According to the weather report, San Diego should be expecting rain tomorrow (Wednesday, March 3) in the morning around 10:00am.We recognize that every family is at a different comfort level when it comes to their child being in indoor classrooms for longer periods of time and/or potentially eating lunch indoors. Therefore, we will be more liberal with our Zoom policy for tomorrow, allowing students that are not as comfortable spending longer periods of time indoors to access their classes via Zoom tomorrow. However, our teachers will be on campus and will be conducting in-person classes tomorrow; we will do our best to socially-distance students within our classrooms in the event of significant rain. We also encourage all students to bring a rain jacket and/or umbrella.
Here is our Rain Policy for On-Campus Learning:
Our Goal: When it rains, we might have to be indoors more. Our goal during the pandemic is to not be indoors in any classroom for more than 40 minutes or so, and also to have indoor air which is close to the quality of outdoor air. (Some classrooms are essentially wind tunnels and no different than being outdoors, others require more time out of doors.) If rain is predicted, bring a rain jacket! If we get heavy rain, we may have to shift quickly to at-home learning for the day.
One Call Now Notifications: If and when we are sure it will be a rain day, we will have a distance learning Zoom day. You will be contacted by One Call Now, which sends email and phone messages to all families, and text messages if you have opted in to receive them. If you haven't opted-in to receive text messages yet, you can do it now by texting the word “Alert” to the short code number 22300, and you will receive a text instead of a phone message notification.
It rains around 38 days annually in San Diego, so we expect minimal rain disruption. We do not want to cancel class every time the weather report mentions rain. It may even be “a game day decision," and we can implement the “One Call Now” notification quickly.
On Campus Or At Home, At Your Discretion: If you feel it will rain, you may wish to stay home and log into your classes via Zoom for the day if you are worried you might be inside for too long. Our classes normally don’t stay inside for more than 45 minutes, but rain could make that hard for you. However, at-home learners MUST call attendance IN ADVANCE or you will be marked absent—this is very important.
No Place to Go: If we call a “rain day,” and you have a hardship keeping your child home, we promise to have faculty members on campus—you do not need to feel stuck at home. Just let us know. We will provide a safe space for your child to do distance learning right here on campus. (We recommend headphones for working online in mixed groups/classes.)
Sudden and Unexpected: If we are already at school and appears that it will rain or has rained for more than around 40 minutes, keeping classes inside too long, we may have to cancel mid-day. We realize this could be a real inconvenience. We obviously can’t predict the weather and we find weather reports frequently don’t give us the right information, either. We will have to make decisions that support student and faculty health and well-being.
Thank you in advance for your flexibility in these pandemic days, and feel free to email your questions to Stuart Grauer or Dana Abplanalp-Diggs.
What's Happening This Week
Transitioning from At-Home to On-Campus Status
We are excited to see the COVID-19 positive case numbers and hospitalizations trending downward across San Diego County. We recognize that every family has its own set of circumstances and are proud to be able to offer both an in-person and at-home learning option for our students and families this year. We recognize that some students need to change their status from in-person to at-home learning or vice-versa at times due to extenuating circumstances; however, we would appreciate your letting us know if you need to change your status so our teachers can plan accordingly. After all, we are doing our best to maintain a minimum 6-foot distance between students in our classrooms (both indoor and outdoor) and it is helpful for our teachers to know how many students they need to plan for on a given day. If you are changing your status and are planning to return to campus to join in-person instruction or need to log into your classes via Zoom for an extended period of time due to extenuating circumstances, please contact Dana Abplanalp-Diggs, Principal, and Tracy Ahrens, our Attendance Officer, so that we can update our lists for teachers accordingly. Thank you!
Grauer Literary Society Meeting: March 25
The next meeting of the Grauer Literary Society will be on Thursday, March 25, at Noon on Zoom. The group is changing the meeting day to Thursday in hopes that more members will be able to attend. The book that will be discussed is The Four Winds by Kristen Hannah, a sweeping novel that brings to life the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and the people who lived through it―the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. All current parents, alumni parents, and Grauer community members are welcome to join - just email Sheila Wirick to be added to the mailing list.
Buy Your Yearbook
Grauer students - click here to order your yearbook now for $65!
Attendance Line
Is your child going to be absent from campus? Please contact Tracy Ahrens, our Attendance Officer, in our Main Office prior to 9:00am to let us know that your child will be absent for the day. If your child will be Zooming, parents may write a note or call the attendance office in advance to excuse the absence. The most common valid excuses to miss classes on campus or to distance learn are: illness or quarantine, medical appointment, religious or family ceremony, legal issues, or excused independent athletics or avocations. We will need confirmation why your child is Zooming from home. Tracy can be reached via our Attendance Line at (760) 944-6777 or by e-mail at tracyahrens@grauerschool.com.
