GetConnected_February2016 - Connect Community Charter School

DON’T MISS...
FEBRUARY
2016
Wolf Packs
How we’re building
community across grades.
page 3
After-School Music
Laura Stone shares the
challenges and rewards of
running our music program.
page 4
Project Spotlight
A window into our hands-on
class activities.
page 6
Field Trips
See the photos. Feel like you
were there.
page 10
Meet New Staff Members
Welcome our newest staff
members to the Connect
family!
page 10
YOUR QUARTERLY GUIDE TO SCHOOL NEWS, INFORMATION, AND EVENTS
A Word from Our Director
As the kindergarten class reminded me, we’ve just completed
the hundredth day of school. It’s a natural point to check in and
review what’s gone well and what’s been challenging, so that
we can set the course for the remainder of the school year and
beyond.
In my classroom visits, a common strength I’ve seen emerge
is the academic mindset our students are developing. Students
see themselves as learners and active participants in their
learning—from our youngest learners proudly explaining their
most recent history project, to our oldest learners explaining the
question they’ve set to investigate for the science fair. I’ve seen
elementary and middle-school students not only solving complex
math problems, but being able to explain and demonstrate their
thinking to peers and teachers. In language arts, they’re closely
reading a variety of genres, not just to read, but also to discuss
the author’s craft so they can apply techniques to their own
writing. Of course, there are moments of silliness and goofiness
peppered in, as is necessary when involved in so much thinking
and authentic learning.
Hands-on.
As a staff, one of the areas that we’ve been investigating is how
to measure Connect’s success and impact on our students’
learning. We’ve always dedicated ourselves to educating the
whole child—academic learning, social-emotional development,
creativity, citizenship, and physical development. Since the school
began, we’ve been looking at ways to measure students’ growth
in all those areas. It’s not easy! Unfortunately, most of the measures that the state uses—such as standardized tests—only give
a very narrow indicator of performance. However, there are signs
that there is a movement away from those narrow definitions
of success and from high-stakes testing. Some of those signs
include the President’s call for lessening the amount of testing for
children across the country, the Governor’s developing accountability system through the LCAP, and the new school quality
measures being adopted by the CORE districts across the state.
As a school, we’ll be tracking these developments closely as we
look at and measure Connect’s success.
Minds open.
Warmly, Ms. Alicia
Hearts in!
Touch Base with the
Parent Council
The Parent Council wants to thank everyone who
came out to the winter potluck and purchased raffle
tickets and baked goods. We raised $800!
Parents, are you ready for a night on the town?
We’re planning a Kids’ Drop-off Night on Friday,
March 4, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. The cost is $15 for
the first child and $5 for each additional sibling. Keep
your eye on ParentSquare for details on when and
how to register for this upcoming event.
Please join us on the second Thursday of each
month, at 7:00 p.m., as we meet to discuss ideas
and opportunities for how we can support the Connect community.
Intramural Sports Report
• Sixth-grade girls and boys teamed up with other
local schools in the Sheriff’s Activity League (SAL)
basketball program, in December and January.
• The season has just begun for Connect’s 7th & 8th
grade girls’ and boys’ basketball teams.
We’ve Been Busy...
Just look at what’s been happening this quarter, in
class...and beyond the classroom doors:
• Hometown Holidays Parade
• Connect Choir, including holiday performances at a
local library and senior home
• Music Classes—
guitar, ukulele, violin
• Visit from the St.
Lawrence String
Quartet (elementary
school assembly)
• Girl Scouts
2
Board Update
First, a big thank you to everyone
who posted a flyer, handed out a
postcard, or told a friend about Connect during our open enrollment season. For the fourth year running, we
had more applicants than available
seats at Connect. That’s so gratifying
to see, and I’m so grateful for your
help in getting the word out.
We held our lottery in early February
and have let families know whether
we have offered them a place right
now or have put them on the waitlist.
Please know that at Connect we are
glad to accept more applications at
any time, so if you run into friends or
neighbors who didn’t apply in time
for the lottery, please have them contact the office so they can get on the
waitlist. We’re especially interested
in making sure sixth graders know
about Connect!
Meanwhile, the school is beginning
its annual budgeting process, during
which we look carefully at our educational priorities and create a budget
that reflects them. We put most of
our budget toward our wonderful
teachers and staff, whose expertise,
care, and commitment make Connect what it is.
