Dear Almond Families:

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today is the observed holiday of showing others in our lives love and kindness. At Almond School, students and staff are wearing spirit colors of pink, red and purple and giving and receiving “heart-grams” to show friends and buddies that they care. The giving of heart grams is the culmination of many weeks of planning by our student council, led by teachers Ms. Kathy Day-Bobb and Mr. Bret Linvill. All Almond students were invited to spend time during recess creating and making heart grams that would be saved and then delivered today, February 14th. Please enjoy some student pictures celebrating Valentine's Day below. Thank you to our PTA for the "heartfelt" staff appreciation treats!

On this day of love, I encourage you to take time to do as our students and staff and send someone a heart gram (whether that be in the form of words of love, a hug or an act of kindness). I will leave you with one of my favorite songs from (arguably) the best band ever: All you Need is Love by the Beatles.

Here’s to spreading love and kindness,

Raquel

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Family Science Night

What is Family Science Night?

An amazing night of science exploration at Almond School! 25+ stations for children TK-6th grade to interact with everything from robotics to anatomy!

• Navigate through a laser maze
• Create amazing lego structures with Kidizens
• Program a robot
• Interact with real live bugs!
• Make slime that glows and your own flavored lip balm
• Create your own motor and working catapult!
• Observe bats, bees, anatomy of various body parts and much more !

A fun and action-packed evening of discovery! Dress warmly for outside stations. Come check it out! Funded by Almond PTA. This is not a drop-off event - children must be accompanied by an adult.

If you can help or have ideas for hands on stations, please contact Melissa or Dharti at dharti@gmail.com or mbryantneal@yahoo.com. You can sign up to help with a station or set up/clean up here: 2019 Stations.

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Author Visit--Kathryn Otoshi

Bookwave is sponsoring a morning assembly featuring Award Winning Author and Illustrator Kathryn Otoshi on Friday, March 8th between 10:30-11:15 for TK-3rd graders and 9:00 to 9:45 for 4-6th Graders. Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend!

Otoshi's illustrated story, "ONE" is a Project Cornerstone Book for this year, it will be a Blast for all Almond families and staff to meet the author of the book Almond students will be familiar with and to hear Kathryn Otoshi's journey to become a renowned author and illustrator!

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Girl Scout Cookie Sales

The Almond Girl Scout troops are selling your favorite treats after school TOMORROW 2/15 and Monday, 2/25, after school! Cookies are $5/box; S'mores and GF ToffeeTastic are $6/box. Cash and checks accepted. We are also accepting donations to send cookies to our Troops.

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STEM EXPO is coming!! Sign up Now!!

MORE THAN A SCIENCE FAIRE!! On April 9, 2019, Almond will hold LASD’s Annual STEM EXPO. The EXPO invites students in grades K-6 to participate by engaging in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) projects. 

Students will have an opportunity to design hands-on projects while exploring just how fun STEM can be!

This event lends itself to a myriad of learning experiences as students engage in inquiry, engineering, and experimentation in a wide range of STEM categories including:

Rube Goldberg, Invention, Environmental Innovation, Reverse Engineering, Robotics, Scientific Inquiry and Wearable Design. Ultimately, students get the chance to showcase their STEM work in a fun and unique venue, with learning opportunities for the entire family.

Check out the website at www.tinyurl.com/LASDStemExpo to find out more! Be sure to click on the Almond link to get school specific information and to sign up.

Sign ups end March 8 2019. If you have any questions please email Ricky Hu, Almond STEM IST at rhu@lasdschools.org

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35th Annual Margaret Thompson Historical Essay Contest, for 3rd-6th graders

2019 Theme: "Inspired by Juana!"

The Los Altos Historical Commission and the Los Altos History Museum are co-sponsoring the 35th annual Margaret Thompson Historical Essay Contest, open to third- through sixth-graders who live in the area and/or attend local schools.

The current exhibit at the Los Altos History Museum is "Inspired by Juana: La Doña de la Frontera (the Lady of the Frontier)". This exhibit tells the story of Juana Briones, a dynamic 19th century woman who owned several businesses, many parcels of land, and was a talented businesswoman. She was also a traditional healer and an advocate for the rights of her family and friends in what is now Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, San Jose and San Francisco. The story of Juana Briones is a tale of a resilient spirit, an inventive imagination, and business know-how--the hallmarks for Silicon Valley.

Visit the "Inspired by Juana" exhibit at the Los Altos History Museum or research on your own about the life of this important local historical figure. Think about Juana as a businessperson, a healer (herbalist), and an advocate for her personal rights, as well as those of her large family. Consider how Juana was able to have a relationship with people of all groups and nationalities, different religions, and customs.

The deadline to submit essays is March 8. Public school students should submit their entries to Los Altos School District teachers. For the detailed essay prompt, click here. For the essay rubric, click here. For the cover sheet, click here. For more information, visit losaltoshistory.org.​

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From the Los Altos School District Office

Please add your voice to the LASD Survey!

Los Altos School District is asking for staff, family and student input in our first annual communication survey. Please visit https://schoolcommunication.typeform.com/to/ocpUtr to take the survey now through February 26 at 5:00pm.

The survey results will help guide our efforts to improve communication practices and ensure everyone has the information they need to help our students succeed. The survey also provides you with an opportunity to share what you value most about our schools and where you see opportunities to improve.

Thank you for lending your voice and opinions to this effort as we partner with you to provide an excellent education to all of our students.

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Los Altos Educational Foundation

Love Your Neighborhood School!

Donate to LAEF today and fund teachers at your school. Help ensure that your student receives an excellent, well-rounded education. We need to raise the final $400K to reach our goal of $3.5M for this school year!

The timing is just right because we have a $15K Challenge Match from The John and Liane Davila Foundation and an anonymous LASD family to DOUBLE all donations made by February 28th.

It couldn't be easier: Donate online or text "LAEF" to 50155 to donate. As always, our goal is 100% participation from all LASD families.

STEM in Every Grade

Find out what our students are learning in STEM this school year. Check out new photos of kids in action, watch a video, and learn about exciting projects. Your donation to LAEF supports the LASD STEM program and more.

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From our Health Services Department

Pertussis Booster for Students in 6th grade:

Students currently in 6th grade must have proof of a Tdap or Dtap (Pertussis or Whooping Cough) booster given after their 7th birthday in order to begin 7th grade in August of 2019. Please provide a copy of your child’s immunization record to your school office as soon as possible!

Please refer any questions regarding this requirement to our District Staff: Clare Luna 302-1448 and Sandy Anderson 302-1449.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Health Services Staff

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From your School Office

Many of you have asked, and here it is! The School Board has approved the 2019-20 Calendar so you can start planning ahead. Please note that there will be two added minimum days that will be decided after the new school year starts.

Enjoy next week with your family and friends!