Welcome Back to CMCS!

 

School begins Thursday, August 14, 2025

Dear Community Families,

Welcome to the 2025–2026 school year at Community Magnet Charter School!

I hope your summer was filled with memorable experiences and quality time with loved ones. The break always seems to fly by, and I’m excited to launch into another purposeful and dynamic school year with all of you.

My family and I had the opportunity to travel to Jamaica this summer—a beautiful trip that offered time to recharge and reflect. I returned feeling energized and ready for the year ahead. Just take a look at this beautiful sunset:

Back on campus, things have been in full swing. We hosted several enriching summer programs, including Kids 4 College, Camp Invention, and Kinder Camp. Albert and Jeremy have worked tirelessly to prepare every classroom, restroom, and shared space to ensure our campus is clean and fully ready for our students. Meanwhile, our front office team has been finalizing rosters, welcoming new families, and keeping a close eye on our roofing project, which is on schedule to be completed this month.

Instructional materials are arriving, classrooms are being stocked, and our teachers have already begun their professional development. They’ll be returning to campus early this week to finish preparing their rooms, fine-tune lesson plans, and set the tone for a successful year of learning.

A quick reminder: As part of our school policy, we are unable to accommodate parent requests for specific teacher or classroom assignments. Thank you for supporting a process that allows us to build balanced, thoughtful classroom communities.

We’re also proud to welcome several new staff members this year:

• Crystal is joining our first-grade team and is bringing great enthusiasm to her very first year of teaching.

• Kate Harrington, our new Community Representative, has already jumped into key projects including bus tags, parent volunteer coordination, and LAUSD systems training.

• Kathi, our new Magnet Coordinator, has taken on enrollment, transportation, and district training responsibilities with efficiency and focus.

• Kayla, our new Korean translator, is here to support our Korean-speaking families. (Fun fact: Kayla and Crystal went to high school together!)

Please extend a warm welcome when you see them on campus.

We are still in the process of hiring an Office Technician and several more Instructional Aides (IAs). Our goal is to place an IA in every classroom, and we’re actively recruiting qualified candidates. If you know someone who would be a strong fit, please encourage them to apply.

This year, all of our after-school programs are returning, including Math Kangaroo, Tuesday Enrichment, Student Nest Tutoring, and Intervention. And for our student performers—Tiny Spotlight is back with a production of The Wizard of Oz! Registration details will be shared in next week’s blog post.

The best way to stay informed is through our weekly blog, The Community Corner. Posts go live every Sunday at 6:00 PM, and you’ll receive both a text and email notification when they’re published.

I also invite you to join me for our monthly Tea Time with Toni sessions—held right after Morning Assembly. These gatherings are designed to keep you informed and engaged around key topics such as attendance, assessments, GATE, restorative practices, and more. If you have a topic or workshop suggestion, feel free to email me directly at trk2932@lausd.net.

And don’t forget to visit our updated website: www.communitymagnetces.lausd.net

Finally, please join us for our Meet & Greet on the first day of school at 8:10 AM in the Room 1 yard. It’s a great way to connect with staff and other families as we kick off the new year together.

Looking forward to seeing everyone very soon!

Best,
Toni

P.S. We kindly ask that you take a moment to review the Valet Rules posted below. When we all follow them, we help keep drop-off and pick-up safe and smooth for our entire school community.

Important Notes for the First Week of School

• The first day of school is Thursday, August 14th.
• Campus opens for students at 7:30am each day. Supervision is not available before that time.
• The schedule for the first weeks of school is as follows:
• Thursday, August 14, Friday, August 15, and Monday, August 18 - 2:30 dismissal (regular dismissal)
• Tuesday, August 19 – 1:30 dismissal (this is the dismissal time every Tuesday)
• Wednesday, August 20 – Friday, August 22 – 2:30 dismissal (regular dismissal)

        Important Transportation Information!!!  

• You should be receiving your bus route/stop in the mail directly from Transportation. If you have not, contact Kathi and she will try to help. kxs7825@lausd.net
• You must wait at least two weeks to request changes to your route. Even if changes were approved last year, you must use the route/stop assigned this year until changes can be accommodated. Contact Kathi beginning September 4^th and she will submit requests.
• Fill out your Transportation Plan google form (link here) by August 9^th. We need to know how your child is getting home from the first day of school (and every day) in time to notify teachers and get tags on backpacks. If we have not received the google form by the 9th, our default plan will be to put your student on their assigned bus.
• If the bus is your transportation plan, we encourage families to use it from the first day on. Kindergarten parents are welcome to follow the bus, park (on the upper yard) and watch your student get off the bus.

WE NEED PARENT REPRESENTATIVES FOR COMMUNITY COUNCIL!

Community Council is the main decision-making body for Community Magnet Charter School. Council has the authority to guide many important aspects of our school, including curriculum, budgeting district funds, personnel, enrichment, and school safety.

