LACES Update

Phone (323) 549-5900   Fax (323) 938-8737

www.lacesmagnetschool.org

From the Principal’s Desk…

Dear Parents,

 

Together with your continued support for LACES and the collaborative efforts of our staff, we have been able to provide a smooth opening for the fall 2008 and have begun the educational journey for this year with much confidence, celebrating academic achievements from past years. We congratulate all students and teachers for making improvement on already high API (Academic Performance Index) score. Our score of 842 is one of the highest in the District and reflects 18 point increase from 2006-2007. Our Academic Performance Index (API) scores reflecting student achievement on California Standards Test, CAT6 (7^th Gr only) and CA High School Exit Exam  (10^th Gr Results only) have been increasing over the years. Our goal for this year is 900.

 

Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
API	802	804	790	793	801	812	822	826	824	842

We are forging our way to continue our efforts for successful implementation of WASC Action Plan:                   

1. Closing of Achievement Gap, 2. Focus on Middle School, 3. Increased Use of Technology in Classrooms

 

With regards to closing of achievement gap, our math department has been diligently engaging our students in math activities such as Calculus Camp, Math Mania, and Algebra Experience that are meaningful and fun for the students. Also, we have begun a new program called AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) that provides necessary skills and successful strategies to meet the challenge of most rigorous classes. MESA (Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement) program is not just an afterschool activity anymore but an actual class, expanding the program’s opportunities to more students. Increased parent involvement has been apparent through formation of additional parents support and advisory groups such as Black Parent Organization, Latino Parent Organization, Korean Parent Organization and Compensatory Education Advisory Council (Title I council)  to address specific needs of our students. Friend of LACES continues to support the instructional program through fundraising programs and bringing all parent groups together. Closing of Achievement Gap is not just part of our school’s action plan it is our District’s as well.

 

In the area of focusing on middle school, we have begun additional support programs such as Communication/Study Skills class for all 6^th grade students to provide foundation for academic success and intensive, highly rigorous 6th grade English curriculum for all students with built-in intervention support. Our eighth grade culmination has now become a LACES tradition. Journalism class, Leadership class and Mock Trial/Aca Penta for middle school students have certainly been enriching addition to the middle school curriculum.

 

Although we are in great need of increasing use of technology in instruction, we have made remarkable strides in this area also. All math teachers were trained to effectively incorporate use of Graphing Calculators in math instruction, our new website has noticeable improvements with teachers’ pages, two rolling carts with laptops have increased use in instruction in English and History, Faculty Handbook is now on CDs, and we have increased use of email for communication.

 

We will continue to provide the most enriching educational experience to our students this year. I look forward to another great school year.

 

Sincerely,

 

Dr. Margaret Kim, Ed.D.

Principal

 

Message from Ms. Bakewell in the College Center

 

National Merit Scholarship Program Recognition (PSAT Results)

Semifinalist: Morissa Brenner

Commended Students

  Abhimanyu Amarnani, Harman Bawa, Inwoo Cho, Steven Dimaria, Wilton Kuffel, Gregory Simonian

 

National Achievement Scholarship Program Recognition (PSAT Results)

            Blair Fields, Kristina Harris, Andrew Hill, Taylor Mason, Sharifa McCauley

 

College Awareness Week will take place at LACES from October 13^th thru October 17^th, 2008. During this week all LACES students will have increased exposure to college preparatory and enrichment activities. The primary focus of the week will center on Wednesday, October 15^th when the EXPLORE and PSAT exams will be administered to the majority of the students (See detailed description below) while the remaining students will participate in College-preparatory related activities.

q      All 6^th Graders: Visit to local colleges/universities.

q      All 7^th and 8^th Graders: The Explore Exam will be administered to all 7^th and 8^th grade students. The Explore includes four multiple-choice tests that include English, Math, Reading and Science. The Explore program prepares students for their high school housework, but also for their post-high school choices. For more information go to http:// actstudent.org/explore/tests/index.html. The cost for the Explore exam is $10.00. Results will be available in January 2009.

q      All 9^th, 10^th and 11^th Graders: PSAT Exam. The PSAT stands for Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The PSAT is a standardized test that provides practice for the SAT Reasoning Test. The  PSAT measures verbal reasoning, critical reading skills, math problem solving skills and writing skills. The PSAT gives 11^th graders an opportunity to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s (NMSC) scholarship.  For more information, you can go to www.collegeboard.com. The cost for the PSAT is $10.00 for all 9^th and 11^th grade students*. All 10^th graders will test for free and fees will be paid by Los Angeles Unified School District.

q      All 12^th Graders: A variety of college workshops in conjunction with a special play on “Compassion” which is provided courtesy of a generous donation from the Louie family.

