Thursday Word March 15th • News - Almond Elementary School

March 20, 2018

ALMOND THURSDAY WORD
March 15, 2018

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

Wednesday, 3/21, PTA General Meeting (8:30am, Multi)
Friday, 3/23
- School Coffee re: Beyond Academics (8:30am, STEM Lab)
- International Festival (PM, Multi)
Monday, 3/26, Books Inc. Book Fair Starts (ends Friday, 3/30)
Saturday, 3/31, Almond Community Service Event (9:30am, Multi)
Tuesday, 4/3, STEM Expo (TBD, Multi)
4/9 - 4/13, Spring Break - NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, 4/18, PTA General Meeting (8:30am, Multi)
Friday, 4/20, School Coffee re: TBD (8:30am, STEM Lab)
Tuesday, 4/24, Almond Singer Concert (7pm, Multi)
Saturday, 4/28, LASD Junior Olympics (8am-4pm, Mountain View High)
Tuesday, 5/8, LASD Gr. 4-6 Music Concert (1pm, Multi)
5/14 - 5/18, 6th Graders at Science Camp
Friday, 5/18, School Coffee re: TBD (8:30am, STEM Lab)
Wednesday, 5/23, PTA General Meeting (8:30am, Multi)
Thursday, 5/24, Open House (6pm - 7pm)
Friday, 5/25, Minimum Day - Dismissal at 12:15pm
Monday, 5/28, Holiday - NO SCHOOL
Saturday, 5/31, Make Comfort Bags for Foster Kids (9:30am, Multi)
Friday, 6/1, Minimum Day - Dismissal at 12:15pm
Tuesday, 6/5
- TK/K CSMA Parent Concert (1pm, Multi)
- Gr. 1 - 3 CSMA Parent Concert (2pm, Multi)
Thursday, 6/7
- Last Day of School
- Morning Assembly (8:30am, Multi)
- 6th Grade Promotion (8:45am doors open for seating, 9:00am ceremony begins)
- Minimum Day Dismissal - 12:15pm

PRINCIPAL MESSAGE

Civic Engagement @ Almond
Thank you to Rachel Harnish and Luisa Smith (from Almond’s PTA) for arranging a wonderful opportunity for students and their families to participate in yesterday’s “National School Walk Out.” In the 17 minutes, 97 cards and letters were collected. Our children’s voices matter. They accomplished a great deal and deserve to feel very proud of themselves (Tweet). Thank you to all who empower youth. They are our future leaders.

School Safety @ Almond
At our staff meeting yesterday we revisited the topic of school safety with an emphasis around talking through scenarios we hope we will never need to face. We recommitted to several practices that will ensure consistency of communication and increased preparedness.

In this archived Thursday Word, information was provided to the community regarding how we respond to injuries, ensure all students contribute to a safe environment, and how we safeguard against outside threats.

In the Thursday Word from 11/30, we announced the “Lock Down” drill which took place on 12/7 and provided language around messaging.

After the drill on 12/7, we debriefed as a staff to discuss how to improve our practices.

Our entire staff wants you to know how important this topic is to all of us. We speak (and think about it) often.

The Almond Operations Team selected a date in April for another drill that we will be calling a “Silent Safety Drill” as opposed to “Lock Down.” It will take about 10 minutes. Our teachers will be speaking with students more frequently about how we will work together if there is ever any type of safety concern.

Lastly, we have reached out to Los Altos PD and they will be joining us at our School Coffee on Friday, April 20th, at 8:30am to share information around school safety and to provide a forum for parents to ask questions.

PTA & SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - NEW

STUDENT COUNCIL
Matchy Matchy day is tomorrow, Friday 3/16! It’s like twin day but bigger and better! Find a group and dress alike.

YMCA FUNDRAISER
Pizza My Heart Fundraiser! The YMCA @ Almond is raising money for the YMCA's Annual Giving Campaign. On Monday, March 19th 30% of all purchases at the El Monte location from 4pm-9pm will go towards our campaign goal of $9,000 - just mention "Almond YMCA" at check out!

BOOKS INC. BOOK FAIR MARCH 26 THROUGH MARCH 30
Mark your calendars - The Books Inc. Book Fair begins Monday, March 26 and runs until lunchtime Friday March 30. We need volunteers to help make this event successful. Please click this link to sign up to help!

