January 23, 2008 

IMPORTANT CALENDAR DATES

If you have items to add to the calendar, please e-mail the date and time along with a description to calendar@pacificaschool.org  

COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING JAN. 29TH

The next Community Affairs Committee meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. at Pacifica on Tuesday, January 29th.  Please bring your exuberance of life (and snacks!) to share!  We will be discussing February events – a Parent Education Night and also a hike!

TEMESCAL CANYON HIKE, FEB. 3RD

Join your Community Affairs Committee and other energetic folks for a hike in Temescal Canyon on Sunday, Feb. 3rd at 9:30 am (weather permitting). Bring water, sunscreen and snacks for yourself.  Shoes are also a good idea…  With the governor closing our public parks, this is a chance to speak with our feet, enjoy the great outdoors and increase our pleasure in each other’s company. For more information call Donna (310) 204-3256 or Agnete (310) 801-1400. Hope to see lots of you there! 

SCHOOL BEAUTIFICATION DAY SCHEDULED FOR SATUDAY, JANUARY 26TH

We will be having a big 'shed clean-out' at the next school beautification day: Sat. January 26 from 10am to 2pm!  All are urged to come and help! 

MEET YOUR COUNCILPERSONS!

In our continuing series of introductions to your council members, this week, please meet your “Community Representative”. The “Community Representative” position on the council is designed for folks not otherwise currently involved in the Pacifica Community – in many instances, this position is filled by former staff or council members, and is designed to create a connection with the outside community. Your Community Representative is Cindy Amezquita, but many of us knew her by her maiden name, Hagen, when she was a teacher here: 

“After teaching at Pacifica for 2 years, Cindy married (with a lovely ceremony on the Pacifica yard) and bought a home in Long Beach, CA. There, she is in her second year of teaching K-1-2 at a bilingual, constructivist charter school. She has settled into life as a wife and homeowner, and spends lots of her free time raising two loving boxer puppies. Cindy still loves taking pictures and exploring the world outdoors – you can check out some of her photos at www.pbase.com/frogsong/ ” 

CLASSROOM UPDATES

4/5 Group

The Mar Vista Library opened its doors last week for the 4/5 group. We had the place to ourselves for an hour, and were given the grand tour. Students checked out books for the new project they're working on, as well cookbooks and pleasure reading books. We raided the Magna shelves! The class project is focused on how the Chumash came together to meet their needs. As a class, we are learning how to research this tribe, and will use these skills on individual projects that are going on simultaneously. Last week we examined different rituals, and this week we are focusing on how social structures within the tribes were formed. Last week we wrote picture books, which are now on display. Come by and check them out! This week and next week we will be writing picture books again, with a greater emphasis on the pre-writing and editing portions. Thanks for the great turn-out for our class meeting last week. It was great to see so many of you there!   

PARENT STUDY AND SUPPORT GROUP

Message from Laura Weaver, our Communications Specialist: 

“Beginning in February, I would like to facilitate a basic parent study and support group. My plan is to start with why feelings are important specifically in the learning process, as well is in general. Materials will be drawn from Patty Wipfler’s work on Building Emotional Understanding. I have been studying with Patty for the last year, and find that this provides a strong foundation for NVC (non-violent communication) practice, which would be the second area of study. 

“I also want you to know that I am available to answer philosophy/NVC/parenting questions during the day (if there are no pressing student issues), immediately after school most days, or by email: laura@pacificaschool.org.”