Mark you calendar for Tuesday, February 26, 2013.  Solano Avenue Elementary School will be hosting our annual Open House on this day.  This is a wonderful opportunity for parents, grandparents, siblings, and community members to visit classrooms and see what students have been learning.  Classrooms will feature displays of student work.  Open House will take place from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.  PTA is working on bringing the taco truck on site beginning at 5:00 p.m. for taco dinners so plan on coming for dinner and to visit classrooms.

Please join us on Friday, February 22, 2013 at noon for the Solano Annual Lunar New Year Luncheon.  This wonderful tradition combines the celebrating the New Year with an opportunity for teachers and parents to get to know one another a little better.  The cost of the luncheon is $8.00  We hope to see a big crowd.  Gung Hay Fat Choy!

It has now become even easier to manage your child's cafeteria account.  You may now check the balance and add money on line, all you have to do is register at http://www.mypaymentsplus.com/default.aspx and you are set to go.  In order to register you will need your child's district identification number.  To obtain this number call the Solano cafeteria manager, Connie Chacon, at (323) 222-4414.  Several parents have already registered and have expressed how happy they are with this new program.  Give Connie a call, register your child, and start enjoying the technological benefits of the 21st century!

Mrs. Schwarz and our fifth grade class ( along with a few gentlemen from fourth grade) have been working very hard and having a lot of fun at the same time. Thanks to a generous donation from the ...more

Have you noticed students, teachers, and even Mr. B. running and/or walking around the playground whenever they have a few extra minutes like during recess and lunch? Have you been wondering what ...more

On Monday, February 4, 2013 our fourth graders will be taking the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This test is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of ...more

It's official, Solano's API (Academic Performance Index) score for 2012 remained at 922.  I am very pleased and proud of our students' and teachers' efforts.  While we continue to maintain a very high API, we did not meet all of the targets for our AYP (Annual Yearly Progress) and therefore will be placed on a Program Improvement watch list.  Specifically, our Hispanic or Latino subgroup was not able to reach the English Language Arts target, set by the state, of 78.4% of subgroup students scoring proficient or advanced on the CST.  My staff and I are reviewing data, discussing the implications, and strategizing ways in which we can address the issues we feel may have contributed to missing the goal.  I am happy to meet with anyone having questions about our score or our plan for improvement. Please feel free to contact me or schedule an appointment with the school secretary.

Dear Parents, Students, Teachers, and Community Members,

I just discovered that my fall message was never posted.  It seems I forgot to hit the "publish" button.  All this time I thought I had a current message under the Principal's Postings link and lo and behold, it was the spring message from last year.  Please accept my sincere apology and check out the current message under Principal's Postings.

Sincerely,

Mr. B.

Solano is pleased to welcome Ms. Lucia Garibay to our school.  Ms. Garibay will be teaching third grade this year in Room 3.  She comes with a wealth of experience and will be a wonderful addition to our staff. 

The Solano family is pleased to welcome Mrs. Di Vuong.  Mrs. Vuong will be teaching second grade in Room 2.  She comes to us from Eagle Rock Elementary School where she taught fifth grade for a number of years.  We are very excited to have Mrs. Vuong join our staff.

Many of us are sitting on pins and needles to find out what our API score is.  Due to some unforeseen complications, the state will not release the score until September.  As soon as we find out, we will let you know.  Come on Solano Scholars let's outdo 922!

Welcome to the 2012-2013 academic year.  We are so excited to begin the new year and look forward to working and learning together.  For those new to Solano School - congratulations on becoming a Solano Scholar.  Remember to believe in yourself, work hard, and get smart.

Congratulations to the Solano School community for earning a fourth Distinguished School Award.  Mr. Bertrand and Mrs. Garcia will be attending an awards ceremony on May 3, 2012 at which time Mr. Bertrand will be presented with the award and a Distinguished School flag.  Watch for the flag flying from the flagpole sometime this month.  Thanks to all who contributed their time and effort to this endeavor.

Mark your calendars now for Math and Science Night.  On Thursday, May 31 Solano teachers will be leading fun investigations into math and science for the whole family.  Begin the evening with a family dinner here at school.  PTA is sponsoring a taco dinner.  A combination plate of 3 tacos, rice and beans will be available for $5.00.  Then from 6:00 to 7:00 enjoy two sessions of math and/or science lessons.  You may get to play some fun math games, make ice cream, dissect owl pellets, build molecules,  or drop an egg out of our second story window.  It will be fun for the whole family.

Children in second through sixth grade will be taking the STAR tests beginning on May 14, 2012.  The tests will be administered over a two week period with make up exams being given up until May 29, 2012.  These tests are very important and help us get a picture of how well students are performing and how well we, as a school, are doing.  Our teachers have been working very hard to prepare students for these tests.  You may do your part as well.  Talk with your children about the test.  Help them to understand that this is their opportunity to show what they know.  Help them to understand that there is no need to be nervous, that they are well prepared to take the tests.  You may also help them by ensuring that they eat a good breakfast before school and get plenty of sleep each night before the test.  If we all work together we will have another successful year of STAR testing.

The Los Angeles Unified School District and  United Teachers Los Angeles have reached and agreement and the last day of school for this year is officially Tuesday, June 19, 2012.  This is three days earlier than had been originally scheduled.  Due to the budget crises facing the district employes have been assigned furlough days which account for the three fewer days.

A great big thanks to all family and friends who supported Solano Avenue Elementary School by donating to our projects through DonorsChooseLA.org!  We have had many projects funded and teachers intend to keep posting more projects on the website.  Anyone and everyone may always make a contribution via DonorsChoose.  Thanks too to the Wasserman Foundation for initiating the LAUSD donation drive.

Thanks to a new partnership between the Waserman Foundation and DonorsChoose.org parents can donate $15.00 to help fund a LAUSD school project.  Solano teachers are in the process of posting their projects on the donorschoose.org website.  Once they are posted parents may use their gift card provided by the Wasserman Foundation to donate to the project of their choice.  So far Miss Koybashi and Miss Garrison have had projects funded.  Thank you parents for donating to these projects!  Watch for additional information from your teachers.

Beginning on October 18, 2011 all students who have not completed and mailed in a School Lunch Application for this school year will be charged the full price for meals.  Even if the child received free or reduced meals last year, you must submit an application each school year.  Applications are available in the main office.

On October 11, 2011 at the CST Awards assembly, Mr. Bertrand made good on his promise and received a Mohawk hair cut from Mr. Escamilla, the parent of a fifth grade Scholar.  Mr. B. then had his hair dyed blue.  Congratulations Scholars on the 922 API!

The Board of Education approved the implementation of an early start calendar for the 2012-2013 school year.  This means next year school will start on August 13, 2012.  Additional information will be provided as we receive it.  Please keep this in mind as you schedule summer vacations.

The Los Angeles Public Library - Youth Services - is promoting free programs that begin this month: the Student Smart programs - which are in partnership with the Princeton Review. These free ...more

Our Solano Scholars have done it! Their awesome scores on the spring California Standards Test have resulted in a 29 point increase in our Academic Performance Index (API) bringing it to an all time high of 922. We are all so proud of our students! We will be having a CST awards assembly in October to recognize our students efforts. In addition, I will be dying my hair blue and getting a mohwak. Never underestimate a Solano Scholar! Keep an eye out for additional information regarding the awards assembly. Congratulations Solano!

There are many new items on the cafeteria menu for both breakfast and lunch.  Please review the menus with your children to determine whether or not they want to eat in the cafeteria.  Children are always welcome to bring a lunch from home.  Please make certain that  you have appropriate funds in your children's accounts.  If a student does not have any money in their account they will be given an alternate lunch from the cafeteria.  Kindergarten students will have a week's grace period before receiving the alternate lunch.  Our office staff is always happy to help a student out when he or she forgets money at home.

It is time to begin another exciting year at Solano School.  We look forward to meeting all of our new Solano Scholars who will be attending our school for the first time, whether they are in kindergarten, sixth grade, or any grade in between.  The teachers and Mr. Bertrand have had a busy summer learning about Treasures, the new reading program we will be using.  We still have some extra copies of the Open Court materials if any parents would like to take some for use at home.  Please see Mr. Bertrand to make arrangements to obtain those materials.  Have a great year Scholars!
 

Congratulations to Solano's first ever PTA executive board members.   The board members are:

Mr. Take Tada - President

Mr. Paul Buckley - 1st Vice President /Membership

Mrs. Veronica Lopez - 2nd Vice President/Ways and Means

Mrs. Yvette Grageda - Secretary

Mr. Michale Prohias - Treasurer

Mrs. Sara Harris - Programs

Mrs. Amanda Harris - Historian

Mrs. Matilde Vera - Parlimentarian

Congratulations to all and please remember to join our PTA!

Thank you to all the early morning volunteers who give of their time to make certain our students arrive safely to school.  These volunteers brave the cold and the rain to open car doors for children and see that they get safely onto the playground.  We truly appreciate all of their efforts.  Thanks too to Ruby, our playground supervision aide, who makes certain the traffic cones and signs are out every morning.