Dear Almond Families:

We had a huge turn out last night for our Family Science Night! Thank you to Melissa Neal and all of the volunteers who helped make the event interactive, engaging and fun for kids, big and small. Please enjoy some pictures below and on our twitter account @AlmondEagles:

Parking Lot Haiku

“All the Way Up”

Pull your car forward

All the way to the front.

Then drop off your kid.

"Two Blocks Away"

Two blocks from the school

There are no worries over here

Chaos ensues at curbside.

Since we have been in the throes of rainier weather lately, a reminder of our parking lot etiquette is always helpful to ensure the safety of all members of our Almond community:

• Pull your car close to one ahead of you before letting students out. This leaves more room for other cars to enter drive through.
• Please have students exit on the passenger side only.
• Please no drop off/pick up at the 2nd lane!
• Drivers MUST stay in car at all times.
• Please use the crosswalk, follow the crossing guard’s instructions, and be aware of traffic. Walking while using your cell phone is dangerous!
• Bikes and scooters must be walked as soon as they are on campus

Please slow down, leave yourself ample time to get where you are going, and be super cautious in our parking lot. We are thankful for your diligence.

Here’s to our amazing Almond Community!

~Raquel

-------------------

Author Event: Kathryn Otoshi

Bookwave is sponsoring a morning assembly featuring Award Winning Author and Illustrator Kathryn Otoshi Friday, March 8th between 10:30-11:15 for TK-3rd graders and 9:00 to 9:45 for 4-6th Graders. Parents are welcomed and encouraged to attend! Otoshi's illustrated story, "ONE" is a Project Cornerstone Book for this year, it will be a Blast for all Almond families and staff to meet the author of the book Almond students will be familiar with and to hear Kathryn Otoshi's journey to become a renowned author and illustrator!

International Celebration!

6th Annual International Celebration - Searching for Performances!

We are pleased to announce the 6th Annual International Celebration slated for Thursday, March 21st, 6:00-8:00pm.

The event brings together Almond families for a fun, casual evening while celebrating the diversity and vibrancy of our school community. All families bring a favorite dish to share (appetizer, entrée or dessert) while supporting various dance and music performances including appearances by our own Almond School students and alumni.

How can you help?

1) Sign up to share your talent!

- You or your child can showcase your unique talent.

- If your child participates in local classes bring the troupe or solo performance; or if your child just loves to perform - let us know! The evening is a perfect opportunity for kids to perform in a welcoming environment.

2) Have any suggestions for a local dance or performance group - please send us the information.

3) Interested in helping with the planning and execution - we definitely would love to grow the group.We hope you and your family can join us at the International Celebration! More details to follow. For information or to signup - please contact Marcsi Elovson (mkratochwill@yahoo.com) and Lori Sevcik (loriandshea@me.com).

Junior Olympics

LASD Junior Olympics - Coming on April 27th!

Junior Olympics training is now underway for the 4th, 5th and 6th grade classes. Please remember to have your student wear appropriate athletic clothes and shoes for PE days. We need volunteers to get our young athletes ready!!! Please consider signing up to help during one or more PE periods. It is an easy way to get involved and learn more about this fun district wide event and we cannot do it without your help! The volunteer sign up sheet can be found HERE. All students must have a signed permission slip to participate in the event. Please fill out this online form, whether your child will be participating or not: JUNIOR OLYMPICS PERMISSION SLIP. For more details on Junior Olympics, check out this information sheet: LASD JO INFO SHEET or contact the Almond JO chairs: Alix Apfelberg (alix_apfelberg@yahoo.com), Vicky Lee vicster_chin@yahoo.com) and Kirsten Sirey (ksirey@yahoo.com)

From the Almond Student Council

Hello parents,

The Almond Student council has a new fundraiser! The organization is Pennies for Patients, a program through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It is to raise for kids with leukemia and other blood cancers. Every classroom has a box in which they can donate money. You can also donate money online! The website is lls.org/pages/swab/Almond-Elementary-School-2019/

Your teacher's last name and grade.

Ex, /Linvill6thgrade.

Please donate to help kids with leukemia and other blood cancers. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world’s largest non-profit health organization dedicated to finding cures for blood cancers.

Thank you,

Almond Student Council

Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF)

If you've donated to LAEF this school year, you're already part of our team!

Now we invite you to join our March Magic Challenge.

A corporate match works like magic to increase your donation.

Find out now if your company offers a match.

Then work your magic by requesting a match today.

Help us raise an additional $200K to reach our goal of $3.5M!

Donations of any amount are appreciated.

www.LAEFonline.org.

E3 Youth Philanthropy Club, Los Altos High School

E3 Youth Philanthropy is a group of Los Altos High School students who are learning about nonprofits and are making an impact on those around us through community service and service projects. The mission of this group is to normalize the lives of local foster youth by assembling "care packages" of school supplies. They work with a nonprofit organization called CASA (https://bemyadvocate.org/) to deliver these packages to foster youth in middle and high school.

They are asking for donations of the following items:

• Notebooks (3-ring, spiral)
• mechanical pencils
• dry-erase markers
• Rulers
• Protractors
• highlighters

There are boxes in the Almond office for donations. The deadline is Wednesday, March 13. Please consider supporting our local high school students in their community service efforts!

New Family and Kindergarten Tours!

We have two Kindergarten and New Family Tours scheduled for 3/20 and 3/21 at 11:30, starting in the Multi. Please share this information with your friends and neighbors that live in our attendance area. Email jsanders@lasdschools.org or visit our front office to learn more!

From the Almond Office

The School Board has approved the 2019-20 Calendar so you can plan ahead!

If you would like to submit a blurb for the Thursday Word, please email your request to almondthursdayword@lasdschools.org by Tuesday to be considered for that week's newsletter.