Last opportunity to purchase a Yearbook will take place Monday, May 24 to Thursday, May 27 in front of Room 406 (by main office). Price is $20.00 - Cash ONLY!

PLEASE NOTE:
In order to save paper, yearbook order forms will not be sent home with students during this pre-sale. Order forms can be picked up in the main office, in Ms. Palos’ office (room 406) or you can download a copy here.

All books must be purchased in ADVANCE - no extra books will be ordered! Any questions, please email Ms. Palos <claudia.palos@sjea.edisonlearning.com>.

It is not too late to join our PTO for an evening of FUNDRAISING and NETWORKING for OUR SCHOOL! Take a sneak peak at the Casino Night and Silent Auction program here.

Have you picked up your tickets to our 3rd Annual Casino Night and Silent Auction? This is the perfect way to not only support our school, but a great way to network with parents and have some fun! All proceeds go to our PTO which supports our many school sponsored events.

This year, the event will take place on Friday, May 21st from 6pm until midnight at the Pomona Fairplex(Avalon Ballroom). Advanced tickets can be purchased in the main office for $40.00 or at the door for $45.00. Your ticket includes a fabulous dinner, $100 in "casino money" and 2 raffle tickets for a chance to win a variety of fabulous prizes.  Prizes include a Cricut machine with several cartridges and accessories, a digital TV with cd player, cappuccino maker and much more! Last year's event was a sell-out, so don't be left out and come join us for a night of fun!

Can't make it that night? You can also help by donating any services and/or new, usused items for our Silent Auction. All donations may be dropped off in the office! If you need additional information about the silent auction and how you can help support this event, please contact Mrs. Chavira (PTO President) at maria.chavira@sjea.edisonlearning.com.

May is almost here and so is state testing time. Starting Tuesday, May 4th and ending Friday, May 14th, the 2nd – 8th grade students at San Jose-Edison Academy will be taking the CST state tests. Our 1st grade students will also be evaluated using a different form of assessment. Students throughout California take the same test. The scores will become part of your child’s cumulative record and will serve as a yardstick to help us evaluate our curriculum and your child’s progress toward mastering the state standards.

All classrooms have been working towards mastering the state standards since the beginning of the year. Recently, we have been working on test taking strategies to help the students feel more comfortable before the state tests begin.

Please make sure that your child has had a good night’s sleep, a nutritious breakfast, and are here on time each day of testing. This will give them the best start they could have for each test.

As an incentive we will be giving free dress to any student who comes to school on time for the entire testing window (May 4th – May 14th). In order for your child to receive free dress they must be here and on time each day regardless of whether they are testing that day or not.

Thank you for all the work and help you have given to your child and San Jose-Edison Academy. Together, we will continue to provide each child with a world-class education!

Download testing schedule HERE.

Second Yearbook Pre-Sale of the Year will take place Monday, April 26 to Thursday, April 29 in front of Room 406 (by main office).

Please note that 4th quarter SFA placement notices will go home Monday, April 12th. New classes will start Tuesday, April 13th.

One of the largest “supply” expenses incurred each year is copy paper for classroom use. As much as we conserve and copy on both sides of each sheet of paper, there is simply no getting around the need for copy paper. If we could save on the funds used each year on just copy paper alone, we could use the unspent money on other educational needs. Due to budget issues, we are limited on how much paper we can purchase, so once again, we are asking our SJEA families to help us replenish our depleting supply of copy paper. We are asking each family to consider donating one ream (or more, if you choose) of all-purpose white copy paper. Students can take their donation to the front office during SLC week. All students participating in our paper drive will receive a free dress day pass (date to be announced.)

Thank you in advance for your support and generosity! As a team we can continue making SJEA the best school it can possibly be!

Applications to be entered into our 2010-2011 Kindergarten Lottery are now being accepted.

Dates are as follows.
First day to pick up application in main office: Monday - January 11, 2010
Last day to return application to main office: Friday - February 26, 2010 at 4:00p.m.
2010 Kindergarten Lottery: Will take place on March 3rd at 4:00p.m.

Please note that applications will not be handed out any sooner than, 7:30 a.m. on Monday January 11, 2010 and absolutely no late applications will be accepted after 4p.m. on February 26, 2010. Application and all required paperwork must be submitted for your application to be considered complete and eligible for lottery.

Purchase your Westfield Mall Coupon book for $5.00 and enjoy fabulous discounts on December 11th at the West Covina Wesfield Shopping Center. Come join our SJEA families for a day of shopping and great deals! See you there!

