Dear Almond Families:

Welcome back from Spring break! I don’t know about you but I have been enjoying the warmer weather after our bay area monsoon season! I hope everyone had a restful and relaxing time away and that you have now settled back in here at school. It is hard to believe that we will be in the month of May next week and that the end of school is near. With the last weeks of school upon us, we have many upcoming activities to look forward to. Please see below for some events to check out in the next week.

Celebrating Students!

This past Wednesday, during a lunchtime ceremony, we recognized 45 students in grades 1-6 who have worked diligently over the years to learn English as a second language. Each student received a certificate that represented their English fluent proficiency across multiple measures, including reading, writing, speaking and listening. What a valuable skill to be able to speak two languages! Please see the pictures below.

Junior Olympics

Our 4-6th graders will be representing Almond school at Junior Olympics this Saturday. Please come out and join us at Mountain View High School and cheer on our fantastic kiddos as they compete with other LASD schools in various sporting events. Hope to see you there!

CAASPP testing

For our 3-6th grade students, CAASPP testing begins next week. What can you do as a parent to support this testing? First, please remind your child to get a good night’s rest, eat a healthy breakfast and try their best to show what they have learned. And please tell your child not to fret about the testing; we tell the students to do the best they can but not to worry about how they do. As a school, we look at the test results to measure the effectiveness of our instruction. Secondly, since almost all the testing will be done first thing in the morning (when minds and bodies are most fresh), it is essential that your child arrives at school on time each day. Lastly, if at all possible, please arrange appointments for your child outside the testing window.

Almond Singers

Next Wednesday, May 1st, our very own Almond Singers will be holding their Spring concert in the multi at 7pm. They have been meeting over the past months and are eager to share with you the beautiful music they have been practicing and preparing. All are welcome to attend!

Here’s to warmer, sunnier climes!

Raquel

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Important Dates for your calendar

• Sat, April 27, JUNIOR OLYMPICS, MVHS, starting at 8:00 am
• Wed, May 1, Almond Singers Concert, 7pm, Multi
• Wed, May 8, PTA Board Meeting, 8:35 am
• May 9, 10, 11, Lion King performances
• Sat, May 18, Los Altos Pet Parade
• May 20, LASD Spring Concert (grades 4-6), 1:00, Multi

So many events!

LASD Junior Olympics - Coming this Saturday, April 27th!

Mark your calendars! Junior Olympics is Saturday, for our 4th, 5th and 6th grade students. All students must have a signed permission slip to participate in the event and must wear their green JO shirt. 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).

The Almonds Singers Present a Spring Concert!
Almond Elementary students, parents, and friends are cordially invited to attend The Almond Singers Spring Concert on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 at 7pm in the Multi. Almond Singers' members (who are students in grades 2-6) will delight you with their performances of fun and uplifting songs! (There will also be a morning concert at school on Tuesday, May 7, 2019 at 8:45am for students and staff only). Come out and support your Almond Singers and leave whistling a happy tune, and with a spring in your step! We hope to see you there!

The 72st ANNUAL LOS ALTOS PET PARADE will be held on Saturday, May 18th at 10 a.m.

Please join your fellow Almond families and their pets (dogs, cats, birds, goats, reptiles, stuffed animals or no animals at all) to meet at 9:30am in the parking lot behind The Post (formally First & Main) restaurant.

Look for the Almond balloons and the Almond Eagle mascot!

Please RSVP at http://evite.me/CMnsd7t6rp if can so we can get a preliminary head count. -- Come Join the Fun!

Yearbook! Please submit your photos of Almond activities!

If you haven't had an opportunity to upload any pictures for the yearbook, now is your final chance. I am taking pictures up until Thursday night. The yearbook needs to be submitted on Sunday so if you have pictures on your desktop or your phone, please upload them via the links below only - all other folders have already been downloaded and won't be looked at. I would love more pictures of the following: Community Service Events, Stem Expo, Spirit Days - Pictures with the Eagle Wings art project as well! 

Thanks again for helping make the yearbook a memorable item. More info on purchasing the yearbook will come shortly from Leon Yao.