CALENDAR
View the 2020-2021 Grauer Academic Calendar Overview: Click here
View the Grauer Public Calendar on our website: Click here
Add the Grauer Public Google Calendar to your calendar system: Click here
Wednesday, March 3 ~ Anticipated Rain Day (see below for policy)
Thursday, March 4
~ Garden Group presents Holistic Healing Class, 9:15-10:10am (RSVP)
~ Garden Group presents A Garden Tea and Book Reading, 1:30-3:00pm (RSVP) Friday, March 5
~ Even Day (2,4,5,6) Friday, March 12
~ Mastery Learning Day/End of Third Quarter (see Principal’s Column) Thursday, March 25
~ Literary Society Meeting, Noon (Zoom) Monday, March 29-Monday, April 5 ~ Spring Break (No Classes)
Upcoming Events
Choice Lunch: Sign Up For School Lunches
Grauer Parents - make your life easier by signing your student up for school lunches through Choice Lunch! They provide a variety of lunch choices, including vegetarian, gluten-free, and kid-pleasing options - click here to view the large menu of delicious lunch options. Lunch is delivered through contact-free delivery every day. To learn more, click here to view an information brochure from Choice Lunch. If you have any questions, click here to view contact information for Choice Lunch, or contact Tracy Ahrens.
Summer Camps At The Grauer School
The Grauer School’s summer school programs are designed to provide year-long learning, enrichment, remediation, and of course, fun! Whether we are on-line or on-site, we specialize in helping students explore their academic and creative interests in our relationship-driven, college preparatory environment. We offer both week-long enrichment camps for middle and high school students as well as for-credit academic classes to students throughout San Diego County, not just current Grauer School students. This year’s summer sessions are scheduled to run from June 21 through July 9 and July 12 through July 30. Standard enrollment begins April 19 and closes June 14.
In addition to our middle school and high school offerings, The Grauer School will again be hosting the Loly Lutti Pottery Camp (visit lolylutti.com for more information and registration) as well as KidzToPros (kidztopros.com) for our younger campers - click here to view a KidzToPros flyer with more information, and you can save $100 if you register by March 31 and use the code "FLY100". Keep an eye out for our 2021 Summer Session schedule and offerings on our website at grauerschool.com/summer, which will be coming soon!
Visual Arts Department Presents: Modes Photography Contest
The Visual Arts Department invites Grauer students, faculty, and staff to enter their Modes Photography Contest. You can submit time-lapses, panorama, slomo, and wide-angle/fisheye photos. You can click here or use the QR code with your mobile device to submit your photos. Contact Grace W. '21 for any questions.
Weekly Columns
Principal's Desk
Mastery Learning Day: Friday, March 12
The Grauer School operates under a Core Value of Perseverance. We recognize that not every student is equally gifted, but all are encouraged to maximize their talents. Determination is fostered in every young learner, and our Mastery Learning program assures that each student will grasp key concepts before moving to new topics.
Understanding Mastery Learning is one of the most challenging topics for our students and parents, especially our new parents, as Mastery Learning does not look the same for every student and in every class. Every student has different academic goals—our job is to help our students better understand themselves, to refine their goals, and to help them achieve these goals. School wide, we allow students to upgrade all of their formative assignments (homework, quizzes, rough drafts, chapter tests, and labs); however, we do not allow them to upgrade all of their summative assignments (unit tests, final drafts, presentations, and Core Value Portfolios). In general, our middle school students will be allowed to upgrade the majority of their assignments; however, as students advance through our program, we weight their summative assignments more heavily to ensure that they are mastering the material and preparing themselves ahead of time. Students may change their mastery learning levels in a given class at any time. On occasion, we even remove mastery learning privileges for students who might be abusing our system.
At The Grauer School, we believe that motivation to succeed should come from within. So our instructional aim is to create a positive, enriching, and Socratic academic environment where students’ efforts and attitudes help them shape and achieve their personal goals. That said, we offer unparalleled support to help our students achieve their goals. All of our teachers offer Office Hours to provide additional one-on-one help to students; we also have an optional Friday Box program, monitored Study Halls, and an extensive proprietary Gradescape database to help monitor student progress. We also have additional fee-based programs to help students achieve their academic goals such as our Educational Mentoring program, our Learning Lab program, and our afterschool 3-5 Homework Help program.
