Ruth Asawa SOTA Friday Community Letter | December 19, 2025
(School Email) |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Important Announcements
- Show Announcements
- PTSA
- Student Organizations & Clubs
- Counseling
- College & Career
- Wellness Services
- Attendance
- Student and Family Handbook
- Student Opportunity Bookmarks
Dear Ruth Asawa School of the Arts Community,
As we come to the close of the fall semester and prepare to say goodbye to 2025, I want to take a moment to thank you for all that you have contributed to our school community over the past months.
This semester has been filled with creativity, learning, growth, and resilience. Our students have shown incredible dedication to their craft and academics, our staff and teachers have gone above and beyond to support and inspire them, and our families have continued to be steadfast partners in this work. Together, you make Ruth Asawa a truly special place.
As we head into winter break, I hope each of you is able to rest, recharge, and spend meaningful time with loved ones. Please take pride in all that we have accomplished this fall—we have much to celebrate and even more to look forward to in the year ahead.
Thank you for an outstanding semester. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in the new year, refreshed and ready for what’s next.
Wishing you a joyful break and a happy, healthy New Year. See you in 2026!
With gratitude,
Principal Kim
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS | |
Every Friday 8:30-9 AM: Principal Chat with Parent Advisory Committees/Art Departments meet in room #309. | |
Spotify Series | Dragons! Do you ever need a little pick-me-up in the morning? Love setting a mood while you get ready for the day? Well, tune in to our staff GRWM (get ready with me) series! Each Monday, you can find a new playlist curated by a different staff member with the theme of getting ready to conquer the day! Check out the official Ruth Asawa School of the Arts Spotify account here: https://open.spotify.com/user/31mapwqnrtgde77ars3ywzwbzray |
Food Resources | Nutrition and food access are more important than ever. Student Nutrition Services and our partner organizations are here to help. See below for additional food resources in San Francisco.
You can find all of this information and more at sfusd.edu/foodresources. Home | Shop Simple with MyPlate myplate.gov |
Culture Day is coming! Save the Date - Tuesday, March 17, 2026 Student Gov. is hard at work planning RASOTA’s next summit. Culture Day will include workshops from prominent San Francisco organizations, as well as student cultural affinity groups. If you belong to a cultural organization in the city that would be interested in presenting, please submit this form by December 19 - Click HERE to sign up! | |
Save the Date! Graduation will take place on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. More information coming your way in the months ahead - the countdown is on! 🎓 Senior Reminders (Use your SFUSD email to access the form)
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ADVISORY COUNCILS & COMMITTEES Important Resources and Contact Information ← click here | |
SHOW ANNOUNCEMENTS | |
| Join us for the Black Student Union's Kwanzaa Celebration on Friday, December 19th, 2025, at 4:30 PM in the Library! Pull up for good food, live performances, games, and raffles, all while we celebrate the 7 Principles of Kwanzaa with our Ruth Asawa School of the Arts community. Tickets are only $5, and every dollar helps send our BSU students to upcoming BSU conferences. Come vibe with us, support the squad, and kick off the season in community, culture, and joy. Friday, December 19th, 2025 at 4:30 PM Ruth Asawa School of the Arts General Admission $5 |
Save the Date Senior Showcase on Friday, January 23, and Saturday, January 24. | |
PTSA | |
FOLLOW @asawasotaptsa | |
Audition Day Jan 10th - Volunteers and Donations Needed! Audition Day is Saturday, January 10th, one month earlier than usual, and we need over 40 volunteers to help welcome more than 600 prospective students and families to Ruth Asawa SOTA. Volunteers play a key role in creating the warm, supportive experience that encourages students to choose SOTA. There are many ways to help with Audition Day. Click here to learn more and sign up to volunteer or donate. Whether you can volunteer to greet students, bring food and drink, or be a multilingual volunteer, every contribution helps support the event. If your schedule is full, you can also make a cash donation to the PTSA to help support the event. Questions? Contact Frances Dinglasan, Audition Day Coordinator - francesdinglasan@gmail.com. | |
Save the Date: Audition Day 2026, January 10, Saturday Morning & Afternoon We will be sharing sign-up sheets for morning and afternoon volunteer opportunities. We hope you’ll be able to participate. | |
Support the PTSA through concessions in the DKMT Fun fact, before we started the auction last year, the PTSA fundraised almost 75% of its budget through sales of merch and snacks in the main lobby of the DKMT theater. We want everyone to know every dollar we raise goes back to our community and we are very grateful for your support! As your concessions provider, we will do our best to make your experience just as awesome as the performance you have come to see. For more information on our budget, please visit our website. | |
Artist In Residence Annual Fund Campaign We invite all Ruth Asawa School of the Arts families, friends, and community members to donate as much as they are able, as early as they can. Your contribution directly supports the artists who shape your students education day by day, project by project, rehearsal by rehearsal. Our goal is to raise $300,000. As Ruth Asawa’s life’s work embodies, All Is Possible. Together, we will keep her vision alive for every student, every art form, and every dream. Click HERE to donate. | |
🌟 Join the PTSA Community Forum! 🌟
Send an email to main+subscribe@RuthAsawaSOTA.groups.io OR Click here → PTSA Forum to get plugged into all the fun updates on events, performances, and everything happening in our school community.
