IN THIS ISSUE
- Principal’s Message: Calendar of Events the Next 2 Weeks, Halloween Parade, Costume Guidelines, 4th Grade ROPES Info Night, SCEF Read-a-thon, Book Fair
- Volunteers Needed for:
- White Oaks Seeking Alumni for Holiday Store
- Yearbook Discount
- Plus SCEF, DEIB, District and Community News
Dear Arroyo families,
Our Eagles are getting very excited for Halloween and a number of other fun activities we have coming up. Our staff, PTA and Eagle Council are working together to create a fun-filled two weeks of activities to celebrate not only Halloween, but also Diwali, Día de los Muertos, and the SCEF Read-a-thon. Here’s a handy table to help you keep track of everything going on:
Diwali Celebration: Classes will be learning about Diwali and making paper diyas. PTA will set up a chalk rangoli activity at lunch.
Kickoff of Halloween Spirit Week: Classes will choose a haunted name for the week.
Halloween Spirit Week: Students are encouraged to submit Halloween-themed short stories to earn Spirit points for their class.
Halloween Spirit Week: Students are encouraged to submit a Halloween-themed art project to earn Spirit points for their class.
Halloween Spirit Week: Wear HALLOWEEN colors.
Start of SCEF Read-a-thon.
Halloween! (See details below.)
Halloween Door-Decorating Contest
SCEF Read-a-thon continues.
Shop the Arroyo Book Fair in the library.
Kickoff of Samaritan House Food Drive (details to come).
Día de los Muertos Celebration: Classes will be learning about the holiday and creating papel picado projects.
SCEF Read-a-thon continues.
Shop the Arroyo Book Fair in the library.
Samaritan House Food Drive continues.
SCEF Read-a-thon continues.
Shop the Arroyo Book Fair in the library.
Samaritan House Food Drive continues.
SCEF Read-a-thon continues.
Shop the Arroyo Book Fair in the library.
Join us for Book Fair Family Night from 5-7 p.m.
Samaritan House Food Drive continues.
4th Grade ROPES orientation (see details below).
Forts & Flashlights Pajama Day (details to come).
SCEF Read-a-thon continues.
Samaritan House Food Drive continues.
On Monday afternoon (Oct. 31), we’ll have a school-wide costume parade after lunch, followed by carnival games and activities planned by our PTA, along with Arroyo’s favorite Halloween activity, a Haunted House! PE and electives will also happen that afternoon. We need parent volunteers to help make this possible. Please see the PTA section below for more information and to sign up. This year we are pleased to be able to invite parents to join us for the parade, which will be held on the blacktop at 12:45 p.m. Volunteer clearance is not required to watch the parade but is required for those staying to help with the activities. We’ll have photographers capturing the highlights to share with parents who aren’t able to attend.
On the 31st, students may wear their costumes to school or change during lunch. Here are some guidelines to follow:
- No weapons of any kind will be allowed at school. Please do not bring plastic guns, swords, or other weapons.
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Halloween masks should be worn only for the party, not during class time or on the playground at lunch. This would be unsafe and distract from learning.
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Students should be able to walk safely around campus in their costumes.
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Leave props at home for the big Halloween event. We cannot be responsible for lost items.
4th grade parents, mark your calendars for ROPES Information Night, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. ROPES is the Rite Of Passage ExperienceS program that is specifically designed as an optional enrichment activity as students complete a cycle of their education. ROPES provides students in 4th, 6th, and 8th grade an opportunity to participate in an academic ritual by way of real-life learning experiences.
Participating students will choose a self-directed project that incorporates the 21st-century learning skills of initiative, inquiry, creativity, communication, cooperation, and leadership. To learn more about ROPES projects and guidelines, students and parents should attend the virtual ROPES orientation on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 7:00 p.m. Zoom link here. For more information, please visit the ROPES page on the SCSD site.
If you haven’t already done so, please sign up for the SCEF Read-a-thon! Registration is free, and we’d love to see 100% participation! This has become one of our favorite traditions at Arroyo as we come together to celebrate reading. See more details below or go to scefkids.org/read2022. Be sure to register with a non-SCSD email.
The Arroyo Book Fair is just in time to stock up on the books your child needs for the Read-a-thon. The Book Fair takes place in our school library. Classes will be visiting throughout the week, and the fair will be open after school. Join us for Family Night on Nov. 3 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. for another opportunity to shop and gather as a community. There will be food trucks and lots of fun! See below for more details.
As you can see, it’s a busy month filled with lots of activities at Arroyo! We hope you’ll join us!
Warmly, Mindy Shelton Principal [email protected]
Fall Into Reading at Our Central & Arroyo Book Fair!
