
Loma & CTE Wednesday Newsletter
January 17, 2024
Loma Prieta Joint Union School District
Email: a.ramsay@lpjusd.us
Website: https://www.loma.k12.ca.us/Domain/4
Location: 23800 Summit Road, Los Gatos, CA, USA
Phone: 408 353-1101
Twitter: @LPJUSD
Principal's Message
Dear Loma and CT Families-
My top 3 highlights from the last week:
1. 4th graders presenting their "poetry slam" at the board meeting
2. watching Coach's "lunch bunch" play football--excited for the upcoming Loma Bowl
3. attending the Club 41 middle school meeting--I continue to be impressed by many of our students' outstanding leadership skills
Thanks for your partnership
Amy Ramsay
Principal
IMPORTANT DATES
1/26: CTE Quarter 2 grades available in PowerSchool
2/2-2/4: Play Performance
2/9: LGHS counselors meet with 8th graders
2/19-2/23 No School
Loma Talent Show Applications Open!
• Applications will be available online from Friday, January 12th at 8am through January 22nd. Click HERE for a link to applications. You will need to submit your application online before the deadline on January 22nd at 3pm.
• Performers must be in 1st through 5th grade.
• Auditions are Friday, January 26th from 3pm-5pm in the Loma Forum.
• Mandatory rehearsals are February 8th and 15th from 3pm-5pm in the Loma Forum.
• If you are a 5th grader, you can be a Stagehand or MC (Master of Ceremony). Click HERE for the link to MC/Stagehand applications. You will need to attend a stage crew meeting one day at recess as well as the rehearsals on February 8th and 15th. If you choose to do this, you may only perform in an act if space allows.
• Remember: Lyrical content, music, and costumes must be appropriate for a school-age audience; questionable material will not be allowed. No act can be based solely on lip-syncing. Music for each act must be unique so no two acts may use the same song.
• Any questions, please contact Ms. Pestcoe at s.pestcoe@lpjusd.us or Ms. Zanotto at k.zanotto@lpjusd.us.
We need photos for the CT English Yearbook!
LPJUSD Attendance Line Coming Soon
Staff at Loma Prieta Elementary and CT English Middle School are working on a new system to make reporting your student's absence even easier. This year we will be establishing a new attendance line that will allow parents to call in to report an absence, or parents will have the option to report an absence by email. More details to come!
Dashboard Update for Loma Prieta
On Friday, December 15, 2023, the California Department of Education (CDE) released the California Dashboard (https://www.caschooldashboard.org/) for all schools. The dashboard is the state’s academic accountability and improvement tool designed for parents and educators. It rates the performance of every school, district and charter school, along with any of 13 student groups that attend them, with a color on seven indicators of performance, including math and English language arts test scores, chronic absence rates and graduation rates. First introduced in 2016-17, the dashboard was suspended because of the pandemic in 2019-20 and 2020-21, and resumed this year with the collection of two consecutive years of data needed to generate color ratings.
Our data shows that our students in grade 3-8 from last year as compared to students from 2021-22 in grades 3-8 performed well in both English and math. In fact, both school sites were able to reach the green and blue level indicators (the highest of the five level indicators) in both English and math showing growth from one year to the next. In addition, we had none of our student groups placed in the lowest level (red) which is an amazing feat. Hats off to our teaching and support staff for all the efforts made to help students learn!
Where we did show a need for improvement was in the areas of attendance and suspensions. Four of our five student groups placed in the red level for chronic absenteeism meaning a student was absent for 10% or more (18 days or more) for the 2022-23 school year. In addition, one of our student groups also placed in the red level for suspensions within a year.
As a result of any one student group qualifying for the red level in 2 or more of the areas, our district will be placed in “Differentiated Assistance” (DA) for the next two years (joining many other districts in the state) in an effort to focus on improving student performance for us in the areas of attendance and chronic absenteeism.
We are confident that our district will be able to show the required improvement in our two areas. Our current data for the 2023-24 school year (Year 1 of DA) already shows a reduction in the number of chronically absent students and a reduction in the number of students being suspended so far this year.
Click on image below for LPEF information
Click on image below for Loma HSC information
Click image below for CT English HSC Information
Click Below for Information from Santa Clara County Public Health Department
Drop Off & Pick Up
Remember that the Right lane up the driveway is for CT English drop off and pick up only & Left lane up the driveway is for Loma drop off/pick up and through traffic to parking areas
At the top of the driveway Loma splits into two lanes for drop off and pick up (orange below). Please do not block the through lane to the exit/dirt parking lot. Using the two Loma lanes helps ensure that we do not back up and block Summit Road.
Thanks for your support!
