Principal’s Message
Hello Arroyo Families,
We are having such a wonderful time with your children. We have found them to be so willing to take responsibility not only for themselves but also for the school. In so many ways we are seeing evidence of leadership skills that we will continue to refine and develop, which is one of our goal in the SCSD strategic plan. We have also been focusing on empathy this week. At our first weekly assembly we shared a very fun video clip about empathy, which can be found here. We then reinforced this message with our Second Step lessons about empathy and respect. Your children are doing a great job practicing their empathy skills!
5Cs: Fostering Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, Citizenship & Critical Thinking
This week we also opened the Wild Zone and Play Pod. The children have had a great time flexing their creativity and critical thinking skills in these spaces where they collaboratively make up games and challenges or build temporary forts and structures. I’ve really enjoyed watching them play in these spaces. We will start to offer additional spaces/ programs for children to choose to go to at lunch time as soon as we are ready (these spaces will include activities at the picnic tables, library, makerspace, learning commons, garden and design room). We hope our offerings will be varied enough to meet the many needs of our students while also deepening their understanding of the 5 Cs!
Personal Learning – Reading and Writing Workshop, Math and Homework
Your children are also doing a wonderful job in their classrooms. I have popped into the classrooms quite a bit and noticed high levels of engagement and focus. We’re implementing Reading and Writing Workshop from The Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College. These approaches support each child’s progress as a reader, writer and thinker. Many of the components are in place already, and we’re eager to take the next steps.
We have also begun to implement Math in Focus in all of our classrooms. This approach to math focuses on problem solving using a concrete–pictorial–abstract learning progression. We are still gathering our program components, while offering additional training for our staff this week. We are excited to implement this district adopted program.
Finally, We’re trying out a new research-based approach to homework. Over several years, our district community has engaged in conversations about what children need in order to thrive. The following key points from research and our experience have been highlighted along this journey:
- Homework assignments should be purposeful, meaningful, and tailored to individual needs
- Daily reading is key to each child’s long-term success
- Development of organizational work habits and self-discipline are crucial
- Math and music may require near-daily time and practice
- Family time, play time, and down-time are important for all children
As we work together in pursuit of our goals this year, we welcome your questions and ideas along the way. Here’s to a vibrant and engaged year of learning and growing!
Go Arroyo Eagles!
Marie Crawford
Arroyo Principal
Introducing our Arroyo School Counselors
Our wonderful Arroyo School Counselors, Kim Arasato and Julie Jobak, will be leading Second Step Lessons and other special programs throughout the school year. Ms. Arasato will be at Arroyo every afternoon after 12:45. Ms. Jobak will be at Arroyo on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and lead periodic lunch groups.
Visit Counselor’s Corner to learn more about Second Step Lessons, Growth Mindset and special programs including The Girl’s Leadership Institute. Contact Ms. Arasato at karasato@scsdk8.org or Ms. Jobak at jjobak@scsdk8.org with questions.
Calling all Student Scientists!
The SCSD Science Fair is gearing up for another year of fun!
All 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students are invited to participate in the SCSD Science Fair. Industry and academic scientists offer 1-on-1 mentoring support and monthly workshops to guide students in creating an exceptional Science Fair Project. We support novice and experienced student scientists.
Students and parents are welcome to attend any of our workshops to experience fun science demos and get pointers on how to find a topic, design experiments, analyze your data and present your project!
Projects are submitted to the SCSD Science Fair and may qualify for the San Mateo County STEM fair. Participation in the Science Fair is OPTIONAL.
In addition to the student sessions, we will be offering 2 parent seminars to support your student scientist in this process.
Mark your calendars with these Science Fair dates!! All Sessions are from 7-8:30 pm in the CMS Library. Visit the Science Fair page for complete calendar and details.
- September 13, 2016 – Information and Brainstorming Session
- February 10-13, 2017 – SCSD SCIENCE FAIR
Hot Lunch Volunteers Needed
Hot lunch is available to our students four days (MTThF) per week, and we need volunteers to help the Arroyo site server set up and distribute lunches. Volunteers work just one or two shifts per month for 45 minute long shifts which begin at 11:30am (with the exception of Tuesday when they start at 12:00pm). By volunteering, you can benefit from earning free lunches for your student(s) with each shift.
*We currently need volunteers who are available Monday or Friday (or all days) only. Sign up to help with hot lunch at http://signup.com/go/4o7PUo or email Erin Grant: erin@mylesgrant.com with any questions.
