Question:  I’ve heard that recess and playground rules are more strict and restrictive this year at the Elementary School. It’s disheartening to hear from multiple kids in different grades that recess is a time of stress trying to understand what is expected of them. Why do they have to ask to go to the bathroom or get water during recess? Aren’t they supposed to use that time to go instead of class time? What are the rules about running and playing tag? What are the rules about the play structures? How about the field?

Answer:  Playing and playground rules at the Elementary School have not changed for this school year. These rules are put into place in order to keep everyone safe while at recess. All the adults supervising students during playtimes have bathroom passes for students to use. This keeps our bathrooms from getting overloaded and becoming an unsupervised play area. No child is denied the opportunity to use the bathrooms during recess. Tag and chasing games are not allowed because there are too many children playing in one area, making it difficult to keep everyone from getting hurt. Please visit the Parent & Community, Parent Handbook section on the school’s website for details on playground expectations.

Question:  I heard that Ms. Rocha is asking the public library for thousands to help fund half of the cost of some entertainment and that the school or school district would fund the other half. Is this the best use of monies?

Answer:  SHPS is interested in bringing “Sugar Skull, a Dia de Los Muertos Musical Adventure” to the St. Helena Community. They are a live theater production of ten people. Their work would include a variety of workshops and presentations during the school day, as well as an evening show for the entire community. Ms. Rocha, the Principal of SHPS, reached out to other local organizations to see if they would be interested in bringing this show to our community.  

We have scoured the form that collects anonymous questions and have only received the following, "How long does it take to get a submitted question answered?" In response to this question, the response will vary depending on the question. Some questions require staff to research, check in with various employees, etc. Based on the question being asked, the response could be 24 -72 hours and possibly longer if it is a more involved question.