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Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter

Volume 32, Issue 11, October 22, 2024

Thornhill ElementaryPFC NewsletterVolume 32, Issue 11, October 22, 2024

In This Issue (bolded items are new for this week)

  • Auction News: We’ve Got the Venue—Now Let’s Pick the Theme!
  • The New Thornhill Planter Boxes Are Finished, and They're Gorgeous!
  • Let's Keep Our School Grounds Clean(er)!
  • Building a Stronger Thornhill Together: BAC General Meeting – Nov. 12, 6:00pm
  • Join us for Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day on November 14 at Morning Drop Off!
  • Recycle Your Plastics at Home With Ridwell
  • Shop and Earn for Thornhill
  • Calendar of Important Dates

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Auction News: We’ve Got the Venue—Now Let’s Pick the Theme!

Thornhill's 39th Annual Benefit Auction & Dinner will be held Saturday, March 15, 2025 at The Bridge Yard.


We want YOU to join the Auction Committee! Whether you want to take on a big role or a small one, you can even team up with a friend or two! Remember, teamwork lightens the load. Here's a link to open roles. Email benefit@thornhillschool.org if any of these roles appeal to you.


Although this list might appear extensive, we assure you it's not as intimidating as it seems. Being an experienced party planner is not a requirement. Our Benefit Auction Google Drive contains ample resources to simplify the planning process – no need to overly complicate things! You’ll also receive guidance and insights shared by past committee members. Help us plan a super FUN party that raises money for our school!


Have questions before you sign up? You’re invited to the Auction kickoff meeting where we will also be selecting a theme!


DATE: Monday, October 28 6:00-7:00pm

LOCATION: ZOOM

Meeting ID: 890 9359 5278

Passcode: Auction

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The New Thornhill Planter Boxes Are Finished – And They're Gorgeous!

The PFC is always seeking ways to improve our campus (special thanks to the Green Team!), and in May 2024, the PFC Board approved replacing the aging planter boxes in the Thornhill garden. This past weekend, Ms. Alexis, Thornhill’s gardening instructor, teamed up with Eagle Scout Troop 11 to bring this project to life.


Dismantling the nearly 20-year-old planter boxes was fairly easy. The soil inside was left mostly undisturbed to preserve its magic! Everyone worked carefully to place posts around the beds, ensuring a sturdy frame would surround them.


We are incredibly grateful to Ms. Alexis and Ms. Steimle for coordinating such a major effort. A huge shoutout to Eagle Scout Troop 11, including Ms. Steimle's twin sons, Matt and Nick, for their hard work, and a big thank you to the Thornhill volunteers who came out to lend a hand. They got it done in ONE DAY!


We are so grateful for the generosity of the Thornhill community and thoughtful planning of the PFC, which allow us to support impactful projects like this for our students!


Happy Gardening!

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Let's Keep Our School Grounds Clean(er)!

Thornhill is experiencing a high amount of littering on the school grounds and outside along the gate, including food wrappers, water bottles, clothes, and other objects. Our custodian cannot keep up. You know those little straw wrappers attached to individual juice packs? Laura Krueger, mom of two Thornhill students, has made a point of assisting the custodian by picking up trash around the school grounds up to three times a week. "I find dozens of straw wrappers all over the place, but also milk jugs, food containers, snack wrappers, and other trash every day. It's upsetting.", says Laura.


Reducing waste to keep our school clean and healthy must be a group effort. There are a few ways we can successfully do this when parents and kids are made accountable, and teachers support the effort. Please pack your child's snacks and meals in reusable and labeled containers, even ziplock bags, so there's little to no waste after they eat their food at school. Also, make sure that what they leave with in the morning is what they come home with in the evening!

In our effort to keep the school safe, sustainable, and enjoyable, let's make Thornhill's school grounds speak for it by being mindful and responsible.

Volunteer parent Laura Krueger picks up piles of trash like this one, collected on Monday Oct 21, every day.

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Building a Stronger Thornhill Together: BAC General Meeting – Nov. 12, 6:00pm

Join the Black Indigenous People of Color Advisory Council (BAC) General Meeting and help us shape a more inclusive, supportive, and welcoming community for all our students. Your presence matters in creating lasting change—let's build a brighter future together. Sign up for childcare here, and find more details on Konstella.

For more information or to get involved, please reach out to the BAC Board – Katrina Journey, Malcolm Goodwin, Bethany Donaphin, Erin Yeager, Sarah Wright-Schreiberg and Becky Gonzales – at bac@thornhillschool.org.

