ALMOND THURSDAY WORD
August 31, 2017

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

• Thursday, 8/31
  • Back to School Night
    • 6:00pm - 6:40pm Classroom Visits (4-6)
      6:45pm - 7:00pm School Message in Multi (standing, no seats)
      7:05pm - 7:45pm Classroom Visits (TK-3)
• Friday, 9/1
  • Minimum Day
    • TK & Gr. 1-6 Dismissal @ 12:15pm
    • Kinder @ 12pm
• Monday, 9/4 - Holiday, No School
• Monday, 9/11 - Extended Day begins for TK/K
  • Transitional Kinder, M/T/W/F = 8:45am – 2:45pm, Th = 8:45am - 1:30pm
  • Kindergarten, M/T/W/F = 8:30am – 2:30pm, Th = 8:30am - 1:15pm
• Wednesday, 9/13 - School Site Council (Library @ 3:10pm)
• Wednesday, 9/20 - PTA General Meeting (Multi @ 8:30am)
• Thursday, 9/28 - School Coffee (Multi @ 8:45am)
• Friday, 9/22 - LASD Staff Development Day, No School
• Saturday, 10/14 - Walkathon

SCHOOL MESSAGE

On September 18th, a very large portion of our parking lot will be inaccessible to make way for the solar panel project.  There will be one row of parking that remains.  Each spot in that row will be reserved for the following:  nurse, handicap, auction winners, Art Docents, Living Classroom, Hot Lunch, traveling math & music teacher, and very few open staff spaces.  There will be no parent parking.

We appreciate how inconvenient this is.  We appreciate that this will add a bit of travel time to everyone’s morning routine.  We appreciate that this is not ideal.

Our Almond staff has been preparing its own game plan for parking because none of us will have reserved spots and there will likely only be 3-5 spaces available for the ~50 of us to share.  We’re scoping our neighborhood parking.  We’ve reached out to families who live nearby to ask if we can borrow driveway parking for the 8 weeks of construction.  And, we’re exploring carpool options.

It’s important that you begin thinking through your plan as well.  If you live within walking distance, please consider walking during this project.  If you live within biking distance, please consider biking.  If you have friends that live near school, please inquire if they have driveway parking available for drop off and pick up.

Starting on Tuesday, 9/5, we will be gathering information in our homerooms regarding how each student got to school.  We will be offering incentives each week for the top three classes with the highest "Walk or Wheel" percentages.

We recognize the challenge this inconvenience presents to all.  We hope it also affords an opportunity to build some new relationships, practice our abilities to be flexible and patient...all for the ultimate purpose making this a greener world through Solar Energy.

PTA & SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - NEW

DESPERATELY SEEKING HOT LUNCH VENDOR LIAISON - So that our hot lunch program can continue...

• We are still in need of a Hot Lunch Vendor Liaison to stock lunchroom supplies, hang weekly menu signs, and to communicate with Pasta Market on the menu and any issues that arise.  If we do not have a volunteer by 9/7, we will discontinue offering hot lunch for the next ordering session.
• Please contact Rachel Harnish to serve in this capacity and keep Hot Lunch available to students.

ALMOND SINGERS STARTS SOON
Almond Singers, under the direction of Mrs. Margaret Barnett, will have their first rehearsal Tuesday September 5th from 7:30am to 8:15am, in the Multi.  If you'd like your student to become an Almond Singer, please sign-up through Back to School registration (BTS) or contact Sandrine Steciw atsandy94025@yahoo.com.

STILL REQUIRED - PTA BACK TO SCHOOL REGISTRATION - DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 9/20
Of 395 families, only 190 have completed this process, that’s a 48% completion rate.  We can do better than that!  Please remember to do your Almond PTA Back to School registration available at THIS link. This is different than the Los Altos School District's InfoSnap registration that you completed.

