ERCS Newsletter

For student safety, students who have a late start or early release will need to be dropped off or picked up at the main campus. The gate at Santa Ana Canyon will close at the start of the 1st period and will not open until the end of 7th period.Parking Lot Etiquette:

1. There are two lanes in the parking lot. The right lane is for drop-off and the left lane is for those who need to park in the lot.

2. When dropping off please pull all the way forward.

3. At drop off, please do not drop students off in the middle of the parking lot. Either pull up to the curb or pull into a parking stall to drop your student off. The safest option is to drop students at the curb.

4. At pick-up, please do not park in the red zone. This makes it difficult for buses to park and pick-up students.

5. If you would like to avoid the traffic, plan to pick your student up a little later, about 3:05 PM – 3:10 PM, it is so much easier.

6. Please drive SLOWLY!!!!

7. Please follow all traffic laws.

Santa Ana Canyon Drop-Off Area

1. Please pull all the way forward.

2. Do not double park.

3. Avoid blocking the intersection at Fairmont and Santa Ana Canyon.

4. If you would like to avoid the traffic, plan to pick your student up a little later, about 3:05 PM – 3:10 PM, it is so much easier.

We DO NOT recommend picking up students in the Hibachi or Big Lots parking lots. Students should not be in either area after school unsupervised, even on early release Thursdays.

El Rancho offers a hot lunch daily, except for minimum days. Breakfast and lunch will be free of cost for all students this school year. Students will need to have their school ID with them daily so it can be scanned to receive their lunch.Families who would like to participate in the free lunch program need to fill out the free lunch for through OUSD using the link below.

https://family.titank12.com/application/new?identifier=M2348N

Buses depart the school by approximately 3:00 PM each day, and 1:35 PM on Thursdays. After school, students need to go to their designated pick-up spot promptly after school. Please remind students that bus numbers may change, but the pick-up spot remains the same. If they are unsure of which bus to take they should ask an administrator.

Students will take part in our Kindness Assembly on August 23rd. We will have a special schedule. Please see the schedule below for changes.

Travel from class to class to meet your child’s teachers and learn about course expectations and curriculum. Back to School Night will be a staggered start with 8th grade first and then 7th grade. Please see the schedule below.

Did your student miss registration? If yes, make-up picture day is scheduled for Friday, September 23rd during their PE period in the library. Your student may bring a shirt to change into for their photo. Any questions, contact Ms. Garabedian ngarabedian@orangeusd.org.

Any student who missed registration will need to take a picture for their ID card.

Homework Club and Math Academy will begin on Monday, August 22nd from 2:50 PM to 3:50 PM. After-school programs are available Monday-Wednesday each week. Homework Club is held in the library and Math Academy is held in Mr. Danna’s room, 304.Parents will need to provide transportation as there is no late bus.

As we continue to live with COVID-19, it is vital that parents and guardians keep their students home if they are not feeling well. Please report all absences, positive cases, exposures, and illnesses to our attendance office/health office. Please make sure your student does not attend school and is tested if they are experiencing any symptoms associated with COVID-19.

Students and staff who are experiencing the following should not attend school:

• Has tested positive for COVID-19
• Is waiting for COVID-19 test results because you’ve had close contact or have COVID-19 symptoms.
• Has been identified as a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 or has had possible exposure to someone with COVID-19

Is experiencing any symptom(s) of COVID-19 including:

• Fever of 100 degrees or higher

• Headache
• Sore throat
• Muscle or body aches
• Fatigue (tiredness)
• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal pain
• Runny nose, congestion, itchy or red eyes, or chills
• Persistent cough (usually a dry cough)
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Loss of taste or smell

El Rancho has received another shipment of COVID-19 Antigen Testing Kits from the Orange County Department of Education. We have enough for one testing kit per student. If your family would like a testing kit, please contact our Health Clerk, Mrs. D’Agostino vdagostino@orangeusd.org .

OUSD is pleased to continue offering all students COVID-19 testing 4 times a week to all interested at the high school you sign up for. All students are strongly urged to participate in the District COVID-19 testing program. This type of surveillance testing program is recommended by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to mitigate spread of COVID-19 in the school community. The OUSD COVID-19 Testing Program is intended to continue maximizing the good health and safety of our school community.

