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Sequoia
Sentinel
January 15, 2018
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Sequoia PTSA's weekly eNewsletter in partnership with the Sequoia High School Education Foundation
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Principal's Message
In two months I will attend, as I have for the last 7 years, the
Sequoia Awards
. The awards honor high school seniors in Redwood City for their contributions as volunteers in the community. The bulk of the honorees are Sequoia High School students, so I am a proud principal first and foremost. The scholarships awarded are generous enough, for many students, to make a real difference in bridging college dreams with reality. This, too, brings me great joy.
Between 25-30 Sequoia Awards are granted each year. I don't envy the selection panel. I'm sure more nominees are worthy. Too many of our students to name here serve tirelessly as mind, heart, and muscle to school organizations like the Dream Club, Leadership, Girls Learn International, or Global Glimpse. Likewise in organizations outside of school such as the Boys and Girls Club, Project Read, or various houses of worship/faith, Sequoia students have embraced an uncertain future by heeding the call of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
That there is a great spirit to serve in the young people of Redwood City and San Carlos shouldn't surprise anyone. The energy I see our parents put into making Sequoia all it can be is astounding. Look at our growing
Foundation
, the thriving
Sports Boosters
, our dedicated
ELAC
, and our extraordinary
PTSA
.
The energy of an inspired adolescent, however, is unmatched. Never are kids as brave, focused, and dignified as when they're thinking beyond themselves. Observing Sequoia kids honing their skills to serve their community, the promise of a better tomorrow is bright. I am inspired by the ways in which I see so many young people embrace an uncertain future with resolve and moral clarity. These are higher values than political platforms.
It is this spirit to serve which we celebrate on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I'm proud to report this spirit is strong in our community.
"Walk with the wind. And let the spirit of peace, justice and love be your guide."
-Rep. John Lewis
Have a great week!
Sean
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You're Invited to an Evening of Friendship & Fun: Tomorrow Jan. 16
Join Sequoia families and staff, new and old, at our annual Community Dialogue meeting
tomorrow,
January 16th at 6:45 PM in the Multi-Purpose Room. This year's topic will be "Creating an inclusive environment
in the Sequoia High School community" and is open to everyone. Additionally, this year the program will be facilitated by SHS students and, as always, the information shared will help the school learn and appropriately plan for the future. Please join us...it is important for everyone's voice to be heard!
View the flyers here for
this casual night of friendship, sharing and fun
:
English
/
Español.
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Junior Class Families: Basketball Concessions Fundraiser
Attention Class of 2019 families! Plans are underway for the 2019 Grad Night. Our fundraisers for this winter are concession sales at the quad basketball games, and we need your help to make this as successful as possible!
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Do You Know an 8th Grade Family Interested in Sequoia?
Guided Campus Tours - Saturday, January 27, arrive anytime between 10-11:30 AM
Prospective students -- including 7th grade, 8th grade and transfer students -- are invited to our Sequoia Campus Tours! Each tour will be led by two Sequoia leadership students and will showcase several important locales around campus. Tours will also be accompanied by a PTSA volunteer who can help provide a parent's perspective on the school. No need to sign up ahead of time, just drop by and meet us at the front of the school! For further details, contact
Director of Student Activities Corey Uhalde.
We are looking for parents interested in showing off our beautiful campus. Would you like to join us in helping with the campus tours? Contact Sequoia PTSA at
sequoiaptsa@gmail.com for more information.
8th Grade International Baccalaurate Info "We Are IB" Meeting:
This year's 8th Grade IB Info Meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 17th. The English meeting will be held from 6:00-7:30 PM in Carrington Hall, and the Spanish meeting will be held from 6:00-7:30 PM in the school library. Any potential new transfer families are also welcome to join the meeting.
For more information about Sequoia's International Baccalaureate Program visit our website.
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Dream Club Student Conference -- Spread the Word!