Each year, six parent members are elected to represent our six grade levels (K–5). Two parents may share a position if that works best. If you’re elected, your voice will help ensure that the parents in your grade level are informed, heard, and represented.

Grade-level representatives are expected to:

• Attend all Community Council meetings (held once a month from 1:45–3:00 p.m.)

• Share important updates with families in your grade level in a timely manner

• Participate in Town Hall meetings to connect with parents, discuss concerns, and share information

The term for a Grade Level Representative is one year. Parents may nominate themselves to represent only one grade level, and you must not be a regular employee of Community Magnet Charter School or a current board member of CFF (the CFF president appoints their own representative to Council).

If you’d like to nominate yourself:

1. Return the Council Nomination Form to Toni by Thursday, August 21, 2025, at 4:00 p.m.

2. Email Toni (trk2932@lausd.net) a 75-word statement introducing yourself and your interest in serving, so families in your grade can get to know you.

3. Parent elections will take place on Thursday, August 28, 2025 during the grade-level first session of Back to School Night.

Thank you in advance for your commitment to our students and our school community. If you have any questions about Council or the election process, please reach out to me directly.

SCHOOL IS COMPULSORY!

Students need to come to school every day. When possible, please schedule your child’s medical appointments outside of school hours. (See the bell schedule for our school hours.) If you must schedule an appointment during school hours, please check in at the main office to pick up/drop off your child.

The following types of absences are excused: illness, doctor’s appointments, funerals, family emergencies, court dates, religious observances, etc. Examples of unexcused absences include: vacations, “we slept in,” “we took a family day,” “we went to Disneyland for her birthday,” "we visited relatives out of state/country," etc. Even if you send in a note to explain the absence, those examples would be designated as unexcused. For more information, please refer to LAUSD’s Attendance Guide.

You may know that LAUSD has an Independent Study program. This program is intended to provide make-up classwork for students who must miss school for legitimate long-term absences (for example, needing to go out of town for a death in the family, quarantine/lengthy stay at home for serious illness, or needing to make a visa appointment in a home country). Independent Study is NOT for “we are taking 2 weeks off and going abroad,” or “we are starting our Winter Break 10 days early.” For Independent Study in excess of 15 days, you must enroll in the online City of Angels program.

Save the Dates . . .

Recurring Activities

• Morning Assembly: Fridays, begins August 22
• Student Nest Tutoring Services: Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays- begin September 22
• Tiny Spotlight Musical Theater: Tuesday cast begins August 26th, Thursday cast begins August 28th.

AUGUST

• August 6
• New Parent Orientation

• August 14
• First Day of School
• Parent Meet & Greet
• Beginning of Year assessments begin

• August 21
• Safety Fire Drill
• Community Council Parent Nominations due
• Field Trip: Rooms 21 & 24 to Skirball Cultural Center
• August 22
• Opening Morning Assembly
• Tea Time with Toni - Introduction to the New School Year
• Parent Meeting - Creating Welcoming Environments
• Returning Families back-to-school packets due
• Field Trip: Room 22 to Skirball Cultural Center

• August 26  & 28
• Musical Theater scheduled to begin, Tuesday and Thursday casts
• August 28
• Safety Earthquake Drill
• Back to School Night
• August 29
• NO SCHOOL - Admission Day

SEPTEMBER

• September 1
• NO SCHOOL - Labor Day

Click here to view the 25-26 School Calendar

VALET RULES

For the SAFETY of your child and ALL children and parents at CMCS, if you are driving your child to school you MUST follow these valet rules. 
• Arrive at CMCS between 7:30 and 8:00
• Enter through the gate on the EAST side of the school.
• Drive along the left curb.  The right curb is a bus lane whether or not the buses have arrived.
• Wait patiently in a single file line along the left curb of the driveway.
• When a valet volunteer or LAUSD staff directs you, turn right at the parking lot and pull up to the Valet Curb.  There can be a maximum of 3 cars at the Valet Curb.  
• Under no circumstances can you park with your child and walk them through the parking lot. If, especially during these first weeks of school, you want to walk your child to the front gate, you MUST drop your child at the Valet Curb and then park your car.  Your child can wait for you near the valet volunteers on the bench by the Valet Curb.
• When you arrive at the Valet Curb, your child should be ready to exit the car from the passenger side of the vehicle.  IF a passenger side exit from your vehicle is unavailable, your child must wait until a valet volunteer opens the driver side door and escorts them in front of your car onto the curb.
• Under no circumstances should the driver exit the vehicle.
• Do not pull around cars in the valet line including at the Valet Curb.  The line is single file from the east gate entrance  through to the west gate exit.  Please wait your turn to drop off your child and to exit campus.
• FINALLY, be patient and kind.  The valet volunteers and LAUSD staff are there for the safety of your children.  Please treat them, the children, and the other drivers with respect.