Bobcat Strong Tracker

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• 2/14 - 3/2 - Santa Rita's Read-a-thon (details below)
  
• 2/18 - STEM Design Challenge- details below
• 2/20-2/24 - Winter Break- No School
• 3/3 - Minimum Day
• Additional after school activities are now available! See below or HERE for more details!

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS! THE PTA NEEDS YOU!

To continue to provide awesome opportunities to our students and staff the Santa Rita PTA needs your help!

- Have lots of time to give? We're looking for a Treasurer, Secretary, and Executive Vice President to join the executive board.

- Have a little less time to give? We're looking for Leads for events such as Hot Lunch, Family Fun Night, a Musical Producer, and more.

- Have a great NEW idea? Tell us about what YOU would like to do for the PTA and the school!

Please contact Alison Biggs at abiggs@gmail.com for more information about all these positions! Thank you!

Dear Bobcat Families,

February is always one of my favorite months of the year, it is still winter but spring is around the corner (or with our weather lately, summer!), school is in full swing and so many wonderful events are taking shape. For Santa Rita, these include, Read-a-thon (Feb 18-March 2), STEM Challenge (Feb 18), STEM EXPO, Junior Olympics and Science Olympiad, just to name a few. Read more about all these events below.

With all of these events comes the need for volunteers. Please think about joining our PTA to help with all of these events, without volunteers, these wonderful opportunities for the students can not happen.

I hope everyone gets outside this weekend and enjoys our beautiful California weather!

Egan Transition Meeting Recording - Thank you to Mr. Rocha and the Egan students who did a wonderful job presenting today about Egan and all it has to offer. Here is the recording of today’s meet if you missed it. link

Stay Bobcat Strong!

Mrs. Kelly Rafferty

We are excited to launch LASD’s District-Wide STEM Challenge! Design a paper airplane that can carry the most amount (in coin value) of cargo and glides more than 10 feet.

Please bring your design to the playground at lunch on February 18. Please be sure to have your student's name and room number on the airplane!

Click here for full instructions.

Would you like to help our young aviators? We'd love to have some parents help us with this fun event! Please email Kelly Rafferty (krafferty@lasdschools.org) if you are able to help. Thank you!

• 2/14 - 3/2 - Santa Rita's Read-a-thon
  
• 2/18- STEM Design Challenge
• 2/20-2/24 - Winter Break- No School
• 3/3 - Minimum Day
• 4/23 - Junior Olympics 8-4 pm

Read-a-thon promises to be a fun, exciting journey that starts Monday, February 14, 2022. We will get your children excited about reading.

We know you have limited time, but want the best education for your child. That’s why we hope everyone will activate their reader's account as soon as possible. This is where you can record and view your reader's progress.

We encourage you to activate your reader’s account today by clicking on https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/hEMYYk/1 and following the simple instructions.

Read-a thon Prizes!

Reading Prizes:

1000 Minutes: Sweet Shop gift card for $5 and entry into the Grand Prize drawing for a choice of a Kindle Paperwhite or $100 Amazon gift card!

Fundraising Prizes:

$100-$250: Linden Tree gift card for $10

$251-$399: Target gift card for $20

$400+: Amazon gift card for $40 PLUS entry into grand prize drawing!

Participation prizes: Santa Rita Bookmark

School-wide fundraising prizes:

$10k: Extra pajama day for the school

$15k: Principal Rafferty will dress in cone costume for school day

$25k: Class who raises the most gets to silly string Principal Rafferty

$30k: Bucket of ice water dumped on Principal Rafferty given by the class teacher that raised the most

Grand Prize Drawing:

Choice between Kindle Paperwhite or $100 Amazon Gift Card

Santa Rita STEM Expo invites students in grades TK-6 to participate! While engaging in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) projects, students will have an opportunity to design hands-on projects while exploring just how fun STEM can be! This event lends itself to a myriad of learning experiences: within the class or at home, working individually or collaboratively with peers or with adults, and amongst a wide range of STEM categories including: Rube Goldberg, Invention, Engineering (Reverse), Engineering (Robotics), Scientific Inquiry, and Wearable Designs. Ultimately, students will get a chance to showcase their STEM work in a fun and unique venue, with learning opportunities for the entire family. Santa Rita will be hosting the STEM Expo evening showcase on April 7 from 5:00pm - 7:00pm.

Intent to Register:

The STEM Expo “Intent to Participate” is just around the corner. If your child is interested in submitting a project for the Expo, make sure they sit down with you and fill out the form found on the STEM Expo site - be sure to click on Santa Rita to fill out the form by March 11

Participation is not mandatory but it sure is a fun event!

- If your child is vaccinated, please provide your child’s vaccination records by emailing santaritasecretary@lasdschools.org if you have not done so.

Santa Clara County Public Health Department (SCCPHD) and the California Department of Health (CDPH) recently altered their guidelines for COVID-19 to change the duration of isolation after a positive COVID-19 case to 5 days under certain circumstances.