Download flier here.

The SJEA Yearbook staff is introducing a new feature on our school website called SJEA Student and Staff Spotlight. From time to time we will use this section to highlight one of our very own students and or staff members, click here to see our very first Spotlight!

Thank you to the following students and their families who contributed a backpack and/or supplies to our first community service event of the year "PROJECT BACKPACK"!

It is truly amazing what "together" we can accomplish with only a few days notice!

OUR SJEA FAMILIES HAVE HUGE HEARTS!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Thank you to the many families that have already contributed to our backpack drive. There is a postcard we would like each donating family to fill out so that the receiving child in Somoa will know who the sender of their backpack was! If you have already sent your backpack to school and did not fill out a card, please contact Ms. Palos.

Please click HERE for information on
how you can help SJEA with our first community service project of the year. Together we can help the children survivors of the Somoa Tsunami!

Two thumbs up to the many families that came out to support our Bob's Big Boy Fundraiser ... see a few photos here.

Your participation is what makes our PTO and our school such a huge success! THANK YOU!

Please join us for a fundraiser benefiting SJEA! 20% of every purchase with flyer (excluding tax and alcohol) will be donated to SJEA. Each student that attends will receive a raffle ticket and will be entered to win homework passes or one of several book fair gift certificates to the up-coming SJEA Book Fair.

When: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - October 13, 14 and 15.

Where: Bob's Big Boy
100A S. California Ave, West Covina

Celebrity Servers:

Tuesday 10-13
Dr. Patton 5-6:30pm
Mrs. White 5-8pm
Mrs. Hale 5-6pm
Ms. Velarde 5-6pm
Mrs. Carter 6-6pm
Ms. Pattterson 5-6pm
Mrs. Chavira 6-8pm
Mrs. Acosta 7-8pm

Wednesday 10-14
Mrs. McNeil 5-6pm
Ms. Tackaberry 5-6pm
Ms. Gardiner 5-6pm
Mrs. Arvidson 5-6pm
Ms. Palos 5-6pm
Mrs. Andersen 5-6pm

Thursday 10-15
Ms. Pate 5-6pm
Mrs. Cabrera 5-6pm
Mrs. Howell 5-6pm
Ms. Velarde 5-6pm
Mrs. Koreen 5-6pm
Mrs. Moreno 5-6pm

This is a reminder that school will be in session tomorrow, Friday the 9th of October. There was an error on the calendar sent home at the beginning of the school year which stated that this would be a local holiday. Our local holiday actually already took place on Friday, October 2nd.

Please note that Parents should not be using a student account to access the IC Portal. We encourage all of our parents to pick up their own IC Parent Portal account as soon as possible. Distribution times are listed on our school website www.sanjose-edison.com/calendar.htm

All students whose parents have picked up their IC Parent Portal account by October 23rd. will be entered into a drawing for gift cards and various other prizes.

Please save the date for our Blue Ribbon Celebration on November 10th. You can download the flyer sent home here.

By Stacey Wang, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/01/2009 06:00:00 AM PDT

Sometimes it's good to be "blue" - especially in the case of San Jose-Edison Academy.

The West Covina school was named a 2009 Blue Ribbon School, only one out of 25 California public schools to receive the honor. "We are certainly not blue that we're Blue," said Principal Denise Patton.

Receiving national recognition from the U.S. Department of Education has been a honor in the making. The K-8 charter school also received an Academic Performance Index (API) score of 910 for the 2008-09 school year. It has maintained over 800 API points since 2004.

"The theme of this award has been built upon a school that builds upon continuous improvement," said Patton. "It represents that we have had a school community that has worked really hard in educating our students successfully."

The 12-year-old school was one of two San Gabriel Valley schools honored with the Blue Ribbon award this year. The other was Hamilton Elementary School in Pasadena.

"The secret to the success of San Jose-Edison is the staff's relentless focus on quality instruction for students - and that's done through teacher collaboration, professional development, and a focus on student engagement," Patton said.

The Blue Ribbon Schools program awards public and private schools that are academically superior or have dramatically improved student achievement, especially among disadvantaged students.

"Other schools in the district have received the Blue Ribbon, and we're very proud to be next to them," Patton said. San Jose-Edison will join other West Covina Unified School District Blue Ribbon Schools: California Elementary School in 2003, Merced Elementary School in 2003 and Vine Elementary School in 2008.

"We're very excited San Jose got it this year," said Liliam Leis-Castillo, WCUSD superintendent. The district aims to earn federal or state recognition for at least one of its schools each year, said Leis-Castillo.

