Introduction

As a direct result of contributions from our community over the past few years, the San Mateo-Foster City Education Foundation has been fortunate to donate to our district the funds to continue the fifth grade instrumental music program.

In 2011, we were thrilled to see students from the entire district perform the national anthem before a Giants game at AT&T Park, and this year, students came together for the First Annual Bowlathon to compete for their school and raise money for the district.

While support for fifth grade instrumental music program is important, we’ve always felt the need to support all grades across all of our district’s elementary and middle schools.

A Musical Passing of the Torch

In response to the support for the return of a K-4 music program, it’s with great excitement that I announce the return of our music program to all grades!

For the 2012-2013 school year, the school district will provide financial support for a music program in grades K through 4, and our foundation will continue to support fifth grade music.

We applaud the district’s investment in our children’s future, and their confidence in the Education Foundation as we grow and take on funding responsibility for the district-wide music program. The torch has been passed – we’re off and running.

The Importance of Music

Research published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) indicates that music can help a child’s brain develop. In particular, the study notes that “people with musical training have improved language-learning ability” and that exposure to even casual musical training can lead to more acute hearing.

Music to My Ears

As the President of the San Mateo-Foster City Education Foundation, I thank the district for their support. I’m proud to play a small role as one of a group of like-minded enthusiastic parents and district staff on our Board in bringing music back to our schools.

As a parent of two boys at Highlands Elementary, I’m thrilled that music will be a part of their curriculum in the upcoming school year. In fact, I’m making music a part of this moment. Let’s sing it all together, “Celebrate good times, come on!”

Janet Koe
President
San Mateo-Foster City Education Foundation

Meanwhile, if you would like to print out a hard copy of the donation form or flyer that were distributed to the schools, you can use the links below to download and print the docs:
- Donation Form
- Support the Education Foundation flyer

Our goal during the 2011-12 school year is to raise enough money to bring back a centralized music program for all elementary students, K-5th grade (lost due to budget cuts in 2008), and to support music at the middle school grades. To do this, we need to raise $400,000 by July 1st, 2012, and we need your help.

We would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and would especially like to hear from you if you are interested in volunteer opportunities. We have big plans for 2012! Thank you for your support, and we look forward to hearing from you.

- Janet Koe
SMFC Education Foundation President
president@smfcedfund.org

- Buy tickets to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, which is being held at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco in early November.

- The tournament will feature legendary, Champions Tour golfers Tom Watson, Fred Couples, Tom Lehman, and many more.

- Tickets cost $25. But 75% ($18.75) of every ticket you buy will go to the San Mateo-Foster City Education Foundation!

(for the full scoop, click “continue reading” below)

Now here is the full story:

From November 2-6th, the Charles Schwab Cup Championship –the final event of the Champions TOUR — will be taking place at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. The event will feature all the best Champions Tour golfers including Tom Watson, Tom Lehman, Fred Couples, Mark O’Meara, and many more.

Even better, 100% of ticket sales from the event go to charity, with 25% of the net proceeds going to “First Tee of San Francisco” (the PGA TOUR’s main beneficiary) and 75% of the net proceeds going to the charity the ticket buyer chooses (from the an approved list of charities). And the San Mateo Foster City Education Foundation is on that approved list!

This means that $18.75 of every ticket sold (tickets are $25 a piece) will go to support the Education Foundation and music in the schools (the Foundation’s main program for the coming year), as long as ticket buyers specify the San Mateo Foster City Education Foundation as their charity of choice.

The easiest way to buy tickets and support the foundation is simply to use the following link (which automatically selects the Education Foundation as your charity of choice):

https://www.schwabcuptfc.com/tickets/forward.php?C=SMFCEF

Alternatively, if you end up on the Schwab Cup website directly, make sure to choose “San Mateo Foster City Education Foundation” from the drop down list of charities.

And the opportunity doesn’t end with the just the $18.75 from each ticket. There are also prizes to further encourage participation. If the Foundation is among the top three ticket sellers, the Schwab Foundation will also donate additional money to the Education Foundation ($12,000 if we’re number one!).

So bring and your kids to a real golf tournament and encourage the golf fans you know to buy tickets. This tournament really is an amazing opportunity to have a great time watching PGA tour golf in San Francisco, while simultaneously raising money to support the Education Foundation and San Mateo-Foster City schools. It’s a real hole in one!

Download (PDF, 1.46MB)

The music and lyrics were composed by Mr. Robert, who’s show in the video leading the song. Enjoy!

For more details, see:

San Mateo-Foster City school district web site:

San Mateo-Foster City Schools Raise over $14,500 for Japan

Full Press Release: PDF document

The Order Form

You can download a copy of the order form (PDF) here:

Download: Scoreboard DVD Order Form

Fill out the form and then follow the instructions on how to send in your order. The price of the DVD is $39.95.

Video

Here’s a video of our final rehearsal.