Resources
Important: If your child is absent, call or email the attendance clerk with the "reason" for the absent. Failure to inform the attendance clerk within 72 hours will result in the absence considered "unexcused."
Email Attendance Clerk at: cpattendance@scusd.net or call 408-423-4411.
See Board Policy for details regarding excused and unexcused absences.
8:00 am - 3:00 pm
Cindy Howell, Secretary: chowell@scusd.net
Lauren Williams, Clerk (Attendance, Record Requests and Volunteers): lawilliams@scusd.net
408-423-4400 (PH)
408-244-6031 (FAX)
The office is closed on all major holidays.
SCHOOL SONG
Happenings
Info & Update FROM MS. KAMSTRA
Staff Collaborate to Create a Hands-on Virtual Garden Experience
October 2020
With our school campuses closed due to the pandemic, teacher Cynthia Mallison from Bowers Elementary and Jennifer Zeitler and Karen Gwerder from Central Park Elementary, wanted to ensure that our students still had access to gardening knowledge. After meeting through SCUSD’s CTE garden collaboration group, they began working over the summer to provide students with a hands-on virtual garden experience.
From their combined teaching experience in school gardens, they understood the meaningful learning that occurs with hands-on activities. Despite the global pandemic closing schools and forcing students into a distance learning platform, Mallison, Zeitler, and Gwerder wanted hands-on environmental lessons to continue as a way for our students to stay connected to the natural world — fuelling students’ interest in gardening.
The development of the school garden programs at the teacher’s school sites would have not been possible without the sharing, support, and connection of resources. As a way to pay it forward and to model collaboration, they began creating interactive garden slides to share. The team connected with Mint Sanjeemas Pasakdee and David Tuttle from the district farm, Kimberly Hunter and Kelly Overduijn from the Bryan Osborne Nature Center, Nutrition Services Director Karen Luna, and Phillip Volta from Bower’s Elementary School. This collaboration serves to not only offer students an opportunity to familiarize themselves with resources and staff but also provides meaningful content.
When fires raged across California in August, the team decided to theme the garden lessons around being a soil hero, inspired by Kiss the Ground’s free educator resources. By being a soil hero, students learn elementary soil science and become empowered to make a significant impact on our community. Furthermore, the interactive slides contain recipes using seasonal produce to foster healthy eating and provide students with the life skills that will serve them for years to come.
Mycorrhizal fungi in a garden create an underground network where plants of different species can help each other thrive by sharing resources and communicating with one another. Just like the mycorrhiza, our collaborative efforts and sharing of resources can help everyone grow so let’s communicate. For more information, please contact Karen Gwerder at cpgarden@scusd.net, Jennifer Zeitler at jzeitler@scusd.net, or Cynthia Mallison at cmallison@scusd.net.
Check out some of the videos below. Happy gardening, from the SCUSD Garden Team:
Dear Parents and Guardians,
It is with mixed emotions that we say farewell to the school year. What a year it has been. This morning we officially promoted our 5th grade students, most who've been with us since our opening year. Congratulations to our 5th grade! Congratulations to Kinder-4th who are now moving to the next grade!!
On behalf of our entire Central Park staff, we want to thank you for all of your support while we've navigated both a wonderful and challenging year. We miss your faces so very much, and hope that we can all be back in person soon. We do not yet know what schooling will look like in August, but know that as soon as we have more information we will let you know. Please be on the lookout for updates from Dr. Kemp, which will be posted on our website.
I know these past months have been extra challenging managing your own lives as well as your children's home learning. We are sincerely grateful to you.
We do encourage kids to take a break, and then if it works for your family, have students engage in reading and math using the various distance learning apps (Dreambox, Khan Academy, Khan Grammar, Footsteps to Brilliance, RazKids etc.) that teachers have been assigning. These are available to kids over the summer.
We will not be printing report cards. These will be available for you to access on the parent portal. Per Dr. Kemp's direction, we are NOT giving grades. You will only see comments from your child's teacher.
Remember to come by tomorrow to pick up your child's items that were left in the classroom, as well as to bring back any library books, classroom books and musical instruments. We will be practicing social distancing so we will ask you to open your trunks for us to drop items in. We request that items you want us to take back are clearly labeled (in bags) in your trunk so that we can remove them. If this is not practical for you, please hand us the items through the window. Remember to show your sign that tells us your child's name and teacher. If your child has any medication, it will be inside the child's bag. We don't know how fast the drop off/distribution will go, we will try to be as quick as possible so cars aren't backed up.
Thank you again.
We wish you a wonderful summer,
Ms. Kamstra, Principal
Spotlight
Team Chameleon
We nurture the development of the whole child who is then inspired to continually expand all aspects of his/her being (mind, body, heart) and is empowered to improve the world for others. We build habits of mind and ways of being that are caring, curious, reflective and visionary.
Curious
Creative
and Inspired!!!
