John Muir Elementary School Parent Newsletter
March 2017
Monthly Edition
Volume 2, Issue 5
PTA President- Bethany Harrington
Foundation President - Anahit Mouradian
John Muir Elementary
Foundation’s Message
Parents,
Contents
JMEF’s Message
1
PTA News
1
Pajama-Rama
2
Reminders and Updates
2
Wilson Open House/Festival
2
Principal’s Message
3
Construction Corner
3
SRTS Improvement Project
4
Star Nova Classes at Muir
4
Upcoming
Events

Pajama-Rama
3/2 6-7:30pm


Minimum Day 3/3

Report Cards Go Home
3/9

Daylight Savings Time
3/12

Coffee with the
Principal 3/14 8:15am

Chipotle Night
3/16 2-9:00pm

No School (Spring
Break) 3/20-3/24

No School(Professional
Development Day) 3/27

Spring Picture Day 3/30
Muir Construction Mtg.
3/8 6:00pm
The Foundation would like to thank all
the families that attended our Chuck E.
Cheese night! We had a great turnout
with lines out the door to get in. We
are still waiting to get the final total for
funds raised and will update you as soon
as we have it.
Our next event will be at Chipotle on
Thursday, March 16. Please note that
this is a date change from February’s
newsletter. For our Chipotle event, we
will receive 50% of purchases. More
information will be sent home in March
with all the details.
Finally, May 5 will be our big Spring
Festival event with silent auction for
great gift baskets created by each class
and fantastic raffle prizes. If you would
like to volunteer for the Spring event,
please email us at
[email protected].
Foundation Event Nights
Thur. March 16 Chipotle 132 N
Glendale Ave. Glendale
Fri. May 5 Foundation Spring
Festival – Silent auction and raffle
Please visit our website at
www.muirfoundation.com. If you
would like to join the Foundation or
volunteer at events, please email us
at [email protected].
LIKE and FOLLOW us Facebook page
to see our music program in action
and get the latest on what the
Foundation is up to.
-JMEF
PTA News
This month, PTA will be bringing our
students an amazing assembly from
Donzaleigh Abernathy, the youngest
daughter of Dr. Ralph Abernathy who cofounded the Civil Rights Movement alongside
his good friend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In
1955, Dr. Abernathy collaborated with King
to create the Montgomery Improvement
Association, which would lead to the
Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Ms. Abernathy and her siblings alongside the
children of Dr. King helped to integrate
Spring Street Elementary School and were
witness to many of the significant Civil
Rights movement events. We are so grateful
and pleased to welcome Ms. Abernathy to
John Muir and look forward to the
knowledge and light she can impart upon our
children.
This assembly will be on March 15th,
for all students.
The Glendale Council PTA will be
hosting a candidate forum for the
School Board Candidates on March 8,
from 6:30pm-8:30pm in the GUSD
Board Room. Parents are welcome to
attend.
Thank you for supporting our PTA and
the children at John Muir! Thanks to
all who were able to attend our
Founders night event and the winners
and participants of this year's
Reflections contest! Special
congratulations to Matisse Anderson
for winning second place at the First
District PTA! Join us in April to honor
Matisse and watch her winning piece
of choreography!
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ParentNewsletter
Newsletter
Parent
Pajama-Rama
Pajama Rama is Thursday, March 2,
from 6:00 - 7:30pm.
community members and to enjoy
cookies and milk in our cafeteria.
Please bring the family to take part in
this wonderful Muir tradition!
Before you go home, each student will
be able to choose one book to take
home and keep from a wide variety on
display.
Students and their families are invited
to come to school dressed in pajamas
with their favorite blanket or furry
friend to hear stories read aloud by
Pajama-Rama
Hope to see you there!
Students must be accompanied by an
adult!
Reminders and Student Updates
The following are some important reminders
and updates:
Friday, March 3rd will be minimum day
(report card preparation day for teachers).
Dismissal will be as follows:
Dr. Mason, Principal at Roosevelt, will be a
guest speaker at Coffee with the Principal
on March 14 at 8:15am in the cafetorium.
Smile! It is spring picture day and free
dress day on Thursday, March 30!
TK/K will dismiss at 12:05pm
For parents of 6th grade students, the
upcoming middle school open house dates
1st-3rd grade classes will dismiss at 12:10pm are as follows:
4th-6th grade classes will dismiss at 12:20pm March 2nd Toll 6:30pm
The Robotics and GATE clubs are busy
preparing for the district-wide 9th annual
robotics tournament to be held on March 3
at Roosevelt Middle School.
Standards Based
Report Card Time
Muir Elementary Overcrowding Relief
Grant Construction Update Meeting on
Wednesday, March 8 at 6pm in the
cafetorium.
Report cards go home on Thursday, March
9th.
March 2nd Rosemont 6:30-7:30pm
March 9th Wilson, 5:15-8:00pm
March 30th Roosevelt, 6:00-8:00pm
The John Muir Career Day will be on
Tuesday, May 15. If any parents would like
to participate by talking to the kids about
their careers, please contact Mr. DerMegerdichian at
[email protected] for more
details.
Wilson Open House & Arts Festival
Wilson Middle School invites 5th and 6th
grade students and parents to attend
their Open House and Arts Festival on
Thursday evening, March 9th.
Wilson Open House & Arts Festival
Start in the Auditorium at 5:00 pm to
see the various performing arts
electives in action including
instrumental music, choir, drama, stage
band, and others.
A food truck will be serving food along
with the advanced Foods class from 5:00
to 7:00 pm.
Starting at 6:00 pm, visit classrooms to
check out all the elective offerings and
meet some of the teachers.
At 7:15 pm, Dr. Coulter will have a
presentation in the auditorium for
incoming parents to share information
about Wilson and the registration
process.
