The Sequoia Spotlight
October 2, 2018
Principal's Message
Dear Sequoia Families,
It's hard to believe that fall is upon us with rain on the forecast for later this week! On days with inclement weather, we do open the auditorium and/or gym to allow students to go indoors during lunch to eat and hang out with friends.
Safety is a priority at Sequoia. During our morning announcements, we have been including safety reminder tips. These include safety tips about staying safe on campus and in traveling to and from school. Also, please remember not to use the parking lots of neighboring businesses to pick up/drop off your child or block residential driveways. Help us be good neighbors to surrounding business and residents!
Thank you to the many parents who attended Back to School Night earlier this month! We appreciate your partnership in supporting your child's education! Another event geared toward parents was our annual GATE Parent Information Night that happened in mid-September. This event allows parents to learn more about the GATE program at Sequoia, the ACES (after class enrichment series) program, Odyssey of the Mind, and provided parents with the opportunity to participate in a Break Out Box challenge.
I would like to introduce our parent representatives for the 2018 - 2019 school year. Our parent representatives are: Debbie Bacharach (PTA Treasurer), Audra Baker-Tafarella (PTA Historian), Jill Frazier (SSC and DAC Rep), Julie Freedman (SSC and PTA President), Ana Garcia (DELAC Rep), Stacey Larson (SSC and SEDAC Rep), Sterling Meredith (SSC), Katey Reynolds (PTA Secretary), Cathy Riggs (PTA VP Technology), John Turman (PTA Auditor), Gisella Zimmerman- Stanley (SSC, PTA Exec VP, GATE DAC Rep). We appreciate all of their support and hard work!
As a staff we have been working hard to get CREW time up and running. We also participated in a professional development opportunity led by Mr. Kenny Loo, Director of Middle Schools and Professional Learning, and Mrs. Gia Jantz, Dean of Students at Colina Middle School, on Community Circles. In addition, our Impact Teams are up and running; four teams of teachers spent two days in September learning about collective efficacy and involving students in the learning and assessment process.
I am looking forward to a great October!
Your principal,
Mrs. Chambers
Changes to Schedule - IMPORTANT
Also, Sequoia's leadership team and School Site Council has discussed and will be changing the schedule for the last day of school, Friday, June 6. 6th/7th graders will attend school from 8:20 - 9:20 AM. 8th Grade Promotion will be moved up to 10:45 AM. This will help with the heat that is regularly a concern during 8th grade promotion and will also allow more time between Sequoia's Promotion and high school graduation at NPHS.
CREW
We kicked off our first few CREW lessons this month with a focus on getting to know the students in our classes and creating connections with them. In addition, we started Mindful Moments, promoted school spirit through COTY competitions and learned about the brain.
Student Connections
Let's talk about connections! WEB Hosted a social for our 6th grade students last Friday where they were able to check in with their WEB leader. Our amazing ASB put on a terrific Blacklight Social/Dance in the middle of September. There were neon lights, awesome dancing and lots and lots of food! ASB also hosted our first Club Fair on Monday, September 24 in the quad during lunch. Chess club, Coding Club, Robotics Cub, Builders Club, Card Game Club, STEM Club, Drawing Club and more were all in attendance! Our Sequoia sports teams got off to a good start with their seasons. This season we have three girls' volleyball teams, one boys' soccer team and two boys' basketball teams. To check the league schedules, go to www.thousandoaksteencenter.com. We would love to have some Sequoia fans at our games! Our PTA sponsored the Reflections art program with several guest speakers who discussed their experiences with photography, choreography and composing.
Student Learning
Classrooms were busy as teachers and students dove into the curriculum and standards that will be covered this school year. It was an exciting time in beginning band as students have learned basic music theory and progressed to playing an instrument, many for the first time! In 8th grade English, students read Flowers for Algernon and in 6th grade, Maroo of the Winter Caves. Sequoia scientists discussed matter and the Periodic table and learned how to write ClEvR Statements (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning). Our scientists also learned about the scientific inquiry process and geological timelines. In social studies, students worked on a Colonial Sales pitch, discussed Roman Engineering and the fall of Rome. If you stopped by sixth grade math classes, you would have seen students learning about Least Common Multiples (LCM) and the Greatest Common Factor (GCF). A focus for all math students this year is being able to explain their reasoning when solving math word problems. In physical education, students learned about the cardiovascular system and started playing Ultimate Frisbee. Students in 6th grade Discover took a field trip to La Brea Tar Pits and several of our English Language Learners visited the Newbury Park library. Our Podcast was up and running as part of Digital Production with visits from the library and from Dawn Megli-Thuna with the Thousand Oaks Acorn.
Upcoming Events
- PTA Restaurant Night at Mod Pizza: Wednesday, October 3 @ Mod Pizza (5 - 9 PM)
- PTA Meeting: Thursday, October 4 @ Teacher's Lounge (6 - 7 PM)
- Spirit Dress Day (Sequoia Apparel): Friday, October 5
- Tri 1 Progress Reports Sent Home: Friday, October 5
- Minimum Day/Early Dismissal: Tuesday, October 9 (1:30 PM)
- ELAC Meeting: Wednesday, October 10 @ Room B-5 (7:30 AM)
- Choir Dessert Concert: Thursday, October 11 @ Auditorium (7:00 PM)
- Spirit Dress Day (Sequoia Apparel): Friday, October 12
- Principal Lunch: Tuesday, October 16
- School Site Council: Wednesday, October 17 @ Library (7:30 AM)
- ASB Sponsored Fall Carnival: Friday, October 19 @ Quad (3:15 - 5:15 PM)
- Red Ribbon Week: Monday, October 22 - Friday, October 26
- Minimum Day/Early Dismissal: Tuesday, October 23 (1:30 PM)
- Motivational Speaker Assembly: Wednesday, October 24
- 6th Grade Outdoor School Parent Info Night: Thursday, October 25 @ Auditorium (6:00 PM)
- COTY Dress Day (Wear Red): Friday, October 26
- Talent Show Try-outs: Tuesday, October 30 @ Auditorium (After School)
- COTY Dress Day (Wear Black/Orange or Costumes): Wednesday, October 31