Santee Falcons SOAR! Principal's Update
March 01, 2020
Principal Ansley's Weekly Message
Dear Santee Family,

“Your best teacher is your last mistake." Ralph Nader

Last week, I had the the great honor of speaking on a panel at Equity Convening hosted by UCLA and The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. During the day, I heard a lot about the importance of how we respond to mistakes. It made me think a lot about the work we have been doing at Santee with our instructional program and growth mindset.

My message this week is really to all stakeholders and that is to remember that through mistakes we learn our greatest lessons. We must teach our children that it's okay to make mistakes, in fact, we encourage them to be open to taking risks in their learning and use the mistakes to grow their knowledge of the world around them.

I also encourage our teachers to feel free to try instructional strategies to engage our students. At first, it may feel less organized than we would like, but over time it can really be a powerful tool to provide great learning opportunities for our students. Last week, I prepared my class for a socratic seminar and one of our instructional coaches suggested that I do it outside to emulate a college style socratic seminar. I decided to go for it and I was so content with the outcome. Students who have a very difficult time sharing their voice engaged in the conversation and all my students did an excellent job participating in the discussion. It was far from perfect and I immediately reflected on at least 5 things I would do differently, but it was a great learning experience!

So as we continue to work through this semester, let's remember to provide students opportunities for productive struggle, to explore and lead their own learning and when they make mistakes, remind them that they just learned another great lesson and to keep trying!

Working Together, All Santee Falcons Will Soar !

If anyone has any questions, please do not hesitate to call our main office or email Principal Susana Ansley-Gutierrez at susana.gutierrez@lausd.net.
A) Santee Successes

1) Congratulations to our band who rated superior at this weekends competition!

2) Congratulations to our top three departments who had the best attendance submittal rates:
1st place- Science
2nd place-Math
3rd place-PE

3) Way to go Softball for a big win against Roybal this week!

4) Our counselors Ms. Miranda and Ms. Herrera presented at the Counselor Convening on their best practices!

5) We had a beautiful Black History Month Assembly! A huge thank you to our Black Student Union, Communities and Schools, our awesome dance program, music programs and art program! Everyone came together to put on a great show even though we had some challenges along the way!

6) Our RJ practices and lessons were presented at the Equity Convening as well as to our parents at a very successful workshop by our very own RJ Advisor Mrs. Farris!

7). Admin Team updated the Santee Falcon Website Calendar with up to date PD dates and events. Please Click Here to see the Up to Date Santee Falcon Calendar

See electronic version of the Mission and Vision Poster. 
B) Santee Hard Truths

  • We are headed into March which is usually one of our highest months when it comes to student behavior referrals, but we can get in front of it. Lets make it the best month of March in our school history by showing our students love, care and encouragement! Let's be extra vigilant and be open to listening to students' needs and responding with opportunities to support our students social emotional needs. Let's work as a team and make this a great month!
Santee CBI
Santee Activities this week
Santee Black History Month Assembly

Santee EL Mentor Mardi Gras Celebration
Santee Parent College
Santee Updates
A ) Attention Parents on  Thursday March 5, 2020,  we will be having our  Monthly Family Action Team Meeting  in the Parent Center at 10:30am. All parents are welcomed to attend.
 
Parents join us on  Thursday March 12, 2020 from 5:00pm-7:00pm  for our Student Led Conferences Event. During our Student Led Conferences Event our students will have the opportunity to dialogue with their parents on their learning experiences, current academic grades and instructional activities they are working on in all of their classrooms.

Workshops   and Activities  from the Santee Education Complex 
Parent Center for the week of March 2 - 6,  2020:

Monday 3/02/2020: 
  • ELAC Meeting – 9:00am
 
Tuesday 3/03/2020:  Early Release Day - 8:00am-1:42pm
 
Wednesday 3/04/2020:  
  • Nutrition Education Class - 9:00am
 
Thursday 3/05/2020:  
  • Family Action Team Meeting - 10:30am
 
Friday 3/06/2020: 
  • Workshop: Mental Health Awareness - 9:00am

B) Sports:

Congratulations to the Boys' basketball team for making it to the third round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, we were defeated by Arleta High School. Awesome season for this team.

Softball won their game against Roybal this week but was defeated by Marquez. Our girls are 3-1 so far this season.

Boys' volleyball was defeated this week

Our track team had a very successful first meet this week.

