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From John Loeser, Head of School  
As a child on Long Island, I always looked forward to summer: long, fun-filled days at the iconic Jones Beach Shore building sand castles, riding waves, and artfully flipping an Italian ice over to savor the best part at the bottom before it melted. I remember endless nights of hide-and-seek with neighborhood kids and competing to see who could catch the most lightning bugs. I played every night until nine and marveled as the sun-filled sky turned to bright hues of deep blues and greens. Summer was a time for play. Even today, with all of the competing demands of busy life schedules, summer is, and should remain, a time devoted to play.
Research consistently demonstrates that play develops a more curious mind.[1] Play ignites imagination, and the brain finds new ways to adapt to challenge and improvise. Far from a mindless activity, play generates resourcefulness, decision-making skills, creativity, empathy, and risk-taking. I encourage you to take time in this last month of summer to play with your children and on your own. When the school year begins and a more scheduled life takes over, you will likely find yourself longing for these playful days of summer!
Play takes many forms, and I've been engrossed in learning everything RDS this summer in my own unique form of play. I've been diving into the website, flipping through the view book, and perusing photos of recently graduated classes. I've been walking the halls, gazing up at the redwoods, and meandering through the Back 40. I've even been playing driving games on my way home as I learn the quickest way to the 580 entrance ramp! By far, I have derived the greatest joy and pleasure from playing in conversation. Relationships are the heart and soul of a school, and each day I look forward to learning more about our community and understanding the nuances that make RDS such a unique learning institution.
If you have some time between now and the beginning of school, and a good storytelling session sounds like a perfect way to add some play to your summer, please join me as I collect stories and feed my curiosity for all things RDS. Stop by to say hello, and importantly, bring your child(ren). First and foremost, I want to learn about your child(ren). What makes your son get up every morning eager to come to school? What is your daughter's passion? Secondly, I want to learn about you and your hopes and dreams for our school and community. As I start to weave together the fabric that tells the story of RDS, I hope to learn from each of you about your own unique story that has brought you and your family to our school. Please feel free to make an appointment through Derek Clark or just simply stop by to say hello if you happen to be in the neighborhood.
Wishing you and your family continued joy and PLAY throughout the remainder of the summer! I look forward to meeting you in the coming weeks.
Sincerely,
John Loeser
Head of School
[1] Ginsberg, K. Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Client Bonds. Pediatrics 119(1); Jan 2007.
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From Denise Breland, Lower School Director
We are very excited for a new school year to begin. While our students have been away, the Administrative Team has been busy getting ready for the coming year. This summer we've had the pleasure of getting to work with John Loeser, our new Head of School, who brings a wealth of experience as both an educator and an administrator. Our teachers have also been busy this summer, enhancing their skills through professional development and planning for the year ahead, as well as taking time to renew and reenergize by connecting with loved ones and taking some time for themselves.
We are looking forward to having our students return to school. Your child's teacher will be contacting you directly to welcome you and your child.
August 29-30: Kindergarten-5th Grade Parent/Guardian-Teacher Mini Conferences
The Parent/Guardian-Teacher Mini Conference is a 15-minute meeting before the start of school for parents to share their child's strengths, challenges and goals with the teacher(s). Please take advantage of this opportunity to share with your child's teacher any specific information or concerns you have about your child. You will be receiving information on how to schedule your mini conference in an email from Derek Clark the week of August 22; new families should also schedule a meeting time with the Advancement Office on mini conference days. Conferences are for parents/guardians; X-care is available for RDS students (no non-school age sibs please) during your mini-conference time.
Get a great start to your child's day
The final weeks before school begins are a great time to start getting your child back on a regular sleep schedule. Please remember that we ask students to arrive by 8:15 a.m. so your child can settle in and be ready when class begins promptly at 8:30. In the first few minutes of class, the tone is set, announcements are made, and social interactions are set in motion for the rest of the day. "Good mornings" between teachers and students set the stage for good communication.
