ALMOND THURSDAY WORD
October 5, 2017
UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER
- Friday, 10/13 - Thursday, 10/19 - Scholastic Book Fair
- Wednesday, 10/18 - School Site Council (Library @ 3:10pm)
- Saturday, 10/14 - Walkathon (Blacktop, 9am - 1:30pm)
SCHOOL MESSAGE
A number of parents and some staff have expressed safety concerns regarding our parking lot and drive through. This is only going to become more complex once the Solar Project begins. We are begging for cooperation from our parents/guardians and students with the following things.
PARENTS & GUARDIANS
- Be alert, patient, and considerate of others in the drive through (that is the area in the front of school with two lanes where you may drop off and pick up your children) and the parking lot.
- Do not get out of your car in the drive through. Not to walk your child to class. Not to quickly drop something off in the office. Not even to get your child out of their seat. If you need assistance getting your child out of the car, pull your car all the way past the crosswalk and in the morning a safety patrol volunteer will help you.
- Please do not stop your car and chat with friends while you are in the drive through. This causes a traffic backup on Almond and it is frustrating to your fellow community members.
- While it is wonderful if children arrive on time, regardless, we will always greet them with a “We’re glad you made it. Have a great day.” Please do not create a stressful atmosphere for yourself, your family, and our community by rushing and stressing out to get to school. If you are struggling regularly with arriving on time, it would be lovely if you could reflect on how to adjust your routine to address this.
STUDENTS
- If you arrive before 8:15am, you MUST wait in the front rotunda. Not by the bike cages. Not near the dumpster. Not in the Living Garden. In the front rotunda. Why? Because LASD maintenance vehicles have the right of passage onto our blacktop until 8:15am in order to clean our campus and make repairs to support our school. We will also have some staff parking behind the multi during the solar construction and we do not want anyone to get hurt.
PTA & SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - NEW
SOLAR PROJECT SUPPORT: Here Comes the Sun!
- Solar panel construction comes to our parking lot on Monday 10/23.
- In preparation, please join our campaign to reduce car traffic through our parking lot. Walk! Bike! Carpool!
- Over the next two weeks, each class will collect and post its commute statistics, as we work to increase the number of kids using these methods to get to school. A little friendly classroom rivalry never hurts.
- GreenTown Los Altos has partnered with the school district to help motivate kids to go green. They will throw our whole school a pizza party at the end of the year if we can keep up the momentum and achieve a 50% carpool/bike/walk rate! (We're close to that already - just a few percentage points could make the difference.)
- Expect to see us in the traffic circle next week promoting carpooling and asking drivers to pledge at least 2 days a week to the carpool effort. We will be helping interested families network.
WALKATHON & SILENT AUCTION - OCTOBER 14
- The Almond Walkathon is just over a week away! Please be sure to register your child to avoid registration lines the morning of the walkathon. T-shirts will be distributed next week, and we will be selling a limited number of t-shirts starting Wednesday, October 11.
- The Walkathon is a parent-run event, and needs the help of many parents to make it a successful day. We still have many open volunteer slots; sign up here to help out on the day!
- The Silent Auction is still collecting donations - please consider donating event tickets, vacation packages or hosting a party. We already have many great donations from our generous families and local businesses. Check out the list of items to bid on here before the auction.
ALMOND BAKERS
The PTA's Almond Hospitality is volunteer parent bakers for the various school events (BookFair, Walkathon, Carnival, Junior Olympics, Graduation, Kinder Orientation) throughout the year. Some items are sold to fundraise and others are for reception purposes. Please join in this great tradition of helping the PTA and signup to bake cookies or another yummy treat for the upcoming Walkathon here.
VISION SCREENING
The District Nurses will be doing vision screening, both near and far, at ALMOND SCHOOL for all Kindergarten, 2nd, and 5th grades on October 30th, 2017. If your child has glasses or contacts, please make sure that they wear them to school on the day of the screening. The nurse will mail a referral form to the parents of students who do not pass the vision screening.
