Some fresh ideas for the NEW YEAR!

Two and a half years ago I began this great adventure of serving as Almond School Principal.  I recall the early weeks of summer when I began spending time on campus, meeting the staff, interfacing with parents, and learning about the ins and outs of what makes this place special.  Crystalized in my mind is the moment when I discovered I would be leading a weekly Friday assembly with students, staff, and parents.  

My internal dialogue…“I’m going to do what?!?!  Every Friday?!?!?!  And I get to come up with the topics and themes?!?!?  Seriously?!?!?!”

After the shock wore off…“Okay, let’s do this!”

Well - I gave it my all with the support of many others.  We’ve had ball pits, Miss California, Katy Perry & Lady Gaga visits, incorporated student council speeches, 550 students blowing bubbles and cotton balls through straws, and danced the Uptown Funk together.

It is now time for me to hand over the spotlight to the very reason why Almond Elementary even exists...OUR CHILDREN!

Prepare yourselves for a weekly segment of....”Almond’s Got Talent.”  Does your child play the drums?  Or perhaps they are a skilled pianist?  Maybe they’re THE best joke teller in all of Los Altos?  Whatever it is (within reason - of course), if they want to share it, we want to experience it!

Starting on Friday, January 15th, there will be three 3-minute slots for any student to perform their talent to the whole student body.  In looking at the count of future Fridays, minus a couple that will be dedicated to Junior Olympics prep and celebration, we have room for about 50 talent acts.  A student can perform on their own, with a partner, or in a group.  

There are a few strings:  1) an application MUST be submitted, 2) the parent is responsible for all set up / clean up, 3) the performance cannot be longer than 3 minutes (NO EXCEPTIONS).

Bring on the talent!!!!

And...there is one more fresh idea.

If you haven’t yet gathered, I love music.  It feeds my soul.  While I love “DJing” on Fridays at lunch, I want to pass on this opportunity to our student council spirit captain and add one more day of boogie-ing.  We have an iPod Nano that I will update weekly with requests from students.  This will require some forethought from our students so that I can preview the lyrics to make certain they are appropriate for a school setting.  Please share THIS link with your child and guide them through the process of making requests.

It’s been a great first week back!