Community Corner

  Thank you, Parent Volunteers! Parents, if you have the time, please be sure to sign up for valet on Fresh Schools. We need and appreciate your help! We are so  very  grateful for our wonderful parent volunteers! They were at the top of their game in helping to supervise our afternoon bus riders and keeping the morning valet and check-in lines humming along like a well-oiled machine! One valet Dad even made sure that each child said,  "I love you!"  to their parent before leaving the valet line!! How awesome is that!?  Thank you to these incredible volunteers: Sena Lee (parent to Edward Lee - 5th Grade and Vivian Lee - 3rd Grade)  **BIG SHOUT OUT to Sena who has been coming to school and volunteering every morning since the spring re-opening LAST school year** Lynda Andrews (parent to Matthias Andrews-K) Emma Bates (parent to Duke Zar - 1st Grade) Christine Chipres (parent to Makena Mora - 5th Grade and Kyle Mora - 3rd Grade)  Leah Duenas ( parent to   Giovanni and Santino

  Let's Welcome Fall! Fall begins Wednesday, September 22. I love Fall because it brings football season, sweater weather, and two of my favorite holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving!   Community usually celebrates Halloween with the very popular Parade of Masks (PoM). In 2019, PoM was cancelled due to school closures caused by brushfires in the hills near our school. Once school reopened, we celebrated with an amazing Harvest Festival complete with costumes, booths, and delicious food provided by the Korean PTA Moms.  In 2020, school closures again altered our PoM plans. We had a fun-filled Halloween Car Parade instead. The entire upper yard was decorated from end to end with tombs, ghosts, giant spiders and even a beautiful Dia de Los Muertos altar! Festive Halloween music played as car loads of costumed families drove through the display.  Although both celebrations were great fun and very exciting, I am hoping for a return to the more traditional Parade of Masks this year!    D

  TOWN HALL MEETING Tuesday, September 14 at 4:30 pm We recently received information that eight confirmed positive COVID-19 cases shared a common area  (bus stop)  at the same time, which means they were epidemiologically linked.  The LA County Department of Public Health considers this to be an outbreak. In addition to these 8 linked cases, there have been two cases where transmission occurred outside of school, and two new cases that appear to be unrelated to the previous cases and to each other. That makes a total of 12 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases within the last two weeks. On Tuesday, September 14 at 4:30 pm, we will hold another Town Hall meeting to provide information and to address any concerns you may have. Joining me will be Community of Schools Administrator, Dr. Rafael Gaeta, staff from the LAUSD Office of COVID Response, and other Local District West staff to support us with answering your questions. We have also invited staff from Transportation Services. Click here

APPRECIATING FINE ART on CAMPUS RETNA Mural   Have you ever wondered about the beautiful murals and art pieces that decorate and enhance the lush greenery of the CMCS campus?             Every piece tells a story and I was particularly interested in learning the story behind the mural pictured above. This mural, located on the exterior walls of the library, features script resembling Egyptian hieroglyphics. Painted on a pink background, the script is drawn with vibrant colors ranging from soft pastel blues and pinks to darker hues of blue and green.  After doing a little digging (I asked Kathryn), I learned that this mural was actually painted by a well-known LA-based artist named RETNA. RETNA is an American street artist known best for calligraphy and graffiti art. The script in RETNA's art communicates personal or secret messages and poetry. His work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, and projects around the world, including Los Angeles, Miami, London, New York, Hong Kong,