Ideas, questions, and input from
families are always critical to us. Ms.
Alicia and all the Board members
were happy to see so many of you at
our recent community meeting, and
we will be so grateful for your participation in our upcoming sessions
seeking parent input into our educational program. Thank you for finding
time to join in when Ms. Alicia invites
the community to participate in
surveys, discussion groups, and community meetings. We really do mean
that we want to hear from you!
Here’s something to think about: Do
you have a story to tell about how
Connect has had a positive effect
on your child? We’re always eager
to hear them, and later in the year
we may reach out to collect some of
your experiences as a way to help
others learn about our school. For
now, just think about it: What’s been
great for your student at Connect?
As always, thank you for being part
of our fabulous school!
Warmly,
Whitney Wood, Board President
P.S. I know people are often interested to know whether we will be at
our current location next year. Yes,
we are confident we will stay right
where we are. We are still working through the rental agreement
process with the school district, but
have every reason to expect that our
location will stay the same.
Board meetings are open to the public, including you! You can find the
schedule in the school Office and on our website, www.connectrwc.org.
For regular meetings, agendas are posted in both places at least three days
before the meeting date.
Winter Potluck
Wolf Packs
Our Winter Potluck community event
gets better every year. This annual
event is fun for the whole family—
parents meet and mingle, and the
kids are thrilled to shake off their
dress code clothes and get fancy.
From the beginning, Connect’s founders intended
to create multi-age groups. These groups were
meant to build community and relationships
between students of all grade levels and between
students and staff. For the past two years, the
staff and board have been thinking of how to
establish and run the groups in a meaningful way.
As the school has nearly reached full enrollment,
the time has come!
This year we were treated to special
performances from our elementary
classes, as well as from Ms. Erika’s
Connect Choir (our after-school singing group) and Mr. Merlino’s lunchhour drumming group. Other performances included songs, basketball
tricks, a spontaneous mural painting,
and a reenactment of the historic
March on Washington.
Thanks to all our teachers for their
hard work in prepping students to
perform. It was thoroughly entertaining, and a joy to see their collaborative spirit.
In the fall, a group of teachers and a representative from the Board began meeting to develop the
Wolf Packs. Why “Wolf Packs”? In the school’s
first year, the student body chose the wolf as Connect’s mascot, so the pack seemed an obvious
choice.
Each Wolf Pack includes at least one student from
every grade and is led by a staff member. The
plan is for each pack to stay together throughout
their years at Connect and to meet about once
a month. In January, the packs met for the first
time. In addition to learning each other’s names,
they played games and chose their pack name—
everything from the “Alpha Pack” to “The Fast
and the Furriest.” We’ll be meeting three more
times before the end of this school year, when
we’ll bid adieu to our eigth grade pups and get
ready to welcome the new kinder pups in the fall.
3
Making Connections in After-School Music
Laura Stone is mom to a first grader and
volunteer coordinator for the after-school
music lessons. Please contact her at
[email protected] or inquire in the
office if you are interested in lessons for
your child.
Last spring when I asked my daughter
if she’d like to take after-school music
lessons at Connect, I was thrilled to see
her enthusiasm. I don’t know that I would
have chosen violin (squuuuuuuuueal!)—
but I was happy that she was interested
in learning a musical instrument.
I was the last of three daughters in my
family. My eldest sister played the flute
in middle-school band. My middle sister
wanted to take guitar lessons, so my
parents drove her to private lessons after
school. By the time I came around, no
one brought up music lessons, and I was
a latchkey kid with no extracurriculars
unless I advocated for them. By the time
I regretted this, late in high school, any
window for easily developing my aptitude
had passed. I attempted piano lessons
in late high school, but I never became
fluent in reading music. Dr. Robert A.
Cutietta (Dean of the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music)
explains, “Musical experience at an early
age is extremely important in a child’s
developmental process. Like riding a bike
or learning a language, these skills can be
learned later in life, but they will never be
‘natural’ in the way that is so important
for fluid musical performance.”1
4
Eventually I gave up piano when college
approached and I was busy with other activities, but I crave music in my life—and
my lack of talent in it feels like a phantom
limb of something missing. I adore going
to live music events, but I am the person
who ends up clapping on the off-beat. In
contrast, my husband, who was a band
geek in high school, can still read music
and feel confident when put on the spot
in a karaoke night; he can carry a tune
even though he hasn’t regularly practiced
music since his freshman year of college.
