WEST WORLD
In This Issue
Click here for the HCSD Master Calendar
June 13 |
Volunteer Tea |
9:45am |
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June 13 |
Parent Group Meeting |
10:15 am |
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June 14 |
NO EARLY DISMISSAL |
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June 14 |
Fifth Grade Field Day |
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June 15 |
5th Grade Promotion & Last Day of School |
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Early Dismissal |
10:30am |
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HTV - http://www.schooltube.com/user/hcsd
Revolution Foods Lunch Program – Menu
West Wear – http://westwear.breakthrustore.com/
Hillsborough Recreation – www.hillsboroughrecreation.org
Children’s Workshop – http://web.me.com/AlexaFrisbie/Workshop
Hello West Parents,
It is with mixed emotions that I sit down and write this, my last article for West World. This is my twelfth year as a West parent—six with my daughter who just graduated from San Mateo High, six with Alex, who is graduating from West, and a one-year break between them. I am happy that I’ve had a chance to serve our school community in a variety of roles, while I am sad that I will no longer be an active contributor to this school community. I truly feel honored that you entrusted me with the responsibility to be your parent group president. I have seen first hand the great staff we have at West, worked beside so many committed West parent volunteers, and watched our wonderful children grow and develop.
As I look back on the past year, the Parent Group has achieved some significant milestones, over and above the many fun activities, community-building events, and educational support services that you, the parent volunteers, make possible:
- Parent’s Day. We had our first Parent’s Day, a uniquely West event. Parents and students enjoyed the day and we had an opportunity to be with our children as they learned and even to learn with them.
- Playground Project. Through the Allocations donation in your Parent Group dues, the planning of our Allocations committee, and the use of some of our reserves, we are putting in a major upgrade to the West playground this summer. It includes parents painting and refreshing older equipment, the purchase of several new playground pieces, and the installation of a new play surface on the main play equipment area. A detailed update and final approvals are being discussed at the Parent Group meeting on Wednesday, June 13 at 10:15 am.
- Participation. Many parents responded to my challenge to “find (at least) one volunteer opportunity this year” and we’ve seen different parents help out with field trips, staff appreciation lunch, and other activities. Our new Executive Board and School Site Council will continue this focus during the new school year.
Thank You
With the many events in May and numerous projects wrapping up in June, I have a long list of volunteers whom I’d like to thank. The list is long because it takes this many volunteers to create the school community that we have come to love and appreciate.
Let me start by thanking our principal, Dr. Adams. She welcomes and appreciates parent input and involvement in the life of the school. Throughout the year, she has fostered a partnership with me, the Exec Board, and our parent community, to make West School what it is today. I am grateful for that partnership.
My thanks go to the members of our Parent Group Exec Board, who have worked throughout the year, individually and as a team, to recruit volunteers, plan activities and events, support our chairpersons, and keep the Parent Group running. Their involvement, especially behind the scenes, makes everything run smoothly.
Staff Appreciation Week—Thanks go to Maria Chen, Karen Dang, and Juli Shaw for organizing our Staff Appreciation Week. They got parents and students involved during the week to develop individualized ways to demonstrate our appreciation to the staff.
Staff Appreciation Lunch—I’d like to thank Regine Rogers and Nancy Huang McCormick for transforming our MPR into an Island Paradise for our teachers and staff as they hosted our Staff Appreciation Lunch. Thanks also go to the many parent volunteers who made the lunch and transformation possible—Barbara Rodio, Kari Castiglione, Wenda Treu, Elizabeth Battat, Diana Cacho, Sara Velten, Lori Williams, Nadine Lewandowski, Patricia Qaqundah, Paul McCann, Jaynry Mak, Gina Domeniconi, Cecilia Lowe, Anu Hoey, and Janet Andrews.
4th Grade Yosemite Trip—I’d like to thank Elizabeth Battat and Lori Williams for co-chairing the trip this year. They worked tirelessly before and during the trip, to make this event a memorable one for our 4th graders. In all, over twenty parents gave up the better part of a week, whether on duty or on call, to lead and help our students. The parent volunteers were Jenny Yang Lin, An Chen, Sherri Haslam, Shirley Kan, Tamara Hunt, Vicky Prezeau, Sandi DaRoza, Lin Wu, Shaddy Maroufi, Patricia Qaqundah, Dr. Prithvi Legha, Adam Frankl, Norman Epstein, Will Archie, Scott Tompson, George Rogers, Bryan Gescuk, Tony Ponterio, and Fred Cho.
