|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
It’s that time of the year again: Dust off backpacks, fill up pencil cases and lace up those shiny new shoes, because local students are heading back to school.
Wednesday, Aug. 16, marks the first day of class for many local school districts, though others start next week. Here’s the lowdown on what parents, guardians and students can expect on their first day back.
Ravenswood City School District
Like most local districts, students enrolled in Ravenswood City School District will be heading back to class on Aug. 16. All school sites within the district start classes at 8:30 a.m.
Belle Haven Elementary School students will see the same administrators as last year, Principal Michelle Masuda Lee and Vice Principal Stuart Shiraishi, though classrooms will look a little different.
“This coming year we will be going through changes in location,” the administrators told families in a welcome back letter. “Belle Haven will be going through some major construction starting in January 2024. For this reason, we will all be moving out to portables this summer for the next few years. The new Belle Haven School entrance will be on Hamilton Street.”
Las Lomitas Elementary School District
Both Las Lomitas Elementary School and La Entrada Middle School will kick off classes on Aug. 16. Las Lomitas starts at 8:15 a.m. and La Entrada at 8:40 a.m., according to the bell schedules.
As students and their families well know, both sites have been undergoing modernization projects for the last couple years, and school officials are excited to say that this will be the final year of construction.
A few fresh faces will be joining the district’s administration. New Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Dr. Valerie Park joined the district office over the summer, and Bjorn Wickstrom will lead La Entrada this year as the school’s new principal.
Woodside School District
All students at Woodside School District’s two campuses have their first day back on Aug. 16. Both the Lower School and Upper School begin at 8:25 a.m., and students who are enrolled in jazz band or choir during zero period start at 7:30 a.m.
Superintendent Steve Frank said the district is launching a revamped elective program this year for the middle school, offering students a wheel of elective options and the opportunity to choose what they take. All students will take certain electives, Frank said, including social emotional learning and life skill-based classes.
Frank added that the district is actively making plans for facilities upgrades in the near future. One of the biggest needs will be a creek stabilization project following the extremely wet winter and the flooding that came with it.
“We’ve had to fence off parts of our kindergarten field and it’s still fenced off,” Frank said. “It’s something that is vital to our school, our fields are vital.”
Sequoia Union High School District
Sequoia Union’s first day of classes is also Aug. 16. Menlo-Atherton High School, TIDE Academy and Woodside High School all begin at 8:30 a.m. District officials noted that Woodside High School no longer has a zero period.
Students at Menlo-Atherton can expect to see a couple new administrative faces on campus this year. Amy Hanson and Jessica Magallanes are both joining the high school as administrative vice principals, specializing in student support services, discipline and activities. Magallanes will get to know students with last names A through L, and Hanson will be there for students with last names M through Z.
Menlo Park City School District
Students at Encinal School, Laurel School, Oak Knoll School and Hillview Middle School should note that Menlo Park City School District’s first day of school is Wednesday, Aug. 23, a week later than some other local districts, and start times vary depending on the school.
Transitional Kindergarten students at Encinal start at 8:20 a.m., K-2 at 8 a.m., and third through fifth at 8:15 a.m. At Laurel, both TK and K-2 begin at 8:15 a.m., while grades 3 to 5 start at 8:30 a.m. All grades at Oak Knoll start at 8:10 a.m. Finally, at Hillview Middle, school begins at 8:25 a.m. daily.
Superintendent Kristen Gracia said that the district is entering into the year with no turnover on its leadership team and a fully staffed team of teachers.
The district is undertaking a big expansion of its transitional kindergarten program this year, with all elementary sites now offering it. Last year, TK was only at Laurel School. Oak Knoll and Encinal both underwent some minor construction to properly outfit classrooms to welcome the younger TK kids, Gracia said.
“We’re getting back to business,” she said. “We’ve been through the pandemic, and really this is our year where we’re going to be focused in on the academics.”
Portola Valley School District
Students at Ormondale and Corte Madera schools will get to enjoy a few extra days of summer, with the district starting classes Aug. 29.
“The reason we’re starting later this summer, as well as last summer, is to maximize the time that we have in the summer for modernization and construction projects,” said district spokesperson Roberta Zarea. “We’re hoping the 2024-25 school year will adjust and start at the typical time when other districts start.”
Those projects were made possible by the $49.5 million Measure Z bond, which Zarea thanked the community for supporting and for being patient as the upgrades came to fruition over the last couple years. Both campuses have new buildings to unveil this year.
“Over here at Corte Madera we have a brand new atrium wing specifically for our middle school students. There’s a beautiful new art room, two science rooms, a few classrooms, and then some break-out spaces,” Zarea said.
Ormondale will unveil a new STEAM center, including new science, art and music rooms, Zarea said, and both campuses have new play structures for students.
All grades at Ormondale School will begin school at 8:15 a.m., according to the bell schedule. Fourth and fifth graders at Corte Madera begin at 8:30 a.m., while sixth through eighth grade start at 8:35 a.m. Middle schoolers with a zero period start at 8 a.m.
“Curriculum will be finally front and center,” Zarea said. “In the previous years it’s been the pandemic and a lot of work around that, as well as construction, so we’re really excited to move into these focus areas.”
Most Popular
Volunteers keep watch outside Redwood City jail after reported ICE activityNovember 6, 2026 11:10 pm
Velagapudi widens advantage over incumbent Combs in Menlo Park City Council electionNovember 6, 2026 11:26 am