Children’s brains are growing and forming
neural connections—connections that will
be the foundation for lifelong learning.
Music connects so many different parts
of the brain: logic and mathematics (from
reading music), emotional and creative
expression, fine motor skills (from manipulating the instrument), and the executive
function skills of practice, perseverance,
attention span, and memory. I can’t think
of a single extracurricular activity that
would exercise more areas of my daughter’s brain than music lessons. Studies
have found that even a short-term series
of lessons can improve a child’s verbal
abilities2. Magnetic resonance imaging
has shown measurable differences in the
brain between those who have studied
music versus those with no music experience.3,4
Beyond the promise of cognitive benefits—music lessons are just fun. Last
spring, the small-group music lessons
quickly became the highlight of my
by Laura Stone
daughter’s week. She made relationships
with older children. Her face glowed
when she talked about her teacher, and
she was always eager to demonstrate
what she learned when she got home
from a lesson.
When I heard Connect needed a parent to continue the music program, I
volunteered. I didn’t want my daughter
to miss out on the music lessons she’d
enjoyed so much. The administration of
the music program proved to be more
time-intensive than I anticipated. I like
to assist in the music classes because
it is hard for one music instructor to
keep 6–8 students focused while giving
individual attention to each student. I’ve
had trouble recruiting parent volunteers,
but I recognize that the students who
may benefit most from the after-school
music program are the students whose
parents do not have time to volunteer. I
can’t imagine fitting in music lessons if I
worked full time and needed to drive my
daughter to lessons after school or on
weekends.
The after-school music classes have
challenges. The students are coming
after a long day at school, and they want
to move around and socialize. Halfway
through the lesson, everyone suddenly
needs a snack or a trip to the bathroom.
While the instructor tries to help one
student with fingering, the rest of the
class often devolves into a cacophony of
random strumming and conversations.
(continues on next page)
After-School Music (cont.)
I spend an inordinate amount of time shaking lost guitar picks
out of the bodies of ukuleles. But as frustrating as that can be, I
see the benefits.
I see a student who I’ve observed disrupting my daughter’s
class become an entirely different student in the music class.
He gives his full attention to the music instructor and tries his
best—it’s obvious that he’s motivated to learn to play the guitar.
He wouldn’t be taking music lessons if Connect didn’t offer
them after school; both his parents work full time.
I see students’ faces light up when the instructor caves in to
pleas for him to play “Over the Rainbow.” The ukulele instructor
is classically trained for voice and can belt out a version reminiscent of the famous Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo’ole; the
beauty of this song never fails to transform the unruly class into
a rapt audience.
I see a seventh grader affectionately helping the kindergarten
student next to him. The group lessons are chaotic, but they
build relationships. The Royal Academy of Music explains that
“…musicians must learn how to connect with people on an
emotional level. Whether harmonizing in a choir or performing in
a string quartet or simply jamming with friends, music students
of any age, even the very young, learn how to share attention,
co-operate and collaborate.”5
I don’t have ambitions for my daughter to become a violin
virtuoso, and I won’t pressure her if she opts not to follow her
father’s footsteps to band geekdom in high school. I do know
that I don’t want any doors to close on her before she realizes
what she might end up missing. She may never play violin in a
concert hall, but if she can clap to the right on-beats at a concert
or confidently lead her own children in a family sing-a-long, perhaps fiddling a simple rhythm for a fun accompaniment—she will
have one less phantom limb to haunt her than I’ve had in my life.
References/Sources:
1
http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/music-arts/whats-the-right-age-to-begin-music-lessons/
2
The Royal Conservatory of Music. “The Benefits of Music Education.” (2014). Accessed from https://www.rcmusic.ca/sites/default/
files/files/RCM_MusicEducationBenefits.pdf. pp. 4–6.
3
Hyde, Krista L., et al. “The Effects of Musical Training on Structural Brain Development.” (2009). Accessed from http://musicianbrain.gottfriedschlaug.org/papers/Hyde_MusicTraining_BrainPlasticity_nyas_04852.pdf.
