2241 Russell St.

The
Berkeley, CA 94705
www.leconteonline.org
(510) 644-6290 Lamppost
December 1, 2010 DON’T MISS OUR LATINO HERITAGE
Cheryl Wilson– Principal CELEBRATION, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10!!!
Jill Wang – PTA President There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different
than the things we do.—F. Stark

Important dates Our kindergarten through third grade students have been rehearsing
Wed., Dec. 1 a variety of dances to perform for you so please plan to be at school by
Free Health Care for Children 6:00PM on Friday, December 10th. Families of students who are performing
see flyer attached will receive special instructions regarding the students’ arrival time and
costume preparations. This is a fundraiser for our school so food and arts and
SAT., Dec. 4 crafts will be available for sale. Please support our students and school by
Kindergarten Fair attending this annual celebration featuring Latin American dances and
LeConte Auditorium music.
WED., Dec. 8 Onward, I hope you overindulged yourself with laughter, hugs, and
School Governance Council lots of kisses during the Thanksgiving break. Sometimes we forget how
Meeting, 6:30PM, Library much we have to be grateful for as we race through life day to day. To me,
life is basically about taking care of one another through kindness and love.
Thurs., Dec. 9 I’m bringing this up because I’m particularly concerned about our boys and
Presentation by LeConte’s
their ability to see themselves as compassionate, loving human beings.
Literacy Coach, Susan Katz
Books Inc., 4th Street, Berkeley As some of you may know, a former LeConte student, Malik
Grayson, lost his life at the age of 14. The details are too tragic to write;
Fri., Dec. 10 however, what I want you to read and think about the attached list of
Annual Latino Heritage concerns related to raising boys. Try to apply some of the suggestions about
Celebration
what boys need and how you can support their emotional growth. In short,
6:00PM
please talk with, embrace, and hug our boys for the rest of their lives even if
Wed., Dec. 17 they push you away. You never know when it may be the last time so please
Assembly , 8:30AM let our children know how much you love them every day!
Berkeley Symphony BPEF Grants: Eight out of nine requests were granted, totaling an award of
THURS., Dec. 16
$8,145 for our school! The funds will be used to support our Farm/Garden
English Language Advisory and Cooking programs, improve reading instruction, give students access to
Committee Meeting, an interactive website, purchase literature in Spanish and English and sports
5:00PM, Room 106 equipment for first grade students, and pay for professional development for
teachers. Thanks to the Berkeley Public Education Fund (BPEF), we no
THURS., Dec. 16 longer have to use funds from our PTA or school wide budget to provide
Coalition of Families for these items and services for our students.
A-American Students Meeting
6:00PM, Library Retirement Party Date: Finally, we have a date to celebrate the retirement
of our former school secretary, Donna Chan Chu. Please plan to join our
school community on Friday, January 7th as we recognize and remember
the humor and joy Donna gave us for over 25 years. The location and exact
time still need to be arranged. You will receive this information by
December 13th.

Please see the Calendar for the full list of

--------------------------------Principal Wilson
LeConte events.

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NOTICES: Kindergarten Fair, Saturday, December 4, LeConte Auditorium
SCHOOL CLOSED for the Winter Holidays,
December 19 through December 31

SCHOOL WIDE EVENTS

Natalia’s baby has arrived: On Saturday, November 20, Alexa Bernal-Cumpian was born. She is 19
inches long and weighs 6lb 8oz. Alexa is the beautiful daughter of Natalia and Paul. For those of you who
don’t know, Natalia is one of our kindergarten teachers; she is on maternity leave for the remainder of the
year. Her picture with Alexa is attached.
Latino Heritage Celebration, Friday, December 10, 6:00PM
In order to help make this event a success, we not only need all families to attend but also to help with set
up, clean up, food service, and preparing the students for their performance. Please contact Gazel Valdez
at gazelv8@yahoo.com or (510) 647-8177.

