ALMOND THURSDAY WORD
November 3, 2016

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

• 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, 7:00pm)
• 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,

Happy first week of November.  May this month of Thanksgiving be filled with blessings and gratitude for the bounties in our lives.

As a lover of photography, this TEDxSF talk captivated me.  Louie Schwartzberg shared, “to see them move is a dance I’ll never get tired of.”  He was speaking of flowers and nature. 

For me, the dance that enchants my soul is the journey of childhood and learning.  I open my heart to the 539 unique flowers that grow, transform, and blossom at Almond on a daily basis.  I welcome them with gratitude for their individual beauty.

Thank you to all those who water the flowers, to those who prune them a bit when needed, and who work together to ensure that each gets its appropriate amount of sunlight and nutrients.  They are blossoming because of you.

With abundant appreciation,
Erika Benadom - Almond Principal

PTA & SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - NEW

LITERACY AIDE NEEDED DAILY 10:30AM - 12:00PM
If you are interested in supporting small group instruction for students in grades 1 and 2, please let me (Mrs. Benadom) know.  We are still looking for a caring adult to work under the supervision of our first and second grade teams to support learning in mastering literacy.

LOST & FOUND
There are many items in the Lost & Found racks! Please come look for your family's missing jackets and other belongings. And a note to the wise: if you write your student's name on things, we do our best to return things to their owners!  We will be bagging up all items and donating them to those in need the Friday before the week of Thanksgiving.

LAEF:  Good news is coming soon!
We are busy processing donations from the many families who donated in support of our $100,000 Matching Challenge LAEF’s Board of Directors and the Honor Roll of Realtors Leadership Circle. As of Friday 10/28, we were within a few hundred dollars of meeting the match. Stay tuned for good news and in the meantime a big thank you to the 1,520 families who have already contributed to LAEF to pay for essential enrichment teachers and program staff for this year’s programs. To learn more about LAEF, pledge or donate, go to LAEFonline.org.

LAEF:  Have you ordered your Holiday Cards? Buy from Tiny Prints & support LAEF
It’s that time of the year! 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!

PTA & SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - REPEATED

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.

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.

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 andHERE is the link for registering.

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

"Inland Voyage" presented by Marine Science Institute @ The Lost Altos Library on Saturday, November 5
Children ages 4 and up will learn about the influence of the tides on the rocky shore and the animals survive in he harsh conditions of the tidepool habitat.  They will have the opportunity to handle live fishes and invertebrates, and examine how they are adapted to life in the rocky intertidal. (Registration is required)
Session 1:  1 PM (ages 4 & 5)
Session 2:  2 PM (ages 6, 7, & 8)
Session 3:  3 PM (ages 9-12)

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.