ALMOND THURSDAY WORD
October 27, 2016

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

• Friday, 10/28 - Halloween Carnival *Rain or Shine* (Blacktop, 3:30pm)
• Tuesday, 11/1- School Site Council, SSC (Library, 3:05pm)
• Wednesday, 11/2 - Sixth Grade Walden West Meeting (Multi, 8:30am)
• Thursday, 11/3 - Principal Coffee (Library, 8:35am)
• Friday, 11/11 - Holiday (NO SCHOOL)
• 11/14 thru 11/18 - Sixth Grade Science Camp
• 11/21 & 11/22 - Parent Conferences
• 11/23 thru 11/25 - Thanksgiving Vacation
• Thursday, 12/1 - Kindergarten & New Family Information Night
• Tuesday, 12/6 - Almond Singers Winter Concert (Multi, 6:30pm)
• Wednesday, 12/7 - PTA General Meeting (Multi, 8:30am)
• Friday, 12/9 - TK/K Holiday Concert (Multi, 1pm)
• Monday, 12/12 - Gr. 4-6 Holiday Concert (Multi, 1pm)
• Tuesday, 12/13 - Gr. 1-3 Holiday Concert (Multi, 1pm)
• Wednesday, 12/14 - School Site Council, SSC (Library, 3:05pm)
• Thursday, 12/15 - Principal Coffee (Library, 8:35am)
• 12/19 thru 1/2 - December Vacation
• Tuesday, 1/3/17 - School Resumes

PRINCIPAL MESSAGE

Greetings Almond Community,

trust·wor·thy
ˈtrəs(t)ˌwərT͟Hē/
adjective
     1.  able to be relied on as honest or truthful.

Another way that I’ve described this to my own children is, “Doing what’s right even when no one is looking.  Not cutting corners just because you can.  Being a person of integrity.”

On an annual (sometimes weekly, and other times daily) basis, I remind Almond students that our walkways are for feet, not wheels.  This expectation is not simply in place to torture them and to make their lives miserable (although they might feel that way).  

At the front of school by the crosswalk on the street, there is a narrow walkway that leads to the front of school.  At the back of the campus is a narrow paved path that follows the field to lead to the blacktop.

Between the hours of approximately 8:00am and 8:30am, hundreds of students (some parents and young siblings) are making their way onto campus to start their days.  Between the hours of approximately 2:25pm and 3:15pm (MTWF, Th. is a different time frame ;-)), hundreds of students (some parents and young siblings) are exiting the campus for afternoon activities.  During both of these times the blacktop is filled with students waiting for school to begin or to connect with their buddies to walk home.

In order to keep these hundreds of human beings safe, it is necessary that they completely dismount their wheeled transportation (bikes, skateboards, scooters, rollerblades) and walk the entire way on campus and off campus.  This includes the adults that accompany our students.

Please speak with your children about this expectation and ask for their support in being trustworthy.  This is one way that they can demonstrate respect for the safety of others and where they can practice self control.  Someday these young people will be behind the wheel of a car.  Someday these young people will have phones.  The evidence of the dangers of texting or answering a phone call while driving is overwhelming.  They will need to dig deep and not answer that ding when it sounds.  Getting off their wheeled vehicle is a great place for them to start executing restraint.

Sincerely,
Erika Benadom - Almond Principal

PTA & SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - NEW

Rain or Shine - The Halloween Carnival will go on!  We'll just relocate our fun to the multi in the case of rain and see you there!

• We hope to see everyone at the Almond PTA Halloween Carnival this Friday, October 28, from 3:30 - 5:30 pm!
• Everyone will have a spooky-fun time with traditional games, costumes, decorations, snacks and pumpkin carving contest.
• It's fun for the whole family and the proceeds benefit Almond.
• Save time the night of the carnival and purchase tickets in advance before and after school on Thursday and Friday.
• Drop off your pumpkin for the contest at the rotunda before school on the 28th.  Prizes will be awarded at the carnival.
• The carnival is the place for kids to wear their costumes as they do not dress up during school.  No weapons or fake weapons please.  Parent costumes are optional, but always add to the fun!
• Rain or shine, it is still not a drop-off event.

LAEF:  $100K Challenge Match Deadline is around the corner!

• It’s not too late for every dollar you give to LAEF to get doubled by LAEF’s Board of Directors and the Honor Roll of Realtors Leadership Circle! There’s still $10,378 in matching funds available, but we need you to donate by 10/31. The suggested donation is $1,200 per student, and every gift in any amount can help us meet our challenge. To learn more about LAEF, pledge or donate, go to LAEFonline.org.
• It’s Holiday Card Time! Buy from Tiny Prints and support LAEF.  By ordering your Thanksgiving or Holiday Cards through Tiny Prints at https://www.tinyprints.com/storefront/laef, you’ll save on your cards and LAEF will receive a donation from every order!

