February 23, 2025
IN THIS ISSUE
- Principal’s Message
- Breakfast/Lunch Menu
- School News: ELOP, Bingo Night, Heritage Day
- SCEF News: Starlight Gala
- Community News: San Carlos Centennial, Black History Month, ROPES Panelists Needed
IMPORTANT DATES
Wed, 2/26: ROPES Panelist Informational Zoom
Thur, 2/27: Heritage Day Zoom info session @ 7:30 p.m.
Fri, 3/7: Bingo Night 6-8 p.m.
Wed, 3/19: Heritage Day 8:25 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Mon, 3/24-Thur, 4/3: SCEF Starlight Gala Silent Auction
Fri, 3/28: SCEF Starlight Gala
Principal’s Message
Dear White Oaks Families,
Our classrooms focus on building a growth mindset with all of our students. This means that we want our students to develop resilience, and keep trying over and over again. We teach them the power of yet to as a way of building this resiliency.
Whether this is on a math problem, or with an instrument they love, or getting the ball in the hoop- we want our students to think, “one day, I can”, rather than, “I can’t today, so I never will.” This mindset will help them flourish as they move up in their academic career, and in all aspects of their life. You can help students practice this at home, by encouraging them to try again, reading books to them such as Thomas the Tank Engine, and supporting them in setting lofty goals, and breaking them into manageable steps.
Student Attendance
Despite rainy weather and illness, our teachers, families and students have persisted to keep learning and engaged. We appreciate everyone’s hard work and commitment to our school community. Thank you, thank you!
When school resumes tomorrow, we are excited to welcome everyone back for our final trimester of learning. This is an important time of year to refine and reteach skills so mastery can occur before students progress to the next grade level in August.
Please remember to schedule trips during our vacation periods. We have another school break scheduled for April 7-11. If your family or your student need support with attendance, please reach out to Mrs. Scholer for help.
As long as your student is healthy with no fever, please encourage showing up to class when school is in session. If you have questions about your student’s health and coming to school, please contact Annie Stevenson, our Administrative Assistant.
Every day of school is an important opportunity for students to learn as well as connect to peers and their teachers. It also has an impact on the fiscal health of the district as much of our funding is tied to average daily attendance of our students.
End of Trimester Assessments
As we conclude the end of the 2nd Trimester, teachers will be taking time during class to assess student progress in a variety of subjects. These assessments are not “high stakes” but are used by teachers to make informed decisions on instruction and differentiation as we finish up the rest of the school year.
As part of our focus on educating the whole child, mastery of grade level standards is one important element in a child’s education. Social emotional health and the ability to work on the core indicators in our Learner Profile is also incredibly important.
Report cards will be sent home with students around March 15th. Please celebrate all of the progress that your student has made during this school year. It’s incredible to watch the collective growth of our students here at Brittan Acres, both academically and socially-emotionally.
Warmly,
Leah Scholer, Principal
Weekly Menu
School News
Ruby Bridges' Poster Contest
In honor of Black History Month, students are invited to create a work of art inspired by Ruby Bridges’ courage and the lasting impact of her actions. San Mateo County students from any grade should submit an audio file, visual piece, video, poem, creative story, or essay to SMCOE SRTS. The winning pieces will be shared across San Mateo County to celebrate the next Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day on November 14th, 2025. Submissions are due by March 15th and must include the student’s name, grade, and school. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
Lunchtime Playpod Volunteers Needed for Winter and Spring
We're looking for volunteers to help run the Playpod for two shifts on Tuesdays or Thursdays (11:50am-12:20 p.m. and 12:20-12:45 p.m.). Our Playpod is a large container of "loose parts" that learners convert into all kinds of amazing designs-- forts, restaurants, houses, endless ramps and more (learn more here). Parent volunteers will help for 30-minute shifts to set up signs and materials, invite kids to join and play respectfully, responsibly and safely, and clean up a few minutes before the post-lunch recess period ends. Please sign up!
Expanded Learning Opportunity Program (ELOP) Assistance Available
SCSD has funding available to support students wishing to participate in our Expanded Learning Program, both before and after school. If you believe your child would benefit from attending one of our before or afterschool programs, grant funding is available to help pay for tuition for qualifying families.
Please reach out to Jesse Torres, Program Supervisor, through email at [email protected] for more information and visit our After School and Extended Learning Programs page.
Chess Wizards at White Oaks Starting in April!
Join Chess Wizards this semester for tons of challenging chess lessons, exciting games, and cool prizes. You'll improve your chess skills, and work out your most powerful muscle - your brain! Our classes are geared to suit children of all skill levels; from chessling to checkmate artist, students will build upon their knowledge through lessons, variation games and more! More than just a game of winning and losing, we make learning chess fun! Class meets weekly on Tuesdays from 2:30-3:30pm starting April 15. Cost is $274 for 8 classes. Register at www.chesswizards.com.
Sign Up for Heritage Day!
