Superintendent's Friday Update
October 1, 2021
Hello Alta Loma School District,

And just like that... it's OCTOBER!

The third week of October is widely recognized as Safe Schools Week. We focus on safety on a daily basis, and wanted to provide some timely updates to you as the month begins.

You may also see October 6 advertised as Walk and Bike to School Day, so we'll start with commitments we can all make in order to help our students and families safely navigate routes to school. As members of a larger community, we also understand the impact of arrival and dismissal times on all individuals who are traveling through Alta Loma, and are grateful for their patience on the roads during those brief but very busy moments.

Thank you in advance for making time to read through these important updates, and then to take a look at upcoming events and spend a bit of time enjoying just some of the great things happening at ALSD schools!
Safe Travels to and From School

We continue to work with, and greatly appreciate, our partners in the City of Rancho Cucamonga and and at the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department - Rancho Cucamonga Police Department.

You may have seen officers out this past week conducting pedestrian safety operations. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Rancho Cucamonga Station recognizes the need to protect the public by looking for violations made by bicyclists, drivers and pedestrians that make roads unsafe.

To keep you and your family safe, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Rancho Cucamonga Station offers the following tips when out biking, driving, or walking:

PEDESTRIANS
• Only cross at marked crosswalks or intersections with a stop sign or signal.
• Look for cars backing up. Avoid going between parked cars. 
• Make eye contact with drivers. Don’t assume they see you.
• Wear bright clothing during the day and use a flashlight when walking at night.

DRIVERS
• Wait for pedestrians to cross the street. Be courteous and patient.
• Stay off the phone.
• No speeding. Speed limits are not suggestions.
• Look for pedestrians when backing up, turning at intersections or entering/exiting shopping centers.

BICYCLISTS
• Always wear a helmet. Helmets are required by law for anyone under 18.
• Bicyclists must travel in the same direction of traffic and have the same requirements as any slow moving vehicle.

Awareness of Social Media Challenge
Last week, you received information from our Student Services Office regarding a current trend on social media that focused on theft and destruction of school property. We experienced some of these actions on our own school sites; this was costly in terms of both time and resources.

We have since seen a decrease in these incidents, and recognize that your partnership in the conversations has certainly had a positive impact. THANK YOU!

As we also shared in that letter, we will do our best to communicate any additional challenges that we become aware of so that we can continue to work together on behalf of a safe school environment for all students and staff. 

This disturbing social media trend is referred to as “devious licks” and has a monthly theme. The themes become progressively more aggressive, and challenge students to engage in behaviors that are contrary to expectations for student behavior in ALSD.

Although TikTok has since removed these challenges they can still be found through searching the internet and continue to spread to campuses nationwide. It is possible that your student(s) may have seen the monthly themes and screenshots may be circulating. Many of these challenges seem harmless but carry serious consequences that go far beyond the walls of our schools.

We ask that you continue to have open dialogue with your student(s) regarding the appropriate use of social media as well as appropriate school behaviors. We also encourage you to monitor your students’ social media activity.

For specific information and monthly themes please check the email sent from our Director of Student Services this afternoon. It's important to note that students who participate in these challenges are making a choice to violate school rules and California Education Codes 48900 and 48915. Student will be held accountable, discipline includes but is not limited to loss of recess, detention, restitution for damaged school property, in-school suspension, out of school suspension, revocation of transfer (if applicable), or expulsion. 

Thank you again for your partnership in making our schools safe for all students and staff. Our community continues to be the reason the Alta Loma School District is a great place. 
From the COVID-19 Safety Team:
You may be aware that at a press conference held this morning at 9:00 a.m., Governor Newsom announced that students attending schools in California (in-person) will be required to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This announcement will likely garner a significant amount of attention.

As the Governor’s Office did not make this information available until this morning, we were unaware of this development prior to the conference. These announcements seem often to be made on Fridays, and typically require additional clarification. Working with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools and our partner districts, we will be conferring with state and local agencies to provide you with additional or unfolding details of the Governor’s new mandate. 

Thank you in advance for your understanding as we seek to learn and share more in a timely manner.

For updated COVID-19 information, please visit our COVID-19 UPDATES & RESOURCES tab on our website under the ABOUT tab.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead!

With my appreciation and best regards,

Karen Hendricks
Superintendent
From the beautiful Kindergarten classroom of Ms. Kathleen Minor

Board of Trustees Meeting
  • Wednesday, October 6- Board of Trustees Regular Meeting, 6 PM at the District Support Center (DSC), located at 9390 Base Line Road, Alta Loma. The Agenda and materials can be found at:


For your convenience, below is a list of some of the Regular Open Session Agenda Items
  • Trustee Reports
  • Staff Reports, including:
  • Short Term Independent Study
  • GATE Chess Tournament
  • October 11 Staff Development Day
  • Curriculum and Instruction: Comprehensive School Safety Plans
  • Bond Issuance Discussion: timely information and background
  • Human Resources: Recommended adjustments to Classified Salary Schedules

The Board of Trustees welcomes comments from visitors, employees, employee groups, parent organizations and students. Prior to addressing the Board, please complete the comment form located at the west entrance and give it to the Superintendent’s Administrative Assistant. The Board has set aside 45 minutes for the Public Comment section allowing a maximum of five minutes per individual. The public comment period is the opportunity for the public to address the Board on (1) items on the public session agenda; (2) items on the closed session agenda; and (3) other topics within the jurisdiction of the Board. In accordance with the Brown Act, the Board will limit any responses to public comment to brief statements, referral to staff or referral to a future Board agenda.

