Good Afternoon BRSSD Community,
Given a couple of time sensitive reminders, our communication is a little earlier than usual! On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the entire BRSSD teaching community, we would like to wish you and your family an enjoyable holiday ahead. Thank you for supporting our children, teachers, and staff. Your commitment ensures that our community continues to thrive through these extraordinary times.
As we continue to support our families' social emotional needs, the Committee for Children just released a new social emotional learning resource for parents called "A Psychologist's Guide to Winter Well-Being." It is an eight-week series featuring three-minute YouTube videos with evidence-based advice and a weekly self-care prescription to encourage parents to prioritize their mental health as a pandemic winter approaches. We encourage you to visit their website for more information. These videos will be released every Monday on Committee for Children's YouTube Channel.
Just a reminder, Thursday will be our last day of instruction before the winter holiday. Our first day back from winter break is Monday, January 4th. (Please recall that this was originally a non-student day that was adjusted for our delayed start to the year.)
Below you will find information regarding our annual Board reorganization meeting, a reopening update, and information about upcoming SMCOE Expert Panels that begin on Thursday. Again, we wish you a peaceful and safe holiday.
Happy Holidays,
Dan Deguara
Superintendent
Annual Board Reorganization:
At Monday night's meeting, the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District Board of Trustees conducted its annual Board reorganization. Trustees Howard and Leinbach ran unopposed in the November election and were sworn in to begin their new four-year term.
Continuing the tradition of rotating offices, Trustee Amy Koo will assume the role of Board President, Trustee Sam Leinbach will serve as Vice President, and Trustee Jim Howard will serve as Board Clerk. I would like to take a moment to recognize the dedication and effort of our governing team. The stability of our Board has been and will continue to be an asset to our community and our students!
We would like to extend a very special congratulations to President Koo, who was also elected by peers statewide to serve as the Director at Large for Asian Pacific Islanders on the California School Boards Association (CSBA). As a member of the CSBA Board of Directors, she will help set the association's direction and ensure that the association's activities remain focused on the goals and issues identified. Congratulations, President Koo!
Reopening Update:
Our work to offer a hybrid option for families continues. Given COVID-19 trends, we will be delaying our transition at least until February 1st and Orange Tier designation. This two-week delay will give families and staff some certainty without monitoring county COVID-19 rates over the holiday. We are pleased to share that all families (with the exception of our four district-wide transitional kindergarten classes) students and staff will remain assigned to their current school. We anticipate being able to honor all requests for distance learning and 90% of overall family preferences. Notifications of model assignments will take place in mid-January. For more information, please reference the latest reopening update.
SMCOE Expert Panels:
This Thursday, December 17th, from 6:45-8:00 pm, the San Mateo County Office of Education, in partnership with SMC Health, Stanford Children's Health, UCSF, and local pediatricians, will be hosting a series of expert panels in the new year. In preparation for the series, a panel of public school stakeholders has been convened to share unique perspectives. The panel will include superintendents, principals, teachers, and parents sharing their experiences, challenges, and questions around COVID-19. Experts from leading health organizations will be listening to the issues raised by their education partners to learn more about the complexities of the school setting so together, we can create a village of support for the students of San Mateo County. Attendees will have the opportunity to complete an electronic survey that will help shape the 2021 webinar series. Please note that this planning webinar will not include Q & A with attendees. For login details, please see the flyer.