Left Over (or Too Much) Halloween Candy? Please Donate to Almond's Halloween Candy Collection Drive......
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! Almond Community Services is conducting its annual candy drive - to help YOU get rid of all the candy and to help OUR TROOPS abroad. From November 1st through November 8th, please bring in your wrapped candies and drop it in the marked box in the main office.  All candy donated will be shipped to Operation Care and Comfort (a non-profit organization) which creates care packages for our troops abroad using the donate candy.  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.

PTA & SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - REPEATED

PUMPKIN DECORATING CONTEST
Carve out some family fun and submit your best decorated pumpkin for the Almond Halloween Carnival Pumpkin Decorating contest.  Drop off your entry at the Rotunda during Drop Off on Friday, October 28.  They will be on display all day.  Ribbons and Prizes (provided by SUGAR BABY SWEET SHOPPE in Downtown Los Altos) will be awarded for "Scariest", "Funniest" and " Most Creative" in two age groups (3rd Grade and Below and 4th Grade and Above).  Winners will be posted after school on the same day and prizes can be picked up during the Halloween Carnival.  Pumpkins should be picked up and taken with you on your way home from the carnival.  For more information contact:  Lesley Sehnert at SehnertX4@gmail.com

SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL (SSC), Tuesday, 11/1, Library, 3:05pm
This council is a group of parents and school staff who meet together to provide input and review goals.  This year, the Almond SSC will focus on next steps for bringing alive the mission and vision, while also focusing on school climate and how to create an environment that is inclusive of all types of learners.  We will also generate a survey that seeks input from the community on a variety of school matters.  If you are interested in participating, please join us at the date/time above.  It will be a structured meeting where input will be gathered in an interactive way.  It is not a sit and get, but a roll up your sleeves type of setting.  Hope to see you there.  Here is a draft agenda.

PRINCIPAL COFFEE, Thursday, 11/3, Library, 8:35am
The Almond staff is eager to ensure our families are aware of their children’s academic progress.  We have been spending time updating PowerSchool so that you are able to monitor mastery towards standards.  At this principal coffee, I will have a cart of computers available for you to log into your child’s account.  I will talk through the shift in paradigm from a collection of assignments and tests to a report on standards based progress.  You will see a sample report card and there will be plenty of time to ask questions.  I hope to see you there. - Mrs. Benadom

PARENT CONFERENCES, a note from Mrs. Benadom

The goal of parent conferences is to set aside time on 11/21 & 11/22 for a face to face conversations with families about learning.  Of course we hope that many families will be able to partake in this experience on these two days.  Please know that it is not mandatory.

A challenge exists in our current construct for parent conferences.  The days reside during Thanksgiving week when many of our families plan vacations and travel.  This reality presents a challenge for our teaching staff.  The two days that our district has set aside for conversations about learning are underutilized and teachers must then offer conferences outside of these two days in order to maintain a close connection with parents.  

In grades TK-4, conferences will remain at the homeroom level.  Any conference requests from parents outside of 11/21 & 11/22 will be based on the teacher’s availability.  Grades 5/6 are more complex due to regrouping and rotations.  A teacher potentially sees 120+ students.  If a family requests conferences outside of the designated days (11/21 & 11/22), we will collect this request and get back to you with an alternate day.  Almond will provide an additional sub day to teachers in grade 5/6 for conferences that were not able to be held in November.

POWERSCHOOL AND STUDENT PROGRESS, a note from Mrs. Benadom

We have been hearing from parents that the information in PowerSchool is not up to date and not scored.  We finally got to the bottom of it yesterday at our staff meeting.  Please see THIS link.  While it appears that there is no “score,” there in fact is but you have to click the blue rectangular icon to expand the standards associated with the entry.  I will speak more about this at the upcoming coffee.

Community Service Event - Food Pantry Volunteer Event (back by popular demand)!
Thank you to everyone who joined us last week at the food pantry - it was great to see our families hard at work helping others on a Thursday afternoon!  Since we had families on the waitlist, we’re adding another event!  Please join us to help fill emergency food boxes, sort cans, and stock shelves in the food pantry at the Ecumenical Hunger Program (EHP). EHP is an independent, non-profit organization that provides food, clothing, household essentials, support and advocacy to the needy in their local community.  Limited spots available - first come, first served. 
When:  Thursday, November 3rd, 3:30-4:30pm 
Where:  Ecumenical Hunger Program, 2411 Pulgas Avenue, East Palo Alto
RSVP:  Email Polly (polly@beau-coup.com) with # of people attending 
Deadline to RSVP:  Tuesday, October 25
NOTE:  Adult Supervision required - this is NOT a drop-off event.

DIGITAL SAFETY PRESENTATION AT LOYOLA ELEMENTARY
The Project Cornerstone program at Loyola is hosting Officer Ryan Langone for a digital safety presentation on Wednesday, November 9th at 7 p.m. and has invited parents from across the district to attend. HERE is the flyer is and HERE is the link for registering.