 The Dream Club's 6th annual student conference for undocumented students and their peer allies will take place all day on
Saturday, March 3rd at Sequoia
. Please share the date with students and educators who might be interested. Here's the
link to register
, and you can also
see this flyer here
.
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It's Crab Season!
 Tickets are now available for this year's Crab Dinner which supports all Sequoia athletic programs.
This year, we are excited to have it at the Hiller Aviation Museum on Saturday, March 24th, 6:00-10:00 PM.
This event can't happen without donations both small and large for the Silent and Live Auctions. Some ideas are: wine, gift certificates, services, sport event tickets, and vacation rentals, to name a few.
It takes a lot of people to put on this party, and we need your help! Please check our our volunteer list to see if there is a role for you! VOLUNTEER here. Some key roles we need to fill include:
Business Donation Solicitors, Check-in/Check-out clerks, Bar Manager/Bartender, Kitchen Help, Student Server Supervisor, and more!
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SHSEF's 2017-2018 Annual Campaign Is Underway!
 You can be proud that your contribution will be supporting our students, teachers and staff in so many ways:
- Class Size Reduction
- After-School Math Tutors
- College & Career Counseling Assistant
- PTSA Mini-Grants
- Freshman College Day
- IB Math Staff
- PSAT Day
- Student-Run Newspaper "Raven Report" Printing
- Chromebooks, Tablets & Graphing Calculators
- Staff Development Day
The suggested donation is $1,200 per student, but ALL donations help us reach our goals.
Thank You to all those who have donated --
we couldn't do it without you!
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SamTrans Route 295 Begins Jan. 21
 Beginning Sunday, January 21, the SamTrans bus route 295 will be modified, making the route more accessible to Sequoia students living in the vicinity Clifford Middle School and Central Middle School. The modified route will incorporate the former Route 273 into the new route.
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California State PTA Responds to State Budget
Earlier this week, Governor Brown released his proposed $190.3 billion state budget for 2018-2019. California State PTA President Dianna MacDonald issued the following statement on the state budget:
"We are pleased the proposed California budget continues to invest in the education and well-being of children. While this marks an important milestone in restoring education funding to pre-recession levels, California continues to lag the nation in education funding. Some of the highest performing states invest thousands of dollars more per student than California."
"We believe a number of investments and proposals within the Governor's budget are important steps in the right direction:
- Funding to address the severe shortage of trained special education teachers and the need for inclusive early education
- Funding to recruit and retain qualified teachers, including para-professionals to become certificated teachers and supporting bilingual educators
- Greater transparency in district budgets to track spending on our most needy students
- Funding for County Offices of Education to provide support for school districts
- Authority to fund school facilities modernization and construction.
"California State PTA hopes that as the 2018-2019 budget is discussed, the legislature will also commit to create a long term plan to invest more in education in order to reach the funding levels of higher performing states."
Read the summary of the
2018-2019 budget here
, and the
K-12 budget proposal here
.
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Monday, Jan. 15
Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday - No school
Tuesday, Jan. 16
6:45 PM - SHS Community Dialogue meeting, MPR
Wednesday, Jan. 17
6 PM - 8th Grade IB Info meeting, Carrington Hall (Library - Spanish meeting)
Thursday, Jan. 18
6:30 PM - Middle College info meeting, SUHSD office, 480 James Ave
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday, January 27
10 AM - Campus tours for prospective Sequoia families
Saturday, Feb. 3
8 PM - Winter Formal, Fox Theater
Wednesday, Feb. 7
7 PM - Parent Education: "Prevention Works: Keeping Healthy Kids Healthy," Carrington Hall
Thursday, Feb. 8
7 PM - for Seniors: Community College Info meeting, MPR |
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En Español
¿Quieres traducir este boletín ahora? Siga estas instrucciones para obtener una traducción:
1. Haga clic en "Click here" en la parte superior del correo electrónico: "Having trouble viewing this email? Click here."
