Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter

We hope you had a great long weekend! Yesterday, Oct. 14, was a day to reflect and say Thank You to the Indigenous People for all of their contributions to our society and We Are Sorry for the way they were treated.

Now it's time to jump back into the school week, starting with our PFC meeting tonight, October 15 at 6:00 pm via Zoom.

We'll have updates from our wonderful teachers and staff, we will be discussing some exciting upcoming events, including Halloween, Ruby Bridges Day, and kicking off planning for our biggest party of the year—Thornhill's 39th Annual Benefit Auction & Dinner, held in March. And while we all love kids, none are allowed at this party! Shantel Williams from BACR will also be in attendance.

Please see the agenda here in Konstella for tomorrow night’s meeting, along with the Zoom details below.

Meeting Zoom Link

Meeting ID: 839 9115 5209

Passcode: thornhill

Warmly,

Catrina Vrankovich & Becky Gonzales

PFC co-Presidents

president@thornhillschool.org

What a blast last Wednesday's dropoff was! Out of 127 students who reported their mode of transportation that day, 88 students walked or biked to school while 39 came by car, and 25% fewer cars were reported at the dropoff gate! That's a big success! Families who live the farthest made it to the Montclair park walking train with a fun group of 5 families. The Montclair train caught up with the Fernwood train on Thornhill Drive, and all walking trains met at the school gate with music, a hand stamp, hot coffee and delicious doughnuts. Congratulations everyone for making the effort to participate in any way possible!

The result of this family-led initiative is a big emphasis on health, both from exercise and cleaner air, and making new friends! You did it!

Thornhill's 39th Annual Benefit Auction & Dinner will be held in March 2025! Here's a link to open Auction committee roles.

Although this list might appear quite 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! Remember, teamwork lightens the load. 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!

Email benefit@thornhillschool.org if any of these roles below appeal to you.

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

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 crucial steps to making positive changes. 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@thornhillschool.org if you have any questions.

Thank you!

Coloring develops fine motor skills and helps the brain focus and express creativity. Here's a wink at ThornChill where many little artists delightfully colored images of renewable energy including solar panels, wind-power, heat pumps, electric vehicles and more. We gathered dozens of masterpieces! The black and white drawings are from climate artist Nicole Kelner.

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.

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).