Below is the Woodside High School newsletter for parents, staff, and community members.
 Woodside Weekly PTSA Update
Hello Parents,

The Foundation meets on Tuesday.  All are welcome.  We are currently planning the Annual Auction and would love your help!  There is a special PSAT/SAT presentation on Wednesday and all Sophomores and Juniors are welcome.  Keep your teen driver safe by attending the Parent Education night on Thursday.

Saturday is a busy day!  You can help at our annual Open House for 7th/8th graders in the morning and then eat your fill at the ABO Surf & Turf that evening.

Make it a great week.
CALENDAR
  • Tuesday, Jan 12, Foundation Meeting, 7pm, MUR
  • Wednesday, Jan 13, PSAT/SAT presentation by Princeton Review, PAC, 7pm
  • Wednesday, Jan 13, Deadline purchase Surf & Turf Tickets.
  • Thursday, Jan 14, Parent Education, Distracted Driving Workshop, 7pm, MUR
  • Saturday, Jan 16, 7th/8th grade Open House Tours, 9-12
  • Saturday, Jan 16, ABO Surf & Turf, 6pm, RWC
UPCOMING
  • Jan 18, No School, Martin Luther King
  • Jan 19, Junior/Senior Parent Meeting, 7pm
  • Jan 20, ABO Meeting, MUR, 7pm
  • Jan 21, Financial Aid Workshop, MUR, 7pm
  • Jan 22, California Scholarship Federation (CSF) deadline
Open House - Saturday, January 16open

On Saturday, January 16 the PTSA, together with the school teachers and staff, and leadership students, is hosting the Third Annual Open House for prospective students and families.

The Open House is from 9 AM to noon and it truly takes a village to pull this off, so please volunteer! Here is the link to the VolunteerSpot sign up:


(green button on the front page of the PTSA website)

We need volunteers for the check-in table, the hospitality tables, and tour leaders (the leadership students actually lead the tour, you are only there to supervise and help.)

Questions? Contact Open House Co-Chairs Charmaine McCrystal and Lucia Tedesco at  [email protected].
 

Woodside Annual Auctionauction

On April 30 the Woodside Foundation will host the Annual Woodside Auction.  All monies raised support the great programs that help every child at Woodside High School.  We need your help!  We are looking for
  • vacation homes
  • hobbies (love to throw dinner parties?)
  • sports tickets
  • Dinners
  • hotels
  • what cool thing can you share with our Woodside community?
All donations are fully tax deductible.  Do you want to join the committee?  We have little and large jobs--whatever fits your schedule.  Contact us at [email protected]

drivingDistracted Driving Workshop
Leanna Clegg, Education Outreach Coordinator, Impact Teen Drivers 
(California Highway Patrol)
 
Thursday, January 14, 2016, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Woodside High School, Multi-Use Room (MUR)
 

Automobile collisions are the leading cause of death for our nation's teens. The overwhelming majority of these crashes are caused by inexperience or distractions-not "thrill-seeking" or deliberate risk-taking. Teens drivers are at the highest risk: the crash rate for 16 years olds is four times that of adults. 

In this workshop, you will learn about:
 
       Strategies to keep your teen safe on the road

      Graduated Drivers Licensing (GDL) laws

      The Rules of the Road for teen drivers

      How YOU can stop the  #1 killer of teens in America--distracted driving

Since 2007, Impact Teen Drivers has emerged as a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to reversing the pervasive yet 100% preventable crisis of "distracted driving." Impact's mission is to change the culture of teen driving, thereby saving lives in this and future generations of drivers. 

Parents, students, faculty/staff, and community members welcome!

Spanish interpretation will be available. Free admission.
 
Woodside Parent Education Series events are sponsored by the Woodside PTSA, the Sequoia Healthcare District, and the Sequoia Union High School District.
 
Questions? Contact Charlene Margot, M.A., Director, The Parent Education Series, at [email protected]or (650) 868-0590. For Spanish, contact Maricela Lopez, Bilingual Parent Liaison, at (650) 367-7263 Ext. 45323
  
***

M-A PARENT EDUCATION SERIES
Mastering Difficult Conversations with Your Teen" 
Eran Magen, PhD, The Center for Supportive Relationships
 
Thursday, February 4, 2016, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
M-A Performing Arts Center (PAC)
Menlo-Atherton High School
555 Middlefield Road, Atherton
 
Register here: 

***

SEQUOIA PARENT EDUCATION SERIES
Finding the Right Fit - A Conversation about the College Search 
Maria Furtado, Executive Director, Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL)
 
Thursday, February 18, 2016, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Carrington Hall, Sequoia High School
1201 Brewster Avenue, Redwood City
 
More details, download this.

