Principal's Message
Week-at-a-Glance
Dear CMS Families,
Parenting a teenager during Covid times poses particular challenges for a number of reasons. Socializing is so important for teenagers. As you know, teenagers need to spend time with their peers without adults around monitoring every word they say. Developmentally, teenagers need to experience certain milestones in order to grow into healthy adults. There are four major developmental milestones that young teenagers need to reach before they become adults. They are:
- Adolescents slowly begin to move out of the family circle in order to become more independent. This can lead to solitary behavior. It also fuels the need for friendships. Companionship amongst their peers becomes extremely important for adolescents.
- Adolescents begin to look for a place to belong in the world. They look to their friends for protection and a sense of belonging. Developmental psychologists often stress the importance of friendships during adolescence.
- Adolescents begin to form their own identity. They begin to look to their peers to find out what is acceptable or ‘cool’. Music, movies, video games, fashion, popular culture, to name a few, become part of their identity.
- While adolescents are learning about themselves, they also become close studies of the people around them. They begin to develop strong opinions about the people in their lives. In addition, as part of forming an identity, an adolescent starts to form ideas around social organizations, political and economic systems, and of course, popular culture. They become the steward of what is cool and what is not.
Covid 19 makes reaching these milestones particularly difficult, but not impossible. I have included a few resources that might help you understand what your children are going through right now and some ideas that might be helpful. I particularly like the last article because it highlights the fact that Covid has also offered up some opportunities to spend more time as a family and build new routines. Covid is hard on all of us, but it does not have to be all bad. Maybe these articles can help us create some positive experiences while at the same time, help our children grow.
- Supporting Teenagers and Young Adults During Covid
- Staying at Home During Covid 19: How to Help Teens Cope
- Teens & COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities During the Outbreak
Tom Domer
Principal
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Break for a Change
Central and Arroyo are joining forces to provide parents an opportunity to work together for Racial Justice. Tom Domer & Mindy Shelton would like to welcome parents to join them for the next 6 Wednesdays from 4:00-5:00 pm to discuss short readings and stories that address racism and inequity. This group will be an open space to talk about how we create a safe school and community for all families. Our first meeting will be Wednesday, September 23 from 4:00-5:00 pm (followed by every Wednesday through October 28). Please RSVP on the form to receive information about our first short reading and the Zoom link.
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Homework Club
CMS has decided to begin a Homework Club to help students get some homework done, and to give students the opportunity to work with one another in a productive way. We will have teachers on hand to help out. The first date and time is listed below.
- Day: Tuesday, 9/22
- Time: 8:40-9:15
- Time: 1:35-3:00
Let your advisory teacher know if you are interested in attending!
PTA
Team Kid
Join TeamKid and be a part of the critical community fundraising needed to support our students, our teachers, and our schools!
Your PTA donations support essential programs and events at Central this school year. These programs include teacher stipends, principal funds, critical cleaning supplies, Art in Action, garden, student assemblies, 8th grade graduation, parent education, disability awareness and support, student supplies, Healthy Cities tutoring and much, much more.
Your SCEF donation ensures continued funding for teaching positions and professional development, technology devices and applications, mental health and wellness, elective teachers and music programs, and Principal Flex Accounts across all San Carlos schools.
Find out more about how PTA and SCEF are working together for student success HERE. Join the TeamKid movement by making your PTA donation this fall and planning your SCEF donation at a time that works best for your family.
Volunteers Needed for Yearbook and Community Building Workgroup
Please consider leading our class yearbook reps in creating a keepsake of this unique year. Community building for students and families will be more important than ever this year.
Proposition 15 - Schools & Community First
The San Carlos School District unanimously approved a resolution in support of Prop 15 Schools and Communities First on the ballot in November. The District would receive an estimated $1,896,397 and the City of San Carlos $4,112,000 in additional funding if the initiative passes. According to the measure's sponsors, The California Schools & Local Communities Funding Act would raise an estimated $12 billion annually statewide for schools and local communities including $830 million for San Mateo County. For details, go to the California PTA's website.
Editors Note: This message was approved by County Council - It is permitted by the District to be included in our newsletter for information only, not advocacy
SCEF
Why is Community Support of our Schools So Important?
School districts in California are funded one of two ways. State-funded or “Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)” districts, like ours, receive the majority of their revenue from the state of California based on student enrollment because their property tax revenue is insufficient to fund the minimum per student allocation set by the state. Community-funded districts (formerly known as “Basic Aid) derive all their funding from local property taxes because they are able to meet the state-set per pupil funding threshold through their property taxes alone.
While San Carlos is surrounded by some community-funded districts, the vast majority of school districts in California are state-funded, like SCSD. A shift in how California schools are funded resulted after the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, prior to which, school funding was much more robust throughout the state, as districts could count on property taxes to meet their funding needs. How does this impact us today? Following Prop. 13, California now consistently ranks near the bottom in education funding in the U.S., particularly in the Bay Area where cost-of-living is so high.
SCSD currently receives about 75% of what it takes to educate our students from the state of California, leaving a 25% gap to fill. Thanks to support through SCEF donations, parcel taxes and the like, our San Carlos community bridges this funding gap to ensure our district has the resources to provide our children with the well-rounded quality education they deserve.
To learn more about California school funding: https://www.scefkids.org/about-us/state-funding/
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We are beginning to work on SCEF’s 2019-20 Annual Report and would like to include photographs of kids working in their home "classrooms." If you would like to submit a photo for consideration, please send it in the highest resolution to: [email protected]. We will select a few to publish in the annual report and use in marketing throughout the year.
Community Partners
San Carlos Children's Theater - Auditions October 13th
Join the Virtual School Musical
The show must go on! Auditions for this year's VIRTUAL middle school musical -- GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROADWAY -- will be held October 13th on Zoom. Register now to take advantage of the Early Bird Discount! All 6th-8th graders from Central, Tierra Linda and Charter are invited to join the cast of this funny, toe-tapping musical about a young Broadway producer facing problems with his leading lady and the bank! No theater experience is required to audition and everyone who auditions will be cast. With all rehearsals held in the privacy of your own home, this is the perfect opportunity to try a musical for the first time! Online rehearsals begin October 20. Virtual performances will be presented January 29 & 30.
Get complete show details and register to audition at www.sancarloschildrenstheater.com/broadway/
Legarza Golf at Mariner's Point
With the school year underway, Legarza has been coming up with creative ways to keep students active.
Our in person programs at Laureola Park have been a huge hit for younger students K-5th. With Middle School Athletics not taking place for the time being, we wanted to find ways to include our 6-8th graders.
We partnered with Mariners Point Golf Center in Foster City to offer a middle school golf experience, similar to our Fall offerings in the past.
Join Legarza for a fun, co-ed, semi-competative program kicking off next Monday, September 21. We are hoping you can join us!
Go to the Legarza website to sign-up!
High School Happenings
Sequoia High School
Carlmont High School
Design Tech High School