for more

information in next week's Tidbits!

Back in the Garden NEXT WEEK! We are delighted to announce that our School Garden Program will

resume next week with garden clean up and 4th & 5th grade garden

classes starting Friday, October 7th. This will be the second year of

hands-on science and core standards aligned lessons in organic growing and gardening for all our students, provided by the District and delivered by our vendor,

2eden school gardens (led by Debra Leith, a Brookside parent and our very own PTA Garden

and Beautification Committee Chair).

Garden classes at Brookside take place on Fridays and we welcome parent support and

volunteers. Last year we heard so many great things about what our volunteers and teachers

learned too, so this opportunity not only benefits your student but, might just help you

develop your own green thumbs! This school year 4th & 5th grade will be in the garden in

Oct-Dec, 2nd & 3rd grade in Jan-March and DK-1st grade in March-May. Please check with

your teacher for more details of your class's garden schedule.

School Garden Program Assistant Part-Time Opportunity Available with Vendor! Finally, and again on the subject of opportunities, our vendor is also currently advertising a part-time, paid opportunity to be a part of the team delivering this amazing program across the District. For more information

on applying to be a School Garden Program Assistant, head over to their

website www.2edenstudio.com and click on the 'School Gardens' tab. This is a great

opportunity for anyone who needs to work around school hours, has a keen interest or

experience in gardening and growing and, has experience in supervising activities with groups

of students.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 TIGER TIDBITS

We Need YOU! Let’s Get Our Community Going: Phone Banking Volunteers Needed!

THANK YOU to everyone who has signed up for phone banking! We Need Your Help to Get Measure S Passed! It’s super easy and most

calls last only 20 seconds. We will need everyone’s help this

November to support the passage of Measure S to ensure safe and

quality Oak Park schools. Don’t delay and SIGN UP HERE. For more information and FAQ,

please refer to the original ParentSquare post HERE.

Calling All Potential Bingo Night Volunteers! Do you love Bingo?!  If the answer is yes, the the Brookside PTA

needs you!  The Brookside PTA’s beloved Bingo Night is coming up

on October 21st and we are looking for a few volunteers to work on our Bingo Night

committee. If you are interested, please email Bingo Night chair, Denise Helfstein at

denisehelfstein@me.com or join the Bingo Night committee group on ParentSquare under

PTA Fundraising HERE. You can also join any other groups you are interested in there!

Run Club is Returning in November! Our AWESOME PE Coaches, Coach Christa and Coach Gretchen, will be

helping run the Brookside PTA’s Run Club again this year. The program is

sponsored by your generous support and is FREE for all participants. It will be 4

months in duration and will begin in November and conclude the last week of February. Run Club will be on Wednesday and Friday mornings from 7:45-8:15am. Students may run one or both days. Waivers will be available and

can be turned in starting in October. A signed hard copy will need to be turned in via homework folders to the Run Club bin in the office workroom in order to participate.

Look for a ParentSquare post from Coach Christa soon!

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 TIGER TIDBITS

PTA Reflections: IMPORTANT Rules & Reminders THANK YOU to our Brookside librarian, Kelly Shaver, for

promoting the arts and the PTA Reflections program during library

time this past week!

We want to remind all parents of participants to read the entry rules very carefully WITH their students.

No Adult Help! Each entry must be the original work of one student only. An adult may not alter the

creative integrity of a student’s work. Because the program is designed to encourage and

recognize each student’s individual creativity, help from an adult or collaboration with other

students is not allowed. Please help keep this program student-centered!

Please Read the Entry Rules and Rules for Each Category Carefully! Rules and Entry Forms for each category can be found HERE. There are very SPECIFIC rules

about what is permitted for each category and how entries are to be turned in. PLEASE NOTE: any entries received that do not meet the criteria specified in the rules will be returned. Our volunteers/teachers do not have the capacity to print any documents/photos

the morning entries are due. ALL submissions MUST be COMPLETE and ready when turned in on 10/19 or 10/20. If there is an issue of hardship, please contact the Office

Manager, Virginia Standring, who will then let us know if certain arrangements need to be

made. Also, if you are videotaping, please note that you must obtain a release from those in

the video. All submissions will be collected the mornings of 10/19 and 10/20 before school

in front of the school. For more information, contact PTA Reflections Chair, Bhavya Singh at

bhavya.singh80@gmail.com

Renew/Register Your Ralph’s Card Shop at Ralph’s and earn 5% of your purchase for Brookside! You must

register or renew your Ralph’s Club Card every year starting September

1st. For directions on how to register, click HERE; after registering on the www.ralphs.com site

enter Brookside’s Group ID 83860 when prompted.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 TIGER TIDBITS

Save Your Box Tops! Please collect and clip around the pink dotted line.  Our school earns money

with each Box Top submitted.  Simply fill out each sheet as many times as you

can.  All we ask is that the dates are current and the tops are clipped carefully

by the pink dotted line.