4
The Royal Conservatory of Music. “The Benefits of Music Education.” (2014). Accessed from https://www.rcmusic.ca/sites/default/
files/files/RCM_MusicEducationBenefits.pdf. p. 7.
5
The Royal Conservatory of Music. “The Benefits of Music Education.” (2014). Accessed from https://www.rcmusic.ca/sites/default/
files/files/RCM_MusicEducationBenefits.pdf. p. 6.
5
Project Spotlight
Here are some of the hands-on projects
our studets have engaged in over the last
quarter:
Ms. Gina (Kindergarten)
• Talked about identity during our “All
About Me” unit. Children learned about
themselves and, especially, about each
other. Each child made an “All About Me”
poster, and they were all on display at the
Winter Festival.
• Each child studied a different period in
history, researched it, and made a short
presentation about it for a movie that we
made.
• Took a field trip to Downtown Redwood
City to learn all about what cities need, in
preparation for building our own “Super
Kids City” out of cardboard and papier
mache.
• Increased bi-lateral coordination by folding paper and making hearts for Valentine’s Day.
• Explored three-dimensional shapes and
made models of them using connecting
cubes.
• Made a gigantic lion head and body and
wore it as we marched in our own Lunar
New Year parade.
• Celebrated the 100th day of school by
making necklaces out of 100 Cheerios and
silly glasses that looked like the number
100.
Ms. Erika (1st Grade)
• Studied various cultures and looked at
ways different people celebrate the darkest months: Mexico—Day of the Dead,
Thailand—Loy Krathong, India—Diwali,
Sweden—Santa Lucia, Christians—Christmas, Jews—Hanukkah.
• Learned about equations through story
problems.
• Practiced expanding our emotional
vocabulary by illustrating an alphabet of
emotions.
• Deepened our social-emotional understanding by responding to literature
and writing about our own experiences.
Our goal is to publish an SEL book that
6
focuses on how first graders solve firstgrade issues.
• Learning about measurement and the
importance of accuracy and reliability. The
students want to use this information as
they revisit their playground project and
draw and build miniature play structures
to scale.
• A field trip to Edgewood Park is coming
up, where students will learn about how
native species have adapted for survival.
• On the field trip, students will choose an
animal and think about how they can solve
a human problem by learning about the
animals.
• We will begin to build a partnership
with Edgewood Park, and learn about
global citizenship through becoming park
partners.
Ms. Chrissy (2nd Grade)
Natural Disasters Week
• Earthquakes: Learned about plate tectonics and different types of faults, and
then created
buildings that
would be able
to withstand
the various
stress factors along a
slip-strike fault,
testing them
on a homemade shake
table that mimics the movement along the
San Andreas fault.
• Volcanoes: Learned about the layers of
the earth and how volcanic eruptions happen, and then made model volcanoes out
of salt dough and experienced a chemical
“eruption.”
• Tsunamis: Learned about tides and
waves and how earthquakes serve as
catalysts for tsunamis, and then used
Slinkys and buckets of water to explore
various types of wave patterns (s and p
waves, etc.).
• Tornadoes: Learned about clouds and
wind, and then created “cloud beards”
to model the different types of clouds
(cumulus, stratus, cirrus), made anemometers to measure wind speed, and made
“tornadoes in a bottle.”
• Made natural disasters
board games out of
recycled Chromebook
boxes, to demonstrate
learning related to the causes and effects
of the various natural disasters covered
over the course of the week.
• At the end of Natural Disasters Week,
participated in a “prevention invention
convention.” Students worked to invent a
device capable of preventing human harm
during natural disasters, and presented
these ideas to the class.
Classroom Businesses Unit
• Learned about various aspects of the
economy: buyers and sellers, goods and
services, supply and demand, needs vs.
wants, etc. Also learned about money:
counting it, making change, etc.
• Created a business that sold either
goods or services. Each student was
given $10 to start their business (they
could pool their start-up money if they
chose to work together). They then came
up with a list of supplies they would need
to run the businesses and did different
budgeting activities related to the costs of
their supplies and their start-up capital.
• Created advertisements that were
posted in the second- and third-grade
classrooms.
• Spent the week practicing services or
preparing goods.
• Welcomed the third and fourth graders
for a joint lesson on wealth inequality,
prior to opening the businesses. (The
“customers” were randomly given varying amounts of money to represent the
wealth of different economic classes in
the U.S.)
