0:14

Well, welcome to another

0:14

episode of Sage Studio.

0:17

I am Tiffiny Webster, and today

0:17

we are getting ready to go back to

0:21

school and I have two guests with me,

0:21

Stephanie Gomarko and Taylore Coulombe.

0:27

They are both from the Personalized

0:27

Learning Academy and today we're

0:31

going to be talking all about

0:31

socials, Back to School Socials.

0:34

So welcome both of you. Thank you.

0:37

It's great to be here. so let's start off, for those of our

0:39

family members who don't know who you

0:42

are or your role here in Sage Oak, I'm

0:42

going to let you both introduce yourself

0:46

and tell us what you are up to with

0:46

Sage Oak for this next school year.

0:49

So Taylore, let's start with you. Tell us about your role this year.

0:53

Yeah, so I am a Regional Mentor in

0:53

the Fullerton area, so I oversee

0:57

about 20 teachers in that area. I'm just there to support them and

0:59

make sure that I'm helping them with.

1:02

Any issues they might have. And I also have a roster

1:03

of my own students as well.

1:06

So busy getting them all,

1:06

going up and running for the

1:09

school year, so I love that. And what grade levels do

1:11

you primarily work with?

1:14

I work with kindergarten

1:14

through fifth grade, okay.

1:17

And Stephanie, what are you working on this year? So I am also Regional Mentor

1:20

for the Rancho Cucamonga area.

1:23

So I have about 28, almost

1:23

30 teachers in my region.

1:27

We're very excited. We service students in Rancho Cucamonga,

1:28

Fontana, Upland High Desert area.

1:32

So that is my role. And again, like Taylore, I support

1:33

the teachers and it helps them

1:36

have a successful school year. Awesome.

1:38

So good. And what are the grade levels

1:39

that you mostly support?

1:42

And I have a small roster of

1:42

middle school students this year.

1:45

I love that they have divided that up a

1:45

little bit because I know that it really

1:50

does take some expertise to really support

1:50

those families at those different levels.

1:54

So good to know that our families,

1:54

whether they're in elementary or in

1:58

middle school, are in good hands with you.

2:01

So I'm so excited to introduce this

2:01

social to our families if they are new

2:06

to Sage Oak and are not familiar with it.

2:09

But also too for our families that

2:09

really love the Back to School

2:12

social, I know they're going to be

2:12

excited to hear all of the details.

2:15

So, Stephanie, let me start with you. Give us a little bit of background

2:17

on the back to school, social.

2:21

What is it and what can our

2:21

families and our students expect?

2:25

Yeah, the back to school socials

2:25

are a great time for families

2:28

to come out, get to meet their

2:28

teachers, get to meet other students.

2:32

We've invited some of our approved

2:32

community providers to come out and

2:35

market their services that they offer our

2:35

students, and we also will be doing like

2:40

a curriculum swap day so families can come

2:40

out and grab any extra curriculum, books,

2:45

supplemental resources that they might

2:45

want to add onto their regular curriculum.

2:48

It's just a really fun, exciting day

2:48

for students to come out, be with their

2:52

teachers, get to know them a little bit

2:52

better in like a more informal setting.

2:56

And enjoy what all the activities

2:56

that we have planned for the day.

3:00

So much fun. So tell me, Taylore, about where

3:01

are these social events happening?

3:06

Are they taking place

3:06

just at one location?

3:09

Are they at multiple locations? Where, where are those

3:11

happening this year? I. Yeah, so this year we ended up dividing

3:13

the dates in two, so we're doing

3:17

three socials on September 8th, and

3:17

then three socials on September 15th.

3:21

On the eighth, we're going to

3:21

have our Redlands region, Simi

3:24

Valley, Calabasas Region, and then

3:24

a South coastal Buena Park region.

3:29

And then on the 15th we're going to

3:29

have Fontana, Fullerton, and Temecula.

3:33

So we decided to divide them up into

3:33

two different dates this year, just

3:37

to make it so that families want to

3:37

go to multiple ones or just to make

3:40

it so that more staff can attend and

3:40

just, there also is a way that we can

3:43

have more curriculum swaps at each one

3:43

as well if we divided and conquered.

3:47

So we're doing it that way this year. And typically, in the past,

3:49

these gatherings have been like

3:52

at a park or community center,

3:52

is that the same for this year?

