Dear Almond Families:

Much learning, joy and enthusiasm is afoot on the Almond campus these days! Our drama production of The Lion King has begun. We had over 70 students audition yesterday in the multi and we cannot wait for practice to begin! Thank you to Christi Crosby for coordinating the drama production this year.

Yesterday at our PTA general meeting, Mrs. Burke’s 5th grade students joined us to explain their thinking in math, utilizing a problem-solving approach to investigating math concepts called Problem of the Month (POM). During the POM investigation, “each problem is divided into five levels of difficulty, Level A (primary) through Level E (high school), to allow access and scaffolding for students into different aspects of the problem and to stretch students to go deeper into mathematical complexity.” Our students work in collaborative teams to solve the problem, beginning with Level A, and stretch their conceptual knowledge by working through the levels. They create a poster in the process, showing examples and illustrations of their thinking and then share out their thinking by taking turns presenting to each other. Many Almond students across the grade levels work on Problem of the Month every month; you can read more about the POM approach here. THANK YOU to Mrs. Burke and the students in her class for taking time out of their busy schedule to share with us at the PTA meeting. We plan to have students presenting at every PTA general meeting from now until the end of the year. Here is a schedule if you would like to join us!

Here’s to happy, engaged kiddos,

~Raquel

-----------

STEM EXPO is coming!! Sign up Now!!

MORE THAN A SCIENCE FAIR!! On April 9, 2019, Almond will hold LASD’s Annual STEM EXPO. The EXPO invites students in grades K-6 to participate by engaging in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) projects.

Students will have an opportunity to design hands-on projects while exploring just how fun STEM can be!

This event lends itself to a myriad of learning experiences as students engage in inquiry, engineering, and experimentation in a wide range of STEM categories including:

Rube Goldberg, Invention, Environmental Innovation, Reverse Engineering, Robotics, Scientific Inquiry and Wearable Design.

Ultimately, students get the chance to showcase their STEM work in a fun and unique venue, with learning opportunities for the entire family.

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.

Sign ups end March 8, 2019.

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

------------

Strictly Strings Concert

Please join us in celebrating our 6th grade String Students! This will be a combined performance of string students from Almond, Covington, Gardner and Santa Rita. They will have a great opportunity to perform on a big stage with a large orchestra. The concert starts at 7:00pm on Thurs, Feb 14 at Los Altos High School, Eagle Theater.

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Living Classroom Event--You Can Help Save the Monarch Butterfly!

When: Monday - February 4th, 2019 9:30-10:30 a.m. 

Where: Los Altos School District - iLearn Studio (201 Covington Road, Los Altos 94024)

RSVP: livingclassroom@lasdschools.org

We are excited to announce this special presentation with guest speaker and Monarch Butterfly expert, Eleanor Laney.

Learn About:

‣ Life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly

‣ Migration patterns east and west of the Rockies

‣ Why numbers have diminished since 1990

‣ Learn what you can do to help reverse the decline & invite the Monarch Butterfly back to your home

About Eleanor:

With a Degree in History from Stanford University, Eleanor went on to earn her Associates Degree in Environmental Horticulture and Landscape Design from Foothill College. She specializes in creating designs that help customers install four - season pollinator gardens. In 2013, Eleanor acted as Conservation Chairman of the Garden Club of Palo Alto and assisted in creating an environmental project “Monarch Migration Revival” to address the threatened butterfly. Through this project, they propagated over 2,000 native Milkweed and distributed them to over 1,000 gardeners in the SF Peninsula. Eleanor traveled to the UNESCO World Heritage Overwintering site of 146 Million Monarch Butterflies in the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico. Through her experiences, education and pure passion, Eleanor is excited to share her knowledge on how our efforts can revive the Monarch Butterfly.

Please click here for the event flyer.

-------------

Emergency Preparedness

The City of Los Altos has a new and exciting Community & Emergency Preparedness Grants program! This is a great opportunity for Los Altos residents to secure grant funding for projects which support building connections with neighbors or improving emergency preparedness. The City will fund as many grants and projects as possible within our $20,000 grant budget, from as many neighborhoods as possible. Please visit www.losaltosca.gov/cepg for more information.

