Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter

Hello Thornhill!

The Read-a-thon officially launched today! Thunderbirds have already raised over $5,000 towards our goal of $25,000. All students are coming home with a Read-a-thon bookmark and a hot cocoa packet to help them cozy up with a good book!

Invitations to set up Read-a-thon pages were sent last week. If anyone is having trouble accessing their student’s page, please contact me at marie.fox@ousd.org, and I will happily help get it set up. To track reading times, please use the second link in the invitation email, marked “Here’s your private profile management page”.

The Read & Feed will be tomorrow from 5:30-7pm - with pizza, salad from Taps & Takeout, oreos, and lots of fun - can’t wait to see you there!

The Book Swap will take place on Monday, January 27 during the school day.

• All students will be able to bring at least one new-to-them book home.

• You can bring gently used children's books to bins in the front entrance way through Friday January 24.

• It is a wonderful opportunity to go through your book shelves at home and find titles that your family is ready to part with that another family will happily receive!

• Leftover books will be donated to the East Bay Children’s Book Project.

We’re well on our way to a successful event, and I am so excited to continue to share in the joy of reading as a school community!

Thanks, all, for your enthusiasm and support.

Keep reading!

Welcome back to Thornhill’s Inclusion Book Club! This semester, look out for reading suggestions coming your way every month in the newsletter. We will be recommending books for parents and students alike and can’t wait to share some amazing books with you.

For January, we would like to recommend a book for children: the Caldecott Medal recipient The Undefeated, by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson. This story takes the form of a beautiful, strong and ultimately uplifting poem, and is accompanied by powerful illustrations that are sure to start thoughtful conversations between you and your kiddos.

The poem is a series of calls to remember people, events and moments of struggle and success from throughout Black American history. It starts ‘This is for the unforgettable’ and continues ‘This is for the unflappable... the unafraid… the righteous…the unspeakable…the unlimited..’ and ends with uplift ‘This is for the undefeated’.

It is full of characters your children will enjoy learning about, Muhammad Ali and Billie Holiday included, as well as historical events, including the Civil War and the Olympics. Ask your children which of the illustrations they are most interested in and then turn to the back of the book to find out the life stories of each of the historical figures mentioned. Each person and historical event has an informative and helpful blurb on the back pages.

Perhaps the moving illustrations of the Slave Trade and Civil War might prompt some questions about history. It may be an opportunity to discuss what Black people in America have endured through history, the suffering and continuing damage this has caused and why we must work hard to create an equitable and an anti-racist environment for future generations.

Overall, not only is this a powerful poem, it is also a great resource for learning, thinking and growing our awareness of history and our understanding of why we do our best to fight racism wherever we find it. Please read it with your children and enjoy!

Follow up thoughts

• Talk to your children about which historical figures most interest them and the struggles they overcame to achieve their goals. Imagine how hard it might have been to achieve greatness whilst living under segregation, discrimination and bias.

• Ask your children to list changes in society that could have made the lives of these historical figures easier and what still might be done to improve the lives of Black people in America today.

• It is easy to get in the habit of thinking in stereotypical terms. Help your children to avoid this by being aware of how you speak about other people and asking your children to imagine what it would feel Iike to be treated as a stereotype instead of as an individual.

You can access this book via Thornhill’s online library, Sora and in the school campus library. Sora can be accessed using your student’s OUSD email account. Help documents for accessing Sora are linked here. Contact marie.fox@ousd.org with any questions!

Or you can watch it being read by the author here.

Thank you for being part of our book club! Next month, we will be reviewing a book by Oakland’s own Dr. Akilah Cadet, which will be a book for parents. Until then, please keep reading - we have included more recommended books below. Happy reading and see you next month!

Further recommendations for children:

• Stamped: For Kids. Racism, Antiracism and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi

• Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o

• The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler

• Magnificent Homespun Brown by Samara Cole Doyon

• The Antiracist Kid by Tiffany Jewel

• Thornhill’s Inclusion Book Club: Link here

We urgently need a volunteer to step into the role of VP of Personnel on the PFC! Our incredible current VP of Personnel, Evie Nagy—who has also served as VP of Communications and PFC President in previous years—is moving out of state, and we’re seeking someone to take on this important position.

The VP of Personnel role isn’t overly time-intensive but requires attention to detail and consistency to handle specific tasks that must be completed on time.

Evie and the PFC co-presidents will provide support during the transition to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities. This is a great opportunity to contribute to the Thornhill community and make a meaningful impact!