Sincerely,
Denise Breland
Lower School Director
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From Clarence Perkins, 
Middle School Director & Assistant Head of SchoolI hope that this letter finds you enjoying the last month of the break. As I write this, I am planning my summer vacation with my wife, Shirley, and our two children. We'll do some camping and take several family day trips. I'm also hoping to get a lot of pleasure reading in and time to hit some golf balls. While it's always refreshing to take time away, I'm very excited about the new academic year and can't wait to see all you of again! Though students are away, we have been active getting the school ready and making plans for a successful year. Through the support of RDSPGA grants and on their own, teachers are traveling to various continents to learn about other cultures and languages. Other are developing new curricula and techniques for improving students' academic skills and content knowledge. In June, our newly formed Curriculum Committee attended a weeklong curriculum-mapping workshop. They will be the teacher-leaders of this year's plan to map the school's entire K-8 curriculum. Other are training to facilitate and develop curriculum for our diversity initiatives. During faculty and staff Work Week, we will provide time for teachers to report back on their summer adventures and exchange ideas and information. In the Middle School, we have also been making plans to ensure that our students have a successful year. One project in particular will assist us in improving communication and collaboration between home and school. Last spring, Dan Johnston, our Director of Technology, reviewed several web-based learning platforms and partnered with Sarah Durantini, our sixth-grade math teacher to pilot a program called Schoology. Schoology combines online homework posting and calendaring with classroom resources. To facilitate planning, students and families will see homework in list and calendar views. Teachers will be able to post and store resources such as documents, videos, website links, and other learning materials directly onto a class's page. Depending on the project, students will be able to share ideas and collaborate together online within Schoology, moderated by the classroom teacher. Finally, for ease of access, the Schoology and the RDS website log-ins will be integrated. Middle School families will receive more information about Schoology as we roll out the program. To help you prepare for the upcoming academic year, we have included important information in this electronic mailing. You will also receive another mailing in the middle of August. Between now and the start of school, should you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Middle School Coordinator, Jeanne Coyne Song at 510.534.0804, ext 226 or me via email or at 510.534.0804, ext. 230. Sincerely, Clarence W. Perkins Jr., Ed.D.
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WYNTK ~ What You Need to Know
Ready, Set... School!Please check the calendar regularly for updates throughout the year (forgotten the RDS community password? Email us and we'll remind you!) or, better yet, subscribe to the RDS calendar to get updates automatically via RSS or Atom Feed, get calendar reminder emails, or download an iCal file to sync with your personal calendar system. August 15 Class/advisory lists to be sent to families
29-30 Mini-Conferences for Grades K-5 (arranged with teacher; watch for your Pick-a-Time
email)
New family orientations with Advancement Office (also through Pick-a-Time) 30 New Student Orientation 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. All students new to Lower School (K-5) students and their
parents/guardians in the Lower School Multipurpose Room
11:00 a.m. - noon All students new to Middle School (including last year's RDS
5th graders) and their families in the Middle School Multi-
purpose Room
31 First Day of Classes 8:00 a.m. RDSPGA Welcome Coffee in the Gallery 10:50 -11:35 a.m. Opening Assembly Kid Chow lunch program begins September 5 Labor Day: School and X-Care Closed 8 Grades K-2 Back-to-School Night, 5:45 - 8:00 p.m.
9 Pizza Fridays Begin!
15 Grades 3-5 Back-to-School Night, 5:45 - 8:00 p.m.
15-16 School Photos
22 Grades 6-8 Back-to-School Night, 5:45 - 8:00 p.m.
21 Early Dismissal (Faculty In-Service): X-Care Open
24 RDSPGA Fall Festival  Student Emergency Verification Information (SEVI Forms) Having an updated Student Emergency Verification Information form on file is key to ensuring that your child is safe at school. A form was mailed to each family earlier this summer. It is imperative that we have the updated information to handle any possible emergency and to comply with state regulations. Please ensure that we have the form on file by the first day of school.(Can't find your form? Please call the front office at 534.0800 to request a fresh copy with your pre-printed current information for your review and updates.) Field Trip Permission Forms Due
Still need to return your form? Download a fresh copy and return it by August 29! Image Use Policy Redwood Day School regularly uses photos and videos of current and former students and samples of their work in a variety of media to illustrate the vibrant life of our educational community. These media may include school publications (including e-newsletters, the Annual Report, and other print publications), the school's website, advertisements, admissions materials, and social media. It is our policy that individual students' images will never be identified by name when they are used in this way and that samples of students' class work will never be identified with their last name. Families who prefer that images of their child(ren) or samples of their work not appear in school-related publications, promotional materials, or social media are asked to inform Sarah Lehman, Director of Advancement in writing.
School Photos, September 14-15 Redwood Day will be working with MugsyClicks School Photography again this year to capture those lasting images of students' smiling faces. Tuition/fees include the cost of one 8 x 10 class photo and a $15 credit towards the purchase of individual prints for each student. You will receive information about ordering additional prints after pictures have been taken.
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 "Care and Feeding": 
Greener Lunch Options at Redwood Day
Packed lunch sent from home
- We encourage families to pack nutritious, protein-packed lunches, in reusable containers. Stock up now on reusable containers for food and drinks!.
- Students should not bring items that require kitchen preparation; there is no microwave available for Lower School students, and only limited use is allowed in Middle School. Hot water is available.
- No candy, gum, caffeinated beverages, or drinks in glass bottles!
Kid Chow is available for families who prefer to order and purchase lunches, either occasionally or regularly. Kid Chow features all compostable and recyclable food packaging.
- Kid Chow delivers lunches to RDS on Mondays through Thursdays, and the fall menu is online and ready for your back-to-school orders.
- The first order deadline is midnight on Monday, August 22 for lunch delivery in the first week of school. Select your menu items and order online at the Kid Chow website.
- Delivery will begin on Wednesday, August 31, the first day of school.