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Join Us for Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day on November 14 at Morning Drop Off!

Who is Ruby Bridges?
Ruby Bridges is an American civil rights activist and the first African American child to attend formerly whites-only William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis on November 14, 1960. She has spent her adulthood campaigning for racial equity and justice and created a foundation to promote this work in schools around the country.

Background
We are excited to honor Ruby with a special Walk to School Day event! This is a national event to encourage families, students and teachers to come together for a ‘day of dialogue’, starting with students walking together through the school gates in a symbolic show of unity and community. It is an opportunity for our communities to come together and reflect on our shared history, discuss the changes our communities hope to see and take action- taking the first steps to making positive change. Key messages we hope students will remember are: courage and bravery, inclusion and equality, standing up for what’s right and the power of support and allyship.


What else is involved?
Teachers may begin introducing these themes in class in the next few weeks, through class discussions, reading and art works. November 14 will be the culmination of the weeks of work students have been doing to reflect on Ruby Bridges’ work and values.

Let’s come together as a community to reflect on how we can continue to make our school a safe, welcoming place for everyone!

More information and volunteer opportunities will be available soon so watch this space! Please contact Marcelle Perera and Sophie Astier via Konstella or at diversity@thirnhillschool.org if you have any questions.

Thank you!

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Recycle Your Plastics at Home With Ridwell

Tomorrow Wednesday: Ridwell's First Plastic Drive Collection!

Bring your transparent plastic film waste from home to school tomorrow Wednesday! Ridwell is making its first collection for the plastic film drive. There will be a collection bin by the front gate.


When 10 families join, Thornhill earns a free trip to the Ridwell warehouse! Get Ridwell HERE!

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Shop and Earn for Thornhill!

Minted Fundraising Program
We're excited to announce that our Minted Fundraising Program is continuing this year! We’re thrilled to partner with Minted again to raise funds for Thornhill throughout the year, simply by shopping for stationery and custom gifts. Use the unique code below to receive 20% off at Minted when you check out. You can also share this code with your supporters—15% of the net sales from each purchase will be donated back to Thornhill. Our code is: FUNDRAISETHORNHILLELEM

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.


Good Eggs for Thornhill

Shop with Good Eggs to give back to our school. Good Eggs is a game-changing online market that delivers local produce, organic groceries, chef-prepared meals, and easy meal kits straight to your door. It’s all the quality and transparency of a farmer’s market, with the speed and convenience of online ordering.


Enter our school's GoodEggsForThornhill at checkout and 5% of your order's total will contribute to our school's fundraising!!

Goldenbug

Thornhill is pleased to announce a new partnership with Goldenbug!

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Calendar

  • Monday, October 28: Auction Kickoff Meeting 6:00-7:00pm via Zoom (details in Konstella)

  • Wednesday, October 30: BAC Allies Brainstorm & Social 6:00pm (Details in Konstella)

  • Thursday, October 31: Halloween Parade @ 1:45pm

  • Friday, November 1: Sustainability and School Beautification Meeting 4:15-5:30 at Taps & Takeout

  • Thursday, November 7: Make-up Picture Day

  • Monday, November 11: NO SCHOOL (Veterans’ Day)

  • Tuesday, November 12: BAC General Meeting 6:00-7:30pm (Thornhill MPR) (details in Konstella)

  • Thursday, November 14: Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day

  • Tuesday, November 19: PFC Meeting 6:00-7:00pm via Zoom (Details in Konstella)

  • Monday, November 25 - Friday, November 29: NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Break)

  • Monday, December 2 - Friday, December 6: Winter Conference Week (Minimum days)

  • Saturday, December 14: Holiday Market & Winter Social (details in Konstella)

  • Monday, December 23 - Friday, January 3, 2024: NO SCHOOL (Winter Break)

  • Monday, January 6: OUSD Professional Development Day (no school for students)

  • Tuesday, January 7 - Friday, January 10: Minimum Days

  • Monday, January 20: NO SCHOOL (MLK Day)

  • Monday, February 17: NO SCHOOL (President’s Day)

  • Monday, March 3 - Wednesday, March 5: 5th Grade two-night Field Trip to Marin Headlands

  • Monday, March 10 - Friday, March 14: Spring Conference Week (Minimum days)

  • Saturday, March 15: Thornhill’s 39th Annual Benefit Auction & Dinner (Details in Konstella)

Be sure also to subscribe to the Thornhill Google Calendar here, and download the OUSD District calendar here.

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About the Thornhill Newsletter

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).

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