LAEF - STEM Career Night

All LASD students and their parents are invited to an inspirational night of STEM as three keynote speakers share about their professions in the STEM field and explain how their work impacts the world around us. Join us for Junior High STEM Career Night: Wednesday, March 21, 2018, 7 pm in the Blach Multipurpose Room

LAEF - #MarchMatching

If you've made a donation to LAEF this school year, thank you! Be sure to take the next step and request a company match, if you have not done so already. Request your match now and, if your company is in our #MarchMatching tournament, your match might help them win! We appreciate matches from all companies, whether they are in the tournament or not! All contributions to LAEF will help us reach our goal of $3.7M.

ATTENTION 6TH GRADE PARENTS

Each year, there is a slideshow during the 6th grade Promotion event highlighting our amazing kids and their time at Almond. I am working on the yearbook and slideshow right now and could use a few more photos as I want to make sure *ALL your* children are included in the slideshow.
Here is my ask:
- Send me your good pics from K-6th grade of your class
- Group and individual photos are welcome
- School events only — on campus, field trips, Jr. Olympics, class parties/projects, etc
- Deadline — We appreciate if you can upload any photos as soon as possibLe.
  - Monday 4/16 for the 6th Grade Yearbook Extension pages
  - Monday 5/21 for the Graduation Promotion slideshow
Upload your photos to these links: Please drop your children's photos into these folders according to his/her years in school.
- Early-Year (K-2nd Grade)
- Mid-Year (3-5th Grade)
- Current-Year (6th Grade)
You can check out the photos uploaded so far by clicking "Done" (top right corner) from the page linked above. Please feel free to forward the link to anyone who might have photos, but not be on this list.
I know that everyone is super busy right now. Thank you in advance for taking some time to send in photos - I am hoping to showcase all the kids in the slideshow.
If you have any questions at all, please email me <tvsatam@gmail.com>.

REPEATED ANNOUNCEMENTS

FUN AND HANDS-ON COMMUNITY SERVICES EVENT - RSVP REQUIRED

Please join us in the multi on Saturday, March 31st, from 9:30am to 10:30am to make comfort bags for foster children! We will fill pillowcases with stuffed toys, books, socks, games, etc. and make personalized name tags and cards for each foster kid.
In order to fill 50+ comfort bags, we need your help Almond Families!
There are three ways to help and you have till March 21st:
- 1) Sign up here to donate an item (or more!)
- 2) Sign up here to make a complete comfort bag for a specific child.
- 3) Paypal Cash - If you would prefer to donate cash and have us shop, please Paypal your cash donation to Seema at bhimsee@yahoo.com.
RSVP Required for Event
- To RSVP for the comfort bag making event, please email Polly at polly@beau-coup.com with number of attendees. Space is limited so please RSVP as soon as you are able.

Come to the 5th Annual International Celebration and be Wowed by Mexican Guitarist, Ukranian Dance Troupe, Filipino Pro Dance Troupe and Our very own Student Performers
We are looking forward to an amazing line up for performers for the 5th Annual International Celebration on Friday, March 23rd from 6 to 8 pm in the Almond Multi. Please bring a favorite "international (or favorite)" dish to share (appetizer, entrée, or dessert) (serving 8-10 people) and catch up with friends and make new ones!). This year we are pleased to announce that families will be wowed by performances from our very own student performers Gabriel Barisic performing a Croatian Dance, Lucas Yao performing on the Chinese Drums and by performances by the Kaisahan of San Jose Dance Company (Filipino) and the San Francisco based Ukrainian Dance Group "Burevisnyky". Please look out for the flyer coming home with your children - but we promise the evening promises to be an amazing evening of food, dance and music in celebration of our International diversity.

If your child would like to participate and share in a performance please contact Lori and Seema.
If you can help with the planning/organization of the event before hand or have ideas of how we can improve the event please let us know!
If you can spare and hour or two the day of the event to help setup please come to the Almond multi at noon - all hands are appreciated!

We look forward to seeing Almond families at the International Celebration! For information or to signup to perform - please contact Seema Chavan (bhimsee@Yahoo.com) or Lori Sevcik (loriandshea@me.com).

