Welcome Back Families08/09/2022
Dear Redding Families, I hope this summer was a great time for you and your family and it finds you all healthy. It is a great honor that I am writing this message to welcome our families back to school. When I was a child, my Mom would take us to Dickers Department Store and get a few outfits for my brother and I. Walking into the crowded store and making our way through the racks of hanging wardrobe possibilities marked the beginning of the anticipation about the start of school. There are many times when I think about the days when I was the chubby faced kindergartener walking into Cypress School. I can tell you stories about the first days of school each year. Those first impressions: the new teacher or new classmates; the disappointment of not being in the same class with your best friend; the smell of freshly waxed floors and the brand new recess equipment. There is nothing like the start of a new school year. Welcome to all of our students and families to the 2022-2023 school year. It will be another great year. Learning Continues This Summer This summer, we hosted a summer school program for our students at Turtle Bay School. We had over three hundred students each day who received quality instruction as well as fun activities. All students were able to participate in field trips each week to Cinemark movies, Viking Skate Country, Waterworks Park, and Turtle Bay Exploration Park. A fantastic time was had by all. Thanks to the staff for making it a great experience for our students. Our Robotics camp was also hosted at Turtle Bay this year. We had 25 students from around the Redding District who built their robot, problem-solved solutions, and programmed their innovations in order to overcome obstacles. This fun personal competition format was amazing to experience. Juniper, Sequoia, and Turtle Bay Schools are all planning to have robotics programs this coming year. Band Camp was another great time for our students within the New Music Studies Center at Sequoia Middle. Deb Wiseman and her team of musicians hosted nearly 80 students who were able to hone their skills with personal instruction and practice. Great chance for many to pick up a new instrument to learn. The concerts at the end of the week were amazing. Our Spanish Bilingual Dual Immersion Program at Sycamore has sent the first group of Biliterate fifth grade students on to Sequoia this year. We have a fully credentialed Shasta High School District Spanish teacher adding a high level Spanish course for these advanced students. The implementation of Computer Science instruction at Manzanita, Juniper, Bonny View, and Sequoia is continuing under Mr. Selke’s guidance. I know he has more exciting curriculum developed for the coming year. The district has added another music teacher for our schools this year. With this new teacher we will be adding some new features within our music offerings across the district and at Sequoia’s new Music Studies Center Facility. 2022-2023 School Year We want to serve your child this coming school year. Even with our recent events and current health requirements and protocols, we have so much to celebrate across our schools – none of which would be possible without the unwavering support of our community, including our parents, teachers and staff, business owners, elected officials and everyone who champions public education. Keeping our students in schools learning and safe is always the goal. This year we will continue to have some health protocols in place. This will allow us to continue to have our mentors, parent volunteers, Foster Grandparent Program, music, sports, and field trips this year. It is through our strong partnership that we are transforming public education for our children and our community’s future. It is important to note that we are making a change this year for the safety of our students. All volunteers need to be fingerprinted. If you think you might volunteer on a field trip, help in your child’s classroom, be a camp counselor, or any other opportunity to work within our schools, you will need to be fingerprinted at our cost. That is correct, it is free to you. Please sign up with your school site for getting this done at the beginning of the year, even if you think you might not help until sometime in the later part of the year. See the schedule below. 8am-10am or longer if there are more applicants waiting to be fingerprinted. 8/30/22 Turtle Bay 1330 Arboretum Dr., Redding, CA 96003 8/31/22 Cypress 2150 Civic Center Dr., Redding, CA 96001 9/1/22 Juniper 375 Ellis St, Redding, CA 96001 9/2/22 Manzanita 1240 Manzanita Hills Ave, Redding, CA 96001 9/6/22 Sycamore 1926 Sycamore Dr, Redding, CA 96001 9/7/22 Sequoia 1805 Sequoia St, Redding, CA 96001 9/8/22 Bonny View 5080 Bidwell Rd., Redding, CA 96001 In-Person Instruction Continues: Redding School District will carry on with In-Person Schooling five days per week for the 2022-2023 school year. Here are the current guidelines and we will continue to monitor for any future changes: K-8 student/staff mask requirements are optional. Know that we have free masks if a student wants to wear one. Frequent hand washing/sanitizing Classrooms w/HEPA Air Purifiers Individual quarantining when symptoms are present and/or they test positive Contact school if your child is sick School arrival 15 min. before school - breakfast served in cafeteria All students continue to eat both breakfast and lunch at no cost Students report to classrooms unless they go to cafeteria first for breakfast During the school year you or your child may need to test for COVID-19. If you preregister at the link below, we can provide you with free take home tests. If you choose not to register, you can purchase your own-at-home test. Student Registration free take home test: https://my.primary.health/r/resd_2022?registration_type=student Parent Registration free take home test: https://my.primary.health/r/resd_2022?registration_type=community+members College Prep Academy Independent Study: Redding School District’s preeminent Independent Study Homeschooling option is still available. Some legislative changes now require opportunities for daily instructional contact with Kindergarten to third grade students as well as weekly contact with our older students. See the College Prep Academy website for more information. This fall, the schools will be scheduling their back to school nights to share the instructional programs and answer any questions. I hope to see everyone at one of these events so that I can personally thank you for your support and welcome you to our schools. Our partnership strengthens the educational value that your children receive for their future and for the Redding community. Take care and talk with you soon, Robert Adams Superintendent
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