Mid-Winter Update

It was my privilege to share Bel Aire School updates at the board meeting last week. Some of the areas I discussed were staff professional development, social-emotional learning, and highlights from Black History Month in BA classrooms. The dedication of our teachers and the efforts of our students is so fantastic--I'm very grateful for the opportunity to work with the BA staff and students. And you too, folks, keep up the great work.

Has your Bel Aire Bear lost some article of clothing at school?

We're putting ALL of the lost and found items on display tomorrow and Friday for students to look through. Student Council class representatives will help find the owners of items that have names on them, but I would like to invite you, parents and guardians, to come check out the tables of clothing after school on Thursday or Friday. They will be on display until 6 pm. After Friday, anything unclaimed will be donated.

Help wanted! Courageous Bel Aire parent Melissa S. has stepped up to lead a Bel Aire Garden Club that we will start after the break. But we can still use more help!

Nature-loving parents need apply! We are looking for parent volunteers to help with the lunchtime Gardening and Dirt Diggin' club. What is this, you ask? We have a fair number of kiddos who love to dig in the soil, make rock formations, collect grasses, and generally get their hands dirty. We could use help in guiding some of their play and helping them navigate the space. Please send me an email if you'd like more info or may be interested.

• Student Council Spirit Day this Friday--80's day! See flyer below.

Reminder--no school next week due to mid-winter break! Have a wonderful week.

John DiCosmo

Principal

Upcoming Dates:

February 17th – Bel Aire Play Tickets on Sale for General Public

March 2nd – Walk and Roll to School

March 2nd – Bel Aire PTA Meeting

Bel Aire Play Frozen Jr. Tickets on Sale Tomorrow! Rehearsals are going great for Frozen Jr. and the kids are very excited to show you all of their hard work! Tickets will be released for purchase to the general public through Eventbrite at 9:00 a.m. on February 17th. Please note that each performance date will have an individual link to purchase tickets. Ticket Purchase Links will be available on the Bel Aire Frozen Jr. Play Page (https://www.reedschools.org/Page/2146) on February 17th.

Can you believe it’s already time to order your student’s yearbook?! Your PTA yearbook team is already hard at work taking and compiling photos to make this year’s book memorable and special for our Bel Aire students. The yearbook cost is $20 per book and ordering takes less than a minute. Submit your order today!

https://www.schoolpay.com/pay/for/BEL-AIRE-SCHOOL-Yearbook-202122/SeoDxM6

Bel Aire Spirit Wear: Show your Bel Aire spirit and support the Bel Aire PTA! Get your Bel Aire Spirit Wear including t-shirts, hoodies, and tote bags featuring the new Bel Aire design. There will be another opportunity to order Bel Aire Spirit Wear online again soon. A link to place orders will be provided in the Newsflash in the coming weeks. For more information, contact Amanda Hyslop at amandahyslop@gmail.com. All proceeds support the Bel Aire PTA.

Bel Aire PTA: If you are interested in learning more about the PTA or want to get involved, please join us for our next Bel Aire PTA meeting on Wednesday, March 2nd at 9:00 a.m. For more information, contact Bel Aire PTA Site Chair Laura Smith, lauracarolinesmith@gmail.com

Walk and Roll to School: Walk and Roll to School is back again! On Wednesday, March 2nd grab your bike, jump on your scooter, or lace up those sneakers and walk or roll to school! Prizes will be given to those who participate, so have fun, get some exercise, and start your day off right!

PTA Nominating Committee for 2022

The Nominating Committee is currently meeting to develop a slate of PTA officers for the following open positions, each with a two-year term:

· Reed Site Chair

· Del Mar Site Chair

· District Executive Vice President

· Auditor

· District Treasurer

If you are interested in one of these leadership positions, or would like to nominate someone else, please contact any of the Nominating Committee members - Amada Hyslop, Amy Dugdale, Annie Defesche, Samantha Chatham and Christine Neumeier or rusdptasecretary@gmail.com.

Hello Friends of The Ranch,

Summer Camp registration is now open: www.TheRanchToday.org

Programs include:

• Angel Island Day Camp – ages 6-11
• C.I.T. Program – ages 12-15
• Fantastical Adventures – ages 6-14
• Art and Garden Day Camp – ages 4-7
• Tennis – ages
• Miscellaneous camps like Sewing, Legos, Taekwondo, Tennis, Sports, and Basketball

Greetings from MCOE Wellness,

We are thrilled to shine a light on some exciting work and pass along free mental health tools to you and your teams. We all know that Covid-19 has put children and families under unprecedented stress. We believe that you will find the attached resource helpful.

