Almond Thursday Word

Dear Almond Families:

This is the season for expressing gratitude and so I want to thank you, Almond families, for entrusting us with your child’s educational and social-emotional learning every day and for all of the support we receive throughout the year. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

And thank you to our Student Council for leading the Food Drive here at Almond school!

Here’s to appreciating our wonderful community!

Raquel

p.s. Please see below for a heads-up about Hour of Code in December!

HOUR OF CODE WEEK - DECEMBER 9-13th

Hour of Code week is coming! December 9th-13th is Computer Science Education Week, a week dedicated to showing students K-12 the importance of computer science education. This celebration was organized by Code.org with the goal to get 10 million students of all ages (and adults) to participate in just 1 hour of coding.

According to Code.org, "90% of K-12 schools in the U.S. do not teach computer science." Los Altos School District, thanks to funding from LAEF, is fortunate enough to be in the 10% of U.S. Schools that are offering every student the opportunity to learn computational thinking through the STEM Computer Science program.

Coding ideas you can do at home with a tablet and/or computer

Ideas for all on internet :

• go to Code.org lessons and you can specify what age and topic

Kinders for tablets:

• Bee bots and the bee bot app https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bee-bot/id500131639?mt=8

1st and 2nd grade for tablets:

• Daisy the Dinosaur https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/daisy-the-dinosaur/id490514278
• Hopscotch https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hopscotch-coding-for-kids/id617098629?mt=8
• Scratch Jr. scratch Jr.
• Code.org. For many lessons and tutorials for all ages

3rd-6th grade internet based:

• Scratch: http://scratch.mit.edu/
• code.org for many lessons and tutorials for all ages

"Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer…because it teaches you how to think."- Steve Jobs

Happy Coding Everyone!!

Tomorrow, Fri, 11/22, Last Day of Student Council Food Drive!

Mon and Tue, 11/25-26, Parent/Teacher Conferences, NO SCHOOL

Wed-Fri, 11/27-29, Holiday, NO SCHOOL

Sun, 12/1, Festival of Lights Parade, Downtown Los Altos, 6pm, Come see our Almond Eagle in the parade!

Tue, 12/3, Family Literacy Night, Almond Library, 6-7:30--see details below

Wed, 12/4, Almond Singers Winter Concert for families, 7pm

Thur, 12/5, New Family/Kindergarten Information Night, 7pm -- tell your neighbors with young children!

12/9-12/13, Hour of Code

Wed, 12/11, PTA General Meeting, 8:30 am (previously posted as Board Meeting--apologies!)

Wed, 12/11, Winter Concert, Grades 4-6, 1:00

Wed, 12/18, Winter Concert, Grades TK/K-3

12/23-1/3, December Recess

Mon, 1/6/20, School resumes

Tuesday, December 3, 6-7:30 in Almond Library

*Open to all TK-6th grade students and guardians

*Students encouraged to wear Pajamas!

*Story read by Mrs. Matteroli

*Creative writing

*Word Games

*Dogs from Guide Dogs for the Blind will be in attendance for kids to read to!

*Milk and Cookies!

It’s time to foster creativity, self-expression and excitement about writing!

Bookwave booklets have gone or will be going home this week. Some tips and tricks for "effortlessly" completing this project:

• Sample books for inspiration: https://studentreasures.com/teachers-lounge/sample-books-topic-ideas/
• If you need more or different pages - https://studentreasures.com/teachers-lounge/replacement-kit-materials/
• Writing tips - https://studentreasures.com/teachers-lounge/writing-tips/
• Our teacher-led workshop to help kids finish up their books will be on Wednesday, Jan 15th, 2020. PLEASE RSVP here if you can make it.

The due date for completed books is Friday, January 24, 2020.

If you and your student are still interested in purchasing a booklet, please contact Raina at rainab@gmail.com; it will be $15 payable to Almond PTA.

Thanks in advance for turning the packets in on-time! If you have any questions, please contact Raina at rainab@gmail.com

Living Classroom is in need of more volunteers!...With more teachers than ever before signing up for our fun and engaging lessons, we need your help to meet our lesson demand! Please join us for our upcoming Winter Docent Training on Monday mornings in December from 9-Noon (12/2, 12/9 & 12/16) at the Los Altos School District iLearn Studio located at 201 Covington Road in Los Altos. Our trainings are fun, educational and even include breakfast! The suggested commitment is only 6 hours a month and, in turn, we invite you to join us for our docent enrichment events which include socials, hikes, garden tours, workshops and lectures. No experience or green thumb necessary as we teach you everything you need to know!

Living Classroom Winter Docent Training

Mondays 9-Noon 12/2, 12/9 & 12/16

Los Altos School District – iLearn Studio

201 Covington Road, Los Altos

*Can’t make Mondays? Ask us about our apprentice-style training!

Click here to view and/or print out flyer!

RSVP/Questions? Email livingclassroom@lasdschools.org or call (650) 947-1103.

Check us out at www.living-classroom.org!

Who we are:

We are a dedicated group of trained volunteers who teach hands-on garden-based lessons to students in grades K-8.