General information for the student testing events will be shared with you weekly as we receive information from OUSD. Students are encouraged to make an appointment between 2:30pm-5:30pm as to not interfere with instruction. Please keep in mind that when completing the online form to make an appointment, all required fields must be completed to take advantage of this testing opportunity. It is also important that accurate insurance information is provided if applicable.

Participation in testing events is for District students only and is voluntary. As a District approved provider, Living Fit Nation will work with the District to verify the eligibility of

participants prior to the event. This partnership, as part of the OUSD students COVID-19 Testing Program, will further strengthen the health and safety measures established in the Safety and Health-Driven School Reopening Plan. We look forward to your participation!

EVENT TIME: Monday to Thursday

2:30pm – 5:30pm

EVENT LOCATIONS:

Canyon High School: (220 S. Imperial Hwy., Anaheim, CA 92807)

El Modena High: (3920 Spring St., Orange, CA 92869)

Orange High School: (525 N. Shaffer St., Orange, CA 92867)

Villa Park High School: (18042 Taft Ave., Villa Park, CA 92861)

OUSD District Office: (1401 N. Handy St., Orange, CA 92867)

Click Here

El Rancho Charter School is dedicated to supporting its students and staff during these unprecedented times. The site below serves as a means to share school-wide strategies we have in place to support mental health as well as provide resources, suggestions, and tips to help during this difficult time. Although we are apart, we are all in this together.

https://sites.google.com/view/ercsmentalheaalth/home

There will be an informational meeting for after-school soccer on Wednesday, August 24th at nutrition. Students should meet in the PE area.Tryouts will be from August 29th-August 31st from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Parents will need to provide after-school transportation as there is no late bus.

El Rancho has one school-wide fundraiser each year, which is a donation-based fundraiser.

● Donations will be accepted the entire month of August. Donations must be received by August 31st in order to receive a t-shirt, which can be worn on Fridays the entire year!

● Donations can be made in three ways:

• During Registration when you purchase your student’s school Binder (Agenda) and PE lock.

• Online at: https://webstores.activenetwork.com/school-oftware/el_rancho_charter_sc/

(Online donations can be made as early as August 1st and still be counted towards

prizes).

• Directly to Ms. Garabedian in the office starting August 1st. Credit cards, checks, or cash will be accepted. Checks should be payable to El Rancho Charter School.

● For questions regarding the fundraiser or prizes, please contact Ms. Garabedian at

ngarabedian@orangeusd.org or at 714.997.6238.

All donations are tax deductible! The generosity of El Rancho families benefits our school and students in numerous ways! Proceeds from this fundraiser will directly support students through incentives, ASB activities, award ceremonies, and class gifts such as a refillable water station, a new flag pole, updated sound equipment for our music classes, and a presentation screen and sound system for our new gymnasium.

With last year’s donations were able to replace all of the basketball rims and nets, repainted the backboards, resurfaced and striped the basketball courts for our students to enjoy. Thank you in advance for your support! We look forward to an exciting and successful year!

Students will be expected to dress in their uniforms on a daily basis. Uniforms consist of navy bottoms and a polo shirt. PE clothes like track pants, PE shorts, PE shirts, and Dance clothes will only be worn during PE classes.

Uniforms are purchased from American Casual with the El Rancho logo on them. Purchases can be made at Registration or at American Casual’s store.Daily Uniforms include:

• Grey, green, or maroon shirts
• Navy pants, shorts, or skorts
• Sweatshirts, windbreakers, and jackets

Shirts should be tucked in.

Pants need to fit appropriately at the waist and should not “sag”.

No hooded sweatshirts.

Long sleeves are not to be worn under the polo shirt.

Belts are recommended with their pants and shorts.

Failure to comply with the Uniform Policy will result in lunch detention.

PE Uniforms:

• Navy track bottoms or green PE shorts
• Grey PE t-shirt
• Dance students wear black shorts or leggings and a black dance shirt.

