Simonds Elementary School is inviting the community to come a'wassailing at a caroling party Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. If it's raining, the party will be held in the school cafeteria. If not, carolers will stroll the Simonds neighborhood, singing traditional holiday songs and demanding figgy pudding of their neighbors. For those who view music as more of a spectator sport, the Simonds School Community Band will perform a holiday concert on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m.

At Los Alamitos Elementary School, students will be able to get into the "Spirit of the Winter Holidays" at a Dec. 8 assembly featuring stories and songs for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Performer Mara will use her talents as an actress, singer and dancer to encourage Los Alamitos families to carry on the oral tradition.

Graystone students keeping the peace

The PeaceBuilders program at Graystone Elementary School asks students, staff and parents to "praise people, give up put-downs, notice hurts, right wrongs and seek wise people." On Dec. 5, a representative from the Violence Prevention Program of Santa Clara County, which sponsors the program, is slated to visit the campus to see how the Graystone community has put these principles into effect.

"We are excited to show [Susan Lowery] how Graystone students, faculty and staff have worked together to integrate PeaceBuilders into everyday campus life," says parent volunteer Karen Haley. "It would be wonderful if we could also show her how these principles are also being encouraged at home." Parents are encouraged to email Haley with their PeaceBuilders experiences at kthaley@yahoo.com.

Williams School seeks contact info

Having been told by parents that they don't hear from the school often enough, the staff at Williams Elementary is wondering whether it needs to redefine its notion of parental contact. In Williams' climate survey for 2002­03, 75 percent of the 343 parents who responded said they were contacted by the school fewer than two times a year. This is up from 2001­02, when 69 percent of the 171 parents surveyed said the same.

"As you can imagine, it's very frustrating not to see any positive gains," principal Sue Walker wrote in the school newsletter. The school is asking parents to "define for us what contact means to each of you" by "explaining your interpretation of this survey question: How many times other than report cards and regularly scheduled parent conferences have you been contacted about your student by the school?"

Homework tutors needed at Bret Harte

Bret Harte Middle School is looking for after-school tutors to volunteer in the school's homework center on weekdays from 2:45 to 4 p.m. For more information, call Stafford Baham at 408.535.6270, ext. 232.