PTA YEARBOOK COMMITTEE CHAIR NEEDED
- We need a volunteer to take or secure photos of students in many activities throughout the year and official school photos; organize into yearbook using a software; add original artwork, messaging to pages to customize; organize delivery before the end of the school year.
- If we don't find a Yearbook Chair we won't have a yearbook this year.
- Please contact Rachel Harnish, rachelharnish@yahoo.com, Almond PTA President.
FALL BOOK FAIR
- The Book Fair is coming next week! Please join us for the Grand Opening Coffee on Friday, October 13 at 8:30am. The Fair will be open October 13 - 19 (Friday and Monday through Wednesday, 8:15am-3:45pm , Thursday, 8:15am – 12:45pm, and during the Walkathon on Saturday, 9am-2pm). You can also order online from October 6th to October 19th at http://www.scholastic.com/bf/almondelementaryschool
- The Almond PTA uses funds raised from the Book Fair to purchase books for teacher classrooms and the school library.
- Want to see the kids during the Book Fair? Consider volunteering for a shift or two here or contact Marcsi Elovson at mkratochwill@yahoo.com.
- If you have any questions, please contact Marcsi Elovson at mkratochwill@yahoo.com or Joy Yu at jungmin.yu@gmail.com.
LAEF: HELP SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS
- The Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF) provides funding for our staff in the areas of Art, Literacy, STEM, Wellness and Personalized Learning. The Foundation’s biggest fundraiser, the phonathon, is coming up on October 24th and we are asking for every family to participate in two ways:
- First, please make sure you donate or pledge before 10/20 and saving volunteers a phone call. Our goal is to increase our participation rate this year by 5% so please participate at whatever level is meaningful to your family.
- Second, join Superintendent Jeff Baier, teachers and staff, LAEF Board Members and other parents at the phonathon for some food, fun and phoning! Click here to volunteer and don’t forget to bring a friend too!
S.O.A.R. CELEBRATIONS
(listed alphabetically by last name)
- Yasmine Aceituno, 9/29/17, Always making good choices during book clubs engaging in conversations and providing positive feedback. Mrs. Burke :-)
- Matthew Ballabio, 10/2/17, Respecting self and others. Helped teach a new student baseball skills.
- Eason Dong, 10/2/17, Always making good choices. Helping with play equipment.
- Mrs. Eldridge’s Entire Class, 10/5/17, For writing and performing our SOAR song! For using teamwork and problem solving skills.
- Alex Elovson, 10/4/17, Owning learning. Always tries his best on assignments, listens attentively.
- Chloe Pasket, 10/4/17, Always making good choices. Helpful, thoughtful, has a positive attitude.
- Lily Sabharwal, 10/4/17, Owning learning. Remembers and practices the new skills she learns in class.
- Kendra Sims, 9/29/17, Respecting self and others. Using positive words to give feedback during Book Club. Mrs. Burke :-)
- Jiawei Tang, 10/2/17, Always making good choices. Helping with play equipment.
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Parent Education / Involvement Opportunities:
- 10/09- Monday- 7 to 9pm, Let’s Talk: A chance to ask questions and share ideas, resources, and support with other parents of students with IEPs, 504s, learning differences, mental health challenges, etc., New, temporary location: 190 Arbuelo Way, Los Altos (free, walk-in)
- 10/10- Tuesday- 7pm, walk-in Parent Chat for parents/caregivers of youth w/mental health issues. Free, anonymous, peer-to-peer support, at Los Altos Library, 13 South San Antonio Road
- 10/12- Thursday- 7 to 9pm, Why Parents Matter More Than Peers with Dr Gabor Mate, Mountain View High School Spartan Theatre, 3535 Truman Avenue, Mountain View, eventbrite.com
- 10/18- Wednesday- 11am to 1, Anxiety and Mood Disorder Support and Info Group at Parents Helping Parents, http://www.php.com/node/41657/view
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®ion=53999
Almond Elementary School Website
Copyright © 2003-2016 Los Altos School District. All rights reserved.
