Starr King Elementary School

A diverse, welcoming public elementary school in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood.

Message from principal Greg John

Dear Families,

I wanted to introduce myself and welcome you (or welcome you back) to Starr King Elementary School. I’ve already been able to meet a number of families in and around the neighborhood. I am very much looking to getting acquainted with each of you as we engage in a full and productive year of teaching and learning.

Principal Gregory JohnAs I was hired after the close of the school year, I also wanted to provide a little background about me:

  • Eight years of experience as a school administrator, seven years as an elementary school principal and one year as a middle school vice principal.
  • Thirteen years of teaching experience
  • Twenty-six years of education experience overall
  • A belief, based in evidence, of the potential of every child.

This past year, I visited shining examples of schools in cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and the Bay Area. I witnessed how these schools create the right chemistry atmosphere or environment etc. for excellence. With Starr King’s top notch faculty, engaged parents, and motivated students, our school has all of the right ingredients. I am honored that the school community chose me to be a part of its journey.

I have a couple of updates in response to questions I’ve already received concerning staffing, class assignments, and school uniforms:

  • The school uniform policy will remain in place.
  • I will post our revised staff list within the next week..
  • Class lists will be posted the day before school begins.

This week, I will post (and mail) a calendar that includes important dates, some additional procedural information for new families to our school, a note about openings on the School Site Council, and other tidbits that might help you feel oriented and ready for a great school year. I will be on campus starting Friday of this week and then every day as of next Monday. Please feel free to drop by to say hello.

I’m excited to join the Starr King community and continue to build upon its tradition of innovation and excellence.

Looking forward,
Greg John
Principal

Spring Fling Silent Auction Preview

Spring Fling Program GuideNext Sunday, May 23, from 2-5pm we will hold the first ever Starr King Spring Fling.

This fun event will have lots of food, childcare and activities for the kids at the event, and a Silent Auction.

To whet your appetites for the great items that will be available at the Silent Auction, please download the Spring Fling Auction Preview here.

Remember that all proceeds go to Starr King Elementary – even if it is purchasing services at face value, these businesses have donated their goods and services to Starr King so when you purchase these items the money supports the school.

We have rounded up many exciting and wonderful items including:

Disneyland tix! (plus Great America, Gilroy Gardens, Giants, SF Symphony, & Opera)
-Museums: Exploratorium, Asian Art, DeYoung, Legion of Honor, Academy
of Sciences, BADM, more!
-Restaurant gift certificates: Pacific Catch, Grandeho, Goat Hill Pizza, and more
-Services: massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, hair and nails
-Kid stuff: camps, classes, Recess, My Gym, kid bike and scooters!
-Travel: Tahoe cabin 4-nite stay, Deluxe Colorado family ski vacation
-bargains: kid (and adult) jewelry

What: Starr King Spring Fling
When: Sunday, May 23rd, from 2pm to 5pm (auction closes at 3:45,
raffle pix about 4:30)
Where: NABE — the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House (953 DeHaro St 94107)
For more information and periodic updates see the Spring Fling page or download a Spring Fling Flyer (Spring Fling Flyer Spanish) to distribute to friends and family. Also available is a post-card sized as seen in the Potrero View.

Stagewrite Performances – 2 Shows Only

StageWrite Presents…. Superhero Movies

“short plays by short people”
See Seven Original plays written by Fifth Graders of Starr King Elementary. 2 Performances Only!

Friday May 14th at 6:30pm
Friday May 21st at 11:00am

deYoung Museum
Koret Auditorium
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco

Reserve your FREE tickets here.

For more information about the event download this flyer.

StageWrite Poster

To learn more about StageWrite visit www.stagewrite.org.

Coming Soon – the Starr King Spring Fling

Spring Fling Flyer Spanishspring-fling-web.jpg

We are working on a brand new event – the Starr King Spring Fling. Part community celebration, part fundraiser and sure to be lots of fun!

Please Help by:

Selling Raffle Tickets
- suggested donation: $3/ticket or 4 tickets for $10
Special prizes for the classrooms selling the most tickets!
contact Carmen Cordovez (carmen_cordovez at yahoo.com) or Joanne Lee (jleeccdc at hotmail.com) for ticket booklets

Soliciting donation items for the Silent Auction  and prizes for the Raffle

Volunteering to help organize the event. Contact Iolande Bloxsom (fling at bloxsom.org) or Joanne Lee (jleeccdc at hotmail.com) if you are interested in getting involved.
For more information and periodic updates see the Spring Fling page or download a Spring Fling Flyer (Spring Fling Flyer Spanish) to distribute to friends and family. Also available is a post-card sized as seen in the Potrero View.

Budget Cuts Launch Spring Fundraising Campaign – PLEASE HELP

THANK YOU! Last fall the parents, friends, family and staff of Starr King helped us reach a record-breaking $39,000 in our 2009-10 campaign. 100% of the classrooms participated and over 100 families contributed. However we are not done.

Like all public schools in California, Starr King faces the deepest cuts to our school budget we have ever seen.  The Starr King PTA is facing this challenge in three ways: raising money; volunteering and getting out to advocate for change. 

The PTA has launched a new spring fund raising campaign to raise $40,000.  We are asking for financial help from every Starr King family, their friends and extended family members.  We need everyone pulling together to get through this.  All money raised will go toward funding adequate number of teachers and instructional supplies for our kids to continue to learn and thrive.You can make a donation two ways:

  1. Donate by Check. Write a check to the Starr King PTA and bring to the office or mail it to the school at the following address - 1215 Carolina Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
  2. Donate Online. Make a donation with your credit card on-line.  Just click the Donate Now icon on this page.  It only take a few minutes.

Donate now!This Fundraising drive is time sensitive – the deadline for our campaign is March 26th in order to assist in preparation of next year’s school budget.

School Tours: Round 2 Dates

We welcome prospective parents to visit Starr King

Tours dates added for Round 2:
Thursday March 18, 9:30-11
Thursday March 25, 9:30-11
Parents should call ahead (415-695-5797) to reserve a spot and indicate which program they are interested in (Mandarin Immersion, General Education, Spanish Bilingual or Special Education). This way, we can be sure to have tour guides on hand who can answer your questions.

On the tour date, sign in and meet outside the school office. A parent-led tour will run from 9:30 to 10:15, followed by the Principal’s talk until 11am. Parents can bring small children, but please be quiet and respectful of the learning that is taking place. Be dressed for outdoors! It can be cold in the morning.

We look forward to meeting you!

Thomas Starr King in the news

Happy new year. Last Saturday the Chronicle ran a brief editorial about Thomas Starr King for whom SKE is named. Might be nice to show the children, many of whom may not realize that the school is named for a historical person.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/02/EDJB1B4NR7.DTL

Stagewrite Drama Through Literacy at Starr King

Take a look at this terrific program for all students at Starr King.
www.stagewrite.org

How schools succeed

Education researcher Richard Elmore finds that successful schools in low-income schools do some things better than schools in affluent neighborhoods, despite the pressures they face.

In more affluent schools, those pressures are much less evident. Yet the kinds of instructional problems that surface in both types of schools are strikingly similar.

As China booms, so does Mandarin in U.S. schools – USATODAY.com

As China booms, so does Mandarin in U.S. schools – USATODAY.com

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