By Lena Atutoa, 6th Grade Teacher, Oak Street School

The Green movement is growing! Last year Kelso Elementary participated in the Grades of Green Trash Free Lunch Challenge. Inspired by the school’s accomplishment, Oak Street Elementary will take on the challenge this year as well. As part of the challenge, participating schools teach students how to reduce lunch waste by reducing, recycling, sharing and composting. Schools compete to win a $1,000 first prize, $750 second prize, or a $500 third prize. Oak Street is putting together an impressive bid and has dozens of unique components to its system.

The first are students. From grades 2-6, volunteers make up the Green Team Super Sorters. These students “man the station” and direct students on where the various components of their lunches go when they have finished eating. No longer do students simply dump everything into an all-purpose garbage can. They stack cardboard trays to take up less space in the recycling bin. They recycle plastic food containers and empty milk cartons. Even leftover fresh fruits and vegetables such as carrots and apple cores are composted. Oak Street’s after-school LEAP Program has an amazing garden that features three composters. Students learn to take something that otherwise would be dumped into a landfill and transform it into nutrients for its herb and vegetable garden. The garden and composters are key components of Oak Street’s program and valuable tools teachers use to provide students with hands-on learning opportunities.

Rewards and incentives are also a key part of the program’s success. Students are encouraged to pack trash free lunches on Tuesdays. Students who bring lunches in reusable containers with no disposable packaging win raffle tickets. At the monthly assemblies, students draw for cool and eco-conscious prizes. Trash free lunches aren’t the only thing rewarded. Student volunteers and Super Sorters are also selected monthly to receive movie tickets. Every volunteer receives a certificate honoring his/her contribution.

Furthermore, our program will be infinitely enhanced this summer thanks to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity awarded to Oak Street 2nd grade teacher Ms. Claire Darsa. Through the Earthwatch Institute, Ms. Darsa applied for and received a coveted spot as team member of an expedition slated to study climate change at the Arctic’s edge in northern Canada in July. She will help field and lab researchers collect and analyze baseline quantitative data on climate-related changes in northern ecosystems. She will collect data on native species and water quality from tundra ponds and wetlands. Afterwards, she will enter and process the data she collects in the laboratory as part of the study. We are very proud of her! When Ms. Darsa returns to Oak, she will be an invaluable resource to help lift our program to even higher levels.

Extending hands-on experiences to students through our program will meet two essential goals. It will provide engaging, real-world learning opportunities that will teach multiple subject areas at greater levels of depth and complexity. It will also empower students to help sustain and extend positive, environmentally-conscious practices for generations to come. Oak Street Elementary school is taking its first steps towards greater environmental consciousness and action. By participating in the Grades of Green Trash Free Lunch Challenge and bringing real-life experiences into the classroom, Oak Street sets out to nurture better global citizens.

The Friends of Inglewood Public Library will host a book sale Dec. 12 and 13 featuring 10-cent soft-cover and $1 hard-cover children’s books.

Anyone is welcome to attend the Winter Holiday Book Sale, which runs from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12., and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13.

All purchases help support the library at 101 W. Manchester Blvd. Read the flyer here.

The City of Inglewood’s annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony is set for Wednesday, Dec. 10, at the Fabulous Forum.
This festive free event, open to all residents, starts at 5:30 p.m. and will include entertainment, refreshments and a visit from Santa Claus.
The forum is at 3900 W. Manchester Blvd. Read the event flyer here.

LCFF is a new state funding formula that’s designed to target more money to districts with low-income and English-language learners. For Inglewood Unified to receive the maximum amount of state funding, the District must collect an alternative income form from every family. Otherwise, our children stand to lose vital funding for much needed programs.