ALMOND THURSDAY WORD
October 5, 2017
UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER
- Friday, 10/13 - Thursday, 10/19 - Scholastic Book Fair
- Wednesday, 10/18 - School Site Council (Library @ 3:10pm)
- Saturday, 10/14 - Walkathon (Blacktop, 9am - 1:30pm)
SCHOOL MESSAGE
A number of parents and some staff have expressed safety concerns regarding our parking lot and drive through. This is only going to become more complex once the Solar Project begins. We are begging for cooperation from our parents/guardians and students with the following things.
PARENTS & GUARDIANS
- Be alert, patient, and considerate of others in the drive through (that is the area in the front of school with two lanes where you may drop off and pick up your children) and the parking lot.
- Do not get out of your car in the drive through. Not to walk your child to class. Not to quickly drop something off in the office. Not even to get your child out of their seat. If you need assistance getting your child out of the car, pull your car all the way past the crosswalk and in the morning a safety patrol volunteer will help you.
- Please do not stop your car and chat with friends while you are in the drive through. This causes a traffic backup on Almond and it is frustrating to your fellow community members.
- While it is wonderful if children arrive on time, regardless, we will always greet them with a “We’re glad you made it. Have a great day.” Please do not create a stressful atmosphere for yourself, your family, and our community by rushing and stressing out to get to school. If you are struggling regularly with arriving on time, it would be lovely if you could reflect on how to adjust your routine to address this.
STUDENTS
- If you arrive before 8:15am, you MUST wait in the front rotunda. Not by the bike cages. Not near the dumpster. Not in the Living Garden. In the front rotunda. Why? Because LASD maintenance vehicles have the right of passage onto our blacktop until 8:15am in order to clean our campus and make repairs to support our school. We will also have some staff parking behind the multi during the solar construction and we do not want anyone to get hurt.
PTA & SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - NEW
SOLAR PROJECT SUPPORT: Here Comes the Sun!
- Solar panel construction comes to our parking lot on Monday 10/23.
- In preparation, please join our campaign to reduce car traffic through our parking lot. Walk! Bike! Carpool!
- Over the next two weeks, each class will collect and post its commute statistics, as we work to increase the number of kids using these methods to get to school. A little friendly classroom rivalry never hurts.
- GreenTown Los Altos has partnered with the school district to help motivate kids to go green. They will throw our whole school a pizza party at the end of the year if we can keep up the momentum and achieve a 50% carpool/bike/walk rate! (We're close to that already - just a few percentage points could make the difference.)
- Expect to see us in the traffic circle next week promoting carpooling and asking drivers to pledge at least 2 days a week to the carpool effort. We will be helping interested families network.
WALKATHON & SILENT AUCTION - OCTOBER 14
- The Almond Walkathon is just over a week away! Please be sure to register your child to avoid registration lines the morning of the walkathon. T-shirts will be distributed next week, and we will be selling a limited number of t-shirts starting Wednesday, October 11.
- The Walkathon is a parent-run event, and needs the help of many parents to make it a successful day. We still have many open volunteer slots; sign up here to help out on the day!
- The Silent Auction is still collecting donations - please consider donating event tickets, vacation packages or hosting a party. We already have many great donations from our generous families and local businesses. Check out the list of items to bid on here before the auction.
ALMOND BAKERS
The PTA's Almond Hospitality is volunteer parent bakers for the various school events (BookFair, Walkathon, Carnival, Junior Olympics, Graduation, Kinder Orientation) throughout the year. Some items are sold to fundraise and others are for reception purposes. Please join in this great tradition of helping the PTA and signup to bake cookies or another yummy treat for the upcoming Walkathon here.
VISION SCREENING
The District Nurses will be doing vision screening, both near and far, at ALMOND SCHOOL for all Kindergarten, 2nd, and 5th grades on October 30th, 2017. If your child has glasses or contacts, please make sure that they wear them to school on the day of the screening. The nurse will mail a referral form to the parents of students who do not pass the vision screening.
