Dolphin Newsletter
3.11.22
Message from Mr. Noyes
It is hard to believe that we have ended our second trimester of the year! This last part of the year has a tendency to fly by, and there are so many upcoming events to put on your radar, so make sure to take note of the dates we have in this newsletter. We have enjoyed the dropping Covid rates as we recently passed the two year mark since the beginning of the pandemic. Each day, things start to feel more like "normal" again. Starting on Monday, masking at school will be "strongly encouraged", based on the framework from San Mateo County. All people at school will be encouraged to mask, but it will not be a requirement and we ask for everyone's patience, kindness and grace as we enter this new territory. We are excited at this new frontier, and please be assured we will continue to offer weekly testing to students.
In addition to the changes with our mask policy, after our return from spring break, we will discontinue the daily wellness form that you get by email each morning. You will be able to report any absence with the digital form on our website, or call into the office as you did before. Another exciting announcement is that after spring break, our campus will again be open to parents. Please read the information below regarding the impact of this on our drop off and pick up routines. Enjoy this beautiful weekend!
In Partnership,
Jude Noyes and Tiffany Parrish
Looking ahead...
- March 13th Daylight Savings Time! Turn clocks forward 1 hour!
- March 14-18 Parent Teacher Conference Week: Minimum Days All Week
- March 14th 8:30-9 Principal Chat |Link|
- March 14-18 Kindness Message Morning Announcements
- March 16th- TK-5 Dolphin Award Winners
March 22- Clifford Vision Screening TK/K, 2nd, 5th, 8th
March 25- 6-8 Academic Awards Assembly/6-8 Character Awards
- March 22nd SSC at 6:00 |Link| Password: Clifford
- March 25 Minimum Day
- March 28-April 1- Spring Break
- April 18th- No school
- May 16-20- 5th grade outdoor education
March 21-25- English Learner Students take ELPAC
- April 16th 6pm Clifford Auction
Drop off & Pick Up
After Spring Break, we will be allowed to have visitors on campus. We know that parents are excited for this opportunity, so we want to outline some guidelines for drop off and pick up. During drop off in the morning, parents are welcome to walk their children to their classroom, but we ask that all families exit campus by the start of school at 8:15. Late bird Kindergarten students will continue the check in process we have used all year because these students enter school after the 8:15 bell. We are a closed campus, and as such, we will continue the same pick up process as we have done all year. This process has helped us ensure that students exit safely and efficiently from campus.
Family Connection Corner
This week, we want to take some time to focus on middle school. During lunch this week, our middle school student council cleaned areas of our campus during their lunch time! This last week, Mr. Rogers has worked diligently in getting our 7th grade students to complete their California Physical Fitness testing and they completed this during their PE time this week. Pictured here they were completing their sit ups, and this period happened to be during the 1-3 grade lunch, and the younger students were mesmerized. They were so in awe of the "big kids" :) Our last picture here is a group of 8th grade students in ELA with Teacher Chance. They are finishing up the book, "The Outsiders" and they were gathering for a group activity breaking down quotes from the text.
Our middle school student council met recently and gathered some input for students for some items that they would like added to the Dolphin Depot that are geared at middle school students. This week, we were able to debut the new Middle School Depot, new items that are available exclusively to middle school students. We had more middle school visitors to the Dolphin Depot than we have ever had, so I consider it a success!
Student Council Spring Cleaning Challenge
Masks at Clifford
Beginning on Monday, March 14, masks will no longer be required, but rather strongly encouraged in Redwood City School District (RCSD) school facilities, including RCSD buses.
It is important that Clifford students, staff, and volunteers feel safe and cared for at our school. Students and families will decide whether to continue to wear a mask or not. Clifford will work together as a school community to ensure everyone feels supported in their personal decision.
As always, the health and safety of Clifford students and staff is the top priority. To learn more about this change in guidance, please visit the RCSD website.
