Wildcat Wrap 1.12.2018

January

Mon., 1/15 MLK Holiday - no students
Fri., 1/19 Parent Chat 9:00 am
End of Quarter 2

Mon., 1/22 Final Drake Tour for 8th Graders 1:00 - 2:30 pm
Tues., 1/23 5th Parent Tour 9:00 am
Site Council meeting 3:45 pm
Chorus Concert 7:00 pm
Wed., 1/24 Orchestra Concert 7:00 pm

Thurs., 1/25 Slime Day 2:15 pm

Tues., Jan. 30 SafetyNet: Smart Cyber Choices® 7:00 pm

News

Flexible Seating in Rooms 205 and 212

Thanks to the generosity of our Parent Club, two teachers - Amanda Wagner and Bianca Vidal - have taken a risk and introduced flexible seating into their classroom environments. The early returns from students have been extremely positive. What’s been especially encouraging is that all students interviewed have reported feeling more productive. Briefly, flexible seating is an environment that:
• Provides all students with choices about sitting and/or standing configurations
• Can be reconfigured quickly and easily
• Involves a wide variety of seating types and workstations
• Uses the physical environment of the classroom to improve learning and collaboration
• Allows students more choice to move around, not unlike an adult work environment
• Is grounded in research about classroom design and student engagement
Please feel free to come by and have a look. We believe this pilot will take hold and expand at White Hill. Having seen this first hand, many of our teachers want to introduce flexible seating into their classrooms. We will need your support to expand if this is something our community feels is beneficial.
Slime Day - January 25
Great news! As a District we reached our $600K goal thanks to the generosity of our families. This means on Thursday, January 25 the Slime Day reward activity will be organized. Students from Advisory classes will be randomly selected to slime staff members starting at 2:15 pm in full view of the entire school community. Come see Rick, Kaki and teachers get slimed. Rumor has it that Rick Bagley is putting his hat (head) in the slime ring as well! You are invited to participate. It should be fun.

STEM Day

The College of Marin, with support from the Marin Branch of the Association of University Women (AAUW), will sponsor a STEM day aimed at seventh through ninth grade girls this coming February 3 from 9:00 am - 1:30 at the College of Marin, Kentfield Campus. For more information see the attached flyer.

White Hill Principal Search

Superintendent Rick Bagley and Assistant Superintendent Marci Trahan are starting the search for White Hill’s new principal. Two parent meetings have been scheduled this month to discuss the search process and gather community input. Rick and Marci will be chairing these meetings to evaluate what staff and parents believe are the qualities, skills and experience needed for our next principal. Parents are invited to participate in both of these meetings.

Parent Chat Friday, January 19 9:00 am Library
Site Council Tuesday, January 23 3:45 pm Library

Student and Recognition: All-State Band and Chorus

Congratulations to White Hill students who are participating in the All-State music ensembles at the California Music Educators Conference in San Jose in February. They were selected by audition from hundreds of applicants statewide - way to go, White Hill musicians!
All-State Jazz Band: Aaron Benassi-Minasian (only 1 bari sax player from the entire state is selected)
All-State Concert Band: Maya Stock
All-State Chorus: Riley Geraghty, Ethan Morris, Michael Riecken
Marin Music Educators Honor Band: Maya Stock, George Faville, Piper Bruner, George Charles, Tucker Briggs, Raf Bronco, Miles Thompson, Juniper Yoshihara, Nia Zwiefelhofer, Paul Hoimberg

Teacher Recognition
CMEA Bay Section Outstanding Choral Music Educator Award: Susie Martone

White Hill's Speech Club

The new Speech Club is a great opportunity for students to build public speaking skills and win prestigious awards at the Margie Burke Speech Tournament in Ross on April 28. The club will support students to prepare for the tournament and have a valuable experience taking on an academic challenge. The categories include:
• Dramatic Interpretation
• Persuasive
• Original Prose & Poetry
• Impromptu
Students who love creative writing, sharing their strong opinions, or have dramatic flair are great candidates, and all are welcome! If this sounds like a rewarding opportunity for your child, encourage him or her to join us! The Speech Club meets on Thursdays at lunch with Mrs. Frank & Ms. Pierce.

Thank You!

The phones have been significantly quieter, especially considering it was the first week back after a long break. As a result, the office has had significantly less interruptions and more time to address staff and student needs. We sincerely appreciate your consideration in limiting phone calls to legitimate emergencies. Please remember that to better serve you, call ahead when your child has a doctor or dental appointment. If we know well in advance, we can have the student waiting in the office when you arrive to pick them up. Again, thank you for your support.

Reminders

Loaning Chromebooks Ending

As of January 8, the practice of loaning Chromebooks to students who forget their device at home, or who may have allowed their Chromebook to lose the battery charge, will be discontinued. Beginning Monday, we will no longer loan Chromebooks to students unless the device is broken and is in need of repair. Our loaner policy is not sustainable due to misuse and abuse, non-return of loaners, broken and unrepairable loaners, and the fact that loaning devices is enabling many students to be irresponsible. Our job is to teach responsibility and raise expectations for our highly capable students.

