Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy

Dear SFUSD Community: As we head into the weekend, I want to take a moment to let you know how much I appreciate all that you’re doing right now. As a parent myself, I know this is a difficult time for children and families alike. Though insufficient given the circumstances, I hope the resources and information we’re sharing with you are helpful. We at SFUSD have three priorities while schools are closed: to ensure that your child has access to school meals, to provide your children with continued learning opportunities, and to offer your children as many of the support services they normally receive at school as possible. Please watch this 3 minute video about our priorities.

Updates

Distant Learning Plan

We have a handy visual online to accompany our distance learning plan. It helps explain our distance learning phases.

• Phase 1 provided activities to engage students at home with no to few additional resources needed, as families adjusted to being sheltered in place.
• Phase 2, which began March 25, provides additional at home options for learning that include a variety of subject areas and more support for our English learners, students with disabilities and diverse populations. Learning activities can be found on the district’s Continuity of Learning website.
• Phase 3, beginning April 13, will consist of teacher-led, interactive distance learning.

Technology Access

While schools are temporarily closed, SFUSD is working to provide access to technology for students in need, to the greatest extent possible, to support the continuity of learning.

Need a device?

• SFUSD students in grades 3-12 who do not have access to a computer during the day at home to support distance learning can borrow one from SFUSD.
• All devices will be on loan to families and will need to be returned to SFUSD when the district reopens. There is a limit of one device per student.

How to borrow a device during Spring Break

• Students who have completed SFUSD’s Distance Learning Device Request form, or have been in touch with your school about your computer needs, can pick up a Chromebook during Spring Break at one of our centralized pickups starting on Tuesday, March 31 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a staggered schedule based on the student’s last name.
• For more information on pickups, including locations, pickup times, and what you need to bring, visit the Technology for Families Resources site under “Need a device?”

Need help connecting to the Internet?

• View our list of resources to get online at home.

The best way to update your contact information and to ensure you receive district and school phone, email and text notifications is through your Family Portal (ParentVUE) account.

Starting Monday, March 30 and running through May 1, free grab and go meals will be available only on Mondays and Wednesdays between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. at these 16 sites. We have reduced the number of days families have to leave their homes to get food, but the amount of food each family receives will remain the same. Also, parents no longer have to bring their children to pick up the meals.

Welcome to Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy! You’re about to join a great little school in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood.

Kindergarten is coming closer and it’s time to register for your assignment school. Due to COVID-19 families can respond to their offer online or via mail. Please do not come to the school. The deadline to register is April 10, 2020.

Online: Sign onto ParentVue to accept or reject your school assignment. If you need an activation code, a letter should have been mailed to your home on March 16th. If you have not received your activation code, please call the EPC at 415-241-6085.

By Mail: Please complete the tear-off response sheet that was included in your offer letter and mail to “Educational Placement Center, 555 Franklin Street, Room 100, San Francisco CA 94102″.Mail must be postmarked by April 10, 2020. EPC will email you after we have received your response.

For more information go to our Welcome New Families! page.

Beginning March 17, SFUSD will provide free breakfast and lunch to all children 18 and younger.

18 sites will be open Monday through Friday 9-10 a.m. to pick-up breakfast, lunch, fresh fruit, vegetables and milk to take home.

No identification or proof of school enrollment is required, but a child must be present. Shelf-stable meals will also be available. Families will not need to enter the school building for pick-up.

Also, beginning Monday, March 16, 2020, recreation centers and libraries will close to the public and operate as emergency care facilities for children of front line workers and low-income families.

More information is available here
https://www.dcyf.org/care

SFUSD has announced that all SFUSD schools will be closed from Monday March 16 to Friday April 3. Please visit the SFUSD website for all the latest information.

Stay Informed

If you have not done so already, activate your Family Portal (ParentVUE) account today and update your contact information to ensure you receive district and school notifications. SFUSD are mailing home activation codes with instructions on how to sign up the week of March 16th.  Questions? Please fill out this form bit.ly/familyportalhelp

For the most recent updates and resources from SFUSD regarding the virus please visit our website. As this is a rapidly changing situation, we will be updating information on our website frequently.

Talking to kids about the virus

If you are unsure how to discuss what’s going to with your children, the CDC and SFUSD recommend this article:

https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NASN/3870c72d-fff9-4ed7-833f-215de278d256/UploadedImages/PDFs/02292020_NASP_NASN_COVID-19_parent_handout.pdf

Drag Show

We have taken the decision to postpone the drag show following advice from SFUSD and Public Health recommendations to avoid bringing large groups of people together. The new date is May 16^th. With the current school budget cuts proposed, this fundraiser is even more important than ever. Keep supporting and donating to your favorite contestant therefore https://canyoudrag.com/contestants/ More details will follow.

Tuesday, February 18 – Thursday, February 27, 2020

From February 18-27, students will record their minutes reading (in class and anywhere else!).  Every day from Feb. 19-28th, students who read the day before can put a raffle ticket in the bucket at morning circle to try to win prizes from local bookstores.

This year we will continue our Civil Rights Leaders theme. Every school day, the entire school will be learning about a different civil rights leader. We’ll kick it off with a short biography of the day’s leader at morning circle, followed by further reading in each classroom. We will be looking for parents to come in and read to their kid’s classes, so look for an email from your room parent to come spend some time during Read-A-Thon.

