Will Rogers Roundup
FEBRUARY 2, 2026
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Dear WRLC Parents and Guardians,
It’s hard to believe, but this Tuesday marks the 100th day of school—what an exciting milestone for our students!
This Friday, your child will bring home their standards-based report card for your review. Our teachers take great care and time in preparing these reports, which are designed to offer you a window into how your child is progressing toward grade-level standards. As you review the report card, we encourage you to be thoughtful about how you share this information with your child. We always emphasize learning and growth over scores. For our younger students, general statements about areas of strength and growth are a wonderful place to start. If you choose to share marks with older students, please remember to emphasize that this is a mid-year report. This is a great opportunity to empower students to set achievable goals, such as nightly reading or additional practice with multiplication facts.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher—they are always happy to discuss your child’s progress. You can also find more information about how to interpret the report cards by using the provided link. Explanation of Marks Letter to provide to parents.
As we enter February, it’s a wonderful time to reset and remind ourselves of the importance of kindness. Next week, we will participate in a school-wide Random Acts of Kindness Challenge, with daily opportunities for students to practice thoughtful and caring actions. Thank you for supporting our efforts to build a kind and connected community.
As we prepare for Valentine’s-themed activities, please note that students may not bring candy with Valentine’s cards. We warmly welcome small gifts of kindness such as pencil toppers, stickers, or other school supplies. This helps ensure our celebrations are inclusive, especially for students with allergies or dietary restrictions.
We’ll kick it all off this Friday with our annual PTA sponsored Family Dance! We hope you’ll be able to join us—it’s always a fun and joyful event for everyone.
Together for Will Rogers,
Principal Daruty
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Tues. 2/3 100th Day of school!
Wed. 2/4 Math Club @7:45 a.m room 508
Wed. 2/4 PTA Association Meeting @ 6:00 -7:30 p.m. in the library
Thurs. 2/5 Bozin Shadow Puppet Presentation @ 9:00 a.m.
Thurs. 2/5 Burrows Shadow Puppet Presentation @ 2:15 p.m.
Fri. 2/6 School-wide Assembly @ 9:45 a.m.
Fri. 2/6 King- Shadow Puppet Presentation @10 a.m.
Fri. 2/6 Standards Based Report Cards go home with students at dismissal!
Fri. 2/6 Family Dance @6:00p.m. in the auditorium
Mon. 2/9 WRLC Student Council Spirit Week!
Mon. 2/9 Random Acts of Kindness Challenge Week
Wed. 2/11 Math Club in room 508 @ 7:45 a.m.
Thurs. 2/12 Earthquake Drill @ 2:00 p.m.
Thurs. 2/12 5th grade parent planning committee@ 6:30 p.m. via zoom
Fri. 2/13 5th Grade SMC Dance Performance @1:30 p.m. ( see suggested student dress below)
Mon. 2/16 NO SCHOOL President's Day
Wed. 2/18 Math Club in room 508 @ 7:45 a.m.
Wed. 2/18 PTA Executive Board Meeting @ 6:00 p.m.
Tues. 2/19 ELAC Meeting @ 8:30 a.m. in the library
Thurs. 2/19 SSC Meeting @ 3:10 p.m. via zoom
Fri. 2/20 Peacemaker Meeting Group #1 @ 9:00 a.m.
Mon. 2/23 School Tour
Mon. 2/23 KRUMP Dance Assemblies ( 8:30-10 a.m. schedule TBD)
Tues. 2/24 UCLA Dental Students Visit 1st grade @ 1:00 p.m.
Wed. 2/25 Math Club in room 508 @ 7:45 a.m.
Wed. 2/25 Fire Drill @ 9:30 a.m.
Thurs. 2/26 5th Grade Living Museum Parents Welcome (schedule TBD)
Fri. 2/27 Peacemaker Meeting Group #2 @ 9:00 a.m.
IB Learner Profile for January is: INQUIRERS
Students who are INQUIRERS are curious about the world. They can conduct research independently. They love learning and discovering new things and will carry this love of learner with them throughout life.
How can parents develop students who are inquirers at home?
- Encourage areas of your child’s interest by visiting the library to borrow books that explore these topics.
- Develop an understanding of the websites and internet informational resources. Work with your son or daughter when the Internet is being used and try to instill the understanding that some Internet sites are not reputable.
- Model being and inquirer. Admit when you don’t know the answer to a problem or a question and seek out answers in front of your child.
Bilingual Community Liaison - Welcome Nallely
ABOUT Nallely:
I am Nallely the community liaison that will be assisting at WRLC. I am a mother of 3 (Recent Grad from UCI -Mrs. Gonzales’ former student, a 5th grader and a 3rd grader at Edison). I am a product of what is now called the immersion program. I am a Zapotec indigena who speaks Zapotec, Spanish and English. My husband is a former Roger’s student and we have been part of this community before we left to college and came back. We lived in Monterey County for 15 years and we have now been back for about 11 years. I worked for UFW and Dolores Huerta Foundation, and as a medical interpreter for the farm workers in the county. Just a little intro to who I am.
