"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes…Including you." -Anne Lamott
"Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths." - Etty Hillesum
Dear Charter Families,
Our Spring Break has arrived and I believe it is fair to say that it has come none too soon for everyone. Our lovely SLV valley has been wracked by several storms over the last few months. Enough so that as soon as we see rain in the forecast, we immediately get ready for potential road closures. But! We are past the first day of Spring so let’s start planning for only sunny skies!
Before we go off to relax and renew DON’T FORGET! Monday, April 10 is our first day back. Originally marked as a storm day, yes indeed, we have had enough storm closures that this day is needed as a school day.
COVID tests were sent home with your student on Thursday. We have recently had another outbreak of the virus. We hope that you can stay healthy through the spring break, and just as importantly we want you all to be healthy when you return to us on April 10th. Please have your student take a test on the Sunday before we all return back to school
Please take some time to read the article below from our mental health counselor Jen Sims. She hasn’t written an article in our Charter News for a while, and her message is definitely worth reading as we take our holiday. She is with our students three days a week, talking with them in the classroom about how best to work together, to talk together, and to hold space for themselves. We all really appreciate the counseling and knowledge that she brings to our programs.
Additionally, I hope that you take some time to ask your children about their social media lives. If there is one item that I wish could take a back seat in our students’ development it is the ever-present influence of social media. I encourage you all to help them to understand the importance of limiting the use of all the various sources of social media. All you have to do is look up social media and mental health, social media and teens, social media and relationships, social media and _.. whatever you choose to link to the phrase, what comes out, more often than not, is an awareness that too much social media in our lives is not good!
Ana yet we cannot just shut Social Media down. We, as the caring adults that support our young, must take the time to stay curious and ask questions, to remain in dialogue and find out what our children are learning about during the many hours they are connected to screens.
What YouTube sites do they explore? What media ‘celebrities’ do they follow and what is the message that they are spreading? Does what they watch or listen to align with your values? Is there a way that you can engage your child with curiosity and questions that will offer an avenue towards dailague? It is through mutual dialogue that you can talk to your students and share healthy ways to navigate social media life; within limits that allow for a balance in mental and physical health as well as in staying respectful of other people and their differences.
Some of you may have heard that we have had a few signs of anti-semitism, of racist remarks that we agree come primarily form a place of ignorance. In listening further to some students, we have heard that phrases, words, appear to be stemming from popular social media influencers. It may be that your child is learning more than you think they are if they have time on their own with a screen. We have also found some students have been exploring inappropriate websites that are now blocked from our school’s laptops.
So please, take some time this Spring Break to find out more about your child’s screen time and screen life. What we don’t know could have a greater negative influence than if we take the time to sit side by side and learn more.
Thank you for sharing your children with us and enjoy this lovely Spring Break. It looks like it will be sunny for us!
~Rhonda
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SLVHS and Coast Redwood Grad Night event:
The SLV Grad Night committee has been actively planning for the end of year SLV Grad Night, a safe and sober event. Tickets are now available on the website http://slvgradnight.com/. This covers both SLV and Coast Redwoods schools.
Early bird tickets are $80 until April 16th. Starting April 17th, ticket pricing will be $90.
The organizing committee is looking for additional junior or sophomore parents who like to get involved to learn about running a Grad Night event, and participating in the event itself. Please reach out to one of the leads, shown on the SLV grad night web page.
Sees Candy Fundraiser!
This is your final chance to support our long-standing tradition of a safe and sober grad night event by purchasing chocolate!
Please join us in giving our seniors a sweet send off after graduation. Think
Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, etc. Show your appreciation! Sees candy makes great gifts, or buy yourself a little something special.
All items ship direct to you, $70 order gets free shipping. Gift cards are also available.
Use our link below to order until May 31
https://www.yumraising.com/secure/slvhsgn_sweet_gifts_for_grads85/AmyArr8048/candy
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FREE Adventure Pass for California Fourth Graders!! The attachments (and links) can provide you all the information needed for a 4th Grader to get their free Adventure Pass.
Fourth graders can get into 19 state parks for FREE. The California State Park Adventure Pass helps them do just that. Parents of fourth grade students can sign up for the pass on behalf of their student. For more information, click here Adventure Pass Partner Toolkit (ca.gov).
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NAMI Basics/NAMI Bases for parents of youth with mental health challenges
English class: Starts April 4th, Tuesdays from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. in person in Santa Cruz.
Spanish class: Starts April 10th, Mondays from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. in person in Watsonville.
