Friday Notes 2/02/2024

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Friday Notes I February 2, 2024

A Message From Mr. Silva

Dear Foothill Families,

With re-enrollment contracts now distributed and increasing demand from prospective families, this is the time when we think most intensely about the Foothill experience, and why this significant investment is perhaps the best one family can make toward their child’s long-term prospects for leading a prosperous and meaningful life.

Nearly half of Foothill’s students begin their journey in our Seedling School. From the age of two, we engage children in learning experiences designed to nurture their innate curiosity about the world around them and foster skills of healthy social interactions within a diverse community. Simultaneously, the building blocks for the later pursuit of academic excellence begin to take shape so that, by the time Foothill students graduate 8^th Grade, they have formed the foundation in academic skills and social emotional competencies--grounded in character development--that will serve them over a lifetime of learning.

In between preschool and 8^th Grade, a staggering amount of development and growth occurs. Grades K-2 prioritize reading, writing, and mathematics--the pillars of a Foothill education--so students can begin the transition to the intermediate years of grades 3-5, where the curriculum becomes more challenging, and expectations increase for self-initiative, accountability, and time management. In Upper School (grades 6-8), high school is on the horizon, and the focus shifts to preparing students to apply their skills and concepts learned during earlier years to more complex material. Expectations increase for students to work collaboratively with others as they are presented with more opportunities--appropriate to the age--for self-discovery and the pursuit of individual interests. A few recent examples of Upper School opportunities come to mind when thinking about our students’ trajectory of growth and development over the years:

This weekend, one squad of Foothill’s championship Speech and Debate team will be hosting almost 400 competitors from over a dozen middle schools while the other will be competing in Orange County against the top teams from that region.
Our Junior Thespian Society is participating with 10 middle schools and 125 participants at the Junior Thespian Festival at Orange County School of the Arts. Affiliated with the International Thespian Society, Junior Thespians is an honor society for middle school students who “seek theatrical and leadership experiences that provide creative enrichment for students and teachers.” Foothill’s Thespians competed in the categories of solo musical, monologue, theatre marketing, and costume design.
Our recent national results from the American Math Contest 8 had 6 Foothill students place in the top 1% nationally and a strong showing of national honors recipients.

I hope you will join us in April (more information to follow) for a presentation on standardized testing data and what it suggests about the strengths of Foothill’s academic curriculum and why our graduates regularly gain acceptance to the top independent high schools in the region and across the nation, while others distinguish themselves at top public schools.

I wish you peace and good health, as we look for more rainbows this week. The photo at the top of this week's Notes was taken this afternoon by 8th grade student Sylvia Y.

Warmly,

Mike Silva, Head of School

Falcon News

King of the Hive: Spelling Bee Champion Crowned

Congratulations to Tammam N. (8th) who won the Foothill Country Day School Spelling Bee today! Tammam is pictured here with faculty "bee keepers", Viveka Christensen and Luivette Resto. Tammam won with the word fibbery. He will now advance within the Scripps National Spelling Bee system to an online test, hoping to qualify for the regional Bee.

In addition to Tammam, congratulations are in order for all our finalists who bravely competed on stage today, cheered on with posters from 6th grade, and encouragement from all: Katherine D. (6th), Owen H.(6th), Yusuf H.(6th), Ara L.(6th), Logan C. (7th), Jenay H. (7th), Jayden H. (7th), Brielle S. (7th), Sophia K. (8th), Layla R. (8th), and Jamie Z. (8th).

Bundle Up

Heavy rain is on the way!

Please be sure to send your child to school with a jacket, appropriate waterproof shoes, and an umbrella. There is a storm on the way to our area and we want our students to stay dry and cozy. Should the weather cause significant issues on campus, we will notify you via the new BrightArrow texting system. Did you miss signing up for that? Simply text YES to 79041 to opt-in to emergency notifications.

Cards and Letters for Mrs. Silva

Please join us in leaving "healing vibes" in the office!

Many of you have asked how you can express love and support for the Silva family, as Mike's wife Debbie recovers from surgery. Please feel free to leave cards, letters, short messages, or student drawings at Foothill's Main Office. A box has been placed near Mrs. Sanchez's desk to collect all the positive vibes, and they will be delivered to the Silva home.

Guest Chemistry Instructors Visit 3rd and 5th Grade

On Monday, the Chaffey College Chemistry Club stopped by to do some demonstrations. Our students learned how to burn money without destroying it, all about surface tension, giant bubbles, how to keep sand dry in water, how colors can be seen in å spectrometer, and light refraction (pictured at the top of this week's Notes as well!).

