Bobcat Strong News Tracker

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• 10/14 - Minimum Day

• 10/23 - Witches’ Delight 3-8pm

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! Every class with 100% participation by Friday will get a popsicle party!

Dear Santa Rita Families,

I love this time of year, it is starting to feel like fall outside in the mornings, we are into our school day routines and after school programs are in full swing. October is here and it is time to start thinking about Witches Delight. Please fill out this Witches Delight Survey and help us make this a great day!

GREAT NEWS! Santa Rita has been approved as a governing organization for the Presidential Volunteer Service Medal!

The Presidential Volunteer Service Medal is an award bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals who choose to volunteer their time to the service of others. It was established by President Bush in the wake of 9/11 as a means to call upon all Americans to help their communities by volunteering their time.

Children as young as 5 can now work towards this prestigious award, while learning the value of service to their community.

Now- the really GREAT NEWS! Any time your student (or you!) volunteers at Santa Rita, those hours can count towards their PVSM.

Baking a cake for the Witches’ Delight Cake Walk- CHECK

Helping set up/take down- CHECK

Snack shack- CHECK

Volunteering for games/sorting tickets/handing out fliers- CHECK

Picking up trash after school- CHECK

Coach/Assistant coach for a relay team for Junior Olympics- CHECK

Volunteering in the library- CHECK

Voluntering to read to younger children-(even at school)- CHECK

Same goes for any Santa Rita event! YOU DON’T NEED TO BE A STUDENT. We can now sign off on anyone who volunteers their time. This includes all those high schoolers getting ready to fill out college applications. In addition, as a governing organization, if you or your student volunteers in any capacity OUTSIDE of school events, we can add those hours to their PVSM, as long as a person in charge signs off on their volunteer work!

As a school community, we pursued licensure as a governing body for the PVSM as we had so many alumni that showed up to volunteer their time at Bobcat Chase. We hope to inspire many more to give their time back to our community. During this pandemic, it became crystal clear how important it is to foster a strong community of volunteerism. What better way to build a strong community than with our young members.

Sincerely,

Kelly Rafferty

• 10/14 Minimum Day- Dismissal: 12:15 pm (1-6) 12 pm (K)

• 10/23 Witches’ Delight: 3-8 pm

• 11/11 No School - Veterans Day

Witches Delight

We are super excited that Witches' Delight is on this year! Mark your calendars! Saturday, October 23rd 3-8pm! Carnival Rides! Carnival Games! Cake Walk! Pizza! And More!

This is a 60 year tradition that only happens with support from our community! To make this event even better, please consider contributing and being part of the success:

Witches Delight Sponsors
A great option for you and your business!
Don't have a business? Families can sponsor too!

https://www.santaritapta.com/#/witches-delight-sponsors/

• $250: for a 3 week ‘shout out’ in the Bobcat Tracker and business/family name on a banner in front of the school.

• $500: for a 3 week ‘shout out’ in the Bobcat Tracker, business/family name on a banner in front of the school, and name on a banner at a game or ride.

$1000: for a 6 week ‘shout out’ in the Bobcat Tracker, business/family name on a banner in front of the school, and exclusive name on a game or ride.

• This week is our annual LAEF Phonathon. Let’s all thank the many generous LASD parents, principals, teachers, and community members who are making phone calls to raise money for our schools. Pick up their call! They would be happy to answer your questions about school funding. You can also reach out to your school’s LAEF Board representatives.

• Make a donation to LAEF today, if you haven’t already. Your donation will go straight to funding more teachers and staff for STEM, Wellness, Literacy, and Arts at our schools. See a financial breakdown of how donations to LAEF are being spent this school year.

• Watch our fundraising thermometer rise as we work towards our goal of raising $2.8M for this year. Thank you to everyone who has donated!

Reach out to your Santa Rita LAEF Board Representatives by sending an email to SantaRitaReps@laefonline.org

If you missed the Town Hall, you can view a video here.

We urge all families to sign up for the LASD pooled testing program at their school site. Students who volunteer to be part of the testing program will:

1. Receive free weekly asymptomatic COVID-19 testing

2. Receive free individual rapid testing on our campuses if there is a positive result from the pool

**Please note: according to CDPH requirements, if there is a positive pooled result, all students in the class will be required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test to return to school, whether or not they were tested through the Concentric program. If your child is participating in the Concentric program, that test (and the results) will happen on campus before they enter their classroom. If your child is not signed up for the Concentric pooled testing program, your child will still be required to show proof of a negative test and will have to obtain a test elsewhere before returning to school. Therefore, signing up for the Concentric pooled program not only helps keep our campuses safe, but also provides convenience and easy testing access for all its participants.

To sign your student up for the testing program, you must provide consent by following these simple steps:

1. To do so, please fill out this online consent form today.

2. Please enter the access code for your student’s school:

• LASD-SANTARITA

1. Enter your student’s information, and you’re done!

2. If you need to provide consent for more than one student, please complete the process once for each student.

3. Please be aware that you may also opt in to the program at any time during the school year. However, we cannot guarantee your student will have immediate access to testing due to the processing time required for the consent forms by Concentric.