Applications are due by 9:00 am on Monday February 11th at Los Altos City Hall.

Tonight, Egan will host a Family Emergency Preparedness Workshop.

Santa Clara County Fire Dept. has prepared a special presentation for us including emergency preparedness kits at home, emergency family communications plans, evacuation planning, and more. LASD has info about their emergency preparedness, and info about resources in the community will be shared. Tonight: Jan 31, 7:00 – 9:00 pm, Egan gym

Questions? ahepenstal@losaltosca.gov

------------

Parent Education Speaker: Raising Resilient Kids in a Stressful World

MVLA Parent Education Speaker Series presents an evening with Katie Hurley: Raising Resilient Kids in a Stressful World

RESCHEDULED DATE/LOCATION: Wednesday, February 13 - 7:00-9:00 PM MVHS Spartan Theater, 3535 Truman Ave., Mountain View, CA

In a world that runs on stress, pressure, and competition, it can be difficult to build resilience in children. Katie Hurley, LCSW, gives parents the tools they need to:

● identify and understand the obstacles their kids face

● enable their kids to learn how to cope with setbacks

● equip their kids to bounce back from stress.

By understanding how children internalize stress and pressure and learning how to empower kids to work through the ups and downs of childhood and adolescence, parents can raise kids who lead with confidence, compassion, and empathy.

Katie Hurley, LCSW, is a child and adolescent psychotherapist, parenting expert, and writer. She is the founder of “Girls Can!” empowerment groups for girls between ages 5-11. Hurley is the author of No More Mean Girls (2018) and The Happy Kid Handbook. Her work can be found in The Washington Post, PBS Parents, and US News and World Report, among other media. She practices psychotherapy in the Los Angeles area and earned her BA in psychology and women’s studies from Boston College followed by her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania. She splits her time between Los Angeles, California, and coastal Connecticut with her husband and two children.

Register for this free event at https://mvla2018-19-katiehurley2.eventbrite.com. Spanish translation will be available. Please indicate on Eventbrite when registering.

Sponsored by Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF), MVLA High School Foundation, Mountain View Educational Foundation (MVEF), and Los Altos-Mountain View PTA Council.

--------------

Do you love STEM, Literacy, Wellness, and Arts? Show your love by completing your donation to LAEF! Let’s raise the final $400K to reach our goal of $3.5M for this school year!

The timing is just right because we have a $15K Challenge Match from The John and Liane Davila Foundation and an anonymous LASD family to DOUBLE all donations made by February 28th.

It couldn't be easier: Donate online or text "LAEF" to 50155 to donate. As always, our goal is 100% participation from all LASD families.

Save Us a Call

On February 12th, we'll have a winter phonathon. If you have not donated this school year, donate now, and we'll take you off our call list.

STEM in Every Grade

Find out what our students are learning in STEM this school year. Check out new photos of kids in action, watch a video, and learn about exciting projects. Your donation to LAEF supports the LASD STEM program and more.

---------------

From the Office

When to Keep Your Child Home from School

Sometimes it is difficult, especially early in the morning, to know whether or not to send your child to school. The following guidelines are indications that you should keep him/her home. In this way, you are helping to control the spread of colds, flu, and other contagious illnesses.

Please keep your child at home when he/she has any of the following symptoms:

• Fever or Chills

• Nausea, Vomiting or Diarrhea

• Sore throat, trouble swallowing, coughing, wheezing, sneezing, and/or runny nose

• Unusually red, crusted or burning eyes

• Head lice

You need to keep your child home until he/she has been symptom-free without medication for 24 hours.

Please call the attendance line if your student is going to be absent for any reason: 650-917-5454.

Also, NOTIFY THE OFFICE IMMEDIATELY if your child is exposed to or contracts chicken pox, mumps, measles or whooping cough (pertussis). 650-917-5400

Want to submit something to our newsletter? Please send your blurb to almondthursdayword@lasdschools.org by Tuesday for consideration for the following Thursday.

