34th Annual Margaret Thompson Historical Essay Contest

2018 Theme:  "Spread Your Wings and Fly!"

The Los Altos Historical Commission and the Los Altos History Museum are co-sponsoring the 34th annual Margaret Thompson Historical Essay Contest, open to third- through sixth-graders who live in the area and/or attend local schools.

The current exhibit at The Los Altos History Museum is "Instinct Extinct: The Great Pacific Flyway." This exhibit is a multi-disciplinary art installation that explores and celebrates the biology, beauty, and bounty of the Pacific Flyway. The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south path for migratory birds in America, extending from Alaska to South America. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading to breeding grounds, or traveling to places where they can spend the winter. These migratory birds have the ability to soar and swoop through the sky and with their keen eyesight are able to locate food, locate places for their nests, and protect themselves from danger.

The deadline to submit essays is March 2. Public school students should submit their entries to Los Altos School District teachers. For the detailed essay prompt, click here. For the essay rubric, click here. For the cover sheet, click here.

For more information, visit losaltoshistory.org.

STEM Career Day Events at Egan and Blach

LASD & LAEF are excited to kick off the 2nd STEM Career Day Events at Egan and Blach Jr. High Schools this spring. STEM pervades every part of our life and STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy, and enables the next generation of innovators. We believe that exposing our students to different aspects and careers in the STEM fields inspire and spark a passion for learning.

We are looking for parents, grandparents or anyone in our community who would like to share their knowledge. If you are interested in presenting at Egan on March 19 and/or Blach on March 20, please contact Karen Wilson, STEM Coordinator at kwilson@lasdschools.org or Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney, LAEF Board member at anjana.nagarajan1@gmail.com

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on November 13^th, 2017, or as soon thereafter as practicable, at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Los Altos School District which will be held at the District Office, located at 201 Covington Road, Los Altos, CA 94024, the Board will consider entering into an energy services agreement for the installation of certain energy savings measures on the property of the District. At said meeting, the Board will hold a public hearing on and consider a resolution to adopt findings required by Government Code section 4217.12 regarding anticipated energy cost savings and other benefits the District may receive if the Board decides to enter into the energy services agreement.  The resolution, agreement and supporting documents will be included with the Board’s regular public agenda for the November 13^th, 2017 meeting. 

The district is installing solar shade structures at each of its schools.  The structures will be installed in school parking lots, except for Oak School where the structures will be installed on the play area blacktop.  Installing the solar structures will enable us to save hundreds of thousands of dollars each year and reduce our carbon footprint, equivalent to 3.5 million pounds of CO2 annually.

Construction will begin October 23 and continue through December.  Construction fencing is scheduled to be installed on October 23 and all work and materials will be contained within the fenced area. Traffic and parking will be impacted on and around the school sites and the District during construction.  We are working with police and traffic control departments to mitigate the impacts on the school neighborhoods.

Please check our Solar Project 2017 page on our website for updated communications and information.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on June 12, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as practicable, at a scheduled public meeting of the Board of Education (“Board”) of the Los Altos School District, which will be held at the District Office located at 201 Covington Road, Los Altos, California 94024, the Board will consider entering into a solar power purchase agreement for the installation of photovoltaic systems on the property of the District.  At this meeting, the Board will hold a public hearing on and consider a resolution to adopt findings required by Government Code section 4217.12 regarding anticipated energy cost savings and other benefits the District may receive if the Board decides to enter into the power purchase agreement.  Any protest pertaining to the regularity or sufficiency of the proceedings shall be in writing and shall clearly set forth the irregularities and defects to which the objection is made.  Any written protest shall be filed with the Clerk of the District on or before the time set for the hearing.  The District may waive any irregularities in the form or content of any written notice and at the hearing may correct minor defects in the proceedings.  Written protests may be withdrawn, in writing, at any time before the conclusion of the hearing.  The resolution, agreement and supporting documents will be included with the Board’s regular public agenda for the June 12, 2017 meeting. 

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on May 22, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as practicable, at a scheduled public meeting of the Board of Trustees (“Board”) of the Los Altos School District, which will be held at the District Office located at 201 Covington Road, Los Altos, California 94024, the Board will consider entering into a solar power purchase agreement for the installation of photovoltaic systems on the property of the District.  At this meeting, the Board will hold a public hearing on and consider a resolution to adopt findings required by Government Code section 4217.12 regarding anticipated energy cost savings and other benefits the District may receive if the Board decides to enter into the power purchase agreement.  Any protest pertaining to the regularity or sufficiency of the proceedings shall be in writing and shall clearly set forth the irregularities and defects to which the objection is made.  Any written protest shall be filed with the Clerk of the District on or before the time set for the hearing.  The District may waive any irregularities in the form or content of any written notice and at the hearing may correct minor defects in the proceedings.  Written protests may be withdrawn, in writing, at any time before the conclusion of the hearing.  The resolution, agreement and supporting documents will be included with the Board’s regular public agenda for the May 22, 2017 meeting.

The LASD Student Math Experience

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Covington School Multipurpose Room

Join us for a presentation for parents and community members to learn about the expectations and learning experiences the sudents of Los Altos School District engage in during math class. The presentation will provide suggestions about how best to support your child in deeply learning mathematics.

Presenter: David Foster, Founder and Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Mathematics Initiative (SVMI) and Co-Director of the Santa Clara Valley Math Project.

To register: https://edtalklasdmath.eventbrite.com

SBAC (SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium) Testing

The LASD testing window has been defined for 2017 spring testing.  The testing window begins Monday, April 24th and continues through Friday, May 12th.  This 3-week window allows ample time for schools to complete the testing. Make-ups will be May 15 - 19, 2017.  As a reminder, students in grades 3-8 will complete assessments for Mathematics and English/Language Arts.  Schools will create their specific schedules within this window.  Questions concerning actual dates within this window should be addressed at individual school sites.

LASD & LAEF are excited to kick off the first ever STEM Days at both Egan and Blach schools this spring. STEM pervades every part of life. STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy, and enables the next generation of innovators. Exposing our students to different aspects of careers in the STEM fields could inspire and spark a passion in learning.

We are looking for parents, grandparents or anyone in our community who would like to share their knowledge. If you are interested, please contact Anjana Butaney at anjana.nagarajan1@gmail.com or Karen Wilson at kwilson@lasdschools.org.