ALMOND THURSDAY WORD
September 21, 2017

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

• Wednesday, 9/20 - PTA General Meeting (Multi @ 8:30am)
• Thursday, 9/28 - School Coffee re: Literacy (Multi @ 8:45am)
• Friday, 9/22 - LASD Staff Development Day, No School
• October - Solar Panels in Parking Lot Project Begins
• Friday, 10/13 - Friday, 10/20 - Scholastic Book Fair
• Wednesday, 10/4 - International Walk to School Day
• Wednesday, 10/18 - School Site Council (Library @ 3:10pm)
• Saturday, 10/14 - Walkathon (Blacktop, 9am - 1:30pm)

SCHOOL MESSAGE

In order to bring our Almond mission and vision to life, the Almond staff has renewed its pledge to honor the following Collective Commitments.

1. Put the needs of students first.
2. Cultivate a culture of inclusive acceptance where students feel safe and welcome so they may thrive.
3. Think school-wide. We are Almond teachers, not teachers of certain grades or classes.
4. Collaborate by sharing ideas and resources to best support each other.
5. Use instructional strategies to work towards personalized learning goals.
6. Assess regularly with common assessments and use the data to help drive student learning.
7. Stay positive, professional, and respectful.
8. Have a growth mindset by being flexible and learning together.
9. Embed SEL (Social Emotional Learning).
10. Challenge ALL students.

These promises manifest throughout each day as teachers work together as a team.  While students are placed in homerooms, through our Thursday Early Release Collaboration days, we work intentionally to create a grade level team and school wide team mentality.  The progress of a learner does not simply belong to the homeroom teacher, it is the collective responsibility of our entire staff.  

At times homerooms may work together where teachers co-teach.  Through WIIN & TIG, students may spend time in other classrooms to further certain skills, understandings, and content.

We are eager to partner with our parent community in this effort to foster a WE mentality.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher, or Erika Benadom (Almond Principal), with your reflections and thoughts.

PTA & SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS - NEW

INTERNATIONAL WALK TO SCHOOL DAY

• The International Walk to School Day is coming up in a few weeks: Wednesday 10/4 from 8-8:30am. Walk, roll, or bike to school along Almond Avenue and enjoy bagels and juice in the Rotunda when you arrive. The Los Altos Police Department, the LAHS Marching Band, and the Almond Eagle will be joining us. The band will play a quick concert on the Blacktop at 8:15am. Wear your favorite Almond Shirt and show your school pride. Hope to see you on foot and on bike on the way to school!
• **Please contact Cheryl Branson at cheryl.branson@gmail.com if you can help volunteer anywhere between 7 and 8:30 on 10/4, the day of the event.**

WALKATHON & SILENT AUCTION

• The Walkathon is Saturday, October 14  - with walking, food, silent auction & book fair.
• Donate to the Walkathon Silent Auction by hosting a party (adult parties or child parties), donating event tickets or your vacation home. Read more about the walkathon and silent auction here.

LAEF: FOR EVERY CHILD IN EVERY GRADE IN ALL LASD SCHOOLS!
Did you know that your donation to LAEF supports STEM, arts, literacy, wellness and personalized learning NOW through June 2018?  Here are some ways elementary students benefit from LAEF this school year.

• Literacy aides in 1st and 2nd grade
• STEM and computer science teachers
• Librarians and certified PE instructors
• Plus music and art!

Every TK-8^th grade student in LASD will benefit from LAEF-funded programs, and that’s why our goal is 100% parent participation. The suggested donation per student is $1,200 (or $120 per month for 10 months). Every gift in any amount is appreciated.
Learn more & make a donation today at www.laefonline.org.

