Kids heading back to summer camp on the Tiburon Peninsula this week will have a full schedule of games, crafts and outdoor sports — all accompanied by daily temperature checks, frequent hand washing and increased physical distance under a host of safety protocols designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Public-health officials gave summer camps the go-ahead to resume June 1 under the county’s phased reopening plan, designed as a way to safely restart the economy after three months’ shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Tiburon Peninsula’s two main recreation agencies, Belvedere-Tiburon Recreation and the Strawberry Recreation District, each kicked off their summer programs on Monday, albeit with a reduced number of campers, modified activities and a new series of logistical challenges posed by the pandemic.

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A group of about 40 Del Mar Middle School students and parents walked Blackie’s Pasture and the Old Rail Trail June 6 to protest racial bias and show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. The local event was one of two peaceful protests against racism and police brutality organized by students over the weekend. On June 7, Redwood High School students and community members gathered at the school’s Larkspur campus for an event sponsored by the school’s Students Organized for Anti-Racism club.

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The Reed Union School District’s 2020-2021 budget shows the district nearly breaking even on expenditures and revenue — but officials caution the district may need to dip into its reserves by up to $2.2 million to cover unforeseen costs related to the coronavirus pandemic. The district’s board of trustees at its June 2 meeting reviewed a draft $25.15-million budget that shows $25.12 million in revenue, for a slight deficit of about $32,000. The board was expected to conduct a second review and approve the budget at its June 9 meeting, held after The Ark’s press deadline. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

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Redwood High School’s June 12 graduation ceremony will look decidedly different than in years past. The coronavirus pandemic has stripped away much of the traditional pomp and circumstance that typically accompanies the long-awaited rite of passage. For Redwood’s class of 2020, there will be no standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their peers, no walking across the stage to receive their diplomas from the school’s principal and no hugs and high fives after tossing their caps into the air. Instead, this year’s seniors will don their caps and gowns — and face masks — and head to Marin Civic Center’s Lagoon Park in three separate groups for a physically distant drive-in ceremony that will feature speeches, music and the traditional turning of the tassel — with each grad participating from their family’s car. (Elliot Karlan photo / For The Ark) 

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The Reed Union School District will adopt a simplified grading system during the coronavirus-related school closures that officials say is designed to reflect the challenges of distance learning. Under the system, approved unanimously by the district board at its May 12 teleconference meeting, Del Mar Middle School students will either receive a “pass” or an “insufficient evidence” mark for all academic standards on their report cards for the third trimester, which runs from early March through the last day of school, June 12.

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