Bobcat Strong Tracker
January 25, 2024
BE KIND, BE STRONG, BE WELL
Having trouble reading this email? Just click anywhere on the content below or visit our website at www.santaritaschool.org and go to the bottom of the website to find this newsletter!
Also, need to translate this? Just click down on the Translate menu to the right and choose your language.
Our Mission
At Santa Rita Elementary School, we foster curious, motivated learners who reach their highest potential in a supportive community that appreciates diversity.
TONIGHT! MINDFUL PARENT WORKSHOP 6:30-7:45 in Multi or Zoom
SANTA RITA- SAVE THE DATE
Jan 25- Mindful Parent Workshop at Santa Rita 6:30-7:45 and on Zoom
Jan 26- Feb 2- Kids Heart Health Challenge
Feb 6 - Hearing Screenings for K, 2nd, & 5th
Feb 9- Junior Olympics Kick Off!
Feb 19-23- No School- Winter Break
March 6- STEM EXPO
March 11- Aladdin Auditions- register below
March 11-15- International Week
March 15 - International Celebration Evening Event
- LASD 2023-2024 Calendar
- Reporting Attendance: To report a student's absence, please fill out this form or call
- Please fill out your Bobcat Strong Registration!
- Food Menus
Thanks to Ms. Garvin who hosted 1st-6th graders in Gaga Ball on Monday as part of an Auction celebrati
RAFFERTY'S RECORDS
Rafferty's Records
Hello Wonderful Bobcat Community!
Santa Rita has a few exciting events that are being kicked off this week. Yesterday, the school discussed the STEM Expo, which is More than Just a Science Faire! Tomorrow, we will have an assembly to get excited about The American Heart Association Challenge. Please read below for information about both.
Santa Rita STEM EXPO
Santa Rtia School STEM Expo invites students in grades TK-6 to participate! While engaging in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) projects, students will have an opportunity to design hands-on projects while exploring just how fun STEM can be! This event lends itself to a myriad of learning experiences: within the class or at home, working individually or collaboratively with peers or with adults, and amongst a wide range of STEM categories including: Rube Goldberg, Invention, Engineering (Reverse), Engineering (Robotics), Scientific Inquiry, and Wearable Designs. Ultimately, students will get a chance to showcase their STEM work in a fun and unique venue, with learning opportunities for the entire family. Santa Rita will be hosting the STEM Expo evening showcase on Wednesday, March 6th, from 5:30pm - 7:00pm.
Intent to Register:
The STEM Expo “Intent to Participate” is just around the corner. This must be done by Friday, March 1st. If your child is interested in submitting a project for the Expo, make sure they sit down with you and fill out the form found HERE. Participation is not mandatory but it sure is a fun event!
Younger Students:
Are you the parent of a student in primary (TK - 2nd Grade)? Are you unsure how your eager scientist/engineer can participate? Younger students are encouraged to do a project with a parent or older child. This is a great way to spend time together and learn. Categories that are more approachable for younger students are scientific inquiry and reverse engineering.
Tri-fold Posters:
All projects will need to have a trifold poster board that illustrates the written components of the project. See the handout links on the Santa Rita STEM Expo Site for more information. Tri-fold boards can be picked up in the office.
Fun For the Whole Community:
The STEM Expo is not just a day event! It is open to all. Bring friends, grandparents, aunts, uncles and come celebrate Santa Rita’s scientists and engineers!
How Can You Help?
The STEM Expo is such a fantastic event but it takes many hands to make it happen. Please visit the Santa Rita STEM Expo Site and see the many ways you can help.
Finally, here is the Presentation link that was shared with students yesterday.
Be Kind, Be Strong, Be Well
Kelly Rafferty
Principal
Kids Heart Challenge
Kids Heart Challenge is kicking off tomorrow, January 26th, with a fun-filled assembly by the American Heart Association! Together, we’ll empower our students to have happy and healthy hearts and brains, while raising lifesaving donations to help others with special hearts. The AHA is celebrating 100 years of saving & improving lives, and this would not be possible without YOU! Please join the AHA’s 100th birthday party by following these two steps:
- Register TODAY at http://www2.heart.org/goto/SantaRita or by downloading the free AHA Schools App for Apple or Android
- Complete Finn’s Mission to learn Hands-Only CPR & raise lifesaving donations to help special hearts
SPECIAL INCENTIVES:
- Top Upper Grade's Class with most students registered will earn the right to SILLY STRING Ms. Rafferty!
- Top Primary Grade's class with the most students registered will earn the right to SILLY STRING Coach Conrad!
Thank you for supporting our school and the American Heart Association. Together, we are saving lives!