3/2/20-3/6/20

3/2/20-Boys' Volleyball-home-Rancho Dominguez
3/2/20-Baseball-away-Legacy
3/2/20-Boys' Tennis-away-Rancho Dominguez
3/4/20-Boys' Volleyball-away-Jefferson
3/4/20-Softball-away-Huntington Park
3/4/20-Track-away-University
3/4/20-Swim-home-Wilson
3/5/20-Baseball-home-Marquez
3/6/20-Baseball-Sotomayor
3/6/20-Cheer Competition
3/6/20-Tennis-away-Wilson
3/6/20-Softball-home-Fremont

C) College Center 
The Class of 2021 will take the SAT on March 4, 2020.
Juniors will test in the gym and a few other class locations.

D) Attendance:
Thank you to all of the teachers for submitting your attendance. This week we had a 95% attendance submittal rate.  

This week our top three departments in attendance submittal are:
1st place- Science
2nd place-Math
3rd place-PE

Great job departments. We will be having a contest for the department that has the best attendance submittal for the month of March. The winning department will be awarded an ice cream social.  

Teachers should mark the student tardy in the system and document the time that they arrived. If you would like a copy of the tardy log that was presented in the period by period, please let Ms. Garrett know. It has also been placed in Google Classrooms. 

E) ILT March 5, Thursday
This Thursday, March 5, we will be having an ILT meeting in room C235. We will be meeting from 3:15pm-5pm. See you there!

F) March 13 , we are having a Santee Career Fair and would like to ask if anyone knows of anyone who is interested in speaking about their career on this day. If they are, please see Dr. Chang or Ms. Malinda from CIS. 

G)   The final  Read Across America Planning Meeting #7  will take place Wednesday after-school in the Library. 

Read Across America Day  is Friday, March 6, at Santee. There will be no 8th Period on Friday, March 6, in order to minimize transition periods while kindergarteners are on campus. Approximately 300 kindergarteners from 3 area elementary schools (Huerta, San Pedro, and 28th St) will be on campus from approximately 8:30-11:30 to celebrate and instill a love of reading.  Any Santee employee considering bringing their own youngster to Santee on March 6 must secure the permission of Ms. Ansley-Gutierrez prior to the event, and their child must be "appropriately supervised and may not pose a significant disruption to the academic environment." See LAUSD MEM 5415.9 for further information on this matter.  

H) Spring Programming One-on-One
Starting this week,  February 10-March 13 , we will begin our one-on-one meetings with all of our Falcons. This visit will include a classroom presentation that includes A-G requirements, required credits for each grade level, and courses to be ready for college and career. After the presentation, each counselor will sit down one-on-one with each student and guide them down their path for graduation and beyond. Thank you to the English and History department for allowing counselors to come and program our Falcons. 
 
I) Master Schedule Team Interest Form
We are looking to building our Master Schedule Team for 2020-2021 school year. On Thursday, February 20, Master Schedule Team Interest Forms will be available in the Counseling office. If you would like to apply to be on the team, you can obtain a form from Ms. Angie or Mr. Martinez in the Counseling office. Thank you.     


J) After-School Tutoring  is available in the Library and student cafeteria daily from 3pm-5pm.

K) Intervention Taskforce Meeting, March 10, Tuesday. 
On Tuesday, March 10, we will be meeting as an Intervention Taskforce from 3pm-4pm. Please meet in the Counseling office. If you would like to attend, please let Mr. Bosley or Dr. Chang know. We are brainstorming ideas to find ways to best support our Intervention/Enrichment program. You will be compensated for your time.  

L) Student Led Conference, March 12, Thursday
On Thursday, March 12, we will be having a student led conference from 5pm-7pm. Please invite all students and parents to attend so that you can discuss and work with families in finding ways to best support students before their Spring 2nd grading period grades are due on March 19, 2020. 

M) Cell Phone Policy:
Our school wide cell phone policy is up and running. Thank you for making sure that our new policy has been implemented in the classrooms. This week we had parents conduct a walk through of classes and they noted that they see a significant decrease in cellphone usage in the classrooms. Great job Falcons! If you are in need of assistance or flyers, please let let Ms. Garrett know and she will assist you. If you still have any questions or concerns, please see Ms. Garrett.  We need to continue to let students know what the policy is and that the policy will be in full effect starting the first day of second semester. Reminder that the new policy prohibits cell phone use in the classroom.  