Currently, I will share time between WRLC and LMS. I will be in in room 501B. Please feel free to stop by so I can meet you! I hope to meet you all little by little. Just because I am not on campus daily, doesn’t mean you cannot reach me. You can send me an email and I will get back to you or come see you on the days that I am on WR’s campus.
My schedule beginning Feb 2nd will be as follows:
Monday, Wednesday- Will Rogers
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday- Lincoln
Hours: 8:30 am-5:0pm.
Please do not hesitate to email me or call me at any point and leave a message. I am fast on email but will get back to your phone call pretty fast.
Nallely Gutiérrez
Bilingual Community Liaison
n.gutierrez@smmusd.org
DONATE TO SMEF TODAY!
Why give — even a little? Because when everyone chips in, every kid benefits.
Thank you to the entire Rogers community for supporting the Ed Foundation's January campaign blitz that ended yesterday. It's important that everyone knows how Ed Foundation donations support Rogers' students directly and ultimately factor into our school's annual budget. As of Saturday, we were 6 families away from hitting our goal and unleashing the water balloon Splash Zone celebration at an outdoor assembly. The number of families that contribute at any level is important to securing big corporate donors. At Rogers, the money we receive goes toward budgeting how many IA's are in classrooms to help teachers, how many P.S. Arts classes we have with Ms. Heather, Regenerative Farm teaching, paying for our students' musical instruments and staff, mental health resources, and so much more. Thank you to our incredible community for absorbing multiple messages last week, and working together to make our student's experience the best it can be! When everyone pitches in a little, all students benefit in a big way.
💦 Hit the goal = SPLASH ZONE!
If we reach our school-wide goal, Principal Daruty and teachers will take a seat in the Splash Zone at an outdoor assembly — and students get to soak them with water balloons! The more families who participate, the bigger the splash.
• Top grade level (by participation) gets first toss
• Reach 60 families = up to 2 minutes with the giant hose
• Reach 100 families = Principal Daruty gets the ice bucket finale!🪣❄️
Ultimate goal: End the year as the school with the highest participation and land the Golden Airplane at Rogers.
The sky’s the limit — let’s make it happen together!
Don’t miss Dr. Shelton’s video announcement at the bottom of our linked email introducing the Golden Plane Award. Thank you for helping motivate and inspire our families to participate.
🎨 ART CART is Back! 🎨
We’re excited to announce the return of ART CART at lunchtime! Starting this year, students can enjoy creative art projects and hands-on crafts every:
- Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. for grades 1st-5th
- Fridays from 11:30 -12:45 p.m. for grades TK/K
ART CART offers students a chance to express their creativity, relax, and connect with others—all thanks to the support of our incredible WRLC Wellness Team of counselors. We need your help!
Many hands make light work, and we’re looking for parent volunteers to help supervise and support our young artists. If you’re interested in volunteering on Mondays or Fridays, please email Mariela at mmartinez@sewi.org.
Volunteer Requirements:
-
Level 1 volunteer clearance
-
Willingness to supervise students using art tools and materials safely
-
Enthusiasm for working with children
-
A love of crafts, creativity, and fun!
Let’s make lunchtimes a colorful, creative experience for all our students!
Please do not forget to send with your child every day:
- School materials including books, homework, projects, etc.
- Re-fillable water bottle ( We have several refilling stations on campus)
- A morning snack
- Lunch is available to all students free of charge. You may also pack a lunch from home.
- Sunscreen (put on prior to arriving at school)
- Hat
- Layers of clothing (sweatshirt, windbreaker, etc.) Keep an eye on the weather.
- A growth mindset for a successful day!
LUNCH MENU
Breakfast and lunch are free for all students! Make a plan with your child each week about the days they will be eating food prepared at school or bringing lunch from home.
https://www.smmusd.org/domain/476
We encourage you to pack a snack for your children for morning recess.
Please send your child to school with a re-fillable water bottle! We have water stations located throughout campus.
WRLC REGENERATIVE FARM
JOIN the Parents/Guardians Regenerative Farm Committee that we are forming for the 2025-26 school year. The Committee's tasks are to:
- Support the stewardship of the Regenerative Farm.
- Help organize the Regenerative Farm Events ready in the school calendar (monthly Family Farming Days, Earth Week Farming Day), in addition to organizing harvests and other school community engagement activities.
For any questions, contact:
Paola Vezzulli, Program Director - Regenerative Initiatives [Cayton Children's Museum] email: pvezzulli@caytonmuseum.org
WRLC is an International Baccalaureate Primary Years School (PYP)
As an International Baccalaureate Programme School, we believe there is a broad range of capacities and responsibilities that go beyond academic success. We make a commitment to help all members of the school community learn to respect themselves, others and the world around them. We do this through the development of students according to the IB learner profile. The profile aims to develop learners who are:
Inquirers
Knowledgeable
Thinkers
Communicators
Principled
Open-minded
Caring
Risk-takers
Balanced
Reflective
The IB Mission Statement
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
Contact Us
Email: ldaruty@smmusd.org
Website: https://rogers.smmusd.org
Location: 2401 14th Street, Santa Monica, CA, 90406
Phone: 310-452-2364