Dear Almond Families:

It is hard to believe that April is already upon us! Time flies when you are having fun. I know that with the end of the school year on the horizon many parents are thinking about class placement for next year. I would like to share our process so that it is as transparent as possible and to give some insight into the reasoning behind our decisions for placement.

The teachers work very hard reviewing and placing children in a heterogeneous home room environment, which is the best learning situation for children as supported by research. We look at a balance when we create our classes. This balance may include gender, academic levels, support levels of students and style of learning.

When we receive parent input, it is important not to request a specific teacher for your child. We will not be able to honor requests of this nature. However, I would love to know about your child as a learner. If you would like to share more about your child with me, please do so no later than April 26th.

Here’s to Almond Highlights from the last week!

~Raquel

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Dress for School

Safety, good taste, and appropriateness determine the choice of school clothing. Student dress should not disrupt the educational environment. Each student has the right to dress in ways which represent his/her individuality. However, some attire is not appropriate at school. When students do not follow the Almond dress code, their parents will be contacted to provide appropriate clothing.

Guidelines:

• Outer clothing must cover all underwear.
• Clothing with offensive language, or pictures, or with references to alcohol, drugs, or tobacco is not acceptable.
• No bare midriff
• Students should wear appropriate shoes for school (P.E. ready every day)

IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR

• Tomorrow is the LAST DAY of Spring Book Fair, Multi
• Tomorrow, Fri, April 5, 4th graders to Sacramento!
• Mon, April 8, STEM Expo projects due--bring them to the Multi
• Tue, April 9, STEM Expo Family Event, 4:30-6:00, Multi
• Thurs, April 11, 6th Grade Celebration of Learning
• Fri, April 12, Coffee with the Principal
• April 15-19, SPRING BREAK, No School!
• Wed, April 24, PTA General Meeting, 8:35, multi

STEM EXPO IS NEXT WEEK!

Your students are engaged and excited to share their projects with you!

Parents: STEM Expo doesn’t happen without YOUR help! We need parents to:

• Help set up the Expo the morning of Monday, April 8
• Review projects throughout the school day on Tuesday, April 9 (*we especially need more folks here!)
• Be runners for students throughout the school day on April 9

The students will take their projects home after the Family Event on Tuesday, April 9.

More information is available by clicking the “Get Involved” link on the “Almond” tab at www.tinyurl.com/LASDStemExpo

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

https://goo.gl/forms/wui2Eo27ptBnejLo2

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

LASD JUNIOR OLYMPICS - COMING ON APRIL 27TH!

Junior Olympics training has been 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 still 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)

NEWS FROM LAEF

Double your Donation

LAEF still needs to raise $148,000 to fully fund our 2018-19 grant to LASD. Every dollar you give by April 26th, before Junior Olympics, will be matched by two anonymous LASD families, up to $6,500. They have generously offered this challenge to inspire you to help us reach our goal of 100% participation from every LASD family. Let's all work together and fully fund teachers and staff for STEM, Wellness, Literacy, and Arts for the 2018-19 school year.

If you have yet to donate, now’s the time! Donate at LAEFonline.org or drop off a check in your school office.

YEARBOOK CHAIRPERSON NEEDS YOUR PHOTOS

Hello Almond Families!

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.

Here is the link:

Yearbook • Page - Almond Elementary School

Thanks!

Liz

COMMUNITY NEWS AND EVENTS

MVLA Parent Education Speaker Series: LIKE: A documentary about the impact of social media on our lives. Learn how to promote the use of self-regulation as a strategy to manage the negative impacts of technology, while benefiting from the positive ones. There will be two screenings on Tuesday, 4/30 at 6pm and 7:30pm at LAHS. To register, click here.

The 18th Annual Los Altos Hills Pathways Run/Walk: Saturday, May 11, 2019 – 9 AM Early Bird Registration Discount: for $10 off, use discount code “pathways19” Come out for the 18th Annual Los Altos Hills Pathways Run/Walk, and make Los Altos Hills Pathways your Run * Sweet * Run! This fun annual event begins at the Westwind Community Barn, runs through the Byrne Preserve and extends into the Los Altos Hills Pathways system. The run features a hilly and challenging 5K and 10K Pathways Run/Walk and a 1-Mile Fun Run. Special athletic race shirts will be provided along with finisher medals to those who register. To register, volunteer or for more race information contact Sarah Robustelli 650-947-2518, srobustelli@losaltoshills.ca.gov or visit the event website at www.lahpathwaysrun.org. New this year are “Team” registrations so that your family or group of friends can all register as a team to compete and compare your race results and registration numbers with other team members or other teams! Saturday May 11, 2019 (Mother’s Day Weekend) 5K/10K: 9:00 am Fees for 5K/10K: $45 ($50 on race day) Group Registrations of 10 or more: $35 per person – Acquire group discount registration code from Sarah at srobustelli@losaltoshills.ca.gov Time for 1-Mile Fun Run: 10:30 am Fees for 1-Mile Fun Run: $30 ($35 on race day) Location: Westwind Community Barn - 27210 Altamont Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022

Flexible Opportunities for Working in our School: we need you!

Have you ever thought about working in our schools but didn’t know how to get started? We are looking for community members interested in substituting in our schools as classified substitutes. We have opportunities to work as instructional assistants in our kindergarten classrooms and opportunities to work in our school offices. If this sounds interesting to you, please contact Marlene Revelo, HR Specialist, mrevelo@lasdschools.org

FROM THE OFFICE

Attendance: Please let us know if your student will be late or absent. There are several ways: call the attendance line at 650-917-5454 or the front desk at 917-5400, or email almondsecretary@lasdschools.org.

Next time you are on campus, please check out the lost and found collection! There are dozens of sweatshirts and jackets! Everything will be collected next Friday, 4/12, before spring break to be donated to a local charity.

If you'd like to put something in the Thursday Word, please send an email to almondthursdayword@lasdschools.org by Tuesday for consideration for the following Thursday's edition.