SFDS eNews

Want to Be a Room Parent?

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:21:50 +0000

Dear SFDS families,

The school year may be ending, but the search for Room Parents has just begun! This is a critical role with three main responsibilities:

1. Assist teachers in the planning of class activities and field trips.

2. Assist in community building efforts of the Parents Association, including welcoming new families to the class & coordinating the year-end teacher gift (K-5 only).

3. Participate in the Room Parent Council by attending meetings with the head of
school to learn about current initiatives and to represent issues of interest to your
specific class and the school as a whole. The Room Parent Council is a forum for
candid and confidential discussions facing our community.

This year, we need one room parent per grade this spring to facilitate summer communication and give teachers a contact for the beginning of the school year.

We would like to encourage parents who have not had an opportunity to serve as a room parent to consider volunteering. We will place one parent for the summer and other interested parents will be kept on hand for placement in the fall when class lists have been confirmed.

Click here for more info on Room Parent responsibilities, or click here to see a list of the gracious volunteers who served this year.

Please contact Regan Pritzker with any questions or to volunteer. If you are interested in the summer position, please let us know by June 1st – thank you!

“April” Madness 2012

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 03:42:45 +0000

This year’s March Madness crept into April, much to the delight of our basketball fans. After many nail-biters and close games, the titles went to Team Arizona for the boys with Coach Manton, and to Team Indiana for the girls, with Coach Shoaff.
Check out pictures!

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

A Week in the Life of our Math Lab

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 03:25:48 +0000

by Kate Philpott, Math teacher

Kindergarten
The kindergarteners have been asking lots of questions! They want to know your favorite color, favorite number, food or sport. Graphing the responses they receive, they have been making some interesting conjectures about data collection and analysis.

First Grade
Using Jim and The Beanstalk by Raymond Briggs, first graders tried to figure out just how BIG the giant really was. They concluded he was about 60 feet tall. They have now decided to build him in real life, along with his gold coins, false teeth, and glasses. Every last detail is being included – they are even making the giant’s egg cup, complete with its egg.

Second Grade
Cityscape has begun and second graders are mapping, looking at scale, and learning how to construct three-dimensional shapes such as triangular prisms, pyramids and frustums; imagine the Transamerica Pyramid sliced in half.

Third Grade
How much space? Third graders are trying to find out how much space it would take to grow enough vegetables to feed their class on outdoor education next year. By measuring the garden boxes and space behind the church, the students will plan out a good use of the area to try to answer this question.

Fourth Grade
Having already worked out how to feed their classmates on field trips with sub
sandwiches, the fourth graders are now designing a 60 km bike course. The course is designed complete with water stations, food and juice tables and resting areas.

And that’s just in one week…stay tuned for more updates!

CF30 Quiz Night

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 03:05:45 +0000

For this year’s CultureFest quiz night, students and their parents came prepared to test their knowledge of SFDS art and to preview hot auction items. Check out photos of the event!

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

CF30: For the Love of YOU!

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 02:57:48 +0000

Dear SFDS Community,

Thank you for making this CultureFest the MOST SUCCESSFUL EVER! Thanks to your generosity, we netted an unprecedented $500,000! Yes, that’s right - half a million dollars will go to support the SFDS discounted tuition program and our summer 2012 facilities projects.

It was truly inspiring to work with so many dedicated members of our community throughout this year….and we had a blast celebrating with you on Saturday night!

To see videos from CF30, visit: www.vimeo.com/sfday.
Check out photos of our creatively inventive parents who brought our theme to life!

THANK YOU!

Sara Byrne & Courtney Norris
Co-chairs, CultureFest 2012

*Pick up your online/silent/live auction winnings starting on Wednesday, May 9 in the Development office. Email Dasha at dostrova@sfds.net with your preferred pick-up time. If you prefer to have items (i.e., certificates) mailed to you, please email Dasha with your request.

Julia Mattison ‘03 in Godspell

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 02:50:55 +0000

We are always happy to hear great news about our former SFDS students, and were thrilled to learn of an SFDS Class of 2003 alumna’s recent accomplishments. Last year, Julia Mattison made her Broadway debut on the musical, “Godspell.” Prior to joining the cast of Godspell in New York City, Julia appeared regionally in productions at the American Conservatory Theater and the National Theatre, as well as concerts at Joe’s Pub, Birdland and ARS NOVA. As a comedian, Julia has also been featured in EW, The AV Club and New York Magazine. Click here to hear Julia speak about her opening night performance on Godspell.

