May 22, 2012

Dear Melinda Heights Parents:

It is with a great deal of mixed emotions that I announce my resignation effective at the end of this school year.  On one hand, I am very excited to be able to spend more time with my family and children. On the other hand, I will have a huge void in my life because I will miss working with your children so much. As many of you know, I have loved working at Melinda Heights these past four years. The Melinda staff is top-notch. We have worked hard, laughed, and cried together. Likewise, the majority of our parent population has been supportive and trusting. 

I am so very proud of our school and what we have accomplished. I have had the privilege and honor to work with a group of outstanding professional educators. They believe in the worth of every child and live their lives trying to make a difference. I will never forget the ways in which they have supported me and made my job so much more rewarding and fulfilling.

The question that is now probably uppermost in your minds is who will be the new principal? Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to announce that Laura Canzone has been selected to be my replacement.

Mrs. Canzone is currently the principal of Lomarena Elementary in Laguna Hills. She began her career in SVUSD as an assistant principal right here at Melinda Heights. Formerly she taught grades 3 through 8 and has extensive experience with curriculum, instruction, technology, and the arts. She is mom to three amazing grown children and is currently pursuing a doctorate at the University of Southern California.

Although I leave you with sadness, I also leave proud of all we have accomplished together and confident that the Melinda Heights staff, students, and parents will continue to find new ways to challenge themselves and make the school even more distinguished. 

I am grateful to have been part of the Melinda Family and will always carry positive memories of the many friends I have made during my time here. I will miss the wonderful smiles that have greeted me each day and I want to thank you for making my experience so special and rewarding. Melinda is an extraordinary place and I know it will always continue to thrive.

Sincerely,

Heather Lake

Principal

As we near the end of the school year, we tend to get many questions regarding class placement for next year. Placing over 1200 students into classes is a daunting and time-consuming task. Staffing is based on district enrollment projections and sometimes enrollment and staffing can significantly change before the start of school next September. While I do read every written request that I receive, parents must understand that we cannot honor all of these. Our goal is to create equitable, balanced classes. We base our decisions on educational considerations, such as: gender, student numbers, academic performance and needs, special programs, leadership, and citizenship. 

We also get many requests for specific teachers. These requests are based on previous experience or input from other parents, rather than educational reasons. You can imagine how unbalanced our classes would be if we took all of these requests.

Our policy is not to take the above requests. There are no official class placement forms for parents to fill out. However, as I mentioned, I do read all notes from parents regarding placement (an email is sufficient). Occasionally, I do get some information that will help me avoid a problem in the future. If I can do that, while maintaining our goal of balanced classes, I will. 

I appreciate your understanding.

Melinda Heights has traditionally been a positive and nurturing environment for student learning and I am proud of the incredible efforts our teachers and students put into the classroom each day. We have an amazing staff and a community of parents that is supportive beyond measure. Occasionally there are the unfortunate issues that arise during the school year that require careful problem solving and consideration. Listed below are some ways to help parents navigate through this process in a productive way.

Generally parent concerns fall into two categories: Instructional Concerns and Non-Instructional Concerns. Instructional Concerns include things that relate to the academic progress of your child such as: homework completion or questions, classroom environment, student/teacher relationship, communication between home and school, etc. Non-Instructional Concerns include things such as school safety, bullying, behavior concerns, student conflicts on the playground, etc.

Steps to solving Instructional Concerns: The classroom teacher is the most knowledgeable person in this area and should be able to answer your questions/concerns with these matters.

Step One: Contact the teacher within a reasonable amount of time. Catch the problem before it becomes too big.

Step Two: Set an appointment with the teacher to discuss how you can work together to solve the problem you are experiencing. In person, or by phone or email, ask for a time to meet. Let the teacher know the nature of your concern and estimate how much time you will need. This will allow the teacher to be prepared when you meet and set aside the needed time. Surprising the teacher at his/her door is not an effective meeting time. Parent conference time is also not a good time for this kind of conversation. Conferences are too short for this kind of conversation.