Come experience Wilson for yourself
and see all they have to offer.
Parent
Parent Newsletter
Newsletter
Page
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Principal’s Message
Dear parents/guardians,
Our goal is to ensure the learning and
progress of every student. To meet the
needs of all John Muir students,
teachers use various strategies and core
materials to teach effectively in the
classroom. However, some students
need additional academic support in
order to be successful. At Muir we have
the following interventions available
for the students:
•Response To Intervention (RTI) which
is designed to offer academic support in
the area of language arts, 30 minutes a
day, to students who need it during the
regular day.
•After school academic intervention
offered by teachers in the area of
language arts and math.
•Spanish language intervention for
students who are in the Spanish Dual
Immersion Program. This intervention
is available to students during the
academic day.
Parents’ support is always critical to
ensure the progress of our students.
Additional News:
•As you may know, for many years our
school has hosted the Davidian &
Mariamian (D & M) Educational
Foundation program classes. The D & M
Foundation provides after-school classes
in many public schools in Glendale,
Burbank and Los Angeles. The focus of
the D & M Foundation is to teach the
Armenian language and the heritage to
participating students. This year, the D
& M Educational Foundation has
recognized John Muir Elementary
School with the School of The Year
Award.
•Authors and Illustrators visited John
Muir Elementary School on February
8. This program is supported by the
Assistance League of Glendale. After
visiting classrooms and reading to
students, at the end of the day, authors
and illustrators met in the cafeteria
where they signed purchased copies of
their books. The Assistance League
donated $1,000 to the school's library.
Davidian & Mariamian
Educational Foundation
recognizes
John Muir Elementary School
with the
School of the Year Award!
•On February 10th John Muir parents
were invited to hear Officer Joe Allen
from the Glendale Police Department
speak about internet safety and cyber
bullying. Afterwards, Officer Allen
spoke to 5th and 6th grade students
about using the internet safely and
The Assistance League Donates $1,000
responsibly.
to Muir’s School Library
Mrs. Juanita Shahijanian
Principal
Construction Corner
Muir Elementary School – ORG
*Construction Update Meeting for Muir
Parents: Wednesday, March 8 at 6pm in
the cafetorium.
new building is intended to replace the
current bungalows on campus. The project,
when completed, will provide a permeant
facility for students and add valuable
support facilities to the current campus.
Construction Start Date: June 20, 2016
Project Status
Projected Occupancy Date: August 1, 2017
The structural steel is in place and framing
is in progress on the first and second floors.
The installation of fire sprinklers,
mechanical ductwork, plumbing, and
electrical is in progress and will be ongoing.
Weather permitting, the roof installation is
projected for late-February/early-March,
which will allow work to progress without
regard for weather moving forward.
Current Percentage Complete: 55%
Project Description
What is the Overcrowding Relief (ORG)
Program? This is a State program that
provides 50% funding to enable districts to
reduce the number of portable classrooms
on overcrowded school sites and replace
them with permanent facilities. The ORG
project at Muir Elementary consists of a
new, 2-story classroom building consisting of
10 new classrooms and support services
rooms (restrooms, janitors room, etc.). The
This project is currently 2-3 weeks behind
schedule due to the recent rain. The
contractor is attempting to mitigate delays
and minimize overall impact, and will
continue to do so where practical.
Officer Joe Allen from
Glendale Police Department
Speaks About Internet Safety
and Cyber Bullying
Safe Routes to School Improvement Project
Join Public Works Engineering staff for a
Community Informational Meeting regarding
the Safe Routes to School (SRTS)
Improvements Projects.
Project Limits: Chevy Chase Drive between
Glendale Avenue and Acacia Avenue
John Muir Elementary School
912 Chevy Chase Drive
Glendale, CA 91205
Phone:
(818) 241-4848
Fax:
(818) 241-1058
Editor:
Karen Eshed
[email protected]
Kids do better when parents
are involved. Grades are
higher. Test scores improve.
Attendance increases.
-www.pta.org
We’re on the Web!
www.johnmuirelementary.net
Wednesday, March 22, 2017 @ 6:30p.m.
City of Glendale, Municipal Services
Building, 633 E. Broadway, Room 106,
Glendale, 91206
The purpose of this meeting is to outline the
reason for the project, describe potential
impacts, present the project timeline and
respond to project-related questions. The
Project updates, including a location map,
will be posted at
www.glendalepwprojects.com under
“Upcoming Projects”.
Questions regarding the projects, please
contact the Project Manager, Jasmina Zigic,
at 818-549-3945 or at [email protected]
Contact us at least five days in advance of
the meeting if you need disability
accommodations at the community meeting.
Star Nova Classes at Muir
Starting January 31-March 28 Star Nova will
be offering the following classes at Muir:
Culinary Arts: Healthy Holiday Seasonal
Winter Delights
Tuesdays
2:30pm-3:30pm (K-5)
3:30pm-4:30pm (K-5)
Fee: $160
Mission to Mars: Engineering to Live on Mars!
Tuesdays
2:30pm-3:30pm (K-5)
3:30pm-4:30pm (K-5)
Fee: $144
John Muir Elementary School
912 Chevy Chase Drive
Glendale, CA 91205
construction is anticipated to begin Summer
2018.
Scholarships are offered and you get a free
trial class! To register online go to
http://johnmuir.star inc.org.
If you have any questions or suggestions of
classes for the future, you may contact the
Star Nova Director, Stella Sargsyan at 310892-6155 and at [email protected].