Orion Gazette
August 29-September 2
Orion School Dates
9/5 Labor Day Holiday - No School
9/6 and 9/7 Back to School Nights - Early release both days
9/9 MidAutumn Festival 5:30-9:00pm
9/13 Early Release Day for grades 1-5 for Staff Professional Development
9/30 Ice Cream Social
REDWOOD CITY PARKS AND RECREATION
Registration for Fall sports is now open. We hope to have a 4th/5th Orion Girls Volleyball Team!
Click on the link below to register.
Fall/Winter Sports (Link)
Below are the list of sports available for students in the fall:
- School Volleyball League (Girls)
- Volleyball Clinics
- Tennis
- Flag Football
- School basketball league
- Basketball Clinic
Contact Michael Smith (After School Sports Coordinator) at 650-780-7254 or msmith@redwoodcity.org for additional information.
TK sensory table
Su Laoshi Grade 3
Water play in TK
Starship Parent Teacher Organization Corner
Contribute to our Direct Drive!
Families who make the suggested donation by December 31rst will receive ONE free child’s T-shirt in blue or red/black. . Contact Meghan (914) 471-0230 to arrange pickup. Please check with your employer about company matching before donating. We heavily rely on corporate matching to meet our fundraising goals. Search for your company here. EIN 94-3179780.
Starship Orion PayPal link: Donate HERE!
8/25 Starship Orion PTO meeting notes:
Agenda - This is what we covered last night. Minutes to follow.
There was a Budget Change proposal on the agenda. Please review the 22-23 Orion PTO Budget for details.
Summary: Currently our teachers and classrooms across Parent Co-Op and Mandarin Immersion do not have any budget for field trips. This means there is no allocated PTO funding at this stage for field trips to take place this school year for any classroom.
There is a proposal for PTO to provide funding, and thus increase our budget by $21,000, to be allocated equally across all 21 classrooms on campus, such that each classroom receives $1,000 in funding.
The rationale behind the request is to provide equitable “seed money” across each classroom on campus to enable teachers and classrooms to begin scheduling field trips and budgeting for transportation logistics, as many field trip sites book up in advance.
We had a rich community discussion indicating favorability to make changes and received perspectives from the community. However, our bylaws dictate we must call for a Yes / No vote for this motion to be passed or be declined. The indication of community support for this proposal will necessitate changes to our direct donation strategy, including recruiting volunteers for a grant writing community.
Please join us on Thursday, Sept 1 from 7:30-8:00 pm for an off-cycle meeting to allow a full discussion of this proposal, and vote following the discussion.
Mid-Autumn Festival at Orion
Friday, September 9 from 5:30 - 8:30 PM at Orion
Come celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with lanterns and cultural activities on campus! Join in the time-honored tradition of admiring the full moon with loved ones and bring your own dinner picnic or purchase from food trucks onsite. There will be a lantern decorating station hosted by RCMIS, mooncakes for sale from PlayThrive, a lion dance performance from Lion Dance ME sponsored by PTO, and games and activities to enjoy - plus a special performance of Mid Autumn Festival skits by students. The evening will conclude with a lantern parade. Students may want to bring a lantern or purchase one on site to join the parade.
Raise money for the school PTO by purchasing wristbands and tickets for games. If you have already made your yearly donation to Starship Orion, you can get free wristbands for your whole family that can be picked up prior to the event by contacting Meghan at (914) 471-0230 to arrange to pick them up before or after school.
On the day of the event, families can buy all-access wristbands for a suggested donation of $25 per person (or more! This will be a great opportunity to make your yearly donation!). Sales will occur at the PTO table.
Donations for wristbands are optional, and each family can pay for what they choose. All are welcome! We encourage generosity to support all our amazing enrichment initiatives and support our students and teachers. Wristbands will allow access for your children to all the games. If you would like to purchase individual tickets, families can do so for $5/ticket to get access to individual games for 1 ticket per game.
Schedule of Events
5:30 PM: Tickets & Wristbands for sale at PTO table \ (Picnic Tables) and Food Trucks open (Ave Del Ora)
5:30 - 8:00 PM: Dunk Tank, Bouncy House, Games (Blacktop and picnic tables). Mooncakes for sale sponsored by PlayThrive, professional lantern-making activity for sale sponsored by RCMIS. Families eat at the new green picnic tables.
5:50: Opening Remarks and Appreciation
6 PM: Student Skits (Stage)
6:30 PM: Lion Dance ME performance (Stage)
8:15 PM: Optional Lantern Parade by students
8:30 - 9 PM: Parent volunteer clean up
We Love Our Parent Volunteers
To volunteer at Orion, start by completing the online registration:
Due to increasing cases of COVID-19 across the Bay Area and the nation, volunteers will not be able to participate on any school campus across RCSD for the first 30 days of school.
After 30 days our local health and educational leaders will share the next steps.
Back to School Night by grade level bands
Back to School Night- Both Days are early release days
Grades TK-2 Tuesday, September 6
6:00-7:15
Grades 3-5 Wednesday, September 7
6:00-7:15
This event is hosted on two separate nights in order to accomodate traffic and parking needs for families.
Teachers will share the slide deck with families following the event.
Tuesday, Sep 6, 2022, 06:00 PM
Our School
Check out the Orion Website along with the School Handbook
Please take some time to review school routines, procedures, schedules, and expectations. Feel free to reach out to the classroom teacher or to the school administration if you have any questions or helpful feedback to improve the handbook.
The handbook will also be made available in English and Spanish at Maze Day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Orion Alternative School
Website: https://orion.rcsdk8.net/
Location: 555 Ave Del Ora, Redwood City, CA, USA
Phone: 650-482-2406