23-24 COVID Guidelines
We are anticipating updated guidance for the 23-24 school year from the California Department of Public Health. Until new guidelines are published, the District is required to follow mandated guidelines in place: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/K-12-Guidance-2022-23-School-Year.aspx. Staff will NOT be testing students on campus. OTC COVID tests provided by the county will be available to parents so they can test their students on an as-needed basis.
Wearing masks continues to be encouraged, especially if your student is a close contact to a confirmed COVID case. If a student or staff member exhibits COVID symptoms, we recommend that they test immediately. If the student or staff member tests positive for COVID, the school should be notified immediately, and the affected person should stay home and isolate from others for at least 5 days after the start of symptoms (or after the date of first positive test if no symptoms).
Information from the Loma and CTE Offices
When you registered/re-registered your child in the district, you will have completed information regarding allergies and health concerns for your child.
If you noted that they need an epi-pen or allergy medications to be kept at school, please ensure that we have those medications, as well as the required forms necessary to administer medications, on campus.
Our medical authorization form can be found on the Parent Resources page of our website.
24 hour reminder:
If your child falls ill, please ensure they are fever-free and/or vomit-free for at least 24 hours before returning to school.
Stay Connected with Loma Prieta School District
New Website:
Please check out our new and improved website or better yet download the app to ensure you get timely and important information.
District: www.loma.k12.ca.us
Loma Elementary: https://www.loma.k12.ca.us/o/lpes
CT English: https://www.loma.k12.ca.us/o/ctems
Scan The QR Code to Download Our New App on iPhones or Androids:
Social Media:
Follow us on Social Media!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094998462342
Instagram: @lpjusd
Twitter: @lpjusd
Click below for Information From TUPE (Tobacco Use Prevention Education)
Peanut Free School District
We are a PEANUT FREE school district. Please do not send your child to school with peanuts or other peanut products including peanut butter.
We do have some classrooms with students who have life threatening allergies to other nuts. If your child has peers in their classroom with allergies to other nuts, your child’s teacher will inform you that your child’s classroom is a nut free space.
SUMMIT STORE FRIDAYS for 6th-8th Graders only
Parents and Students-
We need your help in keeping the long standing tradition of allowing our 6th-8th graders to walk to the Summit Store on Fridays. Please remind your child to clean up after themselves and be respectful to the store employees and shoppers. This is a privilege that we are hopeful our Mountain kids will be able to continue to have.
You must complete this google form giving permission for your child to leave campus and cross the bridge after school.
Please remind your child that they MUST cross using the bridge and not to run across Summit Road.
Drop Off/Pick Up
Parking Lot Etiquette
- Please do not cut into the drop-off or pick-up lanes.
If you have a Loma and CT student, please have them meet you at one location for pick up (either Loma or CT)
Left lane up the driveway is for Loma drop off/pick up and through traffic to parking areas. (see map below)
- Consider picking up across the bridge or letting your child ride the bus. Thank you for being kind with each other in the parking lot and respecting the directions of our staff who are at the crosswalks and directing traffic.
Please slow down and be patient with other drivers.
Please remain with your car in the drop-off or pick-up area.
Red zones are for emergency vehicles only – this is our fire lane.
Please do not park in our designated bus loading zones.
Always watch for pedestrians.
Remember that the Right lane up the driveway is for CT English drop off and pick up only & Left lane up the driveway is for Loma drop off/pick up and through traffic to parking areas.
Click HERE for map
Attendance
Attendance is crucial to every child's success in school. The best place for a child to learn is in the presence of a teacher in a classroom. The data show that good patterns of attendance from the beginning as early as kindergarten support successfully graduating from high school. Please help your child to be on time daily.
Please watch the videos below from the Santa Clara County Attendance Collaborative:
Attendance videos: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/xvxtb0mzw76twr4u17yfr/h?dl=0&rlkey=ctl2abgnsxdu5ezgf1rowblwt
Attendance self-assessment:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F1SpY7wZ2jQPXez1uKs9E5-PY_Uw8tP0gZP2SRISDkE/edit?usp=sharing
Food Service Program
Please help by filling out the application below.
No Dogs on Campus
Dogs are not allowed on our school campuses. This is particularly true during drop-off, pick-up and during school hours. While we love dogs, we have several students who are allergic and/or afraid of dogs. For the health and safety of all our kids and your dogs, please leave them off campus or at home.
Loma Dismissal Reminders
Kindergarten dismisses each day at 1:30pm, except on minimum days where students are dismissed at 12:30pm. We will communicate with you when a minimum day occurs.
1st-8th graders are dismissed at 2:45pm, except for Wednesdays where students are dismissed at 1:30pm.