(Flyers attached)
NAMI Basics is a free, 6-week education program for parents and family caregivers of children and teens (ages 11-17) who are experiencing symptoms of a mental illness or whom have already been diagnosed. NAMI Basics is offered in a group setting so you can connect with other people face-to-face.
You'll learn the facts about mental health conditions and how best to support your child at home, at school and when they're getting medical care.
At NAMI Basics, you'll find out that you're not alone. Recovery is a journey, and there is hope. The group setting of NAMI Basics provides mutual support and shared positive impact—you can experience compassion and reinforcement from people who understand your situation. You also can help others with your own experience.
NAMI Basics covers:
- Managing crises, solving problems and communicating effectively
- How to take care of yourself and handle stress
- Developing the confidence and stamina to support your child with compassion
- Advocating for your child's rights at school and in health care settings
- Learning about current treatments, including evidence-based therapies, medications and side effects
- Gaining an overview of the public mental health care, school and juvenile justice systems
- Understanding the challenges and impact of mental health conditions on your entire family
Please visit our website and see the attached flier for more information and to register for the class:
https://www.namiscc.org/nami-basics.html
https://www.namiscc.org/bases.html
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A look into next year: Coast Redwood High School's Info Night Rescheduled: Open House is rescheduled for: Tuesday, April 25. (5:30-6:30pm) 305 Marion Ave, Ben Lomond, 95055
We often make subtle and sometimes less subtle changes to the programs that we offer based on the needs we see, enrollment shifts, etc. We regularly evaluate, as a staff, how best to support our students and families.
The changes made for this coming year were due to the fact that we be offering Transitional Kindergarten next year as well as the deeper recognition that having a smaller multi-age grade span within our programs is beneficial for the students and teachers for many reasons. We have also determined a better way to have our students in 2-5 grades be able to have both a core ‘homeroom’ class of students in grades 2-5, as well as greater ways to weave in opportunities for us to work with the students in smaller grade level groups throughout the weeks.
Nest year, we will have a Tk-1 program taught by our teacher Amanda Bauscher. She was formally teaching at our satellite program in Soquel which will close at the end of the year. Before her time with us, Amanda was a preschool teacher and director. While in this program, children will work with core TK-1 standards while learning to communicate, collaborate, and resolve conflicts at school through Social Emotional Learning activities and emergent curriculum. Amanda uses an innovative global science curriculum in class, integrating Language Arts, Social Studies, and the Arts. Math skills are rooted in real life experiences and developed through tangible materials, meaningful activities, physical movement and dance.
Our teachers, Katie and Alex, have already had a parent meeting to answer questions regarding their plans for next year. Each year, they will share an overall theme that will allow them to also work on their current academic focuses in the Sciences and VAPA activities.
Our well known Nature Academy program will continue as before, with their focus on getting students out into the environment and on field excursions that connect their learning to real world applications, integrating the Life Skills and self-reflections into the students’ work.
We are also excited to share that Amber Walker will be back after a 2 year personal leave, as the teacher for our QHIA program. The program will go back to the initial design of being a 6-8 grade program in one classroom. As the initial designer of the QHIA program, she will bring back all her expertise and excitement in integrating VAPA into the thematic programing. One important change is that the core component will be held in the morning from 9-11:30, with the hour for lunch/arts/PE following, and lab time for Math and Science in the afternoon, ending as before at 2:30.
Marcy will continue with the dynamic CRMS program with the focus on project-based and design thinking activities based on students’ interests, as well as Marcy’s awareness of the Standards and the needs of the students attending. Science based on real-world application, presentations, and integrating arts will continue.
Our highly flexible high school, CRHS, continues to grow and add events and activities that enrich their programing. If you have a student interested in learning more about the program, please welcome to their CRHS information night has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Tuesday, April 25. (5:30-6:30pm) in their building: 305 Marion Ave, Ben Lomond. Coast Redwood HS students have a plethora of choices including, playing sports, participating in the SLVHS Theater/Drama program, dual enrollment opportunities at both SLVHS and Cabrillo College as well as other colleges, a hybrid high school experience, short day (on-campus) schedules (8:30-12:00) with some electives courses offered in the afternoon (12:45-2:00), field trips, small school environment, small classes, opportunities to reinvent ones-self, and to build on social/emotional techniques with counseling services and teacher support.
Please share this information with your friends through your various social media sites.
P.S.: All of our programs will continue to have their gardening classes next year!
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Parent Advisory Committee meeting; Tuesday, April 18 at 9:30
We will meet in the Library or on Zoom. We will continue our discussion on programs and planning for next year.