3:55

Yes. They're all at parks. Yeah. Okay.

3:58

Awesome I know from the ones that I've had

3:58

a chance to attend they really are kind

4:02

of these casual, interactive days, right?

4:05

Are parents able to just kind of plan

4:05

on coming and letting their kids play

4:11

and letting them participate in some

4:11

of these crafts and activities, or

4:14

is there a set agenda to the day? There's no set agenda.

4:18

It's just like you. Explained it, they're welcome to come. Just have they have time to explore.

4:22

We also have some field games that

4:22

we'll be setting up out on the field.

4:25

And yeah, they can come at their own time. Whatever works well for them,

4:27

we will be there for two

4:29

hours, from 10 to 12 o'clock. We will also have a

4:31

school photographer there.

4:34

So we're really excited to offer our

4:34

families this opportunity to come and

4:37

have their students' school picture taken.

4:39

'cause we haven't been able to

4:39

do that the last couple of years.

4:42

So we are asking that parents, give

4:42

themselves enough opportunity to

4:45

participate in the games, the activities,

4:45

the curriculum, swap, and have the

4:49

students photo taken if they would like. We sent last week in our Sage News,

4:51

email a link to sign up for that.

4:55

And so if someone's interested in

4:55

school pictures, you want to make

4:57

sure you go to that link and sign up. And then you also need to upload

4:59

a picture of your student.

5:01

'cause that's the way that we're

5:01

matching to be able to send you

5:04

the pictures once they're taken. So make sure if you are interested

5:05

in coming, that you take care

5:08

of that step before you come. Oh, that's so important.

5:11

So our families know that they're

5:11

going to be able to attend at different

5:15

regions across Southern California. There's a couple

5:17

different dates this year.

5:19

Again, you'll be able to check those

5:19

dates in the Sage News or on the

5:23

website, and I will be sure to add a

5:23

link in the show notes to our website

5:27

so that you can find the date and

5:27

the location for the social near you.

5:31

Parents should really expect to just. Come and enjoy, enjoy time playing some

5:33

games, enjoy time meeting with some of

5:38

our community providers and learning

5:38

more about the services that they offer.

5:43

I know a lot of our community

5:43

providers, they are offering both in

5:46

person and virtual services, which I

5:46

think is a real plus 'cause parents

5:51

can really choose the type of lessons

5:51

that they might want for their kids.

5:56

I know that these opportunities

5:56

are also so fun for students

6:00

to just meet other families.

6:03

I mean, have you experienced that

6:03

before that, that the kids just love

6:05

getting together and playing with

6:05

other kids and meeting with other kids?

6:09

I don't know. Taylore, do you find that your students

6:09

kind of make friends at these socials?

6:13

Yes, I think it's a really great way

6:13

to start the school year, just building

6:16

connections with other families. Parents can connect, students can connect.

6:21

I think sometimes it can feel isolating

6:21

if you're just at home and not connecting.

6:25

And so it's really important

6:25

to have those connections.

6:27

And I think too, like even new

6:27

can connect with families who've

6:30

been doing it for a long time. And so they, that's like, they

6:31

can become a really great resource

6:35

to each other in that way. That's a huge focus for us is getting

6:36

people to connect and even students

6:39

to come meet their teacher for

6:39

the first time in person perhaps,

6:42

and start that connection and

6:42

build that relationship as well.

6:45

It's such a good point because

6:45

in this world of being in the

6:49

independent study, there's only a few

6:49

times that students really do get a

6:53

chance to meet with their teachers. And often that's around the

6:54

learning period meetings, right?

6:57

So that's a time where you're

6:57

getting together, but it's.

6:59

You know, a little more business oriented. You're talking about how school's

7:01

going and you know, what adjustments

7:04

you can make where this is

7:04

just more of a social setting.

7:07

So, Stephanie, how do you feel like

7:07

that plays a role in the relationship

7:11

that you're able to make with

7:11

your students and your families?

7:14

Do you think it's, it's meaningful

7:14

to just have this time where you

7:16

can just get together socially? Yes.

7:19

Absolutely. That was a perfect way to

7:19

explain it, Tiffiny yes.

7:23

It's so nice for the students

7:23

to be able to come out in a

7:25

more relaxed setting mm-hmm. And get to see their teacher,

7:26

like participate in a craft

7:28

with them or a game with them. And definitely just build that

7:30

relationship with the teacher.