ABC (Asset Building Champion) Reading/ Project Cornerstone

• The ABC program, which is part of a county wide initiative called Project Cornerstone, is off to its 9th year at Almond.  This social emotional curriculum brings parent volunteers into every classroom each month to read a book, have a discussion about the main themes, and lead an activity to reinforce certain developmental assets, which are the skills children need to be successful.  These books are used to share concepts of caring, interpersonal competence, personal power, empathy, and integrity just to name a few. Check out our page on the school’s website for more information: (http://losaltos.cyberschool.com/Almondes/5731-ABC-Program.html)
• This month, 1^st - 5^th graders are reading Friends to the End for Kids by Bradley Trevor Grieve. The goal of this lesson is to help all students learn how to respect each other and develop interpersonal skills for getting along with classmates and friends. Ask your child to define for you what an UPstander is and what characteristics they look for in a friend.
• The Kindergarteners are starting the year with Have You Filled A Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids by Carol McCloud. This book uses the image of a bucket to represent our need to be filled with positive, caring words every day. When we are kind to each other, we create warm fuzzies that fill our friends’ and classmates’ buckets (ie their internal well of positive/happy feelings), as well as our own! The book also discusses bucket dippers, whose negative behavior removes warm fuzzies from other people’s buckets and makes them feel sad. The lesson’s goal is to help students intentionally choose to fill their classmates’ buckets with kindness in order to treat each other with respect. Ask your child how they chose to fill buckets at school.
• For more information about the ABC program, please contact Jen Walker (jenswalker5@gmail.com) or Mona ElNaggar at (monayousuf05@gmail.com)

 
S.O.A.R. CELEBRATIONS
(listed alphabetically by last name)

• Alison Bolanos-Diaz, 9/20/17, Always making good choices. Excellent class participation and respectful listening. :-)
• Sophie Brauer, 9/19/17, Solving problems, Owning learning, Always making good choices. Sophie is a role model for her peers. <3 Mrs. Better
• Samantha Cermeno Garcia, 9/19/17, 9/19/17, Solving problems, Always making good choices. Samantha helped to clean up her learning space after peers left it a mess.
• Chloe Chan, 9/20,17, Solving problems, Always making good choices. Adapts well to change. Thanks for your flexibility!
• Kayla Chin, 9/19/17, Owning learning. Kayla is a Khan Academy rock star! She has already completed the 5th Grade Math Mission. <3 Mrs. Better
• Jacqueline Cordero, 9/19/17, Owning learning, Always making good choices. Jacqueline comes prepared to class and always puts forth her best effort. Mr. Stuart & Ms. Aubrey
• Connor Daniel, 9/20/17, Always making good choices, Respecting self and others. Connnor is respectful of school and classroom rules. He makes great choices!
• Ava DePristo, 9/19/17, Always making good choices. She cleaned up trash without her teacher asking.
• Buzz Hidalgo, 9/19/17, Always making good choices. Buzz helped to clean up her learning space after peers left it a mess. Mr. Stuart & Ms. Aubrey  
• Kavi Jain, 9/18/17, Solving problems, Kavi picked up trash from the classroom floor.
• Mark Molchanov, 9/20/17, Always making good choices. Excellent at following directions at the rug.
• Sophia May, 9/20/17, Always making good choices. She is a respectful listener! :-)
• Carson Middleton, 9/14/17, Always making good choices. Knowing expectations and taking initiative to move on to next activities based on expectations.
• Rachael Minshull, 9/19/17, Owning learning, Always making good choices. Rachael comes to class prepared to learn, puts forth her best effort, and contributes to the learning of others. Mr. Stuart & Ms. Aubrey
• Caitlin Phillips, 9/19/17, Owning learning, Always making good choices. Caitlin comes ready to learn every day and makes good choices by participating in group conversations and helping others learn. Mr. Stuart & Ms. Aubrey
• Yvonne Tung, 9/20/17, Always making good choices. Respectfully listens at the rug and walks quietly in line.
   

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Please join us for our September SELPA 1 CAC Parent Education event. 
Challenges of Dyslexia, Wed Sep 20, 7-9 PM, Santa Rita Elementary, Los Altos 
Join Lindamood-Bell Center Director, Leila MacCurrach, for a conversation about how intensive instruction that builds the imagery-language foundation can enable students of all backgrounds and prior diagnoses to learn to read and comprehend to their potential. Lindamood-Bell's intensive, one-to- one, process-based instruction has been used to strengthen the sensory-cognitive functions needed for reading and comprehension. The method has been proven successful for individuals with learning challenges, including dyslexia, hyperlexia, ADHD, and ASD.

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.

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