Download the 2020 Read-A-Thon Kit

How to Participate

Find Sponsors
Ask family, grandparents, and family friends to sponsor your reading by the minute or just a total dollar amount (a fixed dollar amount is easier to collect!). Use the “Sponsors” form provided, then ask sponsors to donate here.

Read and Log Your Minutes
From Tuesday, February 18, through Thursday, February 27, record every minute you read on the “Your Minutes” form.  Classroom and homework reading count.  Being read to counts.  Comic books, magazines, newspapers, and picture books count.

Daily Raffle
When you read, fill out an “I Read Yesterday” raffle ticket and add it to the raffle bucket at morning circle.  Submit one ticket per student per day. From Wednesday, February 19, to Friday, February 28, prizes will be awarded every morning!

Turn In Your Forms
When the Read-a-thon ends, turn in your “Sponsors” and “Your Minutes” forms to your classroom teacher. Remember to put your name and room number on them and have parent signatures or initials where needed. Take a picture for your own records if necessary!

Collect Pledge Payments
After the event, ask your sponsors to submit their pledge payments by Friday, April 5. New for this year: all pledge payments should be submitted by credit or debit card at harveymilksf.com/readathon/. Because Harvey Milk PFC is a 501(c)(3) charity (Tax ID 46-5672780), all pledge payments are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law and donation receipts will be issued for credit or debit card payments.

Dear Harvey Milk CRA Families,

Our annual in-house community survey is ready to go! This survey is conducted once per year by the School Site Council (SSC).

Our in-house survey is one of the most important tools at HMCRA to help us plan for the future. The combination of surveys from teachers, staff, families and students provides valuable insights into our school programming, operations, culture and climate. It informs our practices, provides longitudinal data and influences our decision-making. I do read every single comment so your feedback is very much appreciated.

Please complete the HMCRA Community Survey linked below by Friday, February 14th.

Please complete one survey per household (If you are part of a two household family, please complete two surveys).  
HMCRA Community Survey

As you may recall, there are 2 surveys that families must complete every year. Our “in-house” survey (used by the SSC, the PFC, and me) is the first, followed by an official SFUSD survey in March/April.

As always, please feel free to let me know if you have any questions, concerns, comments, or celebrations!

Happy Surveying,
Ron Machado
Principal
Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy

Saturday, February 8, 5p-8p
Flying Pig Bistro Pub, 433 S Van Ness Ave

Save the date for an all-school Parents Night Out! Join your fellow HMCRA parents for an evening of good food, good beer and great company at the Pub of one of our Harvey Milk families (a suggested donation of $20 includes chili, salad and a drink). Volunteers are needed to bring food, so please sign up here…food volunteers get 2 free tickets!

If you’d like to come, but will need childcare, please email vicepresident@harveymilk.com so we can get numbers to the YMCA staff.

Hope to see you at this fun, adult-only (21+) night!

HMCRA’s annual toy drive for kids in need runs this year from December, 2 – December 19. Please bring new, unwrapped toys for children 0-17 (teens love gift cards!) to morning circle or the big toy barrel in the office. Thank you in advance!

 

This is the School Site Council Parent and Community Members Ballot. The School Site Council (SSC) collaborates to develop and implement Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy’s Academic Plan and budget. The Academic Plan highlights the specific goals and activities for the school in the following areas: school safety; parent involvement; instructional practice; student equity; and academic achievement.

Please take a moment to vote for 2 of the 3 people below to serve on the School Site Council. The term of office is 2019-2021. You may only submit ONE ballot per parent/guardian. Please complete this survey online or print it and return it by Friday, November 15, 2019, to your classroom teacher or to the office. Thank you!

To vote for two members, please check the box before his or her name, or write in a candidate at the bottom of the list.

About the Candidates:

What is your greatest priority for improving education at HMCRA?

Rui Ewald:  To promote a strong parent community with the aim to ensure continuity of the great progress made over the past 3 yrs. principals may come and go but the quality of the school’s education should remain steady .

Avinia Rucker: My biggest priority would be improving the schools overall math and reading proficiency.

Janette Fernandez: My priorities are the Math and science areas. I think Reading and Writing already have a good foundation and structure. Social Justice is also very much on track. I think that some changes like STEM programs can improve our Math curriculum.

How do you see yourself representing the parent population if you serve on the Site Council?

Rui Ewald: I want to donate my time in whatever way might be most needed by the school. Ultimately I want to donate my time and skills in a way that can benefit the community

Avinia Rucker: As a parent I know we all want the best for our kids, unfortunately in San Francisco supporting our children’s education can be a financial burden. I want to make sure our kids get the best possible education that everyone can be proud of.

Janette Fernandez: My involvement in Events and Tour committees for the last 2 years has let me know parents from different groups around the school. This will allow me to represent different voices from our community.

To vote for two members, please check the box before his or her name, or write in a candidate at the bottom of the list. The Ballot can be found here

Join the Harvey Milk community in the school cafeteria for a family-friendly movie night next week! We will feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse on Friday Nov. 15th at 6:00 pm. We will have drinks, Popcorn, Hot-dogs, mac and cheese and ice cream. If you can, please volunteer to help clean up after the movie.