One of Mrs. Connolly’s favorite sayings is, “When Opportunity Knocks, Get Up and Answer the Door”. At Beechwood, this is more than a cleverly worded slogan, it is a choice that we encourage all members of our community to make. The following anecdotes show us that Beechwood families know what it means to “Answer the Door”.
Last year, Olympic water polo player Brenda Villa came to the Bellehaven Pool to offer an opportunity to bring water polo to the girls in our neighborhood. Who took her up on the offer? Beechwood did. We currently have 15 girls on the team! Each of them is getting regular exercise, learning to play as a team and taking on the challenge of learning a new sport. Congratulations to the parents and kids for recognizing this opportunity and taking full advantage of it.
A few weeks ago we were visited by an organization called GirlVentures. They organize wilderness experiences for girls. After the presentation many of the girls were excited to apply but there was a lot of paperwork that needed to be filled out. One of the girls who went through all the steps to apply was Addy Palacios in 5th grade. Last week she came to me and said, so excitedly, “Guess What Mr. L? I got into GirlVentures!”. This is what we love to see from our kids and families. An opportunity is presented, they do what is required in a timely fashion and the student has a life-changing experience as a result.
Monday, there was a second meeting of parents of Kindergarten and First Graders who are forming a Girl Scout troop. This is an opportunity that came from Girl Scouts leader Sarahi Espinoza who ran an after school program here for 5 weeks. Now the parents have taken on the responsibility of gathering the girls and providing this fun experience for them. It is great to see them taking the initiative and working together effectively. Again, they saw an opportunity and did what was needed to capitalize on it.
Here are more opportunities for you and your kids to take advantage of:
May: Re-enrollment. During the first week of May, parents will be able to re-enroll for the new school year. In order to be eligible for re-enrollment a number of conditions need to be met (please plan accordingly):
Sarahi Espinoza is forming an after school running club for 6th-8th grade girls called Mini-Mermaids. Applications are available in the office and are due at the end of the week.
Coach Hughes is training students to participate in the Al Julian track meet on April 5th. See Coach Hughes by the end of the week if you would like your child to participate.
Mr. Pantoja will resume his role as Coach of East Peninsula Wrestling starting in April. He is accepting new wrestlers and would love to hear from you if you are interested.
Mrs. Getter is offering to help any students who want to perform in The City of Menlo Park’s Talent Show, “Bay Area’s Got Talent”. Auditions are April 18th and the show is May 16th.
These and many more opportunities are available through Beechwood. I encourage you to pursue them, in an effort to provide rich experiences outside of the classroom that will build confidence and provide a sense of well-being for your child.
-Mr. Laurance