White Oaks Weekly - December 4, 2022

December 4, 2022 IN THIS ISSUE Principal’s Message Ways to Give to SCEF Plus District and Community News  IMPORTANT DATES Sat 12/10: White Oaks Holiday Store opens Thu 12/15: SCSD Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m. Thu 12/22: Minimum Day Fri 12/23- Mon 1/9: Winter Break   PTA EVENTS SCSD 2022-23 Calendar   Principal’s Message Dear White Oaks families, It’s the season of giving, and our third grade students are working together with the Samaritan House to provide children with toys during the holidays. Learn more about their efforts and take a look at this message from our third graders in Room 1:  Dear families, The Samaritan House needs your help with this year’s toy drive.  Did you know that three years ago the Samaritan House had 15,000 clients and now they have 25,000 clients all because of Covid-19? There are two key reasons why we should help the Samaritan House.  Many families are in need of financial support especially in our area and around the holidays. Samaritan House provides groceries, meals, clothes, and a warm place to sleep. Secondly,  many families have high medical expenses and can use support. Samaritan House provides free medical and dental clinics for their clients.  Please join White Oaks’ effort to support the Samaritan House by donating to our toy drive. You can drop off the toys in the bins located in front of the school’s office.  The bins will be picked up on Tuesday, Dec. 13th. We would appreciate dolls, Legos, Disney toys, Marvel toys, balls, sports items, cars, and trucks. Toys should be valued at $20 or more and unwrapped.          Please participate in our toy drive today!  We’re looking forward to seeing all of the bins filled. Sincerely, Third Graders at White Oaks   PTA News Spirit Wear Now Arriving White Oaks Spirit Wear has started arriving this week! About half of our order has been distributed with the other half arriving next week. Our vendor apologizes for the delay, and if you have any questions you can email Jenn. We will get the remainder of the orders distributed as soon as they arrive. Thanks for your patience! Walk to School Wednesday Please join us for Walk to School Wednesday this week. Charms will be given to students who walk, roll, ride, or scoot to school! Walk to School Wednesday takes place the first Wednesday of every month. White Oaks Holiday Store is Open Saturday, Dec. 9 from 9 a.m.-Noon! The White Oaks Holiday Store is this Saturday, 9 a.m.-noon! Your children are invited to participate in this treasured White Oaks shopping experience to choose gifts for their loved ones for the holidays. Students will receive a flyer and gift list in their green folders this week. Please fill out the gift list with the name of each person your child will be shopping for and bring this list, money (small bills, please!), and a reusable shopping bag to the Holiday Store event. We are also encouraging families to bring a donation for the Samaritan House canned food drive bin.  While children are shopping, parents can enjoy a hand-crafted espresso beverage or hot chocolate for $1-$3. Please bring cash.  We have many volunteer roles available and need your help to make it a success! Please consider signing up for a time slot here. Contact Sara Ting with any questions. Order your White Oaks Yearbook TODAY! Your time at White Oaks will fly by fast, so order your child’s yearbook HERE. Ensure their 2022-2023 special memories will last a lifetime! The deadline to order is Dec. 15.   SCEF News Another SCEF Day and Giving Tuesday is in the books, and we are rolling into December. Our fundraising goal this year is $3.7 million and the suggested per-student donation is $1,850, which includes funding for your PTA. Check out our website for more information and the many ways to give. We are all SCEF! Curious to hear how students, teachers, parents and community supporters feel about SCEF? Watch here. Have you made your plan yet to give this school year? Do you need to give before Dec. 31, 2022 for tax reasons? If so, please start that process now, as it can take some time. Appreciated Stock: A gift of appreciated stock (that you have held for more than 1 year) is better than selling the stock and donating the proceeds. Workplace Giving: Many employers will match your donation to SCEF and some are offering end-of-year matching at 2:1. Donor-Advised Fund: Prefer to donate via Donor-Advised Fund from your Fidelity, BNY Mellon or Schwab Charitable accounts? Unique ways to support SCEF while you shop: Honey Bear Trees is back this season and offering a 15% SCEF donation for every tree and wreath purchase–don’t forget to mention SCEF. Details on this flyer. Sports Basement supports SCEF. There is a 20% off event this week, Dec. 7-14. Sports Basement also has their Basementeer Program that gives back 10% to the charity of your choice. Register, assign SCEF as your charity of choice, and shop year-round. Last year they gave over $10,000 to SCEF! SCEF Night at the Warriors: Saturday, Dec. 10 vs. Boston Celtics. Special ticket pricing means NO Ticketmaster fees and NO Taxes. Your purchase also benefits San Carlos public schools! Tickets available HERE. Support SCEF as you Shop on Amazon Amazon Smile is a great way to support SCEF while doing your online shopping. Choose “San Carlos Education Foundation” and Amazon will donate a portion of each purchase to SCEF. It’s super easy and works on both desktop and mobile purchases.   