Almond Thursday Word

Dear Almond Families,

Happy Thursday! We have some really exciting events coming up that I would like to share with you. As you know, Almond teachers and staff will be leading a Car Parade next Wednesday, April 29 starting at 2 pm. Details about the Car Parade and an updated map were sent out via email and can be found further on in the Thursday Word. We hope you can join us for this fun event!

As I mentioned at last week’s assembly, next week is Spirit Week! I have included a flyer below and I will be sharing more about it in our Friday Assembly tomorrow. :)

And I would like to conclude this Thursday Word with a special message to you and your children from our Almond staff. You can find that message below.

Here’s to our tight Almond community!

Raquel

School campus closed: Virtual school in session

Fri, Apr 24 - School-wide Flag Salute Assembly- look for email from Mrs. Matteroli

Mon-Fri, Apr 27- May 1, SPIRIT WEEK! See above for details!

Wed, Apr 29 - 2:00 Almond Elementary Staff car parade through neighborhoods

Mon, May 25 - Memorial Day - No school

Wed, Jun 10 - Last Day of School

Wed, Aug 19 - First Day of School 2020-2021

LASD calendar 2019-2020

Next Year LASD 2020-2021 Calendar

Good afternoon Almond Families!

We are excited to let you know about a fun opportunity coming to you next Wednesday afternoon! The Almond staff will be visiting your neighborhoods in a car parade on Wednesday, April 29th starting at 2:00pm. We are very excited about this and look forward to seeing your smiling faces! In a time of isolation we are seeking connection and this will be a fun and unique way to stay in touch (but from afar!). Please note the following:

• We will start at Almond, turn left onto Almond Ave and then left on Doud
• Please stay in your driveway/yard/porch and cheer and wave as we drive by. We are asking that you do not mingle with neighbors or approach teacher vehicles.
• Feel free to make signs, banners, decorations, or bring pets outside to join us. Feel free to be creative to make this fun!
• The attached map shows our route. If your home is not on our route, please feel free to park somewhere on the route and join us that way. But please stay by your car and practice social distancing and caution.
• It should take us approximately 35 to 40 minutes to complete the route, so hopefully with the map attached, you can gauge what time to come out of your house to say hello or, if you don’t live on the route, gauge what area to travel to so that you can participate.

Click here for the route. The teachers will be in grade level order.

See you all Wednesday afternoon!​

We hope that all of you are doing well as we continue to shelter in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this challenging time, Living Classroom is continuing to help balance "screen time" with backyard "green time" by creating activity videos that help connect students with our nature-based curriculum at home.

If you haven't done so already, check out the new Living Classroom PARENT PAGE where you can find our new how-to activity videos as well as additional nature-based resources.

Please share this resource widely and check back frequently as new videos and activities are being added weekly. Click here to view a fun video on making your own bird nest or here to learn how to make simple dyes from plants and other materials found in nature!

Keep Calm and Garden On! - Living Classroom Staff

During these unprecedented times, many individuals and families can use a little extra help. The Los Altos School District has compiled a list of helpful local resources, covering food, mental health, internet service, housing, and domestic violence issues. Please do not hesitate to reach out to these organizations if you need assistance.

Dear Families,

As educators, we foster a tremendous sense of responsibility to our community. We know that all of our families are currently being impacted by COVID-19. Some are even being laid off from their jobs or are no longer able to earn a steady income due to the shelter-in-place and social distancing orders. Our teachers want to help our families in whatever small ways we can.

In this spirit, the Los Altos Teachers’ Association Representative Council voted recently to set up a $5000 relief fund for LASD families who are in need of assistance due to circumstances around COVID-19. We will be partnering with our school principals and teachers to ensure this targeted assistance will support our families most in need by providing grocery store gift cards.

If you feel that you could benefit from support in this way, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or to your school site secretary or principal. We want to reassure you that we will maintain strict confidentiality when providing support.

If you would like to make a contribution to support the fund, please consider donating by following the link here:bit.ly/LATAfamilies.

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me at lata.werepyou@gmail.com. Thank you so much for your support.

Ricky Hu

Los Altos Teachers Association President

In addition to the student library cards that the Santa Clara County Library District has offered, the SCCLD library is also offering eCards if any other family members would like to get a virtual card to access our virtual services. This will give anyone an instant card as long as they reside in Santa Clara County. Please feel free to share this resource with any friends or family that might not have a library card with us!

The library is also currently offering reference and account chat or email services 7 days a week from 10 am to 6 pm should you or your students need assistance.

The library staff is working very hard to offer a variety of virtual services and resources for all ages. They have online book clubs, art programs, STEAM programs, live story times, eBook lists, blogs, and many more resources available on top of the online databases that many of you are already familiar with. You can access these resources for kids and teens directly from the website.

There is also a new Spring Reading Program that is going on for children and families!

We are fortunate to have these resources available to us!

Daily attendance is still taken as usual in the virtual classroom.

If your child is sick and cannot participate in virtual learning, please let us know via email: almondsecretary@lasdschools.org

Please provide the following information:

• Student name and teacher

• Your relationship to student

• Reason for absence and date of absence