Yearbook—Each year, West students receive a wonderful yearbook, filled with creative content and outstanding pictures of life at West. I’d like to thank Nancy Huang McCormick, our Yearbook Editor, for all her hard work on both the editorial and production sides of creating the yearbook. She has worked closely with our hard-working team of grade editors: Deb Kelly, Sandy Lai, Teresa Pai, Annie Lee, and Victoria Burke. Each time I look through one of our yearbooks, I can’t believe how fortunate we are to have Nancy at the helm of its creation.
HTV—I’d like to thank Diane Hong, Theresa Callicott, Andre Morin, and Stacey Friedlander for leading the HTV effort at West. And of course, thanks to the numerous other parents who contributed and filmed for HTV, you can watch performances, ceremonies, and events. Visit http://www.schooltube.com/channel/hcsd/ and you can watch West Newscasts and events filmed at West.
5th Grade Graduation/Promotion Activities—As a fifth-grade parent, my thanks go to Ingrid Kitahata for chairing the numerous activities going on this week. Her volunteer team has put together the Parents’ Cocktail Party, the 5th Grade Field Day, the Graduation Ceremony, and the Pool Party, and the volunteers include Diana Cacho, Racky Friedman, Janet Andrews, Kari Castiglione, Ruth Shannon, Naomi Petrushka (cocktail party host), Pearl Wu (pool party host), Eudora Ting, Andre Morin, Megan Duncanson, and Stacey Friedlander.
5th Grade Memory Video—One treasured keepsake of every 5th grader is their West Memory Video DVD. A big “Thank You” goes to Naomi Silk for leading the team, which includes Andre Morin, Rekha Hemrajani, and Diane Hong.
And I apologize to all the volunteers whose name I either missed or misspelled, both today and in past articles.
My final thank you goes to Ingrid Scatena, our West World Editor. Twice a month, she organizes, edits, and publishes this critical communications link between HCSD, the teachers, the staff, the parents, and the Hillsborough community. Thank you, Ingrid!
Get Involved
We have started to fill our chairperson and volunteer positions for the next school year, and there are plenty more spots to fill. Some volunteer opportunities are for an event or one-time only, some occur outside school hours, while others occur once a week or once a month. Decide on what works best for your skills and schedule, then sign up. If you’re not quite sure where the best fit might be, just contact one of our VP of Volunteers, Katie St. Geme or Ingrid Davis. They would be happy to work with you to determine where you can contribute and have fun.
Our Volunteer Appreciation Tea is hosted by Dr. Adams, teachers, and staff. It will be at 9:45 am on Wednesday, June 13. If you’ve volunteered for anything during the school year, please come!
Upcoming Events
This is the last week of school, so please check the events below for the changes to the weekly schedule.
- Wednesday, June 13, 9:45 am, Volunteer Appreciation Tea in the MPR
- Wednesday, June 13, 10:15 am, West Parent Group Meeting in the MPR
- Thursday, June 14, Fifth Grade Field Day
- Thursday, June 14, NO Early Dismissal
- Friday, June 15, 8:30 am, Fifth Grade Graduation Ceremony and Breakfast in the MPR
- Friday, June 15, 10:30 am, Early Dismissal and Last Day of School
In Closing
While my focus is on parent group matters in this monthly communication, some of you have asked me, “What else do you do besides volunteer at West?” I have been taking an extended career break to take care of my kids and volunteer with education-oriented and faith-based non-profits. I have also been advising several small startups as they get organized and find their markets, customers, and investors. I will continue to be involved with our schools as the Chair of Strategic Planning on the HSF Board of Directors, and as a board member of the San Mateo High School Foundation.
The big transition for me will occur as I resume my career, and look for my next opportunity as VP of Engineering for a growing, earlier-stage technology company. If any members of the West community know of people with whom I should connect, I would welcome an introduction or a LinkedIn connection.
I wish our West families and West staff a safe, enjoyable, and fun-filled summer. Appreciate the time you have as a family and remember to build a storehouse of memories that each family member can draw upon in the years to come.
Remember the quote attributed to Blaise Pascal, “I would have written a shorter letter but didn’t have time.”