District News COVID Reminders and Testing Options If your child is experiencing symptoms, please keep them home and give them a rapid antigen test. Staying home when sick can lower the risk of spreading infectious diseases to other people and testing remains a key mitigation layer to detect and curb transmission of COVID-19.  If your child tests positive for COVID-19 or your household is in need of additional test kits, please contact your school site as soon as possible. Testing Resources Curative - Central Middle School parking lot - Sign up (Due to decreased demand, Dec. 9 will be the last day of testing available at Central.) Curative - Tierra Linda Middle School parking lot - Sign up Other Community-Based Testing Sites in San Mateo County COVID-19 Testing for Schools and Students: Find up-to-date resources on testing in districts and schools as well as at home. Follow @scsdschools Follow the San Carlos School District on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for up-to-date info on events and issues.   Community News Winter Cooking Classes with Junior Chef Stars! Join us as we provide junior chefs with the tools necessary to create, cook, and learn. Have your junior chef expand on their cooking knowledge as our curriculum covers nutrition, seasonal cooking, knife skills, the purpose of core ingredients and the many cultural aspects of food all while having a blast and making new friends. Every season has new recipes so sign up for multiple sessions whether you are a seasoned junior chef or it's your first time! Classes start in January 2023 at Mariposa, Arundel, Brittan Acres, Heather, & White Oaks. Visit our website for more information or to register today. Piano and Ukulele Classes at White Oaks with Hummingbird Music School!   Does your child want to learn how to play piano or ukulele in a fun group environment? Hummingbird Music School's popular after-school music classes will be offered again this Winter at White Oaks! Piano Class: 2:30-3:20 p.m. Thursdays (Room 3) Ukulele Class: 2:30-3:20 p.m. Mondays (Room 3) Registration is now open and classes will fill, as they have in the past! Read more and register here. San Carlos Little League (SCLL) Registration is Now Open SCLL was established in 1953 and provides a positive youth baseball experience to children of all abilities in the San Carlos community. We focus on developing the qualities of leadership, citizenship, discipline, character, and teamwork. The 2023 Little League season kicks off the weekend of Saturday, Mar. 11 and runs approximately through the school year. We offer several divisions of play based on Little League Baseball Age Charts and evaluations in the upper divisions (AA up). Learn more and sign up here. Healthy Cities Tutoring is Recruiting Volunteers Become a Healthy Cities Tutor and join our community of volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring and mentoring to a public school student to improve their academic performance, engagement in learning, and self-esteem. Tutoring sessions are held in-person, once a week for 45 minutes to an hour, on school campus or at a public library. For 25 years Healthy Cities Tutoring has provided tutoring services to thousands of students in need. Following two years of pandemic, students are falling further and further behind in school. We need volunteers more than ever! We hope you or someone you know will get involved in this rewarding volunteer experience. No tutoring experience required, we can provide training. Eighth grade and high school students are welcome to tutor with us. Students can receive community service hours, and use the experience for resume building and college applications. Adult tutors are always welcome! It only takes one hour a week to make a positive impact on a child’s life. Please check out our website for the volunteer application or contact Janelle Gibson, HCT Program Coordinator at (415) 793-1064. Parent Education Opportunities We all want our children to form healthy relationships, but talking about it can be hard. Vanessa Kellam, Health Connected, presents Relationship Resilience: Preparing Young People for Healthy Relationships (Dec. 7, online). How can we help our kids tame their inner voice? Bestselling author and psychologist Ethan Kross, PhD, joins us to discuss his book, Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It (Dec. 8, online). December's Parent Forum (English) features Eran Magen, PhD, founder of Parenting for Humans, in Sustainable Parenting: Realistic Self-Care for Parents. The Parent Forums are an initiative of the Sequoia Healthcare District (Dec. 9, online). Visit the Parent Venture Series of Upcoming Events page for more information.    PTA CORNER Join the White Oaks PTA. Your membership matters and helps support programs and events for our students and teachers. REWARDS PROGRAMS Participate in our rewards programs and a percentage of your purchases will automatically be donated to the White Oaks PTA — at no cost to you! FOLLOW @WHITE OAKS Follow us on Facebook for up-to-date info on events and issues.