Annual Reed Racoon Food Drive (details below)
November 18 - 22 | Thanksgiving Recess (NO SCHOOL)
November 25 - 29 |
Adopt A Family Gift Drive
December 2 - 12
| Spirit Day: Winter Wear
Wednesday, December 4 |
2nd Grade Music Performance
Wednesday, December 11 at 8:30am | Winter Break
December 23 - January 3 | Staff Development Day (NO SCHOOL)
Monday, January 6 | Students Return to School
Tuesday, January 7 |
Dear Reed Families and Caregivers, May I start this letter by extending a sincere thank you
to our entire Reed community for demonstrating the spirit of giving with our current holiday food drive. It is so wonderful seeing the smiling faces of many of our students as they fill the Food Bank bins each morning. The drive extends through Friday if you haven’t had a chance to participate. Families can extend this spirit of giving into December by supporting the Adopt a Family program (see information below). A HUGE
thank you goes out to our Reed School PTA for sponsoring these important and thoughtful opportunities for our students to internalize the power of giving & gratitude. In the spirit of gratitude, may I also extend a warm thank you to our community of volunteers
for the myriad ways you support Reed School. Be it serving lunch, leading games at recess, being a guest reader, or shelving library books, please know that we couldn’t do it without you! I wish our entire Reed Community a very Happy Thanksgiving. Warmly,
Mary Niesyn & Staff Reed Students Create Gratitude Tree in Library
| A Note from Reed Psychologist Dr. Van Putten
Thank you very much to the many families who were able to participate in our Grade Level Parent Talks this fall; it was great spending time with you and I hope you found the information useful. The booklist below includes titles that delve deeper into some of the topics addressed at our meeting: GENERAL PARENTING
Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents
- Cristine Carter
How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success - Julie Lythcott Haims
The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed - Jessica Lahey
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success - Carol Dweck
How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes: Science-Based Strategies for Better Parenting - from Tots to Teens -Melinda Winner
Yardsticks: Child and Adolescent Development Ages 4-14 - Chip Wood
MONEY
The Opposite of Spoiled - Ron Lieber
TALKING ABOUT SEX
It’s Not the Stork!: A Book About Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families and Friends - Robbie H.Harris.
It’s So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families - Robbie H. Harris.
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Kindergarten Library Field Trip |
Specialist Corner: Spanish Note from Maestra Mayes ¡Bienvenidos! I'm enjoying my time with students as we discover the beauty of the Spanish language and cultures.
Reed Raccoons are practicing greeting each other and welcoming the day with a song. They also are practicing how to express their feelings using Kimochis in Spanish. Together we’ve read bilingual books and practiced counting to 10 in Spanish. This week we are celebrating a "pretend" Thanksgiving. Be sure to ask your child all about it. Second grade clubs are off to a great start! Students are learning about Spanish-speaking countries around the world. After exploring interesting facts about a spotlighted country, they are creating beautiful works of art, such as ojos de Dios inspired by the Huichol people of Mexico, llamas from Peru, Guell
lizards inspired by Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona, and more. They also enjoy dancing to the "Juanito" song by José-Luis Orozco, a Mexican artist.
In the Builders Studio, students have been exploring hands-on projects like creating mazes, building bridges, and learning about gravity. Students also have learned and practiced body parts with our Mat Man
lesson. I continue to introduce key Spanish vocabulary words into their projects.
Thank you to the Foundation for Reed Schools for making this learning experience possible!
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A Note from our School Nurse:
‘Tis The Season for Respiratory Viruses
It’s that time of year again! Our Marin and California departments of public health encourage everyone 6 months and older to get the updated 2024 - 2025 flu and COVID-19 vaccines now. Vaccines are a safe way to lower the risk of severe illness and hospitalization from respiratory viruses. Certain groups – including young children, pregnant people and older adults – should also check with their healthcare provider about protection against RSV. Visit MyTurn.ca.gov or talk to your healthcare provider to make a vaccine appointment. Please read more about respiratory virus prevention
and remember the following tips for keeping yourself and your family healthy this flu season: - Stay up to date on your flu, COVID-19 & RSV vaccines.
- Stay home and test if you’re sick.
- Seek prescription treatments from a health care provider if you test positive for flu or COVID-19.
- Consider wearing a mask in crowded indoor spaces.
- Wash your hands frequently.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes.
- Ventilate indoor spaces.
Thank you for partnering with us to keep our schools healthy! – Nurse Mankin | The Annual Reed Racoon Food Drive! | From November 18-22, bins will be located outside the front office and near the front gate.
Last year, we donated over 1,500 pounds. Let's try to exceed that amount this year. Thanks in advance for your generosity! Packing food boxes for those in need is another way to help and a great way for our kiddos to roll up their sleeves and get involved! Sign up on the San Francisco-Marin Food bank website: https://www.sfmfoodbank.org/volunteer/ Click ‘Warehouse’ to pick your volunteer site and register. Pre-registration is required. Kiddo volunteers must be 8 years old to volunteer at the SF warehouse and 11 years old at the Marin warehouse. | Adopt a Family This holiday season, Reed PTA is once again partnering with Adopt A Family of Marin to support nine families in our Marin community during the holidays. Adopt A Family relies on donors like the Reed Elementary community to help make the holidays brighter for hundreds of Marin families in need. Your Room Parent will share your class's family gift wishlist (shared between two classes) and detailed instructions during the week of December 2nd
, and gifts will be collected in your child's classroom from December 2-12. We will also need nine volunteers to play Santa and help us deliver the gifts to the Adopt A Family offices in San Rafael on Friday December 13th, between 10am and noon. Please sign-up HERE to deliver gifts
and help us make this an extra special holiday season! Reed Staff Appreciation Holiday Potluck Our annual Reed Staff Appreciation Holiday Lunch is coming up! The PTA is planning a potluck holiday lunch for Reed staff on Friday, December 13th. Please sign up HERE if you would like to contribute something yummy. Let's shower our staff with gratitude as they close out the year!
Volunteer Opportunity
Reed's Staff Appreciation Team is looking for a few more volunteers!
This is a great opportunity to meet other Reed parents and show appreciation for our wonderful Reed teachers, specialists, aides and staff. If you're interested or want to learn more, please contact Michelle Thomsen, PTA Site Chair, at mmsmith8@yahoo.com. Lost & Found
If you are missing a favorite jacket, sweatshirt or water bottle, please check the lost and found today or contact Alina Zyakun (alinazyakun.tca@gmail.com) before these items are donated at the end of the month. |
A big PTYay to our Reed PTA VP Communications, Dana McRay. This is Dana’s second year as Reed PTA VP Communications and we are so lucky to have her! Dana plays an important role in drafting communication for all Reed parents and caretakers through writing the Reed Room Parent email content in addition to the Reed PTA Newsflash content. Thanks to generous parents like Dana and all our PTA volunteers, the RUSD PTA can continue its mission to enrich the lives of our children and the school community.
| A second PTYay and congratulations to Amy Dugdale and Christine Derby for the creation, direction, and production of Broadway Bound: A Musical Theater Review
. Countless hours of work went into making the show a huge success, and best of all, the kids who participated had an amazing experience and walked away with lifetime memories. Thank you Amy and Christine! |
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. |
Mary Niesyn, Principal Reed Elementary School |
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