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Henry Ford School Newsletter, May 24, 2021
Principal's Message
Dear Henry Ford Families,
At last week's Principal's Assembly, I mentioned to students that we only had 14 days left of classroom instruction. I reminded everyone to stay focused, to complete their assignments early and on time. I mentioned how I want to make sure everyone feels ready to move forward to the next grade level. I won't feel good on signing off on someone's promotion to the next grade level unless the student is prepared and has finished the year to the best of their ability. I know everyone has worked so hard with our modified schedules and online instruction. We are all ready to start a brand new normal year like we did in 2019. Your encouragement to help your child stay focused and on task these next several weeks will go a long ways.
Also, last week you should have received our School's invitation for our Summer Reading Club. The program is designed to keep students reading and learning all summer. Students are invited to come to School one day a week to meet with a teacher and learn about a particular topic of interest or work on a project or fun learning activity. Then each class gets to go to the library to check out a few books for the week.
If your child is interested, and you didn't receive your grade level invitation, the following are the grade-specific links to sign up.
First Grade Summer Reading Program
Second Grade Summer Reading Program
Third Grade Summer Reading Program
Fourth/Fifth Grade Summer Reading Program
Space is limited. Students will be accepted on a priority registration basis; first-come, first-served. The program is for 5-weeks and starts the week of June 22 and ends the week of July 19. All students accepted will be notified prior to the last day of school. Students who register last will be placed on a waiting list and notified as soon as space is made available.
Good luck to all our students as they wrap up testing this week and end the month of May. As a reminder, there is no school next Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
Sincerely,
Al Rosell, Ed.D., Principal
— MAY EVENTS —
25, Tuesday, SSC, 4:00 PM
25, Tuesday, LAST DINE OUT — Crouching Tiger, 15% of your order comes back to the School
26, Wednesday, Principal's Super Citizen Assembly, 9:00 AM
27, Thursday, Redwood City Together, Walk & Bike
28, Friday, Spirit Day — Pajama Day, wear your favorite pajamas
31, Monday, Memorial Day , No School
— JUNE EVENTS —
4, Friday, Spirit Day — Hat Day
7-10, Monday -Thursday, Spirit Week — Mustang Sprit Clothing
10, Thursday, Last day for Students. School ends at 1:30 PM
10, Thursday, In-Person Students return iPads and Chromebooks
11, Friday, Distance Students return iPads and Chromebooks
11, Friday, Last Day for Teachers
. . . Last Dine Out of the Year - Tuesday at Crouching Tiger . . .
Innovate Public Schools Invites You!
Join us this week at innovateschools.org to ensure that funding for after-school learning programs and summer enrichment opportunities is provided by the State, and made available directly to nonprofit community-based organizations. All Henry Ford parents are invited to join a Town Hall to discuss the California Budget for education, on May 26th, at 5:30 pm. See the flier here (spanish). RSVP here. They also provided a social media toolkit with a great deal of details to help spread the word.
Henry Ford Bike/Walk Audit - Volunteers Needed
The Henry Ford bike/walk audit will take place on Thursday, May 27. Alta Planning and RWC Together will be presenting at the event alongside other volunteers. Volunteers will assess the walking and biking safety conditions, needs, and opportunities at Henry Ford during the morning of Thursday, May 27. The audit hopes to identify behaviors during interactions between pedestrians, bicyclists, and motor vehicles, and to identify infrastructure needs. Volunteers will be placed at different spaces around the school campus.
This link, https://arcg.is/1Cv8jD0, will take you to a map where you can fill in problem areas and share photos. This will also be used with the bike/walk audit when making recommendations and to take the survey. We want to hear from you. We appreciate your help.
Once the observations are finished, everyone will gather together to debrief about their concerns and anything they observed. If you are interested in participating, reach out to Elisa at echavez@redwoodcity.org
Principal Advisory Committee (PAC) Update
We are grateful to the parents and School staff members who have been meeting to give suggestions to the School administration on how to make Henry Ford an even better school. As a result of last year's School closure and students having to work remotely from home, many of the wonderful community-building activities that students and families enjoyed, stopped. The committee is looking at the positive suggestions community members shared to determine what we can do to improve school climate as we end the year and look forward to the 2021-2022 school year.
From the previous meetings several great ideas have developed. One was to have Maze Day on two separate days and possibly earlier before the start of school. This would allow for grade-level activities where students and families could participate. Another idea is to have a student talent show in September. This would provide students with an opportunity to share their talents with classmates early at the start of the year. It would also give families the opportunity to mingle with other families who may live near each other, as well as acknowledge the talents of our wonderful students who they may not have realized had such great talent. Many schools have talent shows at the end of the year. But the committee is thinking on how to spotlight student talent early in the year. Many students can really benefit from this type of positive recognition.