Community Matters Newsletter

Preschool Enrollment Opens Nov. 1

MPCSD's award winning Early Learning Center is now accepting applications for the 2024-25 school year lottery for our Laurel and Oak Knoll sites, including our Spanish Immersion classroom at Laurel. Eligible students will be 3 years old by December 1, 2024 and district residents have priority for enrollment. 

Applications for the initial lottery are available from November 1, 2023 - January 8, 2024. Families who apply after the lottery will be enrolled on a rolling basis if space is still available. In-person tours are available at Laurel and Oak Knoll. Please visit the ELC website for tour dates and our application. 

"The Menlo Park City School District’s Early Learning Center nurtures young children’s curiosity, sense of wonder, belonging, and deep engagement with the world around them, preparing them to develop the critical skills needed to enter kindergarten and reach their full potential. Our caring and knowledgeable teachers support the development of friendships, foster positive conflict resolution skills, and ensure that children have a sense of belonging and feel safe and valued for their unique gifts."

Stanford Professor Geoffrey Cohen Visits Speaker Series

A crowd of over one hundred came out for our kick-off Speaker Series event, "Belonging: Creating Connection and Bridging Divides in Our Community," with Professor Geoff Cohen on Tuesday, October 3. We enjoyed an insightful and compassionate conversation about how we as school communities and within our own families can create the conditions for a deeper sense of belonging. 

Professor Cohen shared that in our everyday lives, we have opportunity even in small moments to make a big impact on those around us. Here are some tips from Geoff for creating deeper connections and more belonging:

• The challenge of humility: we often don’t know as much about a person’s situation as we think we do. Get curious, ask questions, and find out more about others.
• The challenge of empathy: we can be too quick to judge and too slow to reach out with our hearts. People can connect over shared feelings and experiences once we find out what those are.
• The challenge of communication: take the time to learn how we can best support each other. 

Ways to connect with kids, especially in the middle school years:

• Create a connection: be emotionally available and nonjudgmental.
• Creating opportunities for exploration with your guidance: take field trips to explore their interests, encourage extra curricular activities.
• Find service opportunities/volunteerism: being of service is key way to help teens develop a healthy sense of self. 
• Sleep: plenty of sleep has a strong positive effect on mental and physical health.

Three things everyone, especially children, need to hear: you are seen, I believe in you, you are not alone.

Making Schools Safer

Student safety is MPCSD's top priority. Last school year we contracted with Guidepost Solutions to perform a comprehensive physical security program review with the intent to determine a baseline status from which we can evolve, grow, and strengthen our program and protocols to better serve our students, staff, and community.

Guidepost highlighted the strengths in our safety protocols and practices including our solid video surveillance system, perimeter definition, and overall culture of security ownership by staff. We have developed a safety roadmap which includes implementing new safety measures as well as some longer-term strategies. Beginning on the first day of school we increased our safety posture and implemented Staff Identification Badges, Campus Monitors, and a Visitor Management System. Other new measures will take more time; for example, we are currently working on increasing signage, perimeter fencing, and more sophisticated communication systems for our classrooms. 

Annual Fundraising Offers Community Opportunities

Every fall, the parent-led volunteer organizations in MPCSD - our school Parent-Teacher Organizations and the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation - team up to raise critical funds for our schools. This effort, the One Community Campaign, supports specialist teachers for art, library, science, music, and PE; mental health and wellness programs and our full-time counselors; and school-based programs and activities that create belonging for our students, staff, and families.

We are pleased to report that 65% of our district families contributed to the One Community Campaign. MPCSD families value a strong education and invest above and beyond their property and parcel taxes to ensure that we can provide a robust and enriching program to all students.

Community Members Can Support Our Schools, Too! Here are three ways:

Community Vaccine Clinic with Safeway

We are once again partnering with Safeway Pharmacy to offer COVID and Flu vaccines to the community. Get your shots at this convenient clinic right here in Menlo Park:

Safeway Vaccine Clinic

Saturday, November 18, 2023

10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Hillview Middle School PAC

1100 Elder Avenue, Menlo Park

• Quadrivalent Flu Vaccine
• XBB COVID (Brand depending on availability)
• 3 years and older
• All insurances accepted (will be billed by Safeway) except Kaiser, and Medi-Cal for people 19 years and younger. Bring insurance card to appointment. Those not covered or not insured (including Kaiser and Medi-Cal) will need to pay at time of service: Flu (regular) $40, Flu (senior dose) $72, COVID XBB $160. 
• Schedule an appointment here and be sure to print out the PDF copy of the consent form to bring with you.