Flute Stars
Children from the PTA after school “flutes” classes performed “Canon” by Pachelbel with the
Community Women’s Orchestra this past Sunday, November 14. Their teacher, Kristin Brooks-
Davidman plays flute in the orchestra. You can see their performance on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuMtUAZ3Bc8 and their “Harry Potter” performance can be seen at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiMEg-CWvQA
Presentation by our Literacy Coach, Susan Katz, Thurs., Dec. 9
Susan Katz, will be doing a special event at 4PM on Thursday Dec. 9th at Books, Inc. on 4th Street in
Berkeley for LeConte families. She will do her interactive puppet show and book presentation from her
latest children's book, ABC, Baby Me! (Random House, Sept, 2010). Let's have a strong LeConte
presence there to support our local authors and LeConte's literacy program.
Student Survey/Report Card
Now that students have been evaluated students, they will get a chance to evaluate our school. Principal
Wilson is preparing a survey that will be given to first through fifth grade students. You will receive a
copy by Monday, December 13th. The purpose of the survey is to get our students’ view of their sense of
belonging, safety, and support for achievement.

Celebrate LeConte Assembly, Friday, December 17th, 8:15AM

The assembly will begin at 8:15AM and last about 20 to 30 minutes. Thanks to our PTA, coffee
and light refreshments will be provided so that families can relax and enjoy seeing our children
shine.

LECONTE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEES

School Governance Council (SGC) next meeting: Wednesday, Dec. 8th, 6:30PM
Our school received additional State and Federal funding. The group agreed to use some of the funding
for additional morning recess supervision, to pay the cost of hiring teachers to tutor students after school,
to pay for an additional noon supervisor, and to fund the cost for coordinating our school-wide Positive
Behavior Support Program (PBS) and our efforts to implement a Response to Intervention program (RtI).
The goal of the PBS program is to provide teachers with the tools to maintain a respectful and responsive
classroom environment that relies on recognition of positive behaviors versus focusing on negative
behavior and punitive consequences. This works best when students have been taught and have multiple
opportunities to practice social skills; skills needed to make good decisions and get along with others.
The RtI program is designed to provide academic support and behavioral strategies for students K-5 based
on an assessment of their individual needs. One of the goals is to make sure students get services early on

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 LeConte Calendar
in order to limit the possibility of retentions and inaccurate referrals to special education. The SGC
committee also wanted to make sure all families are aware of our Family Advisory Council. The purpose
of this council is to assist parents and guardians with concerns and questions they have about classroom
or school-wide matters. Please email Penny Peak at pennyalp@yahoo.com if you would like more
information about the council or if you have questions or concerns.

PTA General Meeting next meeting: Tuesday, January 18th, 5:45PM

Highlights from the November 16th PTA meeting: The Zachary Michael Cruz Foundation has
announced a $50,000 grant to fund a computer lab for LeConte students! You can find out more
information about this generous technology grant for our children on their website:
http://www.zmcfoundation.org/computer-lab-le-conte/ The Halloween fair raised $2,500 (not
including book fair proceeds). Parent volunteers are needed for several upcoming events and
your help is needed! The Kindergarten fair at Leconte will be held on Dec. 4th at
10AM; Spanish-speaking parents are especially needed at this event for our LeConte booth.
Volunteers will also be needed to conduct school tours on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings at
9:30AM from Dec. 6th through February 3rd (Holiday weeks excluded). The Annual Latino
Heritage event on Dec. 10th needs volunteers (please contact Gazel at gazelv8@yahoo.com).
Planning for the Spring Auction is starting; please contact Melissa at melissa@policylink.org if
you can volunteer in any way. It was also announced that the LeConte School Governance
Counsil has approved funding for additional supervision at recess times and for training staff in
positive behavior support.

