Spring 2012 - Valley Charter School Elementary - Valley Charter ...

The Scoop! news & views from Valley Charter Elementary School
www.valleycharterschool.org Spring 2012, Issue #4
Cool Tools
What Is it? How Does It Work?
By Founding Principal Leslie Lainer
You may have heard
your child speak lately about
having his “bubble” popped or
telling a “straight pretzel”
story. These terms are being
integrated into the fabric of our
community at Valley Charter
Elementary School through the
“Cool Tools” program.
Developed at the Lab
School at UCLA, Cool Tools is
a character-building program
designed to teach children basic skills for conflict
resolution, social tolerance, and personal accountability.
The community values we emphasize include respect,
citizenship, honesty, integrity, compassion, and
responsibility. Because these values may seem abstract to
children, they are taught through the use of concrete
objects. The Cool Tools toolbox is filled with items such
as microphones, toothpaste tubes, bubbles, and more. For
example, the bubbles signify the “personal space bubble,”
which helps students visualize the physical boundaries they
must respect in one another. A microphone represents a
reminder for children to use the proper “choice of voice.”
Cool Tools encourages a “cool blue voice” to represent
calm communication over an emphatic or angry “red hot
voice.”
The toothpaste tubes are used to teach children about
Put Downs and Put Ups. Put Ups are affirmations, kind
words, compliments, or smiles. Put Downs are insults,
rumors, threats, unkind words, or laughing at someone.
Squeezing the toothpaste from a tube is a visual that we
use at school to explain the concept of a Put Down. If you
squeeze out some toothpaste to symbolize a put down and
then ask a child to put the toothpaste back in the tube, she
can see how difficult it is! This demonstrates to children
1
that once the words come out, they can never be taken
back.
VCES Community Values
COOL TOOLS
Tool Value Reminds us...
Bubble
Traffic Signal
Straight Pretzel
Microphone
(Choice of Voice)
Kaleidoscope
Toothpaste
Challenge
Personal
Space
Decision
Making
Honesty
Integrity
Perspective
Taking
Responsibility
We respect each other!s bubble
of space.
There are different types of
decisions
Green: Decisions made by
ourselves
Yellow: Decisions made by
class
Red: Decisions made by adults
We go straight to the truth when
solving a problem using an “I”
statement.
We have a choice of voice - the
tone of our voice and our
attitude affect our message and
a situation. We can calm a
problem down by using a blue,
calm voice. A red voice can
escalate a problem.
Trying to understand the
perspective of another will help
to avoid conflicts or will help to
resolve the conflicts once they
happen.
We are in charge of the words
we use. Repairs help heal a
problem but don!t take all the
hurt away. We need to choose
our words carefully.
The immediate
goal of Cool Tools
is to teach the
students to resolve
conflicts with one
another without
constant teacher
guidance. Children
are taught that it is
okay for them to
e x i t f r o m a
situation that is
u n s a f e o r
uncomfortable and
to seek adult
support, and that
they can work
together to repair
a conflict. The
long-term goal of
the program is to
c r e a t e a n d
m a i n t a i n a
common language
and a community
that encourages
learning.
The classroom teachers have been teaching the Cool
Tools lessons over the past two months and are integrating
the language into the daily classroom and school discourse.
The program directly aligns with our mission of creating a
school culture that values character and citizenship. You
are encouraged to continue the dialogue at home and
support us in building lifelong problem solvers.
All your scholarship would be in vain if at the same time you do not
build your character and attain mastery over your thoughts and your
actions. –Mahatma Gandhi

!e"in#
$ know yo%
by Leslee Komaiko
For more scoop on our
teachers,
visit the school website at
www.valleycharterschool.org.
Most memorable book
you read recently?
The Help, The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo, besides the Kevin Henkes,
Mo Willems and Eric Carle books
that I read daily.
Favorite movie? Grease, Say Anything, The
Notebook, Love Actually and Once
Three musical artists you
like.
Jason Mraz, Mumford and Sons,
Adele
Perfect free day? Sleeping in, having a great cup of
coffee, exercising, meeting friends
for lunch, shopping, seeing a great
movie, getting a manicure and
pedicure and ending it with a great
dinner.