Want to get involved and connect with other amazing, supportive parents? CLICK HERE to connect with our Volunteer Coordinators to learn more! Our Groups.Io is a community news forum for sharing information, news from school, teacher wish lists, volunteer opportunities, and more. Please join us for all your Ruth Asawa School of the Arts news! | |
McAteer Campus Community Farm We've got lots of ways to help out and get involved, including planting, weeding, working in the greenhouse, site maintenance, construction, and art projects. You're also welcome to come just to check out the farm and grab some pizza from the pizza oven. The farm is next to the track on the Glen Canyon side. We'd love to have you join us McAteer Campus Farm. If you can join us for an upcoming community day, please let us know using this form. Please also follow the farm on Instagram for more updates throughout the year: www.instagram.com/mcateerfarm. Feel free to reach out to Amy Morris (PTSA Farm Lead) with any questions: amymo23@gmail.com. | |
Teacher Wish List Dear parents, As we continue building an enriching learning environment, our teachers have put together small wish lists of items that would greatly support their classrooms. Your generosity—big or small—makes a meaningful difference for our students and staff. Thank you for your continued support! The updated link is: RASOTA teachers' wish lists | |
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS & CLUBS | |
FOLLOW @SOTASTUDENTGOV | Event Inclusivity: Student Government wants to ensure that all student government sponsored events remain inclusive for our entire student body. Any students with financial need may schedule a private conference with Ms. Jhina Alvarado at least a week before any event! 🙂 |
Culture Day is coming! Save the Date - Tuesday, March 17, 2026 Student Government is hard at work planning RASOTA’s next summit. Culture Day will feature workshops led by prominent San Francisco organizations, along with presentations from our student cultural affinity groups. If you are part of a cultural organization in the city that would be interested in presenting, please submit this form by December 19. | |
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ALL STUDENTS | **ROSE LAB IS NOW OPEN!** |
CLINT CALIMLIM Head Counselor 9th & 10th Grade | Student Drop-in Office Hours: OFFICE 324A
Parent/Guardians: Appointments
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CARISSA JOW Counselor 11th & 12th Grade | Student & Family Office Hours: OFFICE 324B Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday Please schedule a time: Click Here Parents/Guardians: Please email jowc@sfusd.edu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW ANNOUNCEMENT! **SAT Information** SFUSD Juniors! The remaining 300 Saturday SAT seats at Lowell for each of the Spring 2026 SAT dates (March 14, May 2, and June 6) will be available on the official College Board SAT registration website (https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/registration) starting on Friday, December 19, 2025, 8 am PST. First come, first served for registration, so don't delay if you would like a San Francisco testing location for the SAT. |
College & Career For All Grades Teacher + College Counselor Cheryl Kapchan College Advisor Jeff Smith | College & Career Center: room 326 The College & Career Resources Website College Center Calendar College Visits Student Drop-in Office Hours: Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri: lunch, (sometimes) art block, and after school |
WELLNESS ANNOUNCEMENTS | |
Robert Francoeur | Wellness Coordinator
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Miranda Rutledge, BSN, RN rutledgem@sfusd.edu | School District Nurse
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Christian Lizaso | Community Health Outreach Worker
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Sabrina Kohmann | RAMS Counselor-Associate Marriage and Family Therapist.
