Principal's Newsletter
May 3, 2021
Principal's Message
Dear Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion families,
I hope everyone is well and staying safe. The last two weeks have gone well here at school and I really enjoyed seeing students and staff dressed up for the Pajama and Disney/Pixar Spirit Dress Up days. I hope to see everyone this Wednesday for our big, virtual DÃa del Niño Celebration at 6:00pm. As it is Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week, I want to thank and give a BIG SHOUT OUT to all the teachers and staff for their dedication and hard work during this difficult school year! I want to thank Penny Cifuentes and Unidos PTO for putting together a wonderful "Teacher/Staff are Superheroes" Appreciation Week for everyone(see photos and Teacher & Staff Superhero Week flyer below). Please note that the district has finalized the School Calendar for the 2021-2022 school year. I have attached the calendar as a PDF flyer below and parents should make your family travel/vacation plans accordingly.
Leslie Daniele, our Assistant Principal, has been promoted to become the Director of ELD/Compliance for next school year. I know this was a very difficult decision for her to make due to the incredible relationships she has built with students, parents, teachers and staff. She loves and will always feel part of our wonderful Spanish Immersion school community. Personally, I want to thank her for all the hard work and support she has given me over the years. As she will be working at the District Office next year, she will not be that far away and is always welcome to come back and visit! We will be conducting a search for a new Assistant Principal for next year and we will keep the community informed once a new one has been hired.
As most of you are already aware, San Mateo County is in the less restrictive Orange Tier of COVID-19 cases. The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) recently updated its Pandemic Recovery Framework for Schools. The updated document includes public health guidance around physical distancing, travel, individuals identified as close contacts, and graduations. This change from 6 feet to 3 feet means that we can accept more than 15 students at a time in classrooms(approximately 22 students per class at a time). If any family is interested in having their child return In-Person please contact our office.
The change to the Recovery Framework also means we can have In-Person Promotion Ceremonies for our 5th graders. After surveying the 5th grade parents last week, where 87% of parents chose the option of a live 5th grade Promotion Ceremony, we have decided to hold In-Person 5th grade Promotion Ceremonies on Wednesday, June 9th. We will have two ceremonies one in the morning (tentatively scheduled at 10:00AM) and one in the afternoon(tentatively scheduled at 3:00pm) because of distancing requirements. We also will need to limit to only 2 family members per 5th grade student at each ceremony due to the distancing requirements. We will be sending out more information on the ceremonies directly to 5th grade parents soon.
3rd, 4th, and 5th grade In-Person learning students will be tested for COVID-19 tomorrow(Tuesday, May 4th) with our school nurses here on campus. TK-2nd grade in-Person students need to come with a parent for COVID-19 testing this Wednesday, May 5th between 9:00-3:00pm through the Front Parking Lot.
A reminder to all families that have students who have returned In-Person that we do expect students to follow our Dress Code.
i-Ready End of Year Assessments
The students will complete one more round of i-Ready testing this year. Our school district received a waiver to be able to use these scores instead of the 3rd-8th grade students having to take the SBAC this year. i-Ready testing will take place starting the week of May 10th. We will start with English Language Arts and then continue with Math the week of May 19th. Students who are in Distance Learning, but prefer to come and take the test on site may do so. Please email me or call the office if this is the case to make arrangements. We want everyone to do their best on the test! Here are two good links for parents to help prepare students for the i-Ready testing: Family Center: This is a family-facing link that includes FAQs, tips for support, and the link to the Family Guidance page, which has a video, tech guidance, and more.
2020-21 Panorama Climate Survey: 3rd-8th Grade Students & Families
The climate survey window has been extended for students, families and staff is May 7th
Students will access the survey by navigating to surveys.panoramaed.com/redwood and entering their 6-digit student ID number which serves as their access code
Families should have received 3 emails from Health & Wellness (April 19, 26 and 30) with a link to the survey in either English or Spanish. They will access their survey at surveys.panoramaed.com/redwood/family (link included in their emails) and select their school from a drop down menu.
As you know, assessing the school climate provides useful information that allows us to develop our social emotional support programs with input from our students, staff and community. This year we’ve also added questions related to equity and inclusion to emphasize our ongoing commitment to the important work we’ve done in this area.