Sign up here to come and share your heritage with our students at our 3rd Annual White Oaks’ Heritage Day on Wednesday, Mar. 19 to celebrate our school’s diversity! Families from TK-3rd Grade are invited to host a table about your heritage and display things like photos, maps, flags, landmarks, food, dress up in traditional clothes/costumes etc. The event is from 8.25am - 12.30 p.m. Deadline for signing up is Fri, March 7th!
An information session will be held via Zoom on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7.30 p.m. Meeting details here
Meeting ID 9858388772 / Passcode 002401
We need musicians! Do you or does anyone you know play a culturally relevant instrument? Please drop us an email. Contact Barbara Taylor ([email protected]) with any questions and/or if you’re interested in helping organize the event.
PTA News
Bingo Night
Please SAVE THE DATE of March 7 for the White Oaks BINGO Night from 6-8 p.m.! All White Oaks families are welcome to attend and to play Bingo. There will be Bingo rounds, music, prizes, and pizza will also be provided.
Please RSVP at this link here for pizza headcount.
If you would like to help volunteer to help hand out pizza (you get AYCE as a volunteer!), co-host the event, or if your child has an older sibling no longer at White Oaks who would like to help as an emcee and bingo caller, please sign up here!
DEIB Volunteers Needed!
Our DEIB committee arranges monthly recess activities for the whole school. We need helpers for our Black History Month activity on Thu 2/27 from 11.50 a.m. - 1 p.m. Please sign up here if you can help!
Help your child get a tree sapling to celebrate Earth Week
Reserve by Mar 15 your child's free sapling made available through the nonprofit Neighborhood Forest. Trees will be delivered to us on campus on or around Earth Day (Apr 22) and we’ll arrange to get the trees in the hands of your children to plant at your homes. Exact species will be revealed in early April; 2024 was a black mission fig. Feel free to share the link with others. Children do not have to attend White Oaks to receive a free tree.
Register here.
SCEF News
Starlight Gala Friday, March 28, 2025
Tickets for our annual Starlight Gala Dinner and Auction will go on-sale Friday Feb. 28 at 10am! Be on the lookout at that time for an email with ticket information. Held this year at Domenico Winery in San Carlos, come join your friends and celebrate with dinner, drinks, our popular Starlight Raffle, a fast and fun Live Auction, Fund-A-Need, Heads & Tails... and a Dance Party!
NEW! Real Estate Sponsorship Program
There is still time to sign up to be an inaugural real estate sponsor of SCEF. Contact [email protected] for how you can support San Carlos public schools while promoting your business.
Community News
CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH!
We're in the last week of Black History Month! Black History Month is a powerful opportunity for families of all backgrounds to learn, celebrate, and honor the rich history, culture, and countless contributions of Black people. Learn more about the celebration here and check out our DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging) Bulletin Board display by the office to learn more about inspiring African Americans.
Here are some free resources to help you and your families honor Black History Month curated by the DEIB committee.
Share Your San Carlos Story for the Centennial!
StoryCorps to record an archive of stories about San Carlos as told by community members. Our goal is to honor the City's past, document the present moment, and celebrate the City's future. Want to learn more about Story Corps? Check out their website HERE.
Do you or someone you know have a great story to tell about San Carlos? Click HERE to register or nominate someone you think would be great for an interview. Nominating someone does not obligate them to an interview.
Become a ROPES Panelist and Make a Difference!
The Rite Of Passage ExperienceS (ROPES) is an exciting and optional enrichment program for students in San Carlos. 4th, 6th, and 8th graders embark on self-directed projects that help them build essential 21st-century skills—initiative, inquiry, creativity, communication, cooperation, service, and leadership. At the end of the journey, students present their projects to a panel of community members and earn their ROPES “rope,” which they proudly wear at their 8th-grade graduation.
We need YOU!
We’re looking for passionate parents and community members to join us as panelists for this year’s ROPES presentations. This is your chance to engage with students, celebrate their hard work, and support their growth.
Available Panelist Opportunities:
- Tuesday, March 4 | 4:30-6:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, March 5 | 3:30-6:30 p.m.
- Thursday, March 6 | 5:00-7:30 p.m.
Training
We’ll be hosting a training session on Zoom for all panelists on Wednesday, February 26 from 7:00-7:45 PM. It’s a great opportunity to get familiar with the process, and if you can’t make it live, the session will be recorded and available on our website.
Ready to get involved?
Sign up today to become a panelist and be part of this unforgettable experience!
For questions, reach out to: [email protected]
Parent Education Opportunities
Mark your calendars for these terrific events coming up in February!
George Anders, author, speaker, and award-winning journalist, will present You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of a “Useless” Liberal Arts Education (February 25).
NEW! We're excited to host Jamil Zaki, PhD, Stanford Professor of Psychology and author of the new book, Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness (February 27). Don't miss it!
Visit the Parent Venture Series of Upcoming Events page for more information.
- Parent Venture Series Events
PTA CORNER
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