View this email in your browser

Dear Presidio Parents, Guardians, and Families,

On Monday, Presidio will welcome a small number of students back to school in person. While we are looking forward to welcoming these Panthers into the building, I know the day we are all waiting for is the day when each and every one of our Panthers can return to in person learning.

It can be challenging to begin with small steps when there are so many students we wish to see and serve in person. Thank you for your on-going support as the transition to in person learning begins.

This morning, our faculty met and a theme that arose in their conversation was concern to provide engagement, enjoyment, and meaningful learning and fun for students regardless of context from now until the end of the year. We want to recognize the resilience and determination of our students and families in the face of continued challenges.

Last week, we completed series one of our homeroom conversations on race and equity. We are currently engaged in series 2: What Difference Does Race Make? We are very grateful for your support as together we work to grow and develop student agency and voice where each and every student feels safe. The majority of our 7th grade students participated in conversations this past week. Next week, our 8th graders will meet in community for the same series of conversations.

Despite the fact that these conversations can be difficult, we realize that it is important to acknowledge the reality of race in our lives. This series will also be facilitated by members of our school community. Students are encouraged to share their feelings and thoughts through journaling, sketching, verbally, or in the chat.

We welcome families to begin this conversation at home, if you are ready to hold space for such conversations. The questions in this series contain four rounds:

Round 1: Where does race make a difference in this society?

Round 2: Where else does race make a difference in this society?

Round 3: How much do you have to think about the differences that race makes in your daily life?

Round 4: How do you cope with difficulties that race creates for you or others you care about?

Some of our student’s reflections from series 2 conversations are:

We need to all contribute to make people feel included and the world a better place for everyone
Everyone has very different experiences regarding Racism
That everyone has different stories and thoughts about their race. I was able to learn a lot from my classmates and teachers.

Yours in Community.

Ms. Dunbar

Upcoming Events @ Presidio

4/23-4/24 Brother's Pizza Fundraiser
5/3-5/7 Teacher Appreciation Week
5/9 Mother's Day
5/13 PTSA Budget Meeting
5/19 SSC Meeting
5/20 Community Meeting
5/21 Principal Chat
5/21 AAPAC Meeting
5/31 Memorial Day
6/2 Last Day of School

See below for further details for each upcoming event

Don't Forget to Order

Order Here

Have we got a surprise for you!

Please come to school Wednesday, April 28th, 2021 to pick up your promotion cap and 8th grade hoodie!!

Pick up is by homeroom. Please wear masks and follow safety guidelines.

ALVAREZ	1100-1120
BECERRA	1120-1140
CONROY	1140-1200
DONOVAN	1200-1220
GEYER	1220-1240
HARRIS	1240-100
HONG	1240-100
JEAN	100-120
JENSEN	120-140
KARSANT	140-200
MATTIX	200-220
NAVARRETE-DAVIS	220-240
OKITA	240-300
PROBST	300-320
TAM	320-340
TODD	320-340

Greetings Panthers and Panther Families!

As schools and the city reopen, the Beacon Program at Presidio is saying, "Let's spend Summer Together!" This Summer's focus is all about learning and re-learning how to be in Middle School with each other, and preparing to be the best Panthers we can be when we return to the building in the Fall! Summer programming will be on campus and provided to students and families at no cost. Additionally, all families and students who attend the full 6 weeks of Summer program will be eligible to receive a $500 gift card!

Summer Applications will be available Monday, April 19th at 10am. Summer acceptance letters will be sent out by May 15th at 6pm. The Richmond Neighborhood Center Summer Together program prioritizes families with these criteria:

- Residents of HOPE SF, public housing, RVs and SROs

- Families that are experiencing homelessness

- Children in the foster care system

- English language learners

- Low-income families, with a focus on historically impacted communities, including people who identify as African American, Latino/a/x, Pacific Islander, and/or Asian.
- Families who receive free or reduced lunch benefits

Higher enrollment priority will be given to applicants who are multi-system involved, part of more than one of the priority populations

If you have any questions about the FREE Let's Spend Summer Together program or the application process, please don't hesitate to contact me at Mia@RichmondSF.org.

