Newsletter
SENDAK NEWSLETTER FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 1 - 5, 2025
Safe is good for sidewalks and swimming pools. Life requires risk if we are to get anywhere.
This week’s emergency drill will be a Lock Down Drill scheduled for Tuesday.
Back to School Night
Thank you to the entire Sendak Staff for your hard work in your preparation and presentation to our parents during Back to School Night. For those parents who did not attend the event, please reach out to them and provide your slide deck and any handouts that they may have missed.
Tuesday Banked-Time PD and Staff Meeting
1:40 – 3:30 pm: Small Group Instruction for Targeted Student Success / Progress Monitoring to Track Growth & Inform Instruction
Next week’s agenda: CKLA and Eureka Assessments, Writing and Math PT – Scheduling and Planning
Staff Meeting: Integrated Safe School Plan
School Committees and Adjunct Duties
The assignments for the Committees were placed in teachers’ boxes last week (and attached to this newsletter). The first name listed for each committee will take the lead to initiate the first meeting with your team members. After the initial meeting, each committee can designate a lead to communicate with admin and provide updates. (Committees Sign-in and Agenda Form is attached.)
iReady Beginning of the Year Math and Reading Assessments
Continue with the iReady administration.
Next week, Data Digs Days will be scheduled starting with the upper grades. A schedule will be provided to you by Wednesday, so that you can plan. Subs will be arranged by the office.
Arts, Music, Tech, and PE Schedule Link:
Sendak-Arts Schedule 2025-2026
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
9/4 Mary Backos
9/5 Gina Debuque
9/6 Klara Shahnazarian
9/7 Xiadani Matadamas
9/12 Dorothy O’Connor
9/14 Abbie Khalili
9/30 Alicia Pizzi
Monday, September 1 Labor Day
School is closed
Tuesday, September 2
At Sendak: Rose Jauregui-Santillan (AP-EIS Alt. Tues), Nurse Patrick, Margaret Younan (LAS) Alexandra Calabria (Psych.)
7:55 First Bell
8:00-8:15 Breakfast in the Classroom
TBD Lock Down Drill
1:25 Dismissal
1:40-3:30 PD: Small Group Instruction and Progress Monitoring
Wednesday, September 3
At Sendak: Nurse Patrick, Elizabeth Rebozo-Diaz (Music) Sergio Flores (PETIP), Alexandra Calabria (Psych.)
Off Campus: G.Khatchadourian at Instructional Rounds @ Toluca Lake ES
7:55 First Bell
8:00-8:15 Breakfast in the Classroom
2:25 Dismissal
Thursday, September 4
At Sendak: Nurse Patrick, Cindy An (SSS), Northia Reyes (PSA) Cintia De Laura (Visual Art) Margaret Younan (LAS)
7:55 First Bell
8:00-8:15 Breakfast in the Classroom
10:30-12:00 Mr. Rome to visit Sendak
2:25 Dismissal
Friday, September
At Sendak: Rose Jauregui-Santillan (AP-EIS), Nurse Patrick, Cindy An (SSS), Northia Reyes (PSA), Margaret Younan (LAS)
7:55 First Bell
8:00-8:15 Breakfast in the Classroom
8:30-10:00 Coffee w/the Principal
1:00 Instructional Leadership Team Meeting (Conference Room)
2:25 Dismissal
Upcoming Important Dates:
Sept. 1 Labor Day
Sept. 5 Coffee w/ the Principal
Sept. 18 Student Success Awards
Sept. 22 Chuck E. Cheese Night
Sept. 23 Unassigned Day – School is closed
Sept. 26 Student Progress Reports (1st Period)
Sept. 29-10/3 Scholastic Book Fair
Oct. 1 Literacy Night
Oct. 2 Unassigned Day – School is Closed
Oct. 10 Coffee w/ the Principal
Oct. 14 School Picture Day
Oct. 16 CA Great Shake Out
Oct. 23 Student Success Awards
Oct. 31 Costume Parade and Fall Festival – Minimum Day
Nov. 7 Coffee w/ the Principal
Nov. 10-14 Parent Conferences
Nov. 11 Veterans’ Day
Nov. 12-14 Minimum Days
Nov. 20 Student Success Awards
Nov. 24-28 Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 4 Make-up Picture Day
Dec. 12 Coffee w/ the Principal
Dec. 17 Winter Program – Dress Rehearsal
Dec. 18 Winter Program – Parent Show
Dec. 22 – 1/9 Winter Break
Our 6 Instructional Priorities for the school year are:
- Literacy – reading, writing, and speaking across all subjects
- Numeracy – real world application of math concepts
- Science – Integrating Next Generation Science Standards
- Assessments informing instruction – DIBELs, DRDP, iReady, and SBA
- Professional and Leadership Development – ILTs
- Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycles
To ensure District-Wide coherence, the following 7 Teaching and Learning Framework elements will be the focus for professional development, PDSA, Instructional Rounds, and classroom observations.
1b1. Awareness of Students’ Skills, Knowledge, and Language Proficiency Uses information about students’ academic strengths and needs, language proficiency and social emotional wellness in planning.
2a3. Academic Climate The academic environment is safe and supportive; risk-taking is encouraged, students freely share their culture, language, and ideas, and student mistakes are treated as learning opportunities, never with ridicule.
3a4. Use of Academic Language Academic language is used to communicate and deepen understanding of the content and is inclusive of the culture and language of students.
3b2. Discussion Techniques and Student Participation Techniques are used to ensure that all students share their thinking around challenging questions including strategies that affirm students’ culture and language.
3c1. Standards-Based Projects, Activities and Assignments Standards-aligned learning activities cognitively engage students in the lesson.
3c2. Purposeful and Productive Instructional Groups Students are grouped in order to promote productive cognitive engagement in the lesson.
3d3. Feedback to Students Students receive specific, culturally sensitive and timely feedback that will move their learning forward.
2025-2026 Older Newsletters