Please take the opportunity to apply online if you haven’t already done so in person. All parents and guardians are asked to complete the form (one per family) and return it to their children’s schools. If you have not received a form, please contact your school’s office manager.

https://inglewoodusd.rocketscanapps.com/

Find your school below in this listing, which will be updated with new information as dates and times are confirmed by the school sites:

Bennett Kew Elementary – 9/25

Centinela Elementary – 5-6 p.m. on 9/23, K–3^rdgrades; 5-6 p.m. 9/25, 4^th– 6^th grades

Highland Elementary – details to come

Hudnall Elementary – 5:30-7:30 p.m. on 9/25

Kelso Elementary – 5-6:15 p.m. on 9/17, TK–3^rdgrades; 5–6:15 p.m. on 9/18, 4^th– 6^th grades

Oak Street Elementary – 9/23

Payne Elementary – Daytime parent meetings are planned for each grade level: 8:30 a.m. on 9/10, TK & K; 8:30 a.m. on 9/15, 1^st grade; 9:30 a.m. on 9/15, 2^nd grade; 8:30 a.m. on 9/16, 3^rd grade; 9:30 a.m. on 9/16, 4^th grade; 8:30 a.m. on 9/17, 4^th grade; 9:30 a.m. on 9/17, 5^th grade

Warren Lane Elementary – 5:30-6:30 p.m. on 9/25

Woodworth Elementary – 5-6 p.m. on 9/25

Worthington Elementary – 4:15-6:15 p.m. on 9/23

La Tijera Academy – 5:30-6:30 p.m. 9/16 and 9/17

Frank D. Parent – 6-8 p.m. on 9/25

Crozier – details to come

Monroe Middle – 6-7 p.m. on 9/25

City Honors Academy – 6-8 p.m. on 10/1

Inglewood High – 6 p.m. on 10/1

Morningside High – 6-7 p.m. on 9/25

 

For the convenience of current and prospective school families, Inglewood Unified has opened a one-stop Summer Enrollment Center in the District Offices at 401 S. Inglewood Ave., Room B3.

Parents looking to enroll their children in pre-school through high school can do so at the center, which is staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Spanish-speaking employees are willing to assist. The phone number is 310-680-5175.

Families can come prepared by downloading an application available English enrollment form and Spanish enrollment forms Those enrolling will be asked to provide a number of documents, including proof of residency; a valid, government-issued ID, driver’s license or passport; proof of the child’s age and current grade level; health records and more.

Additionally, families interested in enrolling pre-schoolers in half-day programs next year at Bennett-Kew, Highland and Woodworth elementary schools can visit the Child Development Center at 10409 10^th Ave., Inglewood (next to Woodworth). This second enrollment location – open for pre-school applications only – is staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 310-419-2691 or 310-419-2692 for details.

Pre-school sessions at Bennett-Kew, Highland and Woodworth will run from 8-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-4 p.m.

Inglewood Unified School District is proud to offer small kindergarten classes; college and career-readiness programs; a variety of arts, sports and extra-curricular activities; cutting-edge technology; safe, secure campuses and award-winning after-school programs.

Have a safe, happy, healthy summer and we’ll see you next year!

For English Enrollment Packet, Click here

For Spanish Enrollment Packet, Click here

The City Inglewood is certainly proud to be hosting the VMA Awards Aug. 24, but Inglewood Unified and Oak Street School is feeling as proud to be visited today by former Inglewood student, Becky G., less than a week before the superstar pop singer appears at the show this Sunday at the Forum.  MTV was on hand at Oak today to do a short video of her walking the halls, finding photos of herself and her brother in old year books and generally reminiscing  the great times she spent as a young student in Inglewood Unified.  The video of her visit is slated to be played as part of the show.

When Becky was nine, she and her family had to sell their home in the Moreno Valley and move into a converted garage at her grandparent’s home in Inglewood.  From these humble beginnings, Becky has done Inglewood proud by making it to the top of the Billboard charts, but also not forgetting her roots.  As her principal in 2007, current Oak Street Principal Richard Barter is most proud that his school had a meaningful, positive impact on Becky and that it was Oak, of all places, that Becky chose to visit.