ALMOND THURSDAY WORD
November 9, 2017

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

• Thursday, 11/9, District English Language Advisory Committee (LASD Board Room @ District Office, 9-10:30am)
• Friday, 11/10, NO SCHOOL
• Monday, 11/13, Report Cards Emailed Home by 5pm
• Tuesday, 11/14, AMC8 Math Exam for Interested 5th/6th Graders (3:15pm, STEM Maker Space)
• Thursday, 11/16, Crazy Hair Day
• Monday, 11/20, PARENT CONFERENCES, No School
• Tuesday, 11/21, PARENT CONFERENCES, No School
• Wednesday - Friday, 11/22 - 11/24, THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY, No School
• Thursday, 11/30, School Coffee re: Evidence of Learning (8:45am, Multi)
• Tuesday, 12/5, Almond Singers Holiday Concert (8:45am-School Concert for Almond Students; 7pm-Evening Concert for Parents, Families & Friends)
• Thursday, 12/7, Kindergarten / New Parent Info Night for Prospective Families (7pm, Multi & Classrooms)
• Monday, 12/11, LASD Music Concert Gr. 4-6 (1pm, Multi)
• Wednesday, 12/13, PTA General Meeting (8:30am, Multi)
• Thursday, 12/14, School Coffee re: Math Problem of the Month & Number Talks (8:45am, Multi)
• Monday, 12/18, December Vacation Starts
• Tuesday, 1/2, School Resumes

SCHOOL MESSAGE

Carla Schick, Almond’s librarian, underwent a quadruple bypass surgery this past Monday.  After a few days in the intensive care unit, she is now on the road to recovery at Stanford Hospital.  Her husband, David, has been at her side, along with her two sons.  In the coming days she’s expected to return home where she will take the necessary time to heal.

Such an unexpected event can reminds us of the preciousness of each and every day. 

May you all have a wonderful Veteran's holiday weekend filled with love and joy!  Thank you to all those who have served our country in this capacity.  We are grateful for your courage, commitment, and selflessness.

PTA & SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - NEW

AMC8 MATH - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH, 3:15pm

• We currently have 5 students signed up.
• The AMC 8 is a 25-question, 40-minute, multiple choice examination in middle school mathematics designed to promote the development of problem-solving skills. The AMC 8 provides an opportunity for middle school students to develop positive attitudes towards analytical thinking and mathematics that can assist in future careers. Students apply classroom skills to unique problem-solving challenges in a low-stress and friendly environment.
• Almond School will proctor the annual exam in the STEM Maker Space at 3:15pm for any interested 5th or 6th graders.  If your child is interested, please reply to this email with your child’s name and ensure that they present themselves to the STEM Maker Space at 3:15pm on Tuesday, 11/14.

DAILY PLAYGROUND SUPERVISION FILLED - What does this mean?

• We have an interested parent who will become employed by the district to fill this position.  Thank you PTA for covering this cost.
• Once we are set up (we’re working through the hiring process), Almond students and their younger siblings who are accompanied WITH parents will be permitted to play in the Kindergarten playground area.
• After the first dismissal, any students who are waiting for parents will be required to sit in a designated area while supervised by this staff member.
• Within 10 minutes of the last dismissal, all students and parents are expected to vacate the campus.

STUDENT COUNCIL

• We will be having the one and only Crazy Hair Day on Thursday, November 16th. Remember to do your hair in a funky way next Thursday.
• This week's meeting with the Classroom representatives went amazing! Thank you to all the reps for making your posters for the Spirit day and canned food donation for CSA.
• We are having a canned food drive and all donations will go to the community services agency (CSA). The bins for the canned food will be in the office. Make sure to donate before November 16th. Also make sure all of the food is non perishable.
• Come back next week for the next Thursday Word blurb by the Student Council of Almond School!

LAEF:  Your gift can still be doubled!
Donate to LAEF for your first time OR increase your donation over last year and it will be matched by our Board of Directors! The $50K Challenge Match ends on November 17th, so give today.  New or annual gifts of any amount are appreciated, and help make a difference for all our TK-8 students by funding STEM, arts, literacy, wellness, and personalized learning. To learn more, pledge or donate at LAEFonline.org.

BOOKWAVE

• Thank you for those that purchased bookwave booklets last and this week. If are still interested in purchasing booklet(s), Jane Sanders at the front office has offered to pass them out (THANK YOU!)
• You can write a check for $15 payable to Almond PTA and label your child's name and homeroom teacher name on the check, or put cash in an envelope and label the envelope with the same information. There is a PTA folder in the office where you can drop off your payment and pick up the packet(s) from Jane.
• For more info on Bookwave, as well as tips and tricks in "effortlessly" completing this project, go to https://www.almondschool.org/Almondes/Portal/214-Bookwave
• If you have any questions, feel free to email Lily Wang at alexandlily@gmail.com

CALLING ALL BAKERS - HOLIDAY COOKIES NEEDED FOR TEACHERS
Each year the PTA Staff Appreciation Committee organizes a holiday cookie event for the teachers and staff at Almond.  On Thursday, December 14 staff will be invited to select from a variety of holiday cookies to take home and enjoy during the season.  In order to host this event, we rely on parent volunteers to provide the cookies.  We are looking for each class to provide 6 dozen cookies.  For more details and to sign up, please go to Holiday Cookie Sign Up or contact Lynn Kostow (lynnhkostow@gmail.com) or Andrea Bocking (andreabocking@gmail.com).