The Presidio PTSA is planning for school year 2021-2022

There are 3 Executive Board positions available that must be filled to retain our local, state and national PTSA status.

The 3 key positions are:

President - Still Open!
Secretary - filled!
Treasurer - Still Open!

All 3 positions are being vacated by outgoing 8th grade parents. So WE REALLY NEED YOU! Please volunteer here.

If these 3 positions aren't your cup of tea, there are many other opportunities that might be a better fit, even other positions on the board. So if you like to be in the middle of what's going on at school, volunteer here.

Want to know more about the roles and what they entail? Check out roles & responsibilities here.

The PTSA at Presidio focuses on:

Creating a community among families, students, teachers and staff (including our afterschool program, Presidio Community Beacon), where people work together to provide the best environment possible for everyone;
Advocating for our children within our school, community and beyond. PTA’s are the largest children's advocacy group in the nation, so every member counts when it comes to affecting local, state & national legislation that impacts our kids;
Providing additional learning and enrichment opportunities for our students and staff to make Presidio a place of learning, in and out, of the classroom;
Supporting our teachers and staff so they can deliver the best education to our children;
Fostering an inclusive community within our diverse school family where everyone feels they belong; we get stronger together when we listen to, and learn from, each other.

All family members are welcome to volunteer. You do not need to be a PTSA member to volunteer, but you will need to join if you become a member of the Executive Board.

Click Calendar for larger version

What does it feel like to experience dyslexia in the classroom? Normally this is our monthly parent meeting but this month we are hosting a simulation ay 3rd at 7pm please join us.

Performing Arts is thrilled to offer their Powerhouse: Reimagine Distance Learning Community Arts Collective series in July for ages 10-18 in dance, spoken word, and visual arts. This will also include an in-person visual arts and movement course at the Geneva Powerhouse, called "Moving Towards Comics," where students will be awarded $1000.00 upon completion of the course.

Reimagine Distance Learning is a sequential, multi-language, 15-session art program. Through live-streamed sessions and community building curricula, students will have the opportunity to engage in learning, contextualizing, and practicing an art form in community with a teaching artist and peers.

Summer programming is scheduled to begin on July 6th and run through July 30th. Live stream links are shared once a week for fifteen weeks allowing students to have real time interaction with peers and a teaching artist.

Join our Powerhouse recruitment team (ages 10-18) and earn $25.00 per student who enrolls and attends class. Sign up here!

Listening to and responding to community needs is a Workshop core value. As such, we are providing options for students to determine our course offerings. We will offer 1-3 of the courses listed below based on enrollment.

Potential Course offerings:

Distance Learning:
Hip Hop Dance: Beginner & Intermediate (ages 10-13)
Hip Hop & Creative Movement (ages 14-18)
Visual Arts & Spoken Word (ages 10-18)
Afro-Peruvian Zapateo (ages 10-18)

In Person:
Moving Towards Comics (ages 14-18)
$1000.00 stipend

Participants and/or caretakers please register by April 30th, 2021

Stay tuned for more details, and for additional courses that may be added!

For more information and to register for courses please visit https://www.performingartsworkshop.org/reimagine-distance-learning/

You may also contact the Workshop’s Senior Program Manager, Van Nguyen-Stone at van@performingartsworkshop.org or call 415-673-2634 ext. 305 if you have any questions.

In health, art, and community,
Performing Arts Workshop Program Team

MAY HIP HOP with KYLE

4 Saturday Classes: May 1 – May 22
9–10am for 11–14 year olds
at Civic Center Plaza (SF)

Adapted for outdoor surfaces, this class combines standard footwork and isolations with current dance trends. Students will stretch and strengthen — physically distant from each other — and learn fun routines that blend together different styles of hip hop.

INFO & REGISTRATION

WHEN: 9-10am Saturdays: May 1, May 8, May 15, and May 22 (4 classes)

WHERE: Civic Center Plaza – Decomposed Granite Area
(McAllister Street and Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102)

TUITION: $45 (Free sessions available though One For Me, One For You)
Registration is required. No drop-ins. No refunds. Space is strictly limited.

