Reed Newsletter • December 13, 2023 

Last Day of Adopt A Family

December 14

Winter Break

December 25 - January 5

Staff Development Day (NO SCHOOL)

Monday, January 8

Students Return to School

Tuesday, January 9

Martin Luther King Day (NO SCHOOL)

Monday, January 15

Reed PTA Meeting in Room 17

Wednesday, January 10 at 9:00am

2023-2024 Reed School Calendar

Dear Reed Families & Caregivers,

Despite the chill in the air and the excitement of the holiday season, Reed Raccoons continue to be fully engaged in a wide array of learning adventures and activities. Last week, our entire kindergarten walked to the ferry terminal, boarded the boats, and got busy decorating so that ferry passengers could enjoy a festive atmosphere throughout the season. Way to go Reed kindergartners; what a thoughtful way to give back to the broader community!

Here on campus, our entire student body participated in the Hour of Code. Be sure to read below for a bit more information or ask your child all about it. Today Reed students were treated to a choral performance featuring the Bel Aire Chorus joined by our Reed School Choir. At the end of the performance, our entire Reed School community joined in the fun with a sing-a-long. Help me extend a HUGE thank you to Mr. Gist and Ms. Balfe for creating this wonderful musical collaboration! Be certain to read more in the Specialist Note below from Ms. Balfe.

On a final note, our Lost & Found is spilling over. Be certain to check in with your child on a regular basis to ensure that they are bringing their belongings home each day. This regular check in with your child is a great way to help them develop ownership and responsibility skills. 

Warmly,
Mary Niesyn & Staff

Reed Kindergarten Decorates the Ferry

Specialist Corner: Music Note from Ms. Balfe

In music class students are celebrating the joy of the season with songs such as, "Happy Holiday" and "Jingle Bells." Yesterday, Reed's 2nd grade chorus joined with Bel Aire's chorus to sing "Só Danço Samba." This was followed by a full school sing-along of "Jingle Bell Rock." 

*As always, we are grateful to the Foundation for Reed Schools (FRS) for supporting our specialists!

Hour of Code
We live in a world surrounded by technology. We know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly depend on understanding how technology works. Last week Reed students participated in Hour of Code across the school. 

The Hour of Code is an introduction to computer science using fun one-hour tutorials to show that anybody can learn the basics. This grassroots campaign is supported by over 400 partners and 200,000 educators worldwide. Hour of Code is inspired by Computer Science Education Week. Our students join millions of students around the globe as they learn about computer science. We endeavor to make our Hour of Code inspiring and fun for our students, so we use a variety of block-based programming apps and other coding challenges that we introduce throughout the week. 

To learn more about the Hour of Code and to see how you can participate at home, visit https://hourofcode.com/us.

Interested in Being a Reed School Aide?
If you, or someone you know, is looking for one of the best part-time positions working with a great team and amazing children, this could be a perfect fit. Please reach out to Juli Tantum or Isabelle Moattar in our front office for more information (415-435-7840).

2024-25 PreK & Kindergarten Registration
While it is hard to believe that 2023 is drawing to a close, it is even harder to believe that we are gearing up for our 2024-25 PreK & Kindergarten registration. Online registration opens Wednesday, January 17 for incoming students new to Reed School. If you have an age-eligible PreK or Kindergarten child, please register as early as possible  beginning January 17. Early registration is important so we can plan and secure staff and classrooms. The official link will be active the morning of January 17. 

*Current PreK & Kindergarten students do not need to re-register as they will remain automatically enrolled.

Thank You!

Thank you to all of our amazing Reed parents and PTA volunteers who have so generously volunteered your time, energy and support in 2023. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and we look forward to more fun PTA activities, events and volunteer opportunities in 2024!

Adopt a Family

What a generous community we have! Our Adopt a Family wish lists are almost entirely filled thanks to you. Please know that you have helped to make the holidays happy and bright for some of our community members here in Marin, and that is a wonderful thing. 

There are a few items left if you haven't had a chance to shop yet, so please take a look if your class was assigned the Candy Family (Shahan, Geiger), Charlie Brown Family (Kaniski, Leinbach), or Friendship Family (Casey, Easterday). 

