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Principal's Post: Sunday, November 30, 2025

Posted Date: 11/30/25 (04:00 PM)
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The Principal's Post
Dear Coleman Families,
Welcome back to Coleman Elementary following the Thanksgiving Break! I hope you and your families enjoyed a restful and joyful time together. We are refreshed and ready for a strong finish to the year!

Dance-a-Thon: A "Golden" Highlight!

The recent Dance-A-Thon was an absolute "Golden" highlight to the year and a wonderful way for our students and community to come together before the break! Our Tigers had an absolute blast dancing and celebrating together.
A shoutout to our PTO team for their organization and executing this fun, successful community event!


October's Monthly Attendance Challenge Winners!

Congratulations to our 3rd Grade students for achieving the highest grade-level attendance rate for the month of October at 97.26%! Mr. Estuardo grilled up delicious hot dogs and veggie burgers for a celebratory Attendance Hot Dog Party. Way to go, 3rd Grade Tigers!

October's Grade Level Attendance Rates:

TK: 94.88%
Kindergarten: 95.46%
1st Grade: 95.83%
2nd Grade: 96.61%
3rd Grade: 97.26%
4th Grade: 96.97%
5th Grade: 94.75%

Let's end the 2025 school year on a high note by increasing our overall positive attendance. Consistent attendance builds a strong academic foundation, as learning is sequential—each day's lesson builds on the last. Regular presence also helps students develop crucial social skills, foster positive peer relationships, and is directly linked to long-term academic success and higher graduation rates.

This is especially critical for our English Language Learners, as consistent attendance is key to accelerating their fluency and language development. Thank you for making attendance a priority!

Incident Command System (ICS) Disaster Drill

Your child's safety is our highest priority. We will hold our Annual Disaster Drill on Thursday, December 4th, to ensure all students and staff are prepared for emergencies.

We conduct monthly drills for a variety of scenarios (e.g., earthquake, intruder). Our safety plans, which include sign-in and gate procedures, are developed with safety consultants and local police/fire officials.

We use the Incident Command System (ICS), the same management structure utilized by first responders, to guide our actions.
In an emergency, our priorities are:
  1. Secure Students: Staff immediately enacts the safety plan to secure all students.
  2. Notify Authorities: District staff communicates with police and other local authorities.
  3. Notify Parents: Once the situation stabilizes, parents will be notified via ParentSquare (email, text, and/or phone) regarding school closure and the student pick-up location (reunification point).
We appreciate your cooperation with our established procedures to keep our campus secure.
 

What I'm Reading: Autism & Education: The Way I see it: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know by Dr. Temple Grandi

Dr. Temple Grandin discusses the real issues that parents, teachers, and kids face every day. Here is a concise handbook that illustrates what Temple has found to work in the field of education. Topics include:
  • The importance of early intervention
  • Teaching for different types of thinking
  • Developing talent
  • Motivating students
  • Keeping high expectations
And much more!
In these helpful pages, Dr. Grandin offers do’s and don’ts, practical strategies, and try-it-now tips, all based on her insider perspective and extensive research. Interestingly, she argues that education for kids on the autism spectrum must focus on their overlooked strengths to foster their unique contributions to the world.

Coleman Handbook Highlight


Drop-off Procedures:
  • Prepare ahead of time: If you’re using the roundabout to drop off your students, please ensure that they can open and close their doors independently—drivers must always remain in their seats. We suggest you give a hug and a kiss before you enter the car or park on Belle Avenue and take your student to school.
  • Pack the roundabout: Please pull as close to the stop sign as possible before you let your kids out; this keeps the flow of traffic moving.
  • Crossing guard: Beginning at 7:40 am, the Transportation Authority of Marin’s crossing guard supports families walking across Belle Avenue to and from Coleman.
  • Keep the crosswalk safe: Please stop at least 5-10 feet before the crosswalk to allow pedestrians to cross the street safely.
  • Entering the Roundabout: Traffic enters the roundabout from the southbound direction, making a left turn, and from the northbound direction, making a right turn.
  • Alternate Entering the Roundabout: Please alternate making turns into the roundabout to ensure that traffic continues to flow smoothly in both directions.

Pick-up Procedures:

  • TK-K: Please continue to walk through the gates to pick up your student, beginning at 2:45 pm on M, T, Th, F, and beginning at 12:45 pm on Wednesdays.
  • If you have students in 1st-5th too, once you pick up your TK or K student, please pick up your students in 1st-5th outside of the campus gates.
  • 1st-2nd: We ask that you stay outside the school gates and not enter the coned-off area. We suggest you wait on the Rafael parking lot side of the school.
  • 3rd-5th: We ask that you stay outside the school and not enter the coned-off area. We suggest you wait on the Dominican soccer field side of the school.
Drop off and Pick up

Important Resources, Links & PTO Weekly Newsletter

The Weekly Wrap - the Coleman PTO Weekly Newsletters

Important Dates and Upcoming Events

Coleman Family Google Calendar HERE

  • Wednesday, December 3, from 6-7 pm: PTO Monthly Meeting https://srcs-org.zoom.us/j/97517282664
  • Thursday, December 4: Emergency Disaster Drill
  • Wednesday, December 10-12: 5th Grade Outdoor Education at Nature Bridge in the Marin Headlands
  • Monday, December 15, from 5-6 pm: School Site Council (SSC) https://srcs-org.zoom.us/j/89352874459?jst=2
  • Wednesday, December 17, from 5-7 pm: Youth in Arts Winter Sharecase at Coleman
  • Friday, December 19, from 8:10-8:45 am: Principal Chat in the library
  • Monday, December 22 - Monday, January 5: Winter Break, No School