Dear Almond families:

I am happy to share that over 60 Almond families joined us last night at our Family Literacy Night event in the Almond library! I saw second graders reading favorite books with their grandparents, third graders teaching kindergartners the rules of game play and our youngest friends “writing in the air” by dictating their own stories to an adult. Rasheed and Mabel, our K-1 furry friends, were the stars of the night! Families were engaged in many activities covering the four major areas of balanced literacy (reading, writing, speaking and listening) such as the:

• Reading Goals area (reading)
• Storyboarding station (writing)
• Literacy Games room (speaking and listening)
• Headbands Huddle (speaking and listening)

Sticking with the school-wide theme of TEAMwork (Together Everyone Achieves More), students were encouraged to collaborate with each other and their families to lift the level of their thinking through play. We heard a lot of positive feedback about the event and are planning on coordinating another night this school year. Look out for the invite!

Want to know more about how you can support your child at home? Here is a one page info sheet on Ways parents can support reading and writing at home. Curious about the research behind the beneficial impact of reading? Look here: 9 reasons to read more.

I also wanted to say a HUGE thank you to Jill Croft, our literacy Instructional Support Teacher, who coordinated this wonderful event for our community. And thank you to our teachers and staff that also supported this event with the gift of your time.

Here’s to many more Almond family engagement events to come!

Raquel

UPCOMING DATES

• Friday, Sept. 21, Staff Development, No School
• Monday, Sept. 24, Photo Re-takes, 8:30-12
• Wednesday, Sept. 26, PTA General Meeting, 8:35, Multi
• Friday, Sept. 28, Vision Screening for students in K, 2 and 5
• Wed, Oct 10, International Walk to School Day (details TBD)
• Oct 8-12, 6^th graders at Walden West
• Oct 11-17, Scholastic Book Fair
• Sat, Oct 13, Almond Walkathon and Silent Auction!

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LAEF

Our annual LAEF Phonathon is coming up on October 2nd and 3rd.  If you haven't yet made a donation, please donate or pledge today and Save Us a Call!

With a goal of $3.5M, every donation of any amount is appreciated.  LAEF strives for 100% participation from all of our families.

• Read the full scoop on how your child will benefit from LAEF this school year.
• Watch a 2-minute video and find out why our public schools need your financial support.

Sign up to help with the Phonathon at LAEFonline.org and help us raise over $500,000. It’s a fantastic opportunity to build community spirit and educate families about the teachers and staff that LAEF is funding at your school this year.

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PTA Updates

You can now register your child for the Walkathon and order themed T-shirts with student’s names for the students as well as your entire family. To ensure the correct size of the t-shirt, pre-order them by September 23. Some of you have already registered and ordered the t-shirts. For those who haven’t yet, we encourage you to register soon, order t-shirts and book your calendar for Saturday, October 13th from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm for the Walkathon.

We are still looking for more donations for the Silent Auction that takes place during the Walkathon! Please consider donating event tickets, hosting a party, or loaning your vacation home. If you have any questions or need donation ideas, please contact Stefanie Friedland at stefsein@gmail.com. 

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Other School Updates

Parking lot safety: 
As a reminder, we ask that you GO SLOWLY through our parking lot. Students should enter and exit the cars on the passenger side only. Make eye contact or wave to each other before proceeding, and take the extra time to be safe. This may mean leaving your house a few minutes earlier. We want everyone to get to their destinations safely!
 

After school, please remind your student to stay on the sidewalk while waiting for their driver, and to only cross in the crosswalk with our crossing guard's protection. They should not be walking around the parking lot looking for their car.Please share all safety information with your child’s after-school drivers.

Vision Screening:

The District Nurses will be doing vision screening, for both near- and far-sightedness, at Almond School for all Kindergarten, 2nd, and 5^th grades on September 28th, 2018. If your child has glasses or contacts, please make sure that they wear them to school on the day of the screening. LASD Health Services will mail a referral form to the parents of students who do not pass the vision screening.

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Cub Scouts Open Enrollment

It is not too late to sign up for Cub Scouts this year. Anyone from 1st grade up to 4th grade can sign up for Scouts at Almond. Each den in the pack is grade focused and only includes kids from that grade. We have a great schedule of events from hiking and camping to rocket shoots, pinewood derby races and more. Email info@pack77.com for more information or check out our website at www.pack77.com for details. Our next event is the annual start of the year campfire for the whole pack at the Lucie Stern Community Center in Palo Alto as well as a Saturday night Cub/Parent Weekend campout at Boulder Creek. Check the calendar for details and times.

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Post an Announcement in the Thursday Word? If you have an announcement to include in the Thursday Word, please send it to AlmondThursdayWord@lasdschools.org  Keep your announcements brief and, if applicable, send a PDF version of any flyer or additional information to be posted on the website. Announcements must be received by 12:00pm on Monday in order to be considered for the Thursday Word scheduled for that Thursday.