Principal's Newsletter

Dear Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion families

I hope everyone is well. We have had a productive last few weeks of school. Teachers met in grade level Professional Learning Communities(PLCs) and established SMART goals for students around Target Standards in Reading and Math. Our teachers follow a cycle of inquiry where they plan and teach the target standard, assess the students, and then either reteach or move on to the next standard. Teachers also work collaboratively sharing best practices and strategies, and planning together in grade level teams as part of the PLC work.

I want to make sure that all community members are aware that our school district has already begun engaging in informational sessions with the Budget Renewal Committee around next year's district budget(2025/2026) and the need to make budget reduction recommendations(see below for the survey to give your input). Similarly, our School Site Council will begin the process of reviewing our existing site budget and progress towards meeting our goals in our School Plan For Student Achievement with a Needs Assessment in order to have an idea what to prioritize with next school year's anticipated reduced budget allocation. We will also have our first meeting this week with the Facilities Master Plan Committee concerning developing a plan on how to use the Measure T Bond funding to make physical improvements on our school site(e.g., air conditioning, new play structure, etc.).

PLEASE COME to this Friday or Saturday's Finding Nemo Kids Musical performances(see the write up below). Our students have been working hard and are looking forward to performing in front of a big audience at the MIT Theater.

We also have two of our favorite community building events at the end of this month Trunk or Treat and Día De Los Muertos . If you have never come and experienced Trunk Or Treat before, here is a video clip from a previous Trunk orTreat.. If you would like to donate nut-free candy(YES, we need lots of nut-free candy donations as it goes quickly), please use this Candy Donation Sign Up Form

Finally, please be aware that TK/Kindergarten Registration/School Of Choice and School Tours for the 2025/2026 School year begin in November(see the paragraph below for more information).

RCSD Budget Renewal Initiative: Community Input Sought

Our school district has launched the Budget Renewal Initiative in preparation for necessary budget adjustments for the 2025-26 school year. These changes are prompted by the upcoming expiration of one-time federal and state funds that supported additional student services in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The district is committed to a transparent and community-driven process and is seeking input from the entire community.

To gather feedback, RCSD is inviting all families and staff members to participate in a district-wide survey. The input collected will help guide discussions and recommendations that will be presented to the Board of Trustees in December.

Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts by completing this survey.

Your voice is important to prioritize student services!

Students in the Finding Nemo Kids play have been hard at work and are excited to present Finding Nemo Kids THIS Friday, October 25th at 7pm, and Saturday, October 26th at 1pm. in the McKinley Auditorium, 400 Duane St, Redwood City, CA 94062. This play is suitable for the whole family to enjoy so we invite our entire community to come support our students!!! PLEASE COME!!

Buy tickets here for $10 each.

More information is available at www.unidospto.org/schoolplay. We hope to see you at the show!

Trunk or Treat Thursday, October 31st 2:30-3:45

Trunk or Treat 2024 will be on Thursday, October 31st from 2:30-3:45pm. Please note the Front Parking Lot will be closed all day so the 45 Trunk or Treat volunteers can decorate the trunks of their cars and we can host our event after school. Keep in mind that it is an instructional school day and students must come following dress code. There is an early dismissal that day at 1:25pm. We need your HELP PLEASE with candy donations for Trunk or Treat: Nut free candy only due to allergies. Please bring the candy donations to the Family Center or the office. You will assemble in the main hallways and can wait by the blue picnic tables after school with your child/family. You will then come into the front lot through the black gate by the office to Trunk or Treat in the front parking lot. We need more volunteers if you would like to help out in any way please let Jose Luna know ASAP: jluna@rcsdk8.net .

Please Come to the Día de los Muertos Event This Saturday, November 2, 11:00am-3:00pm!

The annual Día de Los Muertos cultural and family friendly event will be held on Saturday, November 2nd from 11:00am-3:00pm in the school Cafeteria, blue tables, 100 wing hallways, and there will be parking on the back playground area. We will have traditional face painting, a performance of one or more scenes from the "Finding Nemo Kids", an After School Danny G Dance Club performance, Inflatables/ Bouncy Houses, a tour of classroom altars, and lots of arts and crafts for students to enjoy. The event is FREE, but there will be YUMMY food for sale so bring your appetite! Please come! A BIG SHOUT OUT to parent volunteer Kelly Coyne for organizing(and all the other parent volunteers!)!

Día de los Muertos Volunteers Needed!

