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MOVING FORWARD
For those who were not aware, President Obama made it abundantly clear that we as a nation are facing a challenging period ahead. On a more personal note, we at SPHDS believe that by working together we will be able to face all the challenges that the new academic year will bring.
Tuition is always the greatest challenge for everyone. We are however driven by a moral imperative to provide every Jewish child with a Jewish education. It is for this reason that we have increased the funds available for tuition assistance by 10%. In addition, we are for the first time providing tuition assistance at the preschool level.
Our tuition increase for the coming year will be modest one. Fiscal responsibility dictates that we maintain a balanced budget.
Contracts will be mailed our shortly. However, we do ask that parents who foresee the need for financial assistance complete the required forms as soon as possible. A call or email to Nancy Kulka is all that it takes to have these sent out immediately. Mrs.Kulka is available to answer any questions or to assist in the completion of the forms. Please doo not hesitate to call.
May we all work together to make the 2009-10 school year one of the best ever.
826 VALENCIA
Abby Lapin and Maor Rabinovitz share their experience
On Monday, January 12, the sixth, seventh and
eighth grade girls went to a Writer’s
Workshop at 826 Valencia in San Francisco. The
room where the workshop took place was filled
with tables and chairs. Each table had two or
three volunteers eager to help us with our writing.
First they shared with us a story written using
only subjects and verbs. Then we had to write
a story like that ourselves. That was a real
challenge. “He wrote,” “she
strode”…could mean so many different
things. It was kind of like a broken telephone.
Next they told us to write the first and last names of everyone we know, to circle the names of the noisiest, the shyest, and the person you would least want to run into, on your list. Then they gave us a storyline (What would happen if you found yourself stuck in an elevator with…?) and we had to use the person we least wanted to run into in the story.
All in all it was a great field trip. Thank you to all the chaperones and most of all… Ms. Oppenheimer. Thank you.
By: Abby Lapin
When we walked in to 826 Valencia in San Francisco we had no idea what was waiting for us behind the rope of the pirate shop. After we took a quick look at the shop we were let into a room. Before we started the work we warmed up with a funny game. After the game we started with our first exercise: we were asked to write a story using verbs and subjects, nothing more. After twenty minutes we all shared our stories in our own groups and then read some out loud. Some girls came up with really interesting stories even though there were only verbs and subjects. In our next exercise we had to complete a story about us being stuck in an elevator with our worst enemy, those stories were very interesting and funny!!! Right before we left we all took a look at the fish theater and even named the fish. (You’ll have to go to 826 Valencia to see what that is for yourselves!) At the end of the day we all came back after having a great time at 826 Valencia.
By Maor Rabinovitz
GAN AVIV TZEDAKAH
Students raise $155 to support the Ronald McDonald House
 The three-year-old rooms in Gan Aviv, room Dubim and Tziporim, have been very busy. We talked to the children about what we should do with the tzedakah money we had collected, and they decided they wanted to help children who were sick. So, we chose to donate our tzadakah money to the Stanford Ronald McDonald House. The children were so excited to be a part of this mitzvah, and everyday they came with pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, and even a few bills! It was amazing to hear our three year olds say, “Look, I brought Tzedakah to help the sick kids!” The children helped sort and count all the coins and bills, and then we set out to do something special for the kids at the Ronald McDonald House. Each room made special cards and we also collected some books for the library at the house. It was truly heart warming to help the children write messages within these cards that read things like “I hope you get better  fast,” and “I hope you can go home with your mommy and daddy soon,” and “I want you to swim in the ocean and be free.” Linda Lyons, the program director for the Ronald McDonald House, came to visit our classroom on December 19, 2008 and we presented her with the cards, books, and a check for $155.85! We were so proud of our children for the great gift they had given and they were proud of themselves too. Upon returning from vacation many of the kids were still talking about “helping the sick kids,” and they were so excited to hear the thank you letter they received from the organization (which is posted in our rooms). If you would like to learn more about the Ronald McDonald House please visit their website at: http://www.ronaldhouse-stanford.org
SUPERVISED HOMEWORK
We
have had a number of requests from parents for
a supervised homework program after school.
We are pleased to advise that Morah Chanie Lapin
has agreed to run a homework center from Monday
through Thursday from 3:50 p.m. – 4:50
p.m.
Please see the attached flier for details.
SHOE DRIVE
As part of their unit on recycling, and as an extension of their study of Tu BeShevat, the Kindergarten class has teamed up with two organizations that reuse and recycle worn-out shoes for good causes!
- Nike’s
ReUse-A-Shoe program: used athletic shoes
(any size, any brand, any condition) will
be sent to Nike headquarters, where they will
be processed and recycled into ‘Nike
grind’. This material is then used to
make sports surfaces and playgrounds for young
people who live in underprivileged neighborhoods
around the globe.
- From
Our Feet, a Palo Alto based non-profit that
collects, facilitates and distributes previously
worn shoes to impoverished people, worldwide.
All shoes except for high heels are appreciated.
Children’s sized shoes are in particularly
high demand and are usually sent straight
to orphanages. You may be done wearing a certain
pair of shoes, but somebody else will be very
happy to have them!
To
contribute, simply drop off your old shoes in
one of the bins in front of Kindergarten during
the shoe drive, which will run from February
2nd - February 18th.
SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR
Lights! Camera! Book Fair! The SPHDS annual book fair is coming soon! The Scholastic Book Fair will be held the week of March 2nd-6th. The fair will contain a selection of general interest books for all ages – students through adults! There will be a variety of special events during the week focused on families and students. Volunteers are needed to help with the planning and preparations now, as well as volunteers who will work the week of the book fair itself. If you are interested in volunteering in any way, please contact Wendy Allyn at wendy.allyn92@gmail or at 408-718-9919. The book fair is fun, it promotes excitement about reading, and it raises funds for our school. We need your help to make it a success!
2ND GRADE VISIT RANCH 99
 Our second grade students had a wonderful visit to our local Chinese market, Ranch 99. This field trip provided a hands- on and meaningful multi- cultural experience which tied in beautifully with our Houghton Mifflin Language Arts Curriculum. An extensive, fun, and educational tour was provided by Danny, the store manager. He guided us through the many aisles of the new market and showed us special and traditional items used during the Chinese New Year which is celebrated this month. The children were thoroughly engaged and discovered foods they weren’t familiar with. This was an exciting outing and Danny gave the 2nd grade classes a red Chinese New Year envelope with a chocolate coin. Thank you to all the parents who accompanied our students on the trip! Without your support and involvement it could have never happened. Ranch 99 is really impressive and worth a visit! |