Explore and PSAT registration forms will be passed out in Homerooms during the week of September 23^rd.  

More reminders for Seniors:  Register for the SAT, ACT or SATIIs if you haven’t already taken them or want to improve your score.   Please have your list of schools that you are interested in applying to prepared for small group meetings with Ms. Bakewell beginning the week of September 29^th. Ms. Bakewell will meet with all of the seniors in small group meetings by November 15^th prior to the CalState and UC college application deadlines.  Parents who have any questions or concerns are welcome to contact Ms. Bakewell in the College Center. 

 

This month for Juniors:  Register for the PSAT with your Homeroom Teacher.  Register for the January SAT at www.collegeboard.com or the ACT at  www.actstudent.org.  This year’s grades are extremely important. Be sure to get off to a great start. If you qualify for free or reduced lunch then please see Ms. Bakewell for an SAT or ACT fee waiver.

 

All Students: I am sure that you have already heard the exciting news that the U.S. News & World Report ranked the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies in the top 100 schools. As a U.S. News ranked high school, we have been offered access to an educational online resource for our students in evaluating higher education options. In conjunction with the 2009 Best Colleges rankings, U.S. News has created an online Students Center where students can search 100,000 pages of college-related information. Below is the website to the online Students Center. We hope that our students will take advantage of this additional tool for researching college options.  We hope that you and your student find this resource helpful. 

U.S. News Student Center: https://www.usnews.com/features/education/best-colleges/student-center.html

 

A Look Ahead: The seniors are always a priority in the College Center as they transition on to college however; Ms. Bakewell will be meeting with the other LACES students by grade level throughout the year. The month of October is dedicated to classroom presentations for all the 9^th grade students as the first few weeks of high school are a crucial time for setting the tone for a positive high school experience.

 

Changed(or added)Responsibility at LACES

 

MaryJane London               Magnet Coordinator

Victoria Vickersa                Title I/WASC Coord.

Ira Koslow                          Dean of St. Discipline

Benjamin Chanaiwa             PE/Athletic Director

Quim Perez                         Textbook Expert

Joanna Lancaster                English

Sheriece Fleming                 English/AVID - Teacher, Coordinator

Cathy Soly                          Literacy Coach

John Galloway                     FOL Co-President

Dr. Debra Garcia                FOL Co-President

New to LACES Family

Paulo Davidiuk        Social Studies

Linda Roche           Library and Media

Rachel Klimke        Social Studies

Tanya Asher           PE

Elizabeth Schlum     Science

Brandi Bakewell      College Counselor

David Thompson     Resource Specialist

John Beilock           Math

Milla Hill                 Math

Richard Fisher         Buildings and Grounds

Marion Levine         Englsh                                                  

 

 

“Be Informed. Be Involved. Be Empowered.”   

Welcome to LACES and a new school year. My name is Gabriela Solórzano and I am the Community Representative here at LACES.I would like to be of assistance to you in providing any necessary information that will empower you to be an advocate and active partner in your child'’ education. Please take advantage of the many opportunities to be a volunteer, join a parent group, and attend different workshops throughout the school year.

As you may know transitioning to middle school may be very difficult for some children and their parents. Currently, I am taking sign-ups for an up-coming workshop titled “Transitioning to Middle School”. If you would like further information or would like to sign-up, please stop by the parent center. The last day to sign-up will be October 3, 2008. The date and time for this workshop will be based on response. I am here Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.  Your participation is crucial for the educational success of your child.

 

Ms. Solórzano, Community Liaison

 

For questions regarding attendance, please contact Ms. Solorzano at the LACES Parent Center.

 

 

 

Beginning, October 6, 2008, the District will be capturing students' attendance

electronically twice a day, at 10:00 a.m. And 3:30 p.m. 

A recorded message will be sent out to all parents immediately after 10:00 a.m.

and afterschool each day to notify students' period by period absence and tardy.

Please verify the absence and send a note to clear the absence if you hear the message.

Please do not call school to confirm the reported absence or tardy. If you have any questions, please address the questions directly to Mr. Hammond, Assistant Principal.

