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March 14, 2019

Dear Almond Families:

Happy Pi day! March 14th (3.14) is a day when students, teachers and numerates come together to celebrate the greek number Pi, otherwise known as the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. It is a challenging concept to think about for kids and adults alike (and has mystified humans since ancient times) because it doesn’t act like other numbers--you could even call it irrational. ;) Pi is infinite and goes on and on, as one 80’s rocker sings for us in her song about Pi. This gal from Google literally set another world record this morning calculating Pi to 31 trillion digits.

When I was a kid, I knew how to use the formula “C=πd” to calculate the circumference of a circle but my understanding of when I would use it was pretty shaky. Today, on Pi day, many students are learning about circles, but they are doing it differently than when I was a kid. They are engaged in problem-solving activities to learn what it is, what procedures they can use to calculate it and why we need to know about it. Today when I asked Aiden, a 5th grader, to tell me what he would use Pi for, he said, “if I had a circular garden that I wanted to build a fence around, I would need to know how to use Pi to find the circumference.” Aiden’s response is exactly why we have expanded our approach to math understanding in school and a testament to the learning he receives from his teacher every day.

Not only is it important that students know the procedures to solve math problems but they also need to have deep conceptual understanding paired with multiple hands-on opportunities to solve problems to fully understand the real-world application . And of course, the more engaging and fun we can make these experiences, the more they stick.

Check out the pictures below for a peek into how our students are learning and celebrating the concept of Pi!

Here’s to well-rounded math learning!

Raquel

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We are excited to have some special visitors on campus the week of March 18th. All LASD school sites will have a media team visit, and will be collecting staff, student, and parent interviews, as well as classroom video clips. The goal is to create a professional video to promote each of our schools, our district and the special programs within the district. Please know that students without media release permission will be out of sight in any classroom footage.

IMPORTANT DATES--SO MUCH HAPPENING AT ALMOND!

TODAY, 3/14, Minimum day, 12:15 dismissal
Wed, 3/20, New Family/Kindergarten Tour, 11:30, Multi
Thurs, 3/21, New Family/Kindergarten Tour, 11:30, Multi
Thurs, 3/21, International Celebration, 6-8pm, Multi
Wed, 3/27, PTA General Meeting, Multi
April 1-April 5, Spring Book Fair, Multi
Fri, April 5, 4th graders to Sacramento!
Mon, April 8, STEM Expo
Thurs, April 11, 6th grade Celebration of Learning

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).

YEARBOOK CHAIRPERSON NEEDS YOUR PHOTOS!

Hi Parents and Teachers,

It is that time of year to upload your pictures of your children over the school year for the yearbook.

Below is the link to the website that has all the categories that I am looking for. It would be great if you can upload pictures right away to the different categories so that I can finish the yearbook. Ordering information will be coming soon!

Here is the link:

Yearbook • Page - Almond Elementary School

Thanks!

Liz Bacchi

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

We're pleased to announce that enrollment is open for Almond's Spring 2019 After School Activities schedule.

New Website

We now have a dedicated website for you to bookmark:

https://sites.google.com/view/almondafterschoolactivities/home

We'll update the site for every new session, so please check back frequently to ensure you are able to sign up your kids for the programs that they want.

Signing Up - Get Them Before They Are Gone!:

Links to all of the sign ups are included in the program list (see link below). Please be aware that space on some of these programs is very limited. To ensure you can get a space for your child please do aim to review the choices and sign up soon.

Reminder that our contact email address is: almondactivities@gmail.com

LOS ALTOS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

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.

STEM EXPO

It’s not too late to sign up (alone or with up to 2 friends) for the Almond STEM EXPO, happening on April 9. The signup deadline has been extended to March 15, 2019.

Check out the website at www.tinyurl.com/LASDStemExpo to find out more! Be sure to click on the Almond link to get school-specific information and to sign up.

If you have any questions please email Ricky Hu, Almond STEM IST at rhu@lasdschools.org

Parents: STEM Expo doesn’t happen without the help of parent volunteers! We need parents to:

- Help set up the Expo the morning of April 8
- Review projects throughout the school day on April 9
- Be runners for students throughout the school day on April 9
- Help take down the Expo the afternoon of April 9

Please consider volunteering for one of these roles.

More information is available by clicking the “Get Involved” link on the “Almond” tab in the URL above.

You can sign up to volunteer using the google form here:

https://goo.gl/forms/wui2Eo27ptBnejLo2

Thank you for helping to make STEM Expo a successful and meaningful experience for our students.

JUNIOR OLYMPICS--VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

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)

STEM CAREER DAY EVENTS AT JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS

LASD & LAEF are excited to kick off the 3rd STEM Career Day Events at Egan and Blach Jr. High Schools this spring. STEM pervades every part of our life. STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy, and enables the next generation of innovators. We believe that exposing students to different aspects and careers in this field will inspire them and spark passion.

If you are a parent, grandparent or community member who would like to share your career story with students at Egan on March 25 and/or Blach on March 26, please contact Karen Wilson, STEM Coordinator at kwilson@lasdschools.org or Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney, LASD parent at anjana.nagarajan1@gmail.com

Also, please mark your calendars for the STEM Night Event being held on Monday, March 25 at Egan Jr. High starting at 7pm. Speakers to be announced in the near future.

COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY

Dear Almond Families,

Thank you so much for your generous donations for our Paradise Elementary School Drive. We are holding a second book drive but this time we are collecting books for adults to support a wonderful non-profit organization called Prisoners Literature Project, located in Berkeley. Prisoners Literature Project is an all-volunteers run organization that respond directly to prisoners’ book requests, and work closely with prisons around the country to get requested books into the hands of prisoners.

Some of the top requested books are:

dictionaries of all kinds (including ASL sign language); thesauruses, almanacs, GED test prep materials, and other paperback reference books
how-to books: drawing, origami, chess, construction, gardening, etc.
books on African-American, Latino, and Native American history and culture
books on politics, sociology, psychology, philosophy, science, mathematics
fiction by or about people of color
classic literature (in English or Spanish)
books on meditation, yoga, and bodyweight exercises

If you are able to donate any of the above books (new or gently used), we will collect the books and drive them up to Berkeley. There will be a box in the office marked "Books for Prisoners Literature Project” from March 12th through March 22nd. Or feel free to drop off at either one of our homes (Polly: 235 Verano Drive, Seema: 658 Spargur Drive). If you’d rather paypal (please send to Seema at bhimsee@yahoo.com) us a donation, we would be happy to buy dictionaries and other requested self-help books for you. Thank you once again for your support and kindness.

Best,

Seema and Polly

Activists and artists such as Nelson Mandela, Eldridge Cleaver, Jean Genet, Angela Davis, and Gandhi have written about the great solace they received from books in prison.

AUTHOR VISIT NEXT FRIDAY

National Geographic Live authors Trudi Trueit and Erika Bergman will be presenting their two books, The Nebula Secret and The Falcon’s Feather, to Almond’s 4th-6th grades on Friday, March 22.

Here are a few reviews:

"This series opener from a new imprint of National Geographic is a fully packed high-tech adventure that offers both cool, educational facts about the planet and a diverse cast of fun characters." —Kirkus
"This exciting series opener introduces young readers to the joys of science and nature." —Publisher's Weekly
"Sure to appeal to kids who love code cracking and mysteries with cutting-edge technology." —Booklist

If you would like to order autographed copies for your child, there are order forms available in the school office.