Coming soon: Oct. 31-Nov. 4
Visiting the Fair: Most students will be visiting the book fair with their homeroom class or with their Central ELA teachers. Students can also shop before or after school.
Family Shopping: Join us for Family Night on Thursday, Nov. 3, from 5-7 p.m. in the library. Buy dinner for the family after you shop at the two food trucks that will be on-site. The PTA will be handing out free Rita’s Ice dessert treats too!
Payment: Students can bring cash or a check, or parents can go online to set up an eWallet for their child, with a preset amount paid by credit card. Note that unused eWallet funds are not reimbursed but held for use at a future fair or online order.
Volunteers Needed: Please consider signing up for a slot to help the PTA at the fair during the week or at Family Night. The lines will move much faster the more help we can get!
Donations: Interested in helping fund those in our school community who could use assistance with buying books? A donation of any amount will help get a new book to as many students as possible.
Diwali and Día de los Muertos: Volunteers Needed
The PTA is excited to celebrate two popular cultural holidays with the Arroyo community this year, and we could use a few more volunteers to help on campus. Please sign up to let us know you’re coming:
For Diwali: On Monday, Oct. 24, 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m., we would love to have a few more volunteers to hand out chalk to students and offer inspiration for the rangoli they will be creating during lunch. Rangoli inspiration will be provided to volunteers if needed.
For Día de los Muertos: On Tuesday, Nov. 1, come anytime 9-11 a.m. to help decorate the school by hanging papel picado and marigold garlands.
Calling All Halloween Volunteers!
We are planning a spooktacular Halloween party on Monday, Oct. 31, for our Arroyo Eagles, and there are a few crucial volunteer slots left. Sign up here to:
- Decorate the Haunted House Maze on Friday, Oct. 28, 3-5 p.m.
- Spook/startle kids in the maze, 2-3:10 p.m.
- Help clean up after the festivities, 3:15-4 p.m.
- Donate stickers, googly eyes, etc., for treat bags.
Looking for Big Kid Helpers for the White Oaks Holiday Store
Calling all White Oaks alumni: We need you! Volunteer to help White Oaks Elementary students shop for holiday gifts in the White Oaks Elementary Holiday Store on Saturday, Dec. 10 from 8:45 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. There are two shifts for Big Kid Helpers to help their assigned student choose items, stay within budget, and count money when paying. Sign your child up here to be a Big Kid Helper using their name (name of volunteer) and a parent or guardian’s email address.
Thank-You to Staff Appreciation Donors
We are grateful to the parents who signed up to donate items for our Halloween-inspired October Staff Appreciation Lunch on Oct. 26. A reminder to drop all items in the Arroyo office no later than 11 a.m. this Wednesday, Oct. 26. Here is the sign-up sheet for reference.
October Yearbook Discount
Yearbooks come out at the end of the school year, but you can secure yours now at a discount! Order from TreeRing by Oct. 31 to receive 5% off. Use this link to shop with the discount code applied to your cart, or use code 1014628525232886.
The 3rd Annual SCEF Read-a-thon Starts This Friday, Oct. 28!
Register here. This is a community-based event to celebrate and encourage the love of books and reading. Our goal is 100% participation (registration). It is FREE to register, participate, and read! Donations are welcome, but families do not have to collect donations to take part. Just register, read, and then log your reading minutes with the improved Minute Tracker.
A HUGE thank you to our presenting sponsor, Christie’s International Real Estate~Sereno, where they believe in giving back to the places we live and love. Thank you Bob Bredel, Laura Bertolacci, Tatum Clarke, Alana Corso, and Joyce Romeo for your commitment to our community and our schools!
If you are reading this on Sunday morning (Oct. 23), join us today at 2 p.m. at The Reading Bug for the SCEF Read-a-thon Kickoff. Enjoy story time, giveaways, a scavenger hunt, and more. Don’t forget to pick up your SCEF bookmark!
Participate in Our 12th Annual Halloween Candy Buyback Drop extra candy Nov. 1-3 at your school’s office and it will be donated to Operation Gratitude and sent to our troops. Drs. Chang, Amin, and Kaher will donate $1 per pound of wrapped candy to SCEF.
Focus on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Diwali Starts October 24
Each year between mid-October and mid-November, the festival of Diwali is celebrated across the Indian subcontinent over five days. The name is derived from the Sanskrit term dīpāvali, meaning “row of lights.” Diwali, which for some also coincides with harvest and new year celebrations, is a festival of new beginnings.
In the lead-up to Diwali, celebrants will prepare by cleaning, renovating, and decorating their homes and workplaces with diyas (oil lamps) and rangoli (colorful art circle patterns). During Diwali, people wear their finest clothes, illuminate the interior and exterior of their homes with diyas and rangoli, light fireworks, and partake in family feasts, where mithai (sweets) and gifts are shared.
