May 5, 2021

Back to All Updates

Dear SFUSD Families:

This week is National Teacher Appreciation week, and I invite you to join me in celebrating the teachers we have in San Francisco public schools—not only this week—but all year long. During this past school year, teachers have found ways to connect with students despite numerous obstacles, and continue to guide our children through difficult experiences. Teacher Appreciation Week is a chance for us to reflect on what more we can do to support our educators right here in San Francisco. Let’s give our teachers the huge appreciation they deserve!

Please keep reading today’s digest for important updates.

Return Safely Updates

SFUSD has welcomed over 19,000 students back to in-person learning since April 12, 2021, and is exploring the possibility of offering limited in-person opportunities for additional high school seniors who are not in focal populations before the end of this school year. Connection, learning and health remain as our top priorities during the Return Safely Together effort. Continue reading for more updates.

• SFUSD has sent an interest survey to families of high school seniors regarding their interest in returning to limited in-person activities for a few weeks this spring. Review the Question of the Week section for more information.
• SFUSD remains committed to a full, 5-day return to in-person learning for Fall 2021 and is also planning to offer virtual learning options for students. State and local reopening plans and public health guidance have a significant impact on SFUSD’s Fall 2021 reopening plan.
• On May 4, 2021, SFUSD presented a Budget Update Regarding Learning Recovery Funds at the Board of Education Committee of the Whole meeting. This is a preliminary set of information to situate learning recovery within various SFUSD workstreams in response to data and stakeholder feedback and to review a summary of Learning Recovery funds and intended uses.

Distance Learning Updates

SF Loves Learning

SF Loves Learning invites you to explore many segments celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Many segments this month are also responding to science questions we’ve received from students, such as, “Why is the sky blue?” You can find videos about student questions and our most recent full episodes on our website. Segment highlights from this week are below. 

Tell us what you think about SF Loves Learning! Please take a moment to fill out our Family Feedback Form.

This week’s theme is Students’ Questions. Check out these segments that are airing this week:

• Fog (Lesson): Maestra Meza revisits a fog experiment from season 2 where we create fog with steam and ice as we continue to talk about the sky this week. (May 6)
• Eight Planets (Music): Jordan Li, Ruth Asawa student, sings about the 8 planets in our solar system. (May 4)
• Tiny T. Rex and the Very Dark Dark (Read Aloud): Tiny T. Rex and his friend Pointy are having a campout in the backyard! It is what best friends do. But without their nighty-lights, the dark outside suddenly seems VERY dark . . . and very full of spooky things. Good thing Tiny has a super-secret plan to keep the dark at bay! (May 6)
• Heritage and Wholeness (Movement): May is both a time to honor Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage and raise Mental Health Awareness—but did you know these two themes make an important connection? Explore the significance of understanding one's cultural identity and its relationship to mental well-being through movement with Ms. Sammay! (May 7)
• Discovery with BADM: Flower Dissection (Community): Ruben takes apart, or dissects, a flower piece by piece to observe the different parts. (May 3)
• Did you know? Addition and word problems (Community): When you ask questions that use addition, you help your child solve word problems. Word problems build logic and creative thinking. (May 5)

You can watch any content from the show in these ways:

• Segments Library: Find any segment (read aloud, daily lesson, music, movement, community)!
• YouTube channel: Subscribe to this channel, explore the playlists, and receive notifications when new content is published.

SF Loves Learning airs every weekday, 8:30-9am on KTVU Plus and any time at sfusd.edu/sfloveslearning.