Step Three: Organize your thoughts before you meet. Honor the teacher’s time by planning what you want to say. Keep it non-threatening and do not accuse. Think about what you are seeing and hearing from your child and share your observations. (Keep in mind that children are not very accurate in their perceptions and descriptions, so what you think happened might not have been the case. Often, including your child in the meeting can solve this kind of communication problem. Ask your teacher if this is a good idea.) Bring work samples if that makes the issue clearer. Also, don't forget to take a few minutes to compliment the teacher on what s/he is doing right. 

Step Four: Remember that you are helping the teacher to know your child better. You have lots of information about your child that the teacher will never know unless you tell her/him. This helps the teacher to be more effective and successful. It can also help the teacher address your concerns. 

Step Five: Try to meet with the teacher face-to-face. Email is very fast, but it is impersonal and open to interpretation. The phone is better, but I prefer real contact. I know this is harder to set up and can take longer, but it is the most effective form of communication. It is very hard to appreciate a smile over the phone. 

Step Six: Take notes. As the meeting ends, reiterate what you have decided together. Include some form of follow up to the meeting, which will allow you to give the teacher an update on the problem. Set a timeline for that follow up. 

Step Seven: Honor your time commitment with the teacher. If you asked for 30 minutes, then keep it to close to 30 minutes. Often instructional concerns are ongoing. Sometimes they are quickly and easily solved. Depending on the problem of the moment, you may or may not have to re-address this. If, after repeated attempts to solve the problem, you are still having concerns, it is time to enlist the help of the principal. 

Non-Instructional Concerns: Most non-instructional concerns are issues to bring up with the principal. Matters of behavior, bullying, safety, and rules are my area of expertise. I am happy to work with you on these. Send me an email or call and leave a message with the office staff. Tell me briefly what your concern is. This will allow me to be prepared when I call you back. Include your contact information so that I can get in touch with you easily. In the email you can ask for any of the following: 

A return phone call 

A call to set up a meeting 

A request for me to follow up appropriately 

Or, it can just be for my information. I will make every effort to contact you within 24 hours. Then we will decide the best course of action.

Note: Any time I get an email or phone message requesting a meeting, I will ask you what the concern is about. If it is an instructional issue, I will refer you to the teacher first. I understand that some parents are uncomfortable with the idea of talking directly to the teacher, however this is still where one should begin seeking help. One reason for this is that the teacher is the one who is in the best position to solve the problem. Also, it is common courtesy to talk to the teacher and give him/her an opportunity to solve the problem before one talks to the teacher's boss. I'm sure you would appreciate the same courtesy.

Though the vast majority of our parents are following the rules and are respectful of other drivers, it only takes one person who disregards them to cause a safety issue, or a major back up of traffic. We have already had several incidences that have caused serious safety concerns.

We do our best to instill appropriate behaviors and manners to the children each day here at school. It would be appreciated if drivers would emulate the same appropriate behavior.

Please help support our efforts in maintaining a positive school environment where students, families, staff members and visitors feel safe and welcome.

As you may know, directing traffic is not a responsibility of any staff member at Melinda Heights. We are on duty to maintain the safety of our students and pedestrians. We encourage parents who witness violations to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. As an example, it is NEVER legal to leaver your car in the white zone along Rancho Trabuco. That means you may not “just leave your car for a minute” to walk your child to class. Another violation is stopping in the bus loading zone during the posted times (8:00 – 2:30). This means that you may not pull up to the curb to unload during these times. A third violation occurs in our parking lot when cars are parked in the red zones. These areas are red because they are unsafe to park in, they impede the flow of traffic, and they obstruct the ability of fire and emergency vehicles to enter the school.

The five visitor spots closest to the kindergarten building will are closed off with cones during drop off/pick up times (8:20 – 8:50 and 2:20 – 2:50) to help improve the flow of traffic and to reduce the amount of traffic delays. These visitor spots are intended for people visiting the campus, not for loading/unloading students.

