O. N. Hirsch Elementary School

Office Hours: 8:00am to 3:30pm

Phone#: (510) 657-3537

Principal—Christina Arroyo carroyo@fusdk12.net

School Secretary — Cassie De La Cruz cdelacruz1@fusdk12.net

Attendance Clerk — Vaishali Parikh vparikh@fusdk12.net

Dear Hirsch Families,

I am amazed at how quickly 2024 has gone by! With December now upon us, let’s do our best to keep kindness alive and embrace our mindful moments. It’s been a wonderful year and this is through the direct efforts of our staff, families and students!

We had great attendance at teacher conferences this year. If you did miss yours, please still reach out to the teacher to reschedule. Use the feedback from conferences to support and enrich our students’ learning at home. How is your student doing with their Lexia, iReady, and IXL time? These research-based programs help students strengthen their academics. As a team, we can support our students and see them flourish!

Please read the entire Newsletter to learn about ways to support our staff as well as upcoming activities. Friday, December 20th is an early release day at 1:20 for Grades 1-5. TK and Kindergarten will have a regular dismissal time. I’m sure our Student Council will select our Spirit Day for the 20th and we can’t wait to hear what it is!

Our entire Hirsch staff want to send out a big THANK YOU to our PTA and all families who donated their time to help our Fall Festival be so fantastic! Our Bulldogs did a great job singing, dancing, and embracing the festive holidays! As a reminder, all families are encouraged to show support by joining PTA. This is how we have fun events like the Bulldog Jog, math competitions, Music for Minors, and field trips! We can’t do it without your donations and the support of PTA. You are also welcome to make straight donations to Hirsch Elementary through My School Bucks or dropping off a check in the office.

We hope you and your family continue to remain safe and healthy. Many families have been letting their teachers know that students will be missing days in December and/or January. As a reminder, attendance at school is mandatory and travel should take place only during the breaks. Winter Break is from December 23rd through January 3rd. School resumes January 6th.

Happy Holidays to our Hirsch Bulldog families!

Thank you for taking the time to read our monthly newsletter and Weekly Bits!

~Ms. Arroyo

December

3- Prop 28 After School Band (Grades 3-5)

4 - Early Release Day (Grades K-5)

12- Spelling Bee

11 - Early Release Day (Grades K-5)

11- PTA Math Olympiad

13 - PTA Chess Tournament

13-20 Winter Spirit Week

18- FAME

18- Early Release Day (Grades K-5)

20 - Early Release Day (Grades 1-5 Only)

23 - No School - Winter Break (Dec 23 - Jan 3)

January

6 - Welcome Back to School!

As a Reminder - Friday, December 20th is an early release day at 1:20pm for Grades 1-5.

TK and Kindergarten will have a regular dismissal time.

Mrs. Winmill

kwinmill@fusdk12.net

Amazon Wish List

Hirsch Library

Home lunches brought after your student has started school must be dropped off by 10:45 am to the cart outside the office. Your student's lunch should be clearly labeled with first name, last name, and room number. We highly encourage you to teach your child to be responsible and bring their own lunch daily if they are bringing a home lunch.

Hello Families,

This month we will be focusing on mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to the

present moment with an open and non-judgmental attitude. It involves noticing what’s

happening around you, inside your body, and in your mind without getting distracted by worries

about the past or future.

At Hirsch, all our students have access to guided audio mindfulness sessions. Our primary

students participate in these audio-led mindfulness moments daily after lunch. With a soothing

voice leading them, these mindfulness moments help children focus their attention, connect with

their breath, and develop a deeper awareness of their thoughts and emotions.

For elementary school children, mindfulness is important because it helps them:

Regulate Emotions: Mindfulness teaches children how to recognize and manage their

emotions. Instead of reacting impulsively when they feel upset, frustrated, or angry, they learn to

pause, breathe, and respond thoughtfully.

Improve Focus and Attention: By practicing mindfulness, children can improve their ability to

focus on the task at hand. This can help them in school by making it easier to concentrate,

follow instructions, and complete assignments.

Reduce Stress and Anxiety: Mindfulness can reduce feelings of stress or anxiety by helping

children stay grounded in the present moment, rather than getting overwhelmed by worries or

negative thoughts.

