From the Principal
Dear White Oaks Families,
On Saturday, March 7, you received a message from Superintendent Harmeier on some revised policies due to guidance provided by the San Mateo County Health Officer. The district has a web page devoted to answering your FAQs, with lots of helpful information. At White Oaks, we are taking every precaution to keep our students and staff safe, like we do every day, while at the same time keeping a calm, educationally focused environment in which students can continue to focus on learning and growing. We will continue with daily classroom activities, recess, lunch, PE, and music but there will be some changes to programs in order to limit exposure. At this time, we do not expect a school closure but we will be prepared for it in case it does need to occur.
As of now, we have canceled all field trips that were planned for the next three weeks. This includes the 3rd Grade trips to the Woodside Store and the 1st Grade field trips to CuriOdyssey. This will also include our Welcome Wednesdays for March. The PTA-sponsored Stanford Baseball Family Fun Day will be canceled as well. For Cultural Arts Day, our whole-school assembly and game rotation will be canceled, but students may still be able to participate in some of the art lessons planned for the day. Although this is disappointing for both teachers and students, we feel that it is better to be overcautious at this time. We will also be scaling back some of our activities planned for Ability Awareness Week, March 16-20 and limiting parent volunteers on campus. SMARTE and Belmont After-school will continue to be open as they are considered essential for our families. I will be meeting with teachers this week to discuss additional changes that might need to occur. We will keep you updated on these changes.
In addition, we have ramped up cleaning and disinfecting all classroom and campus surfaces that are touched frequently. Jesus, Rudy, and Fernando, and additional cleaning staff, spent this weekend wiping down door handles, sinks, desks, light switches, water fountains, and other commonly touched surfaces. They will continue to disinfect classrooms every other day on an A/B schedule. We will also continue to reinforce handwashing practices prior to recess and lunch.
We are taking every precaution and our teachers are focused on teaching and keeping a calm environment to reduce any anxiety that students might be feeling. If your child is sick, coughing, sneezing, has a fever, or vomiting, etc. then please keep them home, but otherwise, school is the best place for them to be right now.
Here is an article that was brought to my attention that may give you some talking points about how we can reframe our thinking and how disappointment can provide opportunities. If you have any additional concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Sincerely,
Leah Scholer, Principal
[email protected]
School News and Events
Walk Audit Volunteers and Input Needed
Your input is needed! Please sign-up using this Google Form link to meet for a walkabout during school commutes with District staff, City officials, and the engineering consultant team to observe school commute conditions. We need 5-10 volunteers per school site. Information gathered during this meeting will help develop a suggested Routes to School map and recommendations for improvements.
Dates for the walk audits will be:
- White Oaks-3/18
- Arroyo/Central-3/24
Central Arroyo Needs You!
The PTA at Central Arroyo provides funding for teachers, student programs, and community building events every year. We meet monthly to hear updates from both principals, discuss relevant topics, and plan for the year. We need your help! Please join the team – we have many open positions that need to be filled and being on the PTA would be a great way to learn about both schools while helping them.
Please contact [email protected] if you are interested in learning more about open roles.
Ability Awareness Week
The mission of Ability Awareness week (March 16-20) throughout the San Carlos School District is to promote understanding, acceptance and appreciation of individual learning and ability differences through fun, experiential activities.
Students will be engaging in various activities throughout the week giving them a chance to experience what it is like to complete a basic task while having a learning or developmental difference. Students will all have a set of common experiences through activities already taking place on campus to spark discussion, increased understanding and compassion. A focus on Student First language will also be a part of the activities.
Some of the highlights of what will be happening this week are:
- An Ability Awareness section in our school library.
- "Learn Your Name in Sign Language" posters.
- Legarza PE coaches will be adapting PE into "Ability Stations."
- School counselor-led sessions in classes that relate to compassion and inclusion.
- A variety of other classroom lessons and activities taught by teachers on what it is like to have a learning or developmental difference.
- Support Autism Awareness on Thursday, March 19 by wearing light blue!
- Support World Down Syndrome Day on Friday, March 20 by wearing fun socks!
Ability Awareness week is organized by the SCSD Special Education District Advisory Council (SEDAC) and supported by your PTA Coordinating Council (PTACC) as well as outside sponsors in our Community.
SCEF News
Thank you, THANK YOU!
A BIG thank you to our teachers, educators, staff and administrators who donate their time and creativity for our online teacher auction. Over $120,000 was raised--amazing! We appreciate the local businesses who supported the auction efforts: Paxti’s, Maverick Jack’s, Blue Line Pizza, Mountain Mike’s, Costco, Target, Laurel Street Arts, Laser Quest, Lulu's on Laurel and Gelataio. And always a thank you to the businesses that support SCEF year-round https://www.scefkids.org/take-action/families/shop-local/.