Why volunteer?

Living Classroom is about more than just teaching students how to plant in the garden. It’s about using the edible and native plant gardens at each school as living laboratories and engaging student learning in fun and relevant ways. Most of our standard-aligned lessons are interdisciplinary and tie into science, social studies and math curriculum. Our hands-on lessons also get kids outside (green time vs. screen time), encourage healthy eating habits, and promote environmental literacy and stewardship.

Volunteering with Living Classroom offers a way for docents to act locally to help protect our environment and nurture our future environmental stewards!

You don’t have to have a green thumb to be an amazing Living Classroom docent. In fact, our program is great way to learn how to turn that black thumb into a green one!

Living Classroom docents enjoy ongoing educational programs, hikes, field trips, social activities and a wonderful sense of community. Just seeing the students smile and get excited when a docent arrives to give a lesson is rewarding and priceless!

The commitment is only 6 hours (3 lessons) a month and you can tailor the program to fit your interests and availability.

Thanks and we hope to see you in the gardens soon!

Living Classroom Staff

Tour Blach Intermediate and Egan Junior High Schools!

Interested in what the future holds in junior high school for your child? You’re invited to tour Blach Intermediate and Egan Junior High schools--both National Blue Ribbon schools. Meet the principal, talk with students and teachers, and visit classrooms. Learn how classroom instruction, innovative curriculum, and an unparalleled array of electives prepare students for success in high school, college and beyond. Our welcoming and inclusive junior high schools focus on the whole child, and empower and engage students to become global citizens and lifelong learners.

Take a look at the Egan and Blach videos in our media gallery and please sign up using the links below to join a tour!

Blach Intermediate School Tours, Sign-Up for One Date Here!

Monday, December 9, 9:30am-11:00am

Friday, January 24, 1:30pm-3:00pm

Friday, March 13, 9:30am-11am

Monday, March 16, 1:30pm-3pm

Egan Junior High School Tour Sign-Up

Friday, December 6, 9:00am-10:30am

Also, please Save the Date for our Junior High School Information Nights on February 6 at 7pm. More information will be provided to our families in upcoming newsletters.

Almond Elementary students, parents, and friends are cordially invited to attend The Almond Singers Winter Holiday Concert on Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at 7pm in the Multi. Almond Singers' members (who are students in grades 2-6) will delight you with their performances of both traditional and contemporary holiday songs. (There will be a morning concert at school on Wednesday, December 4 at 8:45am for students and staff only). Happy Holidays!

We have a Challenge Match!

A group of LASD families has offered to match every dollar donated before December 31st, up to a total of $50,000. Your donation will be doubled if you give now!

We have raised 70% of our $3.4M goal for this school year. We need your help to finish the job. Donate or Pledge Today!

Find out more about the teachers and staff that LAEF funds.

Break out your Ray-Bans, neon clothes, crimping iron and Walkman and get ready to go "BACK TO THE 80'S" with your fellow Almond parents. The evening will include dinner, dancing, silent and live auctions!

Buy your tickets now before they run out! Purchase Here!

The Gala Auction is Almond's biggest PTA fundraiser and a great way for parents to mix and mingle while supporting our school. It is an adults-only event.

Almond's Student Council has teamed up with Second Harvest Food Bank this year in helping our less fortunate community members.

These are the food items they need most:

• Canned foods with pop-top lids, including:

  • Tuna, salmon or chicken

  • Fruit in its own juice or water

  • Low-sodium vegetables

  • Soup, stew or chili

• Peanut butter

• Olive or canola oil

• Spices (cinnamon, chili powder, cumin, salt-free spice blends)

• Low-sugar whole grain cereals

• Nutritious snacks (granola bars, nuts, dried fruit)

• Bottled water

These are the household items needed:

• Toiletries

• Baby formula and diapers

• Paper towels and toilet paper

• Can openers

• Reusable tote bags

• Laundry detergent

In addition, Second Harvest says monetary donations are really important, here's why:

While both help eliminate hunger in Silicon Valley, monetary donations can make a big difference. With a $1 donation, Second Harvest can buy the equivalent of $3 worth of food from a local grocery store.​

We've set up a unique fundraising page for monetary donations here: ​http://fundraise.shfb.org/goto/almond-food-drive. We will have this link active well past the Food Drive deadline. Please share this with the school community!

Welcome to Family Giving Tree's 2019 Holiday Wish Drive. Begin supporting those Bay Area children, individuals, and seniors most in need. You can be the reason for their celebration this season! All donations made from this link will reflect Almond Elementary School Involvement.

Like last year, this year too, Almond Elementary School is participating in the Holiday Wish Drive. Use the link below to begin supporting those children, adults and seniors most in need throughout our Bay Area community. https://vtree.fgt.org/AlmondElementarySchool

Since 1990, the Family Giving Tree has provided gifts for over one million San Francisco Bay Area children, families, and seniors from low-income households. We believe that everyone should experience the joy of the holidays through the receipt of a gift and more than half of these gifts have fulfilled exact holiday gift wishes. Please donate! Almond School Donations