You’re given a free
round-trip ticket
anywhere. Where would
you go?
I’ll trade my round-trip ticket in for
a one-way ticket to Italy! Italy is the
perfect place: great shopping, great
culture, great food!
Do you own a pet? I don’t own any pets right now, but I
grew up with dogs all my life.
Do you play a sport? I don’t play sports, but I do love to
exercise.
Do you have a hobby? I love to exercise (walking/running
along the beach and Zumba),
people watching at cafes, going to
farmers markets and cooking.
If you weren’t a teacher,
what would you be?
Do you have a favorite
teacher?
Jessica Bennett
Kindergarten Rm.2
Heat: An Amateur Cook in a
Professional Kitchen by Bill Buford.
2
Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne
Dominion by Eric Van Lustbader
Love Actually Million Dollar Baby and 300, a
father-son movie
Glee cast, all 90’s rap and Monster
Ballads
Sleeping in, taking the dog for a
bike ride, getting coffee, going out
for breakfast, doing the crossword
puzzle and sudoku in the paper,
reading a great new book under the
down comforter, cooking dinner and
having friends over.
If it’s Summer 2012, I’d want a ticket
to London. I get Olympic fever!
One of my Olympic highlights was
trying on my friend’s gold and silver
medals.
I have a 5 year old Boxer/German
Shepherd mix named Roxie.
Boney James, Lil Wayne and Jill
Scott
A bike ride at the beach and a
double scoop of raspberry sorbet.
Hawaii for the water.
Tennis, golf (badly). Basketball.
A Pitbull and Lab mix named
London.
Cooking, reading, “puzzling.” Table tennis and dominoes.
There is nothing else I would be. If I could handle the blood, I’d be a
veterinarian. I think being a chef
would be fascinating, but I don’t
know if I could take the heat in the
kitchen.
I had a wonderful kindergarten
teacher by the name of Nancy
Kaneshiro. As I think back on that
year, I realize how important it is to
set the tone during that first year. I
still keep in touch with her!
Kris Nakano
First Grade Rm.3
I loved my third grade teacher at
Brentwood Science Magnet, Miss
Silver. She was warm and loving and
taught me cursive, which I thought
was the coolest thing ever. We also
read Value Tale books and collected
Del Monte labels to get the Country
Yumkin stuffed toys for the class.
Donald Smith
P.E. Coach
Entertainment: developing new
television ideas and shows.
Mr. Galiger was my speech and
English professor who taught me so
much in the classroom and different
ways to deal with life.

In this edition of The Scoop! we continue our look
inside the classrooms at VCES.
Inside Third Grade
By Sandi Krul
Usually when a parent snaps their fingers at their
children in the morning, it’s to hurry them along. But on the
morning of March 1 st , with poetry in the air, parents of Mrs.
Allen and Ms. Baker’s third grade classes were snapping for
a different reason. In true poetry jam tradition, they were
snapping in praise as the students recited their original
poems, including The Circle of Friends, Cheeseburgers,
Atlantis, Black, Recess, Mother Earth and A Hike with My
Friend. Students shared “funny” poems inspired by the
works of Shel Silverstein, “nature” poems inspired by the
likes of Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson, poems inspired
by the “sad” and “scary” works of Edgar Allen Poe, as well
as works inspired by the “serious” poetry of Eloise
Greenfield.
The celebratory performance was the culmination of an
extensive five-week exploration of poetry. The students
studied works of many famous poets, such as Emily
Dickinson’s I’m nobody! Who are you?, Walt Whitman’s A
Noiseless Patient Spider, and Eloise Greenfield’s Honey I
Love, and discovered the wide variety of styles and themes
found in poetry. They learned that even the best poets
undertake an arduous process to perfect their poetry, and the
students went through a similar process as they embarked on
their own poetry journeys. Once settling on a theme for a
poem, they created lists of words and ideas. Often times
they would head outdoors to write and find inspiration in
unlikely places. Emma exclaimed to her mom that, “Working
on my trapeze poem while hanging upside down on the
dome was the best part of my day!”