Dear Almond Families:

Much learning, joy and enthusiasm is afoot on the Almond campus these days! Our drama production of The Lion King has begun. We had over 70 students audition yesterday in the multi and we cannot wait for practice to begin! Thank you to Christi Crosby for coordinating the drama production this year.

Yesterday at our PTA general meeting, Mrs. Burke’s 5th grade students joined us to explain their thinking in math, utilizing a problem-solving approach to investigating math concepts called Problem of the Month (POM). During the POM investigation, “each problem is divided into five levels of difficulty, Level A (primary) through Level E (high school), to allow access and scaffolding for students into different aspects of the problem and to stretch students to go deeper into mathematical complexity.” Our students work in collaborative teams to solve the problem, beginning with Level A, and stretch their conceptual knowledge by working through the levels. They create a poster in the process, showing examples and illustrations of their thinking and then share out their thinking by taking turns presenting to each other. Many Almond students across the grade levels work on Problem of the Month every month; you can read more about the POM approach here. THANK YOU to Mrs. Burke and the students in her class for taking time out of their busy schedule to share with us at the PTA meeting. We plan to have students presenting at every PTA general meeting from now until the end of the year. Here is a schedule if you would like to join us!

Here’s to happy, engaged kiddos,

~Raquel

-----------

STEM EXPO is coming!! Sign up Now!!

MORE THAN A SCIENCE FAIR!! On April 9, 2019, Almond will hold LASD’s Annual STEM EXPO. The EXPO invites students in grades K-6 to participate by engaging in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) projects.

Students will have an opportunity to design hands-on projects while exploring just how fun STEM can be!

This event lends itself to a myriad of learning experiences as students engage in inquiry, engineering, and experimentation in a wide range of STEM categories including:

Rube Goldberg, Invention, Environmental Innovation, Reverse Engineering, Robotics, Scientific Inquiry and Wearable Design.

Ultimately, students get the chance to showcase their STEM work in a fun and unique venue, with learning opportunities for the entire family.

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.

Sign ups end March 8, 2019.

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

------------

Strictly Strings Concert

Please join us in celebrating our 6th grade String Students! This will be a combined performance of string students from Almond, Covington, Gardner and Santa Rita. They will have a great opportunity to perform on a big stage with a large orchestra. The concert starts at 7:00pm on Thurs, Feb 14 at Los Altos High School, Eagle Theater.

-------------

Living Classroom Event--You Can Help Save the Monarch Butterfly!

When: Monday - February 4th, 2019 9:30-10:30 a.m. 

Where: Los Altos School District - iLearn Studio (201 Covington Road, Los Altos 94024)

RSVP: livingclassroom@lasdschools.org

We are excited to announce this special presentation with guest speaker and Monarch Butterfly expert, Eleanor Laney.

Learn About:

‣ Life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly

‣ Migration patterns east and west of the Rockies

‣ Why numbers have diminished since 1990

‣ Learn what you can do to help reverse the decline & invite the Monarch Butterfly back to your home

About Eleanor:

With a Degree in History from Stanford University, Eleanor went on to earn her Associates Degree in Environmental Horticulture and Landscape Design from Foothill College. She specializes in creating designs that help customers install four - season pollinator gardens. In 2013, Eleanor acted as Conservation Chairman of the Garden Club of Palo Alto and assisted in creating an environmental project “Monarch Migration Revival” to address the threatened butterfly. Through this project, they propagated over 2,000 native Milkweed and distributed them to over 1,000 gardeners in the SF Peninsula. Eleanor traveled to the UNESCO World Heritage Overwintering site of 146 Million Monarch Butterflies in the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico. Through her experiences, education and pure passion, Eleanor is excited to share her knowledge on how our efforts can revive the Monarch Butterfly.

Please click here for the event flyer.

-------------

Emergency Preparedness

The City of Los Altos has a new and exciting Community & Emergency Preparedness Grants program! This is a great opportunity for Los Altos residents to secure grant funding for projects which support building connections with neighbors or improving emergency preparedness. The City will fund as many grants and projects as possible within our $20,000 grant budget, from as many neighborhoods as possible. Please visit www.losaltosca.gov/cepg for more information.

