“I don’t understand what in the world the teachers want me to buy!”  “I can’t imagine why my child’s supplies seem to disappear ‘overnight’ from the backpack!” “I’m tired of last minute requests for material during the school year!” “You need it when?!?” “I don’t want to face those frustrating back-to-school check-out lines again!” “You need another glue stick!?!” “I went to 3 stores to find everything on the list and then the teacher added one more item!” “I don’t have time to go to the store tonight!” “Do you know how much I’ve already spent at Staples this month?!?”

Sound familiar? These quotes pretty much sum up the parents’ sentiments voiced over the years, and it’s not just at back-to-school time.  As fellow parents, we know the frustration continues month after month, from September to June, so we have a solution beginning with the 2010-11 school term.

A year ago we tried to address the Elementary French ‘cahier’ problem by charging a grade-specific “Cahier fee” at enrollment time which allowed us to supply elementary students with the mandatory notebooks and novels before school started and to replenish them throughout the school year as needed without parents having to worry about it all as they had in previous years.  Selling cahiers is definitely not our business – it is just a way to ensure that teachers and students have what they need in a timely manner to provide and benefit from LILA’s curriculum. The point is that the students and teachers do not suffer ‘down-time’ because of a lack of notebooks or appropriate novels at the same time. Teachers are happy and although the vast majority of parents appreciated the re-timing of the cahier expense and thought it was a wonderful solution, they also felt we hadn’t gone far enough to alleviate the whole process.

So, for 2010-11 we will finish the job and tackle the supplies debacle in a similar fashion.

The Materials Fee introduced to Elementary parents last year will be increased so LILA can cover the majority of supplies that your child will need year-long. This should not represent an additional expense for parents – we are just taking the ongoing headache away. The Materials Fee will be automatically added to enrollment agreements and can be paid with tuition through the SMART plan.  Beginning with the 2010-11 school year, elementary teachers will not ask parents to buy classroom supplies related to the everyday curriculum before or during the school year…ever; instead they will ask the campus administration for all material. The types of supplies covered by this fee are those that will be used in the classroom, and include: cahiers, novels, binders, glue sticks, sheet protectors, dry erase boards and erasers, pocket folders, markers, colored pencils, paints and brushes, dividers, index cards, rulers, dictionaries, cooking supplies and ingredients, glitter, and notebook paper.

Of course we do not want to completely remove each child’s individual personality from the process. Parents will still provide the standard pencil case (trusse) with such personal items as pencils, pens, erasers, and scissors. Books, novels, binders and cahiers may go home, but classroom supplies will not. It goes without saying, but students should already have their own basic supplies at home to do homework year after year.  A well-stocked homework center would include: markers, colored pencils, sharpener, ruler, compass and other math tools, dictionary, etc.

The Materials Fee will not cover items unrelated to the everyday curriculum. Examples of items not included are: field trips, testing, special events or costumes (i.e., Halloween, graduation, parties, Winterfest, Francophonie, etc.), yearbook, school pictures, lunch, uniforms, USB keys, transportation, etc.

The Materials Fee applies to all Preschool to 5^th grade students. If you have specific questions about what is covered by the $150 Materials Fee, please do not hesitate to ask your campus director.

I think my favorite blog entries are the ones that celebrate our students’ success stories…  today’s story is particularly inspiring as I feel it embodies everything that LILA is.

LIL(A) Me(ntors)  a.k.a. Project LIL’ Me is a volunteer program for and by Lycée International de Los Angeles students, designed by LILA 11^th grader, Madeleine Planeix-Crocker

Last month, 11^th grade French Baccalauréat student Madeleine Planeix-Crocker met with Los Feliz director Philippe Vanhille and myself to pitch a wonderful project: she wanted to start a mentorship program at LILA in which High School students would pair up with Middle School students to help them succeed.

The project seemed ambitious and inspired.  Presenting her project, Madeleine explained that her goals were to:

• develop school spirit and stress LILA’s identity as a K-12 school
• support teachers in their work
• allow younger children to have an on-campus ‘big brother/big sister’
• develop confidence and responsibility in high school students
• build excitement around learning!

Basically, Madeleine planned to get 9^th through 12^th grade students to sign up on a volunteer basis to act as a big brother/big sister to a LILA 6^th through 8^th grade student.  They would interact with their little brother/little sister during recess and lunch times.  The commitment was to be one year long.

With a few kind words of encouragement given at the initial meeting, Madeleine was off to talk, coach and inspire her fellow ‘highschoolers’.

By early November, Madeleine had her band of dedicated and amazing student volunteers together… she wrote to them all to confirm their induction into this pioneer endeavor… they all received her email with the Lil’ Me mission statement and guidelines:

“Congratulations, you are officially LILA Big Sisters and Big Brothers! 

This is an exciting commitment that you are taking on.  It means being prompt, caring, wise, and kind with your "sibling".  You should plan to have lunch once a week with your little sister/brother to talk.  It is your duty to help, listen, and give advice to your "sibling" concerning organization, schoolwork, study habits, and also class conduct (with teachers and classmates).  You are there to provide emotional and moral support: you have all gone through those middle school years, so you are able to bring judicious advice to the table.  This program was designed with no after school obligations.”  

On November 23^rd, 2009, seventeen “middle schoolers” were paired up with high school Big Sisters and Brothers.  The picture below commemorates their first week in the program.

Bravo Madeleine, you have done a very important thing… you have made our school a better place in a very big way… may your program grow and prosper… for we will all gain in the process!

If you are looking for an alternative to paying for your child(ren)’s fees without having to come to the Main Office with a checkbook, our new online fee payment service is for you!

All parents are now able to pay school fees, eliminate lost checks, and make purchases 24 hours a day through our new Online Parent Center in 4 easy steps:

1)  Log in to the Parent Center at:  www.CashlessSchools.com

2)  Register by selecting the “Sign Up Now” button and follow the instructions.

3)  Review the fees that have been posted to your child(ren)’s account and add items to your

shopping cart.  You are able to do this whether you have one child at Los Feliz or two or more children on multiple campuses.

4)  When you check-out, the system will provide a total amount and you will be able to pay

electronically with money from your bank account (as an eCheck).  Credit card payments are not available via Cashless Campus at this time.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your campus directly for more information!