<div dir="ltr"><div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oZOnI9_Rikfu71OVjQLxMyb9DrdhMJ3l4c5gDvHBr2g/edit?tab=t.0" target="_blank">Click HERE for more information.</a> </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span id="m_1387179588881249508gmail-docs-internal-guid-4a688b18-7fff-544b-319f-8e6af0deed93"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:center"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Asawa SOTA Summer Reading (2026)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Dear Asawa SOTA Community:</span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">We are pleased to continue summer reading, having brought it back last summer for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Students have been assigned a text based on the grade level in which they will be enrolled in the fall as follows:</span></p><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Grade 9 will read Amy Tan’s novel </span><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">The Joy Luck Club</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Grade 10 will read Marjane Satrapi’s novel </span><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Persepolis </span><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">(both parts) </span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Grade 11 will read George Orwell’s novel </span><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">1984</span></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">For 12th grade, the reading is based on the English course they were assigned to. Students should check StudentVUE for their schedule. They should be visible this summer in time to complete the reading. </span></p><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Grade 12 - Film as Literature will read David Talbot’s creative nonfiction text </span><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Season of the Witch</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Grade 12 - Advanced Composition/Euro Lit will read Rebecca Solnit’s </span><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">A Paradise Built in Hell</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Grade 12 - AP English Literature will read Jane Austen’s </span><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Emma</span></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">There is </span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">no</span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> written assignment attached to the summer reading. All work will start on the first day of school on August 18th in our English courses. </span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">All </span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">students will be expected to do the summer reading. We hope that we can bolster a sense of schoolwide community as a result of many students reading and discussing the same text and encourage students to read with texts that are both relevant and approachable. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Current Asawa SOTA students will sign up for the summer reading Google Classroom through their current English classes. The Google Classroom has links to a free copy of the novel, a short introductory video or author bio, and a free audiobook if available. Students can also access all texts for free through the SF Public Library and its book app.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-align:center"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><b>Google Classroom code (all grades):</b> </span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">dvg4r32w</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Each of these texts is considered age-appropriate for students in grades 9-12 and has been taught in high school classrooms around the world since they were published. Each text has content that might be challenging or even unsettling. But we do not believe it presents a barrier to any student interacting with them. However, parents and students are encouraged to preview the texts beforehand. Here is a brief guide to potentially triggering content. This list makes such content seem far more pervasive than it actually is, but I did want to give a heads-up: </span></p><ul style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">The Joy Luck Club</span><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">: depictions of suicide, domestic abuse, sexual violence</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Persepolis</span><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">: mention of suicide, sexual violence, political violence and torture</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">1984</span><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">: political violence and torture</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:disc;font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Season of the Witch</span><span style="font-size:9pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline">: political violence, mass death (i.e. cults), frank depictions of sexuality </span></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Please reach out to me if you have concerns.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">All of us in the English Department are excited to discuss these texts with students and facilitate discussions among students. Thank you for supporting your <span style="background:none;border-style:none"><span class="gmail-Lm gmail-ng" style="background:none;border-bottom:2px transparent;outline:none;border-top-style:none;border-right-style:none;border-left-style:none"><span aria-invalid="grammar" class="Lm ng" style="border-style:none;background:none">student</span></span></span> in their summer reading. It will be a great way to begin the year and a great way for students to come to the first day of school already prepared to learn and demonstrate their skills.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I will respond to emails through July 15th. </span></p><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Matthew Travisano</span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Chairperson | English Department</span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ruth Asawa School of the Arts</span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br></span><span style="font-size:9pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Email: <a href="mailto:travisanom@sfusd.edu" target="_blank">travisanom@sfusd.edu</a></span></span></div></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">--<span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:small">9</span></span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts<br></span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">555 Portola Drive, San Francisco, CA  94131<br></span><a href="tel:(415)%20695-5700" value="+14156955700" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">(415) 695-5700</a><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">     Fax: </span><a href="tel:(415)%20695-5326" value="+14156955326" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">(415) 695-5326</a><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"></span></p><p></p></div><p style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><font face="arial, sans-serif"><img width="200" height="70" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4yNkZudSQewKKSl_Q-8dXSxo5OacyHlHn6X5FgME4r50zkQulKzywJjLcGOlQSbJM2KfUmVUSuo3pYN"><img border="0" width="1" height="1" src="http://openonline.co/f102a66af408ee465cc1d4bc2576f14d/38b9157d889ab53b25972139778a9fe5.gif"></font></p><font style="color:rgb(34,34,34)" face="arial, sans-serif" size="1"><b style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="line-height:15.3333px">CONFIDENTIAL STUDENT </span></b><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);line-height:15.3333px"><b><span style="line-height:15.3333px">INFORMATION: </span></b><span style="line-height:15.3333px">This</span><a style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"></a> e-mail message is for the sole use of the designated SFUSD<a style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"></a> recipient(s) with a legitimate educational interest and may contain legally confidential information protected by the Family Education Rights Privacy Act (FERPA<a style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"></a>) 20 USC 1232g<a style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"></a>.  Any unauthorized review, use, distribution or disclosure is strictly prohibited.  If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by replying to this email and destroy all copies of the original message. This email cannot be reproduced.</span></font><br></div></div></div>