Superintendent's Update - March 8, 2024
Superintendent's Update - March 8, 2024
From the Office of the Superintendent . . .
Board Agenda Calendar
View Calendar of Board Items 2023-24
Youth Mental Health First Aid Training for Parents and Caregivers
Wednesday, March 27, 2024, 5:00pm – 9:00pm
Youth Mental Health First Aid teaches adults how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders in youth. This 6-hour training gives adults who interact with youth the skills they need to reach out and provide initial support to children and adolescents (ages 6-18) who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem and help connect them to the appropriate care.
This is a free Zoom training for parents and caregivers, presented by the City of Palo Alto and Momentum for Health.
View more event details.
Register by email Kennya Rodriguez before Friday, March 15, 2024
Parent Education
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Gender Development in Childhood and Early Adolescence
Monday, March 25, 2024 / 6:30-8:00 pm
Sponsored by the PTAs of Barron Park, Ohlone, JLS, and Walter Hays
(Zoom link will be shared next week.)
Gender has morphed from Are you a boy or a girl? to a question that is much more complex. If you are hoping to more fully understand this changing landscape, join us for an informative session with Joel Baum, Director of Education at the Child & Adolescent Gender Center at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). He will help us become gender literate, from the importance of pronouns, to understanding what it means to be non-binary, to how gender develops, and how we can best support our children and their friends in being their most authentic selves. We will also have a parent perspective, a former student perspective, and time for Q&A. This is a webinar format, so attendance is anonymous. Submit questions here.
Parent Workshops
PAUSD co-hosted two parent workshops this past week –
- Fostering Teen Mental Health and Well-Being (Children's Health Council Presentation)
- Supporting Teens through Grief Presentation (Kara Presentation)
Visit our Mental Health Resources page additional resources.
Visual and Performing Arts
Bravo! to Gunn Chamber Orchestra and to Gunn Jazz Bands for their hard work and dedication to music! Read on to enjoy highlights from adventures in New York City and New Orleans!
Gunn Chamber Orchestra (Sandra Lewis & Tiffany Ou-Ponticelli, Directors) traveled to New York to perform at the Orchestra Cup, held at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. This National Orchestra Championships competition features top orchestras from across the country.
In the National Orchestra Cup competition, Gunn Chamber Orchestra won:
- 🏆 2024 Orchestra Cup GRAND CHAMPIONS
- ⭐ Best High Strings Soloist - Ian Cheung, Violin
- ⭐ Best Low Strings Soloist - Brandon Kang, Cello
- ⭐ Best Section - Gunn Chamber Orchestra, Violas 🎻
- ⭐ Most Original Selection - Gunn Chamber Orchestra’s performance of Vivian Fung’s Pizzicato.
Chamber Orchestra students also explored New York! Students visited the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Times Square, Central Park, Top of the Rock, cruised to the Statue of Liberty, and enjoyed Broadway shows Wicked and SIX .
Gunn Jazz Bands (Shawn McGinn, Gunn Jazz Director; Todd Summers, Gunn Band Director) traveled to New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, to perform at the 54th Annual Loyola University Jazz Festival. Both Jazz Bands performed at the festival, received adjudicator feedback and a clinic from world-class jazz musicians, and attended concerts by the Jazz Faculty and the University Jazz Ensemble.
The trip was packed with live jazz performances including: Private concert & evening public concert by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, dinner at The Maison with the Shotgun Jazz Band, and River Boat dinner cruise with the Dukes of Dixieland.
Students savored great Louisiana, New Orleans, and Cajun cuisine! They visited Mardi Gras World where one can view all of this year’s New Orleans Mardi Gras floats. The National World War II Museum and the New Orleans Jazz Museum were also on the itinerary.
Palo Verde Elementary School’s New Kitchen!
We are excited to share that Palo Verde Elementary School’s brand new kitchen will officially open on Wednesday, March 13. 2024. Also, since the kitchen has its own commercial dishwasher, Palo Verde will begin using reusable lunchware.