With rough drafts in hand, they adopted more strategies
of poets as they set off to perfect their work: strategies such
as turning everyday words like “over” into British sounding
English like “o’er” to help with flow, using “delicious
adjectives” for flavor and finding synonyms with the perfect
number of syllables for rhyming. For one student, “running”
became “soaring over the land.” For another, “sad thoughts”
3
became “devastating emotions.” Another student decided on
the phrase "I gasped loudly" instead of “I was surprised.” It
was a continual process of revising, revising and more
revising. “They wrote with descriptive language that took on
unique perspectives of every day moments, made up
characters, and delved into the deep dark world of
emotions,” marveled Mrs. Allen.
Once drafts were nearly complete, it was time for
students to set their stanzas and carefully place their line
breaks. When they finished one poem, it was time to begin a
new piece, and then another, and then finally time to
illustrate and publish their poems as they prepared for the
poetry jam.
With the help of Ms. Baker and Mrs. Allen, and even
their fellow classmates, the students found their voices,
discovered their inner poet and developed a new
understanding and affection for poetry.
“I love writing songs and I love music, and a poem is
really a song without music,” said Aliyah. According to
Asher, “Poetry is a way to express yourself very deeply.”
James likes poetry because, “You can basically write
whatever you want: stuff that’s true, anything technically.”
EllaRain agrees, sharing that she loves poetry because, “You
get to do anything, and it’s very inspiring. You can see how
you’re rhyming and you can get better. When you’re done
you’re like, wow, this is really good!”
Reflecting back on the poetry unit, Mrs. Allen observed
that, "The best thing about our poetry unit was to watch the
students explore new worlds of writing… pulling from
inside them the things that made them laugh, cry, smile, and
frown and crafted these into poems. It was great to see them
rise to the occasion and go beyond the surface on many of
their pieces. They were truly writers on this journey.
Amazing!"
The highlight of that journey was the poetry jam, and
Ms. Baker’s most memorable moment was, “watching
students share their work so proudly during the poetry
jam. It was so wonderful to see the kids light up with
excitement while reading their work." All of the parents who
attended the poetry jam surely agreed, as evidenced by the
enthusiastic snapping.

POETS
CORNER
Jaden’s Revenge
By Lia B.
I knew it was coming,
I was right about it coming soon,
Jaden’s revenge for feeding him a lot of salt on a
humongous spoon.
I knew it was coming,
I was right about it coming soon,
maybe too soon for my comfort
After just feeding him a lot of salt on a spoon.
Down Jaden dropped my cousins picture,
on to the cold, black floor,
if I hadn’t caught it,
there would be nothing of it anymore.
It was a diversion I am thinking,
because it was also very stinking,
after Jaden lowered that twinking,
gummy worm, down my shirt!
Yuck
Ickky
Sticky
Jaden!
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Mother Nature!s Children
by Aria A"
Mother Nature!s beautiful and precious
children #both$
So alive and breathing
So pretty and skinny or fat
As if Mother Nature!s children #animals$
Were so wild and free
But
Mother Nature!s other children
In a di%erent shape
Doing di%erent things
Never wild
As if Mother Nature!s other children
#humans$
So smart and beautiful
Not like the others
But
But they are still
Mother Nature!s children
4
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Blue is Circling Earth
By Stella G.
Blue is the pearly moon drifting o’er the sea.
Blue is the sparkling river.
Blue makes me feel relaxed.
Blue is calmness.
Blue is like a blue bird soaring high into the air.
Blue is the baby blue sky.
Blue feels like a puffy cloud.
Blue is happiness.
Blue is like a shimmering boat sailing on a
beautiful sea.
Blue is the circling earth.
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J
O
G
A
T
H
O
N
THE
EVENT
OF THE
YEAR
THE
RAFFLE
YOU
DON’T
WANT
TO
MISS
This critical fundraiser raises 25% of VCES’s operating shortfall.
Participate to celebrate and support your school!
Picture This!
VALENTINE’S DANCE
Want to share an article, photo, news item? Want us to write about something? Email Sandi Krul,
Leslee Komaiko or Sylvia Jaunzarins at thescoop@valleycharterschool.org.
5

Meet Board Chair
Nat Damon
By Leslee Komaiko
Nat Damon is the Assistant Head of John Thomas
Dye, a highly regarded private elementary school in Bel-
Air. The Massachusetts native is also the chairperson of the
Valley Charter Schools Board. We wanted to find out a little
more about this passionate educator and what is front and
center for the board.