• Opened for business. Students sold
their goods and services, and participated
in making change for customers and calculating their profits.
• The business that made the greatest
profit won the title of “Business of the
Year”.
(continues on next page)
Project Spotlight (cont.)
Ms. Linda (3rd Grade)
Ms. Kathy (4th Grade)
Food and Fractions
• Sushi Rolls: Looked at recipes and
made calculations to figure out how to
make rice using only
a 3/4 measuring cup.
Developed and wrote
down recipes for
sushi-inspired rolls.
Brought in special
ingredients—pineapples, avocados, garlic
salt—and provided
suggestions as to
how much friends
should add to their recipes (in fractions).
Drew diagrams using new knowledge
of fractions to talk about how much rice
to spread out and how much of each
ingredients to add to the center.
• Spring Rolls: Noted the difference
between sushi rolls and spring rolls
through the ingredients and shapes of
the food. Compared the two recipes
to look at the starch-to-vegetable ratio.
Worked through problems of how to
equally share the rolls between friends
(using math vocabulary to deepen knowledge of fractions).
Geography Unit: Papier-Mâché Globes
• Created papier-mâché globes as well
as papier-mâché models of the earth’s
continents and oceans. Identified prominent physical features of each continent
and compared the geographical features
of all seven continents. (This was a
collaborative effort with our art teacher,
Ms. Victoria.)
• Used background knowledge from
previous social studies lessons and
classroom discussions to explain the
diverse geography of Earth’s seven
continents. On a globe, pointed out the
equator and the prime meridian. Identified countries found in the northern and
southern hemispheres, as well as along
the earth’s equator.
• Used geography texts, maps, library
resources, and Internet articles to gather
more information about the seven continents. Drew an outline of each continent
on tissue paper, representing the relative
size and shape of each continent.
• Used their research materials to label
geographic features, and presented their
globes to one another.
Origami Math
• Will be studying the relationship
between volume and surface area while
learning to build 3-D origami structures.
Will look at architectural designs around
the city and redesign their own versions
to maximize volume without changing
the surface area. This will lead into our
city government study.
City Government
• Will explore city locales where big
decision-making happens. Will study
local officials who make an impact on
students’ lives and write letters to learn
more about what is going on in Redwood City.
Hands-on.
Social Studies Unit: Civil Rights and
Equality
• Learned about Martin King Junior and
the Civil Rights Movement, in a short
social studies unit on peace and equality
for all.
• Discussed issues surrounding segregation and prejudicial beliefs during the
time of Dr. King. Watched footage of Dr.
King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech
advocating for peace and racial justice,
and learned about other Civil Rights leaders and activists who fought for social
equality, freedom, and racial harmony.
• In preparation for a reenactment of the
March on Washington, students practiced reciting speeches, learned freedom
Minds open.
songs such as We Shall Overcome and
This Little Light of Mine, and created
posters that expressed wishes for an
integrated, culturally diverse world.
• At the Winter Potluck event, in front of
our school community, we commemorated and celebrated the historic March
on Washington—one of the largest
political rallies for human rights in United
States history—which occurred more
than fifty years ago.
California’s Regions
• Creating 3-D bean maps of the four
main regions of California, using pasta
shells, pinto beans, white snow peas,
and green beans to represent the
desert, mountains, coastal areas, and
central valley. Students created a legend
for their map and identified what region
each bean represented.
California Missions
• Visited San Juan Bautista Mission on
a field trip, and will be working collectively in small groups to create models
of California’s mission churches out of
various materials: sugar cubes, Legos,
and cardboard. Additionally, students
will write book reports and informational
books on California’s missions.
(continues on next page)
Hearts in!
7
Project Spotlight (cont.)
Mr. Waldon (6th Grade)
• Math: Moved from working with fractions into working on formulas related
to perimeter, area, and circumference.
Currently transitioning into a “Covering
and Surrounding” unit, which will include
volume and three-dimensional objects.
• History: In a unit on Ancient Egypt, constructed decorative sarcophagi and burial
masks, like the one found in King Tut’s
tomb. Also studying the Middle East, and
will soon be moving on to Ancient India,
Buddhism, and Hinduism.