LASD will be implementing this change per the below.

5-Day Isolation

Beginning January 26, students and staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 may qualify to return to school as early as Day 6 after isolation if they meet the following criteria:

1. Proof of a negative COVID-19 test (rapid antigen test is preferred due to the prolonged positive result from a PCR test)

2. Symptom improvement

3. Fever free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication

4. A completed LASD Return to School Post COVID-19 Positive Test form submitted by no later than 3pm the day prior to returning to school work

5. After completing the form, you will receive a written email from LASD clearing your student to return to campus. You will need this email to check in at your front office upon returning to school.

Please note that if your student is currently isolating due to a positive test for COVID-19, they may be able to return to school as soon as Wednesday, January 26 if the above criteria is met.

When can a student return after being COVID-19 positive?

To return, a student must take an at home rapid antigen test on or after Day 5 of the collection date of the positive test. If the test is negative, please complete the Return to School form by no later than 3pm the day prior to the return to school. If the test is still positive on Day 5, you may continue to test daily until the student tests negative. If your student does not wish to test or continues to test positive, they may end isolation and return to school on Day 11 without proof of a negative test, as long as they are fever-free for 24 hours and symptoms have improved.

If you need an at home rapid antigen test, please contact your school’s front office.

Daily Symptom Tracker

At this time of increased COVID-19 cases in our community, it is essential to monitor your child for symptoms. Please be sure to fill out the OK to Reopen symptom tracker accurately and daily, including notifying the school site of any close contacts that have occurred outside of school.

Together, we can keep our schools safe and open. Please let me know if you have any questions.

FREE CENG EVENTS

CENG is organizing our second free virtual hackathon! Last year, over 108 students participants with 30 volunteers helping out at the virtual event. A few Santa Rita student groups won prizes in different categories. We encourage students to form groups of 3 - 5 so they can have fun coding together. This program is made possible by the generous grant from Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation. In addition, spring Saturday classes are now open for registration.

Hackathon

When: March 5-6 , 1-5pm

Who: Grades 3rd-8th

Where: Virtual

Cost: Free

More information and registration

CENG Coding Classes

When: Saturdays, March 12- April 23, 4:15-5:30

Where: Virtual

Cost: Free

Registration Deadline: February 25

More information and registration

A MESSAGE FROM SANTA RITA'S BROWNIE TROOP 10645:

Girl Scout Cookie Sale

When: Thursday, 2/17 1:30-3pm

We are hosting our first ever cookie booth. We are 3rd graders at Santa Rita and we are selling cookies to raise funds for Santa Rita and our camping trip. You can also purchase cookies online. If you choose in person delivery we will contact you to arrange for delivery. Thanks for you support!

MVLA PARENT EDUCATION SPEAKER SERIES

Rosetta Lee - Implicit and Unconscious Bias: Bridging the Distance Between Professed Values and Daily Behaviors

Video Now Available!

• Event Recording from 02/01/2022
  Rosetta Lee has graciously allowed us to share the Implicit and Unconscious Bias event recording with parents, teachers, and other caretakers within our community. The recording will be available for six weeks.

Slides and Handouts Available

• Event Slides - Implicit and Unconscious Bias
• Resources Handout - Implicit and Unconscious Bias

For a full list of the winter after school activity options visit HERE

Chess Club

Thursdays Noon-12:50pm.

Starts February 3

Registration: https://www.activityhero.com/widgets/1112

Chess Club class enhances academic skill and teaches students of all skill levels: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Positional Evaluation, Analytic Visualization, Confidence Building, Good Sportsmanship. Also, FREE in-school Trophy Tournament!

Art Buzz Kids

Wednesdays 3:00-4:00pm

Starts February 9

Registration Link: Art Buzz Kids After School Art Club

Our wildly popular art club opens up your kids imagination and creativity. There are no mistakes in art and there are no rules in art! What's better than doing art with acrylic paint, mixed media, water color, building, creating, and thinking outside of the box.

Kindergartners will be picked up from their classrooms and supervised while waiting for class start time.

Supporting Student Creativity Through Recycled Materials

Have you ever wondered, “What do I do with all these….”

• Plastic containers

• Corks

• Boxes

• Buttons

• Plastic Bottles

• Toilet Paper Rolls

• Paper Towel Rolls

• Egg Cartons

• Bottle Tops

• ….anything else

In order to keep our lab stocked and ready for creativity, we need your S.T.U.F.F (Scraps That are Used For Fun). Please clean donations before bringing them to the lab, avoid glass or any other sharp materials, and feel free to donate all year long. Don’t be surprised if you see your materials transformed into fantastic innovations!

There is a box on the STEM LAB ramp where you can leave your donations.

Thank you!!

Your opinion matters! Please take a moment to complete our LAEF Survey to share your experiences with LAEF-funded programs and help inform our future funding priorities. Check your email for a survey invitation.

Donate to LAEF today and help us strongly support teachers and staff for all LAEF funded programs this school year. We still need $105K to reach our goal for this school year.

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