Almond Thursday Word

Dear Almond Families,

We are in our second week of online learning at Almond school and I can’t tell you how proud I am of the students at our school. Surfing around the virtual world I have taken part in a 4th grade book club discussion, watched a read aloud of the book The Pigeon Has to GO to School! by a Kindergartner and seen the writing process unfold through a series of pictures for several third graders. In these uncertain times it is comforting to know that learning continues to happen for our students. THANK YOU to the teachers who are spending countless hours recording lessons, providing guidance to students and giving feedback on the work they do. THANK YOU to parents for supporting your children at home as we navigate the world of online learning!

I don’t know about your children but my two boys have been asking a lot of questions about COVID-19. Will they get sick? Will we (parents) get sick and have to go to the hospital? These are all questions that we have tried to address (age appropriately) as they come up. To help us as parents, I have been turning to different resources and I would like to share a couple. Here is an article that you can read to help your child cope with anxiety around COVID-19. I found it to be helpful to me as an adult too. And here is a helpful infographic you can share with your children to make them feel more empowered during this time.

And lastly, be on the lookout for a video from me tomorrow morning. We will continue to hold our Friday Assemblies in the virtual world! Please enjoy with your kiddos.

Here’s to the traditions that make Almond school our favorite place to be!

Raquel

Hello PTA Members,

Due to our school closure for Covid-19, our March PTA meeting will be held on Friday, April 3 at 8:30-9am via video conference. The agenda is below along with the video conference details. Since we will be voting on the PTA board officers for 2020-2021, we will need at least 16 PTA members on the call. For your reference, you will find the necessary documents attached. These include the February Meeting Minutes, February Financials, and the March Meeting Agenda. Agenda:

1. Welcome

   1. Approval of Feb. minutes

2. Discussion Items

   1. Nominating committee update - PTA Board Slate for 2020-2021
   2. Election of 2020-2021 Board Officers

3. Financial Update

   1. February Financials
4. Leadership Update
5. Upcoming Dates

Zoom Meeting:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/211032967?pwd=eW5talhMYXZKS3Vkd1NhQVBuSFZFZz09
Meeting ID: 211 032 967
Password: 001997

Hope to see you on the video conference.

During shelter in place, a group of Almond parents have put together an online resource to help our school community: https://bit.ly/Almond-Online. On this website, you'll find:

• Links to parenting, educational and activities resources (here).
• How to get tech support, locate where to get free lunch for children who rely on the school for meals, tutoring support for families of healthcare workers or families experiencing other hardships during this time (here).
• How to help our community by donating PPE to local medical facilities who are in short supply or how to help local businesses by purchasing the services they are providing even during shelter in place (here).

Thank you to our Almond community for working together to make this happen! In this time, community is the most important resource we have, and what a wonderful community we have in Almond. Please reach out to almond-online@googlegroups.com if you want to contribute to this resource or group in any way.

Tomorrow is our last day for the Pennies for Patients/Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Fundraiser. Please help us meet our goal by clicking on the link below and donating to this organization that funds blood cancer research.

https://events.lls.org/pages/svmb/Almond-Elementary-School-2020

Many thanks from the Almond Student Council

Dear Almond Families and Staff,

It is with great sadness that we have made the difficult decision to cancel the April 25th Junior Olympics this year.

As you all know, the Junior Olympics is a long standing tradition and a wonderful community and school spirit builder. This year was to be the 60th anniversary and Almond was the host school. However the greatest priority of the Junior Olympics Committee is the safety and well-being of our students and their families, and in light of current circumstances, we will not be able to move forward with the event.

While the Junior Olympics will not be held in its usual format, we would like recognize all of our student athletes who worked so hard over the past few weeks during PE training. We are especially pleased to announce our 2020 torchbearers, mascots, flag bearers and color guards who were selected based on their good sportsmanship, positive role modeling, kindness and respect to peers and school staff.

Almond Torchbearers: Svea Delingat and Milo Crosby

Almond Eagle Mascots: Haley Phillips and Josh Kozo

6th Grade Flag Bearers: Zoey Chong and Angel Aldaco-Hernandez

5th Grade Color Guards: Sophia Hu and Nicolas Stocker

4th Grade Color Guards: Charlie Jones and Jack Meyer

We would also like to congratulate our 4th, 5th and 6th grade relay team athletes! Please click here to view the relay teams.

Thank you to Mr. Core, our amazing PE specialist and to all of the parent volunteers who helped during time trials and PE training!

Daily attendance will still be taken as usual in the virtual classroom.

Please let us know via email: almondsecretary@lasdschools.org, or call our absentee line 650-917-5454 and leave a message if your child is sick and they cannot participate in virtual learning and it will then be changed to an excused absence.

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