Was a career in education the plan all along?
Definitely. My dad was a teacher. He actually taught at the
same middle school I attended. He even drove the bus. It
was part of the job.
About eight years ago, you transitioned from being a
teacher to an administrator. Why?
I wasn’t aggressively looking to leave teaching. I’m sure I’d
still be teaching today if I didn’t have the chance to be one
of the founding people to start Sierra Canyon High School
in Chatsworth. That was back in ‘04. The person who was
appointed head sought me out. It was an amazing
experience. For a year the three of us were working together
with the board to open a new private school. The first
question was, what was our mission going to be. It
definitely segues into why I was interested in serving on the
board of Valley Charter.
Can you elaborate on that?
That idea of something entrepreneurial, this time in the
charter sector. It’s a different world from the private sector.
Though we’re all looking at the best way to educate our
children.
Do you miss teaching?
I do. I do teach an ethics class and I love it. I’m in my 8 th
year in administration and there is teaching going on,
whether educating students in terms of school behavior or
mission, or working with parents. I have a 4 th grade parent
night tonight for example. So there is teaching going on but
not a classroom oriented teaching model. I do miss those
days: that daily connection with the students and being able
to track them as individuals.
What was it specifically about Valley Charter that
resonated with you?
Two things stand out. First the mission. This is a
community school. We’re not looking to become a huge
franchise. We’re a community school focused on making an
impact in the community around us. The project based
constructivist model really intrigues me. My own
background is more traditional. The second reason is the
makeup of the board, the people on this board. I have never
worked with a team that has been so committed and willing
to give hours and hours and roll up their sleeves to really
unroll both these schools. The makeup is broad. We’ve got
attorneys, non profit CEOs and educators who all bring
6
different perspectives that in the meetings really come out,
but so constructively because we’re all looking for the same
thing which is the success of Valley Charter Schools.
What does “success” mean?
We gauge success not just through API scores. We have had
some great board discussions on this topic. My belief is that
a good organization will always set goals and strive for
reaching them. But it’s
more that we provide a
quality education in a close,
interpersonal way that is
student centered and project
based in a school
community that embraces
the individual; that the
makeup of our schools is
internally diverse and
externally diverse but
coming together in a
community that is greater
than the individual, a
supportive community
where it’s cool to be smart,
cool to a drummer or a
soccer player and everyone
has a name.
Nat Damon, VCS Board Chair
What is front and center right now for the board? What
are your biggest challenges?
We really need to focus on site. We are so grateful for the
campus, in perpetuity. The elementary school is stable there.
But we can’t have both campuses there next year. There’s
not enough space. I love the idea of having us all together.
But this will give the middle school a chance to continue
defining itself as its own institution. With that thought
follows the idea of fundraising and development work.
Robert as our Executive Director has been tremendous.
Robert, Leslie and Blanca have been a tremendously
powerful trifecta for school outreach with their ability to
bridge all the constituencies. The board is charged with
policy and oversight. This isn’t a challenge, but the idea that
while we’re in this period of growth and startup that we
don’t over involve ourselves as a board. This is something
that has gone quite well in general. My hat goes off to the
parents. It’s just unbelievable [what they have done] in
terms of outreach and energy.
What are some of the long terms goals?
To fulfill our charter. The charter we set says a mixed socio
economic population, to really stay true to that. Our charter
says forty percent free and reduced lunch. We want to aim
for that sweet spot at both schools. API is not something
we’re putting as a public goal. However, academic integrity
is something we’re very focused on always.
continued on page 7 . . .

Are there things the VCES community can do to support
the board?
In terms of positive feedback, keep it going, also the word of
mouth, the fundraising effort, and the parent volunteer
committees.
Is there anything you’d like to add to the VCES
community?
There is something really exciting going on at Valley Charter
and the parents have everything to do with it, the leadership,
the faculty. It’s not about the board. What we have seen
Celebrating Our
Diverse Cultures
By Nola Sarkisian-Miller
A steady drumbeat of
learning was on tap during Valley
Charter Elementary School’s
inaugural multi-cultural day, both
literally and figuratively. Taiko
drums played by a spirited posse
of third graders kicked off the
high energy morning, sending
students off to their classes for
mini lessons on cultures from
around the world courtesy of a
bevy of VCES parents and
grandparents.