7:33

Absolutely. 100%. I agree with you and like Taylore said,

7:34

they meet friends and I love seeing

7:38

them exchange emails or phone numbers or

7:38

having their parents exchange numbers.

7:42

That's really special to see , our

7:42

students building a a community within our

7:45

program. I think so too. And when I host a lot of the webinars to

7:47

welcome new families into the program,

7:51

often the question is about community.

7:53

Like in this independent study

7:53

program, how am I going to meet

7:57

other families that are doing this? Who else in my community is in this

7:58

program and how can I connect with them?

8:03

And so I I always encourage them once they

8:03

are part of the school to take advantage

8:08

of these socials because they can start

8:08

to meet people that are right there.

8:11

In their own backyard, and then

8:11

they can continue to meet throughout

8:14

the year and get their kids

8:14

together to do these fun things.

8:16

So, I, I think that's a really

8:16

great way to meet other families.

8:20

Now, Stephanie, I wanted to follow

8:20

up on something else that you said,

8:23

which was about the curriculum swap.

8:25

Tell me a little bit about that and what

8:25

can parents expect with a curriculum swap?

8:30

Yeah, so over the year, throughout the

8:30

school year, teachers collect many items

8:34

from families who are moving on or have

8:34

moved on to the high school higher level.

8:38

So families return a lot of their

8:38

valuables and books and all kinds of

8:42

different resources, especially like

8:42

great supplements to your core curriculum.

8:46

So our teachers will bring them that

8:46

day to the park and we'll spread 'em out

8:49

and , it'll be very nice and organized. We divide 'em up by subject and

8:51

parents, it's on a first come, first

8:54

serve basis, but they will come line

8:54

up and they are free to take whatever

8:58

they would like to supplement and add

8:58

to their student's curriculum plan.

9:01

That is great. I mean, that's a perfect way to scoop

9:02

up a microscope or some extra readers

9:06

or some musical instruments sometimes. I mean, I've seen some pretty good things

9:08

at those swaps, so good to know that

9:12

those will be going on this year as well. I love that idea.

9:16

Okay, so we have the fun and games.

9:18

We have an opportunity for our

9:18

students and families to meet up

9:22

with one another, make some friends,

9:22

parents can meet other parents.

9:26

Students can meet other students. There's going to be some crafts going on.

9:29

There's going to be a chance to connect with our community providers, school pictures.

9:33

I think there's so many things that we

9:33

are offering our families that are going

9:37

to make them feel that they are part of

9:37

a community, and that is something that

9:41

I know we all work very hard to make

9:41

happen here at Sage Oak is that although

9:45

our families are working independently,

9:45

we want them to feel tethered.

9:49

We want them to feel connected

9:49

, and feel like they know who is

9:53

supporting them along the way. Whether that's.

9:55

Teachers, or whether that is community

9:55

providers or just other families

10:01

that can be a support system too. You know, just having that person

10:02

to call sometimes when you're like

10:05

do you have any ideas for this? Or do you, are you going

10:06

on that field trip?

10:08

Like, it all starts with these

10:08

relationships that you build.

10:12

And sometimes that can happen

10:12

right here at the get go with

10:16

the socials, which is so awesome. I love that idea.

10:19

Alright, well just as a reminder, I

10:19

will go ahead and add into the show

10:23

notes, a link to our website where

10:23

you can grab some more information

10:27

on the socials, where they're

10:27

going to be located, the different

10:31

dates that they are being offered. There'll be some information

10:33

too, as far as what's happening

10:36

in each of the socials. And then I'll also link to the Sage

10:37

News with the information regarding

10:41

school photos, so that if any of

10:41

our families want to take our school

10:45

photos, that they'll be able to add

10:45

that as well as we start to think

10:49

about the start of the school year. I'll start with you, Stephanie.

10:52

What are you most excited about

10:52

going into this school year?

10:56

What are you thinking about right now? Getting the year started?

10:59

I think it's just every year is

10:59

always exciting and every year at

11:02

Sage Oak we're trying to add in new

11:02

fun activities and opportunities

11:05

for students to come together. We've added talent shows.

11:09

We've added our Living

11:09

History and STEAM days.

11:11

Also just getting to work with

11:11

your students and see their

11:14

growth from year to year. Right now we're planning.

