Principal's Newsletter
March 15, 2021
Principal's Message
Dear Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion families,
I hope everyone is well and staying safe. I am happy to report that most of our staff has received the first COVID 19 vaccination dose. A Memo of Understanding for the return of In-Person teaching for all teachers and staff was approved on Friday, March 5th. All of our teachers are planning on returning to teach In-Person. I want to thank all parents for quickly completing the Parent Survey by March 9th. The Parent Survey is vital for determining the teaching schedules based on how many families want to send their child(ren) back to In-Person Learning at school and how many will remain in Distance Learning.
The Parent Survey results (and phone calls), show that approximately 55% of our students will return to In-Person instruction and 45% will remain in Distance Learning. As over 90% of families selected the AM option of the In-Person Learning Hybrid schedule, we are planning for the In-Person classes to run only in the AM from approximately 8:00-11:30 or 8:15-11:45 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Wednesdays will continue to be Aysnchronous Learning days for everyone(along with the Synchronous Danny G grade level meetings). The 4th and 5th grade teams are developing a slightly different schedule in order to accommodate the 4 person teams where they will teach both the In-Person and the Distance Learners concurrently in a "Hybrid Flex" format. We are still tweaking and finalizing our schedules and we may need to make more changes so I appreciate everyone's patience and understanding.
I will be sending out invitations for ZOOM grade level meetings for all parents of In-Person Learning students in the next two weeks to go over the schedules, Health and Safety protocols and agreements, and to answer questions. During that Zoom meeting we will also cover the district’s current COVID 19 testing and tracking and tracing system. Families will have the opportunity to opt-in for their child to be COVID 19 tested every two weeks. Students and staff currently on campus are being tested, which contributes to the safety at school.
In-Person Learning students will first return in small cohorts and begin their transition from Full Distance Learning to In-Person Teaching and Learning. During the week of March 22, In-Person learning students will return by individual teacher classroom cohorts for a Back to School overview.This Back to School overview will include a review of school routines and practices, provide some engaging community building activities, and socio-emotional and health content standards instruction. This review will be especially important as there are many more safety practices in place as outlined in the San Mateo County Office of Education’s Four Pillars (Health & Hygiene, Face Coverings, Physical Distancing, and Limiting Gatherings). I will be emailing out the schedule for these orientations by the end of this week.
We expect that all full In-Person Learning students for all grade levels will be in their complete Hybrid schedules on campus by April 8th.
On February 24th, many of you already know that San Mateo County moved out of the most restrictive Purple Tier into the Red Tier for COVID 19 cases. We have good reason to think we are very close to moving into the even less restrictive Orange Tier tomorrow. However, I want to remind all families of students that will be returning to In-Person Learning that there is still a travel advisory in effect. If you travel more than 150 miles outside of the Bay Area you are supposed to Quarantine for 14 days upon your return. Typically, over the Spring Break many of us would travel outside of the Bay Area to visit family members, etc. I would ask that you please reconsider those plans especially if you are planning to travel out of the country or to a hot spot of COVID 19 cases.
All Adelante Selby families should be aware that the Superintendent and Board of Trustees have said that all immersion students will need to be In-Person next school year(starting school in August 2021). If families do not want their child(ren) to return in-person in August, they have the option of having their child(ren) attend an English-only, Virtual/DistanceLearning Academy.
The School Photos Day with LifeTouch has been rescheduled for March 17th and March 24th as the COVID-19 cases count has dropped significantly and San Mateo County is no longer in the Purple COVID-19 category. We have set up two Wednesdays for the school photos as there are no synchronous classes happening on Wednesdays. We are trying to limit the number of cars coming through at the same time on those days by scheduling by grade level. We understand it might be difficult for some families to come during the time allotted for your last name and that is OK. It is also fine to come at the same time if you have multiple children at our school.The process for photos will be:
- Enter/drive through the front parking lot off of Selby Lane.
- Stop and Park by the cafeteria and wait for staff to help you.
- Your child will go inside the cafeteria for the photo(escorted by staff)
- You(Parent) will drive along the side of cafeteria towards the playground
- Your child will exit the playground side of the cafeteria and get back in your car(escorted by staff)
- You will exit crossing the playground via the Himmel parking lot exit.
Unidos recently 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. Your family can watch these three videos on Empathy: intro video , the video narrative of the book, and the activity your family can do together. Project Cornerstone will also be offering two more parent meetings from 6:00-7:00pm: March 18th: Empowerment category – how to help kids feel valued and why that’s important; what Shared Power looks like; ways to empower kids, and March 25th: Boundaries and Expectations category – the concept of how the word “discipline” means “to teach” not to punish; the importance of consistency, and how to set up rules in your household with an activity to practice in class. The flyer and sign up information for the Parent Meetings is attached below.
Wellness Wednesdays is a seven-week asynchronous learning program focused on health and wellness for K-5th grade students.
Wellness Wednesday lessons for children in grades K-5 are approximately 10 minutes long. The structure and learning tools are the same each week:
Step 1:
Students watch a fun interactive video with a different topic each week facilitated by nutrition experts.
Step 2:
Students engage through online games and activities to enhance learning.
Week 6: Nutrition & Health Lessons
Nutrition and Self Awareness
Students who skip breakfast may find it hard to stay awake and concentrate in school. Nutrition lessons can teach students about the importance of eating breakfast to fuel their bodies and how to listen to internal cues of feeling hungry and full.
Kindergarten - 2nd Grade Lessons - Farm to You
3rd Grade Lessons - Fuel up with Breakfast
4th Grade Lessons - Fuel up with Breakfast
5th Grade Lessons - Analyzing Advertisements
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: Guía de Aprendizaje a Distancia para Padres to help support families.
Student breakfast and lunch drive through pickup here is now on Wednesdays 3:30-4:30, 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" . 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 note that the school playgrounds(including play structures and swings) and field are closed. The general public should not be on the school campus.
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
"Pasado y Presente" SEAL Unit , 1 grade, Clase de Maestra Ana
Miscellaneous around School
Important March Dates
- March 15-19: Parent Teacher Conferences ; 11:45 "dismissal"( Students work asynchronously in PM) Teachers will set up appointments with parents in PM.
- March 17: Picture/School Photo Day 8:00-3:00(see schedule attached)
- March 18th: Project Cornerstone Parent Workshop on Empowerment from 6:00-7:00pm
- March 22- April 7: Student Orientation Classes by Teacher ( we will email exact date/time)
- March 23: Super Minimum Day 11:45 AM "dismissal"( Students work asynchronously in PM)
- March 23: Project Cornerstone Parent Workshop on Boundaries/Expectations at 6:30pm
- March 24: Picture School Photo Day 8:00-3:00(see attached schedule)
- March 24: Library Book Distribution 8:30-11:30-12:30-3:00pm use Library drive through
- March 24: Site Council meeting 3:00pm(see Agenda attached below)
- March 25: Project Cornerstone Parent Workshop on Boundaries/Expectations 6:00-7:00pm
- March 26: Minimum Day prior to Spring Break: 11:45 Dismissal
- March 29- April 2 : Spring Break: No classes for Students
- March 25: Second Harvest Food Distribution: 3:30-5:00pm