N) Budget Update: We sent an email to all staff to inform them of where we currently are in budget planning. To summarize-The SSC met and reviewed SPSA goals and analyzed data, all stakeholders were given opportunities to complete a needs assessment survey, the budget team came together and developed a budget plan to present to SSC. SSC is meeting this Monday to finalize the budget plan and SPSA, we will then attend our budget meeting with the district to finalize. We will continue to update all stakeholders as we move through the process. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

O)Early Release, March 13, Friday
On Friday, March 13, we will be on a early release schedule day. Students will be dismissed at 1:42pm. 

Santee Staff Information

A) Access Resources from the Santee Falcon Teacher Google Classroom Use your single sign-on to access.

B) All staff information is provided in the staff handbook.

C) TEXT-A-TIP -  Remind your students about the TEXT-A-TIP program at Santee! The TEXT-A-TIP phone number is 213.805.7627 or 213.805.SOAR.

D) Parking:   
Please remember to park in your assigned parking space. If you need a parking pass please see the main office because we will be enforcing parking next week. School Police will be helping with enforcing this.

As a reminder, there is no parking on campus. This includes the blacktop and the LA Gate entrance between the softball and Gym areas. The entrance is a fire lane and in case of an emergency, the ambulance and Fire Truck will be unable to get onto campus.
 
Please remember to park in your assigned parking space. There is no parking in any red zones or two away zones. If you need a parking pass please see the main office because we will be enforcing parking. School Police will be helping with enforcing this.
 
The underground tandem spots have been assigned or are reserved for B&G workers, cafeteria and Frida. Please do not park in these spaces. We will be starting to cite and tow cars away at your expense.

There is no parking on campus when the campus is CLOSED . If you park on campus when the campus is closed to attend a field trip or professional development, notify your administrator and plant manager to ensure that your car is not CITED.

E) Air Conditioner

The air conditioners are working overtime. Please make sure that you close your windows and doors so that it remains cool in your room and to ensure that the AC does not stop working. 

F) Facilities

If you lose your keys, please notify Ms. Ruiz as soon as possible. 

If you need furniture in your classroom, please email our plant manager. 

G) Field Trips

Field trips will only be considered for approval if paperwork is submitted at  least 30 days  ahead of time. Field trips not on the pre-approved list nor overnight trips will not be considered for approval if paperwork is not submitted at least  45 days  in advance. As a reminder, field trips occurring during instructional time must be related to the curriculum and standards in your class. 

The 11th grade field trip window closes April 3, 2020. The window for the other classes closes on May 1, 2020.

H) Restorative Justice:

Teachers, please let Ms. Farris know if you would like to have the student RJ ambassadors help facilitate circles in your 8th period and core classes. Contact Ms. Farris for more information.

I) Keys-  You are responsible for keys checked out to you. If you lose your keys, immediately notify Ms. Ruiz. Taking care of your keys is vital for maintaining safety on campus.

During the school year, the academic side of campus closes at 5:00 p.m. All students on the academic side of campus must exit before 5:00 p.m. 

J) Remind Emergency Tree
Falcons, please sign up to our Santee Emergency Communication Emergency Phone Tree. It is a one-way communication method where you will receive updates in case of an emergency.   https://www.remind.com/join/7chkge?utm_medium=android

K) Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) 

All BIC items need to be returned to the Cafeteria by 8:30 a.m. Also, BIC items should not be left in your classroom after BIC.

L) Activities
If you are planning an activity, make sure that you fill out an Activity Sheet found on the Santee Falcons website at least three weeks in advance. Aside from calendar clearance, you must also obtain signatures for the areas you are planning to use. As a reminder, our instructional programs take precedence over extracurricular activities and not all activities will be approved.

M) Visitor Policy

1. Visitors on campus require the approval of an administrator. If a staff member is requesting a visitor, please notify the Principal 48 hours in advance. This includes, but is not limited to, guest speakers.

2. Visitors must sign-in in the main office and visibly wear a “yellow pass” obtained from the office.

3. School volunteers do not require daily approval. However, all must sign in at the parent center before going to classrooms. School volunteers must also have a current TB test on file. 