Final Pictures - General (ex: fun group shots with friends in class, field trips, playground, etc) https://lizbacchi.smugmug.com/upload/T2ZtF6/final

Stem Expo https://lizbacchi.smugmug.com/upload/DjVsCn/stemexpo

Community Service Events: https://lizbacchi.smugmug.com/upload/Lx9Vkd/Communityservice

Spirit Days: https://lizbacchi.smugmug.com/upload/73H3CV/spiritdays

Community Services: Cleaning Supplies Needed for Families with Critically Ill Children

Almond Community Services, working with Bay Area Chapter of There With Care, is hosting an Essential Cleaning Supplies drive to collect much-needed supplies for families with critically ill children. We will be holding the drive from April 25th through May 9th – please drop off donations in the collection barrel located in Almond’s front office. Supplies we are collecting include:

• Dish Sponges
• Bathroom Sponges
• Dishwashing Liquid
• Paper towel rolls
• Toilet bowl cleaner
• Toilet bowl brush
• Glass cleaner
• Bleach-based cleaning spray
• All-purpose spray cleaner
• Antibacterial hand soap
• Duster (feather or microfiber cloths)
• Pair of Rubber Gloves
• Multi-surface floor cleaner (i.e. Simple Green)
• Dustpan/brush

There With Care provides a range of services to families with critically ill children to help support families. There With Care works with local hospitals and social workers to identify and ease the stresses for families - giving them more time with their children. Programs include transportation services; meal programs; baby essential program; home maintenance program; sibling assistance and several other programs. To learn more about There With Care and volunteering opportunities please visit their website at bayarea.therewithcare.org or video (https://bayarea.therewithcare.org/videos/)

If you have any questions please contact either Polly or Seema

Thank you for your support in Advance!

Polly Liu and Seema Chavan, Almond Community Services

L.A.E.F.--Los Altos Educational Foundation

LAEF is proud to have sponsored PE teachers and the Junior Olympics. Remember to donate to LAEF and ensure that teachers and staff for programs such as PE continue next school year.

Help us raise the final funds to meet our goal.

A gift of $50, $100 or even $300 will make a difference!

Let's cross the finish line and raise $3.5M to fully fund this school year.

Donate online or drop off a check in your school office.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @LAEFonline

Art Docent Event

The Art Docents are hosting a spring recruiting event including a fun art project and would love it if you could include the attached information in your school newsletter for the next couple of weeks.

Art du Jour

May 3rd from 10-12

iLearn Studio at LASD

201 Covington Road, Los Altos

Rsvp by May 2nd to ehongchin@gmail.com

Egan Viking Showcase

The Viking Showcase will be held this year on Thursday, June 6, 2019. Over 200 parent and community volunteers will be needed for this extraordinary event. Please sign up!

For over 20 years, the Viking Showcase Day has been a rite of passage for Egan 8th graders. The Viking Showcase is a special event for 8th grade students, faculty, and adult volunteers. Through personal interviews with community members, graduating 8th grade students showcase achievements from their years at Egan. The event provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate professional skills such as communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. Students are divided into small groups and assigned to one or two adults. Student groups showcase their academic work as adult participants provide feedback, ask pertinent questions, and help the students celebrate their achievements. The review process increases student motivation, builds a sense of accomplishment, and fosters community involvement with the school. Past participants have truly enjoyed this invaluable experience.

Viking Showcase page on Egan Web site:

https://eganschool.org/egan/6696-PD.html

Any questions, please contact Lauren Hasenhuttl

lhasenhu@gmail.com

Parent to Egan 8th grader, Covington 5th grader

Co-chair of Viking Showcase

4th Grade Instrument Quest

June 4th, 2019

4:00 – 7:00

Covington Multi

In preparation for choosing a musical instrument to play in 5th grade, the LASD Music Department will host an instrument selection event called “Instrument Quest” for all 4thgrade students in the district. Your child will be able to try out every instrument we offer in our Band and Orchestra (flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello).

This is a great opportunity to see which instrument best suits your child. Parents are welcome to ask questions and to meet the LASD Music teachers.

Los Altos Pet Parade!

The 72st ANNUAL LOS ALTOS PET PARADE will be held on Saturday, May 18th at 10 a.m.

Please join your fellow Almond families and their pets (dogs, cats, birds, goats, reptiles, stuffed animals or no animals at all) to meet at 9:30am in the parking lot behind The Post (formally First & Main) restaurant.

Look for the Almond balloons and the Almond Eagle mascot!

Please RSVP at http://evite.me/CMnsd7t6rp if can so we can get a preliminary head count. -- Come Join the Fun!