 

 

 

From the Magnet Office

Our New Student Orientation, which was held in August, was a great success.  We were very lucky that Homeroom Leaders Melissa Goodall and Aaron Baskin volunteered to help organize and run the event this year. Our absolutely wonderful and caring Homeroom Leaders made themselves available to answer questions and lead campus tours for our incoming students of all grade levels. LACES parents Eduardo Arreola, John Galloway and Leslie Wallis greeted new parents, escorted a tour and answered the many questions that our new families had.  Thank you to all for helping our new families start their LACES experience on a positive note.

Community Service:  I would like to invite all students to submit their Community Service projects and experiences to me as soon as possible.  We would like to recognize and highlight the caring students of LACES who have generously given their time to worthy causes and projects each month.  We’d love for our families and students to see what our students have done over the summer and throughout the school year.  Students can submit a brief description of their community service project, along with the amount of time they committed to Mrs. London in the Magnet Office. 

 

For questions regarding the community service projects and the magnet program, please contact Ms. MaryJane London, the Magnet Coordina

Fall Sports Schedule

from Mr. Manassa Chaniawa, Athletic Director

MONTH/DATE	DAY	SPORT	LOCATION	TIME
September
10	wed	girl/s golf	penmar	2:30
15	Mon	Girl’s Tennis vs. Gardena	LACES	2:30
		Girl’s Volleyball @ Marlton	MARLTON	2:30/3:45
17	Wed	girl’s golf	penmar	2:30
		Girl’s Volleyball vs. Amino South LA	LACES	2:30/3:45
18	Thur	Girl’s Tennis vs. SOCES	LACES	2:30
		Girl’s Volleyball @ Hamilton	HAMILTON	2:30/3:45
22	Mon	Girl’s Tennis @ Venice	VENICE	2:30
		Girl’s Volleyball @ Foshay	Foshay	2:30/3:45
24	Wed	girl’s golf	penmar	2:30
		Girl’s Tennis vs. Westchester	LACES	2:30
		Girl’s Volleyball vs. Community Harvest	Laces	2:30/3:45
25	thur	girl’s volleyball vs. crenshaw	laces	2:30/3:45
29	Mon	Girl’s Tennis @ University	Stoner Park	2:30
		Girl’s Volleyball @ LA Leadership	LA Leadership	2:30
October
1	Wed	girl’s golf	harbor	2:30
		Girl’s Tennis @ Fairfax	Fairfax	2:30
2	Thur	Cross Country	Elysian Park	2:30
6	Mon	Girl’s Tennis vs. Hamilton	Laces	2:30
		Girl’s Volleyball vs. Viewpark	Laces	2:30/3:45
7	Tue	girl’s golf	rancho	2:30
		Girl’s Tennis @ Palisades	Pali Rec Center	2:30
8	Wed	Girl’s Volleyball vs. Marlton	Laces	2:30/3:45
		Cross Country	Elysian Park	2:30
13	Mon	Girl’s Tennis vs. Venice	Laces	2:30
		Girl’s Volleyball @ Amino South LA	laces	4:00
15	Wed	girl’s golf	rancho	2:30
		Girl’s Tennis @ Westchester	Westchester	2:30
		Girl’s Volleyball vs. Foshay	LACES	2:30/3:45
16	Thur	Cross Country	Elysian Park	2:30
20	Mon	Girl’s Tennis vs. University	LACES	2:30
		Girl’s Volleyball @ Community Harvest	baldwin hills rec	2:30/3:45
22	Wed	girl’s golf	rancho	2:30
		Girl’s Tennis vs. Fairfax	LACES	2:30
		Girl’s Volleyball vs. LA Leadership	LACES	2:30/3:45
23	Thur	Cross Country	Elysian Park	2:30
27	Mon	Girl’s Tennis @ Hamilton	Hamilton	2:30
28	Tue	Girl’s Tennis vs. Palisades	LACES	2:30
29	Wed	gilr’s golf	harbor	2:30
		Girl’s Volleyball @ Viewpark	VAN NESS park	2:30/3:45
30	Thur	Cross Country	Elysian Park	2:30

