March 28, 2011 - Rainbows, Ballgames, and Enrichment

Earlier today, we had three members of the Contra Costa County Search and Rescue team present to a group of our GATE students the importance, preparation, and benefits of their job. Our students had the opportunity to utilize their questioning skills. Our guests answered questions ranging from "How did you get started?" to "How much do you earn in your career?" Our students were probably most enamored by  the third member of the Search and Rescue team, the canine member. One of the members was a search and rescue dog who showed her stuff while meeting our students. A special thank you to 4th/5th grade teacher Mrs. Becky Rodriguez and parent volunteer Eve Ridgers for organizing this opportunity for our GATE students. It is part of a series, called "Lunch Bunch," when guest speakers present different professions within our community. Earlier in the school year, students listened to a college professor share details about his job.

Help Save the Rainbow Program at WDES

We have a wonderful program, called the Rainbow program, available to all Walt Disney students. While all of our teachers and staff know the value of the Rainbow program, I recognize that if your child has needed the Rainbow program, you may not know about the benefits, or even that it exists. The fact is that we may lose the Rainbow program due to lack of funding for the 2011-2012 school year. Please review the following information about Rainbow and see if you can help.

Why Rainbow?

In today’s fast-paced, stress-filled, not-enough-hours-in-the-day world, even children can feel the pressure. We know that children who feel comfortable and connected at school and who possess positive social skills and competence in solving problems experience greater success in academics and throughout life.

What is Rainbow?

The Rainbow Program provides children with nurturing individual attention and small- group learning opportunities led by a specially trained paraprofessional under the supervision of a credentialed professional. The Rainbow Program (under various other names) has been in existence across the country since 1957. Currently most of the elementary schools in San Ramon offer the Rainbow Program. Each year data is collected that demonstrates the effectiveness of the Rainbow Program. Year after year the data demonstrates that with the seemingly simple proactive support of the Rainbow Program, children show immediate benefits in the short-term, and also demonstrate long-term benefits, including academic success and pro-social decision making. The Rainbow Program is unique in that it is designed as a pro-active, preventative opportunity for children, instead of intervening after problems have already been demonstrated.

Why Support Rainbow?

The Rainbow Program at Walt Disney was made possible by a three year matching-funds grant from the State of California. Together with the financial contributions of San Ramon Valley Unified School District and Walt Disney site funds, the grant has provided the start-up costs, materials costs, and most importantly, the personnel costs of our two wonderful Rainbow Paraprofessionals (Mrs. Denise Bringer and Mrs. Corrie Sharp), professional supervision provided by our School Psychologist (Mrs. Linda Taylor), and additional consultation with our Mental Health Consultant (Mrs. Julie Dolle`). 2010-2011 is the final year of our three year grant. For the coming year, the program will need additional financial support to make up for the monies that had been part of the grant. Walt Disney parents have already been generous in their support of the Rainbow Program and we hope that with additional financial support we will be able to retain our full staffing level and continue seeing children five days per week in the Rainbow Room. To listen to a podcast of student testimonials of the Rainbow program, click here.

Thank you for helping us to provide this unique opportunity to start our children out on a positive journey of learning and belonging in their school community. If you would like to make a private donation towards our Rainbow program for 2011-2012, or if your employer has grant opportunities for community programs such as Rainbow, please contact Joe Nguyen or Linda Taylor right now.

If you would like further information about the Rainbow Program, please feel to contact Linda Taylor at (925) 479-3914.

Walt Disney's Night at the Ballpark

Last year was our first year of this PTA family fun night at the Oakland Athletics game. For our first year, we did well in dominating two entire sections of seats at the Oakland Coliseum. This year's event will be on Friday, April 29, as the Oakland Athletics host the Texas Rangers at 7:05 pm. Download the following order form to join fellow Walt Disney families and staff enjoy a baseball game. You can also order tickets to additional games (listed on the form). The Oakland Athletics will donate 50% of all ticket prices back to Walt Disney's PTA.

SRVUSD Summer Enrichment Program

Our district is providing a 4 week summer enrichment program for students. It is important for students to be involved in some form of academic learning during the summer months to avoid academic regression. We know there are many summer opportunities within our community, including just having students be involved in reading/writing/math opportunities at home. A wonderful option is to take advantage of the SRVUSD Enrichment Program. Go to the Summer Enrichment program website to learn more details and register your students. Registration opens on Monday, March 28, and is on a "first come, first served" basis.