Two Fire Drills in One Day and Some Thoughts on Summer Homework 2014

Today the excessive humidity tripped our fire alarm system twice resulting in the entire school going outside for two fire drills within the course of twenty minutes.  The local fire department came to the school and determined that excessive humidity caused the alarm to sound.  A technician from our fire alarm company arrived an hour later and repaired the system so that we could return to our regular schedule and prevent this from happening again.

This Monday summer homework is due for students in grades 4-8.  Throughout the summer I received insightful feedback from families regarding what they found helpful about assignments and areas where we could improve in terms of the quality and quantity of the work.  This was our first year creating summer homework assignments.  We expect our students to excel at LCCS and we want their learning to continue throughout the summer.  It is critical that we create summer homework that is engaging for our students with clear directions and expectations for each assignment. 

As we begin to review the summer homework assignments that are coming in we will evaluate how many students actually completed their assignments and who struggled with understanding them.  After conducting this review we will turn our focus towards creating 2015 summer homework that is engaging, fairly simple to understand, and that results in a high level of student completion.  The feedback we received from families and students over the course of this summer will be invaluable as we begin crafting new summer homework assignments.

Thanks to all the students that completed 2014 summer homework and their families that supported them throughout this process. We will work diligently to further improve summer homework for next year.

Happy Labor Day and Welcome to the 2014-2015 School Year

September 1, 2014

On behalf of the entire team at LCCS, I want to welcome you to the 2014-2015 school year and wish each of you a happy new school year.  I hope that your summer was filled with family, friends, and fun.  In preparation for the coming school year our administrative and custodial teams have been cleaning and organizing for the coming school year and our faculty attended professional development workshops preparing for our students. 

We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of our students on the first day of school which is on Wednesday, September 3^rd, 2014.  Our school hours are from 8:30-3:15.  Our doors open at 7:50 and students should arrive at school no later than 8:20.

 Please make sure to say your good byes to your child at home.  This will make it easier for you to part ways on the first day of school.  Don’t let your child fool you-it is harder for you than it will be for them!  Please do not accompany your child into his or her classroom.  This prolongs the good-bye process and makes it much more difficult for the class to begin their day.  Our teachers and teacher assistants are experts at making children feel welcome on the first day of school and every day throughout the year.

This year we are launching a number of new initiatives that will further enhance our students’ academic skills and their social emotional growth.  I plan to share more information about many of these programs  with all of you throughout the coming year.

·         We launched a new scheduling system that will allow students in our middle school to receive individual schedules so that they will no longer travel from class to class in fixed homeroom groups.

·         Our scheduling system is linked to an online grading system so that middle school parents can monitor their child’s academic progress on a regular basis.

·         A new school website will provide students and families with information about school events and greater accessibility to classroom materials on teacher websites.

·          In an effort to prepare our fifth graders for middle school they will now switch classes for all their academic subjects among the teachers on the fifth grade team.  Ms. Litman will teach math, Ms. Muse will teach English, and Mr. Rengifo will teach science and social studies.  The fifth grade remains part of the lower school as we view fifth grade as the bridge year between lower and middle school at LCCS.

·         Students in the middle school will now have Spanish four times a week in an effort to increase their overall foreign language skills.

·         An advanced math class will be offered for students in grades 5-8 that will cover the same material only at a more rapid pace.  Placement in this class is determined by student academic performance in previous math classes and their standardized test scores.

·         In grades 3, 5, and the middle school students will participate in the Touchstones Discussion Project program.  This is an international program where students explore important ethical or philosophical ideas in a discussion format based on writings from great thinkers and writers throughout history. 

I firmly believe that Learning Community Charter School is a family, we work together, we learn together, and we support one another.  I look forward to working and collaborating with each of your children (and you) in the coming school year.

Have a wonderful Labor Day and see you on September 3^rd.

Colin Hogan

Head of School

Summer of 2014-What We've Been Up to

This weekend marks for most of us in the K-12 education world the end of summer.  The LCCS faculty returns on Monday to begin planning and preparing for the 2014-2015 school year.

Given that we have reached that point I think today would be a wonderful time to reflect on how the LCCS community used the summer to plan, learn, and continue to teach our students.