• Science: Concluded a unit on Earth
Science by growing salt crystals. This
project lasted several weeks, was left to
grow over the Thanksgiving holiday, and
produced some really interesting crystal
growths, a few of which grew right out of
the mason jars they started in. Currently
exploring topics in Life Science, and will
soon begin a new project—creating life
forms (plant or animal).
• English Language Arts: Participate in the
Raz-Kids reading program every morning,
on Chromebooks. Raz-Kids is designed
to boost students’ reading fluency and
comprehension levels. Also, finished
reading The Girl Who Owned a City, and
have been creating outlines and starting
to develop formal book reports.
Mr. Tselner (7th/8th Grade Social
Studies)
• Both the seventh- and eighth-grade
classes studied the history of money.
Learned about barter, cowry shells,
livestock, precious metals, and salt. Also
learned about the first coin money and
the invention of paper, and eventually paper money. Last
but certainly not
least, learned
about electronic
money. Students
made books out
of construction
paper, string,
and images from
magazines.
8
• Seventh graders have been studying
Medieval China and Medieval Japan,
learning about the various dynasties that
ruled China and about the importance of
trade and
commerce
to China at
this time.
Our study
of Japan
focused on
cultural diffusion or
the spread
of cultural
elements
into Japan.
We also
studied the Heian period (the golden
age of art and culture in Japan) and the
time of the Samurai. Hands-on projects
included painting watercolor representations of Chinese characters; making
posters representing the different ways
that China, Korea, and India influenced
Japanese culture; and making fans with
various folds representing the Japanese
class system (25 folds for the aristocracy,
23 folds for the middle classes, and 12
folds for the lower classes).
• Eighth
graders
have been
studying
westward
expansion and
Mexicano
contributions to
the Southwest. We made drawings/paintings and wrote about the Indian Removal
Act and the Trail of Tears. We also made
lots of colorful maps showing how fast
our country expanded during this time
period. Some of the students made artful
representations of ways Mexicanos contributed to Southwest culture, including
cattle herding, sheep raising, architecture,
and food. One of the classes has started
preparing foods such as guacamole and
nachos.
Ms. Atkinson (7th/8th Grade Math)
• Both seventh and eighth graders
participated in several web-based challenges. In December, they did the Hour
of Code, in which they experimented with
simple computer programming skills. This
trimester they are also participating in
Khan Academy LearnStorm, a competition
among Bay Area schools in which they
earn points and awards as a school team
by working on math skills and growthmindset challenges. In February, they
are also participating in the Mangahigh
Math Bowl challenge. (In June of 2015,
Connect came in fourth place among
thousands of schools in North America
and the United Kingdom!) In this competition, students have an opportunity to win
money for our school as well as individual
prizes by working on their individual math
skills and Common Core State Standards.
• Seventh graders created magic rubberband stretchers to enlarge drawings of
simple figures. Then they enlarged or
shrank a picture of their choice by using
a method of their choice: rubber band
stretchers, multiplying by a scale factor,
or using a coordinate grid.
• Eighth graders in the Algebra I Flex
Time group played quadratic function
dominoes, matching graphs with equations in both standard and vertex form.
• Eighth graders will soon tackle a projectbased unit called Making a Wreath and
Pinwheel, which focuses on rotational
and reflection symmetry through origami.
Origami is an incredibly rich and complex
art form, yet there are some simple but
amazing figures that even a beginner can
produce successfully. The wreath and pinwheel project will show how symmetry
plays a fundamental role in such design.
(continues on next page)
Project Spotlight (cont.)
Ms. Atkinson (cont.)
• Seventh graders will play imaginary
games of pool with a partner, in a project called Paper Pool. An imaginary ball
is hit from the lower left-hand corner,
Pocket A, at a 45° angle. A ball hit in this
way will bounce off each side it hits at a
45° angle. The ball continues to roll until
it hits a pocket. Pockets are located at
each corner of the table. Students will
play on different-sized rectangular tables,
predicting the pocket in which the ball
will stop and how many hits (anything
making contact with the ball—the sides
of the table, the imaginary cue, the
pocket) will occur by the time the ball
comes to a stop (reaches a pocket). To
do the task, students will need to investigate several sizes of Paper Pool tables.
They will need to gather and organize
data and search for patterns. Finding a
solution will require students to recognize relationships between rectangles
with sides having the same ratio.