For those who cannot meet in person, you can connect via Zoom
Join Zoom Meeting: https://slvusd-org.zoom.us/j/84372991968
These meetings are designed to ensure we have parent input into critical documents that are the backbone of the Charter, as well as supporting the growth and development of the campus activities and culture of the Charter as a whole. Yearly this committee gives input to our Local Control Accountability Plan (includes our school goals and funding) School Safety Plan, Annual Parent Survey, and our 5 year Charter Petition Renewal and Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accreditation review.
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What’s Growing in the Garden:
Fall Creek 4th/5th - Students continued their studies on composting and discussed what the FBI's do to help in our compost bins. We spent some time checking on our worm bins and found a lot of worms! Students diverted several containers of vegetables and chopped up several old apples and pears from our lunch room. They also shredded cardboard that was diverted from our recycled bins and added it to cover the food we added to the worm bin.
NA 6th - 6th graders missed February's class due to weather last month so we spent the first few minutes of class discussing our native frog life cycles. Students then learned about the 3 types of soils, how water might run through them, and the types of soil we have on campus. We spent some time tracking January and February's weather. We broke into groups spending time weeding, flattening out the soil hill, and spreading wildflowers along the hillsides of our campus.
NA 7th/8th (Tuesday's Class) - It was another rainy day! We continued studies on composting and the composting FBI's! Fungi, Bacteria and Invertebrates are all needed to make compost happen. Students then had a fun day making leaf confetti with different leaf types and colors. They also finished packaging the last of the seeds that they collected during the fall in their garden. All of these seeds are available in the Seed Coop located in the library.
NA 7th/8th (Thursday's Class) - Students spent the misty morning learning about FBI's. They repotted their white sage seedlings into bigger pots. They then spent some time working on flattening the soil hill and planting the last of the flower seeds collected from the garden last fall.
CRHS - Students learned about the 3 types of soils and they conducted soil tests on our native soil and bagged soil from the store to see the percentages of silt, clay and sand in each soil. Students then spent some time planting their cold stratified redwood seeds into pots. They planted 1/3 of their seeds each in seedling soil, native soil, and potting soil as an experiment to see which soil the redwood seedlings will germinate best in. Students also sowed some of their summer crops in six packs.
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Metro Bus Service will be FREE to all Students beginning March 1st
Starting on Wednesday, March 1st, all students in Santa Cruz County can ride the Metro Bus for free.
This Youth Ride Free program will be piloted for one year. HIgh School students will be asked to show a student ID to the driver. Those without one can get a special pass from their school or at the Pacific Station Customer Service window in Downtown Santa Cruz.
The year-long program, set to launch March 1, aims to increase access for riders in grades K-12 and also foster a familiarity with the public transportation system that local authorities are leaning into for future planning opportunities.
"This pilot program is a big step toward reducing barriers in ridership. A key goal for the Youth Ride Free program is to help develop lifelong transit riders, while meeting METRO's overall goal of increasing transit ridership.”
More information regarding the pilot program can be found at https://www.scmtd.com/en/youthcruzfree
The bus routes can be found at https://www.scmtd.com/en/routes.
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Free online live tutoring available. Students can now have 24-hour access to various resources, including live 1:1 tutors. This is a fantastic resource for our students and families. Here is the link to check it out:
https://www.brainfuse.com/highed/helpNow.asp?a_id=6BE9380D&ss=&r=
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Student Absences: REMINDER
For Nature Academy families, everyday that your child is absent from school you need to call our attendance line at 831-336-8527 to report their absence. Please leave your child's name, your name, and the reason for the absence.
For Homeschool families if your child will be absent from enrichment classes please contact your teacher of record to report their absence.
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2023-2024 SLVUSD School Calendar: The 2023-2024 SLVUSD School Calendar It is posted to the Charter website SLVUSD 23-24 calendar
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Dates to Remember: (Please refer to your program’s newsletter for greater detail regarding dates and details specific to your program’s Field Trips and class events.)
- Monday, April 3 - Friday, April 7, 2023: Spring Break
- CAASPP Testing Dates (maybe subject to slight changes)
- Monday, April 17-Friday, April 21, 2023: Coast Redwood HS, Coast Redwood MS and Quail Hollow Integrated Arts
- Monday, April 24- Friday, April 28, 2023: Coast Redwood HS, Fall Creek Homeschool and Quail Hollow Homeschool
- Monday, May 1- Friday, May 5, 2023: Coast Redwood HS and Nature Academy
- Monday, May 8 - Friday, May 12, 2023: Nature Academy
- Monday, May 15 - Friday, May 19, 2023: Nature Academy
- Monday, May 29, 2023: District Holiday
- Thursday, June 1, 2023: Last day of school