PTA fundraising opportunities to help our school include:

 Great America fundraiser: 50% of purchase goes to support Leconte
 Chinook Books - $20 book of coupons to use around the East Bay at green businesses with $10
per book going to Leconte. Chinook Books may be purchased at the LeConte office (check or
cash).
 Berkeley Bowl (BB) Scrip (Gift Certificates). LeConte PTA earns 4% of every sale! They are
available in $20 denominations. LeConte PTA earns over $2000 a year from these sales. You can
buy BB scrip from Gloria Park (wearing jester hat) on Friday mornings or leave check (made
payable to LeConte PTA) or cash for her with school secretary Marie anytime. You can also
reach Gloria at 510-517-7133 or gloriapark@post.harvard.edu.
 Escrip.com. You can sign up with Escrip.com and earn money for LeConte whenever you use
your registered credit or debit cards at participating vendors. You can also register your Macy’s
and Safeway cards on Escrip to earn money every time you use these cards. Get your friends and
family anywhere to register on Escrip.com! Le Conte ID number is 137116693. If you need help,
please call or email Gloria Park at 510-517-7133 or gloriapark@post.harvard.edu.
 Whole Foods Gift Card program. For each $100 gift card purchased through the PTA, the PTA
earns $4.00. If you regularly shop at Whole Foods, this seemly small contribution can add up to a
significant amount for LeConte. Please purchase your cards (in $100 denominations) from Peter
Shelton at morning line-up. Peter will wear his black and white checkered hat. Cash or checks
made out to LeConte PTA, please. Any questions, please contact Peter at
Peter@PeterSheltonLaw.com or at 510-529-5483.

The PTA is also requesting volunteers with novice sewing abilities to help sew the quilt for our annual
quilt raffle that happens in February. (No quilting experience necessary!)

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English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC) next meeting: Thursday, Dec. 16, 5:00PM
ELAC preparations for the annual Latino Heritage Celebration, scheduled for Friday December 10th
6:00pm-8:00pm, are underway. Students continue to rehearse Latin American dances. Parents please
return the student participation form sent home with your child, so that we may better prepare the
costumes necessary for the performances. We are looking for more volunteers in the areas of serving
food, dressing rooms and clean up. If available for any amount of time please contact Gazel Valdez
(gazelv8@yahoo.com) or LeConte's parent volunteer coordinator

Coalition of Families for African American Students next meeting: Thursday, Dec. 16, 6:00PM
As previously planned, various members of the group brought turkeys that were given away to new
participants and members of the ELAC committee. The next event the group will host is a traditional
Kwanzaa celebration on December 16th; a bulletin board display of the seven principles of Kwanzaa will
also be placed in the main LeConte hallway. The principles, called the Nguzo Saba (seven principles in
Swahili) are values of African culture which contribute to building and reinforcing community among
African-Americans. One of the goals of this event is to educate students about aspects of African-
American culture that are valued throughout the United States.

SCHOOL-WIDE & DISTRICT NEWS

Outstanding Balances for the Cost of Lunch
If you received a letter or phone call stating that you owe for lunches your child received, please pay the
balance as soon as possible. Our food service workers have been instructed to deny a hot lunch to all
students who have outstanding balances. However, all students can have fruit and items from the salad bar
free of charge. If your financial circumstances have changed and you think you may qualify for free or
reduced lunch, please obtain and complete a meal application. Applications are available in our office.

Free Health Care – Kerry’s Kids, Wed., Dec. 1

On Wednesday, December 1 from 5:45PM to 7:45PM, children ages 0 to 18 will have a chance to have
free physical exam, vaccines, anemia and lead screening, and treatment for mild illnesses. You must sign-
in at the Berkeley-Albany YMCA by 6:30PM. See flyer attached.
BUSD - Kindergarten Informational Fair, Sat., Dec. 4
Our school will be hosting our district’s Annual Informational Fair for families new to BUSD and with
children entering kindergarten in September 2011. The fair will be held in our auditorium from 10:00AM
to 1:00PM. Our school needs parent volunteers to host our booth. Please contact our PTA President, Jill
Wang at (510) 647-5012 to make arrangements to volunteer. Parents usually work in one to two hour
shifts. The goal is to answer questions about our school, welcome new families, and encourage families to
enroll.