2. Mantenga presionada la tecla Control (PC) y la tecla A para seleccionar toda la página, a continuación, mantenga presionada la tecla Control y haga clic en la tecla C para copiar la página entera.
3. Abra una página nueva del navegador web y vaya a http://translate.google.com/#
4. Coloca el cursor en la caja y mantenga presionada la tecla Control y haga clic en la tecla V para pegar el boletín completo en el cuadro de traducción.
5. Asegúrese de seleccionar "To: Spanish" en la parte superior de la página. Haga clic en el botón Traducir. La traducción al español debe aparecer en el lado derecho.
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 Would
You Like to Hear From (and Speak to) Our Elected Officials?
On Sunday, January 28th from 2-4 PM Redwood City's Mayor and Vice Mayor will be on hand for a community meeting. Students and adults are welcome at RWC Veteran's Memorial Senior Center.
See this flyer for more details.
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| Parent Education - All Are Welcome |
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JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2018 EVENTS
M-A Parent Education Series
 Devorah Heitner, PhD, Raising Digital Natives
Raising Screenwise Kids in the Digital Age
Tuesday, January 23, 2018, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
M-A Performing Arts Center (PAC)
Parents today worry that kids are addicted, detached, or distracted because of digital devices. Often, adults are less conscious about what they are modelling with their own relationship with technology.
Dr. Devorah Heitner, kids' media expert and author of Screenwise, provides guidance to help parents become confident digital media mentors to texters, gamers, and social media users from childhood to young adulthood. Don't miss Dr. Heitner's last visit to the Bay Area this year!
Parents, students, educators, and community members welcome!
Spanish interpretation will be available. Free admission and light refreshments.
M-A Parent Education Series events are sponsored by
M-A PTA, Sequoia Healthcare District, and Sequoia Union High School District.
Questions? Contact Charlene Margot, M.A., Director, The Parent Education Series
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For Spanish, contact Lilly Quiñonez, Parent Center Coordinator, at 650-322-5311, Ext. 50255.
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Woodside Parent Education Series
Eran Magen, PhD, Center for Supportive Relationships
Managing Emotionally-Intense Conversations with Your Teen
Wednesday, January 31, 2018, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Woodside High School, MUR (Multi-Use Room)
199 Churchill Avenue, Woodside
Back by popular demand! Trying to offer support when your tween or teen seems upset or stressed can feel like tiptoeing through a minefield.
Learn how to be more comfortable offering emotional support when your child is stressed, frustrated, angry, or anxious. Dr. Eran Magen shares strategies that will help your child feel better and think more clearly, while improving your parent-child relationship.
Parents, students, educators, and community members welcome!
Spanish interpretation will be available. Free admission & light refreshments.
Woodside Parent Education Series events are sponsored by Woodside PTSA, Sequoia Healthcare District, and Sequoia Union High School District.
Questions? Contact Charlene Margot, M.A., Director, The Parent Education Series
.
For Spanish, contact Maricela Lopez, Bilingual Parent Liaison, at (650) 367-7263, Ext. 45323.
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Sequoia Parent Education Series
Michael Donnolly, FCD Prevention Works
Prevention Works: Keeping Healthy Kids Healthy
Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Sequoia High School, Carrington Hall
1201 Brewster Avenue, Redwood City
What keeps healthy kids and teens healthy? Join Michael Connolly, Prevention Specialist, for an open discussion about the prevention of substance use/abuse in teens.
F
CD works worldwide to provide students and families with the knowledge, understanding, and skills they need to make intelligent, healthy choices about alcohol, tobacco (vaping), marijuana and other drug use.
Parents, students, faculty/staff and community members welcome!
Spanish interpretation will be available. Free admission & light refreshments.
Sequoia Parent Education Series events are sponsored by the SHSEF, the Sequoia Healthcare District, and the Sequoia Union High School District.
Questions? Contact Charlene Margot, M.A., Director, The Parent Education Series
.
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