Parent volunteers are needed to make the event a success (and you don’t need to be a district-approved volunteer!) We have a lot of volunteer opportunities. You can prepare the food to be sold, help set up the event, work at an activity station or sell food (There are 2 shifts so you have time to enjoy the event), and/or help us clean up after the event is over. Sign up here!

New TK/Kindergarten Registration 2025/26 and Tours

The School District Enrollment and School of Choice for 2025/26 TK/Kindergarten opens on November 15th at 9:00am and continues through Friday, January 17th at 3:00pm. It is important that both the Registration/Enrollment Form for your home school(based on your address) and the School of Choice Form for Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion must be completed by January 19th. Current PreSchool students here on our campus and siblings of students who are currently enrolled here and at Kennedy in the Spanish immersion strand have priority acceptance as long as the forms are completed on time by January 19th. Please complete this Adelante Selby Sibling 2025/26 Form so we can alert the District to prioritize your acceptance for next year.

Please help get the word out to family, friends, and neighbors about our weekly informational TK/Kindergarten Tours that meet in person at the school office every Thursday at 8:40AM and the tours will continue through the end of January. Please register for a TK/Kindergarten Tour with this form: TK/Kindergarten Tour Registration. Promoting our school by "word of mouth" from parents and community members is the best way to "market" our school and immersion program to prospective new parents. When promoting our school, keep in mind that mastering two or more languages has enormous benefits for our students, both native speakers of English and native speakers of the target language(Spanish) at a dual language immersion school. Other talking points when talking about our school are that research has confirmed the benefits of biliteracy and bilingualism that are demonstrated as brain and cognitive functioning, academic, economic, and social advantages, as well as cross-cultural competency and supporting a stronger family cohesion and connection to their family heritage.

4th-5th Dance Performance - Wednesday, November 20th 6:30 PM

Come and enjoy the hard work the 4th and 5th graders have been putting in for the last trimester. Watch as they show off their awesome moves and incredible stage presence at Carrington Hall Theater on the Sequoia High School campus! Buy your tickets for $5 at unidospto.org/dance or in person on 10/24 before school and 10/31 after school by Trunk or Treat.

[4th-5th Dance Performance Flyer]

I want to bring parents attention to the importance of students attending school daily and on time. We know that regular attendance is crucial so that students can achieve to their maximum potential and especially in two languages. Our school has a goal to improve attendance and we want to decrease the number or percentage of students that are considered "chronically absent". Our district considers any student "chronically absent" if they have 9 or more absences(excused or unexcused) in a school year. So it is critical that parents and families plan family vacations around the school calendar and only keep their children home from school when they are sick. If students have doctor or dentist appointments, they still should attend school. Independent Study is for students that will be absent 5 or more consecutive days and the contract needs to be approved at least 2 weeks prior to the absences. Parents must come to the office to get the Independent Study Contract and it then needs to be approved beforehand so that teachers have time to put together all of the work students are expected to complete upon return to school. Thank you for your attention to this important matter and bringing your child(ren) to school every day and on time!

After School Programs for 2024/25

If interested in more information about after school programs please contact the following coordinators via email:

• REACH enrolling over 200 students in K-5th grades: Contact: kjimenez@redwoodcity.org
• Siena Youth Center with 80 students in 1st-5th grades: Contact: mrtenorio@stfrancisrwc.org
• YMCA with 40 students TK- 2nd grades: Contact: Eliana.Gonzalez@ymcasv.org

Additionally, Casa Círculo provides after school classes and opportunities for many of our students

Walk-A-Thon 2024!!!

Adelante Selby’s annual Walk-A-Thon is taking place on Friday, November 22nd. It’s our school’s second biggest fundraiser of the year! The theme this year is: United We Walk, United We Learn. Students will have the opportunity to raise money for their favorite activities including dance with Danny G, Garden, and STEAM by reaching out to family and friends and collecting donations. This year, participants will receive a Walk-A-thon T-shirt, there will be classroom incentives for highest fundraising and most laps, and most importantly, students get exercise dancing, skipping, or walking laps to their favorite tunes while parents, staff, and our Alebrije mascot will be cheering them on – it’s a great community event!

Please be on the lookout at the end of the month for an email from Unidos and 99Pledges with information on how to collect donations. Thanks in advance for encouraging your child to raise money for our school! We are hoping for 100% participation and no donation is too small.

We’re looking for business sponsors to make our Walk-a-thon a success! If you know any businesses who might want to sponsor our walk a thon and get their logo on the back of the T-shirt, please share the flier with them or reach out to us at walkathon@unidospto.org for more information.