Show Your Foothill Love with Red Hoodies!

8th Grade Fundraiser

Back by popular demand, the 8th grade sweatshirt design is now RED. Proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit the Class of 2024. Don't forget: grown-ups can order too! We have plenty of adult sizes available, so order one for mom and dad!

Deadline: February 19

Cost: $50

Sizes: from Youth XSmall to Adult 4X!

ORDER NOW

Falcon Sports This Week

Basketball is conquering the competition so far, as the boys trounced Alta Loma last week. Go Falcons! Coming up this week:

Tuesday, February 6

8th Boys Basketball vs. Alta Loma 2 (HOME)

Thursday, February 8

Girls Basketball @ Water of Life

Secure Your Child's Place in Our Foothill Family Tree by Friday!

Sign Your Re-Enrollment Contract for Next School Year

Foothill and Seedling have sent an email with your re-enrollment contract for the 2024-2025 school year. To secure your child's spot for next year, please submit the re-enrollment contract by Friday, February 9th. If you have questions about enrollment or about logging in to SchoolAdmin, please contact Colette Sims, Director of Enrollment, at csims@foothillcds.org.

Dear Basketball

4th Grade Honors Kobe Bryant

Mrs. Coeyman's class centered their writing efforts on Kobe Bryant this week. She showed the students this short film (only about 5 minutes) called "Dear Basketball," which is Kobe Bryant's voice reading his poem titled "Dear Basketball."

It's an amazingly heartwarming and sad video, and of course, the 4-year anniversary of Kobe's death just passed on Friday, 1/26. 4th graders watched it twice in class and looked at the letter itself. Students then wrote a letter to their passion the way Kobe did, bringing goosebumps to their teachers. Here are just a couple examples of our children finding passion in life -- they were all beautiful!

Transporting Curiosity: 7th Grade Scientists Decode Exhaustion's Puzzle!

7^th grade scientists have been on a quest to decipher the mystery behind a 10-year-old's exhaustion. Anemia, asthma, diabetes, chronic pancreatitis—could one of these be the culprit, or is it something else entirely? In their pursuit of answers, our students have explored the intricacies of the circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems. Currently, our 7^th graders are diving deep into the fascinating world of cellular transport, studying how molecules move into and out of cells. Engaging in hands-on experiments, they explored osmosis by subjecting celery to different water environments, uncovering surprising results in distilled vs. saltwater scenarios. Not stopping there, these curious minds also experimented with salting eggplant, providing an additional perspective on osmosis. Under the microscope, they observed the effects of pond water vs. saltwater on elodea leaves, adding a microscopic dimension to their exploration. The scientific curiosity of our 7th graders knows no bounds as they unravel the complexities of the human body and cellular processes!

Valentine's Day Guidelines

Wednesday, February 14

Valentine's Day falls within International Days this year! Love around the world! Below are guidelines to help you and your student prepare:

Students may wear a red, pink, or white, non-uniform, Foothill-appropriate top with jeans on February 14. If they choose not to wear Valentine’s attire, they should wear their school uniform or cultural attire.

Valentine’s Day cards must be given to all classmates or none at all. A simple candy is allowed to be connected to the valentine.

Homeroom teachers and Upper School Deans will provide any additional grade-level specific guidelines to their room parents.

We ask that no gifts or gift bags are given; it should be just cards.

More details about Valentine’s Day will be coming soon from your child’s homeroom teacher and room parents.

It's Not too Early to Plan for Summer Experiences

Save the date: registration opens next Friday!

Foothill's Summer Experience has something for everyone this year! Academic programs, focussed enrichment classes, and a whole lot of fun! Programs are offered in one-week sessions, and you can customize your child's experience with a whole day of activities. Prices and class descriptions will be online Friday, February 9. For more information, check out www.foothillcds.org/Summer or email Todd Clark, Director of Auxiliary Programs at tclark@foothillcds.org.

2nd Grade is Shaking! Volcanoes and Earthquakes

In the 2nd grade earth science unit, students have been studying the three main types of earthquakes: composite, cinder cone and shield volcanoes. They also made, painted and erupted our own salt dough volcanoes! Salt dough is so easy if you want to make your own. Just combine flour, salt and water in a 2:1:1 ratio, so 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt and 1 cup of water!