Gilbert Wai – West Parent Group President
thewais@yahoo.com
Playground update: Thanks to the following elves for painting and sanding on June 7: the Morin family, the Berry family, the Lopez Adorno family, the Treu family, George Tuzar, Michelle Fowler, Sandy Lai, Lori Williams, An Chen, Shirley Kan, Janet Andrews, and our own Principal Adams (I apologize if I missed anyone). Once the vote is finalized at the parent group meeting on June 13, the site work and turf surface should be completed by mid-July. The new equipment has arrived and will be installed at the same time. Thanks to all parents for your support of this project!
Lost and Found End of Year I know it's too hot to think about clothes but please remind your child to stop by the Lost and Found shed one last time this week to make sure he/she hasn't left a favorite jacket, hat or lunch tote. Unclaimed items left in the shed will be removed by Friday, June 15th and donated to Samaritan House later in the month. A big help would be to make sure anything your child has with them this week is labeled legibly with their name as many items are lost in the excitement of the last day but a happy reunion is far more likely if it ends up in the Lost and Found with an identifying mark. Thanks so much to everyone and have a wonderful summer!
Eudora Ting
Children's Workshop Here is a sneak preview of our exciting new academic enrichment units that teach your child 21st Century Learning Skills: the ability to create, persevere, and communicate successfully. Our "I Love Dirt" unit is our response to the book Last Child in the Woods - Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Children will classify birds, excavate and analyze soil, and study seed dispersal while enjoying all the benefits of the great outdoors. "Math Mastery" will cement a deeper understanding of critical mathematic concepts using manipulatives and team collaboration. During "Create Your Own World," students will create a culture from scratch: their own language, math symbols, currency, government, holidays, and foods. Stay tuned for all of the rich learning experiences available next year!
Hillsborough Beautification Foundation Buy a Brick...Create a Memory!This is your chance to enhance our community and to help beautify Hillsborough City School District Office. This is a new project entirely funded by donations to Hillsborough Beautification Foundation (HBF), a nonprofit foundation. No school funds will be used for this beautification project at the District Office.
Purchase a Brick: Commemorate your family, or pay tribute to a graduate, friend, teacher or staff member. You will see your bricks placed along the entrance to the beautified District Office courtyard. Proceeds from this sales effort will be used to renovate and landscape the entrance and courtyard area.
Option # 1: One 4 x 8 brick, up to three lines of inscription @ $ 200.00.
Option # 2: Two or more 4 x 8 bricks @ $ 150.00 each.
Option # 3: One 8 x 8 brick with up to five lines of inscription @ $ 400
To order and for more details please see the attached order
form. A copy of this order form was sent home last week with your student.
Any questions, please contact Erin Sinclair,
hbfbricks@gmail.com . For more information on HBF,
http://hillsboroughbeautificationfoundation.org (HNN) HILLSBOROUGH NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORK--Together we can be prepared! Disaster Prep Day The county-wide
8th Annual Disaster Prep Day will be held on
Saturday, June 9th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the San Mateo County Event Center, 2495 S. Delaware Street, San Mateo. Arrive before 11 a.m. for free parking and free admission to the County Fair.
For the pdf flyer,
http://www.hillsborough.net/documents/DisasterPrep2012_CMYK_Englishflyer_032712.pdf or contact the Office of Emergency Services at 650-363-4790 for more info.
Saturday, June 16, 2012 Pancake Breakfast Central County Firefighters are holding their 8th annual pancake breakfast on Saturday, June 16th to benefit the
Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, a non-profit organization which supports burn survivors and their families. Visit Station 34, 799 California Drive, Burlingame and watch our firefighters serve up yummy flapjacks while dining inside the firehouse. The cost is only $5.00 per person. Firefighter t-shirts and hats for sale. For more info, please contact Julie Parenti, Fire Inspector, Central County Fire Department, (650) 558-7648
HNN Block Parties The summer months are a great time to host an HNN block party to get neighbors acquainted and organized around emergency prep. If your neighborhood has not yet held one, or you don't know who your Neighborhood Lead is, please send HNN an email:
hnn@hillsborough.net and we will connect you.
Thank you!
HILLSBOROUGH NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORK (HNN) http://www.hillsborough.net/depts/boards/hnn.asp hnn@hillsborough.net 650-400-3919 HNN Coordinator cell