From the Principal
Dear Families,
Please take a few minutes to review these helpful tips from school counselor, Laura Macfarlane.
Happy Fall! Your children are working hard to learn the routines and expectations that come with a new school year. They are learning classroom rules, expected playground behaviors and how to transition from home to school, from parents to teachers and from siblings to peers. For some children, this settling in process seems smooth, and for others it takes longer and may require additional support and effort.
One of the big transitions happens when parents and children say goodbye at the start of each school day. If you notice that your child is currently having difficulty with this transition, here are some tips that may be helpful.
- Say a quick goodbye (kiss, hug, etc,) to your child and if needed, leave your child with one of the staff members who is on yard duty in the morning. You can let the yard duty person know that your child is having a hard time saying goodbye and we can help your child get settled. The tears tend to go away pretty quickly once parents are off campus.
- If your child is having difficulties with good-byes, I recommend having one good-bye, rather than multiple good-byes. For example, one goodbye at the playground rather than a goodbye at the playground and then another goodbye when your child is walking to class.
- Don’t try to talk your child out of their sad or nervous feelings. Acknowledge that they feel scared, sad, worried, nervous and then go forward with your drop-off routine. Help your child see themselves as being brave despite their worries.
- You can ask your child what they are worried about related to the goodbye. Write down the worries with them and see if any of the worries are a problem that can be solved. If so, decide on a possible solution and test it out.
- You can ask for assistance from me or another adult at W.O. I can create a goodbye transition plan if necessary.
Watching your children stretch and grow these first weeks of school is inspiring.
Laura Macfarlane, LCSW, PPS
White Oaks Counselor
Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays
Helpful Resources:
- I want send a BIG thank you to our White Oaks Weekly Editor, Amy Ihde, for putting together our beautiful Parent Guide. Please take time to look it through and learn about upcoming events, important information, how to get involved in our school and district.
- In our focus on school safety, we are committed to communicating clearly with our parent community. Take a look at The Big 5 School Safety Protocols that we follow as part of San Mateo County.
Important Dates
- San Mateo County Office of Education is offering a School Emergency Preparedness Info Night at Jefferson High School in Daly City on Wednesday, Sept. 12th from 6:15 pm - 8:00 pm
Sincerely,
Leah Scholer, Principal
School News and Events
No School Monday
In honor of Labor Day, school will be closed on Monday, September 3, 2018.
Hot Lunch Volunteers Needed!
Hot lunch is available to our students four days (MTThF) per week and we need volunteers to help distribute the food to students. Volunteers work just one or two hours per month, and you’ll have the opportunity to interact with students of all grade levels— helping them choose nutritious foods to eat with their pre-ordered lunch entrees. Great for moms and dads, your shift begins at 11:45am to help set up the lunch room and then help distribute lunches as students file through. Your shift ends at approximately 12:40pm. Please contact Erin Grant at [email protected].
First Walk to School Wednesday of the School Year
Join us for the first Walk to School Wednesday of the new school year! Kick off the back to school routine with some healthy habits and walk, ride or scoot to school. On the first Wednesday of every month, we will be at the school gates to pass out charms and encourage our walkers. Look for the balloons to find your charm.
We are still looking for a volunteer to coordinate our Walk to School Wednesdays. We'll also need a few volunteers to help pass out charms the first Wednesday of each month. Please visit our Sign Up page to help out with this program and to find out about the many other volunteer opportunities we have at White Oaks this year.
First PTA meeting
Please join us Wednesday, September 5 at 7 PM in the MU for our first PTA meeting of the year. We will be hearing about school goals from our new principal Leah Scholer. We will also have updates on the family movie night and the walkathon. All parents are invited to attend. Remember to be eligible to vote you must be a member of the PTA.
JOIN THE WHITE OAKS PTA!
Join the White Oaks PTA and make a difference in the education and quality of life for all our students! Your support helps our PTA fund enrichment programs at White Oaks such as Art in Action, Artists in Residence, Family Fun Nights, Makerspace, class gardens, teacher stipends, classroom supplies for our students and more. Dues are just $20/family. JOIN TODAY!
SCEF News
Are parties your thing, or do you prefer family friendly activities? Our redesigned website now features all events under one tab. Go to www.scefkids.org/events and check them out. You will be sure to find what you like.
Our upcoming events are:
Industrial Arts Horsepower Car Show.
What can be more fun than an old fashion Car Show? On Saturday, September 8, 8 am to 3 pm, the San Carlos Chamber will host the inaugural Industrial Arts Horsepower Car Show and Street Fair. The event will be held on Washington Street between Old County and Industrial Road, and include a wide variety of activities on Bayport and Varian.
There will be street vendors spread throughout the awesome cars on display. This is family friendly event complete with Kid Zone Fun! With a blend of cars, street fair and featuring local craft breweries and wineries in the Industrial Arts neighborhood of San Carlos, there is something for everyone!
SCEF is very fortunate to be the beneficiary of the proceeds from this year’s show. Come on down for the show. If you are interested in volunteering at the show itself, they would welcome the help. Send an email to [email protected] to learn more.
An Evening Dancing Under the Stars
On Saturday, September 15, Rock out to dance band, "Gotcha Covered", nosh on savory appetizers and enjoy an evening to remember in the company of your fabulous San Carlos friends as we transform Burton Park into a late summer wonderland! 6:00PM - 9:30 PM at the Burton Park Bandstand. Adults only.
An Evening at Town
An Evening at TOWN is SOLD OUT! But you can still participate in this year's Evening at TOWN Raffle. The grand prize is a pair of diamond hoop earrings. Only 150 tickets will be sold. To see the earrings and learn how to purchase raffle tickets, please go to: https://www.scefkids.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/TOWN2018-Raffle.pdf.
Your SCEF dollars at work.
This year, SCEF is granting over $2.4 million to benefit school programs and fund educator positions. Thank you to all our donors and business sponsors. Your generosity supports quality education in our San Carlos public schools.
Find out more about what we do at: www.scefkids.org
Community News and Events
Interested in joining Cub Scouts?
Please join Pack 65 at one of our information meetings to learn about the fun activities our Cub Scouts participate in. Open to all boys in 1st through 5th grade. Sept 5th and 13th at 6:30pm at the Burton Park stage area or Sept 17th at 6:30pm at Mahany Hall 1336 Arroyo Ave. For additional information visit www.pac65.org.
Open Enrollment for the San Carlos Eaton Hills 4H Club
Please come and join us for the first meeting of the San Carlos/Eaton Hills 4H Club at 7 pm on Tuesday, September 18, 2018 at the Clifford School located at 225 Clifford Avenue in Redwood City.
4H is open to all children between 5 years and 12th grade. There are over 30 types of classes available to youths. Find out what exciting animal, art and crafts, archery, cooking, woodworking and science and engineering projects etc. are available this year!