At Arroyo, students are learning about Diwali in the library as well as making paper diyas in class. On Monday, Oct. 24, students will have a chance to create their own rangoli designs with sidewalk chalk during lunch! If your Eagle is looking to learn more about Diwali at home, here are some ideas:
What’s Next for SCSD Schools? Share Your Ideas to Inform Our Strategic Plan Refresh
Your input will be invaluable to co-create a resulting roadmap to inform next steps for our learners. We want to hear from you, so here are upcoming opportunities to share your feedback:
Complete our new strategic planning survey online before Nov. 30. The survey takes about 10-15 minutes to complete and is available in Spanish and English: To take the survey in English, click for survey link. Para realizar esta encuesta en español, haga clic aquí.
Participate in a strategic planning community meeting to learn more about the process, receive an update on recently collected input, and join us for a real-time brainstorm as we think together about future opportunities for SCSD and our students. To join us for a live session, please click here to RSVP and select from the following:
- Wednesday, Oct. 26, 4-5:30 p.m. at Arroyo School Learning Commons
- Thursday, Nov. 3, 8:45-10:15 a.m., Tierra Linda Middle School Multi-Use Room
- Tuesday, Dec. 13, 6:00-7:30 p.m., Arundel Elementary Multi-Use Room
- date TBD, Ravenswood YMCA
All feedback will be brought back and considered by a Design Team to represent thinking across all interested groups, identify themes, and revise the objectives and directions regarding Teaching and Learning, Social Emotional Learning, and Learning Spaces. For more information on our Strategic Plan and process, please visit our website.
State-Subsidized Preschool Spaces Now Available at Arundel
The San Carlos Early Learning Center has space available in our new, part-day California State Preschool Program (CSPP) class at Arundel from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Student tuition may be covered for families that qualify, based on income. Visit our San Carlos Early Learning Center website for more information, or contact ELC Director Sue Dawley. Información en español aqui.
COVID-19 Reminders and Testing Options
If your child is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, please keep them home and give them a rapid antigen test. Staying home when sick can lower the risk of spreading infectious diseases to other people, and testing remains a key mitigation layer to detect and curb transmission of the coronavirus. If your child tests positive for the virus or your household is in need of additional test kits, please contact your school as soon as possible.
TESTING RESOURCES
Find up-to-date resources on the San Mateo County Office of Education’s COVID-19 Testing for Schools and Students page.
Last year, we had talented and brave community members bring their craft and whole selves into the poetry slam to share their stories of what it means to stand united against hate. It was magical to see the power of community-building, and we hope you join us this year to do the same! Deadline for poetry submission is Tuesday, Nov. 1 via this link.
San Carlos United Soccer Club Tryouts
San Carlos United will be holding tryouts in November for AYSO players and players not currently playing competitive club soccer for the spring 2023 season. Please register online. A representative from your child’s age group will contact you. We look forward to seeing you at the San Carlos United tryouts!
Parent Education Opportunities
How can you raise a well-balanced student? Denise Pope, PhD, co-founder, Challenge Success, Stanford Graduate School of Education, presents Raising a Well-Balanced Student: Avoiding a Culture of Stress (Oct. 26, online).
This month’s Parent Forums feature is Eran Magen, PhD, in Building Trust and Goodwill with Your Child/Teen (Oct. 28, online).
How can we help kids find friendship in the age of digital media? Devorah Heither, PhD, author of Screenwise, offers Friends vs. Followers: Friendship Dynamics in the Age of Social Media (Nov. 3, online).
IMPORTANT DATES
Sun 10/23: SCEF Read-a-thon kickoff at Reading Bug
Mon 10/24: Arroyo Diwali Celebration
Wed 10/26: SCSD Strategic Planning Stakeholder Engagement Meeting, 4-5:30 p.m.
Fri 10/28: SCEF Read-a-thon starts
Mon 10/31: Arroyo Halloween Celebration, Parade at 12:45 p.m.
Mon 10/31: Samaritan House Food Drive starts
Mon-Fri 10/31-11/4: Book Fair
Tue 11/1: Arroyo Día de los Muertos Celebration
Thu 11/3: Book Fair Family Night, 5-7 p.m.
Thu 11/3: 4th Grade ROPES orientation, 7 p.m.
Wed 11/9: PTA Meeting in school library, 8:45 a.m.
MANY WAYS TO VOLUNTEER AT ARROYO
SHARE YOUR STUDENT’S ACHIEVEMENTS
We want to honor students who are doing great things outside of school and have two ways parents can help.
REWARDS PROGRAMS
Participate in our rewards programs and a percentage of your purchases will automatically be donated to the Central Arroyo PTA — at no cost to you!
FOLLOW @ARROYOSCHOOL
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