Summer Program

For the second year in a row in July LCCS ran an academic summer program for students in the Lower School that also participate in our free and reduced lunch program.  The program offered our students entering grades 1-5 the opportunity for additional instruction in reading, writing, and math.  Students worked in small groups with our teachers.  We offered additional academic enrichment for students participating in the program that were above grade level in reading and math.  This year 40 students attended the program which ran from Tuesdays through Thursdays for a full day.  Thanks to all the families that participated in the program and the incredible LCCS team that developed and ran the program.  We look forward to offering the program again next summer.

NJCU Literacy Center Institute

During the last week in July eight of our teachers and teacher assistants in grades K-3 attended an institute at NJCU for developing literacy centers within their classrooms.  The teachers learned how to create centers within their room for students to further develop their reading comprehension and writing skills. They planned how to structure their reading and writing classes to encourage their independence while also increasing students’ skills in terms of building vocabulary, reading fluency, and keeping journals.

Metamorphosis Summer Math Institute

In August Ms. Rha, Ms. Wuerthner, Ms. Tyjer, Mr. Anderson, Ms. Smith, and Ms. Flam participated in a workshop for teachers to study math at an academic level with master math educators and coaches from the Metamorphosis Institute.  The guiding concept behind the institute is that the more teachers master the content they teach the more aware they become in terms of how to effectively teach these concepts to students.  This institute was the launch of year-long partnership between LCCS and Metamorphosis to enhance our teachers in grades PreK-8 skills’ and understanding of how to engage and challenge students in math. 

Welcome Back for the 2014-2015 School Year

Dear Learning Community Family,

I hope that this correspondence finds you well, and that you are continuing to enjoy your summer. As the days quickly pass, we all become excited and anxious for the beginning of the school year. I will hold off on the official “welcome back” message because I don’t want you to rush what remains of your summer. We are currently in the process of mailing out welcome packets which contain information about your child’s teacher for the coming school year.

Please make a note that Curriculum Night for Lower School will be on 9-23 at 6:30 pm and Middle School Curriculum Night will be on 9-30 at 6:30 pm.  PreK Curriculum Night will be at 5:30 on 9-23.

We do have some staffing changes in teaching assignments for the coming year.  I am pleased to announce that all of our teachers are highly qualified and certified in the academic subjects they are teaching.  This year’s faculty is truly impressive for their tremendous skill set and their interest in providing all our students with educational experiences that are engaging, challenging, and meaningful.

We are thrilled to announce that Ms. Wood will join the first grade team bringing her tremendous passion for community and her creativity to the first grade.

Laura Callegari will join us as the 4^th grade teacher during Ms. Nardiello’s maternity leave.  Ms. Callegari holds a degree from the University of Padua in English and French.  She has an extensive career as a translator and in international business.  She is currently pursuing her studies to become an ELL teacher.

Michelle Smith will teach kindergarten during Ms. Finn’s (formerly Ms. Turner’s) maternity leave.  Ms. Smith has served as the Assistant Teacher in kindergarten for many years and has an in-depth understanding of our kindergarten program.  Samantha Gutierrez will serve as the Kindergarten Assistant while Ms. Smith teaches kindergarten. 

Dana Guzman will continue to be our Math Early Intervention Specialist.  She will also become the Director of our Early Intervention Program (formerly known as the Basic Skills Program).

Sarah Westley will serve as our reading specialist and early intervention teacher.

This year we also welcome several new members to our LCCS family.

Aisha de Los Santos will be our third PreK teacher.  Aisha is famously known as Miss A throughout Jersey City.  She previously taught at Jersey City’s PreK program at St. Bridget’s.  She has taught many of our current students and is celebrated throughout Jersey City for her incredible creativity and passion for early childhood education.  She will be joined in PreK by Tiffany Fitch the Teacher Assistant in Ms. Tracy’s room.  Christina McGary will become the Assistant Teacher in Ms. Tracy’s room.