NOON DUTY @ ALMOND!
We’re currently leveraging the support of our kinder aides on the grade 1 - 6 blacktop at lunch until extended day starts on 9/11.  This has afforded us added grown ups to support the safety of students.  We will be operating on bare bones if we don’t find some able bodies to support supervision at lunch.  I’ve tapped the high school - no luck.  If any of you are able to lend an hour, even once a week, we’d love to have your assistance in supervising lunch activities from 11:55pm to 12:55pm.  Please contact me if you’re interested.

PTA WALKATHON SILENT AUCTION CHAIR STILL NEEDED
Support needed to secure donations of items and parties for auction; set-up and run silent auction during the Walkathon event on 10/14/17 on the blacktop at Almond school.  Please contact Rachel Harnish if interested.

THE ALMOND PTA NEEDS YOU - 165 members so far this year of 395 families, 41%.  Let’s increase our participation!
The Almond Parent Teacher Association (PTA) welcomes you to the 2017-2018 school year and invites you to join our PTA. You can join via the online back to school process (click here) or pick up a PTA membership form in the Almond School Office.  Your PTA membership includes discounts at Legoland, Aquarium of the Pacific, California Academy of Sciences, Google Express and more.  By joining you will:

• Support your child by bringing parents and teachers together to promote the education, health, safety and well-being of Almond students.
• Support our teachers. The PTA coordinates room parents and classroom volunteers, and it pays for classroom supplies and instructional materials.
• Support Almond families. The PTA publishes the Almond School Directory and organizes fun family events such as the Ice Cream Social, Walkabout, Science Fair, STEM Expo, International Feast, and the Halloween Carnival.
• Support enrichment opportunities at Almond School. The PTA contributes to the Living Classroom Program, the Art Docent Program, and funds the Primary Grade Music Program.

For more information about joining the Almond PTA, please contact Alix Apfelberg, PTA Membership Chair (alix_apfelberg@yhahoo.com, 650-245-6445)

Almond Walkathon - Save the Date
This year's walkathon is Saturday, October 14, 2017. It will be a fun day with music, silent auction, food, and, of course, walking. Please watch this space for a link to register, order t-shirts, pledge donations and volunteer. Please consider donating something for the silent auction (contact Stefanie Seinfeld). For all other walkathon questions, please contact Barbara or Suzanne.

PTA & SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - REPEATED

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS

• Are you looking for interesting programs after school right here at Almond?
• Take a look at the options we offer including Sports, Technology, Design, Art and Music
• *NEW* offerings this Fall –Interior Design, Martial Arts, Jr Chefs Cooking, Lacrosse and Gymnastics.  We also have a new Tennis offering.   
• It’s simple to sign up!  Go to the After School Programs schedule on the Almond website.
• Please contact Jennel Massey with any questions.  Also if you missed the end of year Survey and have feedback on how we can continue to improve the after school offerings, please complete it HERE!
   

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

**Almond Kindergarten Daisy Girl Scout Troop**

• If you daughter in interested in making new friends, exploring the natural world, and having fun, we'd love to have her join our new troop!
• Parent Information Night: Thursday Sept 7th 7-8pm Almond Multi-Purpose Room
• Come learn what scouting is all about! This is an adult-only meeting.
• RSVP: Meredith Hiltgen, Almond Girl Scout School Manager, meredith@hiltgen.com; 408.887.3242, Service Unit 608 / Girl Scouts of Northern CA

AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEND A HAND - Disaster and First Responder Awareness

• When: Sunday, 9/10/2017 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
• Where: Schultz Cultural Arts Hall
• Bring your family to this special and unique day as we remember 9/11. We will work together on hands-on projects that will be donated to people living in emergency shelters, such as those hit by Hurricane Harvey, and prepare thank you packs for First Responders in our area to show our appreciation for all that they do.
• https://paloaltojcc.org/Events/day-of-remembrance

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.

Quick Links…

School & Community News now found via Peachjar:

https://www.peachjar.com/index.php?a=28&b=138&region=53999

Almond Elementary School Website

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