Almond Thursday Word

Dear Almond Families:

Today, our Almond 3-6th graders got to experience democracy in action! Students and staff assembled in our multi to listen to 22 election speeches asking for votes for Student Council Officer positions. The focus of our student council this year is building community and making Almond a better place for all students. Open positions this year include President, Vice President, Communications Manager and Secretary. During the special assembly we heard a variety of engaging, heartfelt and humorous speeches paired with the specifics of their individual platforms. Almond students put their persuasive writing and speaking skills to work! Fresh from listening to their peers, 3-6th graders then had the opportunity to vote for their top two candidates in each category for the rest of the day. Election results will be shared early next week.

I shared with the candidates after the assembly that no matter the outcome of the election, they should feel proud that they put forth the effort, time and courage to speak in front of their peers.

We appreciate the strong leadership from Ms. Day-Bobb and Mr. Linvill who are on their second year of heading our Almond student council!

Here’s to the passion and tenacity of the 2019-20 student council candidates!

Raquel

Tomorrow, 9/27, Staff Development--NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

Wed, 10/2, International Walk/Wheel to School Day -- your help is needed! See below.

Wed, 10/2, PTA General Meeting, 8:30, multi

Fri, 10/4, Family Movie Night and Food trucks!

Sat, 10/5, Community Engagement Process Charrette, 9:30 am, Egan Multi

Wed, 10/9, PTA Board Meeting, 8:30, conference room

10/10-10/15, Scholastic Book Fair, multi

Sat, 10/12, Walkathon and Silent Auction!

Thu, 10/17, Minimum Day (12:15 dismissal for ALL students)

Please join us for International Walk or Wheel to School day on October 2nd from 8-8:30am. Walk, roll or bike to school along Almond Avenue and enjoy bagels and juice in the Rotunda when you arrive. For families who live too far to walk or wheel to school, please park near Almond Ave and Alicia Way to join the band as they walk down Almond towards school at 8:00. 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. Please contact Carrie Zeisler chzeis@gmail.com for more information or questions. Hope to see you on the way to school!

There are so many ways to get involved with the Walkathon on October 12, our school's most fun and biggest event of this year. We need your help to make it a success! Since this is a parent-run event, we need parents, grandparents, older siblings, neighbors and others to help fill the 200+ volunteer shifts required for a fun and safe day. There are many different ways you can get involved and we appreciate if you are able to sign up below for more than one shift if you can. You can find links below or visit the Almond Walk-a-thon website and click on “Volunteer!".

The day of the event

Bake Sale for Walkathon

Loan your Canopies or Coolers

Thank you and see you at the Walkathon on October 12!

Urvi Lee & Ilknur Kaynar-Kabul, Walkathon Volunteer Coordinators

Noemi Ruelas & Andrea Kanda, Walkathon co-Chairs

The Book Fair is coming October 10 - 15! Stock up on great titles, shop early for the holiday season, or purchase books for teachers, and Almond will get back up to 50% of the proceeds. If you can't make to the Fair, you can also purchase online at http://www.scholastic.com/bf/almondelementaryschool from October 3 through October 16. The Almond PTA uses funds raised from the Book Fair to purchase books for teacher classrooms and the school library. If you have any questions, please contact Amy Lee at atlee3@gmail.com or Young Kwon at kwonhyeyoung@gmail.com.

Want to see the kids during the Book Fair? Consider volunteering for a shift or two here.

The Gala Auction is Almond's biggest PTA fundraiser and a great way for parents to mix and mingle while supporting our school. It is an adults-only event featuring dinner, dancing, silent and live auctions and will be held Saturday evening March 7, 2020 at the Los Altos Golf and Country Club.

Purchase tickets by October 11, 2019 on the BTS registration system for a special BTS online price of $120 per person. Prices will increase on October 12, 2019 to $145 per person so get your tickets now!

Our annual LAEF Phonathon is coming up on October 1st and 2nd. If you haven't yet made a donation to LAEF, please donate or pledge today and we’ll take you off our call list.

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS!

Help us make phone calls at our LAEF Phonathon to encourage LASD parents to donate to LAEF.

If we have more people making phone calls, we'll raise more money for our schools!

Sign up to help and invite your friends to join you. No experience needed - training and scripts are provided. It's going to be a fun evening of food, beverages, and camaraderie! You'll be joined by the LAEF Board, LAEF Superintendent Jeff Baier, school principals, teachers, parents, and other community volunteers.

Get to know your Almond parent volunteers on the LAEF Board!

• Steve Apfelberg has a 5th grader at Almond. He is serving as LAEF Board Secretary this school year, his 2nd year on the LAEF Board.
  
• Mike Kostow has a 1st and 3rd grader at Almond. He joined the LAEF Board this past spring.

They are representing your school community. Feel free to reach out to them if you have any questions about LAEF. (Steve: sapfelbe@gmail.com, Mike: mikekostow@gmail.com)

Learn more about how your donations to LAEF will benefit students this year.

If you are an AmazonSmile customer, you can now support the Almond PTA in the Amazon shopping app on your Android device! Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations.

1. If you have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping App, open the App on your Android device.
2. View Settings and select AmazonSmile.
3. Follow the in-App instructions to complete the process.

If you do not have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping App, update your App. Click here for instructions.

This is the absolute easiest way to bring funds to our amazing Almond PTA, which supports all of our students and staff, every day! And using SmileAmazon does NOT affect pricing, shipping, or performance. It's a WIN-WIN!

Compassion Week Los Altos is scheduled for Sept 30-Oct 5th. This opportunity will allow our students to join hundreds of volunteers interested in family-focused service activities geared for all ages and abilities. You can choose from a variety of opportunities including Habitat for Humanity Play House construction, Rise Against Hunger meal packing, Sole Hope shoe cutting and many more. There are opportunities to serve every day throughout September 30 - October 6. All are welcome, any age, any ability!

You can also find a take-home project perfect for individuals, classroom activities, scout troops, neighborhood gatherings and more.

Please take a moment to view the breadth of projects available by visiting our website: https://www.compassionweeklosaltos.org.

Is your student going to be absent?

Please call the Attendance Line 650-917-5454, or email almondsecretary@lasdschools.org if your child will be absent for any reason.

Want to put a blurb in the Thursday Word?

Please send an email to almondthursdayword@lasdschools.org with your submission by Tuesday of the week you'd like it to be published.