Dear Wildwood Families,

Wow! Wildwood is a wonderful place to be. Everyone has been so welcoming and I really appreciate the kind words and support. If I had to come out of retirement, I’m glad I landed here! I look forward to getting to know more of you and learning about the school community.

I started last Friday and have spent my first few days visiting classrooms, being on the playground, having various meetings, and joining some family conferences. The conferences are a nice way to hear about our kids and to get to know them a little bit. The staff has been amazing; they’re a really strong group and so it’s wonderful to see how the classrooms are running, the learning that is happening, and the progress being made throughout Wildwood School.

One thing I am doing is looking at systems and structures at Wildwood to see if there is anything I can do to support our school. The teachers have been busy with conferences this week, so we haven’t had much time together but I’ve popped in a little so I can get to know them and to listen to their concerns. The office staff are wonderful and have answered my millions of questions. I plan to meet with the paraeducators to talk about student supervision at recess and lunch, and to hear their concerns and ideas.

I look forward to spending more time in the classrooms, playing a little four square outside at recess, and joining the Friday morning run/walk. I want to get to know the students better and for them to see me as an ally, someone they can come to in order to share good things, as well as challenges they are encountering. I’ve had a few students already say hello and some know my name. I look forward to getting to know the parents/guardians and to hear ideas and suggestions regarding how to make Wildwood a stronger community. There is a lot to keep me busy but I’m excited for the challenge!

Hope to see many of you at the Coffee tomorrow morning and at the Halloween parade. I’ll be the crazy witch leading the parade!

Beth Rhine

28-11/1 Conference Week - NOON DISMISSAL ALL WEEK

31 Halloween Parade at 9:15 following Parent Coffee

NOVEMBER

4 Parent Circle on Belonging 6:30pm (sign up below)

11 Veterans Day - NO SCHOOL

14 Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day

We are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow for our Halloween parade. We know the 9:15 start time can be tricky but due to the preschool on site and their drop-off time we cannot close the street until after 9am. Thank you for your understanding.

**Please do not bring candy to school**

Please be aware that the parade can feel overwhelming for some of our students. If you are bringing a dog or plan to dress up yourself please be mindful of how that may impact members of our Wildwood community.

Many students, families, and staff members in our community love Halloween and wonderful costume celebrations. Part of creating a safe school community for ALL students on Halloween is to avoid wearing costumes that are racially, ethnically, and/or culturally based, or those that play on gender stereotypes. Here are some thoughts to consider as families prepare Halloween costumes to wear at school:

• Please consider the impact a costume depicting an ethnic/racial/cultural group can have on others, including making people feel unsafe and/or disrespected. If your child wants to dress-up as a particular person or character from a story or movie, who is not of his or her same ethnic, racial, or cultural group, think about how your child can do so without using things like “ethnic” wigs, face/skin paint, but rather with the use of obvious props and costumes to capture the spirit of that character or person.
• Please reflect on what it means to depict a culture or race even for a day-- because for many people it’s not just a costume, it is part of their identity. Even if your child is part of the group of people the costume is intended to represent, it is helpful to ask if the costume is perpetuating a negative stereotype.
• Consider that a costume meant to be funny because it is making light of an ethnic or racial group is most likely a caricature, and thus inappropriate.

Also, please keep in mind the following reminders about appropriate Halloween costumes:

Keep it Safe: Avoid tripping hazards, and ensure that nothing is covering your student’s face (no masks)

Keep it Simple: Make sure the costume can be put on and taken off independently

Keep it Friendly: We ask that scary costumes are avoided so that Halloween is fun for even our preschool students. Please, no gore, weapons, or clowns.

Keep it Hands Free: For our school parade, hands free works the best.

We invite our amazing families to have fun getting creative with costumes this Halloween so that everyone in our community feels safe, welcome, and respected!

Want to visit your Wildwood student(s) during their lunch hour or support Wildwood with your efforts? If so, become a lunch volunteer! This is an easy and fun way to volunteer at school and a great way to interact with your kids as well as the rest of the school. It only takes 1 hour out of your day to help support our school!

We have two lunch programs that need daily parent volunteers. Please sign up for one if you haven't already.

SignUpGenius for Parent Volunteers - 1st to 5th Grade Lunch Program - we need 1 volunteer daily between 11:30am to 12:30pm

SignUpGenius for Parent Volunteers - Kinder Lunch Program - we need 2 volunteers daily between 11:20am to 12:15pm

Thank you all for a successful book fair!! We sold over $10,000 worth of merchandise!! Ms. Ludmer will receive 50% of that to purchase books for our library!