Pilates After School is coming back to Almond this Winter! Classes start on Tuesday, November 28!

• Kids learn basic anatomy, body alignment with respect to gravity, Pilates moves and lots of fun movement games in our class. Each class wraps with a short meditation, allowing students to calm and sense their body in space. Please see testimonials here.
• We're holding a FREE trial class next Tuesday, November 14, 3-4pm, in the Multipurpose room.
• Please register at http://www.pilatesafterschool.com/register.html.
• We hope to see your child next Tuesday! If you have any questions, please contact amie@playitfitnow.com
• From Coach Amie & Olivera

PARENT EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES

• 11/15- Wednesday- 11am to 1, Anxiety and Mood Disorder Support and Info Group at Parents Helping Parents, http://www.php.com/node/41657/view
• 11/28- Tuesday- 6:30 to 8pm, Parenting Wired Teens, Children’s Health Council, 650 Clark Way, Palo Alto, register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parent-ed-parenting-wired-teens-tickets-37735354461?aff=es2

S.O.A.R. CELEBRATIONS
(listed alphabetically by last name)

• Matthew Ballabio, 11/7/17, Always making good choices, Respecting self and others. Helped put away sports equipment.
• Danny Bouchan Lara, 11/8/17, Always making good choices, Respecting self and others. Danny is ready to listen and shows respect to his teacher and classmates!
• Vilhelm Eskilsson, 11/8/17, Owning learning. Working very hard at learning English and participating in class discussions.
• Aleksey Krupin, 11/7/17, Always making good choices, Respecting self and others. Helped put away sports equipment.
• Max Lee, 11/8/17, Respecting self and others. Max has been helping a student learning English, and has been a great friend to him.
• Sabrina Neal, 11/8/17, Owning learning. Sabrina has been giving insightful and thoughtful input during classroom discussions.
• Angel Oregon, 11/1/17, Owning learning. Angel owns his learning by showing excitement and passion for math. He helps explain concepts to his peers and always gives his best effort.
• Tanya Robles, 11/2/17, Solving problems, Owning learning. For explaining challenging math concepts to her classmates. From Mrs. Vriksha
• Konstantin Rolnik, 11/7/17, Respecting self and others. Taking the time to be a role model for a first grader.
• Vivaan Sehgal, 11/7/17, Always making good choices, Respecting self and others. Helped put away sports equipment.

COMMUNITY ANNOUCEMENTS

SUPPORT PUPPY POUND RESCUE - With a link to make it easy!
Hi Almond families! We are girl scout troop 61016. We are here today to talk about doing a puppy food drive for the puppies at puppy pound rescue. There will be a collection in the office. ”Taste of The Wild” is preferred, (Available Here from Amazon, Prime!) but all donations are also appreciated. We will be collecting November 1 - 15. There are also cash donation boxes in every classroom to help puppies with medical needs. Thanks for helping!!! - Troop 61016

Almond's Annual - Halloween Candy Drive Benefiting our Local Troops (LAST DAY TO DONATE IS MONDAY 13th!)           

• Don't know what to do with all that Halloween Candy that your kids collected or you just didn't hand out? Please consider donating it to the Halloween Candy Drive at Almond Elementary School! Almond Community Services is conducting its annual candy drive - to help YOU get rid of all the candy and to help OUR TROOPS nearby! From November 2nd through November 9th (to give you the weekend to have the kids count and then forget their loot!), please bring in your wrapped candies and drop it in the marked box in the main office.  All candy donated will be picked up by a local Military Unit through our partnership with Operation Care and Comfort (a non-profit organization) to be used for care packages, local military events, etc. Please note that all donations will be used for our local military professionals and sent abroad.  Last year we collected over 350 lbs of candy and are hoping to reach the same!  For more information on Operation Care and Comfort please visit their website (www.occ-usa.org).  
• If you have any questions please contact Seema Chavan or Polly Liu.

One Dollar for Life invites you to a fundraiser at Chef Chu’s! 15% of your total order (dine-­in or take­out) will be donated to ODFL.
Date: Monday, November 13, 2017
Time: 11:00am-­9:30pm Reservations are recommended for large groups
Every dollar donated will go directly to support a project. This year we are building projects in: Zambia; Kenya; India; Nicaragua; Nepal; and South Africa.
We build Bigger People and a Better World. It’s Working!
You MUST present this flyer when paying for ODFL to receive the donation!!
11/14- Tuesday- 7pm, walk-in Parent Chat for parents/caregivers of youth w/mental health issues. Free, anonymous, peer-to-peer support, at Los Altos Library, 13 South San Antonio Road.

WANT TO SUBMIT SOMETHING TO THE THURSDAY WORD?
Send announcements to us at AlmondThursdayWord@lasdschools.org by 12:00pm Monday, for that week's Word. Keep your announcements brief and, if applicable, send a PDF version of any flyer or additional information to be posted on the website.
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