Your student’s schedule is primarily based on the options your family selected during enrollment. If your circumstances have changed or your child’s elective choice has changed, we will make changes when possible, before the school year begins. Changes after school starts are very limited.As a reminder, honors placement for 7th grade is based on placement test scores and grades. Students must have both an advanced placement score and a minimum of 3 A’s and 2 B’s(3.6 GPA) over the last 5 trimesters. A list of students who completed the AMC program during the last school year or over the summer was provided by OUSD and will be reflected in class lists.

Honors placement for 8th-grade students is based on grades and teacher recommendation. Students needed both qualifiers to move to honors courses. Teachers considered class participation, performance, critical thinking skills, writing ability, work ethic, and study habits in their recommendations.

For classroom continuity, no schedule changes will be made after Wednesday, August 24, 2022.

The bell schedule for this year will remain the same as last year’s schedule. On Wednesday and Thursday, Tutorial is built in to provide student support during the school day. Thursday will be our early release day to provide time for our staff development and collaboration.

This school year, students will be expected to change into their PE clothes in the locker room.Zero-period students should arrive in their PE clothes and then change into their uniform prior to 1st period. Zero-period PE will begin on Monday, August 22, 2022.

Students will participate in PE four days a week, except for those in Zero-period which is five days a week.

Students who intend to use the bus for transportation to and/or from school will need to purchase a bus pass through Orange Unified Schoool District.Bus Pass Information

During the 2022-2023 school year, all visitors must come to the office through the main doors to sign in. Parents dropping off “forgotten items” or lunches will also drop off items at the main office cubbies, not the Attendance office.

The Attendance office should only be used for signing in late students and picking up students early from school.

Mrs. Cannon, our Attendance Clerk, appreciates your phone call if your child has to miss school. Please call the Attendance Hotline 714-628-5427 on the day of your student’s absence.Please check Google Classroom for work missed up to 3 days.

Students who have a planned absence that is more than 3 days should pick-up an absence form at the attendance office.

During Tutorial, on Wednesdays and Thursdays, please avoid picking students up early, between 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM.

The Attendance Office is for signing-in students who are late to school and signing-out students who are picked-up early from school.

Cell Phones are expected to be on silent mode or completely turned off and in students’ backpacks from 8:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., with the exception that is used as an in-class learning tool under the supervision of the teacher. Cell phones may not be carried in pockets.Students who need to call their parents should come to the attendance office to use the available phone. Students who are not feeling well should come to the health office to call home and rest until a parent arrives to take their student home.

Parents, when an emergency arises and you need to reach your student, please call the office and we will get a message to your student or have them come to the office and call you.

Phones that are used during the school day will be held in the office for parent pick-up and the student will attend a 1-hour after-school detention.

The Cell Phone Policy also applies to headphones, earbuds, Airpods, and iWatches.

Using the Binder Reminder is a great way to stay organized and keep track of homework. Every student is expected to:1. Have their Binder Reminder at school every day.

2. Have their name on the front page of their Binder Reminder.

3. Have their Binder Reminder out and ready on Tutorial days (Wed./Thurs.)

4. Keep all pages intact for the entire year.

5. Write their homework and upcoming tests and quizzes down for each class, daily.

Students without their Binder Reminder on Tutorial days will earn after-school detention.

Follow El Rancho on social media to find up to date information, activities, and the talents of our fantastic students and staff. Click on each icon to get to El Rancho’s accounts.

Aug. 16 – 7th-grade first day of school (Minimum Day)

Aug. 17 – 8th-grade first day of school

Aug. 23 – Kindness Assembly

Sept. 5 – Labor Day-No School

Sept. 8- Back to School Night

Sept. 21- Make-up Picture Day

Printable Student CalendarPrintable Trimester Calendar-Quick Glance

All questions or concerns should be addressed to your student’s advisor:

• A-F……….Mrs. Ozuna………. kozuna@orangeusd.org
• G-O……….Mr. Kilgore……….. gkilgore@orangeusd.org
• P-Z……….Mrs. Beard……….. kbeard@orangeusd.org