Surf and Turf Feedabo
Saturday, January 16 2016 at 6 PM

Community Activities Building
1400 Roosevelt Avenue
Redwood City

Tickets: $55

Tri-tip and lobster tail with side dish of mussels/clams, salad, bread, desserts. No host bar.

Ticket purchase deadline is January 13 or upon sell-out. Pre-sale only - click here to buy online.  All proceeds support Woodside High School athletic and dance teams!

PTSA NEWS


The Woodside PTSA board is recommending an increase in annual dues to $20/year, effective for the 2016-2017 school year.  The increase is required because our national dues have increased and we have lost eScrip as a funding source this year.  The PTSA provides the Woodside community the communicat, the weekly newsletter, the parent education series, unsung heroes, student scholarship awards, and many other valuable services to our community.  We will be voting to approve the increase at our Feburary meeting, if you have any questions or concerns regarding the increase in annual dues please contact Charmaine McCrystal ([email protected]) or Audrey Fasching ([email protected]) 

CSF Is Comingcsf

California Scholarship Federation (CSF) promotes and recognizes students with above-average grades. To become a lifetime member, a student must submit an application and meet the eligibility requirements for four semesters of more. A point system specified in the CSF State By-Laws establishes membership requirements. Benefits for lifetime members include recognition at WHS Senior Awards Night and in the WHS Graduation program. Applications and course list are available on the WHS CSF webpage. Students may submit their application forms for first semester of 2015-2016 in the College and Career Center, D9 between Monday, January 11 and Friday, January 22. Contact Zorina Matavulj at [email protected] with questions. The submitted application packet must include:
  • Completed CSF application
  • Copy of the previous semester's report card or transcript (Copies of transcripts can be printed from your student's Infinite Campus account.)  
COLLEGE CORNERCOLLEGE

There will be a PSAT/SAT presentation on Wednesday, January 13 at 7:00pm in the Woodside's Performing Arts Center. The speaker is from Princeton Review, and he will discuss the PSAT score report, the new SAT, and even a bit about the ACT.  

Sophomore, Juniors, and Parents are welcome.
DRAMA BOOSTERS

Welcome to 2016! I hope your holiday filled and fed your souls! Our Drama Staff and Students are hard at work preparing for the production of "The Little Mermaid" in March. So are many parent and student volunteers. In addition to the wonderful "professionals" who work with our student actors and actresses, there is a less lauded support group of volunteer parents and students who will provide many hours of service over the course the next two and a half months of preparation. If you have ever had the itch to be involved with The Theater, this is a great time. This will be a challenging production around costumes and props, as well as set design/construction and make-up. We would also cherish your contributions to the concession stand, ticket sales, and promotion. 

This is a great way for you to be involved in the life of the great Woodside High School community. If you would like to offer your help, please reach out to me, Jim Larkin, Drama Booster President. Send an email to [email protected] and I will get you plugged in right away. THANKS!

Nicaragua Summer Exchange

Is your student looking for an opportunity to improve his/her Spanish? We're on a mission to make Spanish fluency affordable, authentic and impactful! The Nicaragua Summer Exchange and the University of Leon have partnered to offer a dynamic high school summer experience in colonial Granada and Leon.  Better than a student tour -- gain a lifetime of skills in Latin America's only high school summer exchange. This program allows students to immerse themselves in the culture and language of Nicaragua while spending time in the quaint colonial city of Granada. Many students from this area have taken part in this program which also includes family stays and a community service component. We offer AP Spanish support, and gap year without program fees, internships and college credit.  Want to learn more?  Visit www.highschoolspanish.org
 
Come learn more about the program: 
January 27, 2016 - 7- 8:30 p.m. Library, Henry M. Gunn High School.  Summer Opportunities!
January 28 and February 4, 2016 -  6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Redwood City, Downtown Library Meeting room, 1044 Middlefield Rd, RWC. 
FROM THE EDITOR
To submit an item, email it to the editor at [email protected] by 9:00 PM on the Thursday prior to the Sunday publication date. Provide a .jpg attachment for all pictures and graphics.  Do NOT inbed images or graphics into word doc.

For past issues, visit the PTSA Weekly Update Archives. Send comments about the new format to [email protected]

Tamiko Verkler
Weekly Update Editor