Ms. Wall (7th/8th English Language
Arts)
• In seventh- and eighth-grade English, we are continuing our study of
arguments, with a focus on evaluating
others’ arguments and creating our own.
Students have been looking at the tools
of persuasion used in advertisements,
propaganda, political cartoons, written
arguments, and debates. During one fun
and enlightening project this past trimester, students created an online Padlet
presentation in which they analyzed
and presented advertisements of their
choice—looking at the emotional, ethical, and logical appeals used to persuade
their audience—and explained whether
they felt those choices were effective
and logical. Hopefully next time we get
stuck watching advertisements between
our favorite shows or the Super Bowl,
we can make some smarter and more
critical choices about the information
and products we consume!
• We have also begun our explorations
into immigration policy and will soon be
turning our sights on the recent presidential debates. We’ll analyze the logic
(or lack of logic) used in speeches by
presidential candidates. After fully exploring others’ arguments on this topic,
students will get the chance to present their own evidence-based debate,
justifying their position on immigration
policy.
provides access to news articles at different reading levels, they are learning to
construct claims and support them with
evidence. Seventh graders presented
their findings on different plastics to Ms.
Chrissy’s second graders and showed
them many examples of plastic.
• Eighth-grade students are focused on
the ecology of our new aquaponic system. The class used the plants grown by
the seventh graders, and tadpoles were
placed in the bottom of the system.
Students are excited to start testing the
levels of different chemicals. Eight graders are also using the news resource
Newsela to research different organisms
they might add to the aquaponic system.
• Students in both grades are also
working diligently on their science fair
projects, finishing their experiments and
preparing the slides for the presentation
board. The science fair will take place on
February 16, from 1:30–3:30 p.m., in the
middle-school classrooms.
Mr. Merlino (7th/8th
Grade Science)
• Seventh-grade students are focused on
how plastic affects the
marine ecosystem. Using an online resource
called Newsela that
Middle-School Craft Class
In January, middle-school
students taking our crafts elective had a visit from a leather
craftsman. The students
learned the history of leather
and received a basic course on
how to do leatherwork. Tandy
Leather is located in San
Bruno and offers classes in
leatherwork on Saturdays.
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Recent Field Trips
Meet Our Staff Members
• Kindergarten—tour of downtown
Redwood City
• 2nd grade—San Mateo County
History Museum (upcoming)
• 3rd grade—San Mateo County
History Museum
• 4th grade—San Mateo County
History Museum, Exploratorium,
Mission San Juan Bautista
• 6th grade—Intel Museum
Paul Foley—Special Education Teacher
Yessenia Oseguera—Office Assistant
Our newest special education teacher, Paul
Foley, is happy to be back in the States after
five years in Europe (Paris for four years and
Budapest for one year). Mr. Foley hales from
Massachusetts, but relocated to Redwood
City because his wife is an administrator at
BUILD’s national headquarters here.
Ms. Yessenia was born in Puruandiro,
Michoacan in Mexico, but was raised in
Redwood City until seventh grade. As
a teenager she lived in Stockton, then
returned to the Bay Area. She attended The
National Hispanic University and transferred
to San Jose State University to study business administration. She has been working
with kids since high school, working as a
teacher’s aide, as a church youth leader, as
a volunteer for Summit Public school, and as
a temporary office manager for Everest and
Tahoma schools.
Education is Mr. Foley’s “second-career.”
Previously, he worked as an environmental
attorney for several years, mostly in New
York. He also has a graduate degree in town
planning. Before law school, Mr. Foley had
some experience working with children,
most notably as a social worker in a group
home. He did not find law—even environmental law—to be as meaningful as his previous experience working with children. For
Mr. Foley, his experience as a father further
underscored the importance of education
and of having male role models as teachers.
(His own upbringing was in a single-parent
family in an urban setting). Therefore, he
decided to switch careers and complete a
master’s degree in education.
Mr. Foley loves Connect’s focus on inquirybased learning. He is interested in a lot of
different subjects and doesn’t like the artificial separation of academic disciplines. He
also likes being able to work as a resource
teacher with both elementary and middleschool aged children, at a public school that
reflects the diversity of Redwood City.
