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No images? Click here  January 15, 2023 IN THIS ISSUE
IMPORTANT DATESThrough 1/28: San Carlos Week of the Family eventsMon 1/16: No school, Martin Luther King Jr. DayWed 1/18: PTA meeting in school library, 8:45 a.m.Wed 1/18: Staff Appreciation Lunch donations dueThu 1/19: SCEF events brainstorming, 7 p.m.Thu 1/19: School Board meeting, 6:30 p.m.Mon 1/23: Arroyo Lunar New Year celebrationMon-Fri 1/23-1/27: The Great Kindness ChallengeFri 2/3: Glow PartyPrincipal’s MessageDear Arroyo families, I hope you’re staying warm and dry this weekend! One upside to all of this rain is that my family has been revisiting some favorite indoor activities. We’ve enjoyed family movie nights but are also making sure to take screen breaks and play some of our favorite board games and cook together.  This is also perfect because the San Carlos Week of the Family has just kicked off and continues through Saturday, Jan. 28. Be sure to check out the calendar of events — so many fun activities for families! In particular, tomorrow, Monday, Jan. 16, is designated as Family Activity Day, a great day for playing games, doing art projects, or cooking together. It’s also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which means we don’t have school. This national holiday is a great day to engage in a service project together as a family. Over the years my family and I have participated in beach cleanups, made care packages or lunches for the homeless, and picked up litter around our neighborhood. Last year we had a group of Arroyo students organize a cleanup at Burton Park. If your family engages in a service project, send me a photo  This week at Arroyo we’ll be revisiting our behavior expectations and talking about our core values of being Responsible, Respectful, and Safe. Overall our students do a fantastic job, but it’s important to review those expectations throughout the year. There are two areas specifically that we’d love for you to help reinforce at home. One is around personal technology. Please remind your child that both cellphones and smartwatches need to be off and stored in backpacks during the school day. We’ve had a number of issues with smartwatches being a distraction both in the classroom and at recess. We appreciate you reminding your child to store them in their backpacks during the school day. One of the biggest challenges we have at Arroyo is in getting students to take responsibility for their belongings and cleaning up after themselves. Both in classrooms and during snack and lunch, students are leaving their garbage behind and expecting others to clean it up. We’ve spoken to students both in classrooms and at school-wide assemblies about this, and I would love your help reinforcing it at home. One way you can help is by holding this same expectation at home. As a parent, sometimes it’s easier to pick things up yourself, rather than putting in the effort to have kids clean up after themselves, but the bigger lesson of being accountable is worth the time and helps students remember that they need to clean up after themselves even when they’re not at home. We would also appreciate you reinforcing the message to take a few minutes at the end of lunch and the end of the day to check the area around them and make sure they are leaving it even cleaner than they found it. My message to students is that even if the garbage around them doesn’t belong to them, the school does, and we all need to work together to make sure it’s the type of school we want to go to. Thank you for helping to reinforce this at home. Finally, a reminder of some upcoming events:
Warmly,  PTA News PTA Meeting This Wednesday at 8:45 a.m.Please join us at the first PTA meeting in the new year this Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 8:45 a.m. in the Central/Arroyo library. Central 6th graders will be presenting their recent PBL project about littering. You’ll also hear updates on the upcoming winter and spring events. PTA Meeting Dates & Agendas can always be found on our website.  Lunar New Year Volunteers NeededWe’re excited to bring Lunar New Year activities to Arroyo this year. On Monday, Jan. 23, students will have the opportunity to learn about the holiday at school through books and videos, attend a lion dance assembly, and receive a red envelope in honor of the Year of the Rabbit! If you’re interested in volunteering or donating items like red envelopes or chocolate coins (that will go in the envelopes), please sign up here. Thank you!  Time to Register for the Glow Party!Friday, Feb. 3 • 7-9 p.m. • Mustang Hall Have you registered yet for the Glow Party yet? Tell your classmates, your carpool, your after-school buddies! There’s no fee to attend, but we need an accurate count as soon as possible so we can plan for all the fun activities and refreshments. Plus, registering guarantees your student a swag bag upon arrival! Register here. We also appreciate — and rely on — the generous support of parent volunteers. We have designed the shifts to be easy and quick, and since you’ll already be there with your student, you can pop out to help with the activities for a short 30 minutes! We are also looking for help with setup and take-down. It’s fun and makes all the difference for the success of the event. Please check the opportunities and sign up here.  