Stampede & Soar – Your Questions Answered!
Our school needs your support for our only Central Arroyo PTA fundraiser of the year. With each family donation of $150 and their Stampede & Soar registration, we’ll be one step closer to ensuring we can fund amazing programs such as Art in Action, the Arroyo Garden, and 8th Grade graduation celebrations. Register and donate via our Online PTA Store at https://centralarroyopta.myschoolcentral.com/.
- When – Sunday, October 16th
- What – First heat (3 mile race for students only) at 8:30 am, second heat (1 ½ miles for all other students plus families and community members including strollers, scooters, etc.) at 9:00 am.
- How – Register each participant at this link: https://centralarroyopta.myschoolcentral.com/
- Why – This event funds all of our PTA events and programs. We are asking each family to donate $150 in addition to their registration fees in order to meet our goal. Can’t make it? We hope you will still make a donation.
- What else – This is one event that includes students and families from both schools (Arroyo and CMS). Arroyo 4th or 5th grade students will earn extra recess time if their grade has the highest level of participation. Only students will receive t-shirts. Medals will be awarded by grade/gender for the first heat.
Support our Schools through eScrip, Amazon and Schoola
By participating in these 4 easy fundraising rewards, you support great programs at Central Middle School and Arroyo School, like Art in Action, artist in residence, and garden science— at no extra cost to you!
- Register your credit cards and grocery reward cards (Lucky’s, Lunardi’s, Draeger’s and Mollie Stone’s) at http://www.escrip.com and select Central Middle School as the beneficiary. All proceeds will benefit Central Arroyo PTA. Remember to always key in your phone number at check-out. Be sure to opt into the NEW Lucky’s SaveMart rewards program by clicking here and entering your phone number.
- Shop the escrip online mall at https://shopping.escrip.com to earn up to 16% of your purchase at Apple.com, Nordstroms, Sony, Athleta, Macy’s, Barnes & Noble, Gap, and over a hundred online stores. Download the Forget Me Not App to be reminded when you go to a store that rewards or use the escrip online mall to search for a store!
- Bookmark and us our special link when you buy from Amazon to earn dollars for Central Arroyo every time you buy: http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=centralms-20.
- Donate your gently used women’s and kids’ clothing through Schoola and Central Arroyo will receive 40% of the proceeds from their resale. Request a bag to be mailed to your home and picked up postage paid FREE at: https://www.schoola.com/stitch/requestbag/?q=v2. You can also shop among items from Schoola’s Central Arroyo donors to earn $2 of every $5 spent for our school.
Visit our Fundraising page for all of Arroyo School’s fundraising programs.
Green Team Club
Do you love the earth? Do you want to learn about nature and become a guardian of it? In the Green Team Club, students will participate and take up meaningful environmental activities and projects. This will be a forum through which students can explore, learn, and reach out to influence fellow students and engage their parents and neighborhood communities to promote sound environmental behavior. Club members will be empowered to explore environmental concepts and actions.
Our first meeting will be Wednesday, September 7th and we will meet every other Wednesday thereafter.
- Time: 1:15-2:15 (bring lunch)
- Location: The Learning Commons. *Meet at lunch tables for lunch first.
- Qualifications: Motivation to learn about the environment, our place in it and responsibility for it.
All Arroyo Students welcome. Interested should email or call Angela Holloszy at
1holloszy@gmail.com or 650-346-9314.
Meditation Club
Kids can benefit from meditation as much as adults. In this club, we will introduce students to age-appropriate tools to increase focus, quiet their minds, reduce stress and anxiety, and increase self-confidence. Some of the activities that we will do include breathing exercises, yoga poses, visualizations, and fun games. We understand that 4th and 5th graders like to move; so we will not be spending much time doing sitting meditations. The goal is to teach kids life skills that will help them better cope with and thrive in their daily lives.
Meet at the picnic tables every other Wednesday 1:10-2:15pm starting on September 14th. We’ll have lunch together. Club is free but requires registration. Limited to 20 students. Instructors Eva Iglesias and Jerrica Fritzley have studied meditation extensively for the past 3-4 years. For more information or to register contact Eva at iglesias_eva@hotmail.com
Community Corner
Visit the Arroyo website Community Corner to learn more about the following:
- Hummingbird Music Lessons
- Challenge Success Parent Education Event