John Muir Elementary School Parent Newsletter
April 2017
Monthly Edition
Volume 2, Issue 6
PTA President- Bethany Harrington
Foundation President - Anahit Mouradian
John Muir Elementary
Foundation’s Message
Contents
JMEF’s Message
1
Letters
1
Letters continued…
2
PE Coach Forbes
2
PE Assistant Coach Nuñez
2
Principal’s Message
3
Palmieri Parent Info Night
3
5th Grade Science Fair
3
Muir Parent Survey
4
GUSD Parent Culture Survey 4
Construction Corner
4
Upcoming
Events

Construction Update w/
Mr. Barrios at PTA Mtg.
4/4 6:00pm

6th Grade Camp
4/12-4/14

School Site Council Mtg.
4/13 6:00-7:00pm

Parent Info Night w/
Roosevelt M.S. 4/18
6:00pm

Coffee with the
Principal 4/20 8:15am

Palmieri Parent Night
(New Zealand Research)
4/20 6-7:30pm

No School (Student Free
Day) 4/24
Parents,
On May 5th, the Foundation will hold our
Annual Spring Fling event. This is our key
fundraising event of the year. Each class has
a theme to create gift baskets for the Silent
Auction along with many great prizes that
will be raffled.
Volunteers are always needed to help make
this event successful. You can volunteer to
help wrap the gift baskets, set up the event
the night before, sell raffle tickets and
more. If you would like to volunteer for the
Spring Fling event, please email us at
[email protected].
Foundation Spring Fling Event –
Fri. May 5 6:15PM – 8:30PM
Letters
On March 15, our PTA brought students an
amazing assembly from Donzaleigh
Abernathy, the youngest daughter of Dr.
Ralph Abernathy who co-founded 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. Here are some
letters of gratitude for the knowledge and
light imparted to our Muir children.
Letter from Tiffany, 4th Grader
Dear Ms. Donazaleigh Abernathy,
I’m a 4th grade student who attended the
assembly today and I just want to thank you
for taking your time and coming to our
school. It is so cool to meet Ralph D.
Abernathy’s daughter in person. It is really
interesting to know that Martin Luther King
Jr. and Ralph D. Abernathy worked together
so that everybody can have the chance to be
together even if their skin color was
different. If it wasn’t for them, my mom
Silent auction and raffle prizes:
•Themed gift baskets from each class
•Theme park tickets – Universal Studios,
Raging Waters, Knott’s & more
•Destination Science – 1 week summer
camp
•And more!
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
and dad would be separated. Again,
thank you!!
Love,
Tiffany
Letter from Giselle, 4th Grader
Dear Ms. Donzaleigh Abernathy,
I am a fourth grader who attended the
assembly. I was the girl with purple
hair who asked if you felt confidence
while fighting for the right to vote.
Me, personally, I think you are
amazing because you knew Martin
Luther King Jr. as a friend and uncle.
Another thing is because you stood up
to White people. As a Latina I
applaud you for proving with all these
people that all races deserve the right
to vote. I also think that you are
inspirational and a hero because you
are showing that everybody is the
same because we are all people no
matter if you are a different color.
We are all perfect in our own way!
Sincerely,
Giselle
People of all colors and races are
perfect in their own way. Be who you
want to be!
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ParentNewsletter
Newsletter
Parent
Letters continued…
Letter from Kaci Patterson
Donzaleigh Abernathy speaking to
Muir students about the Civil
Rights Movement
For me -- As a parent, we want our kids to
not just learn about history but to see
themselves in the stories of others, to see
themselves as history-makers and
contributors to society; to understand that
whatever their talents, they can be used for
a greater good, to serve a higher purpose;
and to know that nothing worth doing or
having comes easy or without great personal
sacrifice. In one assembly, our students had
a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn all
of these lessons from Ms. Abernathy and the
stories she shared about her father, Rev.
Abernathy and Dr. King whom she
affectionately calls "Uncle Martin".
-Kaci Patterson
Letter from Bethany Harrington
Being a part of bringing this assembly to our
school is the thing I am most proud of.
Of all the things I've been a part of in PTA
and everything else, I feel like this was the
most important so far. I figured if I was able
to help one child - ONE - connect to
something Ms. Abernathy said or presented,
that I would have done something GOOD.
Like Important Good, you know what I mean?
And by now, I have heard from DOZENS of
kids and almost as many grownups telling
me how amazing this assembly was.
