Happy Festival of Lights!
Dear Community Families,
I can’t stop smiling after receiving the sweetest surprise—the Boss’s Day video from Kate and our students truly made my day! Moments like these remind me how special our CMCS students are and how lucky I am to be part of such an amazing community. You can view the video below.
The CMCS staff also went above and beyond with a beautiful money plant—complete with real cash attached! It reminds me of Mama Maria! If you stop by my office, don’t forget to “feed” my money plant! 😉.
This week was also a little bittersweet, as we said goodbye to one of the best cafeteria managers I’ve ever known—Madliene. She’s moving to a school much closer to home, and while we’ll miss her dearly, we wish her all the best in her new role. Her new school is very lucky to have her! While we search for a new cafeteria manager, we welcome back Norma, who has worked with us before. She is warm, wonderful, and we’re so grateful to Brentwood Magnet for allowing her to be with us for now.
On Thursday, we held our annual Great ShakeOut Drill, and it was a huge success! When the alarm sounded, everyone dropped, covered, and held on until the “shaking” stopped. Teachers and staff quickly evacuated with students to the upper yard, where our emergency teams went to work. The Search and Rescue team checked every building and rescued six “injured” students, who were then treated at the triage station by Nurse Mary and her team. Our Assembly Area team kept students calm and organized, while a few parents helped us practice the student reunification process at the Request Gate. Student Council and other dependable students served as “runners,” escorting students to their parents at the Reunion Gate. Overall, the drill went very smoothly and helped us identify areas for continued improvement. A big thank-you to the parents who volunteered to participate!
This week also marked the start of our after-school intervention program, which serves about 50 students across all grade levels. Kindergarteners are receiving extra support in phonemic awareness, first graders are strengthening their reading and math skills, and students in grades 2–5 are focusing on math. What makes our intervention program especially effective is that it’s led by our very own CMCS teachers, who go above and beyond to provide this additional support. Programs like this have played a major role in helping us narrow the achievement gap at Community Magnet, and I couldn’t be prouder of our staff and students for their hard work and commitment.
Finally, we’re all looking forward to one of our most beloved traditions—the Parade of Masks! It’s always one of the most fun and creative events of the year. A huge thank-you to CFF and our parent volunteers for bringing such joy and memorable experiences to our students.
Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!
Best,
Toni
Boss's Day Video
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2025-2026 STUDENT COUNCIL OFFICERS!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
It is a remembrance of loved ones who have died. Ofrendas or Altars are created with various components including pictures of those who have died.
We need volunteers to help set up the altar at POM and print and frame the pictures of our Community family loved ones!
SAVE THE DATE
🎃 CMCS Parade of Masks (POM)! 🎃
This beloved Halloween-themed celebration FUNdraising event takes place during school hours on the upper yard, where students parade in costume and enjoy free, fun-filled activity booths hosted by each grade level.
WHEN: Friday, October 24th
TIME: 12:30 PM - 2:15 PM
WHERE: CMCS Upper Yard
Come in costume and celebrate a day of spooky fun, games, prizes, and tasty treats — all while supporting our school!
Want to get involved in planning POM? There are many ways you can help make this event magical for our kids.
Sign-up here: https://forms.gle/31DCg6JzEuQ6bAVPA
Let’s make this year’s Parade of Masks unforgettable — together!
Warmly,
Seira Santizo Greenwood & Heather Olt POM Co-Chairs
- Morning Assembly: Fridays
- Tuesday Enrichment: Tuesdays, beginning September 16
- Tiny Spotlight Musical Theater: Tuesday & Thursday casts
- Student Nest Tutoring Services: Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays- begin September 22
- After-School Intervention: Wednesdays & Thursdays, beginning October 15
- Math Kangaroo: Mondays, beginning November 3
Save the Dates . . .
- October 31
- HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
- Minimum Day, 12:50 dismissal
- November 3
- Math Kangaroo begins
- November 4
- Community Council meeting
- November 5
- Prospective Parent Tour
- November 10-21
- Parent Conferences
- November 11
- NO SCHOOL - Veterans Day
- November 14
- Book Fair Preview Day
- November 14-16
- Tiny Spotlight presents The Wizard of Oz
- November 17-21
- Parent Conferences continue
- Book Fair
- November 19-20
- Minimum Days, 12:50 dismissals
- NO TUTORING
- NO LATE BUSES
- November 21
- Tea Time with Toni
IMPORTANT REMINDER ABOUT CHANGES TO YOUR DAILY TRANSPORTATION PLAN
As you know, we have several after-school activities at Community. There's Kids 4 College camp, musical theater, math kangaroo, Tuesday enrichment, intervention, and tutoring. Later in the year, we'll also have late field trips. Getting students to their buses after dismissal has become a challenge. Late notifications of last minute changes in transportation plans exacerbate the problem. In order to help us get your students off smoothly at the end of the day, we ask that you please call the main office before 12:00 pm to notify us of any changes to your transportation plans. Since Kathryn does not always get to her email in time, I encourage you not to email her with these changes. In order to get the message into the bus book and out to classes before dismissal, it is very important that you notify the office in a timely manner. Every day, buses sit and wait as we try to get last minute messages to students. Too many times, we've had to stop the bus and get a child off or have the bus return to school to pick up a child because of late communication. The students have a long enough ride and the late notifications add more time to the commute.
Please always call before 12pm.
- 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.
REGISTER FOR KIDS 4 COLLEGE FREE AFTER SCHOOL CHILD CARE
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.
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