"Every year is a new year for pushing our students forward," Patton said. San Jose-Edison will be honored at the Blue Ribbon Schools awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., in November.

stacey.wang@sgvn.com (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2303

Teacher of the year at San Jose-Edison Academy, Elizabeth Bradbury, in her fourth-grade classroom in West Covina on Friday, Sept. 25. The academy was one of two San Gabriel Valley schools receiving the 2009 Blue Ribbon Award.
(Photo by William Hallstrom / Correspondent)

Progress reports for Junior Academy Students (Grades 6-8) have been mailed home. Progress Reports for students in Grades 1-5 will be sent home today. Please take a moment to read the important mailer that accompanied your child's progress report or you can also read it here.

SJEA extends a warm welcome to two new staff members Mrs. Patterson and Mrs. Spickler. Mrs. Patterson has been a familiar face on campus for the past few years often serving as a substitute teacher. Some of you may remember Mrs. Spickler who was a member of our teaching staff at our old site ... she always said she'd be back and she has kept her promise! We welcome you both to our SJEA family!

SJEA students must be accompanied by a parent in order to attend Movie Night. For the safety of your children, students are not allowed to be dropped off to attend on their own. Those students found on campus without a parent or guardian will be asked to call home, and will need to be picked up. Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

IC Parent accounts are now available to parents with students in Grades K-2. Please see the school calendar for account distribution times. Please note that accounts must be picked up in person, and photo ID is required. For those parents that already have an account, but cannot view information for their child in grades K-2, please email Ms. Palos so that your student can be added to your account.

On September 15th, the 2009 National Blue Ribbon Schools were announced by Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education. San Jose-Edison Academy was named 1 of 25 schools in California to receive this highly prestigious national honor. The 314 named schools across the nation will be honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on November 3 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. For the past 27 years, more than 6,150 of America's schools have received this coveted award.

Read the press release by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell.

• Mrs. Fish's Webpage
• Mrs. Pate's Webpage
• Ms. Tackaberry's Webpage
• Mrs. Velasco's Webpage
• Mr. Bassett's Webpage
• After School Sports Webpage - Mr. Orozco
• JA Writing Blog - Mrs. Peña and Mrs. Schreck

REMINDER: At no time should students walk into the school neighborhood if their
‘ride home’ is not already there waiting for them. Please do not have your students wait in front of our neighbors' homes to be picked up from school, not only is this dangerous for your child, but we have also received several complaints from neighbors stating that students are being left to wait for an extended amount of time after dismissal. Students have also left trash in yards and have caused damage to some of our neighbors' property. Please note that school staff will be conducting neighborhood sweeps, and students that are found waiting in front of homes will be instructed to return to our After school Daycare. Your full cooperation with this policy is greatly appreciated!

• Read his speech here
• Get all the information to engage with the speech here

_•

For parents with students in grades 3-8

_
_

• Distribution hours are Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday from 8 to 9 am and 3 to 4pm in room 406.
• Parents who are unable to make it during these times can email Ms. Palos to make an appointment.
• Please note: accounts must be picked up by parent or legal guardian in person, and proof of ID is required.

_
_

• Starting August, 25, accounts can be picked up in room 406 from 8 to 9 am, and from 3 to 4 pm, Tuesday thru Thursday. This schedule will run through September 3rd for the time being. Additional distribution dates will be announced shortly.
• Parents who cannot make it during these times can email Ms. Palos to make an appointment.
• Before Back to School night. September 2nd, from 5 to 5:50 p.m. Back to school night will begin in classrooms at 6 p.m. promptly.
• Please note: accounts must be picked up by parent or legal guardian in person, and proof of ID is required.

_
_

• First round of distribution for these grade levels will begin on Back to School night, August 27th from 5 to 5:50 p.m. Back to school night will begin in classrooms at 6 pm promptly.
• Starting September 1st, accounts can be picked up in room 406 from 8 to 9 am, and from 3 to 4 pm. Tuesday thru Thursday. This schedule will run through September 3rd for the time being. Additional distribution dates will be announced shortly.
• Parents who cannot make it during these times can email Ms. Palos to make an appointment.
• Please note: accounts must be picked up by parent or legal guardian in person, and proof of ID is required.

_
_

• Account distribution will be announced at a later time. Parents who have older student in grades 3-8 will be able to view their K-2 child's info using the same account.

* 8.11.2009 - Please note changes to the 3rd grade lists. We apologize in advance for inconvenience.