4. Conferences with parents are not to take place when class is in session.

N) Text-a-Tip is for  emergency purposes . Adults should not be using text-a-tip to report other school related issues or concerns. Please use the appropriate online forms for any maintenance issues, supply requests or other concerns.
Santee Shout Outs
Please email susana.gutierrez@lausd.net a brief positive or inspiring message to a Santee Falcon Staff Member to include in this email.

Shout out to Ms. Farris, Ms. C. Johnson, Ms. Wu, Ms. Chan and Mr. Vargas for taking the time on a Saturday to help with the completion of posters for the upcoming Read Across America Event!!
 
Shout out to Ms. Bermudez, Mr. Lao, Partnership Staff Ms. Martell, Ms. D. Ruiz, Ms. Carlos Alejo, Mr. Flores and the entire custodial team for their help with making the Parent College Event on Saturday February 29, 2020 Event a success!!

Shout out to Coach T, Coach Martinez, Coach Rodriguez, Ms. Damian, and Campus Aide Mr. Andrade for their hard work during Santee’s Track Meet versus Southeast, Bravo, and Wilson that was held at Santee on Friday, February 28, 2020!!
 
Shout out to Ms. Gonzales for taking her alternate curriculum students on a Community Based Instruction trip to El Pollo Loco and Panda Express!!
 
Shout out to our custodial team for helping to set up our new bleachers for our softball and baseball field.

Shout out to the Science department for coming in this week and working on finalizing their long form essay.  

Shout out to the PE Department as they start their Fitnessgram testing this week.  

Shout out to our custodial team for their exceptional work in ensuring that our campus is clean and safe!

Shout out to Mr. Molina, Ms. Farris, and Mr. Bosley for their continuous support in supervision. 

Shout out to Mr. Bosley f or his efforts supporting our Intervention/Enrichment Program.   

Shout out to Mrs. Farris for support our Guided Studies classes. 

Shout out to  Ms. Miranda  and  Ms. Herrera  for presenting at Partnership with our best practices regarding A-G completion! 

Shout out to  Ms. Vasquez  and  Ms. Reyes  for sharing vocabulary strategies to our History department to best support with our vertical alignment!

Shout out to the entire  Read Across America  team who have been preparing for MONTHS for a spectacular day on Friday, March 6.   Ms. Wu, Mr. Nieves, Ms. Farris, Ms. Georges, Ms. Johnson, Ms. Diaz, Ms. Borrus, Ms. K. Miller, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Edwards, Mr. Purtell, Mr. Manriquez, and Ms. Rodriguez, thank you in advance for a fantastic and fun March 6, 2020, when Read Across America is celebrated at Santee.   

Shout out to  Ms. Acosta, Dr. Cataldo, Ms. Pulgarin, Ms. Valles, and Mayra Carillo Munoz  for coming together with little notice to support our seniors and international students.   

Shout out to  Ms. Valles, Mr. Rodriguez, Ms. Vasquez,  and  all teachers  who have proctored and continue to proctor  ELPAC Speaking Tests  during their conference periods. Due to the new testing arrangements, the effort and performance of EL students is noticeably stronger. 

Shout out to the  9th Grade ELA PLC  for working on Saturday, February 29, to conduct their Unit 4 Unit Launch.  

Shout out to our wonderful paraprofessionals (Andrew, Sera, and Stephanie), as well as to our speech teacher Ms. Schwandt and our Autism teacher Mrs. Gonzalez for supporting with the CBI program!

Upcoming Events


  • 03/02/2020- ELAC Meeting/Boys Volleyball @ Santee

  • 03/03/2020- PD Tuesday/ Shortened Day Schedule

  • 03/04/2020- SAT School Day/Swim @ Santee/Nutrition Workshop

  • 03/05/2020- ILT Meeting/ Baseball @ Santee/Family Action Team Meeting

  • 03/06/2020- Read Across America Day @ Santee/ Softball Game @ Santee/ Parent Workshop (Mental Health Awareness)

  • 03/09/2020- New Teacher Meeting
Continue to keep students engaged from bell to bell with technology; work with your peers to improve your instruction and lesson plans based on common assessment data; and always stay professional with all Santee stake holders.  By keeping students focused and engaged with relevant lessons, planned essential questions that promote collaboration-creativity-critical thinking-communication, and using academic language every day in your classroom we will ensure our Falcons SOAR by better preparing them for their future. 

Santee Education Complex
Check out our website: http://www.santeefalcons.org/
Working Together, ALL Santee Falcons Will SOAR! 
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