BOBCAT STRONG NEWS
Hearing Screenings
Hearing screening will be done at Santa Rita School for all Kindergarten, 2nd and, 5th grades on Tuesday, February 6, 2024. If your child has a known hearing loss please notify the Health Services Staff (lasdnurses@lasdschools.org) before the day of the screening. The district nurses will mail a referral form and contact parents of students who do not pass hearing screening.
Strictly Strings Concert
"The Almond, Covington, Gardner Bullis and Santa Rita 6th grade Orchestras will be performing at the Strictly Strings Concert- Feb 13, 2024, 7pm @ Los Altos High School Eagle Theater. Public is welcome, doors open at 6:30pm"
International Week 2024
Santa Rita's International Week (week of March 11th) is coming! It is one of our most beloved traditions at Santa Rita! It celebrates our diversity, makes students proud of their heritage, and brings our community together! We will have a family potluck, country presentations, flag parades, and dances and end with a school-wide evening festival on Friday, March 15nd.
To make this event a success, we need dance teachers and country presenters.
We are hoping to expand our small group cultural dance this year. If you are interested in teaching a dance to a small group of students during lunchtime in March, please let us know.
We are bringing back parent presentations this year. We need 16 presentations so we would love to have parent or parent/student teams to present. You can present with your child(ren), or support your child(ren) to present by themselves; or you can also present by yourself. Presentations will be given during school time on Thursday, March 14 (K/TK) and Friday, March 15 (1st-6th).
If you are interested in helping or want to know more, contact Yang Liu at daisy_ly99@hotmail.com or Alice Lee at joy268@hotmail.com.
You’re invited to come enjoy an inspirational night of STEM as keynote speakers share about their professions in STEM fields and explain how their work impacts the world around us.
All LASD students and parents are welcome to attend!
February 6th, 2023, 7:00 - 8:15 PM at Blach
Find out more about LASD’s STEM Career Night speakers.
Donations to LAEF are funding LASD STEM this year. If you have yet to give, donate today. We still need to raise $430K to fund STEM and more this school year.
Special Education Events and Resources
SELPA-CAC General Meeting ONLINE February 5
Monthly updates from Special Ed directors and staff, planning for programs and parent education with parents and volunteers.
Monday February 5, 4-6pm
Let's Talk: Parent Support Group for Special Education ONLINE February 6
Ask questions and share ideas and support with other parents of students with IEPs, 504s, learning differences, mental health challenges, etc.
Tuesday, February 6, 10-11:30am
Resources
Inclusion Collaborative is a Santa Clara organization that runs an Inclusion Support Warm Line providing FREE individualized supports for parents, teachers, and community members working with children who have disabilities and other needs, in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and other languages as needed. This might include Positive Behavior Supports, Social Stories, Communication Strategies, Community Activities, and more. Call (408) 453-6651 or email inclusionwarmline@sccoe.org.
Please contact your SELPA-1 CAC liaison, Alison Biggs, at abiggs@gmail.com with any questions.
The Tech Challenge
Now in its 37th year, The Tech Challenge invites teams of students in Grades 4-12 to use the engineering design process to solve a real-world problem. Participants spend months collaborating and becoming deeply engaged in the challenge while documenting their progress and designs. The program culminates in an inspiring two-day showcase in April where teams put their solutions to the test in front of judges. SPACE – the possibilities are limitless! Can your team deliver fragile, but highly important supplies to this moon’s surface? Click here for more details or reach out to Grace Choi, gchoi@lasdschools.org.
CENG FREE Virtual Hackathon for 3rd - 8th grade Registration Open Now
Computer Engineers of the Next Generation (CENG) will be hosting a FREE virtual hackathon for grades 3 to 8 on Saturday, March 2nd, and Sunday, March 3rd from 1–5 p.m. PST on both days. NO coding experience is needed to join! In small groups of 3–5, participants will have the opportunity to work together and learn to code in Scratch, JavaScript, or Python.
Workshops and games will be interspersed throughout the event to guide students of any experience level through the process. At the end of the Hackathon, students will present their work to a panel of judges in the field based on a rubric consisting of creativity, complexity/functionality, collaboration, and presentation. After the coding portion of the hackathon is over, participants will have the opportunity to listen to our guest speaker who is in the game design field.
Sign up for the hackathon and share it with your friends and family members who might be interested today by visiting cengclass.org. Registration closes on Sunday, February 18, 2024.
Questions? Email Alice Lee at cenghackathon@gmail.com
CENG is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to inspire historically underrepresented minorities to explore and pursue an interest in computer science. Find out more at cengclass.org.
Universal Meals Program
NUTRITION SERVICES FAQ - If you have questions, please add them to this document.
Santa Rita School
Email: krafferty@lasdschools.org
Website: https://www.santaritaschool.org
Location: 700 Los Altos Avenue, Los Altos, CA, USA
Phone: (650)559-1600
Facebook: santaritaPTA
Twitter: @BobcatsSR
Join us to support our students this school year!