Please note that next Friday, March 12 is our third Mastery Learning Day of this academic year. On Mastery Learning Days, students must stay at school until all owed work and upgrades have been submitted—or 4:00pm. High School students that do not owe any work in any class may get signatures from all teachers and be released from school on Friday, March 12; Middle School students that do not owe any owed work or upgrades may be released at 12:15pm (regular Friday dismissal time).
If you would like more explanation of our Mastery Learning program and how this might work best for your child, please feel free to contact me at dana@grauerschool.com. We sincerely enjoy talking with you to develop the best individualized program for your child so that they can achieve their goals.
Deans' View
A Time to be Kind
While we endeavor to make the accountability inherent in ending each quarter less stressful, we recognize that keeping one’s cool during this time is often difficult. Especially in the middle of a global pandemic! Compassion, as a Core Value of the school, becomes challenging to embody when one feels under pressure, so we ask that you take a moment as we return to campus to remember to be kind in both action and in speech this week.
Your fellow students, your parents, and your teachers are likely feeling equally sensitive, so lashing out, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant the quip (especially on social media), is potentially exponentially damaging. As the old adage goes, “Be kind to everyone; you don’t know what battles they’re fighting.”
If you need help finding a way to ease your tension, take advantage of our model of Relationship-Driven Education and talk to a teacher or administrator. Be smart and be kind. We have made it this far together, we certainly can finish strong together.
All interested Middle School and High School students are welcome to join the Archery program with Coach Trevor Olson, Coach Paulina Davis-Fisher, and Student Coach Alexa K. '23. No experience is necessary. Archery season will run through April 20. Practice/Training Days are at 3:15-5:00pm for High School on Mondays and Wednesdays, and for Middle School on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There will be no cost for Archery this season. We look forward to seeing you on the range!
CIF Sports Update From Horizon Prep
Here's an update about CIF-sanctioned sports from Coach Matt Roy at Horizon Prep: Purple Tier Sports are a go! Sports in the Red, Orange, and Yellow are still on hold. Gym workouts may begin once we get to the Red tier. Students may now participate in more than one cohort/team. That means our athletes are able to compete in two sports in the same season!
Registration
All registration and paperwork (including a sports physical) must be turned in to the Athletic office before an athlete may begin an official practice for any sport. CLICK HERE to register as soon as possible for the sports below.
The season for the following sports started on March 1:
Boys and Girls Golf - click here to purchase the Team Spirit Pack Gear.
Boys and Girls Tennis - click here to purchase the Team Spirit Pack Gear.
8 Man Football (Football has been given permission to begin workouts once San Diego County reaches an Adjusted Covid-19 Case Rate equal to or less than 14 per 100,000 tests.)
The official deadline to register for the following sport is March 15:
Boys and Girls Track & Field - click here to purchase the Team Spirit Pack Gear.
Training Camps
We have ongoing open enrollment for Season 1 & 2 Sports Training & Conditioning Camps for the following sports:
Girls Volleyball - Training and conditioning on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays on the sand courts @ Horizon Prep with Coach Salas. Volleyball (and all indoor sports) have been moved back to the yellow tier. Click here to purchase the Team Spirit Pack Gear.
Boys Basketball - Training and conditioning on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on the Sport Court @ Horizon Prep with Coach Roy.
Girls Basketball - Training and conditioning on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays @ Horizon Prep. This camp will be led by our new girls basketball Coach Keith Luberto!
Last Week In The Garden
We are noticing an uptick in critter damage to our crops. Some of the damage is downright destructive but other damage is simply a nuisance. While we have been lucky enough to avoid cabbage worms on our cole crops (collard greens, kale) because the beds are loosely covered, the crops were not able to dodge the aphids. Aphids are tiny sap-sucking insects that can appear on any crop, and they enjoy the warming weather. Instead of reaching for a pesticide, we spray them off with a strong blast of water - as we have done on our kale (see pictures). We aren't terribly concerned about these pests however, as it is time to start phasing out cool season crops and preparing for warm season crops.
Switching gears to some warm season flowers, two varieties of Zinnias, Starlight Asters, Love and Wishes Salvia, Deerweed, Craspedia Globosa (all nectar plants for butterflies and hummingbirds) and Wild fennel (a host plant for the beautiful Black Swallowtail) were set out today in the Monarch Way Station. Nick Scacco's Environmental Science students will be planting these flowers tomorrow. These plants join previously placed host and nectar plants such as Yarrow, Pentas, Scabiosa, Butterfly bush, Blue curls and, of course, Tropical and native Narrow Leaf Milkweed and Butterfly weed. In a few short weeks the Monarch Way Station should be bursting with lots of colorful blooms and wildlife activity.