Mallory Vessa will be our third grade teacher this year.  Mallory completed her undergraduate degree at Catholic University this past fall.  Mallory student taught in Washington DC at a school that could be the virtual mirror image of LCCS.  While student teaching Ms. Vessa conducted an extensive action research project on differentiated instruction in reading that was incredibly rigorous and looks much like the work we do regularly as a school. She is gracious, warm, reflective, diligent and someone who has known from an early point in her life that she wanted to dedicate her life to educating children and making a difference in the world through her work.  

Natahsa Tyjer will be our new 4^th grade teacher.  Ms. Tyjer joins us after teaching third grade at Maria Varisco Charter School in Newark.  Natasha is from Paterson and attended the University of Pennsylvania.  During her interview Natasha was probably one of the most passionate candidates for constructivist education we have ever met.  When her demo lesson concluded students lined up to hug her.  It will be exciting to see her work and her classroom.

Mirtha Perez joins us as our Spanish teacher.  Ms. Perez joins us from the Village School in Waldwick.  She is incredibly creative and has an incredible passion for teaching both Spanish language and culture.  This year we are increasing the amount of Spanish our middle school students receive to four days a week.  In order to make these changes Ms. Perez and Mr. Lambert will teach both middle and lower classes.  Ms. Perez will be teaching in our new Spanish room which was formerly the computer lab. 

Allyson Szcesi will be our new special education and early intervention teacher.  Ms. Szcesi attended the University of Delaware and did most of her student teaching in schools with multiply disabled students.  She is incredibly creative and managed to teach a demo lesson that included the use of technology, handmade puppets, and books designed specifically for each student. 

Marianne Conod will be our 7^th grade ELA teacher.  Ms. Conod has a wealth of knowledge about young adult literature and teaching writing.  A committed urban educator she has taught in Newark and Plainfield, and at the University of Pennsylvania.  She has an MFA and is also a lawyer as well.  When one of the middle school students in her demo lesson learned that she was hired for the position he thanked us for making that selection. 

 Katie Goral will be our 8^th grade ELA teacher.  Ms. Goral is from Wisconsin and joins us after spending a few years teaching and tutoring in Grenada where her husband attended medical school.  She studied at the University of Wisconsin and has a MA in reading and literacy.  Ms. Goral student taught both in middle school and high school. She is incredibly resourceful and was able to arrange to teach a demo lesson in a school she did not work in with students she'd never met before while a kindergarten class was meeting in the same room!   She simply exudes warmth and has an incredible sense of humor. 

Please enjoy the remainder of the summer – it goes by quickly! Spend time with your family, rest, relax, and have fun!

See you soon!

Colin Hogan

Beginning of Summer, Staffing Changes, and Summer Homework

Thanks

It is hard to believe that summer is here.  Now that the school year has come to an end it is time to reflect and celebrate a year full of incredible learning experiences that will remain in our memories for years to come.  These experiences are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our students, their families, and our LCCS faculty.

I would like to thank all of you for your support throughout the school year.  Our dedicated parent volunteers, class parents, our PTO, and the LCCS faculty members offered to our community enriching assemblies, special projects, and family activities.  I would like to thank our faculty for the opportunities that they made available to our students and families.  Our LCCS family invested so much work in building community this year to embody our CIRCLE values of community, independence, respect, courage, leadership, and effort.

Good-byes

To those of you who are leaving LCCS and moving on to high school, or a new a community, please know that we will miss you.  Best of luck to our outgoing eighth grade class-we are proud of you and know that you will continue to do wonderful things as you enter high school.  Additionally please join me in wishing all the best to Ms. Fernandez, Ms. Ansari, Ms. Snowise, and Ms. Silva as they begin a new chapter in their professional lives.  Each of these educators will be missed.

Staffing Changes for 2014-2015

These departures have resulted in some changes in staffing at LCCS in both the Lower School and Middle School.  Ms. Westley will become our reading specialist for the Lower School and Ms. Guarini will join the first grade team.  We are thrilled to welcome Natasha Tyjer from the Maria Varisco Charter School to the fourth grade team and Ms. Aisha de Los Santos of St. Brigid’s Early Childhood Center in Jersey City as the teacher for our third PreK class.  Ms. Tiffany will join Ms. Aisha as we open the third PreK on the ground floor of our building, and Ms. Christina McGarry will move from the middle school to work with Ms. Tracy in PreK.  Ms. Strauss will be return to LCCS in the fall only as our PreK Supervisor and will no longer take small groups for reading.  In the coming months I will provide all of you with further information about the new faculty members that will join the LCCS family for the fall.

