Welcome Letter

September 2020

Colfax Community, 

 

My name is Eddie Gorton and I could not be more excited to serve as the eleventh Principal of Colfax Charter Elementary School.  I have been with the school district since 2002 and bring with me twelve years of classroom teaching experience, two years of instructional coach experience, and was instrumental in rolling out restorative justice practices in Local District Northeast before I became the Assistant Principal at Strathern, Sylvan Park, and Carpenter Community Charter.   

 

Originally, I am from the Bay Area and came to L.A. to attend Occidental College in the Fall of 1997.  While at Oxy I participated in athletics, built the KOXY radio station, and became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.  I am married to my amazing wife Karina, a 5^th grade teacher with LAUSD at Haddon Elementary School in Pacoima.  Our two sons, Xavier and Lorenzo are both in primary grades at Carpenter and I think I have almost convinced them to wear Colfax swag on Carpenter’s campus. My family is very excited to be a part of this community.  

 

In my tenure with LAUSD, I have worked closely with community members, parents, teachers and students to create an inclusive school community where all are welcome.  I have seen from afar how amazing this school community is, and I am looking forward to building new relationships, creating memorable experiences, and being part of the next chapter of Colfax’s story.  I come to serve this outstanding community, not to change a whole lot, but to add my personality and joy to things we are already doing.   

 

Everything we need to make positive change is already here. 

 

I look forward to meeting each and every one of you.  We have some landmark events in our future: reopening of our campus when it is safe to do so, celebrating the completion of our new two story building, and getting back to a little bit of normal where students can walk through our gates to be taught face to face by our outstanding teachers and staff. I hope you all are as fired up as I am to start this journey.   

 

If you have any questions or just want to reach out and say hello, please contact the main office at 818.761.5115, or you can email me at eag7545@lausd.net. 

 

 Yours truly, 

 

Eddie Gorton  

Principal 

Colfax Charter Elementary School 

 

 

Family Distance Learning Resources

Most of the following resources are free or have free components. Although they have been hand-selected from multiple sources, and approved by educators and various districts, I don't represent or endorse any of these vendors.  

 

Virtual Field Trips

      12 Free Virtual Museum Tours -A list of museums/zoos/aquariums/etc. that offer virtual field trips

      Virtual Field Trip Guides – 20 virtual field trips to take with your kids

Literacy Links

      Fun Brain - Reading & Grammar Games

      Storyline Online - Digital Read-alouds for All Ages

      Just Books Read Aloud - Read-alouds by Reading Level

      Kenn Nesbitt's Poetry 4 Kids - Read, Write, Listen.

      Seussville - Everything Dr. Seuss

      Unite for Literacy - Non Fiction for Little Learners

      Sight Word Play List - Created by Ms. Pinto from Holly Ave

      Reading Rockets - Reading resources for students and parents

      Readtheory.org - Reading comprehension at the learner's individual ability level

      TeachYourMonstertoRead.com - A game for students in the early learning stages of reading

      CommonLit: Free access to a range of literature based content that is searchable by literary techniques for Grades 3-12 

      CAASP - ELA, Math, & Science: Student Interface Practice and Training Tests

Math Links

      Prodigy - Math Practice Made Fun

      Khan Academy - Math and Science Digital Lessons Grades K-8 

      Math Playground - Games Sorted by Topic/Math Strand

      Fun Brain - Math Games with Grade Level Recommendations

      Mr. Nussbaum.com - Math Games

      PBS Kids - Math Games for Little Learners

      CAASP - ELA, Math, & Science: Student Interface Practice and Training Tests

Science Links

      Brainpop - Animated Educational Site for Science Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology.

      Galileo Anywhere- A week's worth of free activities to inboxes each weekend.  Kids engage in engineering and art projects, energizing movement games and live experiences facilitated by expert educators

      Steve Spangler Science - Science experiments you can do at home with a few items around your house

      Bill Nye -  Videos, instructions for in-home demos

Social Science/History Links

      Newsela - Newsela is a curated collection of current event articles for learners gr.2-12

      Crash Course Kids YouTube Channel -  Science and Social Sciences Content Videos

      icivics - students learn more about History through interactive game

Elementary Music

      Music Links - multiple activities to enrich music practice, explore, and have fun with music at home

Enrichment Websites

      APlusMath  – Interactive math resources, worksheets, games and more (Grades K-5)

      Education.com Earth & Space Science Resources – Lots of free astronomy games (Grades K-5) 

      Education.com Life Science – Free human biology and animal biology games (Grade K-5)

      Education.com Math Games – Online Math Games with printables (Grades K-5)

      Education.com Reading and Writing Resources – Reading and writing resources (Grades K-5)

      Education.com Spelling Resources – Spelling activities (Grades K-5)

      Enchanted Learning – Crafts and More!

      Freerice.com – Answer questions to end world hunger (Grades 4-6)

      KidsEcologyCorps.org – Good primer on pollution, acid rain, includes activities (Grades 1-6)

      SesameStreet.org – Great and safe for Pre-K

      The Science Explorer – Science experiments. Site and instructions are simple and easy to follow!

      Time for Kids (free until the end of the year)

Electives Links & Other Resources

      Code.org - Coding: Challenge the Mind & Learn 21st Century Skills 

      Girls Who Code at Home - Unplugged and online activities for students in Grades 3-12

      Arts for Kids - Art lessons for kids

      Directed Drawing - Videos to teach drawing

      Free Maker Stations - Design challenges that help learners practice science, technology and music created by Brook Brown.

      Google Arts and Culture - Explore collections from around the world

      Incredibleart.org - Art lessons that you can look up by grade level, subject, artist, medium, or art period (Pre-school - College available)

      Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems - Grab some paper, pencils, and crayons and explore ways how drawing and writing come together.

      Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Infused Home Learning Lessons - Katie Novak & Alison Sancinito created day by day lessons you can print and use tomorrow! They embed authentic choice and resources for your learners at home.

      Dance Mat Typing - Improve Your Touch Typing & Speed

      Directed Drawing: Videos to teach drawing

      Scavenger Hunts: A fun scavenger hunt for each day

      Type Rocket - Practice Your Typing Skills

Health and Wellness

      Family GoNoodle -  Gets kids moving and practice mindful activities

      Play at Home - Playworks resources

      UCLAhealth.org-Guided Meditations - Guided meditations

      30 Things to Support SEL -  A list of home activities to support social-emotional health

      Destressing- Ideas for how to cope with uncertainty

English Learners (ELD)

      Actively Learn - Reading Comprehension Practice

Resources for Dyslexia

      Decoding Dyslexia - Comprehensive list of resources aimed at supporting students who have dyslexia or who have disabilities that impact reading.