Bobcat Strong News Tracker
November 4, 2021
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SANTA RITA AT-A-GLANCE
11/5 - Assembly zoom link tinyurl.com/SRFriday
11/5 - Coffee with the Principal and PTA: Multi and Zoom link - tinyurl.com/SRPTACoffee
11/11 - No School - Veterans Day
11/13 - Special Education Event: Helping your child manage anxiety
11/16 - Parent Education Series with Colin Seale
11/16 - Special Education Event: Supporting Protective Factors Against Childhood Depression
11/18 - Become a Substitute Teacher- information session
11/19 - Spirit Day- Rainbow Day!
11/19 - Bobcat Strong: PTA General Meeting: Multi and Zoom
11/22-23 - Parent Teacher Conferences
11/22-26 - No School - Thanksgiving Break
BOBCAT STRONG REGISTRATION: Please make sure to fill out your Bobcat Strong Registration Information (https://bit.ly/bobcatreg) so we have your most up-to-date information!
Thank you Language Ambassadors!
Beautiful Masks!
Eyes!!
Letter from your Principal
Dear Santa Rita Families,
I want to let you know how proud I am of our students. A few weeks ago, I had a student come talk to me about wanting to help solve problems on our playground at recess and lunch, he thought we should start a Problem Solvers Club. After a bit of brainstorming, he and I presented the idea at Friday Assembly and asked if any 4th, 5th or 6th graders would be interested in joining and giving up a lunch time to help others. Over 80 students have joined!! All of the students who volunteered gathered together to discuss problems they are seeing on the playground and ways to help solve disputes. The Problem Solvers started this week at lunchtime and though they have found it is not always easy to help others solve their problems, they are doing an amazing job!
Another club that started this week was the Doodle Club. Again created by students for students, two 5th grade boys came up with the idea, talked to me, found a supervising teacher, Ms. Lassalle and Ms. Wilcox, to be with them on Wednesday and presented the idea at an assembly. Yesterday was the first Doodle Club and over 50 students showed up!
We have incredible students who are caring, compassionate, innovative leaders, making Santa Rita an amazing school to be a part of!
Thank you parents, your students will be very excited , we met our LAEF goal! Students will be receiving an extended lunch on Nov. 19th. I could not ask for a better community to surrounded by.
Finally, please join us tomorrow in person or virtually for a PTA/Principal coffee with special guest Alison Gentile, and LASD Instructional Support Teacher. She will be discussing the new math curriculum and if you are in person you will get a hands-on experience!
Here is the link to join via zoom: Zoom link - tinyurl.com/SRPTACoffee
Stay Bobcat Strong!
Kelly Rafferty
CALENDAR
11/5 - Coffee with the Principal and PTA: Multi and Zoom link - tinyurl.com/SRPTACoffee
11/11 - No School - Veterans Day
11/13 - Special Education Event: Helping your child manage anxiety
11/16 - Parent Education Series with Colin Seale
11/16 - Special Education Event: Supporting Protective Factors Against Childhood Depression
11/18 - Become a Substitute Teacher- information session
11/19 - Spirit Day - Rainbow Day!
11/19 - Bobcat Strong: PTA General Meeting: Multi and Zoom
11/22-23 - Parent Teacher Conferences
11/22-26 - No School - Thanksgiving Break
CAMPUS COVID UPDATES:
The County of Santa Clara is now providing free COVID-19 vaccinations for children ages 5-11 following the November 2 approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The County has been prepared to administer vaccinations as soon as the federal government provided authorizations this week. The first vaccinations in the county for the 5-11 age group began taking place on Wednesday, November 3.
Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is the only option for this newly approved age group. All youth 5-11 who sign up for an appointment are eligible.
Parents can contact their child’s healthcare provider for an appointment and vaccine availability. Additionally, parents and caregivers can visit www.sccfreevax.org to sign up for an appointment or to find a convenient walk-in location. Many of the initial available appointments have been reserved, but the County expects an increased vaccination supply in the coming weeks and additional slots should open soon. Additionally, there are still plenty of vaccinations available for children aged 12 or older.
LASD encourages all eligible individuals to become fully vaccinated as soon as possible to prevent the spread of illness in our community and our schools. For more information, please visit the Santa Clara County Public Health Department website.
BOBCAT STRONG
JOIN US FOR MORNING ASSEMBLY
We are pleased to let you know families are now invited to join our school community for our in-person morning assemblies on campus. Please note: masks are required for all individuals on our campuses.
Our safety protocols are now in place and well-practiced among the students and staff. Given the very low rate of COVID-19 in our community and schools, at this time we feel confident we can safely have our families attend these fun and important community-building events. We hope to see you there!
NEW PROJECT CORNERSTONE WEBPAGE
Visit the updated Project Cornerstone webpage on the Santa Rita site:
https://www.santaritaschool.org/santaritaes/11494-Project-Cornerstone.html
This newly updated webpage has all the information that parents need about Project Cornerstone, the related books being read to their kids in class and activities that parents can do at home with kids to continue the conversation about social/emotional skills they are learning through this program at school.