DIA DE LOS NIÑOS: Dance Performance & Raffle Drawing; So Fun City Family games
Join us May 5th from 6pm-7pm for the virtual Danny G. student dance performance and raffle drawing hosted by So Fun City! We will come together virtually to watch our students perform and see whose names are drawn for the many raffle prizes. Sign up to join the event at https://www.sofuncity.com/adelanteselby.
Raffle sales are ACTIVE now! Visit https://unidospto.membershiptoolkit.com/rifa for more information.
Social Emotional Learning Message –Self-Management and Self- Awareness
The child who learns that they can successfully overcome obstacles and depend on others for support gains lifelong confidence that they have the tools they need to solve problems.
Thank you Mr. Falker , Empathy Connection
Empathy is a major concept in this month's Project Cornerstone book, Thank you, Mr. Falker. Empathy is at the heart of what it means to be human. Empathy is a foundation for acting ethically, for good relationships of many kinds, for loving well, and for professional success. And it’s key to preventing bullying and many other forms of cruelty. This book shows students ways to accept and understand students that are different or may have learning challenges.
· Caring adults can champion us.
· Have respect for myself and others.
· Identify personal strengths to help overcome difficulties.
· Build empathy for students with learning challenges.
· Role model responsible ways to behave online.
· Celebrate students’ heroes.
Unidos approved YMCA Project Cornerstone's virtual ABC video lessons for families to view(the read alouds of the books) and do the activities together. Normally, parent volunteers would do the read alouds and activities in the classroom. In the month of May, please watch the videos below with your family and do the activities:
Pre-Recorded Video Lesson (Grades K-2): Narration with Introduction Video
Pre-Recorded Activity Video (Grades K-6) Video
Pre-Recorded Video Lesson (Grades 3-6): Narration with Introduction Video
Pre-Recorded Activity Video (Grades 2-6) Video
Pre-Recorded Video Lesson: Narration ONLY Video
A reminder that the district has set up an informational resource for parents and the community on the district web page called the Roadmap to Reopening of Schools.The district has also included a Parent's Guide to Distance Learning and in Spanish: GuÃa de Aprendizaje a Distancia para Padres to help support families.
Student breakfast and lunch drive through pickup here is now on Wednesdays 11:00-12:30, or at Roosevelt, Henry Ford or Taft from 3:30-4:30 Learn more here
Office Hours
Our new school office is open to the public on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 8:00am-4:00pm. Parents, please note that teachers are still leaving packets and learning materials in front of the "old office". The black gate by the office is locked now during school hours and all visitors must enter through the office for security. Please call to make an appointment if you need help. All staff and visitors to campus must:
- wear a mask
- use hand disinfectant when entering the office
- have your temperature taken in the office at the kiosk so we can screen you
- complete the visitor Wellness Screening From using the QR code in the office
- keep 6 feet of social distancing at all times
Please send me an email of a photo of your child learning at home or a screen shot of their project and I will try to include it in upcoming newsletters.
Please visit our school website , Adelante Selby Facebook Page and our PTO/Unidos webpage and social media accounts: unidospto.org, Facebook and Instagram for more information.
Regards,
Director Warren
Important May Dates
- May 4: 3rd, 4th and 5th grade In-Person Student COVID-19 testing here at school with nurse
- May 4: Unidos Parent Meeting, Password: 987654: 7:00pm,
- May 5: TK-2nd grade In-Person Student COVID-19 testing 9:00-3:00 with parent by Office
- May 5: Library Book Distribution 8:30-11:30-12:30-3:00 by the Library
- May 5: Unidos "DÃa de los Niños" Event 6:00pm: Students Danny G performance; So Fun City Family Games; Raffle Drawing
- May 7: No School(counted from Lincoln's Birthday in February)
- May 10-May 23: i-Ready testing window for 1st-5th grades
- May 13: Second Harvest Food Distribution: 3:30-5:00pm
- May 13: PJ Read Aloud with Director Warren and special guest readers: 6:30-7:15pm
- May 19: Site Council Meeting 3:00pm(see Agenda attached below)
- May 19: All Library books need to be returned!
- May 24: ELAC Parent Meeting 4:00pm
- May 27: Second Harvest Food Distribution: 3:30-5:00pm