Almond Thursday Word

Dear Almond Families:

Welcome back and Happy New Year and decade! I have so enjoyed connecting with students and many of you about your time away during the holiday break. From my many conversations it sounds like there was as much rest and relaxation as there was activities and fun. It is such a gift to students and adults alike to be able to recharge and refuel on a break.

Tomorrow, our students in grades 1-6 will be attending special assemblies in our multi to hear from Teresa Goines, founder and CEO of Old Skool, as part of a leadership speaker series funded through the Almond PTA. Teresa will share with our students the work she does running Old Skool Cafe, an organization that “provides marketable employment skills in the restaurant industry to at-risk youth ages 16-22, through a supper club run by at-risk youth in San Francisco that provides training, jobs, and a second chance at life for youth coming out of incarceration and foster care.” Thank you to Alex and Lily Wang for supporting all Almond students and bringing this very special speaker series to our school.

Here’s to new learning in the new decade!

Raquel

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 adult-only evening will include dinner, dancing, silent and live auctions! Buy your tickets now before they run out! Purchase Here!

Wed, 1/15/20, PTA Board Meeting, 8:30

Mon, 1/20, Holiday, NO SCHOOL

Tue, 1/21, Staff Development, NO SCHOOL

Wed, 1/22, Auditions for our musical Annie (grades 3-6 only)

Mon, 1/27, LASD Board Meeting, 201 Covington Rd, 7:00pm

Wed, 1/29, PTA General Meeting, 8:30

2/17-2/21, NO SCHOOL

Wed, 2/26, STEM Expo, 5-7pm, Multi

Mon, 3/2, Hearing Screening for grades K, 2, and 5

Thur, 3/5, Minimum Day, 12:15 dismissal, special dismissal time!

Sat, 3/7, Back to the 80's Gala and Auction evening

Registration is now open for the 2019 Spring Semester (Jan-May)! Enrollment is open for students in grades 2-6, and costs $75 for the Spring Semester. This Spring, the Almond Singers will once again participate in the LASD Choral Showcase in early April, and perform two spring concerts at Almond. Practices are held every Tuesday at 7:30am in the Almond Multi, and resume on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. Please email Margaret Barnett, Almond Singers Director, at margaretmbarnett@gmail.com to register your child. Happy New Year!

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

Bookwave booklets are due soon. 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 will be Friday, January 24, 2020.

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

On February 26, 2020, Almond will hold LASD’s 7th Annual STEM Expo. The Expo invites students in grades K-6 to participate! While engaging in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) projects, students will have an opportunity to design hands-on projects while exploring just how fun STEM can be! This event lends itself to a myriad of learning experiences: within the class or at home, working individually or collaboratively with peers and/or with adults, and amongst a wide range of STEM categories including: Rube Goldberg,

Invention/Environmental Innovation, Reverse Engineering, Robotics, Scientific Inquiry and Wearable Designs. Ultimately, students get the chance to showcase their STEM work in a fun and unique venue, with learning opportunities for the entire family. The STEM Expo will be open to the public on Wednesday, February 26, from 5:00-7:00 pm.

Check out the website at www.tinyurl.com/LASDStemExpo to find out more and sign up! Be sure to click on Almond to get specific school information. Sign up ends on February 12th. Questions? Email STEM IST Alison Gentile at agentile@lasdschools.org

Volunteers needed! Please sign up HERE!

As we start up the new year, we have been reviewing school rules and expectations with the students. We adults need reminders sometimes as well!

• Walk your bikes/skateboards/scooters on campus
• When in your car, be on the lookout for our pedestrians of all sizes. You may be in a hurry, but please slow down. (Your school secretary will take this opportunity to request that you leave home a few minutes earlier to avoid the rush, and a tardy slip!)
• When dropping off your student, do not leave your car. The student should exit from the right (passenger) side of the vehicle to avoid stepping into parking lot traffic.
• And always, ALWAYS pay attention to our diligent crossing guards, both here in our lot and on the streets. They are here for our safety, and deserve nothing but our utmost respect.

Enrollment is open for Almond's Winter 2020 After School Activities. All information and sign up details can be found at our dedicated website:

https://sites.google.com/view/almondafterschoolactivities/home

We'll update the site for every new session, so please check back frequently to ensure you are able to sign up your kids for the programs that they want

Please be aware that space on some of these programs is very limited. To ensure you can get a space for your child please do aim to review the choices and sign up soon.

Our contact email address is: almondactivities@gmail.com

Happy New Year!

Let’s start the year off strong by raising the final $500,000 to reach our 2019-20 goal of $3.4 million. Generous donations from families like you enable your student's school to offer music, PE, STEM, art, computer science, and more.

Donate to LAEF Today. Any amount would be greatly appreciated, and help us reach our goal of 100% participation.

Also, find out if your company will match your donation to LAEF and be sure to apply. Last school year, LAEF received over $840,000 from corporate matches!

Every Saturday at the Los Altos library, trained Los Altos High School volunteers will read with Kindergarten through second grade children one-on-one to help them improve their reading and comprehension skills.

There are two sessions for parents to choose from:

• Session 1: 10:30am - 11:15am
• Session 2: 11:15am - 12:00pm

You may sign up for the following dates:

January 11, 18, 25, February 1, 8, 15, 29, March 7, 14, 21, 28, April 4, 18, 25, and May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30.

The ReadToMe program is offered by Los Altos High School’s Teen Tutors Club. Please sign up for Spring (January - May) with the link here. Space is available on a first-come-first serve basis. Questions? Please contact teentutorslahs@gmail.com.

An orphan in a facility run by the mean Miss Hannigan, Annie believes that her parents left her there by mistake. When a rich man named Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks decides to let an orphan live at his home to promote his image, Annie is selected. While Annie gets accustomed to living in Warbucks' mansion, she still longs to meet her parents. So Warbucks announces a search for them and a reward, which brings out many frauds.

Auditions: Thursday January 23, 2020 from 2pm – 4pm

Regular rehearsals start Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Grades: 3-6

Rehearsal Days/Times: Tuesday from 3pm - 5pm and Thursday from 2pm - 4pm

Additional/extended rehearsals May 4-7

Performances: May 7-9, 2020

Enrollment DUE date: Thursday, January 23, 2020

To participate:

1. Complete this registration form (one per child).

2. For each child participating, write a $175 check made out to "Almond PTA" with your child's name in the memo.

3. Drop the check off in the box labeled "Almond Drama Program" in the school office.

If you have any questions please email Luisa Smith or Christi Crosby.