**If your student tested positive for COVID-19 within the last three months, please do not have them participate in this program.** They could produce a positive test result, which would make our results inaccurate.

Did you know that engineering isn’t just about launching satellites, building bridges or designing computers? Engineering also helps create things like movies, sound effects and art. This year’s challenge: create a device that transfers stored energy to make sound! Registration for The Tech Challenge 2022: Kinetic Commotion opens Wednesday, Oct. 6. Kickoff is Saturday, Oct. 23. Check out our website on Oct. 6 for additional dates. More details, including rules, are coming soon but this is a challenge you don’t want to miss!

Living Classroom is in need of volunteers to teach our fun, hands-on lessons and help care for our school gardens. No experience or green thumb necessary as we teach you everything you need to know! Join a community of people who enjoy connecting kids with nature and teaching them where their food comes from. The suggested time commitment is only 6 hours a month and you get to participate in fun volunteer enrichment activities such as nature hikes, garden tours, educational workshops, talks, and more! Living Classroom is a great way to act locally to help care for our planet and nurture our future environmental stewards! Get involved today!

Join us in-person for our upcoming Fall Docent Training!

Living Classroom Fall Docent Training

Mondays 9-Noon

9/13-10/11

LASD iLearn Studio (masks required)

201 Covington Road, Los Altos

-or-

email for information on joining us virtually

Please RSVP to livingclassroom@lasdschools.org

Questions? Contact us at (650) 947-1103 or email livingclassroom@lasdschools.org

email for information on joining us virtually

Please RSVP to livingclassroom@lasdschools.org if you plan to attend.

Questions? Contact us at (650) 947-1103 or email livingclassroom@lasdschools.org

Santa Rita is super excited for the return of in-person after school programs! Here are some of the offerings:

Mondays - Science Made Fun, After School Hoops;

Tuesdays - Easy Spanish;

Wednesdays - Run for Fun;

Thursdays - Lunchtime Chess Club;

Fridays - Coach Ken Soccer, After School Tennis;

Plus, LASD Flag Football. Mathletes and Speak Debate will be offered on-line, for Fall.

Check the school website under Enrichment activities for schedule, more info, and registration links. After School Activities • Page - Santa Rita Elementary School (santaritaschool.org)

• FLAG FOOTBALL

Calling all 3rd-6th graders! LASD Flag Football is back on!

Please sign up for our only school sport. Each school in LASD has a 3rd/4th grade team and a 5/6th grade COED team.

We compete against the other schools in the district after school and the season culminates in a district-wide tournament at Foothill College. It is a lot of fun, and even the teachers stay to watch the games!

No experience necessary and it’s a no-cut sport.

Please sign up here: http://www.asa-lasd-flagleague.com/

• FREE ONLINE CODING CLASSES (4TH - 6TH GRADE)

Trained local high school students from the Computer Engineers of the Next Generation are hosting free coding classes on Zoom in Scratch, JavaScript and Python

Dates: Wednesdays, September 1 - October 6, 2021

Time: 4:15 - 5:45 pm PST (NEW TIME)

No. of Weeks: 6

Format: Zoom online classes

Cost: Free

Registration Links:

4th grade - Scratch (Beginning/Intermediate/Advanced)

5th grade - JavaScript (Beginning/Intermediate/Advanced)

6th grade - Python (Beginning/Intermediate/Advanced)

Students will be put into different breakout rooms according to their levels.

Registration deadline: 12:00 noon on Saturday, August 28, 2021 or when class is full.

Computer Engineers of the Next Generation (CENG) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with the mission to inspire underrepresented minorities to pursue Computer Science. For more information, please check out our website at cengclass.org. Questions? Please contact cengclass@gmail.com

Free Virtual Reading Tutoring Program (K-3rd Grade):

Teen Tutors is an organization run by Los Altos High School students to connect young readers with high school tutors! Our Read to Me program features tutors who read to students one-on-one to strengthen their reading comprehension & listening skills. As the students grow more comfortable, they can choose to read themselves with tutor assistance as needed. Virtual Read to Me sessions will be available on Saturdays from 10:30 am-11:15 am and 11:15 am-12 pm. Please register your child here: https://tinyurl.com/K3rdReading

For more information about our program, please visit www.teentutorslahs.wixsite.com/lahs or email teentutorslahs@gmail.com with any questions.

Programa gratuito de tutoría virtual de lectura (K-3rd Grado):

Teen Tutors es una organización dirigida por los estudiantes de Los Altos para conectar a los lectores jóvenes con tutores de la escuela secundaria. Nuestro programa Read to Me ofrece tutores que leen a los estudiantes de uno en uno para fortalecer su comprensión de lectura y sus habilidades de escucha. A medida que los estudiantes se sientan más cómodos, pueden optar por leerse a sí mismos con ayuda de un tutor según sea necesario. Las sesiones virtuales de Read to Me estarán disponibles los sábados de 10:30am a 11:15am y de 11:15am a 12pm. Registre a su hijo aquí: https://tinyurl.com/K3rdReading

Para obtener más información sobre nuestro programa, visite www.teentutorslahs.wixsite.com/lahs o envíe un correo electrónico a teentutorslahs@gmail.com con cualquier pregunta.

Thank you!

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