PTA YEARBOOK COMMITTEE CHAIR NEEDED
- We need a volunteer to take or secure photos of students in many activities throughout the year and official school photos; organize into yearbook using a software; add original artwork, messaging to pages to customize; organize delivery before the end of the school year.
- If we don't find a Yearbook Chair we won't have a yearbook this year.
- Please contact Rachel Harnish, rachelharnish@yahoo.com, Almond PTA President.
FALL BOOK FAIR
- The Book Fair is coming next week! Please join us for the Grand Opening Coffee on Friday, October 13 at 8:30am. The Fair will be open October 13 - 19 (Friday and Monday through Wednesday, 8:15am-3:45pm , Thursday, 8:15am – 12:45pm, and during the Walkathon on Saturday, 9am-2pm). You can also order online from October 6th to October 19th at http://www.scholastic.com/bf/almondelementaryschool
- The Almond PTA uses funds raised from the Book Fair to purchase books for teacher classrooms and the school library.
- Want to see the kids during the Book Fair? Consider volunteering for a shift or two here or contact Marcsi Elovson at mkratochwill@yahoo.com.
- If you have any questions, please contact Marcsi Elovson at mkratochwill@yahoo.com or Joy Yu at jungmin.yu@gmail.com.
LAEF: HELP SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS
- The Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF) provides funding for our staff in the areas of Art, Literacy, STEM, Wellness and Personalized Learning. The Foundation’s biggest fundraiser, the phonathon, is coming up on October 24th and we are asking for every family to participate in two ways:
- First, please make sure you donate or pledge before 10/20 and saving volunteers a phone call. Our goal is to increase our participation rate this year by 5% so please participate at whatever level is meaningful to your family.
- Second, join Superintendent Jeff Baier, teachers and staff, LAEF Board Members and other parents at the phonathon for some food, fun and phoning! Click here to volunteer and don’t forget to bring a friend too!
S.O.A.R. CELEBRATIONS
(listed alphabetically by last name)
- Yasmine Aceituno, 9/29/17, Always making good choices during book clubs engaging in conversations and providing positive feedback. Mrs. Burke :-)
- Matthew Ballabio, 10/2/17, Respecting self and others. Helped teach a new student baseball skills.
- Eason Dong, 10/2/17, Always making good choices. Helping with play equipment.
- Mrs. Eldridge’s Entire Class, 10/5/17, For writing and performing our SOAR song! For using teamwork and problem solving skills.
- Alex Elovson, 10/4/17, Owning learning. Always tries his best on assignments, listens attentively.
- Chloe Pasket, 10/4/17, Always making good choices. Helpful, thoughtful, has a positive attitude.
- Lily Sabharwal, 10/4/17, Owning learning. Remembers and practices the new skills she learns in class.
- Kendra Sims, 9/29/17, Respecting self and others. Using positive words to give feedback during Book Club. Mrs. Burke :-)
- Jiawei Tang, 10/2/17, Always making good choices. Helping with play equipment.
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Parent Education / Involvement Opportunities:
- 10/09- Monday- 7 to 9pm, Let’s Talk: A chance to ask questions and share ideas, resources, and support with other parents of students with IEPs, 504s, learning differences, mental health challenges, etc., New, temporary location: 190 Arbuelo Way, Los Altos (free, walk-in)
- 10/10- Tuesday- 7pm, walk-in Parent Chat for parents/caregivers of youth w/mental health issues. Free, anonymous, peer-to-peer support, at Los Altos Library, 13 South San Antonio Road
- 10/12- Thursday- 7 to 9pm, Why Parents Matter More Than Peers with Dr Gabor Mate, Mountain View High School Spartan Theatre, 3535 Truman Avenue, Mountain View, eventbrite.com
- 10/18- Wednesday- 11am to 1, Anxiety and Mood Disorder Support and Info Group at Parents Helping Parents, http://www.php.com/node/41657/view
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®ion=53999
Almond Elementary School Website
Copyright © 2003-2016 Los Altos School District. All rights reserved.