Youth Art Exchange (YAX) is now accepting applications from San Francisco public high school students for our summer 2021 paid online arts internships! These 6-week internships include materials to explore two arts disciplines at home, and youth receive a $1500 stipend from Opportunities for All for participating. All three internships are led by professional artists who you can learn more about here.

Dates:
All programs meet for 6 weeks from July 6th-August 13th. From July 6th-30th there are scheduled group meetings and from August 2nd-13th working on independent study without scheduled meetings.

1) ArtBUILD: Architecture and Photography (STEM program)Who can apply: rising 9th-graduating seniors at a San Francisco public high school (priority for rising 9th graders/current 8th graders)
Meeting times: July 6th-30th, Monday-Friday from 1-3pm

2) Fashion and Illustration
Who can apply: rising 9th-graduating seniors at a San Francisco public high school (priority for rising 9th-12th)
Meeting times: July 6th-30th, Mon/Wed/Fri from 1-3pm

3) 2D Media and Music Production
Who can apply: rising 9th-graduating seniors at a San Francisco public high school (priority for rising 9th-12th)
Meeting times: July 6th-30th, Mon/Wed/Fri from 1-3pm

Deadline: Saturday, May 15. Early applications are encouraged.

Application: Interested students can apply online now at youthartexchange.org/enroll.
In an effort to make the arts more accessible, we prioritize low-income youth and youth of color. We also prioritize rising 9th-12th graders for our summer programs, although graduating seniors can apply.

Learn more by watching our 3 minute summer video on YouTube and Instagram, with narration by YAX Fashion student Dalya and music by YAX Music Production student Alex! You can learn more about YAX on social media @youthartx.

Summer Together Interest Form

As part of the city’s Summer Together Initiative, Rec and Park is providing FREE summer camps to public school students with a focus on families with the highest need. See if you’re eligible for priority registration by filling out an interest form at sfrecpark.org. The interest form will be available through April 30. Priority registration will occur May 3-7; general SFUSD registration will begin at 10 a.m. on May 8; and open registration will follow at noon on May 8. For more information and to fill out the interest form, click the link below.

Summer Together Interest Form

Kindergarten to College (K2C) is excited to share the final selection of city-wide honorees of K2C's art, poetry and video contests for Spring 2021, see results below. We also invite you to join us in a virtual celebration for all participants at 5pm April 29th. This ceremony will feature entries from selected students who best embody the theme "I am the Future" and K2C goals including saving for college. Check out several students entries and read their story here.

Top city-wide honorees of each contest highlighted below have been awarded additional scholarships to their K2C account, that is $500, $300 or $100 for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place respectively - beyond the $50 for 5^thgrade and $100 for middle and high school, each received as their school winner. Entries were anonymized to the extent possible and scored by a cross-section of community members who volunteered to be judges. Results in a few cases came in as ties. In light of the compelling submissions by students during COVID-19, K2C has decided to award the full scholarship to anyone who tied for 2^nd or 3^rd place.

Principals, educators, students, families and community members are welcome to join us via Zoom on April 29^th for a fun and engaging ceremony, with special guests including San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros who will recognize those who placed in each contest and Tongo Eisen-Martin, San Francisco Poet Laureate, who will perform a poetry reading.

5^th Grade Art Contest – City-wide Honorees

Place	Name/Initials	School
1^st place	K.S.H	Robert Louis Stevenson E.S.
2^nd place	G.Z.	Edwin and Anita Lee Newcomer E.S.
3^rd place	A.L.X	Peabody E.S.

Middle School Poetry Contest – City-wide Honorees

Place	Name/Initials	School
1^st place	Sophia Truong	Roosevelt Middle School
2^nd place	Simram Phojanakong	Presidio Middle School
2^nd place	Imielee Morales	Visitation Valley Middle School
3^rd place	Crystal Tan	James Denman Middle School
3^rd place	C.T.	Lawton Alternative K-8

High School Short Video Contest – City-wide Honorees

Place	Name/Initials	School
1^st place	T.F.	SOTA
2^nd place	Natalia Quesada Marshall	Mission High School
2^nd place	T.M.	Gateway High School
3^rd place	Poontarika Powell	The Academy SF @ McAteer

The Youth Action Board (YAB )ill be hosting a virtual and free environmental summit during Earth Week on Sat, 4/24! It's for anyone ages 11 and up. The summit is on vape waste/trash pollution and is completely youth-led. The youth are middle, high school, and college aged youth. I'm looking for new YAB member for the next school year so this is a great way for youth to check out this summit. It's an amazing opportunity for youth to be involved in teen vaping prevention doing peer education, advocacy, and more!