Jude
Social Emotional Learning
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) outlines five core competencies:
Self-awareness
Self-management
Responsible decision-making
Relationship skills
Social Awareness
For more information on Social and Emotional Learning, please visit https://casel.org/.
At Clifford SEL is an integrated part of our daily curriculum. We are looking forward to a collaborative and engaging parent partnership as we grow our skills around SEL in our school.
March is Women's History Month
Each year during the month of March, women's history is celebrated. The theme changes annually; however, the foremost goal of the month remains the same: to provide education on how women helped shape the nation and to empower children by introducing them to historical role models.
For more information on women's history month, please visit this website.
CLIFFORD AFTER-SCHOOL ENRICHMENT IS HAPPENING FOR SPRING 2022!
We are excited to bring back some of our after school activities for K-5! Whether it’s visual (Drawing, Art & Math), musical (Piano to Ukulele), martial arts (Jiu Jitsu and Self Defense), foreign languages (Mandarin and Spanish), computer languages (Scratch Coding), new skills (Electrical Engineering and Robotics) or a class that engages your muscles (Zumba, Basketball, and Hip Hop) or your palates (Junior Chefs), you’ll find a great on-campus class at https://www.homeroom.com/sites/clifford-elementary-redwood-city.
These classes have limited enrollment and will fill up fast, so register soon! Once you register they provide you with a link to share with Clifford friends who might want to join. Classes will be starting the week of April 11. Some of the vendors have flyers for their class if you’d like to learn more about them attached to this newsletter.
CLIFFORD STUDENTS ARE UPSTANDERS
Project Cornerstone Upstander Wall Mural at Clifford!
Come and visit the Project Cornerstone Upstander Wall Mural located directly next to the office. Clifford students have made individual "footprints" that showcase how they are "Upstanders" on the playground at Clifford; such as: "ask a friend to play", "help someone" and "be kind". Kindergarteners-5th graders each read The Recess Queen last month and their Project Cornerstone classroom volunteer reader helped lead them in a lively discussion about how Clifford students can be inclusive on the playground and go from being bystanders to upstanders!
Staff Coffee Cart Donations! Please!
Thank you families for all of the donations this year!
We do need more items! We are out of Coffee pods, creamer, sugar, cups, and snacks. Please consider donating to our staff coffee cart! Our staff love enjoying coffee and treats everyday. Please just drop it off in the main office! Thank you!!!
Message from our Equity Coach, Natalie!
Dear parents and caregivers,
This month we celebrate Women’s History Month. Various classes have been coming to the Equity Lounge to hear why we celebrate this important month. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter declared a week in March National Women’s History Week. That week eventually became a month, much like Black History Month.
In the Rainbow Dolphin club last week, we read a story about belonging and inclusion called The Big Umbrella. I highly recommend it. We then started an art project around the theme of the book. Finally, the middle school GSA worked on posters for Women’s History Month in the middle school hallway.
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the California Teachers Association Human Rights and Equity Conference. I attended workshops on liberatory design, the art of navigating difficult conversations, cultural and linguistic diversity, and interacted with many amazing passionate educators. I’m excited to practice what I learned and share my knowledge with others.
Take care,
Natalie
Cheer Tryouts!!!
Helpful Links
- Covid testing in our community
- RCSD Covid Testing for Students & Staff
- Roadmap to Learning Safely
- RCSD Peachjar Fliers
- School Lunch Menu
- Clifford is an NUA school. Learn more about NUA here
- Parent Education Series Free Resources and Links:
The Parent Venture: https://www.parentventure.org/
Video Library (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/c/ParentEducationSeries
The Parent Education Newsletter (Register): http://bit.ly/ParentEdNewsletter
LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/parenteducation
Reporting Student Illness/Absences
Parents/Guardians can now use this Google form to report their child(ren) absent. Please follow this link to the form and bookmark it for easy reference!
Clifford School
Email: jnoyes@rcsdk8.net
Website: https://www.rcsdk8.net/clifford
Phone: 650-482-2402