ALMOND THURSDAY WORD
January 26, 2017

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

• Friday, 1/27 - Stuffed Animal Spirit Day
• Tuesday, 1/31 - Final Submission for Bookwave
• Wednesday, 2/8
  • SSC Meeting (Library, 3pm)
  • Information Night at Egan for Incoming 7th Graders (Egan Multi, 6:30pm)
• Thursday, 2/9 - School Coffee w/Keith Rocha (Library, 8:35am)
• Wednesday, 3/1 - Family Science Night (Multi, 6:30-8pm)
• Friday, 3/3 - Incoming 7th Grade Parent Tours (Egan Multi, 9:30am)
• Tuesday, 3/7 - Minimum Day, School Ends at 12:15pm
• Thursday, 3/16 - Bookwave Blast (Multi, 6-8pm)
• Thursday, 3/30 - Incoming 7th Grade Parent Panel (Egan Library, 7:00pm)
• Friday, 3/31 - Incoming 7th Grade Student Tour & Elective Faire (Egan, 8:30am)
• Monday, 4/3 - STEM Expo School Day Showcase
• Tuesday, 4/4 - STEM Expo Community Night (Multi, 4:30pm - 6:00pm)

SCHOOL MESSAGE

...from Mrs. Benadom

Please.  Watch THIS.  The whole thing.

Now, let’s talk about math.

When I sat in math classes as a learner, I identified with that meerkat.  Not because it lulled me to sleep, but instead because my brain went into a frantic state of panic.  My amygdala response sent my thoughts into doubt and worry.  “What if I get the answer wrong?”  “Hurry up Erika!  Everyone else is done and you’re still working on the problem.”  “What is that darn formula?!?!?!  I thought I had it memorized but I can’t retrieve it from my working memory.”  “Why do I even need to learn this stuff?  I am NEVER going to use this.”

Thank goodness I became an educator and as such have poured over tons of research that speaks to the impact of our beliefs on our achievement.  And, I’m so grateful I learned this before I became a parent.  This understanding has made me keenly aware of my self talk in front of my children.  They have never heard me utter, “I’m not good at math,” or “math is so hard.”  In fact, my poor husband got the look of death from me once when he suggested that the kids go to him for math help because mom’s better at creative things and he’s the mathematically minded of us two.  He has never made another such a statement ;-).

This week I joined a team of 14 educators from LASD to hear from Jo Boaler, renown Stanford Professor of Mathematics at the Stanford Graduate School of Education.  What an incredible two days!  It provided our team with a deep sense of validation in our work around “the growth mindset”, reminded us of the importance to encourage students to develop varied strategies in solving problems, and also introduced us to new ways to deepen conceptual learning.

The following is directly from the youcubed website.

“These 9 findings have very strong implications for mathematics classrooms.  If acted upon they could unleash the potential of millions more students.

• Anyone Can Learn to High Levels
• Mistakes Grow Your Brain
• When You Believe In Yourself Your Brain Operates Differently
• Ideas of “Giftedness” Hurt Students
• Speed and Time Pressure Block Working Memory
• Visual Math Improves Math Performance
• When You Believe In Your Students They Do Better
• Parents’ Beliefs about Math Change Their Children’s Achievement
• Aligning Assessment to Brain Science”

Here’s to guiding a whole generation of thinkers into a realm where numbers, variables and symbols are friends...not foes.

PTA & SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - NEW

SPRING BOOK FAIR CHAIR NEEDED
The PTA still has not been able to identify a volunteer to head up the annual spring book fair.  This event not only raises funds for Almond, but it also brings a bookstore right to us.  Children enjoy perusing the books and get excited about losing themselves in stories or non-fiction texts.  If we do not have a person (or people - could be a partnership) identified by 1/31, we will not hold a spring book fair this year.  :-(  Please contact Jon Meyer if you are interested in supporting this initiative at our school.

SCHOOL COFFEE
Keith Rocha, the Egan Principal, will be our honored guest at the school coffee on Thursday, 2/9.  He will discuss how parents can support the transition from elementary school to junior high.  You do not need to be a 6th grade parent to attend.  It will be valuable information for any Almond parent with children in any grade level.  We hope you’ll join us.