Coming Up In The Garden
First Thursday Holistic Healing Class - this Thursday, March 4 from 9:15-10:15am. Breath is life! Life is breath! Come join us in exploring ancient breathing practices for modern times! Pranayama, one of many yoga disciplines, is the practice of regulating life force, or energy, through breath. Learn and experience techniques that hold powerful healing potential for the body-mind and cultivate a deep sense of well-being. Please RSVP to kellerock@grauerschool.com by Wednesday, March 3.
NEW! Beginning this week, please join us for "A Garden Tea and Book Reading" to meet every first Thursday, beginning this Thursday, March 4 at 1:30-3:00pm. No book purchase or pre-readiing is necessary, just come and listen. Meet in the garden, and bring your favorite tea cup. Whispers of white peony and tendrils of Lapsang Souchong mingle in the air. Collards and golden beets lie a bed away while backdrops of native buckwheat and sage provide sanctuary. Whether you are drawn to sipping tea with others or called to Robin Wall Kimmerer’s work on deepening your connection to the earth, everyone is welcome. Each month will feature an Audible chapter of “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer (mother, scientist, decorated professor and member of the Potawatomi Nation), with a custom blend of tea hosted by Grauer Garden Club’s Chef Serenity Wood and Sally Grauer. Participants will also have the option to make a pouch of tea to bring home for further sipping delights. Click here to read a sample of Professor Kimmerer’s writing and reading, and click here to learn more about Chef Serenity Wood. Please RSVP to Sally Grauer if you're planning to attend the Garden Tea and Book Reading.
If you come to either event this Thursday, please bring a bag and take home some collard greens! Click here to try a delicious recipe for Ham and Bean Soup with Collard Greens.
Join us for "Ponding", a new term Molly and Michaelangelary came up with, on Tuesday, March 9 at 9:15am. Please join Molly and Michalangelary for the Second Tuesday Pond Cleaning.
Events & Activities at The Grauer School
Students Participate In Mathematical Modeling Competition
From Peter Mannisto, Math Teacher:
On Friday, February 26, Jason W. '21, Erik H. '21, Gabriel S. '21, Kevin M. '21, and Joshua B. '22 participated in the SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics) Mathematical Modeling competition. Teams of up to 5 students were given 14 hours to answer 3 questions having to do with broadband connectivity and its distribution in underserved communities: (1) Predict the price of broadband data per megabyte over the next 10 years, (2) model the amount of broadband connectivity a typical US family would need in order to to support all of the essential activities (remote learning, working from home, etc.) that have arisen since the start of the pandemic, and (3) determine the optimal way of improving broadband access in a region. Very tough problems - but our team had great fun tackling them! Now it's up to the judges to decide. As an added excitement, there is quite a bit of prize money on the line in this contest - $125,000 in prize money will be handed out, including $25,000 to the winning team! Our team is hoping for a windfall of course, but their primary reason for doing it is the excitement and intellectual interest of working on a team to solve a significant real-world problem using the mathematics they've learned so far.
Japanese American Internment Speaker Visits 11th Grade US History Class
From Alicia Tembi, History Teacher:
This week, the 11th grade US History class welcomed Mr. Jack Kubota, who was forced to live at age 13 in the Poston 1 internment camp for Japanese Americans located in Arizona. Mr. Kubota spoke to the 11th graders about life in the camp, how his family was impacted by internment, and how he acclimated to society afterwards. Mr. Kubota was accompanied by Ms. Linda Canada, a former archivist and educational outreach coordinator at the Japanese Historical Society in San Diego. She provided information about how the San Diego region was impacted by internment. Their stories illuminated the resiliency of the human spirit and the power of hope. We greatly appreciate Mr. Kubota's willingness to speak candidly about a difficult time and we thank him for his service in the US Navy following internment.
In response to this powerful experience, 11th graders offered the following reflections:
"I enjoyed hearing our guests share about the Japanese American experience from immigration to post-World War II in a story format, it was informative and enlightening." - Savannah H. '22
"For Mr. Jack Kubota to be so informative about such a hard and difficult time in his life and remain so positive is incredible, and I am so happy I got to hear his story from his perspective." - Liv L. '22
Geometry Class: Measuring Planet Distances and Scales
From Peter Mannisto, Geometry Teacher:
At the beginning of second semester, Geometry students learned about similar shapes and scaling shapes up and down. As a fun example, students measured how big the planets and their orbits would be if the sun were scaled down to the size of a tennis ball (with a Grauer stress ball serving the role of the sun). As the students found out, the planets would be tiny (the Earth would be the size of a grain of sand!), but their orbits would still be too big to be contained in The Grauer School's campus! But we were able to get all of the planets out to Saturn by walking to the end of the basketball court, and then Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (yes - we included Pluto) we measured by walking around campus. A nice little break from our usual math work, and a chance to contemplate the vastness of space!