I'm gonna take this moment and be proud.
Being PTA President has been difficult for
me and I really, really appreciate the shout
out.
My favorite quote these days, attributed to
Rev. Abernathy but I think it was said
before...
'If not you, who? If not now, when?'
Love you guys.
Bethany Harrington
Letter from Hannah Halliwell
I just wanted to extend the most deeply
felt public gratitude to Kaci Patterson and
Bethany for bringing Mrs. Abernathy to our
little school today. It was an experience
unlike any other for my boys. Thank you,
ladies for helping to bring life to the most
important lessons our young people can
learn. I am so proud to stand with you as
we uphold the values of our community.
With love,
Hannah Halliwell
Meet Muir’s New PE Coach Derrick Forbes
A little bit about my career:
Muir’s New PE Coach,
Derrick Forbes
After graduating from Sonoma State
University with a degree in Kinesiology, I
began teaching and coaching numerous
subjects and sports. High school Anatomy &
Physiology, Physical Science and P.E. were
among my first teaching jobs. At the high
school level, I enjoyed coaching basketball,
track, and weight lifting to high school and
middle school students/athletes.
Prior to arriving at GUSD, I worked on staff
at UC Irvine as a staff research associate on
a 4-year, clinical research study on 6thgrade PE students. Throughout the research
study, we were able to discover many ideas
and strategies that would help make PE
more effective to keep kid's active and fit.
Working with the students at Muir, I can see
that they have a desire to be active and fit.
I am pleased with the effort and the
improvements that students are showing in
various areas of physical fitness. It is the PE
department's goal to encourage students to
be fit for a lifetime. So far, the Muir
Mustangs look like they are on right on track
to becoming life-long, fitness participants.
Go Mustangs!!
Meet Muir’s New Assistant PE Coach Christian Nuñez
Hello there, my name is Christian Nuñez and
I am the Physical Education Assistant at John
Muir Elementary School. I am currently in
the process of becoming a Police Officer.
Muir’s New Assistant PE Coach,
Christian Nuñez
In my free time, I volunteer my services to
help feed the homeless and coach youth
sports at North Hills to get them away from
the streets. I have been working at Glendale
Unified School District for the past eight
years and I love every second of it.
This is my first year at John Muir Elementary
and it has been great. I really enjoy teaching
Physical Education to the upper grades at
this school because the kids are super funny,
kind, and awesome.
Lastly, the staff at John Muir Elementary
have welcomed us with open arms, and have
been very supportive in what we do.
I feel really appreciated and it has been a
blessing to work with them. Most
importantly, my main goal is to keep
motivating kids to live a healthy lifestyle.
Parent
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Principal’s Message
Dear parents,
The following are some highlights from
recent events at Muir:
Friday, March 3rd, students in our
Robotics Club participated in the
Robotics Tournament and won 2nd place
for both Robot Design and Robotic
Performance! Our students also won 3rd
place for the STEM project which was a
powerpoint as to how robots apply to
real life situations!
Muir students also won a championship
trophy for 2nd place in Overall
Performance! Way to go Muir Mustangs!
Thank you, Mr. Gonzalez, Miss. Huleis
and Mr. Dermegerdichian for your
guidance and support!
On Thursday, March 2nd, students and
their families were invited to come to
school dressed in pajamas with their
favorite blanket to hear special guests
read their favorite stories. Milk and
cookies were served and every student
went home with a book to add to their
home library which was part of the
(Reading Is Fundamental) RIF grant.
On March 16, Teresa Pedras, Education
Advisor to Consulate General of Spain,
enjoyed her visit at John Muir
Elementary School. She interacted with
students and asked them about their
learning.
Muir Robotics Team Won 2nd
Place Overall at the District
Level Competition
Bravo Muir Mustangs!
Who’s Awesome? You’re
Awesome!
Mrs. Shahijanian
Principal
Parent Bilingualism Info Night with Maestra Palmieri
Please join us on April 20th from
6:00pm-7:30pm in the John Muir
Elementary School auditorium, where
Maestra Palmieri, fifth grade Spanish
dual language immersion teacher and
co-founding teacher of the Spanish
dual language immersion program at
John Muir Elementary School, will be
sharing her Fulbright Distinguished
Award in Teaching (New Zealand)