Child Mind Institute launched the California Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Project in partnership with the State of California. This platform of free video and print-based mental health and wellness resources for educators, caregivers, and students is designed to promote children’s emotional health and help us all thrive.

The videos, offered in Spanish and English, include introductions for caregivers and educators that provide an overview of the project, the importance of self-care, and signs that kids may need extra help. Video modules (roughly five minutes each) are tailored for each of three different age groups — elementary, middle, and high school — with five videos for each group.

Finally, we invite you to keep this email and the California Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Project top of mind. MCOE Wellness will soon share related resources including offering virtual office hours, so that we might be able to answer your questions and help you take advantage of these resources.

Please bookmark and share the dedicated digital content hubs linked below:

For Parents

For Educators

For Students

Feb 26, 6-10pm

Bill and Adele Jonas Center, College of Marin IVC, Novato

Learn from NASA experts about the amazing new James Webb Telescope, stargaze through telescopes, and experience the cosmos in VR! Light refreshments provided. Aimed at students, families, adults and teachers, especially grades 7-12.

Press Release: https://www1.marin.edu/news/celebrate-cosmos-com

Hello and good afternoon to you all!

We are happy to forward a wonderful opportunity for your students grades k-12. The AACI (Asian Americans for Community Involvement), a nonprofit organization located in Santa Clara County is sponsoring their annual art, essay, and video contest, Growing Up Asian in America (GUAA), for K-12 Bay Area students. Please see just below for details about the contest, including the theme, prizes and timing.

ABOUT GUAA
Hosted by AACI and in partnership with NBC Bay Area, GUAA is an annual art, essay, and video contest that reaches thousands of Bay Area students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. Founded by Lance Lew of NBC Bay Area in 1995, the contest encourages young Asian Americans to take pride in their identities and helps others understand the unique experiences of our youth growing up in the Bay Area's diverse communities. GUAA provides a unique platform for young artists to creatively explore and celebrate their backgrounds and remains one of the essential celebrations of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

THIS YEAR'S THEME

Our theme this year is: A Home for You and Me. Here are the prize offerings for selected winning submissions:

• One (1) $1,000 Grand Prize winner
• Nine (9) $500 Best in Class winners

If you know of any students, parents, teachers, educators, or staff who would be interested, please forward this email and let them know about this opportunity!

Entries are due on Tuesday, March 15th, 2022 at 11:59 PM PST. We will open our submissions form on Tuesday, March 1st, 2022, so students may begin submitting their entries then.

From the Marin Community Institute for Psychotherapy:

We wanted to make sure you had this information on the Raising Healthy Families series taking place in March, 2022:

Community Institute for Psychotherapy announced today the topics and dates for the fifth annual “Raising Healthy Families,” a free community educational series being held this March via Zoom, examining important issues facing many Marin families.

It is a heartening sign that mental health is increasingly recognized as a vital component to overall health and wellbeing. Our Raising Healthy Families Education Series plays an important role in providing parents, caregivers and teachers the strategies and tools they need to assist them in feeling more confident in their own abilities to build a child’s capacity to cope with the challenges we are all facing today.

The Four-Part Series includes the following sessions: ALL VIA ZOOM

Searching for the Lost Boys: Discovering the Hidden World of Teenage Boys

Presented by Mark Edwards, LMFT

Wednesday, March 2, 6 pm – 8 pm

Transforming Your Parenting with Authentic Leadership

Presented by Colette Reid-Horn, LCSW, PPSC

Thursday, March 10, 6 pm – 8 pm

Strengthening Immigrant Families: Working with Acculturation and Trauma in the LatinX Community

This 2-hour presentation is in Spanish

Presented by Juanita Zuniga, PsyD

Tuesday, March 15, 6 pm – 8 pm

Empowered Parenting: How Changing Your Role Can Change Your Kids

Presented by Michelle Bonsignore, MS, LMFT

Thursday, March 24, 6 pm – 8 pm

Events are free and open to the public, including parents, caregivers, and teachers. Pre-registration is required.

Please RSVP at https://cipmarin.org/support-cip/raising-healthy-families-2022/ or call (415) 459-5999 ext. #100

Email: jdicosmo@reedschools.org
Website: www.reedschools.org
Location: Bel Aire Elementary School, Karen Way, Belvedere Tiburon, CA, USA
Phone: (415) 388- 7100