Faculty & Staff Appreciation Surprise
The Grauer School faculty and staff would like to extend our deepest gratitude to our wonderful 12th grade parents! On Monday, March 1, the 12th grade families surprised us with a delicious array of bagels, donuts, and personalized notes and lottery tickets. Thank you to all of the Grauer families who were involved and special thanks to Sandi Weir and Tracey Berlin for organizing.
A note from the PA: This was the first of our grade-level teacher appreciation events, leading up to the big celebration (our gala) on May 1! Our room parents are currently putting together small, bi-weekly appreciation events to continue to show love and gratitude for all that our faculty and staff do. Next up, 11th grade! Questions? Please contact your respective room parent.
Counselor's Corner
From Shelley Boniwell, Associate Director of Counseling - follow the Grauer School Counseling Office on Instagram @gscounseling:
Summer 2021 Programs
Students and parents can view a spreadsheet list of summer educational programs for the upcoming summer of 2021, and this list will be updated as more opportunities come in. Click here to view the list of Summer 2021 opportunities. There may be brochures with more information for some of these programs in the Counseling Office. Please contact Shelley Boniwell if you have any questions.
Summer Program Spotlight: Rice ELITE Tech Camps
Rice ELITE Tech offers a virtual summer camp experience created by the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership. Students will get an inside look at how to use and/or develop cutting-edge technologies and techniques, including artificial intelligence, internet of things, Python coding, R coding, 3D modeling and 3D printing, data analytics, machine learning, and more. The camps also offer engineering problem-solving and leadership training, as well as information about engineering majors and how a student can choose the right major. Weekly Rice ELITE Tech camps begin June 7, and you can receive a $100 early registration discount if you enroll before April 1 - click here to learn more.
International College Experiences in Europe: March 25
Students can learn about studying in England, France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland through US accredited universities, including American University Paris, Franklin University Switzerland, Glion Institute of Higher Education, John Cabot University and Les Roches. Students can participate in a webinar on Thursday, March 25 at 4:00pm, outlining the benefits of a European college experience as well as information on each individual university. Click here to view a flyer with more information, and click here to RSVP for the webinar.
Community Service
From Jessi Brown, Humanitarian Service Coordinator:
Looking for ways to volunteer during the school year, either in person or virtually? Remember that you have a great resource right at your fingertips. Log into your MobileServe account, click on "EVENTS" in the side menu bar, and then click on "DISCOVER." You can enter keywords or just enter your location to find opportunities close to you. This is a great way to discover opportunities that are perfect for you!
Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation
Garden/Landscaping volunteers are needed at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation in Carlsbad. They are in need of volunteers to constantly help upkeep their native gardens, which includes removing weeds and overgrowth, trimming, moving mulch cover, and other tasks. No landscaping experience is required, just people who like to be outdoors and are in need of hours, or looking to give back. We provide all the tools. Contact Emily Watts if you're interested in volunteering.
Community Resource Center
Students can volunteer at the Community Resource Center store in Encinitas on Fridays or Saturdays. The service opportunity involves receiving donations, assisting customers, sorting donation items, creating visually appealing merchandise displays and most important, having fun working with great people and helping CRC to generate revenue to help low-income families and victims of domestic violence. Click here to complete a volunteer application.
Middle School Fridays
From Patricia Young, Middle School Fridays Coordinator:
Middle School Friday activities will continue to be optional and will run from 1:00-2:00pm on Friday afternoons. Each week, we plan to offer opportunities for Friday fun, whether they are on-campus or remote via Zoom.
The activities for this Friday, March 5, are:
Basketball with Johnny King at 12:30-1:30pm on the Basketball Court. Students will be playing fun "March Madness" games, including 3x3, 4x4, and Knockout. Bring your water bottle.
Dungeons & Dragons Club with Liam Murphy at 12:30-3:00pm on the roof of the Justice Center. Email Liam if you haven't played before and you would like to join the group.
Student Spotlight
Parents, please let us know if your child is doing something newsworthy so we can congratulate them in our Student Spotlight section! Please send submissions to newsletter@grauerschool.com.
Happy Birthday!
Mac R. '24 - March 3
Noah P. '23 - March 3
Mycah A. '26 - March 6
Ronin M. '25 - March 7
Tyler O. '26 - March 8
Brahm J. '25 - March 9
