Almond Thursday Word

Dear Almond Families:

On Saturday, March 7, please join me and our greater Almond parent Ohana for a totally tubular evening at our Almond Gala and Auction! We will be celebrating the (I-cannot-believe-that-was-forty-years-ago) 1980’s at our “Back to the 80’s” gala and auction night! There will be food, drinks, dancing and celebrating. As someone who was born in the 70’s, I can’t wait to relive my childhood fashion, lingo and music with you all. If you haven’t purchased your ticket yet, you can buy one here: Gala Tickets!

Also, if you are an Almond parent of a current 6th grader, please join us at our general PTA meeting next Wednesday, 1/29. Mr. Keith Rocha, the principal at Egan Jr. High, along with other Egan staff and students, will be there to kickoff the transition activities from Almond to Egan. You can learn information about how to prepare your 6th grader for Egan next year. Our PTA meeting starts at 8:30 in the Almond Library.

And one of our former Almond students, Sophie Kim, now an eighth grader at Egan, is an actor in a new show called “The Healing Powers of Dude.” Way to go Sophie! This show is about Noah, an “11-year old boy with social anxiety disorder starts middle school, he finds strength in a scruffy emotional support dog named Dude.” Sophie plays one of Noah’s friends, Amara, in the series. You can watch a trailer (and see Sophie in action) here: The Healing powers of Dude.

Here’s to amazing Almond students, current and past!

Raquel

TODAY, Thur, 1/23, 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

Fri, 1/31, Book Parade, 9:45, blacktop

Wed, 2/5, "Transitioning to Egan", incoming 7th grade information night, 6:30, Egan Multi

2/17-2/21, NO SCHOOL

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

Fri, 2/28, Egan Parent tour, 9:30, Egan library, parents only

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

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

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!

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.

Bookwave booklets are due TOMORROW, Friday, January 24, 2020.

There is a box in the school office to turn in your completed projects.

Since this program is completely volunteer-run, we would kindly ask for packets to be returned in a timely manner in order for us to process them and get your children's published books back in time for the Bookwave Blast. THANK YOU!

We can't wait to see celebrate your students' creations! Please SAVE THE DATE for Bookwave Blast on March 25, 2020 from 6-8pm!

If you have any questions, contact Raina at rainab@gmail.com or Lily at lily@alexwang.com

Please join the Los Altos School District for an inspirational night of STEM as three keynote speakers share their professions in STEM fields and explain how their work impacts the world around us.

Day: Tuesday, Feb 4, 2020

Location: Blach Intermediate Multipurpose Room (1120 Covington Road, Los Altos)

Time: 7pm

This event is open to all students and parents of Egan and Blach Jr. Highs as well as other elementary students and families in Los Altos.

Our Keynote Speakers:

• Deborah Hersman – Chief Safety Officer at Waymo

• Shiwani Black – Product Manager at Intuitive Surgical

• Kyle Vaidyanathan – Computer Programmer at Unity Technologies

Here is a link to their bios.

Happy New Year!

Let’s start the year off strong by raising the final $400,000 to reach our 2019-20 goal of $3.4 million. Generous donations from families like yours enable your student’s school to offer music, PE, STEM, art, computer science, and more.

Make a tax-deductible donation today! Gifts of any amount are appreciated and help us reach our goal of 100% participation. One-time donations, monthly donations and pledges are welcome.

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!

The Project Cornerstone/ABC Reader book of the month for 1st-5th Grade is Today I Feel Silly: And Other Moods That Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis. This book will help teach students to identify feelings and build emotional intelligence. One way to do this is to help kids expand the vocabulary they need to think and talk about their emotional lives. When young people can go beyond, "happy, sad, and angry" and use feeling words that accurately reflect their thoughts and emotions, they understand themselves better and can begin to understand how another person feels. The ability to identify feelings is essential to building compassion and empathy. This lesson also empowers students to practice specific skills they can use to influence their emotional responses.

If you would like further information on this book, the Project Cornerstone program, or if you are interested in becoming involved with the program at Almond please contact Sue Jones or Katie Liniger.

This month, Almond will be hosting a book parade! On January 31st at 9:45am, we will host a mini parade around the blacktop to show off our love for reading. Each class will come out to the blacktop and get a chance to show off a favorite book to the rest of the school. Students have a number of ways they can participate in the parade.

• Bring a favorite book to hold and show off at the parade.
• Dress up as a favorite character from a book.
• Make a poster to show off a favorite book.
• Re-design the cover of a favorite book.

Feel free to join us to view the parade, or help your student prepare to show off what they love to read!

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!

Please read this information on the LASD website about the flu.

Keep your child at home if they have one or more of the following symptoms:

• Fever* or feeling feverish/chills
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue (very tired)
• Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

*It’s important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.​

Support Almond’s Girl Scout troops through after school cookie sales!

Girl Scout cookie sales are a great opportunity for girls to learn about sales, communications, and financial responsibility. A percentage of sales help support troop activities.

Online sales begin 1/25. In person sales begin 2/10.

Look for flyers for exact days & times for Almond troop cookie booth sales.

Most flavors are still only $5 box.

Gluten-free Toffeetastic and popular S’Mores flavors are $6.

And don’t forget to try the new Lemon Ups cookie!

Cash/check preferred but credit cards may be accepted (depending on troop).

For more information about Almond Girl Scout cookie sales, email: eulouie@yahoo.com

Attendance: PLEASE call the attendance line (650.917.5454) or email us (almondsecretary@lasdschools.org) if your student will be absent.

Lost and Found: There are SO MANY jackets and sweatshirts in our lost and found! This magnificent collection is in the office until the end of tomorrow, Friday. Did you know: if you put a name on your items, we do our best to get them back to you! Of the 100+ jackets, etc., only 6 were identifiable.