Parent Letter - January 2
Posted on 01/05/2023
Hello Birch Lane Families,
Happy Week 17 of the 2022-2023 school year! I hope you all had a restful and relaxing winter holiday. We are all excited to welcome your students back to school on January 3rd, 2023!
As we come back from the holidays and many students may have received gifts of technology I thought it might be helpful for parents to have a few resources for managing media. Please take a look at the attached links for information on Tik Tok and the slide deck on managing tech use with your children aged 2-13 years of age and older.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/family-tech-planners
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/parents-ultimate-guide-to-tiktok
Upcoming Dates:
January 3: First Day Back to School after Winter Break
January 4: Birch Lane PTA General Meeting online and in person (Birch Lane MPR) 7pm
https://lrccd.zoom.us/j/96845980954?pwd=cWMvajUrekdLajdMdHhId2JUWkVvdz09
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRyy50pEY2Cvqzpt3_JajOd3a3dHVq4Xdbf_Vh7F1SI3pF1z599SDEFrHomFlSHkYUst1R6wbgdZTBW/pub
January 6: Book Exchange in the Old MPR-bring a book to donate before school/pick up a new book to read after school
January 9: Site Council Meeting online 6pm
https://djusd-net.zoom.us/j/89830625187?pwd=ZUkyV1ByMFc4RG14cUEyWlJZRWpuZz09
January 16: No School-Martin Luther King Day
January 17: Montessori Parent Advisory Committee Meeting in person (BLE Library) and online 7pm
https://djusd-net.zoom.us/j/85790750441?pwd=cUFRTWs0TUtGTmUzZmhqOTlXcTRwQT09
Jan. 23rd-Jan. 27: 6th Graders off campus at Sly Park
Gardening News:
Next garden party for January will be 1/15/23.
If you are a rose gardener or fruit tree we are in need of winter pruning we can arrange a separate day as needed.
First, we had a successful wreath sale event. Thank you everyone!!
Garden Committee Volunteers have been busy planting over 200 lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower starters at the farm and in campus garden boxes. We’ve tended to the young plants by watering and protecting them from the harsh weather and from being eaten by critters—we’ve had some loss but some success as well!
Volunteers have begun the important task of inventorying the supply sheds to better assess our current resources and potential educational engagement opportunities.
We started assessing the arboretum garden beds. Years of composted leaves have been removed from around the beds, giving us wonderful soil to use and allowing us to better visualize the future potential of the space. We cleared the clogged drain in the arboretum and the drains along the hallway abutting the arboretum—we have noticed much less water buildup there.
Our Garden Grounds Coordinator has been researching the history of the arboretum/garden spaces and we’ve discovered the rich potential of the garden spaces we have. We’re planning, and most importantly, doing the work to reinvigorate Birch Lane Gardens.
Our Garden Education Coordinator has been reviewing the wonderful curriculum resources we have and has started to reach out to teachers to develop a plan to get more students into the gardens in the new year.
Happy New Year!
Auction News:
Save the Date!
Birch Lane Elementary Silent Auction and Carnival
May 13, 2023
More information to follow. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, contact Sandy Fitzpatrick at [email protected].
Have a great week, and feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns at [email protected].