BE A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER
Would You Like to Be a Substitute Teacher?
Do you enjoy working with kids?
Do you have a flexible schedule?
If so, you might enjoy becoming a substitute teacher in our local Los Altos School District classrooms!
Learn More About Becoming a Substitute Teacher
On Thursday, November 18, our local elementary and junior high schools in the Los Altos School District will be hosting an in-person substitute information session and training.
When: November 18, 9:00am-11:30am
Where: 201 Covington Road in the Board Room
What: Stephanie Tyson, a retired mentor teacher, will share information, tricks, tips, and strategies for successfully substituting in Kindergarten through eighth grade classrooms. All are welcome.
To RSVP, email Erin Green at egreen@lasdschools.org
Requirements to Substitute Teach
A BA/BS college degree
CBEST exam
Fingerprinting and background check
If you are interested in learning about sub permit requirements, please contact Marlene Revelo mrevelo@lasdschools.org for the quick steps to take to become a certified substitute in LASD.
Health and Safety Protocols
Our students have been SAFELY back in classrooms since September 2020 with strict adherence to all state and local public health protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Learn more at www.lasdschools.org on our COVID Safe Schools webpage.
Thank you for considering joining our substitute teaching team!
EVENTS!
SPECIAL EDUCATION CONNECTION
THINK ABOUT IT: HELPING YOUR CHILD MANAGE ANXIETY
WEBINAR EVENT: Saturday, November 13, 9:30am - 10:30am
Presented by Palo Alto CAC. Helping your Child Manage Anxiety: Visit to register in advance as required for a live Q&A session.
A BROADER LOOK: Supporting Protective Factors Against Childhood Depression
WEBINAR EVENT: Tuesday, November 16, 7pm
Many of us have been impacted by the pandemic and mental health challenges. We take a deeper dive into depression and the local mental health landscape. Stanford psychiatrist Dr. Shashank Joshi will be in conversation with PAMF pediatrician Dr. Amy Heneghan. Dr. Joshi offers expert advice on what depression looks like in children at different developmental stages, and what interventions are appropriate – both immediate and long term. Dr. Joshi shares tangible resources to use at home and at school to buoy students' protective factors against depression, and highlights changes during COVID to make mental health resources available to all. Register in advance here.
FAN4 MATH COMPETITION
* FUN questions
* 4 students from the same school work as a team, schools can register multiple teams
* Competition window: November 11- 18
* Free: No registration fee
For more info, visit ckmathletes.com Fan4 M Flyer.pdf
MVLA PARENT EDUCATION SPEAKER SERIES
Join us for an evening with author, and Founder and CEO of thinkLaw, Colin Seale
The Question Is The Answer: Practical Strategies To Unleash Critical Thinking At Home
Tuesday, November 16, 2021 - 7:00 - 9:00pm | Live Online
Families are inherently qualified to unleash and nurture critical thinking in their children. This is not a skill that families often recognize or think about intentionally, and it is a skill families have regardless of their education level or home language.
In this presentation, Colin Seale, Founder and CEO of thinkLaw and author of Thinking Like a Lawyer: A Framework to Teach Critical Thinking to All Students, will share powerful, but practical tips to support families - our children’s first and most important teachers - in their crucial role in equipping our young people to lead, innovate, and break the things that must be broken through critical thinking activities and practices they can seamlessly integrate into their home life.
About the Speaker:
Colin Seale was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, where struggles in his upbringing gave birth to his passion for education equity. Tracked early into gifted and talented programs, Colin was afforded opportunities his neighborhood peers were not. Using lessons from his experience as a math teacher, later as an attorney, and now as a keynote speaker, contributor to Forbes, The 74, and Education Post and author of Thinking Like a Lawyer: A Framework for Teaching Critical Thinking to All Students (Prufrock Press, 2020), Colin founded thinkLaw, a multi-award-winning organization to help educators leverage inquiry-based instructional strategies to close the critical thinking gap and ensure they teach and REACH all students, regardless of race, zip code or what side of the poverty line they are born into. When he’s not serving as the world’s most fervent critical thinking advocate, Colin proudly serves as the world’s greatest entertainer to his two young children.
Audience: Parents of elementary, middle school and high school students
Register: Register for this free event
Books: Purchase online at Books, Inc.
Previous Event Recordings
10/21/2021 - Dr. Michael Bradley - Yes, Your Teen Is Crazy! Loving Your Kid Without Losing Your Mind
Michael Bradley Handouts:
LOVE LOS ALTOS: [LOS ALTOS DISTRICT WIDE NEWS & LAEF UPDATES]
The Participation Challenge was a big success! LAEF has raised over $2M to fund teachers this school year! Thank You! Great things can happen when everyone works together!
Track our progress to goal by watching the LAEF fundraising thermometer rise.
With almost $800K left to go, we are still welcoming gifts of any amount. Donate or Pledge today!Santa Rita School
Email: krafferty@lasdschools.org
Website: https://www.santaritaschool.org
Location: 700 Los Altos Avenue, Los Altos, CA, USA
Phone: (650)559-1600
Facebook: santaritaPTA
Twitter: @BobcatsSR