REGISTER FOR THE 4TH ANNUAL STEM EXPO

The 4^th Annual STEM Expo is coming on April 3^rd! The STEM Expo participation is open to any student in grades K-6 and this year, there is a new category to consider. This year, STEM Expo includes the category of Coding/Programming and students must create their own original coding project. STEM Expo allows students to work with other students from different grade levels and families can work together on a project. If your child is interested in participating, please go to THIS website to complete the “Intent to Participate”.
Also, Mrs. Leach is looking for volunteers to help with the set-up of the Expo, as well as parents that are willing to interview students about their projects. Please go to THIS website to check out volunteer opportunities to help promote science learning at Almond School.
If you have additional questions about STEM Expo after visiting THIS website, please feel free to contact Mrs. Leach at eleach@lasdschools.org.

LASD PARENT ED TALKS - NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)

In this one-hour parent session, STEM IST’s and LASD science teachers will share how students are building their understanding of science in order to make sense of the world around them through the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The NGSS provide a strong science education that equips students with the ability to think critically, analyze information, and solve complex problems.
Friday, March 23, 2018 from 9:30am - 10:30am, Los Altos School District Offices
iLearn Studio (201 Covington Road, Los Altos, CA 94024)

ATTENTION 4th • 5th • 6th GRADERS - THE 58TH LASD JUNIOR OLYMPICS IS COMING!

Saturday, April 28, 2017 / 8am-4pm / Mountain View High School
The LASD Junior Olympics Committee has already been working hard to make Junior Olympics 2018 a day to remember. Please mark your calendars for Saturday, April 28th for a fun-filled day at Mountain View High School. It will begin with the 1320 yd run at 8:00am, followed by opening ceremonies at 9 am. From about 9:30-1:30 will be most of the track and field events. (listed below). You won't want to miss the very popular Mascot Mania which takes place around 1:30pm. The day ends at roughly 3:45 with the dash finals, hurdle finals and the relay races. Bring the whole family but please leave your pets at home. There will be lunch, snacks and drinks for sale AND plenty of opportunities for you to volunteer your time to make this day extra special for your child!
General Information
- Every 4th, 5th and 6th grader in Los Altos School District is invited to participate in the 57th Annual Junior Olympics! This event brings together the seven LASD elementary schools for a friendly track & field competition, in which everyone is encouraged to strive for their personal best and cheer on their classmates as they compete. More information and important Junior Olympics dates available atlasdjo.com.
- Save the dates!
- We Need Your Help Training our Young Athletes! Click 2018 Almond JO PE Training Volunteers to sign up.

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

Aaron Baum, 3/12/18, Owning learning. Aaron owned his learning by taking notes while listening to a story on iReady reading! Not many students remember it's okay to take notes during reading.
Akhul Pandrala, 3/12/18, Respecting self and others. Listening respectfully during music class!
Avani Sastry, 3/12/18, Respecting self and others. Listening respectfully during music class!
Ethan Yang, 3/8/18, Solving problems. You kept a small problem small, and solved your own problem.

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

The 17th Annual Los Altos Hills Pathways Run/Walk

Saturday, May 5, 2018 – 9 AM, NOTE: New date – 1st Saturday in May
For $10 off, use Discount Code “homerun”
Come out for the 17th Annual Los Altos Hills Pathways Run/Walk, and make Los Altos Hills Pathways your home run!
This year we are holding the event one week earlier than the normal scheduled weekend and it will be held on Saturday May 5^th, 2018.
This year's event will enjoy a special Cinco de Mayo theme so wear your favorite festive running attire. Free sombreros for interested participants will available at packet pickup and race day while supplies last.
This fun annual event begins at the Westwind Community Barn, runs through the Byrne Preserve and extends into the Los Altos Hills Pathways system. The run features a hilly and challenging 5K and 10K Pathways Run/Walk and a 1-Mile Fun Run. Special comfy Home Run race shirts will be provided along with finisher medals to those who register. To register, volunteer, or for more race information, contact Sarah Robustelli 650-947-2518, srobustelli@losaltoshills.ca.gov or visit the event website at www.lahpathwaysrun.org.
New this year are “Team” registrations so that your family or group of friends can all register as a team to compete and compare your race results and registration numbers with other team members or other teams!
Date: Saturday May 5, 2018
- Time for 5K/10K: 9:00 am
- Fees for 5K/10K: $45 ($50 on race day)
- Group Registrations of 10 or more: $35 per person
- Acquire group discount registration code from Sarah at srobustelli@losaltoshills.ca.gov
- Time for 1-Mile Fun Run: 10:30 am
- Fees for 1-Mile Fun Run: $30 ($35 on race day)
- Location: Westwind Community Barn - 27210 Altamont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022

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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