11:16

with parents. We're setting up LPs, we're setting up

11:17

their educational plans and making sure

11:20

they're all set with their curriculum

11:20

and just really look forward to another

11:23

successful year with each of our students.

11:26

How about for you, Taylore? As you know, you get some of the fun

11:27

ones that are just, maybe this is like

11:30

the first few years of school for them. I know when they're in kindergarten,

11:32

they're so excited about coming.

11:35

What are you looking forward to this year

11:35

working with your elementary students?

11:39

Yeah, so just as a K-5 teacher, it's

11:39

really exciting when I get brand new

11:42

kindergartners on my roster and getting

11:42

to really come alongside these parents who

11:46

have never been in the independent study

11:46

model before and getting to support them.

11:49

And it's so fun as a K-5 teacher to

11:49

get to watch them grow from all the

11:53

way kindergarten to fifth grade. So that's definitely really exciting.

11:56

And then even with my fifth

11:56

graders, they'll be moving on to

11:59

a sixth grade teacher next year. So really just that's my final year

12:00

with them to impact them, support them,

12:04

and build into them as much as I can. So that's a really, exciting time, and

12:06

it's going to be a great school year.

12:10

We have so much, so many fun things

12:10

planned in ahead for us that we're

12:12

all really looking forward to. I'm sure they are looking forward

12:14

to it just as much as you are.

12:18

You are right. It is a really exciting time and

12:19

one of the things that I think is

12:22

so great about Sage Oak is that you

12:22

continue year after year to meet

12:27

students and families where they are. So if they are brand new to school

12:28

because they're a kindergartner,

12:32

you've got them covered and you'll be

12:32

able to support them in just getting

12:35

used to doing school in this model. But if they are a returning family, and

12:37

this is just a new school year, you're

12:41

going to be able to just pick up with that

12:41

relationship that you had with them before

12:44

and, and continue to grow from there. And for students that are just

12:46

transferring in from maybe a different

12:49

model, and this is their first

12:49

year in an independent study model.

12:52

I know that all of the teachers do a

12:52

really good job in supporting students

12:56

with that transition and just getting

12:56

them comfortable to the whole model.

12:59

So, you know, this is, this is what makes

12:59

this year so exciting is everybody's

13:02

coming in with all their own unique

13:02

stories and their own direction.

13:07

But it's about merging all of that

13:07

together and getting everybody on

13:11

the the same path towards success.

13:13

Right. And helping them to find their

13:13

own little personalized footing in

13:17

this program so that they can move

13:17

forward and have the kind of education

13:21

that they're really hoping to have. If you could give one last piece of

13:23

advice to parents on how they can

13:28

have a successful year, what's one

13:28

of the the key things that you feel

13:32

parents can do to make sure that they

13:32

have a successful year in this model?

13:35

Stephanie, I'll start with you. I think for the parents, they just have

13:37

to breathe and they have to know that

13:40

there's going to be some times where

13:40

it's going to be a little bit stressful.

13:43

But what an opportunity to have your

13:43

kids home and be learning with 'em and

13:46

have all this extra time with them. My biggest piece of advice is

13:47

use your teacher as your support.

13:51

Your teacher is there to help you and

13:51

guide you along the way when you're.

13:54

Student is struggling or the parent

13:54

is struggling, like, reach out.

13:57

Your teacher has so many amazing

13:57

resources to come along and

14:00

support your student with learning. Love that.

14:03

So good. And how about you, Taylore? Any, any piece of advice

14:04

that you have for parents?

14:07

Oh, yes. I also school my children through

14:08

Sage Oak and independent study model.

14:12

And mine is about to go off to

14:12

college next week, so, oh, wow.

14:15

, it's very sad time but also very exciting

14:15

to see that she's already at this place.

14:18

So I just think even as a former parent

14:18

in the school, I would just say to

14:22

just, to be present with your kids.

14:24

Take advantage of each of those moments. Read the books, sign up for the

14:26

activities, plug in with your

14:29

community and just, make it the

14:29

best year that you can one year at

14:33

a time and just really embrace the

14:33

experience 'cause it goes so fast.

14:38

Really good piece of advice. Really appreciate that.

14:40

All right, you too. Thanks so much for being here today.

14:42

Always great to have you on the podcast. Have a great time at the Back to

14:44

School Social and a great school year.

14:48

Good to see you. Thank you.

14:50

Bye-bye.