Special thanks to Tory Roman, Jen Anzenberg, Liz Selna, Carrie Zeitlin, Barry Fischer, Maggie Pickavance, Katy Vosburg, Amy Shrago, Alex Freemon, Lindsay Gartland, Amelia Kriss, Janet Lai, Vic Manley, Angela Levy, Thuan Tran, Hao C, and Radhika Giri for generously donating your time and money to make it happen!

On Thursday, please celebrate our furry friends (and their adults) dressed in their spookiest best for this special Halloween edition of Community Coffee!

All folks (including costumed dogs) are invited to join Wildwood's Community Coffee after drop-off. Please gather from 8:30-9:15am at the benches on Wildwood Avenue at Prospect for coffee and treats.

Principal Beth Rhine will join to meet and mingle with families, and we can all walk together to celebrate our Wildwood students and staff.

Also, please be on the lookout for a festive photo backdrop, presented by volunteers, that will be available on campus for before-school photos. Happy Halloween!

The Pumpkin Patch was a huge success this year! We broke nearly every record—from braving 100-degree weather to having our largest-ever team of volunteers and achieving the highest monthly sales on record. Wildwood truly came together! With an incredible team of 81 dads, moms, kids, and even grandparents, we sold over 5,000 pumpkins, generating more than $54,000 in sales—a 29% increase over last year. This is an outstanding accomplishment, and each family involved should feel incredibly proud of their contribution. Thank you all for making this such a memorable month!

Next Dads' Club Meeting: Thursday, November 7, at Cato's Ale House (3891 Piedmont Ave.) @7:30pm

Full Year Calendar of Events: wildwooddadsclub.org

The Affinity Mentor Program is accepting elementary student participants! This is a great opportunity to connect your child with a high school student with a similar identity! Here is a link to sign up!

Math activities and information for all ages, kids to adults. Puzzles! Board Games! Prizes! PIZZA!
Come learn about school- and community-based math clubs and activities.
Speak to PUSD staff about math learning and differentiated pathways in Piedmont schools.
RSVP here: https://bit.ly/3ArBG5j or QR code below.

By Monika Riddle

Now Enrolling Preschoolers for 2024-2025 School Year!

Just Two Spots Remain

Please check out our webpage!

• Where: Havens Elementary School

• Who:

• For 3 and 4 year olds, who are not yet TK-age eligible

• Open to residents and non-residents!

• Must be age 3

• Must be potty-trained

• Must be fully vaccinated for age

• When: PIP follows the 2024-2025 PUSD School Year Calendar

• 4 mornings per week Mondays-Thursdays 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

• Cost: $800 per month (billed over 10 months, August through May)

PUSD has expanded its esteemed Early Intervention Preschool Program at Havens by offering children who are 3 or 4 but who do not meet TK-age eligibility an opportunity to attend PUSD as a preschooler.

PIP is a nurturing, play-based, sensory-enriched preschool that fosters inclusivity and promotes the holistic development of all children. First and foremost, our classroom is play-based. We structure each week’s art, music, storytimes, and circle-time activities around a theme (e.g., “dinosaurs,” “outer space,” “rainbows,” “families,” “seasons,” “bugs,” and “alphabet.”).

Our program is designed to build children’s:

• Language and vocabulary

• Social-emotional development

• Social and play skills

• Self-care and school readiness skills

• Gross and fine motor development

• Pre-academic skills

• Self-regulation skills

[SUBMIT INTEREST HERE]

Benefits of attending an inclusive preschool:

• Excellent adult to student ratios (1:4)

• Exceptionally qualified and trained staff and specialists in the classroom

• Through meaningful interactions and shared experiences, children will learn the value of acceptance, empathy, and respect for diversity in others

Please save the date for the first DEIB book club meeting. We will be reading and discussing Do the Work!: An Antiracist Activity Book by W. Kamau Bell and Kate Schatz on January 22nd at a place TBD. More details to come, but if interested please get the book and start reading. For questions feel free to reach out to Sean Bartmasser at bartmasser@gmail.com.

ATTENDANCE REPORTING

1. Please report your student's absence or tardiness - and include the reason.
2. You are welcome to email your teacher, but you must also report by either calling

(510) 594-2719 or emailing: wwdattendance@piedmont.k12.ca.us

INVITATIONAL: DONATE FOR ABSENCES

1. Parents, please remember that if your child needs to be out of school, you can submit
   donations for the lost revenue.
2. Each day that a student is out of school (for any reason, including illness) means a loss of
   revenue in the following amounts per day:

K-3rd Grade = $61.32 - 4th-5th Grade = $56.39

• Wildwood School Calendar
• Hot Lunch Order (pw: Wildwood)
• Attendance Reporting

WHATNOT submission requests must be received by Tuesday at 12:00 PM,
whatnot@piedmont.k12.ca.us