Dolphin Digest

Friday, November 8

• End of Trimester 1
• Picture Retakes

Monday, November 11

• No School - Veteran's Day Holiday

Thursday, November 14

• Ruby Bridges Walk To School Day

Friday, November 15

• Report Cards Go Home

Monday, November 18

• Hearing Van - TK/K/2/5/8

Tuesday, November 19

• School Site Council Meeting, 4:00 pm Library & Virtual

Thursday, November 21

• English Learner Reclassification Ceremony, MIT Auditorium - 6:30 pm

Friday, November 22

• Principal's Coffee, 8:15 am

Monday, November 25

• Super Minimum Day for Professional Development - 11:45 Dismissal

Tuesday, November 26

• Minimum Day Dismissal before Thanksgiving

Wednesday, November 27 - Friday, November 29

• No School - Thanksgiving Break!

At Clifford School, we offer a range of after-school programs for students, including PAL, NKC, Little’s Athletics, enrichment classes, team sports, and tutoring. To maintain the same level of safety and security for students and staff after school as during the school day, all gates will be locked after regular dismissal and will remain closed and locked until 6:00 pm.

Students will be released at the gates following their after-school activities, rather than having parents enter the campus. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we implement this procedure to ensure everyone’s safety.

Please join us for this month’s School Site Council Meeting on Tuesday, November 19 at 4:00 pm. We are excited to welcome Wendy Kelly, Deputy Superintendent of Human Resources, as our special guest.

This meeting will focus on the upcoming budget renewal process. Together, we’ll review, analyze, and discuss this year’s budget, programs, and services outlined in our Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) and begin planning for the 2025-2026 school year. Community input is invaluable to us, and we hope you’ll attend either in person in the library or virtually. Here is the login information:

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/dre-znii-hed

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 252-776-9163‬ PIN: ‪156 933 443‬#

More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/dre-znii-hed?pin=6017472054083

On Tuesday, October 15 we held a Title 1 Parent Presentation to explain what it means for Clifford to be a Title 1 school.

Clifford qualified for Title 1 funding based on demographic data from the 2022/2023 school year, with 43% of our students identified as "unduplicated." This means these students belong to one or more of the following groups: English Learners, Socioeconomically Disadvantaged, or Foster Youth. Throughout the 2023/2024 school year, we collaborated with our School Site Council (SSC) and English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC) to complete the necessary steps to receive Title 1 funds. This school year, we received $52,688 in Title 1 funding, which has enabled us to provide additional support and services to these students in alignment with the goals outlined in Clifford's School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA).

During our meeting, we explained more about the Title 1 designation and shared our responsibilities as a Title 1 school, including the creation of a Parent Involvement Policy and a Parent Compact. Please find links below to presentation and policies for your review:

Title 1 Parent Presentation - English/Spanish

Title 1 Parent Involvement Policy

Title 1 Parent Compact

We are excited to announce that our school will be participating in Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day on Thursday, November 14! This event honors the courage and legacy of Ruby Bridges, who, at six years old, bravely helped to desegregate her school in 1960, becoming an inspiring figure in the Civil Rights Movement.

This special day gives students the chance to learn about Ruby Bridges’ story, promote inclusivity and kindness, and participate in a community event. We encourage students and families to walk together to school on this day, joining us in reflecting on the importance of courage, equality, and friendship.

For families who are unable to walk, we still encourage participation by discussing Ruby Bridges’ story at home or joining us in other ways to make this day meaningful for all.

Thank you for helping us honor this important legacy. Together, let’s make a positive impact and inspire our students to continue creating an inclusive future!

Welcome back to the PE+ Monthly Newsletter! This month we will be turning our focus to our Football Unit. Over the course of the month, we will be instructing and coaching students many different skills and rules relating to the game of football, such as; throwing, catching, running routes, rules of the game, and how to play defense and offense. Our daily activities will start with running simple throwing and catching drills, and will advance to running organized games of flag football. Our goal is that every student will learn something new about the game of football, whether it is a new skill, a new rule, or a strategy.

The PE+ Program will be hosting camps at Peninsula Community Center this school year, and we hope to see your kids there! If you are looking for a camp for your kids during Winter Break, Mid-Winter Break or Spring Break, check out options here, or contact our PE+ Director, Jeff Thomas at Jefft@wearepcc.com for more information. Registration will be opening soon, and spots will be limited!