research on the cultural practices in
dual language immersion programs.
The presentation is called, "How do we
let children 'in on' their own
bilingualism?" This presentation is
suitable for any parent who is raising a
child in a bilingual home, a bilingual
academic school program, or any
parent that is interested in ensuring
the bilingualism of their
child/children.
Maestra Palmieri has shared her
research at La Cosecha, the largest dual
language immersion conference in the
United States, and will be sharing her
research on April 8th, 2017 at the UCLA
Open Door Series.
Please join us that night for a wonderful
time of learning, sharing, and getting
together as a community. We would
love to have you! There will be
translations in Spanish and in Armenian
for all parents. We look forward to
seeing you all there!
Milk, cookies, books and
storytelling at Pajamarama!
A friendly visit with FLAG
students from, Teresa Pedras,
the Spanish Education Advisor
to Consulate General of Spain
John Muir 5th Grade Science Fair
Miss Huleis' 5th grade students used
critical thinking skills to conduct their
own Science Experiments for John
Muir’s 5th grade Science Fair!
Students were very excited to showcase
their work in the cafeteria.
From each class 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place
winners were chosen by judges on how
well they carried out the scientific
method process for their test.
Each project was uniquely
designed, and all students showed
great effort.
Way to go 5th graders!
Miss Huleis Showcases
5th Grade
Science Experiments at the
Muir Science Fair
John Muir 2016-17 Parent Survey-Due Friday, April 7
One of our goals at John Muir is to create a
safe and secure environment in which we all
work together so our students can grow,
develop and thrive. Your feedback and
opinions are an essential part of this
process.
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
There is no right or wrong answer! If you
have any suggestions or ideas that might
improve the environment at John Muir
Elementary School, please let us know.
Please only complete one survey per family.
Click on the following link to complete the
online survey.
http://bit.ly/2mQBgdc
All responses are confidential.
Thank you for your participation.
GUSD Parent Culture Survey-Due Friday, April 7
Dear Parents,
We invite you to participate in our GUSD
Parent Culture Survey and share your
thoughts about safety, academics, and
culture at our schools! Your answers will
help your principal and the leaders in our
school district make our schools better for
every student.
Please complete a separate survey for each
child you have enrolled in GUSD schools. The
survey should take about 10 minutes to
complete. Please be honest with your
answers, this survey is anonymous.
You may also click on the following link to
begin the survey in English.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2017Par
entCultureSurvey or by visiting
www.gusd.net.
Paper versions of the survey are also
available in your school’s office in English,
Armenian,
Korean, and Spanish.
Please complete the survey by Friday, April
7. We look forward to hearing your
feedback!
Mr. Winfred B. Roberson, Jr.
Superintendent
Construction Corner
Muir Elementary School – ORG
Muir Elementary School’s
New Construction
is 65% Complete!
*Parent Construction Update Meeting with
Tony Barrios at PTA meeting: Tuesday,
April 4 at 6:00pm in the cafetorium.
Construction Start Date: June 20, 2016
Projected Occupancy Date: August 1, 2017
Current Percentage Complete: 65%
Project Description
New Overcrowding Relief Grant Project
consists of a new 2 story classroom building
consisting of 10 new classrooms and support
services room (restrooms, janitor’s room
etc.…) that is intended to replace the
current bungalows on campus. The project
when completed will provide a permanent
facility for the students of the area and add
valuable learning facilities to the current
campus.
Project Status
Our current project status has the principal
structure complete. Building exterior lathe
and paper has started in preparation for
plaster in April. Metal stud framing is 90%
complete along with utilities (electrical,
plumbing, HVAC and fire sprinkler); rough-in
roof installation has begun with expected
completion in April.
The project is currently on schedule despite
weather impact earlier in the year. Site
summer project scope consisting of interim
housing removal is being scheduled to
facilitate site work upon the end of the
school year.
Mrs. Shahijanian has been gathering input
and feedback from the staff related to
classroom moves which will be taken into
consideration.