Dwell Challenge Grant matches First Time Donations $1-for-$1
The partners at DWELL Realtors will match any new donations to the SCEF annual fund between February 1 and March 31, 2020, up to $50,000! Dwell Partner, Alana Corso says, “As a parent of 3 children in San Carlos schools, I see firsthand how SCEF works every day to benefit every child in every classroom. We benefit from small classes, amazing music instruction, quality time with librarians, social-emotional support and many other programs. With chronic underfunding from the state of California, the funds SCEF provides help ensure our kids have a well-rounded, robust education."" Find out more at scefkids.org/dwellmatch and take advantage of this unique opportunity to double your impact - scefkids.org/donate
The best way to get your SCEF news is to follow us on Facebook @SCEFkids.
District News and Events
Measure N Parcel Tax Information
The San Carlos School District would like to thank our community for supporting our local public schools. As of Thursday evening, our Measure N parcel tax had 68.62% yes votes. We are encouraged to see the results and are cautiously optimistic, as there are still many ballots to be counted and we need at least two-thirds (66.6%) yes votes to pass.
The next semi-final result update will be Friday, March 6 at 4:30 p.m. Results may be found on the County Website - https://www.livevoterturnout.com/SanMateoCA/LiveResults/en/Index_3.html.
We are so grateful for the support of our San Carlos community!
Community News and Events
Riley Run 2020
This year’s Riley Run will be on Sunday, April 19 at 4pm on the upper playground of Brittan Acres. Riley was a friend and classmate of many San Carlos students and we gather every year to honor him. We have a 5K walk/run around San Carlos and all proceeds from the $25 registration fee go to his two favorite charities – Camp Taylor and Children’s Heart Foundation. Riley would have been a junior in high school this year.
Please join us on this special day. For more information, please contact us at [email protected]. The deadline to register and to receive a shirt is March 19 but there is no deadline to simply participate.
Make Plans to Attend the Chickens' Ball Variety Show Fundraiser March 13-15, 20-22
You could be the key to arts education for your child! Gather your friends together and enjoy a night out of live entertainment full of music and laughs! Steeped in Barbary Coast history, the Chickens’ Ball variety show district wide school fundraiser is not to be missed!
Show dates are March 13-15, 20-22, 2020 at Mustang Hall, Central Middle School.
Buy tickets at www.chickensball.org.
Healthy Cities Tutoring Parent Ed Opportunity
Social Emotional Learning and New Tutor Orientation, March 19, 2020
Does your child say, "I can't do this" or "It's too hard?" How do we help students overcome anxiety about not wanting to fail? Or those that have a hard time sitting still or concentrating? We know positive emotions increase learning. We are thrilled to have Matt Steinborn, School Psychologist in the San Carlos School District and Certified Advanced Nurtured Heart Approach Trainer lead us in our learning. He will share examples of how tutors and parents can use social/emotional learning tools and behavioral tips to help their students. Want to tutor? Arrive early to hear about volunteer tutoring opportunities in our local schools.
March 19, 2020
Central Middle School Library
6:30-7:00pm New Tutor Orientation
7:00-8:30pm Social Emotional Learning Workshop
RSVP: http://evite.me/mp67CCYhtp
Galileo Summer Camp @ Arroyo - Registration Now Open!
Galileo Innovation Camp for Pre-K – 10th Graders at Arroyo
Galileo engages every kid with hands-on projects that teach design-thinking and problem-solving skills, all wrapped in big summer fun. Energetic, inclusive staff and world-class curriculum make for a summer that K-8 kids love.
We believe in Innovation For All:
- In appreciation for those that work so hard to serve our communities, Galileo now offers an automatic 25% discount to families of school, non-profit, and government workers. This brings the price of our program down to that of a typical parks and recreation program. Visit our website to get discount codes and learn more.
- Additionally, we are awarding 15,000 scholarships to K-8th grade students who need additional help to attend our program. It’s a simple 5-minute application and we offer something to everyone. We encourage you to refer families who may benefit from this program. Information on our website.
Learn more: www.galileo-camps.com or 800-854-3684
School Garden Leaders Workshop - Mar 21
We hope to see you at our Spring workshop on Saturday, March 21 from 9am-12pm at Arroyo School.
Featured topics:
- Garden activities with young kids
- Classroom management in the garden
- Curriculum sample for Middle School
- Spring garden foods for kids
Come to learn, be inspired and meet other school garden leaders. Let other school garden leaders know about this! Sign up here.