Please let me know if you have any questions about the YAB or the summit, and please share with others! Youth can follow the YAB via their IG: @StanfordREACHYAB

Registration link is below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nicotine-vs-nature-the-hidden-poison-in-our-communities-tickets-142126170201

Nicotine vs Nature- the Hidden Poison in our Communities Tickets, Sat, Apr 24, 2021 at 10:00 AM | Eventbrite
Eventbrite - Tobacco Prevention Toolkit presents Nicotine vs Nature- the Hidden Poison in our Communities - Saturday, April 24, 2021 - Find event and ticket information.
www.eventbrite.com

Furthur Magic: A Psychedelic Poster Journey Art Exhibit
The Haight Street Art Center (HSAC), in partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, is proud to present Furthur Magic: A Psychedelic Poster Journey, an exhibition in honor of the 150^th anniversary of Golden Gate Park. Furthur Magic explores psychedelic poster art of the 1960s, especially in the Haight, psychedelic events in Golden Gate Park, and the ongoing legacy of the psychedelic events and styles pioneered in both places. The free exhibit will be on display at the County Fair Building (1199 9th Avenue) through May 16, open Thursdays to Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, click the link below.

Haight Street Art Center

Junior Giants Registration Now Open

Grab your gloves and get out on the diamond this summer with Junior Giants! Registration is now open for the summer league starting mid-June for youth ages 5 to 13. For more information and to sign up, click the link below. For additional questions, please contact Gerald Reader at (415) 756-2922.

In addition, Junior Giants is looking for volunteers to help run the league. If you're interested, please fill out the volunteer sign up form.

Junior Giants Registration Page

A calculator app might appear to be a necessary tool your student needs on their phone.

But, is that "calculator" app really a calculator?

We have an updated blog for parents and educators that:

Explains what the calculator private vault apps are
Gives tips for how to talk with your student about hiding photos and videos
Shows you how to check the app stores to see if your teen has ever downloaded one of the deceitful apps

Read 7 tips for becoming cyber-savvy

Eat at Brother's Pizza to support
Presidio Middle School
April 23rd & 24th

There are many different ways to earn money for Presidio while you shop. Please check out the links and information below to see how you can contribute.

Farm Fresh To You
Receive fresh, organic produce conveniently delivered to your home while earning 10% of your purchase for Presidio Middle School!
Receive a seasonal box or customize your own box.
Enter our code: PRESIDIOPANTHER

AmazonSmile
If you're shopping with Amazon, remember to use smile.amazon.com
Choose Presidio Middle School PTSA (No. 328) for your beneficiary.
You will find the same products, same prices, and same service as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to our school!
It's super easy to use the app...
- In the regular Amazon app, type "smile.amazon" in the search bar.
- Click "You shop, AmazonSmile donates"
- Turn on AmazonSmile.
- To keep AmazonSmile ON in the app, have notifications enabled.

Fine Art Photography
* A Presidio family owned business *
Purchase some beautiful photography art from Presidio Dad, Michael Pegram.
When you use this link, https://tinyurl.com/y2dm9wp9 20% of your purchases will be donated back to our school!

Shards of History by Greg Freeman
* A Presidio family owned business *
Purchase one-of-a-kind sun hangings made from SF glass from the 1800's - now.
Mention Presidio Middle School when you place an order and 20% of your purchases will be donated to our school!

Office Depot
Earn 5% back in credits for our school.
Presidio Middle School ID: 70014119
Shopping Online? Enter the School ID on the Thank You Confirmation Page.
Shopping In Store? When you check out, simply provide the name of our school or the School ID.

BoxTops4Education
We can raise funds for Presidio when we grocery shop for our favorite items. Sign up for a free account, get the app, and when you buy any of the partner items and scan your receipt, a donation is automatically made to Presidio!

Resources

Please send a note to janet@richmondsf.org if any of the button links are missing.