District-Wide TWI Meeting

Date: December 9th, 2010, 6-8pm
Place: Cragmont Elementary, 830 Regal Rd Berkeley, California 94708, 510-644-8810
The two main goals of the meeting are: to inform about the status and plans of the TWI program, and to
self-organize all members of the community & district to participate and to assist in improving the areas
of the TWI program that need it the most. These include support for TWI curriculum, admissions,
education, outreach and recruitment -especially of Spanish speaking families. At this meeting we will
also begin to define a District TWI Committee.
If you have any questions or suggestions, or to help the volunteers planning the meeting, please email
BerkeleyTWI@gmail.com We look forward to seeing you and chatting with you at the meeting!

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 LeConte Calendar
Toy/Gift Drive
To all of you who are able, please consider purchasing an extra toy, book, or item of clothing for one of
our students. Similar to last year, several families in need will greatly appreciate the extra support to help
bring a smile to their children’s faces. If you are able to bring a wrapped gift, please attach a card stating
who the gift is most appropriate for—girl or boy and the age of the child. Someone in our office will also
wrap gifts.
School Visitation Hours, Dec. 7 through Feb. 3
Parent volunteers are also needed to provide tours to incoming kindergarten families and families new to
BUSD. The tours are scheduled to begin Tuesday, December 7 through Thursday, December 16, and
again, Tuesday, January 4 through Thursday, February 3 between 9:30AM and 11:00AM. Please contact
our PTA President, Jill Wang at (510) 647-5012 to volunteer to lead a tour and please give out the
attached flyers to prospective families. Principal Wilson often helps with the tours so you will not be
alone. Thanks, in advance, for supporting this effort!
Elena Topete Special Art Proyects: The special art project
I hope that you have had an opportunity to see the thirty-four wood designs that are on the fence of our
playground on Oregon Street. This project took two months to finish. I worked during the summer to have
the wood designs ready for the children to paint during the after school program. This was my first
time working with plywood. The quality was very good thanks to Ben Buettner. I tried my best to work
with the children’s figures at Le Conte. My husband helped me cut and carve the wood. Cutting the thick
wood was very hard. Though it hurt our hands, we keep working because we love the children at
LeConte. All of the pieces of art were painted by the children. They had the opportunity to choose their
own color, and they did a wonderful job painting the designs with very colorful paints. The children
at Le Conte are very artistic!
I also want to thanks for all the parents at Le Conte who donated the wood, the mothers who assisted the
children, and the parents who helped me displace the designs on the fence. The fence looks great thanks
to all of the help. A special thanks to Jessica Fiedler for her great idea to hang the children art on
the fence. You can see pictures of the children having fun with the art project attached to this Lamppost.
Thank You, Elena

GENERAL INFORMATION
Attendance—REMINDER!!!
As you may know, schools receive funding based on the number of students who attend each day. The
amount per child is between $32 and $35 dollars. Though the amount may appear small, it adds up when
several students are absent throughout the school. Within the guidelines of the State, students must arrive
at school on time to be counted as present. Therefore, it is not only important that your child come to
school but also that your child be on time. When you make doctor or dentist appointments for your child,
please try to make the appointment after 9:30AM, so that your child can be counted as attending school.
Afterschool appointments are best. Also, please write a note or contact your child’s teacher to explain all
absences. Our school secretary is required to maintain and turn in notices of all excused absences. Finally,
please note that you will automatically receive a “truancy” letter if your child is chronically 30 minutes
late to school meaning s/he arrived at 8:41AM or later. If the pattern continues, three letters will be sent
home and then the parent or guardian will be required to attend a Student Attendance Review Meeting at
the site and then district level.

Communication
Our school bulletin, the Lamppost, will be sent home on or near the first Monday of every month along
with other school and classroom announcements. You can obtain weekly updates on email by going
online, www.leconteonline.org, and signing up. We have two moderated email groups – one for
announcements only, and one for “announcements plus discussion.” To join either group, please visit our

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website, www.leconteonline.org, and follow the links on the right side of the home page. We also have an
“all-call” system to notify you by telephone of any emergencies, special requests, and reminders. You can
reach your child’s teacher by telephone or email. Teachers should be sending home written information at
least once a month or contacting you by telephone.