Let us make a goal of raising $1,000. Please be sure to download the Box Tops flyer HERE from our Fundraising File Folder on ParentSquare and paste the box tops onto the sheet to make it even easier for our Box Tops Chair, Gale Saul! Questions? Contact Gale at gale.saul@gmail.com

Just for the Kids~Donate Today! THANK YOU to all of our generous and supportive families for

pledging to our annual giving campaign. If you haven’t already, please

contribute today online HERE so we can continue supporting key salaried positions and programs for music, computers, art, over 2,500 hours of instructional aide time and continue to improve programming and

enrichment for our children. If you donated at the suggested Bronze level of $350 per student or above, and didn’t receive your car magnet or other incentives, please contact

Tina Wang at besptapresident@gmail.com

Corporate Matching Please verify with your Human Resources department if your company offers

corporate matching. They will have an online process or a manual form you will

need to complete and have us verify the amount. For the verification process,

please direct all correspondence to Tina Wang at besptapresident@gmail.com The

organization name: Brookside Elementary PTA and our tax ID is: 95-6203985

Get Involved! Be a PTA Volunteer! Please take a look at all of our programs and fundraisers and

JOIN a group HERE on ParentSquare! If you would like more

information, please feel free to contact any of our board

members or committee chairs listed HERE or contact Kim Kavett-Moore, VP of Volunteers at

besptavolunteers1@gmail.com

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 TIGER TIDBITS

Traffic & Safety Volunteers! Thank You to our dedicated parent volunteers who arrive early in

the morning to help expedite the drop-off process. THANK YOU to Pam Norton, Jennifer Burstein, Ty Avendano, Luisa Kapitz, and Michele Abdulaziz. If you would like to help with traffic and safety, please sign up HERE.

Spirit Wear Chair! A huge thank you Judie Berro, our AWESOME Spiritwear chair for coordinating our spirit wear purchases this year!

Treat Your Skin to a Safe Spa Quality Facial at Home

BROOKSIDE TIDBITS COMMUNITY ADVERTISEMENTSThe Oak Park Unified School District and Brookside Elementary School

do not endorse any advertised products or services

TIGER SHOUT-OUTS!

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 TIGER TIDBITS

Advertise in Tidbits! The Brookside Tiger Tidbits e-Newsletter is a very cost-effective way to reach over 600 local

families.   Pricing Options:• $50 for 1 week/ad, $100 for 2 week/ad, $150 for 4 week/ad.

Interested? Please contact Tim Fontenette at besbulletin@gmail.com

Oak Park High Cheer Clinic on 10/23 Designed for AGES 4 and UP, participants will learn cheers and a dance to PERFORM during

HALFTIME under the Friday Night Lights on October 28, 7:00pm vs. Royal Football

game. OPHS Gym - 899 Kanan Rd, Oak Park. Check-in opens at 12:00pm

$40 by 10/15 (sign up by 10/6 to guarantee t-shirt size) $50 Same Day Registration. Fee includes instruction, participant game admission, snack & t-shirt to wear at

game. Proceeds benefit OP Cheer. For the registration form and directions on where to turn

the form in, please click HERE.

9/28-Magic Morgan of Deaf World Magicians at Oak Park High! Friends of Oak Park Schools presents: An Evening of Magic & Comedy

Starring Deaf World Magicians on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. Oak Park High School Pavilion. Admission is FREE!

Fundamentals of Finance Series at the Oak Park Community Center!

OAK PARK COMMUNITY INFORMATION

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 TIGER TIDBITS

10/6- Candidates Forum at Oak Park High School

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The Community Foundation for Oak Park has previously held political forums for local and regional candidates as well as ballot measures, affording an opportunity for the public to meet its candidates and learn about local measures. The nonprofit Community Foundation for Oak Park supports specialized volunteer efforts within the community and serves as an umbrella organization for charitable groups and charitable trusts. It was established in 1979 and is led by a volunteer board of trustees. Charitable groups within the Foundation include Friends of the Oak Park Library, Oak Park Community Garden, Oak Park Performing Arts Alliance, Oak Park

Neighborhood School and the Oak Park High School Instrumental Music Association. Information about the Community Foundation for Oak Park may be found at www.OakParkFoundation.org or by contacting Jay Kapitz at j_kapitz@yahoo.com.)