Reed Newsletter • January 7, 2026

Reed PTA Meeting 
Wednesday, January 14 at 9:00am in Room 10

MLK Holiday (NO SCHOOL)
Monday, January 19

Warm Coat Drive
January 20 - February 2

Online PreK & Kindergarten Registration (new families only) for 2026-27 school year
January 21-23

Mid-Winter Break (NO SCHOOL)
February 16-20

2025-2026 Reed School Calendar

Dear Reed Families,

Happy New Year! I hope your winter break was filled with family, friends and fun! It was wonderful to welcome your children back to school this week. There were many tales and smiling faces, and it feels great to have the gang back together again.

This month we have a very important ask of our parent/caregiver community:

We would appreciate ~15 minutes of your time to complete an online survey that will help us improve your child’s experience at Reed School. We have asked YouthTruth – a nonprofit organization that supports hundreds of schools and districts across the country – to conduct an anonymous survey on our behalf.

Please take the survey before it closes at midnight on January 30th by clicking this link: ytsurvey.org/rusdfamily26

Please note:

• The survey needs to be completed in one sitting.
• We ask that only one member of each household fill out the survey.
• If you have more than one child who attends the same school, you may respond to the survey multiple times - one time per child’s experience/perspective.
• If you write any comments, please do not include your name or anything else that might identify you. Your responses are intended to be anonymous, and they will be combined with the responses of other parents and guardians before being shared back with school and district leadership.

We sincerely thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. Your response is incredibly valuable to us. If you have any questions about the survey, or our plans for how we will use your feedback, please feel free to contact me at aoconnor@reedschools.org

Reed School PreK & Kindergarten Registration: January 21-23

PreK/Kindergarten online registration opens Wednesday, January 21 for incoming students new to Reed School. If you have an incoming, age-eligible PreK or Kindergarten child, please register beginning January 21. Early registration is important so we can plan and secure staff and classrooms. Please also pass this along to any friends and neighbors in the district.

*Current PreK & Kindergarten students do not need to re-register. All current Reed students will remain automatically enrolled.

If you will be moving out of the area and/or your PreK, Kindergarten, or 1st grade student will NOT be returning to Reed School in the fall, please email reed@reedschools.org. This information is critical as we plan for staffing, so thank you for letting us know as soon as possible.

Math Curriculum Home-to-School Connections:

As students continue their work with our new math curriculum, Amplify Desmos Math , they are learning through problem-solving, discussion, and making sense of mathematics - not just memorizing answers. One of the best ways to support this learning is by helping students see how math shows up in everyday life.

You can support your child at home by connecting math to daily activities. While grocery shopping, your student might figure out how many more apples there are than oranges in the cart. During meals, they can show how to split a sandwich into fourths or decide how to share food fairly. When paying at the store, they might calculate how much change you’ll receive from a $10 bill. Encouraging your child to notice and explain the math you use each day helps build confidence, deeper understanding and supports the kind of thinking we practice in class.

Thank you for partnering with us to make math meaningful, engaging, and connected to real life.

Warmly,

Aubrey O'Connor & Staff

Library Message from Ms. Smith:

January marks a special time in the Reed Library as we anticipate the announcement of the Caldecott Medal winners at the end of the month! Our PreK and Kindergarten classes are learning about the medal and different types of illustrations, while our 1st and 2nd graders are participating in a mock election.

On January 20th, Caldecott Honoree Shawn Harris will be visiting Reed School leading two assemblies, sharing his latest books and entertaining the students in his signature style. During library next week, all classes will be working with Mrs. O'Leary on an art collaboration, highlighting some of Shawn's well known books, featured here:

For more information about our special guest illustrator, please visit https://www.shawnharris.info/about

Happy Reading!

Happy New Year and THANK YOU!

A huge thank you to this generous community for your contributions to our Reed Staff Appreciation Holiday Potluck and Adopt A Family gift drive last month!

Together, we provided 346 gifts to 9 Marin families, bringing joy to so many!

A special shout out to Liana Johnson and Leigh Nile for organizing our Adopt A Family gift drive, to the volunteers who helped transport the gifts to the Adopt a Family office, and to our Staff Appreciation Team who arranged a beautiful holiday lunch spread for our Reed teachers and staff!

Warm Coat Drive

Winter is here and many families are in need of warm coats to stay comfortable and healthy during the colder months. We’re holding a Coat Drive at Reed School to collect new or gently used coats for Holy Family Day. Holy Family Day Home provides family support services and affordable childhood education for struggling families in San Francisco.

How You Can Help:

• Donate new or gently used coats for adults and children sized 4 and up
• Free of tears, holes, stains, or broken zippers
• No denim or leather
• Bring donations to Reed School between January 20th and February 2nd. Look out for the collection rolling racks near the lost and found at school.

Your generosity will make a huge difference in ensuring families stay warm this winter. Contact Shannon Everley (smeverley@gmail.com) or Summer Singh (summerannsingh@gmail.com) with any questions or for more information. Thank you for your support!

RUSD PTA is seeking engaged PTA members to serve on the 2026 Nominating Committee for the PTA Executive Board. The committee will consist of five members and one alternate. Familiarity with all three school sites and their volunteer communities is preferred, but not required.

This is a short yet meaningful commitment, with meetings held in February and March, and the goal of presenting a final slate of candidates by late March. Serving on the Nominating Committee is a great way to support strong leadership and ensure continued success for our PTA.

👉 If you’re interested in participating or would like more information, please reach out to RUSD Parliamentarian Tracey Paull (traceypaull@gmail.com) by January 30th.

PTA members interested in serving on the committee will be voted on by the PTA membership through a confidential online survey. To be eligible for consideration—or to cast a vote—members must be in good standing and current with their PTA dues. (It’s not too late, you can pay your PTA dues HERE).

Did you see RUSD PTA’s Fall 2025 PTA Happenings & Highlights in your inbox?

If you missed it, check it out HERE.

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

Appointments
If you need to pick your child up for an appointment, come to the front office and we will call the classroom. We do not pull children ahead of time, so allow extra time for us to find them. As a courtesy to the teacher, please email them so they know your child will be leaving early that day.

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.