Poetry Month at SFDS

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 02:39:23 +0000

April is Poetry Month, a national celebration of poetry that was established by the Academy of American Poets in 1996. The purpose of Poetry Month is to “increase the visibility and availability of poetry in popular culture, while acknowledging and celebrating poetry’s ability to sustain itself in the many places where it is practiced and appreciated.”

In honor of this occasion, last month our SFDS students carried out the school tradition of Poem in Your Pocket Day. Lower school students selected poetry closest to their hearts (written by themselves or another poet) and carried their poems with them throughout the day, eager to share with friends, teachers and family in exchange for stickers (and an appreciative audience!). Teachers and other faculty members were encouraged to keep a poem on hand to share with students as well. As usual, our students poured their full energy into this celebration and chose a wide range of poetry for the assembly as well, including original poems from our kindergartners, Sonnet XVIII from 3W, Diary of a Chrysalis from 3G, original ballads from our sixth graders, and This Is Just to Say from 4G. And so much more! Our faculty members also participated by sharing some of their favorite poetry. Mr. Wood shared Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese,” and Mr. Turner played a video of Taylor Mali’s poem, “Speak with Conviction.”

Poetry is a vital art that must be treasured and appreciated for its unmeasured cultural influence and creative power. A big thank you goes to everyone who participated and an extra special THANKS to the Poetry Posse (Ms. Adler, Ms. Elliston and Ms. Otero) for keeping us inspired with uplifting poetry every day.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

For more photos and videos, visit http://sfds.smugmug.com/Other. (password is same as SFDS smugmug password)

4th Grade Electric Carnival

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 02:06:18 +0000

After designing and drafting circuit diagrams, the fourth graders were really pleased to build and showcase their amazing electric machines. The learning goals for this project were:

- To understand how engineers work: designing, testing, rethinking, rebuilding, talking to friends

- To be persistent and work through frustration
- To use creativity
- To problem solve
- To know how electrical circuits work, using science knowledge and vocabulary
- To use tools and materials
- To collaborate with others

The students also shot mini-videos of themselves – to view, click here. Check out more photos!

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

1st Graders Skype with Author & Artist, Todd Parr

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:46:13 +0000

by Dawn Hartman, first grade parent

On Thursday, March 29, our SFDS firsties Skyped with Todd Parr. As many of you may know, Todd is a local children’s book author/artist and creator of the Emmy-nominated, animated TV show ToddWorld. The first grade teachers reached out to Todd to see if he would be interested in speaking with the class as part of the Reader’s Workshop Author study unit. To everyone’s delight, he said “YES,” and the rest is now history!

Todd Parr has written dozens of children’s books that have quickly become modern classics. His lighthearted stories and drawings are accessible and fun. The characters are universally diverse, including people and creatures who are blue, orange, and green. Todd’s stories depict both common and unusual situations such as feeling embarrassed, sad, and silly, as well as having a striped face or loving to eat macaroni and cheese in the bathtub! His easy-to-read books also contain deeper messages of love, acceptance, and respect. For example, Todd writes about having two different moms and/or dads in the Mommy and Daddy books. Because he uses his trademark simple text and bright colors to introduce more complex social themes, his books validate all families, including LGBT, step, single-parent, adoptive, and extended. In We Belong Together, Todd writes about a “person needing someone to love” and another “needing love.” For adoptive families, this is a personal statement. Yet, it resonates broadly because love is the cornerstone of all families, regardless of how they were formed. Todd understands children and, as a result, they adore him!

As expected, the firsties and Todd connected during their Skype session. They asked him questions about “his life, writing, and inspirations.” Additionally, the kids wondered about Todd’s illustrations; they wanted to know why many of his characters don’t have noses, while others have more prominent features that make them look like clowns! It goes without saying that there were giggles all around. Todd also introduced his two dogs, Pete and Tater Tot, and read his book entitled, Underwear Do’s and Don’ts.

Todd’s books speak to every reader differently. His stories educate, affirm, and connect, while making each of us feel “okay” about our unique qualities. Todd’s books are optimistic, making us believe in ourselves and each other . . . no matter who we are. Whatever Todd is writing about (e.g., underwear, feelings, or differences in skin color and family structure), parents and kids are reading and listening!

Need Childcare?

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:42:18 +0000

Enthusiastic, reliable, flexible, CCA art student to the rescue. Experienced and great with all ages, able to drive, spanish speaker, friendly beyond belief and artistically inclined. Recommended by Ms. Richarts. Call Sky Richards at 415-601-4203 or email sky.owen.richie@gmail.com.