Here’s how you can practice mindfulness at home with your family!

Thank you for your support!

Ms. Hernandez

PTA Board:

President - Anjali

Vice President/Communications chair - Aditi

Treasurer - Nihaar

Secretary - Ambika

Auditor - Nimish

PTA Meeting

December 10, 2024 Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8607763340?pwd=VTVmbW00T3AzQmJNNktPRmdOMFFGZz09&omn=89846747939

If you haven’t joined our Hirsch PTA social media already, here are the links to our Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsch/?ref=share&mibextid=S66gvF

And our Hirsch Family whatsapp group- https://chat.whatsapp.com/FNg6wn9coPvFLiYN0dNNEo

We share a lot of fun stuff and it’s a great way to stay connected with other Hirsch Families.

PTA Events Sign Up Links:

Hirsch PTA Chess Club

Registration is now open. We are using cheddarup this year for both signup & payment. Here is the link:

https://hirsch-pta-chess-tournaments.cheddarup.com

We hope the proximity & familiarity with the school environment and the opportunity to nurture your child’s interests in Chess will once again bring you back to the tournaments this year. Like last year we will have a single registration link for the entire year. This year we will be accepting only card payment, no cash. Please register before you show up to the tournament! Details in the cheddarup link.

The month of November has been a busy one for us! We hope our Hirsch Family enjoyed our musical Fall Concert presented by the students this month! We were delighted to see so many children participating this year, thank you so much for your support! These events help bring the Hirsch community together and we are grateful for the joint effort from our music docents, our teachers and our parent volunteers to make this a grand event! It was very special when FUSD Superintendent Mr. Eric Burmeister surprised us with attending our concert. Thank you as well to the other community leaders from the Fremont City Council and all those who made the time to support our children!

Fine Arts Mini-Experience (FAME) is an in-class art and music program taught by parent volunteers.

It is a curriculum developed by educator Kathryn Sherrod, the purpose of which is to familiarize students with well-known artists, composers, and their works and the PTA purchased the curriculum years ago.

Each of the lessons highlights a famous artist and a composer. Students learn foundational art and music elements from some of history’s great artists. They listen to, view (miniature of the art piece) and discuss about the famous pieces.

Our PTA volunteers helped bring these art mini experiences to our students. The children were introduced to Pieter Bruegel and his art, The Harvesters Music and Robert Schumann’s The Happy Farmer. We are sure your children told you all about their fun art experiences!

We hope our staff enjoyed the Thanksgiving luncheon this week. We certainly are thankful for them! Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving from the Hirsch PTA!

The Bulldog Jog is scheduled for Friday, January 31st 2025, please mark your calendars!

BULLDOG JOG (OUR SCHOOL'S BIGGEST FUNDRAISER)

Hello Hirsch Families! Our next big event, Bulldog Jog is almost here! What is Bulldog Jog? Bulldog jog is our annual fundraiser event held at the school on January 31st and the kids run laps to raise money for our school. The Bulldog Jog is our school's BIGGEST event and our MAJOR FUNDRAISER. The success of the Bulldog Jog depends solely on the contributions from generous sponsors like local businesses and our community. Every single penny helps us uplift the students and achieve higher standards to benefit the students and the community at large.

Event Timing: January 31, 2025 (Friday) Event Location: O.N. Hirsch Elementary School

Contact us at pta.hirsch@gmail.com

How do the funds raised get utilized? 80% of the donations given, goes directly to your students’ grade-level classrooms and support classroom needs such as supplemental learning materials, field trips, classroom supplies, etc. The remaining 20% will support programs such as Reflections, Music For Minors II, F.A.M.E. Program, Educational Assemblies, Thanksgiving Luncheon, Basketball Program, Harvest Festival, Red Ribbon Week, Family Movie Nights, Field Day, Teacher Appreciation Week, Reflections Program, Hirsch Talent Show, Scholarships, Multicultural Week, Debate Club and many more..!

How can you help? We are looking for volunteers to reach out to local businesses or anyone who might be interested in sponsoring our event this year, watch out for this space and our social media to sign up.