Getting a taste of international
customs, Ms. Nakano’s first
graders sampled Welsh raisin
cakes fresh off the griddle and
learned that in Wales there is a
place whose name is 59 letters
long. A spot of chamomile tea
and milk served with shortbread
cookies were on tap in Ms.
Aronchick’s classroom, where
second graders learned about the
cool climes in Scotland and why
men wear kilts.
7
happen is really wonderful. I guess during this growth period
to stay in the game, to keep their sleeves rolled up for
another couple years. I really believe until we’ve merged as
K-8 we’re still growing. We’ve never had a 4 th grade before
or 5 th grade or 7 th grade. We’re still new, still getting our legs
firmed up.
After recess, greater cultural
immersion awaited when students
from all grades rotated classrooms
for a look at some of the art and
customs of Australia, Africa,
Mexico and Japan, projects that
were created by the teachers
themselves.
Some kids experienced the
world of origami and dance in the
Japanese-themed rooms of Ms.
Melyan and Ms. Nakano. In honor
of Japan’s summer Obon Festival,
a celebration of ancestors, the
children were schooled in the
Tanko Bushi dance. Ms. Melyan
broke down the dance into easy to
follow steps, like “dig, dig”, “look
over your shoulder,” and “push,
push.” Students then made paper
samurai hats.
Strings of yarn in vivid hues
of orange, blue and red graced the
tables and floors of the
kindergarten classrooms where
kids could create their own
Huichol yarn paintings, an art
form from the Indian tribe in
central Mexico. The students
sketched a rough design on
cardboard paper, then glued on
yarn to fill in the drawings. When
The VCS
Board of Directors meets monthly. Meetings
are open to the public. Check the school calendar for
dates and times.
kids were stumped about what to
draw, Ms. Bennett gently guided
them.
The day culminated in another
rousing drum performance, this
one from Creative Seeds, a
musical duo, and the assembly of
a collage featuring pictures of
every student and teacher at the
school.
“We wanted this to be an
event to showcase our cultures
and the diversity at our school,”
said Jess Rivera, chairwoman of
the special events committee
hosting the event.
That it certainly did. Given
the success of the day, expect the
second annual multi-cultural day
next year.

The Scoop! Spring 2012, Issue #4
In this edition of
The Scoop!
Editors:
Sylvia Jaunzarins
Leslee Komaiko
Sandi Krul
Layout & Design:
Sylvia Jaunzarins
Graphics:
David Aragon
Contributors:
Leslie Lainer
Nola Sarkisian-Miller
. . . and our student
participants!
Photographers:
Leslie Barton
Lynn Cunningham
Sandi Krul
Razi Wilson
The Scoop!
publishes four times
annually. Look for us
again in June.
DON’T FORGET . . .
COMING SOON . . .
Earth Day at VCES
April 23rd, 2012
WANT A GREEN ACTIVITY?
Visit the Bureau of Sanitation and interact
with the people and equipment that keep
the city clean. There will be free games,
free food and rides in the recycling trucks.
West Valley District Yard
8840 Vanalden Avenue, Northridge, CA 91324
Saturday, May 19, 2012 9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Follow them on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Los-Angeles-
CA/City-of-Los-Angeles-LAUSD-Recycling-
Program/141183500812
march
26TH - 30TH
Parent Teacher
Conferences 1pm Dismissal
16514 Nordhoff Street
North Hills, CA 91343
T: 818.810.6713
F: 818.810.9667
E: info@valleycharterschool.org
W: www.valleycharterschool.org
april
2ND - 13TH
School Closed for Spring
Break
8
PLEDGE DRIVE
UPDATE
What does 100% mean?
A commitment from every family,
OF ANY AMOUNT, towards the
well-being and growth of our school.
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may
7TH - 18TH
State Mandated Testing
28TH
School Closed for
Memorial Day
29TH
School Closed for Staff
Development
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june
15TH
Last Day of School
Progress Reports
Leslie Lainer, Founding Principal
Robert Burke, Consulting Executive Director
Carolina Merino, Office Manager