United Through Education/Familia Unidas is offering free, online support for families in Reading, Math, Technology, Art, Health & Nutrition and much more! Sign up using this LINK

Spanish Parent Forum #39 - A Life with Trust (in Spanish)

Jennifer Martinez, LMFT, Director of Programs, One Life Counseling Center

Tuesday, October 22, 2024, 5:00pm – 6:00pm PT, online event (live)

Register: https://parentforum39spanish2024.eventbrite.com

Finding who we can trust and talk to about our feelings is part of our mental health. Learn more about the Una Vida program and the resources it offers for the well-being of you and your family. Presented by Jennifer Martinez, LMFT, Director of Programs, One Life Counseling Center.

SEEK: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World

Scott Shigeoka, Curiosity expert, Speaker, and Award-winning Author of SEEK

Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 5:30pm – 6:30pm PT, Virtual Event (Live)

Register: https://scottshigeoka2024suhsd.eventbrite.com

Curiosity has the power to transform your life and change the world. In his debut book, Seek, curiosity expert Scott Shigeoka blends cutting-edge research with vulnerable storytelling to teach us engaging ways to strengthen our curiosity muscles.

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

BIRTHDAYS

Our district works hard to create balanced lunches that include whole grains, protein, fruits and vegetables. As such, please do not bring sugary treats to school to celebrate your child's birthday(e.g, cupcakes). You are welcome to send healthy alternatives or non-edible items such as pencils, erasers or fidget toys. Typically, teachers will take the last Friday of the month to celebrate students birthdays for the entire month.

Our school office hours are 8:00-4:00pm. All visitors to our school during school hours (not for Drop Off or Pick Up times) must come through and sign in at the school office.

Helpful Information Can Be Found In The Links Below:

Regards,

Director Warren

• Wednesday, October: 23: School Site Council Meeting: 3:00pm: Library
• Thursday, October 24: Food Distribution Front Lot: 2:45-4:30pm: ALL ARE WELCOME!
• Friday, october 25: Cafecito Con Directores/Principal's Coffee: 8:30-9:45AM Amphitheater
• Friday, October 25: Free Dress Day --last Friday of the month!
• Friday, October 25: Finding Nemo Kids Musical: 7:00pm: MIT Auditorium
• Saturday, October 26: Finding Nemo Kids Musical : 1:00pm: MIT Auditorium
• Thursday, October 31: Lost and Found Clothing unlabeled will be out on blue tables FREE before being recycled in the green bin at 9:00am.
• Thursday, October 31: Trunk or Treat: 2:30-4:00: Front Parking Lot(CLOSED DURING THE DAY ). Students come to school following regular dress code during the day and put on costume after school for Trunk or Treat. Students/Families will assemble in the main hallway and enter Trunk or Treat through the black gates by the front office starting at 2:30pm.
• Friday, November 1: No School
• Saturday, November 2: Día De Los Muertos Event 100-200 wing/Cafeteria: 11:00-2:00pm Additional parking available on basketball courts behind the Cafeteria.
• Sunday, November 3:Daylight Saving Time Ends: Don't forget the clocks "Fall Back" 1 hour
• Monday, November 4: Student Council Elections in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classrooms
• Monday, November 11: No School: Veteran's Day
• Tuesday, November 12: Unidos PTO Parent Meeting, 5:30-7:30pm in the Library(rescheduled due to Presidential Election on November 5th)
• Thursday, November 14: Ruby Bridges Walk To School Day!
• Friday, November 15: 1st Trimester Report Cards Sent Home with students
• Friday, November 15: Sports Jersey Spirit Dress Theme or follow dress code(3rd Friday of month)
• Friday, November 15: 1st Trimester Award Assemblies([parents will receive invitation for the students receiving certificates with time of the assembly).
• Monday, November 18, ELAC, 8:45am: STEAM LAB
• Wednesday, November 20: 4th and 5th Grade Danny G Dance Recital Carrington Hall, Sequoia High School : students dropped off at 5:15pm, and doors open for show at 6:00pm. Show starts at 6:30pm.
• School Site Council Meeting, 3:00pm: Library
• Friday, November 22: Walkathon!!!
• Friday, November 22: Free Dress Day(last Friday of the month)
• Monday, November 25: Super Minimum Day dismissal TK: 11:30am; K: 11:40am; 1st-5th: 11:45am
• Tuesday, November 26: Early Dismissal: 1:25pm
• Wednesday-Friday November 27-29: No School: Thanksgiving Holiday