Almond Thursday Word

Dear Almond Families:

On Friday, October 4th, please join us on the Almond school field for our first 2019 outdoor Family Movie Night! Come armed with your picnic baskets and blankets, or if you prefer, we will have several food trucks there beginning at 5:30, if you want to make it super easy and grab dinner there. Sundown is approximately at 6:45 so we will begin the movie promptly after that. We still aren’t yet settled on which movie to show (our hope is to find something that appeals to TK-6) but once we do have one picked out, I will include it in an upcoming message.

We want to extend a big THANK YOU to our own Los Altos Sweet Shop for their generous donation that has helped support this community event.

Here’s to locally grown family movie nights!

Raquel

Website: http://www.sweetshoplosaltos.com/
Location: 994 Los Altos Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022
Phone: (650) 941-7467

Dear Almond Families,

The school year is now in full-swing, so you know what that means -- Almond's Walkathon is just around the corner! For the families who are new to Almond, the Walkathon is one of the biggest community-building events and fundraisers for Almond students and families. All proceeds help pay for Almond PTA-supported programs. During the Walkathon, there is music and food as well as prizes and a silent auction. A Scholastic Book Fair will also be held in the Multipurpose Room during the day.

This year's Walkathon will be held at Almond on Saturday, October 12 from 9:00 am-1:00 pm.

Online registration for the Walkathon is open now. Register online by Thursday, September 19th, in order to guarantee your t-shirt size and to purchase additional adult t-shirts. Click here to register.

NEW THIS YEAR!!

• Avoid the lines on the day of the Walkathon and pre-purchase your tickets (to be used for food and face painting) when you register online! You can then pick up your tickets at the Will Call table at the Walkathon.

• Also, the Walkathon now has its own website (almondwat.weebly.com)!! You can visit the Almond Walkathon website to easily access information about the event. The links to register walkers (and purchase t-shirts and pre-purchase tickets), volunteer to help, and browse and bid on silent auction items can also be found on the website.

We will be reaching out for volunteers and for families to loan canopies, coolers, etc. soon. Thank you for your support!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact one of us. We look forward to seeing everyone in their Walkathon t-shirts on Saturday, October 12th!

Noemi Ruelas (noemiruelas.re@gmail.com)

Andrea Kanda (andreakanda2@gmail.com)

Walkathon Chairs

We need EVERYONE'S help to raise the funds necessary to keep important PTA-funded programs going. Please donate an item or experience for the silent auction. Please contact Lynn Kostow (lynnhkostow@gmail.com) to submit your donation, have any questions or need donation ideas. We appreciate your support!

Donation items can include:

* Season Tickets to a Sporting Event, Performing Arts Series, Concert Tickets

* Time-Share or Vacation Home

* A Product or Service (Personal Fitness Training, Dental, CPA, Interior Design etc.)

* Restaurant Gift Certificates

* Tech and Gadgets (i-Products, Fitbits, tablets, drones, Chromebooks)

* Party Hosting – Grab a couple of parent-friends and host as a group!

Thank you!

Lynn and Lauren

Our annual LAEF Phonathon is coming up on October 1st and 2nd. If you haven't yet made a donation to LAEF, please donate or pledge today and Save Us a Call!

With a goal of $3.4M, every donation of any amount is appreciated. LAEF strives for 100% participation from all of our families.

· Read the full scoop on how your child will benefit from LAEF this school year.

· Watch a 2-minute video and find out why our public schools need your financial support.

Once you’ve made your donation to LAEF, be sure to request a corporate match, if it’s available. Find out if your company offers corporate matching.

We are grateful to all the parents who’ve contributed to LAEF this school year. You are making a difference in your child’s education, and strengthening your neighborhood school!

Get to know your Almond parent volunteers on the LAEF Board!

· Steve Apfelberg has a 5th grader at Almond. He is serving as LAEF Board Secretary this school year, his 2nd year on the LAEF Board.

· Mike Kostow has a 1st and 3rd grader at Almond. He joined the LAEF Board this past spring.

They are representing your school community. Feel free to reach out to them if you have any questions about LAEF.

(Steve: sapfelbe@gmail.com, Mike: mikekostow@gmail.com)

The MVLA Parent Education Speaker Series presents:

W. Thomas Boyce, M.D.

The Orchid and the Dandelion: Why Some Children Struggle and How All Can Thrive
Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019 - 7:00 - 9:00pm | MVHS Spartan Theatre | 3535 Truman Ave, Mountain View, CA

Join us as developmental pediatrician, Dr. Thomas Boyce, delves into results from four decades of research and clinical practice – exploring his major discovery that reveals how both genetic make-up and environment shape behavior.

Dr. Boyce will explore how the “dandelion” child (hearty, resilient, healthy) is able to survive and flourish under most circumstances and the “orchid” child (sensitive, susceptible, fragile) when given the right support, can thrive as much as, if not more, than other children.

Dr. Boyce will share how we as parents can better nurture and support the unique characteristics of both types of children.

To register for this free event, go to https://mvla2019-20-thomasboyce.eventbrite.com

Sponsored by Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF), MVLA High School Foundation, Mountain View Educational Foundation (MVEF), and Los Altos-Mountain View PTA Council.

Almond School participates in the Box Tops for Education Program. Almond receives 10 cents for each pink Box Top label submitted from General Mills Products. This is a simple and fun activity that your child can be involved in to fundraise for Almond School. Before summer break, collection baggies were given to students in grade K-5. We will do a large submission at the end of the month so please drop off the labels to the collection box in the office as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for continuing to collect Box Tops throughout the year.

For participating products, click on the link:

https://www.boxtops4education.com/earn/participating-products

Fri, Sept 27, Staff Development, NO SCHOOL

Fri, Oct 4, Family Movie Night and Picnic, 5:00 to ??

Wed, Oct 9, PTA Board Meeting, 8:30, conference room

Oct 10-15, Scholastic Book Fair, Multi (details to follow)

Sat, Oct. 12, Walkathon and Silent Auction

Thur, Oct 17, Minimum Day, 12:15 Dismissal

Ecumenical Hunger Program partners with the local KIWANIS club to help to host “the Wednesday Night Meal”. This weekly event is an invitation sent out to anyone in the community in need of a hot meal to dine free of charge at the St. Francis of Assisi Church located at: 1425 Bay Road in East Palo Alto. Volunteers are needed from 2:30 p.m. to help prepare and set up for the meal, from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. to serve and host the meal and from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. to help clean up and put items away. No advance reservations are required to volunteer at this event, but we would appreciate knowing how many volunteers from Almond will be attending. Please reply to shilps.vgarg@gmail.com so we can have a general headcount.

Absences: Please call our attendance line at 650-917-5454 to report your student's absence. To minimize exposure to other students (and staff!), please be sure your student is symptom-free (no fever, diarrhea, or vomiting), without medication, for 24 hours before returning to school.