Fellow Rotarian & distinguished educator Dr. Joan Rosas kicked off What's Up for 2022? with an engaging & informative overview of challenges and opportunities currently facing our schools. She highlighted COVID, instructional practices, and mental health as the key issues schools are wrestling with as 2022 launches.  

 

While the challenges are substantial, Dr. Rosas concluded on a note of hope, citing powerful connections among families, community partners and schools forged during the Pandemic; vast improvement in student tech literacy due to distance learning; and the presence of a counselor in every school in San Mateo/Foster City.  

 

In closing, she reminded us of Robert Fulghum's wise words: "No matter how old you are - when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together."  Click on the link below to view the recording of the January 6th meeting.

Peter Webb gave a fascinating overview of the James Webb Telescope launched on December 25th.  The Webb Telescope will travel to a spot 100 million miles from earth to study the outer reaches of our galaxy.  It is so powerful that it can spot a bumble bee on the moon!  

 

Costing $10 billion to build, everyone waited with bated breath as the telescope launched to see if it would perform as expected.  Imagine this: the telescope when fully operational is 3 stories tall and the size of a tennis court.  NASA scientists had to figure out how to collapse it to fit into a rocket and then to unfurl it once it arrived in outer space.  

 

So far, so good - it has unfolded according to plan and is well on its way to its destination.

Big news out of the Holiday Party!!! Angel and Osh are engaged!!!  We wish them all the best as they prepare to walk down the aisle.  

 

Sue Lempert was among the Zoom crew at last Thursday's meeting - she's making great progress and her hip is mending well.  Sue hopes to get back to Rotary in person sometime in March. We're glad she's joining us on Zoom & look forward to seeing her at Poplar Creek.  

 

Margaret Taylor signed in from her Arizona abode.  She's on Mountain Time, so she joined the meeting at noon & wondered where everyone was! We're glad she stuck around for noon Pacific Time!

 

Thanks to Kitty Lopez for a great New Year's Thought of the Day from Brené Brown:

 

"All I know is that my life is better when I assume that people are doing their best.  It keeps me out of judgment and lets me focus on what is, and not what should or could be."