Back To School Night – Thursday, 9/16
Mark your calendars. Our annual Back To School Night is scheduled for Thursday, September 16th. Look for details in your Monday envelopes.
Labor Day Holiday – Monday 9/6
There will be school on Monday, September 6 due to the Labor Day Holiday. Enjoy the long weekend!
Monday Envelopes
Every Monday you will receive a white envelope. The envelope will contain important information such as our newsletter, the Castlemont Courier, district information, school functions and volunteer forms. It is important that you read this information and return the envelope with any items to be returned, to your child’s teacher each week.
In this wek’s envelope, you will find school forms that need to be filled out and returned to your child’s teacher as soon as possible.
Required TB Tests for Volunteers
CUSD requires that all regular volunteers have TB test results on file in their children’s school office. Please take the necessary steps to have a test done, and bring the test results to the school office.
Join Your HSC Today!
The Castlemont Home & School Club (HSC) Membership Drive is in effect! The HSC is our version of the PTA and funds many Castlemont programs such as our library, Life Lab Garden, field trips, assemblies and much, much more! Look for the Membership Form in the Monday Envelope. For more information contact Gabriela Quintana at president@castlemont-hsc.org.
Message from the Principal – Ms. Ivy Sarratt
Welcome to the 2010-11 school year! I want to take this opportunity to welcome our new Assistant Principal, Alexandra Friel. Ms. Friel taught in the district 5 years before leaving for other educational opportunities in Los Angeles and Palo Alto. She is now back in the area and is looking forward to working with our amazing Castlemont students, staff and parent community. When you’re on campus, please take a moment to introduce yourself to Ms. Friel.
The first days of school are an exciting time for our students and their parents. As we begin the year we will continue to focus on providing a safe place for our students to be academically successful, socially responsible, and physically healthy and active. As your child transitions into the new year meeting his/her teacher and making new friends while reconnecting with old ones, remember to take a few minutes and ask your child about their day.
Castlemont is always in need of volunteers in the classroom and for before and after school parking supervision. If you would like to become more involved please contact your child’s teacher or the office staff. Your participation is always appreciated as we strive to work together to support our students.
Lastly, look for a new feature in this year’s courier. It will be a life skill of the month with resources and activities that you can continue to implement at home with your child. Students will be learning about these life skills in the classroom and at our monthly Spirit Assemblies.
Second Annual Family Picnic – Thursday, 8/26 @ 5:30 pm
Join us for our Second Annual Back To School Family Picnic on the evening of Thursday, August 26th from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. We will be meeting in the school courtyard. Bring your own dinner and join other Castlemont families for a relaxed family picnic and community building event.
New School Year – New HSC Board
As we get ready to begin the new school year, please take a moment to review the 2010-2011 roster for a list for your new Board Members and volunteers who have graciously agreed to lead our different activities throughout the year. Though you will recognize many names, we are excited to have some new members on the Board and look forward to their new ideas and fresh contributions.
Though we have many of our Chair positions filled, there are still many ways you can help. If you would like to be involved in HSC activities and play an active role in ensuring your child receives the best educational experience while at Castlemont, send us an email at hsc@castlemont-hsc.org. From volunteering in class to working with our terrific volunteers to help put on our Family Fall Festival, there are dozens of ways you can contribute your time, effort and creative ideas.
Though I have completed my tenure as HSC President, I will continue to be an active member of the HSC and will continue to publish the Courier and manage both the website and the Facebook page. I welcome your suggestions, input and ideas and I look forward to seeing you around campus. I can be reached at newsletter@castlemont-hsc.org.
Looking forward to a great 2010-2011 school year!
-Pablo
Vote for My Future – Educating and Mobilizing the Silicon Valley Bay Area Parent Community
A Bay Area-wide campaign incorporating public service announcements, educational videos,grassroots outreach, an educational workshop, and public official forums/debates to increase civic engagement from the parent community in Silicon Valley and beyond for the November 2010 elections. The campaign is led by EDUCACY, a parent-led non-profit organization, in partnership with Silicon Valley Education Foundation, Working Partnership, South Bay Labor Council, KTSF, Univision, business associations, media partners and local grass roots organizations.
California has the largest K-12 public education system in the nation and the eighth largest economy in the world. However, it ranks close to the the bottom in funding per student and teacher to student ratios. Additionally, less than 70% of students graduate from high school.
California s failure to provide an adequate, equitable, and rational school finance’system that supports required educational programs and student needs jeopardizes the futures of its children, the state, and the nation.
There is a pressing need for education reform and parents have been the missing link in that path. As a group, parents have the purest and greatest interest in the success of their children,but they have lacked the understanding, the time, the means, and/or the collective power to be instrumental in instituting change. Parents have a history of low voter turn out. This campaign is intended to register more parent and youth voters. Though they comprise the majority of the student population in California, Asian Pacific Islander and Latino communities in particular have much lower civic engagement than the general community due to cultural and language barriers. However, education is a top concern for both communities. Based on recent analyses performed by Working Partners, many of the reforms sought by EDUCACY are short 100,000-500,000 votes statewide. In Santa Clara County, the measures/elections are short 40,000 votes. EDUCACY wants to play a lead role in increasing voter registration and turnout to overcome these shortages and help school districts pass local parcel taxes as well as other campaigns that move communities in the direction towards greater education reform.
The goals of the campaign are to:<
- Create awareness of the education crisis utilizing public service announcements targeted primarily to traditionally under-represented groups.
- Educate the parent community about education issues using special news segments, grassroots outreach, education workshops, and forums/debates.
- Mobilize parents to take action with a deep understanding of the education crisis and the role that they have towards short-term and long-term reform.
Activities/Events in Silicon Valley:
- Public Service Announcements in 7 languages to run from September 1 November 2–election date. Messages from children will urge parents to engage in the election process. Educational videos in Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese and English to explain why it is important to vote on November elections.
- Panel and workshop on California’s education system and financing From Top to Worst’–(mid. September)
- Education-focused forum/Debate for Governor’s race Meg Whitman vs. Jerry Brown–(late September)
- Forum/Debate for CA Superintendent of Public Instruction race Tom Torlakson vs.–Larry Aceves (early October)
- Get Out To Vote : Grassroots mobilization partner with local grassroots organizations,–teachers unions and students groups to increase voter participation from high school students and the parent community during November 2010 elections
For more information about EDUCACY, download the Executive Summary or join the following Yahoo! Groups:
Final HSC Meeting, 6/1/10 @ 7:00 pm
Our next HSC meeting will be held on Tuesday, 6/1 at 7:00 pm in the Castlemont Staff Room. We will be voting in the new Board and Committee Chairs so if you want to be a part of the fun next year, join us and throw your name in the hat.
There are many ways you can help including, being a member of the Board, Chairing a fundraising or activity committee or by volunteering your time and experience to help plan and execute a variety of events during the school year.
Check the Volunteer Opportunities Page for a brief explanation of each of the positions. If you are not quite ready to take on a full committee position, think about buddying up with a fellow classroom parent or even mentoring with someone already chairing a committee.
Not ready to chair a committee or take on a leadership role with the Board…don’t worry, you can still play an active role by volunteering to help organize and carry out events. Whether you play a public facing role or are more comfortable keeping things going in the background, there is a place for you.