In-person attendance requirements: All persons attending the meeting will be required to wear a face covering for the entire Board Meeting and review the health screening questions prior to entering the meeting location.
Other Dates to Note:
  • Monday, October 11 - Staff Development Day, No School
  • Friday, October 29 - End of Trimester 1

Some Great Things Happening At Our Schools
From Principal Sandy Rose:
In an effort to promote kindness and social and emotional well-being, Vineyard sponsors several campaigns throughout the year. This week was “Start with Hello Week”. Start with Hello is a program led by the Sandy Hook Promise. During this week, students are encouraged to include others and find ways to make connections with peers. Throughout “Start with Hello Week”, we introduced school-wide initiatives and classroom lessons to help foster social-emotional learning skills in our students. Our students were invited to make a pledge to be a friend to someone in need, to include others who may be left out, and to reach out to offer help to someone. They did so by placing their hand on our pledge poster.

Who has school spirit? Our Vikings have school spirit!


From Principal Michele Rachielles:
Mrs. Obaid’s science class designed, built, and tested stomp rockets. Teams competed for distance with their air pressure fueled tube rockets. The most impressive rockets cleared nearly half a football field at 147, 150, and 155 feet!  
Mr. Edmon’s air hockey club is most popular!
The club hosts games at lunch and members serve as referees. Students line up to have a chance to unseat the reigning champ. 
From Principal Andrew Carter:
“Reading is a passport to countless adventures” and our amazing media clerk/librarian, Mrs. Galbraith, has taken students on thousands of magical adventures. We are so lucky that she shares her love of reading with our Eagles. Each day, each week, she reads to students and does it in a way that engages students at the highest level. For the past 15 years she has positively impacted the lives of so many Eagles and continues to do so with a passion. When students leave her library they are excited to dive into their books. She has created lifelong readers who genuinely enjoy reading. We appreciate you so much, Mrs. Galbraith, for your dedication to making literature fun, exciting, and for taking students on adventures they will never forget! 
From Principal Val Bires:
Hermosa is blessed to have two fabulous individuals as custodians keeping us safe, clean and ready for learning. Thank you to our head lead custodian Arlene Gill who is our task master! Not only does she make the job look easy, she is always working on a task to support our students and staff. Thank you to our night lead custodian, Sherman Nelson who works hard, takes care of everyone and prides himself on his work. Our campus shines thanks to Arlene and Sherman! 
Our first grade buddies have begun! Thanks to Mrs. Dineley and Mrs. Andres, students work together to complete a task and build their skills. Our 5th & 6th graders have adopted a first grade buddy to work weekly with and support.
Buddies are the best! 
From Principal Curtis Quanstrom:
The Jasper Elementary PTA will go to any length to make sure the Champion Families have a memorable year. The Jasper Dine Out Night was a hit, as you can tell by all of these happy faces. Thank you to Colleen Fudge and Kendra Snook for making this happen and to all of the families that were able to enjoy a night out. There is nothing better than tacos and frozen yogurt, especially when it is Tacocina and Yogiyo.
From Principal Guadalupe Berzunza:

Stork students have multiple opportunities to receive small group instruction throughout the day. We have two amazing literature lab aides, Ms. Sue Frantz and Ms. Umbreen Malik, who encourage and inspire our students to read. Along with our literature lab aides, we have two amazing kindergarten aides who work with our students on specific skills to help them excel in the classroom. Stork Superstars are on their way to academic excellence.

From Principal Kristy Johnson:
The Victoria Groves team is a group of dedicated educators. They spend countless hours preparing and planning to teach engaging lessons. Teachers also spend time working as grade level teams analyzing and reviewing data to guide their instruction. We are thankful for the work they do as they help prepare our students for 21st century skills.  
From Principal Dolly Bentley:
This month, we are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. ALE will be celebrating the long and important presence of Hispanic Americans in the United States. Over the next month, our morning announcements will highlight an important Hispanic figure in our country’s history. We will also be sharing important words and traditions from Hispanic culture. ALE students are learning to respect each other’s diversity and celebrate one another’s differences!  
From Principal Khaleelah Lewis-Wilkins:

Have you met our phenomenal First Grade team? Their drive and dedication to our students exceed beyond the best expectations. The time and effort that they have put into teaching has been inspiring. Their passion for teaching, and dedication to our students is obvious in everything that our First Grade team does. Our Bulldogs leave their classrooms with the motivation to read, write, understand mathematical concepts, critically think, and express themselves fully.

Not only does the team motivate others on our campus, but also they push them to give their best even during the most challenging times. Because of their commitment to students, we see the student growth and tangible results. We are so appreciative of the priceless impact they are making this year in so many student lives. Thank you for motivating our students and guiding them to achieve beyond the expected! Go Bulldogs!
From Principal Chris Deegan:

It was so fun to have our kindergarten students visit my office to interview me regarding my role as Carnelian’s principal. They did a great job of being patient, raising their hands and asking very good questions. It is clear that our kindergarten teachers have high expectations for student learning accompanied by clear procedures and consistent routines. Spending time with our students is always the highlight of my day!
We were so happy to host our first Gold Star Lunch since February of 2020! Our Carnelian PTA supports this monthly tradition of recognizing students for different academic criteria each month. It is an honor for me to get to hang out with these fine young scholars and listen to music and share some corny dad jokes while we enjoy lunch together.