Lost and Found

Very expensive articles of clothing are picked up on campus every day and placed in our Lost and Found. Students are encouraged to get their belongings from the Lost and Found near the office. Unfortunately, a majority of items remain unclaimed. With the cold and rainy weather continuing it’s our hope that these items will be picked up. Otherwise, items not claimed will eventually be donated.

Additional Information about Programs for Students and Parents

Click on Children for Change for this week’s news.

Parent Education News

SafetyNet: Smart Cyber Choices® will present to parents at White Hill on Tuesday, January 30 at 7pm. Please join us to learn about digital safety. Our children need guidance to safely and responsibly use today’s rapidly changing technology. Get tools and resources to help you. White Hill students will have assemblies the same day with some of this information (it is tailored to be age appropriate). Seize this opportunity to learn the latest information on technology trends to help your family, including: cyberbullying, on-line scams, plagiarism, sexting, social media and internet predators. RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/safety-net-internet-safety-presentation-tickets-41911053088
Sponsored by the Ross Valley Healthy Community Collaborative. See the web site for more details: www.thecoalitionconnection.com

YES After School Programs

Yes! Lunchtime Clubs

Lunchtime Clubs will start again the week of January 22nd. A listing was sent to parents/guardians. We encourage you to go over the listing and see what your student is interested in. Kids just show up to the first class! If you have any questions, please contact Activities Coordinator, Margo James at margomacjames@ gmail.com

Model UN with the YMCA

This Club started this week and will run every Wednesday until May 9th in Room 204. It's not too late to join! See the below for details. Kids get to try the club all dates in January before a financial commitment is due at the beginning of February. Financial assistance is available.
MODEL UNITED NATIONS (MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS)
California YMCA Youth & Government has offered the Model United Nations (MUN) program to middle school students throughout the state since 2001. Middle school students (delegates) participate in the program with their peers. They are given the opportunity to discuss international issues, discover other cultures, develop life-enhancing skills, and make new friends. The program culminates when delegates from around the state meet at the annual Model United Nations Summit in Los Angeles, California. While there, they will not only learn more about the program area in which they are participating (Economic and Social Council, Non-Governmental Organizations, International Court of Justice, etc.), but they will receive training in areas such as public speaking, decision-making, cultural competency, and evidence-based persuasion.
Once at the Summit, delegates take on the roles of their country’s UN representatives, committee chairs, and presiding officers. They get to put their research and newfound knowledge to work as they perform their roles and explore how the United Nations is run. In this unique experience, middle schoolers deal with international issues that affect our world. Meetings are on Wednesdays from January 10 to May 9 at lunchtime.
MUN Training: March 23-25, Camp Roberts
MUN Summit: April 26-29, Los Angeles
Fees: $1,025.00. Financial assistance is available! Please contact Brandon Drake, Youth & Teen Director at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 415 446 2178 for more information.

Choose your YES party--for kids or adults!!

January 19, 2018 - Parent/Child Dance Party with
Marin Power Yoga
Purchase tickets here.
You know when you hear a song on the radio that just makes you want to move?
Join us for this parent/child dance party. The amazing Grace Yu will lead us through
easy-to-follow dance choreography and then we'll let loose with great dance music
and glow stick fun. Coordination optional, joyfulness guaranteed. Wear comfortable
shoes, bring water, and get ready to sweat!
Hosted by Rebecca Wood, Amy and Jamie Ginsberg of Marin Power Yoga

Number of Guests: 170
Cost per person: $25
Date: Friday, January 19, 2018
Time: 5:45 - 7 pm
Location: Marin Power Yoga, 141 Tunstead Ave. in San Anselmo

January 26, 2018 - YES Movie Night: Hugo
Purchase tickets here.

Hugo (rated PG--2 hours) is the astonishing adventure of a wily and resourceful boy
whose quest to unlock a secret left to him by his father will transform Hugo and all those
around him, and reveal a safe and loving place he can call home.
Rated 94 on Rotten Tomatoes. Adult supervision all evening.

Number of tickets: 193
Cost per person: $15
Date: Friday, January 26
Time: 5:45 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Drake High School Little Theater

February 2, 2018 - Adult Prom DJ Dance Party
Purchase tickets here.

Please Join us!
Cash Bar upstairs and down. After hours in the Dugout.
Attire: Flip flops to formal. However you choose to
get your prom on. Want to guest DJ? (We'll have a few).
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Number of tickets: 150
Cost per person: $20
Date: Friday, February 2
Time: 7 - 10 p.m.
Location: Log Cabin at Memorial Park

February 10, 2018 - Retro Winter Olympics Kick-Off
Purchase tickets here.

Join us for an 80's Aprés-ski party to celebrate the start of
the Winter Olympics. 7pm at Matteucci’s. Open bar until 10pm; Stang’s
hot dogs and sausage cart will be in the parking lot and available for
purchase. Attire: your favorite ‘80’s attire.
Hosted By: Jessica and Matt White, Susan and Greg Flandermeyer,
Carin and Andrew Gidney, Annabelle and Bill Reber, Susie and Gavin Slader

Number of guests: 100
Cost per person: $50
Date: Saturday, February 10
Time: 5:45 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Matteucci's, 114 Greenfield Ave. in San Anselmo