Applications are due by 9:00 am on Monday February 11th at Los Altos City Hall.

Tonight, Egan will host a Family Emergency Preparedness Workshop.

Santa Clara County Fire Dept. has prepared a special presentation for us including emergency preparedness kits at home, emergency family communications plans, evacuation planning, and more. LASD has info about their emergency preparedness, and info about resources in the community will be shared. Tonight: Jan 31, 7:00 – 9:00 pm, Egan gym

Questions? ahepenstal@losaltosca.gov

------------

Parent Education Speaker: Raising Resilient Kids in a Stressful World

MVLA Parent Education Speaker Series presents an evening with Katie Hurley: Raising Resilient Kids in a Stressful World

RESCHEDULED DATE/LOCATION: Wednesday, February 13 - 7:00-9:00 PM MVHS Spartan Theater, 3535 Truman Ave., Mountain View, CA

In a world that runs on stress, pressure, and competition, it can be difficult to build resilience in children. Katie Hurley, LCSW, gives parents the tools they need to:

● identify and understand the obstacles their kids face

● enable their kids to learn how to cope with setbacks

● equip their kids to bounce back from stress.

By understanding how children internalize stress and pressure and learning how to empower kids to work through the ups and downs of childhood and adolescence, parents can raise kids who lead with confidence, compassion, and empathy.

Katie Hurley, LCSW, is a child and adolescent psychotherapist, parenting expert, and writer. She is the founder of “Girls Can!” empowerment groups for girls between ages 5-11. Hurley is the author of No More Mean Girls (2018) and The Happy Kid Handbook. Her work can be found in The Washington Post, PBS Parents, and US News and World Report, among other media. She practices psychotherapy in the Los Angeles area and earned her BA in psychology and women’s studies from Boston College followed by her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania. She splits her time between Los Angeles, California, and coastal Connecticut with her husband and two children.

Register for this free event at https://mvla2018-19-katiehurley2.eventbrite.com. Spanish translation will be available. Please indicate on Eventbrite when registering.

Sponsored by Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF), MVLA High School Foundation, Mountain View Educational Foundation (MVEF), and Los Altos-Mountain View PTA Council.

--------------

Do you love STEM, Literacy, Wellness, and Arts? Show your love by completing your donation to LAEF! Let’s raise the final $400K to reach our goal of $3.5M for this school year!

The timing is just right because we have a $15K Challenge Match from The John and Liane Davila Foundation and an anonymous LASD family to DOUBLE all donations made by February 28th.

It couldn't be easier: Donate online or text "LAEF" to 50155 to donate. As always, our goal is 100% participation from all LASD families.

Save Us a Call

On February 12th, we'll have a winter phonathon. If you have not donated this school year, donate now, and we'll take you off our call list.

STEM in Every Grade

Find out what our students are learning in STEM this school year. Check out new photos of kids in action, watch a video, and learn about exciting projects. Your donation to LAEF supports the LASD STEM program and more.

---------------

From the Office

When to Keep Your Child Home from School

Sometimes it is difficult, especially early in the morning, to know whether or not to send your child to school. The following guidelines are indications that you should keep him/her home. In this way, you are helping to control the spread of colds, flu, and other contagious illnesses.

Please keep your child at home when he/she has any of the following symptoms:

• Fever or Chills

• Nausea, Vomiting or Diarrhea

• Sore throat, trouble swallowing, coughing, wheezing, sneezing, and/or runny nose

• Unusually red, crusted or burning eyes

• Head lice

You need to keep your child home until he/she has been symptom-free without medication for 24 hours.

Please call the attendance line if your student is going to be absent for any reason: 650-917-5454.

Also, NOTIFY THE OFFICE IMMEDIATELY if your child is exposed to or contracts chicken pox, mumps, measles or whooping cough (pertussis). 650-917-5400

Want to submit something to our newsletter? Please send your blurb to almondthursdayword@lasdschools.org by Tuesday for consideration for the following Thursday.