Pizza Fridays will continue its relationship with Red Boy Pizza this year. Red Boy is a local, green-friendly business that uses only local vendors, does not advertise on boxes, and picks up our empty boxes for recycling. Interested families should print and return the sign-up form by September 23. Proceeds from Pizza Fridays raise funds for the eighth-grade class' annual gift to the school, as well as the general operating budget. Register earlier if you want your child(ren) to be signed up for the first Pizza Friday on September 9.
- To support the school's Green initiative, we no longer serve drinks as part of Pizza Fridays (juiceboxes = a mountain of landfill!). Please send your child with a reusable water bottle and a low/no sugar drink option.
- We need parent and guardian volunteers to help our eighth-graders make Pizza Fridays run smoothly. Ideally, volunteers work a few consecutive Fridays so that we aren't training new volunteers too often. Duties include arriving by 11:25 a.m., counting pizza slices and plates, sorting by grade; and serving to middle school students from 11:40 a.m, until noon. Students will be responsible for clean up. If you are available to help, please contact Jill Nesbitt at 534.0800 or by email.
- Pizza dates are September 9, 16, 23, 30: October 14, 21; November 4, 18; December 2, 9, 16; January 6, 13, 20, 27; February 3, 10, 17; March 9, 16, 23, 20; April 20, 27; May 11, 18, 25, June 1 and 8.
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 Health & Safety
Check for Lice
It's been a busy summer for RDS families: sleepovers, sunhats, plus plane/train/car headrests... Before sending your children back to school, please check them thoroughly to make sure that no lice "stowaways" have climbed on board over the summer months. Please check our lice tips and FAQ for a successful back-to-school scalp check, and thanks in advance for your help in making the start of school lice-free!
Pertussis Shot Requirement for 7th and 8th Grade
A new California law requires proof of an adolescent whooping cough booster shot ("Tdap") for all students entering 7th grade and higher this fall. The Tdap immunization also offers protection against tetanus and diptheria. Avoid the last minute rush -- see your family doctor now in order to submit proof of vaccination by the first day of school! Many Walgreens, CVS, and Pharmaca locations also have the immunization available.
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Parents and Guardians Association News
Dear RDS Parents and Guardians,
As the year begins, our kids have a lot to look forward to: a new Head of School, new teachers, new backpacks and lunchboxes, running full tilt on the beautiful tree-lined playground, reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. The RDSPGA has a full year planned too, with lots of opportunities to gather, have fun and strengthen our community. We welcome John Loeser, and look forward to sharing with him our rich traditions, as well as creating new ones. The annual Fall Festival kicks off the year on Saturday, September 24 as a time to connect or reconnect with the school community. Please save the date and contact our wonderful co-chairs -- Alicia Fenrick, Silvia Fernandez, Ndeshi Shiyandja -- to volunteer for a job on the day of the big event! And we will continue our tradition of hosting Friday Coffee in the Gallery, which is a great way to say hi, and start your day.
In October, I hope you will join us for an evening event with Alison Park, a diversity consultant, as we strive to deepen our commitment to diversity in the RDS community. And of course the amazing Celebration of Light will happen in December, as well as our tremendous book fair that is such a hit each year. Oh, and there's Generations Day, a family favorite.
Parent University happens on campus in January, and it's always a fount of educational opportunities, candid discussions, and parental reflection. In March, put on your dancing shoes and come to the Spring Gala. We have some great new ideas this year and look forward to a fun-filled evening to support RDS. Also not to be missed this spring, is the "feel good" event of the year, the second annual Fun Run around Lake Merritt. Start training now!
I hope to see all of you at these events, and I invite you to become involved in the RDSPGA. Perhaps you might want to be a Barista for Friday Coffee?Or host a party for the Spring Gala? Maybe you'd like to help to organize the Fun Run? Check out our website and fill in our online volunteer form to see the possibilities. Whatever your passion and skill set, there is an opportunity for you to contribute in a meaningful way.
On behalf of the RDSPGA executive board, welcome back to school and thank you for your continued commitment to our wonderful school. See you the 31st of August!
All the best,
Jen Wineman
RDSPGA President 2011-12
Middle School Room Parents Needed
Our cadre of eager room parents is growing by leaps and bounds, but volunteers are still needed at the Middle School level. Eager to lend a hand? Please contact Brenda Kienan, PGA Middle School Director at Large, to let her know of your interest!
Sign Up (or Renew!) for Escrip
Signing up for Escrip raises important funds for RDSPGA programs -- at no cost to you! It's easy, and it's free! Your family shops, the RDSPGA earns dollars. Rachel Scholl or Debbie Degenshein would be happy to answer any of your escrip questions.
- Go to www.escrip.com.
- Click on "sign-up". (Previously registered? You may be prompted to renew your Safeway card's enrollment in the program).
- Enter "Redwood Day School" and follow the instructions to register your grocery cards and current credit/debit cards.
Attention Safeway Shoppers!
Between August 10 and September 13, purchase any of thousands of items marked with school bus tags and the RDSPGA will receive a full 10% of the purchase price. Register your Safeway card online at www.escrip.com first and the RDSPGA will automatically earn!
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