La Scuola International School celebrates grand opening of East Palo Alto campus

La Scuola International School, a pre-K through eighth grade language immersion school celebrated the opening of its Silicon Valley location, in East Palo Alto, with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 29.

This is the third campus in the Bay Area for the program, which focuses on Italian language immersion and International Baccalaureate curriculum. The school also has campuses in Dogpatch and the Mission District in San Francisco.

The ceremony celebrated the end of a two-year planning and construction process, according to a school press release.

Preschool students began their school year in August on the campus and it will continue to expand up through eighth grade, adding on an additional class each year.

"For many years, our Board of Directors has studied the feasibility of launching a La Scuola satellite campus in the South Bay, and this is the right time to expand," said Lama Nachman and Courtenay Brown, co-chairs of the school's board of directors in a statement. "Expanding to Silicon Valley allows more children and families to benefit and thrive in a Reggio Emilia-inspired education and will enhance the experiences of our program for students and families."

Families interested in learning more about the campus, or enrolling children in the program, can email the admissions team at admissions@lascuolasf.org or visit its website.

St. Raymond Pumpkin Festival returns

The St. Raymond Pumpkin Festival is back Friday, Oct. 14, and Saturday, Oct. 15, returning after a two-year pandemic hiatus, according to a school press release.

Games and activity tickets, food and beverages will be available for purchase.

Activities will include pony and train rides, carnival games, a pumpkin patch, bungee jumping, bounce houses, a bake sale, face painting, frisbee art and more.

On Friday, Oct. 14, there will be some special happenings, including a live band, a "boo-tique" and an appearance from the Stanford University Cardinal mascot.

The festival runs from 3:30 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 14 and noon to 5 p.m on Oct. 15.

St. Raymond School is located at 1100 Santa Cruz Ave. in Menlo Park. Admission is free.

For more information, go here.

County makes school masking optional

Students throughout San Mateo County can decide for themselves whether to don a personal face mask at school.

As of Sept. 23, wearing a mask is now a matter of "personal preference," the first change since a strong recommendation for indoor masking, regardless of vaccine status, went into effect March 1, per a district-wide announcement. San Mateo County is currently in the Centers for Disease Control's lowest level for community spread.

The new recommendation is based on California's SMARTER Plan, the next phase of California's COVID-19 response that was announced earlier this year. Focused on long-term health and safety, the SMARTER Plan calls for masking when and where risk of disease transmission is high.

People are encouraged to use information about the current COVID-19 Community Levels (CCLs) in their county to decide which prevention behaviors to use and when, taking into account their risk tolerance as well as their susceptibility to severe illness and that of members of their household. The community levels low, medium and high are based on hospitalization rates, hospital bed occupancy and COVID-19 incidence during the preceding period.

School staff who are returning from isolation or who were exposed to someone who has tested positive are still required to wear a face mask.