Principal's Corner

Dear Peninsula Families, 11/4/25

  We hope you all had fun during our Halloween carnival and celebrations last week! Thank you so much for helping to make the Halloween Family Night so much fun! Our theme this month is Accountability. Ask your students what they’re learning about being accountable with their words and actions.

We know that the loss of SNAP benefits due to the government shutdown is hitting a lot of us hard. Peninsula School is here to help. Please check out the flyers in your email for sources of available food support. We are also gathering a small, temporary food bank here at school. Please reach out to Principal Raven (or anyone working at Peninsula) if you want some food support or if you have any food to share with others.

Our After School Program (ASP) has its own phone now! 

Please put this in your phone: 707-683-9188 

You can text and call to reach staff during after school hours when the office is closed.

Important Dates:

• In November, we have a very long weekend: No School for students on Friday 11/7 (staff inservice), and Monday and Tuesday on 11/10 and 11/11 for Veterans’ Day.

• Autumn Break is 11/24-11/28

We are excited to announce that we will be running an Autumn Break Day Camp for current Peninsula Union students!

WHEN: Monday 11/24 and Tuesday 11/25 from 8:30am-5:30pm

WHERE: Peninsula Union School. Check-in will be in the cafeteria from 8:30-8:45am. For check-out, we will either be in the cafeteria or on the play yard out back. Find a staff member and they will direct you to who has the sign-out sheet.

WHAT: Full days of fun indoor and outdoor activities (weather dependent) run by our Peninsula Union staff. We will also provide breakfast, lunch and afternoon "supper". 

HOW TO SIGN UP: We will be able to take the first 20 students who sign up. You need to enroll for both days. To enroll follow this link and sign up. If you can’t sign up online, please call the school office at 707.443.2731.

ADDITIONAL INFO: Day Camp rules are the same as for school: BEE KIND. BEE SAFE. BEE RESPECTFUL. BEE RESPONSIBLE. We will make every attempt to work with your child, however, students who cannot remain safe or consistently follow the rules will be asked to return home. Please send your child in clothes appropriate for outdoor play. Know that their clothes may get dirty/stained depending on the fun activities we have planned. If that is an issue, let our staff know and we can support using some of the donated clothes we have.    

Sign up for text announcements from Principal Raven:

To receive text announcements and reminders, please 

Text: @mscoit25 

To: 81010

And follow the directions to sign up. Downloading the app is free!

After School Program

Our after school program is totally free and open to students TK through 8th grade. We serve supper and a snack for all students attending the program, and we are open until 5:30 p.m. Please pick up your students before 5:30 p.m. and be sure to sign them out on the clipboard. Please call us if you have any questions about the after school program.

Biking Safety at Peninsula

We LOVE it when students bike to and from school, and we need them to be safe. Specifically we need them to wear helmets. The ride to and from the apartments isn’t far…but it is dangerous for bicyclists:

• There is typically construction equipment & vehicles with limited visibility

• Unfortunately some folks drive too fast, even past our school

• The roads are damp most mornings making them slippery or they have debris

• We see how fast the kids get going down the hills…it wouldn’t take much for them to fly off their bike. 

A few stats from the Dept of Transportation:

• Each year almost 400,000 children ages 14 and under are treated in emergency rooms

for bicycle-related injuries.

• Universal bicycle helmet use by children ages 4 to 15 would prevent 39,000 to 45,000 head injuries, and 18,000 to 55,000 scalp and face injuries annually.

• Bicycle helmets are 85-88 percent effective in mitigating head and brain injuries, making the use of helmets the single most effective way to reduce head injuries and fatalities resulting from bicycle crashes.

• It is the law: “In California, if you are under the age of 18, you are required to wear an approved, properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet.”

Here are ways we would like to support:

• If we see (or are told) that a child uses their helmet, they will receive one of our Golden Tickets for EVERY day that they use the helmet on their way to and from school.

• If you are in need of a helmet, we can support getting your child/children one! Just reach out to our office.

• If you can think of additional ways we can support helmet use, please tell us. 

Thank you for being a part of our school community. 

Sincerely,

Principal & Superintendent Raven Coit

Parenting Classes:

Parents in Training:

Love and Logic - directed for parents of all age children 

Contact Information - 707-443-1401

https://parentsintraining.org/

Humboldt County Office of Education:

Parent Project - directed for parents of adoloscent children

(Typically offered in the Spring)

Contact Person - Gillian Wadsworth 

(707) 445-7098

 GWadsworth@hcoe.org 

Arcata Police Department, Diversion Program: 

Parent Project - directed for parents of adoloscent children

Loving Solutions - directed for parents of 5-10 y.o. children

Contact Person - Crystal Perez, Cperez@arcatapd.org

Parenting Resources:

Changing Tides Family Services: 

Parent Cafes - Receive parenting tips and resources and share with other parents

Contact Person - Amanda Steinebach, 707-298-8358

https://www.changingtidesfs.org/community-resources/parent-resources

Manila Community Resource Center:

Contact Person:  Esther Hutton, 707-441-9771

https://www.hnfrc.org/