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Hannah Rosen | SIT Intern Counselor
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Ayelet Shrek | RAMS Intern
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Donated Supplies Requested: Donations of herbal tea please (decaffeinated), Apples and Cinnamon Oatmeal. Any spare mugs for tea are appreciated. Winter Break Resources Announcement: Community Resources:
NAMI SF Announcement: Public programming calendar. All NAMI events are free and open to all. BIPOC Mental Health Support Group: BIPOC Support Groups Parent Coalition workshop: Link below: Raising Relationally Intelligent Teens: Love, Learning and AI Recent Book Release: “Talk to Your Boys”: Video Interview with the Authors: Live Conversation with Priya Parker & the authors of Talk To Your Boys More Resources: UCSF Study with a stipend. Please see link below for more details: We are looking for 14-18 years-old adolescents who will get a chance to undergo either a free 12-week mindfulness training, in which they will learn self regulation skills (breathing, yoga-based movements, meditation) or a free 12-week psychological education training that can help them better regulate emotions (with a random assignment to one of the groups). The groups will meet once-per-week for 1.5 hours online via Zoom. This study also involves mental health questionnaires and a daily sleep diary, with the option of wearing a sleep actigraph watch. Participants will also undergo about an hour long MRI scan before and after the training. MRI scans will take place at a state-of-the-art UCSF facility at Mission Bay. Participants will receive up to $535 in gift cards for completion of the study. Please discuss with your parents and contact us for more information: Website https://radiology.ucsf.edu/research/labs/BrainChange Screening Eligibility Survey: https://ucsf.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9NR5oBgaR4ExsWx California Launches Free Behavioral Health Apps for Children, Young Adults, and Families Podcasts Click Links:
Please contact Robert Francoeur if you have any suggestions, questions, or need support. We have opened up our on-line referrals for counseling. Please fill out this on-line form Wellness Counseling referral form Thank you for your donations of herbal tea. We always need herbal tea! Please donate spare mugs for herbal tea. Thanks for your help getting our Wellness Center looking good and welcoming for our students! | |
ATTENDANCE | |
Printable Excuse Note | Download our printable excuse note by clicking below. Submit within 3-days of the absence. As a reminder, Excused absences means your child is allowed to make up work (homework, quizzes, tests). Unexcused absence means teachers are not required to allow the student to make work up. |
Permit to Leave (3 options) |
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Submit Full-Day Absences through ParentVUE | Parents Can Submit Full-Day Absences through ParentVUE: You can enter a FULL day absence via the ParentVUE portal on their mobile app or desktop site. To learn more, select your preferred language: |
ParentVUE Access | Access all your student’s school information in one place, including attendance, grades, teacher emails, class assignments, and school communications. If you need an activation code, email the school and include both your name and your student’s name. ParentVUE is available in six languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. For assistance, please email us at sch815@sfusd.edu. |
Absences: If a student is absent, the guardian/caregiver must communicate with Ruth Asawa SOTA in one of the following way:
The note must include the following:
Tardies: Students must bring in a written excuse from guardian/caregiver or medical note to excuse a tardy. Permit to Leave: Permits to leave are issued by the office or Wellness Center. If a student needs to leave early due to a doctor/dental appointment, a guardian can send in a written note to excuse the student. The note must include the time of departure. COLLEGE TOURS: Seniors/Campus Visits - Arrangements must be made in advance and in writing with the senior counselor and teachers. Truancy: If a student has unexcused absences, the school or district will notify the family/guardian by sending you a truancy letter. A truant is defined by the following:
Click HERE for SFUSD Truancy Information. *We encourage parents/guardians/caregivers to review their student's attendance record regularly on ParentVue and communicate any discrepancies to the school. Students and Families can find out more about SFUSD Attendance policies in the Student and Family Handbook. Attendance Code in Synergy (ParentVue and StudentVue) | |
STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND EVENTS | |
Update Student Name and/or Gender Marker in SFUSD Systems → SFUSD affirms all students’ right to be addressed by the name and pronoun that reflects who they say they are at school. Students who, because of their gender identity or cultural experience, use a name and/or gender marker different from those given at birth, AND want to have this information included in an SFUSD system, can review this document on how to update a student's name and/or gender marker in SFUSD systems. | |
Celebrate & Support Teaching Artists! It's the season of gratitude and giving! As we look back on the last year at Ruth's Table, we want to honor our Teaching Artists and their inspiring and dynamic work. We're excited to highlight dAniel Alvarado-Arias, an artist, educator, and community advocate whose dedication to teaching the arts has helped forge intergenerational connections and creative confidence for communities at Ruth's Table. Ruth's Table | Art Gallery & Making Space 3160 21st Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 10 am-5 pm Thursday: 12:30 pm-7:30 pm Ruth’s Table will be closed | |