Help Needed for Wednesday Staff Appreciation LunchThe Arroyo Staff Appreciation Lunch is THIS Wednesday, Jan. 18. Please sign up here to bring something to help our staff ring in the new year, lunar style. Bring all items to the Arroyo office or staff room no later than 11 a.m. Wednesday. With thanks from the PTA Staff Appreciation Team.  Membership and FundraisingIt is a new year and a good time to make sure your PTA membership is up to date. Sign up today and be a part of the largest child advocacy program in the country. We invite everyone to learn more here. This year, the Central Arroyo PTA is partnering with the San Carlos Education Foundation (SCEF) to streamline and simplify fundraising across the district. Your donation will fund vital district programs as well as support our PTA. Find more information on our Membership and Fundraising page.  SCEF NewsLooking for an Easy and Fun Way to Help Your School? One of the ways the San Carlos Education Foundation meets its fundraising goal is through online auctions and special events. Do you have ideas about exciting new auction items? Do you like to plan events? Are you curious about SCEF Parent Parties? We need your help! We have exciting events lined up and great opportunities to be a little involved or a lot involved — it’s up to you! Either way, we invite you to join us as we brainstorm new and interesting auction items and discuss the year’s event schedule, including how to host parent parties. Mark you calendar for these events:
 Focus on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Jan. 16 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day“The time is always right to do what is right.” On Jan. 16, we honor the achievements of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most influential civil rights leaders of the 1960s. Known for his advocacy of nonviolent actions to end racial segregation, King rose to national prominence during the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. He then led the 1963 March on Washington, which culminated in his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. His actions were instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was tragically assassinated on April 4, 1968. If you’re looking for a way to talk to your family about King and his legacy, here are a few ideas: Read about his life and what he stood for:
Share his “I Have a Dream” speech and ask your children what it means to have a dream and how they can achieve theirs. Kids can even make their own speech lectern for MLK. Try a simple craft, like a peace sign or peace dove to hang in a window. Watch a video about the life of MLK with your kids. District NewsIt’s Time to Register NEW Students for the 2023-24 School Year! If you have a student who will be NEW to the district next year, be sure to register them for school during our Priority Registration window, open now through Feb. 10. Registration is ONLY for students who are not currently attending our schools; students who are in TK-8th grade now do not need to re-register. However, if your child is in one of our SCSD preschool classes, they do need to register as a new student. Mark your calendars for these key dates:
Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page or email us at [email protected] if you have questions.  Community NewsSan Carlos Week of the FamilySan Carlos Week of the Family is under way! Please take a look at all of the events the city has planned and consider participating. It’s a great way to spend time together as a family. Whether you choose to attend any activities, we hope you’ll set aside a little extra time to spend as a family throughout the week.  Bike Safety Fair Is Sunday, Jan. 22
Parent Education Opportunities What is “radical inclusion” and why does it matter? Vikram K. Jaswal, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, presents Radical Inclusion: Understanding Visible and Invisible Differences (Jan. 18, online). NEW! Ross W. Greene, PhD, renowned child psychologist and NYT bestselling author, explains how to cultivate better parent-child relationships in Raising Human Beings: Creating a Collaborative Partnership with Your Child or Teen (Jan. 31, online). NEW! On Feb. 9, we host Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell (pictured), the first female African American judge in Northern California, for a conversation on her debut book, Her Honor: My Life on the Bench ... (Feb. 9, online). Don’t miss it!  MANY WAYS TO VOLUNTEER AT ARROYO  SHARE YOUR STUDENT’S ACHIEVEMENTSWe want to honor students who are doing great things outside of school and have two ways parents can help.
 SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLEAs part of our Arroyo School program, we offer assistance to families as needed. The support can be a yearbook, grocery gift cards, or scholarships for school trips and PTA events. The recipients are kept confidential, and the principal is the only one who will know. Please complete this form to make a request.  PTA CORNERJoin the Central Arroyo PTA. Your membership matters and helps support programs and events for our students and teachers.   REWARDS PROGRAMSParticipate 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 @ARROYOSCHOOLFollow us on Facebook for up-to-date info on events and issues. |