Mr. Foley is enjoying California and is
amazed at the “winter” weather. He’s been
all over the world (including East Africa for
nearly a year, during graduate school), but
his family moved here so they could “put
down roots.”
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Ms. Yessenia has a nephew who is in third
grade at Connect, so she has known about
our school since it opened. This position
caught her attention because she saw the
progress her nephew made in his learning,
and how excited he was to be in school
from morning care, to class, to extended
care.
Ms. “Yessi” says, “I know that if a kid is
excited to be in school for long hours a day,
the school must be doing a great job, and
that for me is very important. I love to be
part of organizations that help kids, who are
our future, receive an education, as well
as schools that want parent involvement.
I have always been a firm believer that if a
parent is involved in their child’s education,
they will most likely do better in school. I am
very happy to be a part Connect because I
get to witness the joy that is put into every
child’s education, as well as to be a part of
it and help parents be involved and get their
questions and concerns answered.”
(continues on next page)
Meet Our Staff Members (cont.)
Amanda Victoria—Art Teacher
Caroline Mersch—Teacher’s Aide
Connect Community Charter School
Our new art teacher, Amanda Victoria,
graduated from the University of Utah
with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and
an emphasis in film studies. She interned
with independent films and the Sundance
Film Festival, earning Screen Actors Guild
hours. Ms. Victoria moved to the Bay
Area in mid-2003 and worked at Stanford
University until 2008. For the past four
years, she taught art at the Menlo School
site, for Peninsula Bridge. She is also
an award-winning costume designer for
children’s theatre and ballet, and currently
designs with Menlowe Ballet and Menlo
Park Academy of dance. Ms. Victoria has
4 children.
Ms. Caroline has volunteered as an aide
to an elementary charter school and a
public high school in San Francisco. This
past year, she volunteered at a therapy
horse ranch, working with both special
needs kids and typical kids ranging from
elementary to high school ages. She
did hippotherapy with them and was in
charge of leading daily art workshops.
635 Oakside Avenue
Redwood City, CA 94061
650.562.7190 / connectrwc.org
Volunteers welcome!
Extra hands help class projects to run smoothly.
Guide, encourage,
engage—and have
fun!
Ask your child’s
teacher what you
can do to help.
After working in customer service roles
ranging from retail to restaurant, Ms.
Caroline found herself wanting to contribute more to the world through education,
which is why she sought out an aide job.
She will very soon have her Art Credential and be qualified to teach art. She has
been interested in the visual arts for a
long time—especially painting, with watercolors and acrylics—and looks forward
to sharing art techniques and conveying
academic subject matter through the
creative process. Ms. Caroline says that,
with the proper opportunities and support, “I feel everyone is an artist.”
She is a musician as well, and has been
in several bands since she moved to San
Francisco almost nine years ago. Ms.
Caroline sings and play bass and piano.
“Kids are great!” she says. “They keep
you awake and brings an open-eyed
twinkle to your day.”
Administrative Staff
Alicia Yamashita (School Director)
Claudia Reyes (Business Director)
Karla Valenzuela (Counselor/Community
Liaison)
Saul Villatoro (Campus Supervisor)
Yessenia Oseguera (Office Assistant)
Teaching Staff
Gina Centanni (Kindergarten)
Erika Leydig (1st Grade)
Chrissy Constant (2nd Grade)
Linda Tran (3rd Grade)
Kathy Quintela (4th Grade)
Jeff Waldon (6th Grade)
Vinicio Merlino (7th/8th Grade Science)
Karen Atkinson (7th/8th Grade Math)
Briana Wall (7th/8th Grade English)
Michael Tselner (7th/8th Grade Social
Studies)
Jessica Parlanti (ELD Coordinator)
Amanda Victoria (Art)
Anton Estaniel (Music)
Special Education Staff
Ivonne Watson (School Psychologist,
Special Education Director)
Paul Foley (Special Education Teacher)
Manu Seitz-Hipkins (Speech-Language
Pathologist)
Instructional Assistants
Lisa Greyson
Caroline Mersch
Derek Standart
Edith Garcia
Baron Puhl
Sheri Getz
Maria Smith
Extended Care
About this newsletter...
Katy Best (Coordinator)
Maurice Perez (Assistant)
Editing/Production: Heather Kinser
Translation: Claudia Reyes
Send comments or suggestions to
Heather at [email protected].
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