Summer Homework

This year summer homework has been assigned to students entering grades 4-8.  These assignments are designed to prevent the downward “summer slide” in student skills and understanding that can happen over the long summer months.  Students entering grades 4 and 5 will receive homework only in English and Math, while students entering into grades 6-8 will receive homework in English, Math, Social Studies, and Science.  These assignments are all available on our newly designed website, accessible at the same address - www.lccsnj.org bly clicking on the For Parents tab on the homepage.   Hard copies of the assignments are also available in the LCCS main office.  All summer homework will be factored into a student’s grade for the first marking period and will be due on Monday, September 8^th. 

Summer Building Hours at LCCS for July and August

During the summer months the building is on a slightly different schedule.  The building is open from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Monday-Thursday through August 21^st.  The building returns to regular school hours on Monday, August 25^th.  The building will be closed on Fridays during the summer through August 30^th.

  

Planning for Next Year

Welcome packets with classroom placements & forms to be filled out will be mailed around August 15^th.   

If you are not returning to LCCS please contact the office as soon as possible so that we can arrange for your transfer paper and notify a replacement candidate from the waiting list. 

Please take some time to rest, relax, and recharge.  As you do so know that we will be busy planning and preparing for an amazing 2014-2015 school year.

Have a safe and fun-filled summer.

Basketball at LCCS

LCCS Middle School Basketball Teams 

I have a profound love and passion for sports, especially basketball. I had a vision and a dream that LCCS would soon have a successful basketball team. With a lot of work and dedication last year we were able to put together our first sports team in the history of LCCS. Through this vision the LCCS Boys and Girls Middle School Basketball teams evolved.

We pride ourselves in instilling our circle values through study hall, practices, and games. Community, independence, respect, courage, leadership, and effort are all values that are practiced and preached amongst our coaches and players. These values have given us an identity and have paved the way for us to be successful. We hold our student athletes to a high academic standard. They are required to attend study hall sessions on a weekly basis as well as handing in weekly progress reports. Our coaches communicate with teachers to ensure that our students stay on the right track academically. We practice two to three times a week and play an eight game regular season. Our basketball program has helped players develop many skills and characteristics that are essential to being positive citizens and great members of our community. Being a member of our basketball teams require a lot of effort, hard work, and dedication. We focus on building student athletes, team players, and leaders on and off of the court.

The amount of success we have experienced in just two years has exceeded all of our expectations. The players have responded with a great deal of excitement and willingness to learn. Our LCCS community has rallied behind us and supported us by showing tremendous school spirit. We have had winning seasons in our first two years and advanced to the playoffs both seasons. Our students have excelled in the classroom and are motivated to do better because of our basketball team. They are better prepared mentally and physically for high school. I believe that we have only scratched the surface of our potential, goals, and successes. We will continue to grow our basketball program, honor our circle values, and strive to develop the best student athletes. 

Angel Melendez

LCCS K-5 Physical Education Teacher

LCCS Boys Head Basketball Coach 

Middle School Locker Update

This past week we had to make some changes in student locker use in the Middle School to address safety concerns.  We altered the times when students use their lockers so that only certain grades are at their lockers at specific times during the day.  8th grade students will now go to their lockers before lunch and drop their belongings off in their next period class before heading to lunch.  6th and 7th graders will go to their lockers after lunch and will leave their belongings in the class before lunch.  They may retrieve their lunches from their lockers before heading to the cafeteria. 

These changes were made because students began tossing their belongings over their lockers causing injury to students before and after lunch periods.  Our lockers are not fixed to a wall and are located in an alcove as seen in the photo below. This unique configuration of lockers within our middle school means that we must regularly consider how we utilize space and our available resources. Limiting locker use to to one or two grades at a time is much less chaotic, easier to supervise and ensures overall student safety.