Overview:
This position primarily involves email communication with the Education Fund (EdFund), aides, PFC, and Thornhill administrative staff. While much of the work happens behind the scenes, the responsibilities are essential to supporting the school.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary point of contact for communication with the EdFund, aides, other PFC staff, and administrative staff.

• Review and sign off on timesheets to ensure timely and accurate payment for aides and PFC staff.

• Monitor hours worked to avoid overtime penalties and ensure compliance with labor regulations.

• Facilitate onboarding for new hires, ensuring all necessary paperwork and processes are completed.
  
  

Please reach out to Evie Nagy at personnel@thornhillschool.org as soon as possible with any questions—this is urgent! We need someone to fill this position by January 31, 2025, and we need YOU!

Calling all Early Birds!

Early Bird Tickets go on sale on January 27 for the 39th Annual Thornhill Benefit Auction & Dinner, which will be taking place on Saturday, March 15, 2025. Can’t attend the live auction? Join Thornhill’s online silent auction from February 24-27, no ticket needed!

The online format, introduced during Covid, has been a great way to make the silent auction accessible to everyone. Family, friends, neighbors, and the entire Thornhill community can bid and win amazing items without attending the event.

The in-person live auction, on March 15, will have exclusive items not available to bid on during the silent auction. The live auction is a lively event, where bidding happens in a more traditional paddle-raised fashion. In this night of community-building, dancing and donating you’ll meet other families new to Thornhill and build connections with parents across many different grades.

We’ll come together to raise funds for the critical services and experiences that make the school experience special for our kids.This year’s theme is “Journey to the Stars” and I hope you’ll join us in our mission to Fund the Future.

Early Bird Tickets: $95 (January 27 – February 8)

Regular Tickets: $120 (February 9 – February 24)

Purchase tickets HERE

The live event on March 15 will be held at The Bridge Yard in Oakland and Off The Grid is providing the grub, and we will have a DJ and an open bar!! (Yes, you read that last part correctly) There will be games and a live auction.

If you have any questions, please email me at benefit@thornhillschool.org. And if you want to be a part of the auction committee, please feel free to join our meetings - info posted on the Konstella calendar.

I look forward to an unforgettable night with you,

Bart Lounsbury

2025 Auction Chair

Our first hosted party is officially booked—"Peace" of Pizza in the House of Art is back for its 3rd year! This groovy drop off party, hosted by Ms. Finnell and Ms. Gelbron promises to be tons of fun. Here is the LINK for more party details and to purchase a ticket.

In the meantime….you, too, can be an awesome party host! Hosted parties are not only a ton of fun, but they bring in a lot of money for the school. Click here to get involved or email hostaparty@thornhillschool.org for more info or if you have questions.

Thanks!

Jill Evans

Auction Hosted Party Coordinator

ShopRaise Partnership
We’re also excited to introduce our new partnership with ShopRaise this year! Whether you're buying daily essentials like groceries, shopping for home office furniture, or booking your next trip, the ShopRaise app allows you to raise funds for Thornhill Elementary while you shop online—all at no extra cost to you. Now, your everyday shopping can directly support our school. Click the link here to learn more and download the app.

Cole Arts Camp

Registration for all of our upcoming camps is now open at www.coleartscamp.com
These include:

• Jan 20-MLK Day

• Feb 17- Presidents Day

• March 28- April 4 Caesar Chavez Day/ Spring Break

• June 2- Aug 1- Summer Break

The Thornhill Parent-Faculty Club (PFC) eNews team publishes this weekly newsletter each Tuesday in the school year to communicate school, PFC and OUSD news, events and information. We all have plenty of other things to do, but please try to read it weekly, as it will more than likely answer most questions you have about what’s up at school. Information about how to submit to the newsletter is below, but you can reach out to us at any time at newsletter@thornhillschool.org.

Email submissions to our Newsletter Chair, Annie Sartor, at newsletter@thornhillschool.org by 8 p.m. Thursday for approval—nothing sent after this will be included in the following week’s newsletter unless there are extenuating circumstances. It’s fine to include text in the body of the email with links and no formatting, and attach photos preferably as 150 x 150, 72 dpi JPG or GIFs only (not embedded in email or word file). Submissions may be edited for spelling, grammar, brevity and clarity. Advertising and items not related to Thornhill are not accepted, as we need to keep the newsletter focused on need-to-know info for the community.

THANK YOU to everyone who submits articles and to PFC Board Members, Teachers, PFC co-Presidents Becky Gonzales and Catrina Vrankovich, VP of Communications Jill Evans, and Principal Steve Daubenspeck, member of Oakland Unified School District (OUSD).