August 6, 2014

Greetings Almond Families,

Have any of you yet experienced Summer’s Paradox?  Summer’s what?

In early June, we were all counting the days for summer to commence. School playmates were striking every nerve of irritability with their dearest friends. The saintly patience of teachers embracing the uniqueness of each child began to be tested. Families had grown weary with the morning routine of being at school by a certain hour and yearned to begin summer travels and live in the spontaneity of the moment.

Summer arrived! 

I hope yours have been filled with relaxation, adventure, time with family, healing, and all that your hearts desired. 

In spite of all the fun our family enjoyed, last Friday, as I listened to my daughters negotiate (alright – it was actually downright bickering) how to get the paddle board back to shore, what they essentially were screaming was, “PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE bring back the structure that we said goodbye to almost 2 months ago.  WHEN DOES SCHOOL START?"

Something tells me that my kids are not the only ones who might be feeling this way…and I have a sneaking suspicion there might be some parents who are counting the days until August 20th, our first day of school.

During this summer, the Almond campus has been anything but quiet.  We…

• hosted Camp Galileo this summer
• resurfaced tile floors
• bid a farewell to our kindergarten castle that attracted non-royal mischief
• set up our new transitional kindergarten classroom and our extended day kindergarten classrooms
• added two new portable buildings at the back of campus
• moved the STEM lab to its new location
• are renovating the art room and former STEM lab into innovative flex rooms
• converted the library annex into a technology work room
• installed 14 new short throw projectors
• and (thanks to the brilliance of one of our very own parents, Tom Poppitz) have a beautiful storage system in the multi for our musical instruments.

In the final weeks we will be resurfacing our blacktop and adding some initial striping for our basketball and volleyball courts, wall balls, kickball and four square. The legacy yellow line that has segregated lower and upper grade students will be no longer.  Instead, we will utilize color to still provide some protected spaces for our littler Eagles.  This project will be completed in phases so that we thoughtfully lay out the remaining spaces.

When I joined the Almond Community a year ago, my excitement originated from the reputation of the school and district.  This year, I am ecstatic to traverse a path with you where I have some insight into what’s around each corner.  Having laid strong roots together as a staff and community last year, we intend to allow those roots to further develop and grow deeper.  The bloom that we are striving for is our LASD #1 goal:

1. Meet the individual learning needs of all students
   1. Ensure meaningful formative feedback is included as a constant in student/teacher interactions.
   2. Develop a communication process that allows teachers, students and parents to utilize actionable feedback about each child’s learning.
   3. Regularly incorporate small group instruction as a method for meeting individual student needs.
   4. Design learning opportunities that allow for student choice and passion.

I have every confidence in our unwavering commitment to support each child in identifying and developing his/her SUPERPOWERS to succeed in life’s incredible journey.

Below are some details to get our year off to a successful start.

SCHOOL START and END TIMES

• Transitional Kinder, 8:45am – 2:15pm*
• Kindergarten, 8:30am – 2:15pm*
• Grades 1 & 2, 8:30am – 2:25pm
• Grades 3 thru 6, 8:30am – 2:45pm

*From 8/20 – 9/12, TK and Kinder will dismiss at 12pm to allow students a transition period to full day as well as an opportunity for teachers to assess students and collaborate with team members to ensure your child’s success.

STAFFING REMINDERS

• Transitional Kindergarten:  Lisa Schubert
• Kindergarten:  Jenny Eldridge, Laurie Lamb, Melissa Powell
• First Grade:  Sarah Hall, Alicia Peterson, Summer Reeves
• Second Grade:  Edana Conlon, Nancy Liu, Jill Williams
• Third Grade:  Tammy Reilly, Joann Martinez, Anna Uhm, Jenny Wishnack
• Fourth Grade:  Lisa Call, Annie Daggett, Melissa Dowling
• Fifth Grade:  Joe Chan, Laura Ohlund, Samantha Nguyen
• Sixth Grade:  Jessica Abraham, Allison Aubrey, Jasen Stuart
• STEM Teacher: Elizabeth Leach
• PE Teachers:  Mary Alber (K), Candice Marquis (Grades 1-6), Doug Core (Tuesdays, Gr. 3)
• ELD Teacher:  Janine Wulfsohn
• RSP Teacher:  Ginny Kalotihos
• Speech Teacher:  Carol Leamon

We are still in search of a librarian and a literacy aide for grades 1 & 2.  If you are interested, or know of anyone who might be interested, please let me know.

DISTRICT INFOSNAP – Online Registration

Please look for an email from Registrar@lasdk8.org with instructions about completing the InfoSnap Online Registration.  It is recommended that you add registrar@lasdk8.org  to your contacts to prevent the email from going into spam folders.

LASD InfoSnap registration is not the same thing as the PTA Back to School System.  You must complete BOTH.

PTA BACK TO SCHOOL SYSTEM IS ONLINE!

Complete your family’s registration in the back to school system any time between August 5th and September 3rd.  Log in via this link, http://losaltos.cyberschool.com/Almondes/5827-Back-To-School.html.  The password for the back to school system is “greatkids2014” (do not type the quotation marks).

If you do not have Internet access or require help with your registration, computer assistance will be available in the school library between 8:15am and 9:30am from August 21st – 22nd. 

UPCOMING DATES

Hot Lunch – Our vendor will be Pasta Market.  All entrees are in compliance with California SB12 and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) regulations, regarding portion sizes, calories, fat content, and sugar content for elementary schools.  Registration and ordering will open on August 11th at this link [http://pastamarket.orderlunches.com]. The school password is “AES181”. The first ordering deadline will be midnight on Sunday, 8/17.

Teacher Assignment Letters will be mailed to your homes on Friday, August 15th. 

First Day of School & Back to School Coffee - Wednesday, August 20th, 8:30am.  Once your child is in class, please join the PTA for coffee and snacks in the multi.  Learn about Almond events, sign up to volunteer, and catch up with friends!

New Family Orientation - Friday, August 22nd, 5:45pm – 6:45pm.  All families new to Almond (kindergarten and others) are invited to join Principal Benadom and the PTA for a short presentation in the multi.

Back to School Ice Cream Social   - Friday, August 22nd, 7pm.  All Almond families are invited to the Almond playground for FREE ice cream sundaes served by the Almond PTA.

Back to School Night – Tuesday, August 26th.  The time schedule will be divided by grade levels and communicated the first week of school.

Enjoy the remainder of summer, and I’ll see you all on August 20th!

Best regards,

Erika Benadom

Almond Elementary Principal