Video from the Belmont-Redwood Shores School Board Candidate Forum

Hosted on Monday, September 23, 2013, this public forum was held by RSCA and the Belmont-Redwood Shores PTA in order to allow the community to get to know the candidates running for BRS School Board positions this November.

RSCA has posted a video of the event for residents who were not able to attend as well as those who were in attendance and would like a second look at this year’s seven candidates. The forum video runs through the opening statements and all questions asked to the candidates; due to technical difficulties, certain candidates’ closing statements were not available for this video and so all closing statements have been omitted from this posting to be fair to all the participants.

All candidates on the ballot were able to participate in this event. Candidates were seated according to randomized numbers; the names of those candidates are listed in the same order below (from left to right) to help you identify who is speaking throughout the presentation.

* Naomi Nishimoto
* Kelly Redmon
* Rakesh Hegde
* Chuck Velschow
* Amy Koo
* Survarna Bhopale
* Herb Neuman M.D.

Our moderator for the evening was Jim Hartnett a former mayor and city council member of Redwood City.

Thank you to all of the candidates for attending, thank you Mr. Hartnett for moderating the panel, and thank you for your interest in this important Belmont & Redwood Shores event.

School Board Candidate Forum

The Redwood Shores Community Association together with the Belmont Redwood Shores PTA council are sponsoring a public forum with the prospective school board candidates that are up for election in November.

Come and meet the candidates to hear their plans for the future of our school district. The candidates running for election are:

Survarna Bhopale
Rakesh Hegde
Amy Koo
Herb Neuman M.D.
Naomi Nishimoto
Kelly Redmon
Chuck Velschow

The forum will be held at Nesbit Elementary at 500 Biddulph Way in Belmont Ca 94002. It will start at 7 P.M on Monday, September 23rd.

In Memory of Connie Morgan

In memory of Connie Morgan, beloved Belmont Redwood Shores School District teacher for over twenty years, the Sandpiper PTA is accepting donations to purchase a mosaic tile bench to be placed in the school garden. The hand crafted bench will represent some of Mrs. Morgan’s passions in life: gardening, art, and children.

It has been said that a teacher takes a hand, opens a mind and touches a heart. Connie Morgan did all these with exuberance. She had an in incredible gift for being able to bring out the best in every child who crossed the threshold of her classroom door. All those who were lucky enough to be taught by Mrs. Morgan will remember her as a teacher who believed in them and prepared them for success in life. She always went above and beyond her teaching duties to ensure the happiness of not only her students and their parents, but also her colleagues.

She could often be seen on the Sandpiper campus in her paint splattered smock with a smile on her face as she prepared to teach the children about artists such as Van Gogh or Monet. Teaching brought her great joy.

Donations can be sent to:

Sandpiper School

c/o Lana Ferguson

801 Redwood Shores Parkway

Redwood City, CA 94065

Please make checks payable to Sandpiper PTA. The deadline to contribute is Friday, April 14, 2012.

“Yes, Your Teen is Crazy!”

The Carlmont Performing Arts Center Events hosts the Parent-Teacher-Student Association educational event “Yes, Your Teen is Crazy!”, an evening with with Dr. Michael J. Bradley.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 31st
7:00 PM
Carlmont Performing Arts Center
(1400 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont)
ADMISSION: Free for Carlmont PTSA Members, $5 for Non-Members

At this event, you’ll learn:

  • How the enigmatic teen brain works (and how it doesn’t work)
  • The Ten Commandments of Parenting
  • The three top ways to earn your kid’s respect (and the three worst ways to destroy it)
  •  Drugs — the DOs and DON’Ts
  • Sex and Dating — what every parent needs to know

The event will end with a Q&A session. “Yes, Your Teen is Crazy!” books will be available for sale at the event (10% of proceeds will be donated to the PTSA by The Reading Bug bookstore.)

ABOUT DR. BRADLEY: An expert on adolescent behavior, Dr. Michael J. Bradley, Ed.D. is frequently quoted in the press. He has also appeared on hundreds of TV and radio programs, including NBC’s Today Show, CNN World News Tonight, Pure Oxygen, and National Public Radio. He delivers speeches before national and state PTA conventions and many other parenting and professional groups. Dr. Bradley has received ten national publishing awards for his books.

Sandpiper Elementary Prepares for Potential Disaster

In January 2010, Sandpiper Elementary School’s principal, Ms. Linda McDaniel, created a Disaster Preparedness Committee (DPC) whose mission is to prepare the school campus and students for a potential disaster or other emergency. Ms. McDaniel and the committee’s chairperson, Ms. Kathy Lee, recruited members from a wide range of backgrounds. The committee includes Sandpiper teachers, PTA members, and Redwood Shores Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members, some of whom leverage their professional knowledge of radio communications, a physician, a fire captain, and a police officer.