School Meal Updates

Grab & Go Meals Reopened at Gordon Lau

• The Grab & Go meal pickup at Gordon Lau Elementary has reopened! Free meals are available for children. Adults can pick up.
  • For students attending in-person learning, review this Grab & Go Meals Guide to know which day(s) you can pick up meals.
  • Tuesdays 2:00-3:30 p.m.: Open to SFUSD students and siblings. Pick up 5 days’ worth of meals, including breakfast, lunch, supper, fresh fruits and vegetables, and milk is available.
  • Thursdays 2:00-3:30 p.m.: Open to all children 18 and younger. Pick up 2 days’ worth of meals, plus snacks, fresh fruits and vegetables, and milk is available.
  • Full menus are listed at sfusd.edu/menus
• What to bring (this information is also listed at sfusd.edu/schoolfood)
  • To pick up meals for SFUSD students:

• Barcode for student meal account. Printed or on your smartphone. Click here for a How To Video.
• If you do not have the barcode, please bring one of the following: student ID card, meal account pin number, direct certification letter, eligibility letter, or 20-21 school placement letter.

• To pick up meals for siblings not enrolled in SFUSD:

• School-age children: school enrollment letter or student ID card
• Younger children: provide the child's birthdate to receive an orange grab-and-go card

• To pick up meals for a child 18 and younger (who is not enrolled in SFUSD, and is not a sibling of an SFUSD student):

• Provide the child’s first name, last name, and birthdate to receive a yellow grab-and-go card

School Lunch Hero Day

• School Lunch Hero Day is this Friday, May 7. It’s time to remind our food heroes and sheroes how special they are. Join us in saying “Thank You!” to all our dining staff and food delivery drivers! 

• SFUSD dining staff are using their superpowers to serve meals in completely new ways to help meet the need of feeding San Francisco’s children:
  • 10 Grab & Go meal pick up sites are open across the city serving bags of food for the week
  • A healthy lunch and snacks are offered daily to students attending in-person school
  • Door to door delivery is cooked and delivered to over 300 distance learners
  • All together we have provided over 6.5 million meals to San Francisco’s children since the pandemic!

• Get creative and celebrate School Lunch Hero Day in any of these ways:

• Make a thank you card in any language! Drop off at a Grab & Go meal site tomorrow May 6. Locations at sfusd.edu/schoolfood OR give to the Dining Staff at your school on Friday May 7.
• Post a photo or video on social media for #SchoolLunchHeroDay on Friday May 7. Tag us @sfusdschoolfood.

Wellness Tip

What Caring Adults Need To Know

Returning to our pre-pandemic routines can be clunky or unfamiliar. California’s Surgeon General, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, gave us a playbook at the beginning of the pandemic and it still holds true for how we return to school. She suggests these stress busting ideas for kids that help with the return to school: 

Stress-Busting for Kids (page 3):

• Step 1: Talk about what’s going on

• Step 2: Keep kids connected to their networks

• Step 3: Build a routine for you and your family

• Step 4: Keep to your routine

Strategies for Kids (page 5)

1. Supportive Relationships

2. Exercise Daily

3. Healthy Sleep

4. Nutrition

5. Mental and Behavioral Health Support

6. Mindfulness, Meditation, Prayer 

You can use this self-care template for kids (on page 7) to help your family set goals together to support your overall health.

Tech Tip

Family Webinar: Get the Most Out of a Chromebook!

• Join us for a live family webinar called “Get the Most Out of Your Chromebook” on Thursday, May 13, from 4 to 5 p.m..
• Learn how to manage bandwidth and optimize Chromebook performance, customize settings and use the accessibility features, translate documents and other text, use voice typing, and more!
• Register for the Zoom link!

Question of the Week

I heard about the High School Seniors In-Person Interest Survey. Who was it for?

This survey is for high school seniors (i.e., students in Grade 12) who were not already surveyed in prior phases.

Do high school seniors have to respond to the survey to be included in the in-person graduation ceremonies held for seniors on June 1-3?

No. This survey is not related to in-person graduations. This survey applies to activities that may be offered for a few weeks before graduation. 

To learn more about the surveys, including how responses will be used for planning purposes, review these FAQs.

Bright Spot

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! I love seeing all the ways that school communities are celebrating their teachers. Who were the teachers who made an impact on your life? What are some ways you can share your gratitude? Talk with your family, friends and coworkers about you or your children’s favorite SFUSD teachers, and share your stories on social media using the hashtag #SFLovesTeachers.

Warm regards,

Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews