PTA - FALL UPDATE

The 2014-2015 year has had an amazing start. Your PTA dollars have been busy at work. In the beginning of the year we hosted our annual welcome picnic and purchased all new printers for every classroom. Thank you to the tech committee who helped with installation.

We continue to support the administration with paying for extra staff to support the needs of our children including Ms. Sheila, Ms. Sanford and a new Rooftop Works coordinator, DeBari Martinez to support Burnett students during recess and beyond.

We funded the middle school trip to see The Tempest at the African American Shakespeare Company in November, the middle school buses for the field trip to attend the Cal Academy of Sciences Skulls Exhibit, and the Family Art Night in October. We also organized a successful greening/work day at both campuses.

Of course, all of these wonderful programs need to be funded. Our PTA helps cover all of these and more programs. One of our major fundraisers, the Rooftop Run, was a fantastic day of of community, exercise and Rooftop Spirit. About 150 people attended and preliminary numbers are still being calculated. If you still have pledges to collect, please turn them in.  It was great to see our new principal, Mr. Slater, running with our kids.

Our annual fund will be in high gear soon. We are going to dedicate the month of December to giving. Everyone that donates to the annual fund in December will be entered to win a iPad! We are aiming for 100% participation! Our final big fundraiser will be the auction. Please plan to join us on March 14 for a night of fun and raising money for our children!

Our PTA membership is currently at 180 members and continues to grow, as more families join every week. If you haven't please join or renew your membership today! We want to extend a HUGE thank you to all the families who support our school,whether it's through volunteering or donating.

We hope you can join us this Thursday for our PTA community building Thanksgiving dinner. Please feel free to send an email to the PTA if you have any questions or ideas. We would love to hear them!

Q&A with 2nd grade teacher, Ms. Wickstrom.

Ms. Wickstorm (or otherwise known as Ms. W) is the new 2nd grade teacher at Rooftop. Ms. W was a student teacher and substitute for a few years before becoming a full time teacher at Rooftop. You can find Ms. W in B18 on the Burnett Campus. Say "hello" next time you see her!


Tell us a little about your professional background.
For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a teacher. I always volunteered to spend time during my recess and lunch to help teachers in elementary school and enjoyed working in after school programs in high school. After attending Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo for a year, I realized that I needed to be in a program that was actively preparing me to be a teacher. I transferred to the University of San Francisco, where I enrolled in the Dual Degree Program. As a part of this program, I spent my undergraduate years taking classes for my BA and MA. I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a minor in Child and Youth Psychology. I spent one year in graduate school where I earned my Masters of Education in Teaching and my multiple subject teaching credential.

Despite being a second year teacher, I've been active in San Francisco schools for the past six years. When I enrolled in the Dual Degree Program at the University of San Francisco, I knew that my number one goal was to start working in schools as soon as possible. The Dual Degree program encourages participants to become active in classrooms as soon as possible, so I began volunteering in a fourth grade class at Rosa Parks Elementary. In this classroom, I worked one-on-one with students that needed extra support in reading, many of whom were reading multiple levels below grade. This work made me realize the high need for excellent teachers in San Francisco Public Schools and further ignited my passion for this beautiful work. 

After volunteering at Rosa Parks for a year, I took an internship at the San Francisco Friends School (SFFS) in a third grade classroom. The difference between these schools is extraordinary, as the SFFS is a private Quaker school. I stayed in this position for three years. Working at the SFFS gave me the opportunity to learn new strategies, observe different teaching styles, experience community builders, make professional connections, participate in workshops, and develop relationships with students and teachers. 

After this experience, I knew I wanted to go back to the diversity of the public school system. I volunteered in a kindergarten classroom at Miraloma, worked in a second grade classroom at Dianne Feinstein, and had the wonderful opportunity to work at Rooftop a student teacher in Dieter Roger's fourth grade classroom. While student teaching, I also worked as a substitute in various classrooms throughout the Burnett and Mayeda campuses. After my various volunteering experiences, I feel so appreciative to work at Rooftop, a school filled with diversity, exploration and discovery, artistic creations, professional development opportunities, strong relationships between teachers, families, and students, and the chance to learn something new each day.

Why did you choose to become a teacher?I chose to become a teacher because I feel extremely passionate about working with children to make a positive change in our world. I believe that my students teach me something new everyday and I love being involved in a profession where I see young people transforming positively. When I was growing up, school felt very traditional. I remember sitting in rows facing the chalkboard and copying down notes that the teacher was writing on the board. Despite loving to learn, I did not always enjoy being in the classroom because I often felt like I had to teach myself the concepts I was supposed to be learning. When I began working in classrooms, I realized that teaching is about innovation, creativity, hands-on exploration, curiosity, and being fully engaged in every aspect of the school day. Furthermore, I am passionate about teaching because it is a profession where I am constantly learning, reflecting, and changing my perspective. Although teaching is a challenging profession, I love interacting with different students every year. Although this is only my second year as a teacher, I've realized that teaching is an ever-evolving profession where I need to build relationships with my students in order to create a teaching style for that year that will allow them to be engaged in and learning about things that are most interesting and exciting.

What's your favorite thing about working with kids?My favorite thing about working with kids is the excitement, curiosity, and personality that they bring to the classroom. Working with kids reminds me to be optimistic about everyday opportunities, challenges me to look at things from different perspectives, allows me to share my creativity and knowledge, and helps me fill each day with a little bit of laughter and a lot of learning. I also love watching my students grow throughout the year. At the beginning of the school year, I get to meet a new group of students. Throughout the year, I build relationships with these students, find out their likes and dislikes, discover their learning styles, understand their favorite subjects,  experience their tremendous abilities to thrive as people, and ultimately grow myself as a result of being a part of this wonderful process.


What excites you about working at Rooftop?There are numerous things that excite me about working at Rooftop. In particular,  the spectacular teaching staff,  supportive families, extra activities, and diverse student population that make Rooftop an extraordinary place. Rooftop is filled with exciting opportunities that makes teaching here a unique, fulfilling experience. The sense of community, camaraderie, and welcoming I feel at Rooftop is astounding. From the first time I stepped onto the Burnett campus as a student teacher, I knew Rooftop was the school for me. We have an experienced, knowledgeable, friendly staff and I've found that every single teacher has something special and genuine to offer. Rooftop is also filled with families that are dedicated to constantly making Rooftop a better place. Rooftop is more than just a school, it is a community. Every day I find new parent volunteers helping out around campus. The level of support and participation from the Rooftop families helps to make Rooftop an exceptional place. Finally, one reason I love most about living in San Francisco is the beautiful assortment of diversity found within this city. Rooftop reflects this diversity in its student population. Being part of a school that celebrates the many different backgrounds, races, cultures, ethnicities, and religions, and brings them together into one Rooftop community is a rare, magnificent place and I feel blessed to be a member Rooftop.


What do you like to do when you are not teaching?When I'm not teaching, I love hanging out with my family. I grew up in Redwood City and most of my extended family still lives there. I have a very large family of cousins, uncles, aunts, grandmas, and grandpas. We love getting together to celebrate, relax, and catch up. About a year ago, I started practicing yoga and since then yoga is my favorite thing to do outside of teaching. There are many fabulous studios and teachers in the city, but I also like finding yoga retreats that take me outside the city. Over spring break, I'm going to the Bali Spirit Festival, which is a five day festival filled with yoga, music, and dancing! I also love traveling, hiking, and camping. Being outdoors and exploring in nature helps me to relax and unwind after a week of teaching. I'm also a big reader. I grew up sneaking a book and flashlight into my bed so that I could stay up late reading and I've kept that habit as an adult. I can't wait for the rainy season so that I can snuggle up next to the fire place with a good book, it seems like I always have a never-ending reading list!


If you could change one thing about education, what would it be?  It would be implementing discovery based learning in a consistent way throughout grade-levels. Discovery learning is inquiry-based and focuses on the learner to discover concepts, relationships, and ideas by exploring, manipulating, and performing. When implemented in a classroom with set routines and procedures, strong relationships between teacher and students, and a safe community with high expectations, discovery learning encourages active engagement, promotes motivation, and develops creativity, independence, and problem solving.