Online Payments for School Meals

BUSD is pleased to announce “mySchoolBucks.com” a new online Payment Center for families. You can
now make payments to your child’s school lunch account any time of day throughout the year. You will
be able to pay for meals, view cafeteria purchases, track meal account balances, schedule recurring
payments, etc. Visit www.mySchoolBucks.com to create your account. You can call Marni Posey or Sara
Leon at (510) 644-6200 if you have any questions.

LeConte Students Enhance Learning with Free Educational Software

Our district is going to continue funding our subscription to the Compass Learning educational software
program. All students enrolled in LeConte last year will have to have their records updated to reflect their
current grade levels. All new students will be able to access the program by the end of October. You can
gain access to this program from home or school. This software is aligned with state and national
standards and provides a stimulating (and fun!), customized learning environment for each child.
Compass Learning is at www.childu.com. To get your child started, you will need your child’s user
name and password. Most user names and passwords follow the following standard format: User Name:
LeCFirstNameLastInitial. Password: FirstInitialLastInitial School: BUSD For example, John Smith has
a user name of LeCJohnS and a password of js. Of note, the system uses audio to present test questions,
so you’ll need to have a computer that is enabled for sound. Contact August Fern at
august.fern@gmail.com if you are having difficulties logging in or would like to set up a parent account
to monitor your student's progress.

Next Lamppost: January 3, 2011

To submit information for the Lamppost, please email Principal Wilson at
Cheryl_Wilson@berkeley.k12.ca.us or Cathlene Richmond at cathlene.richmond@gmail.com. The
deadline for our next issue is Friday, December 17th.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Donations for Thanksgiving Meals
Thanks to members of the Coalition of Families for African American Students and the following LeConte
families more than 20 turkeys were given away and $800 in gift certificates, cash, and Berkeley Bowl
script were given to over 15 families. Thank you Jacqueline Bott, Jiyun and Andy Cameron, Margi
Clarke, Anna Goldstein, Grant Faulkner and Heather Mackey, Suzanne Fraser, and Cathlene Richmond
for the cash donations.
KIDS & FAMILY FUN TIPS
Free Nutcracker ballet performances
Rachel's Ballet school is offering free tickets to the Nutcracker on Dec 17 and 18. Please read
more here: http://www.rachelsballet.com/nutcracker_2010.html
Posada Navideña, December 3, 6:00PM, Berkeley Adult School
Flyers Attached
 Notes about “boys” – from Raising Cain, Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys
 Free Health Care for Kids 0-18 Years Old, December 1
 Free Workshop for Parents, December 4
 Kindergarten Fair, December 4
 December Lunch Menu
 Photos: Natalia and Alexa and the Special Art Project

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 LeConte Calendar

LeCONTE CALENDAR
November 28 – January 1, 2011
Updated LeConte News & Calendar: www.leconteonline.org
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
28 29 30 Dec. 1 2 3 4
Free Health Posada Kindergarten Fair
Care for Navideña. LeConte Auditorium
Children 8:30PM 10:00AM
Berkeley Berkeley Adult
Albany YMCA School Free Workshop
5:45PM – for Parents
7:45PM see flyer
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
School Tours School District-wide Annual Latino
begin, 9:30 – Governance TWI meeting Heritage
11:00, every Council Cragmont Celebration
Tues. and Meeting 6:00 – 8:00PM 6:00PM
Thurs. until 6:30PM
Feb. 3 Library
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
English Language Celebrate
Advisory LeConte
Committee Assembly
Meeting 8:15AM
5:00PM
Room 106

Coalition of
Families Meeting
6:00PM, Library
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
School closed School closed School closed School closed School closed
Winter
Holidays
26 27 28 29 30 31 Jan. 1, 2011
School closed School closed School closed School closed School closed

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