FROM THE PRINCIPAL – Terri Stromfeld
Our last school week of 2009 has been filled with new learning and enhanced with the festivities of the holiday season. We began our week learning that we had one of the most successful Toy and Pajama drives ever at Almond School! Yesterday we enjoyed a concert featuring over 125 of our students. Led by chorus director Lisa Call and pianist Joe Chan, our students heartily sang festive songs of the holiday season. The tones and talents of our children sparkled as a large audience of admirers smiled and sang along to some popular songs.
Tomorrow we’re in for another treat. Our grades 4-6 students will perform in our music concert. These children enjoy weekly instruction in music, digital technology, art and drama because of your generous donations to the Los Altos Education Foundation. Developing an appreciation of the arts is an important component to a child’s education. Thank you for giving to the Foundation so that our children can enjoy the special treasures of an arts education.
As we look ahead into the New Year, please know that we welcome volunteers to tutor in our new after school homework center on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning in January. Please contact
Vanessa Jordan if interested.
Winding up 2009, I thank you, our community for your ongoing generosity of time, money and talent. With the New Year, we will continue to work together to bring our children to higher levels of excellence, as we shape them to become adults with choices, opportunities, and significant leadership roles.
Happy Holidays to all of you!
Special thanks go to:
· Jane Bohrer for her amazing background work supporting our chorus for so many years!
UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER
· Friday, December 18, Upper Grade Holiday Concert, Almond Multi,1:00pm
· Friday, December 18, Holiday Parents’ Night Out, Almond Kids’ Place
· Tuesday, January 5, School resumes!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hot Lunch Orders for January Due NOW!
LAST DAY TO ORDER HOT LUNCH FOR JANUARY IS TOMORROW, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18TH! Please, click
here and order today. Thank you for making the first part of the year such a success. Keep ordering!!!
Almond’s Night at the Oscars
The last fundraiser of the school year, “Almond’s Night at the Oscars” is happening Saturday, March 6
th, 2010 at Los Altos Golf & Country Club. Tickets are available for $65 per person by contacting
Liz Parker. This promises to be a spectacular evening to support Almond!
Last chance to be a STAR!
Do you want to be a STAR? Simply purchase a “Walk of Fame Star” for $20 to support Almond. These stars will be personalized with your family’s name and hung at the auction in March. For your convenience, the “Walk of Fame Stars” will be sold before the 1:00pm Holiday Concert on Friday, December 18
th.
Almond Science Fair 2010: April 5 and 6
This year, the Science Fair is open to 5th and 6th graders. Participation is optional and students can work independently or in groups of up to three. Proposal Deadline is Jan. 25th. Completed Projects are due Monday April 5th, before school. There will be awards for the best projects in each grade! Community Night is Tuesday, April 6th from 6-8pm. Click
here to access detailed instructions and forms for the Science Fair on the Almond website.
This is a parent-driven event and we seek parent volunteers to help with the various tasks. For more information or to sign up as a volunteer, please contact Science Fair Co-Chairs,
Priya Dharan or
Stephanie Friend.
The Los Altos Art Docent Program
The Los Altos Art Docent has been serving our district for 40 years! Now is your chance to join the Los Altos Docent Program for the 2010-2011 year! The only requirement is a keen interest in art and a desire to share it with the children. To find out more, contact Nan Bajka at (650) 947-1195, read our latest
newsletter, or check out our
website.
Almond Running Club
The Almond Running Club is continuing on its journey through Mexico, traveling from Hermosillo, Sonora to Los Mochis which is in the state of Sinaloa. For the month of November there were 228 participants and they covered 262 miles! Fantastic effort! Click
here for a list of students who met milestones for the month.
Register Now for Winter Session of After-School Programs
Sign up for the winter session of the after-school programs NOW! Classes start the first week of January 2010. Click
here to check out the calendar on the Almond website. Here are some programs that might interest your kids:
Science Club for 1st-3rd grade
Want more science for your kids. Here’s an all new after-school science club starting in January 2010 offered by Amazing Science. This is a hands-on, fun science class designed to enrich current class lessons and to foster an interest in science. Focus will be on learning science using every day things one can find at home, recycled material, and science equipment. Each week will focus on specific scientific principles.
Mandarin
OneWorld Mandarin offers Level I program to students who have little or no prior Mandarin knowledge. Students will learn daily applicable topics in a student-focused interactive style through dialogs, skits, games, riddles or songs. At end of the session, students would be comfortable in a Chinese speaking environment, be able to greet people, introduce himself/herself and family members, be able to count numbers, to talk about favorite foods and fruits and more…
Fun Afterschool Math
Would you like for your child to have extra time learning math in a way that is challenging and fun? Or do you want to take the fear out of math for them? Help your child learn to their full potential while developing their love of learning! In Fun Afterschool Math, children work with Stanford undergrads who make learning fun and are great role models. Children are placed into small groups based on what they know and what they need to learn next, which is good for both for children who seek to explore new or challenging topics, and for children who need to strengthen their knowledge of math fundamentals. Children normally work in groups of 3-8 children per instructor and use an international math curriculum.
Calling all 4th, 5th and 6th grade Almond birders!
In January, Almond School will start participating in the “Cavity Nesters Recovery Program”, sponsored by the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society. In an effort to restore nesting sites for bluebirds and other cavity nesters, we will be installing three nest boxes on the school grounds. Once a week, a team of interested students will monitor each box and record any bird nesting activity. At the end of the season this information will be filed with a state-wide data base. If you are interested in being a part of this exciting activity, please contact
Kathy Strickland Hanson. Look for more information in early January, and meanwhile you can read more about the program
here.
ScholarKids Is Back This Summer!
ScholarKids is a high energy, intellectually stimulating, summer enrichment program for incoming 5
th-8
th graders. ScholarKids will be held at Egan Junior High from June 14th – July 9th. If you have questions, please email
ScholarKids or call 408-203-9946. Please visit our
website for information and a list of classes. Online registration begins February 1st!
Los Altos KidzAdventures Returns This Summer!
Los Altos KidzAdventures (LAKA) is returning to the Los Altos School District at Santa Rita School, June 14 – July 10. Classes are designed and taught by credentialed teachers for incoming 1
st – 4
th graders. This year, a new class for entering Kindergarten students, Skills for Kindergarten, is being offered. Program offerings include some great classes back by popular demand (Outrageous Outdoor Games, Awesome Art, etc.) and several new additions (Drama, Puppetry, Young Chefs, etc.). Registration is open now. Go to the
LAKA website for class selections and information. Questions? Contact
Niki Mitchell.
Key Dates
· Tuesday,
January 12, NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children
· Thursday,
March 25, Building Resilience in Our Youth: Raising Healthy Kids
NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children
Join Po Bronson on Tuesday, January 12th for an interesting talk at Los Altos High School Theater, from 7pm – 9pm.
Building Resilience in Our Youth: Raising Healthy Kids
Ken Ginsburg, M.D. will be presenting this topic on Thursday, March 25th at Gunn High School’s Spangenberg Theater in Palo Alto, 6:30pm – 8:30pm.
LASD FREQUENT FLYER NEWSLETTER
www.losaltos.k12.ca.us/PDF_Files/2009_2010/School_News_12_17_2009.PDF
WANT TO SUBMIT SOMETHING TO THE THURSDAY WORD?
Send announcements to us at
almond.thursdayword@gmail.com by 1:00pm Monday, for that week’s Word. Keep your announcements brief and, if applicable, send a PDF version of any flyer or additional information to be posted on the website.
For more information about Almond Elementary School visit
www.almondschool.org.
Copyright © 2003-2009 Los Altos School District. All rights reserved.
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