Friday Notes 4/22/22

Friday Notes I April 22, 2022

A Message From Mr. Silva

Dear Foothill Families

As we look with excitement to next week’s SOLD OUT Spring Benefit, I am reminded of the critical role our families play in supporting the 3 T’s—teaching excellence, technology, and tuition assistance—to the benefit all Foothill students. A most recent example of parent support for our efforts toward excellence is our Lower School reading program.

Reading is a pillar of Foothill’s academic curriculum. Along with mathematics, a solid foundation in reading is vital to our students’ successful pursuit of academic excellence. Prior to COVID, we launched a new reading program in the Lower School that emphasizes a combination of phonics-based instruction in explicit foundational reading skills with the readers workshop model, where students learn to develop independence as readers. The program is sequenced and scaffolded, to ensure the development of critical skills, continuity of instruction, and attainment of benchmarks as our students move through the grades. This balanced literacy approach includes materials written at different levels, so students can be met where they are and are challenged at their highest level as they develop strengths for the next level. In this way, their reading foundation is built to a plan, to minimize the gaps in skills and comprehension that can result from acceleration or not learning with appropriately leveled materials in the early stages of their reading development. An important aspect of the program is its emphasis on regular data collection through assessment and targeted intervention to correct skills deficiencies.

Teacher Training for Excellence

Not only did Foothill families make our reading program possible through their generous funding at prior Spring Benefits, they contributed to the necessary teacher training to ensure students are receiving the most up-to-date instructional experience from our professional teacher corps. Lower School teachers are again looking forward to taking part in summer workshops that will provide necessary training to define and create literacy-rich classrooms supported by research-based instruction techniques and curriculum. One opportunity will be an online Summer Reading Institute offered by Teachers College (Columbia University). The Institute provides virtual opportunities for our teachers to work with leading literacy experts and children’s book authors in learning the importance of assessment-based instruction, curriculum planning and development, and classroom structures that support inquiry and collaboration. The second opportunity will occur in late-August, when we hope to bring reading instructional coaches from Powerful Choices to campus to work in-person with our faculty on strengthening their skills in literacy instruction.

We hope you will consider supporting our ongoing efforts to attain teaching excellence. Please consider making a donation to Fund a Need at the Spring Benefit to support the teachers’ professional growth in literacy instruction!

Mike Silva

Head of School

Falcon News

Remember, we have a full week of celebration coming up!

Saturday, April 30 Spring Benefit The online auction opens this Wednesday!
May 2 - May 6 Teacher Appreciation Week Talk to your Room Parent to learn how you can be involved!
Saturday, May 7 Field Day This event is kid-focused, casual and free! California Cruisin' is the theme for this day of fun in the sun! Your child will be receiving a free T-shirt this week to help kick off the festivities. They can wear it on Jeans Day this Friday, 4/29!

Ramadan Celebrations Across Campus

We were fortunate to have multiple Ramadan educational presentations this week. In some grades, students presented to their own classmates during chapel time. In younger grades parents came to read aloud and our students were treated to henna designs and star shaped necklaces. Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community. Thank you to all the Muslim families in our Foothill community who generously gave of their time this week! Ramadan Mubarak!

Field Day is just two weeks away!

Your child will be receiving a T-shirt later this week and we have added a surprise JEANS DAY on Friday so they can wear their shirt and show their Foothill spirit!

All the fun at Field Day is free, but if you would like to stay with us for lunch, you will need to purchase lunch in advance so we can arrange for In-N-Out. Click here to order, or use the QR code below.

Order Lunches for May!

Chef Shue and her team have already posted the lunch menus for May. In this busy time, why not make your life a little easier? Go to Boonli.com to order the whole month of meals at once!

4th Discovers Gold in Sacramento

What a whirlwind! 4th graders literally flew upstate to experience the Gold Rush as part of their study of California history. They panned for gold, visited an early printing press, and learned from local historians. 17 hours later, they were napping on the flight home!

Annual Meeting Time Change

Tuesday, May 17

Thanks to improving health conditions, we can have our Annual Meeting in person! We will be meeting at on 8:30a.m. in the Randall Lewis Family Auditorium. Please join us -- your vote is needed!

The Annual Meeting includes an overview of the School's past and future from the Board of Trustees, as they hold the School "in trust" for future generations.This is also the time for Foothill's community members to vote on the new slate of trustee candidates. Candidates are Spring Chen (Adam, 2^nd and Alan,Seedling), Liming Cheng (Sofia, 2^nd and Emily, 4^th), Meera Kanani, (Dylan,1^st and Sarina,4^th), and Matt Weis (‘84).

Upper School Fortnightly Celebrates the Totally Rad 80s