From the Principal
Dear White Oaks families,
As I was preparing to run the San Francisco Marathon this Sunday with a community of avid runners, I reflected on the engagement, connection and practice that goes into completing big goals. Running and reading may seem like polar opposites, but they are quite comparable.
Engagement, connection, and practice are also the ingredients found in Reader’s Workshop. Our White Oaks teachers facilitate Reader’s Workshop to personalize literacy learning for each child, and a Phonics Workshop to support reading instruction. Both workshops build students’ capacity and engagement as readers.
A reading workshop method blends direct teaching and carefully selected anchor texts with time for students to read and think about engaging self-selected books. Children confer with the teacher to monitor progress, growing their skills one step at a time. Benchmark goals are set for each trimester, and each child’s reading journey is nurtured along the way.
When I visit classrooms to see readers in action, I notice a whole-class mini-lesson to teach targeted strategies, students practicing these actionable tools with a reading partner, and readers sitting with piles of “just right” books during their independent reading time. Students will be “stopping and jotting” to show their thinking while reading. Teachers confer with individuals or small groups to teach them the next step to move them forward in their reading.
Living the Life of an Avid Reader
Our goal is to guide each student to live the life of an avid reader, opening doors to big thinking. These skills translate not only to increased enjoyment but also to essential learning. We know that how frequently a child reads self-selected books is a key predictor of academic success. Students choose and are guided to texts that match their current abilities — and with instruction, time spent reading, and a high volume of reading, they are also guided to tackle ever-more-complex texts.
Avid readers:
- Set aside a time and place each day for reading
- Have a set of self-selected books “ready to go” so one book is followed by the next
- Know how to choose a “right fit” book across genres, and push themselves to read broadly across fiction and nonfiction
- Independently figure out new words
- Think as they read, and talk with others to grow big ideas
- Grow their stamina as readers, learning to attend to a text for increasing periods of time
- Embrace journeys through text, following sparks and questions into new books
Helping at Home
A child’s reading life is richest when it spans home and school. You can help your child by developing reading routines and places in your home where your child feels cozy reading every day. Most important, take some time each week to read together. Even when children become proficient readers, they love to share the reading experience! This again mirrors my favorite training runs, which are always in the company of a friend.
Enjoy this magical time with your child as they explore the wonderful world of literacy!
Warm Regards,
Kim Norgaard, Interim Principal
[email protected]
Upcoming Events
Monday, Sept. 20: Music for Minors instruction begins
Monday, Sept. 20: White Oaks Library opens
Thursday, Sept. 23: Site Council meeting, 3 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 27: Picture Day
October 4-8: Goal Conference Week, early dismissal (12:25 p.m.) each day
Thursday, Oct. 7: School board meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Thanks to the generous donations from SCEF, our new librarian, Katie Gallagher, opens the White Oaks Library doors on Sept. 20! Our students will have the opportunity to check out books once a week and enjoy storytime again with our new expert on all things children’s literature.
School News and Events
Parent-Teacher Conferences: Monday, Oct. 4 to Friday, Oct. 8.
These conferences help us develop a partnership between home and school, build a strong relationship with each other, and identify goals early in the school year for each child in order to support increased student ownership, rigor, and engagement.
Students will attend school on a minimum-day schedule during the entire conference week: 8:25 a.m.-12:25 p.m.
Picture Day Volunteers Needed
Picture Day is Sept. 27! We need three volunteers for each of our time slots: 8:30-10:30 and 10:30-12:00. Contact Teresa at the office or email Interim Principal Kim Norgaard.
Join Us in the Classroom: Volunteer for Art in Action!
Art in Action is a volunteer-led, hands-on classroom art program. No artistic skills required! Just an interest in working in the classroom and an enthusiasm to engage with students about art. Lead a lesson or help make sure the lesson runs smoothly. Sign up through this PTA form.
Tour the Art Closet to learn more about this PTA-funded, parent-led program:
Monday, Sept. 20, 2:00-2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 21, 8:25-8:55 a.m.
Please RSVP for an Art Closet tour at [email protected].
Location: The Art Closet is accessed from the eastern yard, near the After School portable. Please check in at the office first.
NOTE: Before volunteering on campus, you must complete this volunteer form, then complete a Self-Certification of Vaccination Form (to be email to you by the district), and provide a copy of your vaccination card or show evidence of a weekly negative COVID test.
Thank You from the PTA and How to Join
We are happy to announce that our membership continues to grow, and we now have 85 PTA members! Thank you to those who have joined. Our goal this year is 100% membership. The details:
- How do I join? Sign up online via Totem.
- What is the cost? $20 per family (plus $1 fee).