This month we will be starting our new monthly metrics competition! Each month, we will have a new competition for 5th grade students across the district that will relate to the previous month’s curriculum unit. Students can put their newly learned skills to the test!

Our coaches will be using a new data collection platform - a new tool that we are very excited about. At the end of the month, our team will be able to see data for each school, each student and be able to use this data to evaluate our curriculum AND provide live results to the students.

For the month of November, following last month’s basketball unit, we will be having a free-throw competition! Students will have 1 minute to make as many free-throws as they can to try and top the scores of students from all different schools. Check back in to December’s newsletter for the results!

Dear Clifford community,

We have the chance to keep plastic film out of landfills! This fall, the school is hosting a Ridwell recycling drive. You’re invited to bring plastic film (ziptop bags, grocery bags, bubble wrap, and lots more) to school from October 28th - November 1st and Ridwell will make sure it stays out of landfills. Start collecting plastic film now so you have a bunch to bring during the drive.

Curious about Ridwell at-home recycling pickup? They collect hundreds of common household items you can’t recycle curbside, like plastic food packaging, clothes, Styrofoam, and more. You can help the school earn rewards if you sign up for a household membership by December 15. We’ll earn pickup of the school’s plastic film all spring when 10 new members sign up and a field trip to the Ridwell warehouse when 20 new members sign up.

Find out more at https://get.ridwell.com/clifford—it’s a unique link just for our school, so when you sign up there, your membership counts toward our totals. You can share it with friends and family, too, and their membership will also count! (Just make sure they live in a Ridwell service area.)

Thank you!

PTO in partnership with Whitney Parker

We are incredibly proud of our student-athletes for their hard work and dedication! Below is the schedule of their games for this fall. Come out and show your support!

Now that we are a few months into the school year, we want to emphasize the importance of regular attendance. Being present at school every day is crucial for your child’s academic success and overall growth. Each day of learning builds on the previous one, and frequent absences can cause students to fall behind, making it harder to catch up.

We understand that illnesses and unavoidable circumstances may arise, but we encourage families to make every effort to ensure students are at school and on time whenever possible. Consistent attendance not only helps students academically but also fosters positive habits and stronger connections with their classmates and teachers.

In October, we will be hosting a classroom attendance competition! The class with the highest attendance rate in each grade span (TK-2, 3-5, and 6-8) will win a special prize: an extra recess with popsicles! We shared this exciting news at our assemblies today, and the students are already looking forward to the challenge!

Thank you for your support in helping us provide a strong foundation for your child's education. If you have any concerns about attendance or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

Tiffany Shlain, Artist, Emmy-Nominated Filmmaker, Founder of Webby Awards

Wednesday, November 6, 2024, 5:30pm – 6:30pm PT, Virtual Event (Live)

Register: https://tiffanyshlain2024suhsd.eventbrite.com

Join us for a conversation and film screening with Emmy-nominated filmmaker Tiffany Shlain. Her short film, The Teen Brain, explores what's happening in the teenage brain, illuminating that teenagers are super-learners with brains that are undergoing rapid and significant remodeling and development.

Parents/caregivers, students, educators, health professionals, and community members welcome! Simultaneous Spanish interpretation will be available. Free admission.

This presentation is sponsored by Sequoia Healthcare District, Peninsula Health Care District, Sequoia Union High School District, and The Parent Venture.

Questions? Contact Charlene Margot, MEd, Co-Founder and CEO, The Parent Venture (The Parent Education Series), at cmargot@parentventure.org.

Christa Jackson, PhD, Professor of Mathematics, Science, and STEM Education, Saint Louis University

Wednesday, November 13, 2024, 5:30pm – 6:30pm PT, Virtual Event (Live)

Register: https://christajackson2024suhsd.eventbrite.com

According to Christa Jackson, PhD, Professor of Mathematics, Science, and STEM Education at Saint Louis University, parents and educators need to consider mathematical and STEM experts who embody the social identities of the learners they guide/teach.

Parents/caregivers, students, educators, health professionals, and community members welcome! Simultaneous Spanish interpretation will be available. Free admission.

This presentation is sponsored by Sequoia Healthcare District, Peninsula Health Care District, Sequoia Union High School District, and The Parent Venture.

Questions? Contact Charlene Margot, MEd, Co-Founder and CEO, The Parent Venture (The Parent Education Series), at cmargot@parentventure.org.