Please bring your gifts wrapped and labeled to the front office by 3:30pm tomorrow, December 14th. Some elves will pick everything up Friday and deliver the gifts to the Adopt A Family office. 

When labeling:
Fill out the "TO" portion with the recipient's name
Include the "FAMILY NAME" (i.e. Hot Chocolate Family) on the tag as well
Leave the "FROM" portion blank as the families will fill these in themselves. 

If you would like to volunteer to drive the gifts to the Adopt a Family office on December 15th, SIGN UP HERE. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to Jessica Etchevers (jessicaetchevers@gmail.com). Thank you all once again for your kindness and generosity. Happy holidays!

Reed Staff Holiday Potluck Lunch

A special REED PTA tradition celebrating our Reed staff returns again this year on Tuesday, December 19th.  

Ways you can help:

• Contribute a favorite dish (homemade or store bought): Potluck Sign Up
• Sign up to help set up / decorate and clean up on Tuesday, December 19th
• Thank you to the parent volunteers who have already signed up to volunteer for Pre-K Lunch Service on Tuesday, December 19th so the staff can attend the Staff Holiday Lunch

Thank you to our amazing 6th Grade /New Student Orientation Trio! 

This year Michele Barnowski, Jennifer Feldman and Jessica McKnight teamed up to help welcome our incoming 6th graders and new 7th and 8th grade students to feel at home at Del Mar! They kicked off the school year helping with orientation, handing out PE uniforms and locks, and delivered on popsicle socials and pizza lunches for Dr. Kover's new student events.  

Michele is mom to Hayes (8th) and Rory (6th). In addition to her PTA, Run For Reed, and parent duties, Michele has been teaching pilates at BodyRok for over 8 years. She loves skiing and golfing with her kids, but during the week you may commonly spot her in yoga, in her car with her dog riding passenger, and always with her iced coffee in hand!  

Jen is mom to Alexis (6th) and Riley (3rd).She wears a lot of hats within the PTA and has for many years. In addition to her PTA volunteer activities at Del Mar, you will find her busy at Bel Aire, immersing herself as co-producer of the Wizard of Oz!! Outside of the schools, she stays busy enjoying a walk/run on Blackies with the pup, reading a good book and taking care of all of their pets!

Jessica is a mom to 6th grader, Ella, and lives in Tiburon with her husband Chris who is a Kentfield Firefighter. Both grew up in Marin, Jessica in Mill Valley and Chris in Larkspur. In addition to her PTA volunteer duties, Jessica has been a fitness instructor at The Bay Club for 22 years. In her spare time she can be found spending time with her family and friends in the sunshine.

That is PTA Teamwork! 

Jessica McKnight, Michele Barnowski and Jen Feldman

Holiday Party
We hosted the first Annual RUSD District PTA & Foundation Holiday Party! Thank you to all those who attended. It was so wonderful to gather teachers, staff and parents for a casual night of fun and merriment. If you didn’t get an opportunity to join, plan on it for next year! It will be an event you won’t want to miss. Great big thank you to Sam’s Anchor Cafe for hosting and providing delicious food, yummy drinks and having the friendliest super star staff helping us. We are so lucky to have them as a community partner.

Parent Education
The PTA Parent Education team held their first event, showing the award-winning documentary “Screenagers - Growing Up in the Digital Age”.  Afterward, school psychologist Dr. Kover presented survey results from the Del Mar students and a panel of kids from Del Mar and Redwood answered questions about tech use. A big thank you to the Belvedere Community Foundation, which made this event possible and to our EVP, Michelle Wilson, who helped organize the event. 

Reporting a Reed School Absence 

All students are expected to attend school on a consistent and on-time basis. If your child is going to be tardy, absent, or leave school early for any reason, please be sure to email OR call and notify the office:

reedattendance@reedschools.org

(415) 435-7840  extension #1

Please Provide the Following Information:

• First and last name of your child
• Your relationship to the child
• Teacher's name
• The reason for the absence or tardy

RUSD Mission & Vision: Each student will be challenged and inspired to reach their fullest intellectual, social-emotional and creative potential to positively impact the world.