STUDENT COUNCIL

• Yay! This Friday the 27th almond will be having our first spirit day of this year (2017). It’s stuffed animal day! Please make sure your children do not bring stuffed animals bigger 10 inches and do not bring any other things such as PJ’s, eye masks, etc.
• Almond has decided to fight homelessness this year. 6th graders Ilanit, Nisha, and Shannon are helping the student council fight this cause. These amazing young ladies persuaded us to fight this cause based on a 5th/6th grade reading class assignment. This year’s goal is to raise $2,750! Money can be donated by check, bill, and/or coins. The student council has done lots of research to conclude that we will be working with (CHP) Community Housing Partnership. The money that we will be raising will go to supporting a new resident in their first year of tenancy, a year of after school programming for one youth, employment counseling for 3-6 weeks for one trainee, civic engagement training for one resident, and materials for CHP's Learning Academy. Stay tuned for more information!
• The next upcoming spirit day after that is crazy hair day! This is where your kids can have the opportunity to do something wacky to their hair, make an afro, color it, add everyday objects to it, and much much more. Make sure they get as creative as possible. Crazy Hair Day will take place sometime in the month of February.

LAEF’S BILLBOARD UPDATED TO THE $3M MARK!
Did you notice the growing arrow on the LAEF sign in front of our school? The 21 parent volunteers on our Board of Directors are pleased to announce that LAEF just reached the $3,000,000 mark! 100 families contributed in December, with donations ranging from $20 to $5,000. Thank you! With $700,000 to go to meet our $3.7M goal, every dollar counts. That’s why we’re counting on another 400 families to participate this school year. To donate or learn more about the many ways to give, please go to www.LAEFonline.org.

AFTER SCHOOL OPPORTUNITY
Egan Girl Scout Troop 61015 is holding an after-school playdate on Friday, February 10 from 2:25 - 4:45 in the Almond multi. The troop will provide supervised play and activities to Almond students in grades K-3 (and siblings ages 3 and up who are potty trained). The kids will have a lot of fun with board games, legos, arts and crafts, and play time on the playground, and snacks will be provided. Most of the scouts have earned their babysitting badge and are Red Cross babysitting certified, and several adults will be on hand to help supervise. The fee is $25 per child and $10 for each additional sibling - you can pay at drop off or pick up. We plan use use the funds for our summer trip. To sign up, please click here by February 8th. Please email Sara Elkin with any questions.

PTA & SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - REPEATED

BOOKWAVE

• Don't forget to encourage your children to work on their Bookwave books!!  The deadline for final submission is Tuesday, January 31st.  You will have  MLK weekend to work on them but please start early so the children are not rushed.  If you need any extra pages or have questions, please contact Marissa Song at marissasong@gmail.com.
• Save the Date:  Bookwave Blast will be Thursday, March 16th 6-8pm at the MPR.  This is the event where all the children's books will be displayed . We hope to line up a guest author to make the event extra special.
• For parents who did not order Bookwave packages for their kids or would like to order packages for siblings, there is still time!  The program gives every child the chance to become a published author! Students from grades K-6 can experience the joy and satisfaction of creating their very own book and then seeing it printed and bound into a keepsake they’ll treasure forever. In the spring, after the books are printed, we’ll celebrate by displaying everyone’s work at a big party, complete with refreshments and prizes a. If you would like your child to participate, please provide a check for $10 made out to Almond PTA with your child's name, grade and teacher.  There will be a bin in the office for Bookwave checks.  Learn more about the program here.

REMINDER OF LOST & FOUND PURGE PROTOCOL
Starting with January, we will clear out the Lost & Found at the end of each month to keep it from getting ridiculously full.  Please put your child's name or at least a family name in your children's clothing and we will do our best to return it to you.  Remind your children to look in the Lost & Found regularly.  

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

It is Girl Scout Cookie Time!!

• Starting Feb 1st, Almond Girl Scout troops will be selling all your favorite girl scout cookies right after school in the rotunda!!  Cookies are $5/box; Smores and GF ToffeeTastic are $6/box. Cash and checks accepted.
• Please come support your Almond Girl Scouts!   
  • Feb 1st- Troop 62879 1st Grade
  • Feb 2nd- Troop 61026 6th Grade
  • Feb 3rd- Troop 61070 2nd Grade
  • Feb 6th- Troop 61025 4th Grade
  • Feb 7th- Troop 61016 4th Grade
  • Feb 15th- Troop 61077 6th Grade
• Thank you and if you have any questions, please contact Meredith Hiltgen - Almond Girl Scout School Manager (meredith@hiltgen.com)

WANT TO SUBMIT SOMETHING TO THE THURSDAY WORD?

Send announcements to us at AlmondThursdayWord@lasdschools.org by 12:00pm 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.

Quick Links…

School & Community News now found via Peachjar:

https://www.peachjar.com/index.php?a=28&b=138&region=53999

Almond Elementary School Website

Copyright © 2003-2016 Los Altos School District.  All rights reserved