- Why join?
- CONNECT with new friends and the White Oaks community.
- SUPPORT school-wide events and programs.
- MAKE your voice heard in Sacramento.
- Why is your membership important? Members play a role in decision-making at our monthly White Oaks PTA meetings. Higher membership gives our PTA a powerful voice in advocating for our children in the California Legislature. 100% membership sends a message that our district is made up of voters who are concerned and involved.
2021-22 White Oaks Yearbooks for Sale!
You can buy this school year’s yearbook directly from Jostens here. Yearbooks are $26 each, and the sales deadline is Friday, Dec. 24. They will be distributed the last week of school by your student’s teacher. Most teachers give the students time to sign yearbooks, so don’t let your child be left out!
We won’t have a lot of extras to sell at the end of the school year, so buy your yearbook now to reserve your copy. Please contact Teresa Williams with questions.
SCEF News and Events
There Are So Many Ways to GIve!
Your support of our schools is appreciated and necessary, and there are many ways for you to give. Make your plan now and visit scefkids.org/donate:
- Workplace giving: Many companies match employee donation and support pre-tax giving
- Appreciated stock: Avoid capital gains tax while earning a bigger tax deduction
- Donor-advised funds: Grants from your charitable investment account are welcome
- Give Every Month (GEM): Spread your SCEF support across the entire year via scefkids.org/gem.
Like our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram @scefkids for all SCEF news.
District News and Events
COVID Reminders: Stay Home When Sick and Get Tested
Staying home when sick and getting tested for COVID-19 are two of the most effective ways to keep our community safe. Find details from the SCSD Health & Safety Plan in this document.
If you have any of the symptoms listed above, call your school office to report an illness, stay home, and take a COVID test.
If you need to report a COVID case, please call District Nurse Page Pollack at 650-632-8300 (Arroyo office) or Human Resources at 650-590-5922 if the nurse is unavailable.
For more information, visit our COVID-19 Resources page and review the SCSD Health & Safety Plan.
Schedule Your Appointment at the Curative COVID-19 Testing Van
Please take advantage of the no-cost COVID-19 testing provided by the San Mateo County Health Department. Sign up online to begin your regular weekly testing at the Central Middle School parking lot, under the solar structure (757 Cedar St., San Carlos).
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
- Thursdays 1-7 p.m.
- Fridays 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Find other community testing sites in San Mateo County here.
Community News and Events
Hummingbird Music School
Join after-school Piano Class or Ukulele Class with Hummingbird Music School on Thursday afternoons! Classes are held right after school in Room 8. Fall Session began Sept. 16 and runs 10 weeks. It’s not too late to join! Register on the Hummingbird website.
Legarza All Sports and Basketball Wednesday Programs Starting
Join Legarza Sports for an All Sports or Basketball Program on Wednesdays from 12:45-1:45 p.m. beginning Sept. 22.
Legarza All Sports: Our All Sports after-school programs take the energy, organization and fun you are used to with Legarza Camps and adapt it to a shorter format. Your child will have an opportunity to learn a little about and play basketball, soccer, football, baseball/softball, ultimate frisbee, capture the flag, obstacle course and relay races, among many other age-appropriate camp games and activities.
Legarza Basketball: Our goal is for all kids to work hard and feel good about themselves in a safe, disciplined, highly structured and motivating environment of learning and fun. We place the child and his or her personal development ahead of the game. Positive encouragement and measured improvement in the fundamental skills are trademarks of our programs, as well as players learning to work together in a team setting.
Register at legarzasports.org.
Parent Education Series from The Parent Venture
SPECIAL EVENT! Frank Bruni, author of “Where You Go is Not Who You’ll Be,” joins Alice Kleeman, award-winning former college advisor, in Beyond Being Admitted: Making the Most of the College Experience (Sept. 22, online).
September is Suicide Prevention Month. San Mateo County Health, Sequoia Healthcare District, StarVista, and The Parent Venture offer resources for youth mental health and suicide prevention. Mark your calendars! (Sept. 28)
How will the pandemic affect learning and mental health? Anya Kamenetz, NPR education correspondent, will discuss her upcoming book, The Stolen Year: How America’s Covid Response Failed Children, and How We Can Fix It (Sept. 29, online).
Keys: for Parenting is here! Keys is a new communication tool that puts parenting advice at your fingertips — literally, it’s a keyboard! — developed by Charlene Margot and Bev Hartman, co-founders of The Parent Venture. Give Keys a try!
Want more great parenting advice? Follow the Parent Education Series on social media (Instagram and Facebook), or subscribe to our free Video Library (YouTube), a popular and trusted resource with over 21,000 views!