Orion Gazette
January 23-January 27
Calendar of School Events
January
Jan 23 3:15 Principal Advisory Committee
Jan 25 4:00 pm School Site Council in the library and virtual
Jan 25 BROrion meetup. Alhambra House 1/25 7:30 pm. "BROion" is the Orion Dad's Group-All Welcome
Jan 27 9:30am Lunar New Year Performance on outdoor stage-all families invited
Jan 28 Orion School Lunar New Year Event 10:30am-2:00pm
Jan 30 5th Grade Outdoor Education Week
Lunar New Year at Orion Alternative School
Every year, sometime between late January and early February, an estimated 2 billion people across the globe, many of them in East and Southeast Asia, celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Millennia of agricultural tradition in ancient China, with farmers looking to the moon as a guide for when to sow and harvest crops, led to the Lunar New Year celebrations. The holiday falls on the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice, marking the start of a new annual cycle based on the lunisolar calendar, and a way to welcome the beginning of spring. This year, Lunar New Year falls on Jan. 22.
At Orion School, our students in the Mandarin Immersion Program have been preparing for Lunar New Year with songs, and classroom celebrations that will culminate in a schoolwide performance by our TK-5 students in the MI Program.
Friday: Jan 27 at 9:30am
Location: Outdoor Stage
In addition, our students and staff across the Parent Cooperative Program and the Mandarin Immersion Program are learning about and celebrating Lunar New Year this coming week with their "Buddy Classroom." Each class has been paired with a different grade-level partner throughout the school year. The students and parents have multiple opportunities to learn about the unique elements of each program through this "buddy" partnership. Check with your child's teacher about events throughout the year.
STEAM Committee Parent Volunteers Lead Science Investigations in the Maker Space
Can we bend light and make it go where we want it to go?
How can the electric charge be separated?
What happens if positive and negative electric charges merge?
Hands-on relevant experiences in collaboration with peers spark curiosity, language, and high levels of learning.
Familias Unidas - A Family Resource for Spanish Speaking Families at Orion
The Redwood City School District is starting a new session of the Familias Unidas workshop at the end of the month, the week of January 29. Our plan is to continue to provide an online workshop to serve as the primary forum in conjunction with individualized family support.
Our focus will be to continue to guide our families through this ever-changing time while still focusing on academic success, parent engagement and both physical and mental health during the workshop. We will be a resource for COVID-19-related questions such as testing sites and vaccine updates, food, shelter, unemployment, and health. We are grateful to be able to help many of your school's families by connecting them and making them aware of the resources that are available.
Please sign up directly using this link or https://forms.gle/U144yvdj1iiDd7Lq9.
Spring Soccer Leagues and Sport Programs are now open for registration!
We hope to have Orion 4th/5th Soccer teams again this year and will need coaches!
Registration can be done online at - Activity search Online Registration- Redwood City Parks and Recreation (activecommunities.com)
Complete program information and registration forms can be found on our website - Redwood City After School Sports (teamsideline.com) .
School Site Council Monthly Meeting - All are welcome to attend
Wednesday, Jan 25, 2023, 04:00 PM
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Join the Science Olympiad Science Fun Night!
When: Thursday, February 2nd, 5-7 pm Where: MUB on Orion Campus Who: All Orion Students must register here:https://forms.gle/jy2PspqkHZc7xhf16 What: Registered students will be organized into groups of 4-6 to complete science-based challenges. Activities could include engineering the most protective egg drop ever from various supplies, testing and building the strongest pasta bridge for your meatball, or learning about your skin in a life science activity. All family members are welcome at the event, but the science activities are meant for the registered students to complete together with their teams. Volunteer parents will help facilitate and supervise the student teams.
We will have food for parents and kids. Parents are encouraged to volunteer for the event and gather and socialize with other parents while their elementary students work in teams to experience a fun night of science!
There are a maximum of 72 spots for students in TK-5th grade. The registration will close on 1/25.
Please register using this link: https://forms.gle/jy2PspqkHZc7xhf16
Principal Campus Advisory-Monday, January 23 at 3:30
What is the Principal Campus Advisory?
Last school year we started a series of community dialogues to develop a positive school culture at Orion Alternative School with two unique and innovative programs. The team is comprised of parents and staff from both programs that have volunteered to come together for the purpose of developing goals that support each program in order to thrive and grow in the same space.
The three areas the committee is committed to are:
Identifying and developing: shared traditions, shared spaces on campus, and school year-long programming.
There is a vacancy on this committee for a parent from the Parent Cooperative program.
We meet one Monday a month at 3:30 pm.
Our first meeting for the school year is on January 23 via zoom. Please reach out to Principal Katherine Rivera at krivera@rcsdk8.net.
Join Zoom Meeting
Multicultural Study Counties in the Parent Cooperative Program are announced!
Orion School is home to two unique and innovative programs in the Redwood City School District, The Parent Cooperative Program and The Mandarin Immersion Program.
One of the unique elements of the Parent Cooperative Program is a focus on multicultural study in the different grade levels. Classes choose a country of study for half the school year. From January through May, the classes learn about one country in depth. This includes not only the culture of the country but the government, history, geographical features, and economic opportunities. The countries for this year are:
Kinder-Ms. Rachel - Belgium
Kinder-Teacher Michelle - Vietnam
1st & 2nd Grade: Mrs.Goldbert and Mrs. Cristopherson - Taiwan
3rd & 4th Grade: Mrs. Lemp and Teacher Dana - Spain
4th: Teacher Stephanie: Guatemala
5th: Ms. Ibarra - Egypt
Students across both programs will participate in various shared activities and events with a culminating activity in May. Students and families from the Parent Cooperative Program will host all students and families across the campus to share their country of study.
This is one new tradition that supports and celebrates the unique identity of each program at Orion.
Starship Corner
Submit your own event or notice info for the gazette: Gazette submissions google form
Please share your preferences and values to be reflected in the 23-24 school year budget.
This survey is primarily geared toward the Parent Cooperative program, as the Mandarin Immersion families participated in a survey before winter break.
English language survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_9KzE9K6PFy7suu8l8RLej-ch1OAI3KG4gFUo57CUlbGetw/viewform?usp=sf_link
Spanish language survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdRXXmHIPRCle9vmo3FXMu5_RbOQcTVoGw5lP0Gr1OvSV5bbA/viewform?usp=sharing
Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year Fair at Orion on Saturday, Jan 28 from 10:30-2:30 PM - We are excited to ring in the Year of the Rabbit with our community! Join us for a lion dance, student performances, food, games, and more fun. We need parent volunteers to help with our activities. Please sign up here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sOzz52jlfdUFm_Z_P_2f2_fN7OWFVhA2UmvF4p8PtOg/edit#gid=0
MI Student Performance at RWC Lunar New Year Festival - Saturday, Feb 4, time TBC
Plant Fundraiser
Flower Power fundraiser- now through May 15th. Purchase bulbs and plants for your garden or for the school! https://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/index.php/marketplace/seller/profile/shop/orionmandarinimmersion
Garden Work Day
Postponed until further notice. Stay posted for updates.
Spring Auction
Save the date for the Orion School Spring Auction. It is coming back to be a fun event, IN PERSON! Event will take place on April 22 at The Hub. Snacks, drinks and both a silent and live auction to take place. Join Auction committee to get this fun event planned and running smoothly https://www.konstella.com/app/group/639188da9b989b3a44e91a0d/chats