Student Recognition from Spring 2008

CAHSEE (High School Exit Exam) STARS (Perfect Score of 450 for both English and Math)
Max Dougherty, Melissa Goodall, Drew Hancock, Larisa Ilchenko, Ivy Lee, William Liow,
Samantha Monarch, Natalia Morris, James Scott, Jasmine Verret
Principal's Honor Roll:  GPA of 4.0 or higher - Spring Semester 2008
6th Grade	7th Grade	8th Grade
BRODEY, HARRIS Q	ADACHI, JESSICA A	ARATOW, ALEC M
CHOI, JANICE	AHN, CHRISTINE S	CHAIT, LILY W
CHUNG, STELLA W	AHN, REBECCA Y	CHUN, STELLA H
DIDELOT-HEARN, CAMILLE G	AMARNANI, SRISHTY N	CHUNG, HAYOON
ESTRADA, BERENICE E	BECK, EDEN S	GROTTS, JOSEPH H
FRIDMAN, ADIE T	CHOI, IRENE Y	HAUBRICK, JESSICA M
GOELZ, JUSTYN A	HONG, JOSEPH	JOHNSON-GRAU, CORA A
GROSSMAN, GABRIEL W	FARRAR, JENNA M	KALINA, JENNIFER A
HAN, SALOME C	GARDNER, ZOE A	KIM, JU YOUNG S
KIM, ESTHER C	GOELZ, JOSEPH D	KIM, YEJEE W
	GRUSKY, ALAN Z	LEW, KIRSTEN H
KIM, HALEDIM	HONG, JOSEPH	LIOW, ALEX
LEAZER, ZACHARY F	JOHNSON II, KEVIN W	MILLER, MEGANNE J
LEE, DAVID Y	JUNGERS, MONTSERRAT E	PARKER, KAREN A
MIRBLOUK, KAMERAN L	KARPELES, SARAH E	PREIMESBERGER, CHRISTINE
MOSTAFA, SAZIA	KIM, CANDACE	RAILTON, ROSALIND E
OH, ELLEN	KIM, ELIZABETH Y	11th Grade
PETERSON, DAHLIA L	KIM, SANG-YOON	BAWA, HARMAN S
RO, PIERSON S	KIM, SUSAN Y	BRAND, JEFFREY A
ROSENBERG, AUGUST D	LEE, SOL	BRENNER, MORRISA A
RUMI, STEFANO	LONDON, OLIVIA L	CHEN, ALISON L
SUNG, PETER	LUTSKY, RACHEL M	CHO, IN WOO
WEITZ, SOPHIE A	RAMOS, MARTHA A	CHUNG, JACQUELINE H
WHITAKER, TIMOTHY W	REED, EZEKIEL R	COHEN, CHLOE' ELIZABETH
9th Grade	SAUNDERS-SHULTZ, MARIELE	DE SANTO, DANIEL M
FRIDMAN, ARIEL	SCOTT, KATHERINE A	FADER, MIRIN R
HONG, JI E	TOKIRIO, ERICA S	HARRIS, KRISTINA
KIM, EDWARD M	TZANETOPOULOS, DARTANYAN	HARRIS, RACHEL MARGUERIT
KIM, SHAWN	VRIESMAN, VERONICA P	HERNANDEZ, CARLOS O
KIMURA, ALEXANDRA K	YAMADA, MARISSA N	KAHN, BERYL M
LEE, FRANKLIN S	YANG, MATTHEW	KLEIMAN, NORA S
LEE, JUSTINA J	10th Grade	KUFFEL, WILTON M
LEWIS, NICOLE A	CHOI, CHRISTINA Y	LEE, JENNY
MC NAY, CHELSEA E	CHUNG, HA H	MUTAREVIC, JAY L
PLEHN, ALYSSA K	DELROSSO, JAKE F	SIMONIAN, GREGORY V
RUBIN, SARA B	DOUGHERTY, MAXIMILIAN E	WILSON, MATTHEW A
SHIN, YULEE	HANCOCK, DREW T	YANEY-KELLER, ALEXANDRA
TUNG, EMMA L	ILCHENKO, LARISA L	YI, EMILY A
UNIZA, JACKLYN MAE	KIM, ANDREW Y	ZELL, SEAN
YI, ESTHER	KIM, SAMUEL
YOON, ERIN L	KIPNIS, CHLOE M
YOON, ISAAC	LESTON, SEAN M
	LIEBHABER, BRANDON M
	LIOW, WILLIAM W
	LYMAR, VICTOR
	MONARCH, SAMANTHA A
	MORRIS, NATALIA
	SAY, VERA A
	SHEN, STEVEN R
	TAYLOR, CHELCIE C
	YI, JOANNE K
	YOO, JINA J