The DPC quickly generated a plan of action for updating emergency supplies, developing procedures and logistics, and revising the school safety plan. Backpacks containing teacher support supplies (e.g., flashlights, gloves, first aid kit, student informational cards) were installed in every classroom. Lists of other emergency items such as water barrels, radios, tarps, crowbars, and sanitation supplies were compiled, in order to care for the students and independently maintain the school site for the state recommended 72 hours after a disaster.

Generous donations from the Sandpiper PTA and the Redwood Shores Community Association (RSCA) allowed initial purchases to be made, including a newly installed emergency supply shed. An earthquake/fire drill has been conducted, and a plan for parent reunification is almost complete.

A campus walkthrough with Captain Rick Kehr and his team from the RWC Fire Station 20 here in Redwood Shores helped to determine the most appropriate post-disaster meeting places, pickup areas and emergency vehicle logistics.

The DPC also established networking contacts with emergency and disaster preparedness officials in the Redwood City Fire Department, Belmont-San Carlos Fire Department, San Mateo County Office of Emergency Services, and other school districts.

Parents and community members are invited to make donations to the Sandpiper Disaster Preparedness Fund by writing a check payable to the “Sandpiper PTA” and dropping it off at the school office. Please be sure to write “DPC” on the memo line of your check.

The DPC is looking forward to continuing work on its multi-year plan to keep the Sandpiper community safe!

— Mike Mancusi

Oversight Committee Update on the New Redwood Shores Elementary School

On Tuesday, April 20, 2010, the Measure C Bond Oversight Committee held its regular quarterly meeting to review expenditures of the bond fund for the period ending March 31, 2010. Approximately $24 million (out of the revised budget of $25.5 million) has been expended or accrued to date. As previously reported in December, 2009, there is a funding deficit (projected to be $182K) which is a planned overrun related to the school board’s decision last October to construct two additional day care rooms for a not-to-exceed amount of $798K (using $615K of unallocated bond funds plus monies from the district’s Capital Facilities Fund 25). No issues were identified and the expenditures were accepted as presented.

The Bond Oversight Committee also met on Tuesday, May 18th, to prepare its Annual Report to the Board (as required by CA law) and delivered it on Thursday, June 3rd. The Committee found that, to the best of its knowledge, the District is in compliance with the requirements of the CA Constitution. In particular, bond revenue has been expended only for the purposes so described in Measure C (for construction of the new school). The full report is available on the District’s website ( http://brssd.org/oversightcommittees.html ).

Construction on the new school has been completed. Having passed all required inspections, the District officially “took possession”! However, the floor of the multi-purpose room will be replaced (at SKW Architects’ expense) as the wrong color was installed. Bullene Landscapes was selected as landscaper with a one-year contract. New sod has been laid with heavy watering until the lawns are well established. Furniture and technology equipment will be delivered in mid-July to early August!

So far, 250 K-4 students have been registered. The staffing list has been completed but is pending the Board’s decision about class size. The Redwood Shores Elementary School PTA met for the first time on May 5th with 80-100 charter members!

SAVE THE DATE: The Grand Opening will be on Sunday, August 15, 2010, from 11 am to 2 pm!

— Carole Wong (Chair), Measure C Bond Oversight Committee

Sandpiper Spotlight: May 2010

We hope the community enjoyed visiting Sandpiper last month during Open House. It’s always a treat to meet our neighbors and “show off” our talented teachers and students!

For past six years, the Nesbit community has welcomed our Kindergarten students with open arms. On April 21 the Sandpiper PTA hosted a Nesbit Appreciation Day to show our gratitude for their flexibility and dedication to our students. We know the friendships made at Nesbit will last for many years to come.

April was very busy as our entire community rallied together to raise $3 million to preserve valuable programs, teachers and staff. As of this submission more than $1 million has already been raised for the School-Force Education Foundation. In addition, thousands of letters have been sent to local and State officials asking for their support of public education. Regardless of the outcome, we thank our students, teachers, staff, parents, and local businesses for coming together in an unprecedented effort to protect our schools from budget cuts — today and in the future.

We know that behind every successful school is an involved community. This year alone Sandpiper families donated more than 24,000 hours of their valuable time in and around the classroom. We are proud to announce this year’s PTA Service Award recipients, which consists of parents, teachers, and local businesses. These individuals have worked tirelessly not only for Sandpiper, but for every child across our School District.

  • Honorary Service Award: Lisa Chavez
  • Very Special Person Award: Beverly Notte, Susan Griffin, and Mindy Shelton
  • Friend of the Community Award: Alan Sarver and Crystal Springs Catering

Please join us in congratulating these truly inspirational individuals!

— Submitted by Suzanne Pritchard, PTA President