Start of 2020-21 School Year

August 16, 2020

Good Evening Hale Families, Tomorrow marks the start of the first week of the 2020-21 school year. In this exceptional year, school will begin with distance learning. The first week features several activities designed to help students and parents acclimate to this new model of teaching and learning.

Monday is a pupil free day. Teachers will attend meetings to finalize preparations for the school year.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, students are invited to watch orientation videos featuring tools and strategies for successful distance learning. These videos are provided by the District and can be accessed from the students’ advisory course on Schoology, beginning at 9:00 am both days. Students can log in to Schoology at LMS.LAUSD.net.

On Tuesday at 1:00 pm parents can meet the Principal, Mr. Perdigao and Hale’s leadership team at a Virtual Orientation. The log in information for the Zoom Webinar is included below. If you’d like to submit a question to be addressed at the meeting, you can do so here: Hale Q & A 2020.

On Wednesday at 1:00 pm students can attend a virtual meet and greet with their advisory teachers. Log in information is available on the students’ Advisory course page in Schoology.

Thursday is the first day of classes, with Period 1 beginning at 9:00 am. Please see the weekly distance learning schedule on the school website at HaleCharterAcademy.com. The district has provided a checklist to help families organize their days during distance learning. It is attached to this email and can be downloaded from our website.

At Hale Charter Academy we are committed to providing the best possible educational experience for our students. Even in these unusual circumstances, we are confident in our ability to meet this standard, and look forward to getting started. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and we will see you soon.

August, 2020 

Hale Charter Academy Parents, 

The first day of school will be August 18 – a beginning like no other we have seen in the past. The first two days of school, August 18 and 19, will be focused on preparing for online learning to ensure we all get off to a strong start. Here is an overview of the schedule: 

Monday, August 17, is for teachers and other school staff only. Teachers and staff will spend three days planning and training for online instruction. On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, starting at 9 a.m., orientation videos about tools and strategies for online learning success will be available for students and families to watch independently on Schoology, the computer program we use to post lessons. Log on to lms.lausd.net with your username and password to access your lessons. A letter will be U.S. mailed to you with this information if you need it.  

At 1 p.m. Tuesday, I will hold a virtual meeting to welcome you to our school. For those who are unable to attend, a video recording of the meeting will be posted on our school’s website.  And at 1p.m. Wednesday, teachers will hold online meet-and-greet sessions with each of their advisory classes. Meeting information can be found on the Advisory Schoology page.  You can find a link to the Principal's Virtual Orientation Webinar in the Sunday email, and in the link in the right hand column of this page. 

Online instruction will start at 9 a.m. Thursday. We encourage your child to be logged in on time and ready for this exciting start to the school year. 

Be sure to visit halecharteracademy.com often for information about our school and the opportunities available for our students. In addition, take a look at the Family and Student Handbook for information about student enrollment, sample schedules and how to navigate online learning. Printed copies will be available at all schools beginning Monday, and an electronic version will be sent to all families.  

Another major change is to our instructional schedule. Teachers are expected to adhere to instructional minute minimums and requirements for synchronous/asynchronous instruction outlined in the example provided. The student’s school day will begin at 9 AM and conclude at 2:15 PM. Attached to this email you will find a few documents that should help clarify the first few days of school.  

• Parent Portal Information 
• Student Email Directions 
• Week 1: Schedule 
• HCA Remote Learning Schedule 

If you have any school related question you can please submit them using our Q & A form at https://forms.gle/NaSdWY5FvhRZa5rQA. We will post the Q & A on our website. As always, you can call Hale Charter Academy at 818-313-7400 or Los Angeles Unified’s Family Helpdesk at 213-443-1300 with any questions. If you have questions regarding the Parent Portal student PIN, please call Hale Charter Academy and speak to the Lead Parent Portal Designee, Mr. De Bonis. Although we are starting the new year at a distance, we are still a school community. I am confident this will be a great school year and appreciate your support and continued partnership. I look forward to introducing myself on Wednesday, August 19, 2020, during our virtual orientation. Continue to enjoy your time off and we will see you on Tuesday, August 18.

Sincerely, 

Christopher Perdigao

Principal, Hale Charter Academy,

Hale Charter Academy Gifted STEAM Magnet &

Hale Charter Academy Visual and Performing Arts Magnet