Every time one person disregards these laws and common courtesies, twenty other cars are kept waiting. This leads to double parking, reduced safety for children, slow traffic, and hostile feelings. It can also lead to a ticket that costs well over $200.

Please review and follow the rules listed below for the parking lot and loading zones. Allow yourself enough time so that you can cooperate with others who are also dropping off and picking up their children. An extra 10 minutes on your part can solve a number or problems for our staff, for other drivers, and for yourself.

•               Park in appropriately marked spots or along unpainted curbs only.

•               Do not leave your car unattended along any painted curb (red, yellow, or white).

•               Do not park in spots reserved for staff members.

•               Be ready to drop off/pick up your child. This is not the time to give our lunch money, talk on your cell phone (now illegal when driving), or sign notes to teachers, etc. We prefer it if parents do not get out of their cars.

•               Drop Off/Pick Up Zone is located in front of the kindergarten building and playground. Do not pick up/drop off your child among the parked cars or where there are yellow chains.

•               Drive to the Drop Off/Pick UP Zone and move as far forward as you can before stopping.

•               Avoid blocking the crosswalk with your car.

•               All children should enter and exit the car on the curbside only.

•               Watch for pedestrians. Students will not be allowed to walk into the parking lot without an adult. Parents must pick up their children along the curb, or park in a legal spot and escort them to the car.

•               All pedestrians must use the sidewalk and crosswalk at all times.

•               Absolutely no U-turns or 3-point turns.

•               Never walk or ride bikes up or down the driveway

•               The left lane in the parking lot (as you enter) is for Thru Traffic only. Use this lane if you are going to park in a designated parking spot. Do not use this lane just to avoid waiting. The right lane is for everyone who is dropping off or picking u children.

•               Allow yourself extra time and be patient. Remember that you are a powerful role model, not only for your children, but for others, as well. If you follow the rules, cooperate, and demonstrate patience, your children will lean to do the same.

•               Adhere to the 5 mile per hour sign posted upon entering the parking lot.

Again, thank you for your patience and cooperation.

As always, one of our primary concerns at Melinda Heights is the safety of our students. With an open campus, parents and other visitors are almost always coming and going and we are very vigilant in our efforts to control who is here. We have several school and district policies in place to ensure student safety. Here are some reminders of about visiting school:

All visitors and volunteers must sign in at the office and get a sticker when they arrive and sign out when they leave.

Visitors and volunteers should be on campus for specific purposes, prearranged with the teacher and/or the administration.

All visitors must display the appropriate sticker at all times.

No parents or children may use school facilities (playgrounds) during school hours.

If you come to campus to speak to your child, pick up him/her early, or to drop him/her off late, come directly to the office to sign them in or out.

I have directed all staff members to speak to any adult who seems out of place, or who is not wearing a sticker. Adults without stickers will be asked to sign in at the office, or to leave. This is not nosiness on our part. Remember, we have over 2500 parents at Melinda Heights and we can't possible recognize them all. This is how we keep your children safe.

Thanks for supporting us in this effort.

Please be advised that our policy states that pets should not be on campus unless special permission has been granted by the administration. Once permission has been granted, all pets must remain in an appropriate cage or enclosure so that both the pets and our students are kept safe from injury or allergic reactions. 

Please be aware that, pursuant to Orange County Ordinance 41.46, dogs are not to be on school grounds at any time. Should you choose to bring your dog when walking your child to and from school, please wait for your child outside the gate, off school grounds. 

Despite the large posted signs on each of our buildings indicating our No Dogs Allowed policy, I continue to see many visitors bringing dogs to school, especially during drop-off and pick-up times. A response I often hear from visitors with dogs is, “it’s only for a minute.” Or, “my dog is very nice.” I believe both statements are true, however we cannot risk the safety of students, staff, and other visitors on campus.

Please share this information with any family members or friends who visit our campus. This is something we take very seriously and will be strictly enforcing.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation with this matter.