The Walking School Bus Needs YOU to Walk This Thursday, October 27!
We’re taking photographs for Walking School Bus promotional materials and need walkers LIKE YOU! If it's your first time, refer to the Walk in Thursday maps (Glen Park or Noe Valley) or just meet at the St. Mary's Playground at 8 AM. Kids love it! Parents love it! You'll know that your feet directly contribute to decreasing SFS's carbon footprint. And don't forget to wear your Walking School Bus wind breaker. Ask Maggie if you don't have one already. Join us and say "cheese"!

Halloween Information – Celebrations Are This Friday, October 28
The general costume guidelines for all grade levels are:

• No weapons of any kind (swords, guns, light sabers, etc)
• SFS encourages homemade and creative costumes
• SFS discourages gender and ethnically stereotypical costumes

Please be considerate of the apprehensions of younger children when choosing the appropriateness of your mask or face paint (preschool no masks at all please). Students should not bring candy to school. (Some classrooms of course will have planned treats that day.) Parent visitors must park legally if hoping to visit.

Preschool Halloween Schedule: Halloween is celebrated in the morning from 9 – 10:30 AM. Students generally arrive at school in costume. Pack a bag with your child’s name on it containing regular clothes to change into at 10:30. Parents are invited and encouraged to visit until 10:30 if they would like.

Elementary/Middle School Halloween Schedule: Halloween is celebrated in the afternoon from 1-2:30 PM. Students arrive at school in regular clothes, with their costume in a bag marked with their name. Elementary students dress up after lunch and perform a special Halloween show in the music room from 1-1:30. From 1:30 to 2:30, middle school students run carnival booths and haunted house for elementary students

Middle School Halloween Dance
SFS Student Council will be sponsoring a Halloween Dance this Friday, October 28th from 7-9 PM, in the SFS Activity Room. Admission is $5 for students. Snacks will be provided and costumes are suggested but not required. Since this is the first dance for the 6th grade students, the dance will only include SFS students. There will be two adults from each grade and two teachers chaperoning. The dance is only for middle school students – no guests please! If you have any questions, please email Stewart (sdorsey@sfschool.org).

The Changing Role of Parents in the Middle School Years: A Middle School Parent Education Night
All middle school parents are invited to join SFS school counselor, Sue Porter, this Wednesday evening, October 26th, from 7-8:30 PM to discuss how the role of the parent shifts during the middle school years of the child. Bring your questions and anecdotes; we will meet in the Activity Room!

Help Spread the Word About SFS!
The San Francisco School admissions season is officially in full force. The best way for people to learn about our school is through word of mouth. Please help us spread the good word about our wonderful school! If you would like to pass out brochures and information to any groups or organization to which you belong, please contact Nina or Paloma for materials. Our website, www.sfschool.org/admissions, also contains a wealth of information about our school programs and philosophy as well as detailed information about the admissions process. Please have your friends and prospective parents email admissions@sfschool.org to get more information. You, as parents, are our best ambassadors. Please help us promote the school and bring in more amazing families!

SFS Athletics Apparel – Inventory and New Items Pre-Sale!
It’s that time of the year for our annual Fall Athletics Apparel Pre-Sale! We're offering zip hoodies, sweatpants, and long sleeve tees! Order forms are available on the Parents’ Bulletin Board across from the Front Desk. Images and sample sizes are available to preview here, and samples can be found on the Front Desk Bulletin Board. Please submit completed forms and payment by Wednesday, November 2nd. Support SFS and our Bears! For any questions, feel free to contact Athletic Director, Tiffany Fong (tfong@sfschool.org).

Lost and Not Yet Found!
Please encourage your child to check the Elementary/Middle School Lost & Found, or check yourself, for clothing, lunch boxes, and books. Lost & Found is currently located next to the Art Room Door and the rack is overflowing. Please LABEL all personal items and especially jackets and sweaters to help us get these items back to the rightful owners. We'll clear and donate clothing on Friday, October 28. (For Preschool Lost & Found, please check with the Preschool teachers).

We Need Your Help to Reach Our Walkathon Goal - Only $6,000 To Go!
To date we collected approximately $19,700 of our pledged Walkathon total amount of $25,700! Thank you for all the amazing pledges and donations that have been collected and turned in over the past couple of weeks!

All Donations Can Be Made Online!

Donations can be mailed to the school, turned in at the front desk, or donated directly online at www.sfschool.org/walkathon.

Tracking & Thanking Online Walkathon Donations
If you would like to track and thank your student’s online Walkathon sponsors, please contact Emily (egarlock@sfschool.org).

Receiving the Tuesday Note Home?
Are all parent/guardians in your household receiving the Tuesday Note Home? If not, please contact Emily (egarlock@sfschool.org) to get an email address added to the TNH distribution list.

Special Parent Education Event: Discussing Gender Identity with Your Child
As parents we may hear statements like, “Mommy, only girls do that”, or “I can’t play with him, he’s a boy”. These are the types of comments that children may make as they are trying to develop a sense of their own and others’ gender identity. Please join the Diversity Committee as we discuss and explore this topic together as parents.

Parent Education Night: Discussing Gender Identity with Your Child
Wednesday, November 9th, in the SFS Activity Room
5:30 PM – Potluck Dinner; 6 - 8:15 PM – Program

Childcare will be provided. $5 - 20 per family (sliding scale). Please sign-up at at your earliest convenience at the bulletin board across from the Front Desk or email frontdesk@sfschool.org. If you have any questions, please contact Chris Yin (cyin@lwhs.org) or Rita Abraldes (rita_abraldes@yahoo.com).

Here are some of the questions/issues we will be exploring together:

Strategies for Re-Thinking and Discussing Gender Issues

• Be proactive in your conversations, bring up topics of gender and gender identity; don’t wait for your child to bring it up or for an experience or incident to talk about.
• Ask your child(ren) what they think of as "boy" things or "girl" things, and then ask why they think of those things that way. See if there are things they like which are assigned to the opposite gender and talk to them about how it feels to be told they can't wear or do certain things.
• Question and explore your own biases. For example, how do you feel about boys wearing long hair? Girls who “dress like boys?” Girls playing football or boys wearing earrings or fingernail polish? What messages are you giving your child(ren) about how they and others express themselves?
  

A Post-Halloween Request – Save Those Candy Wrappers!
SFS staff member Jane Loeser is looking for any used candy wrappers from Halloween for an art project – specifically waxed wrappers like those from tootsie rolls, tootsie pops, maryjanes, bubblegum and candies that come in individually-wrapped squares. All wrappers can be placed in the marked box across from the Front Desk. Thanks in advance!

Parents Place Upcoming Workshops
Parents Place is offering the following upcoming workshop:

All About Boys! (all ages)
It’s 2011, and we want to raise our youngsters without gender stereotypes. If our daughters want to be theoretical physicists and our sons nurses, we want to do everything we can to encourage them. Still, it’s important to understand how the genders differ – particularly in their pace of development. Boys, for instance, generally develop verbal skills and impulse controls later than girls. During this workshop, we’ll address these differences in depth and discuss the best ways to support our sons to grow into responsible, mature men. With Robert Scott, MSW. Tuesday, November 1, 6 – 8 PM. $35. www.parentsplaceonline.org/san-francisco

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